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7 Things to do in Savannah During October

Author: Tom Sharpe
Categories: Events
7 things to do in Savannah during October

October is the perfect time to visit Georgia’s most beautiful city. It’s a good deal cooler than in the summer and Savannah has a host of different festivals on for all age groups. Expect busy crowds with multiple events on each weekend that are guaranteed to get your taste buds moving and your cultural knowledge up to date. The month ends with Halloween which is another reason to visit Savannah, reputedly one of the most haunted cities in the country. Make your reservations ahead of time because this month plans to be a busy one.

Savannah Greek Festival

Location: St. Paul’s Hellenic center
Date: October 12th – 14th

This year’s annual Greek festival is planning to be bigger than last year’s one. With 67 years of tradition expect lots of Gyros, Moussaka and traditional clothes and dancing. The three-day festival presented by Savannah’s Greek community will feature plenty of Greek foods, desserts, traditional dancing, and music. Church tours will be run and a there’ll be plenty to shop for among the stalls

October Festival

Location:  Morrell Park & Rousakis Plaza
Date: October 6th – 8th

Get your German hat and grab your beer mug for another riotous three days of the annual October festival. The tapping of the keg opening ceremony begins at 4 pm which is then followed by endless supplies of German craft beer, bratwurst, and live music. There’ll also be a comedy hour on each day and a kid’s zone for families to let their little ones enjoy.

Savanah Pride Festival

Location: Ellis Square
Date: October 26th – 28th

With pub crawls, museum tours and award-winning singers, this year’s Pride festival promises to be a big one. Bars and pubs all around Ellis Square will be doing promotional drinks and there’s a museum tour for every interest. After being inspired by the art exhibits be sure to sign up for one of the workshops and seminars. When the downtown takeover begins, Grammy award-winning singer Estelle will be leading the entertainment.

Savannah Film Festival

Location: Multiple venues
Date: October 28th – November 4th

The quarterly SCAD FILM festival spotlights some of the hottest entertainment this year with a host of honorary guests such as Salma Hayek Pinault, Zoey Deutch, Richard Gere and Sir Patrick Stewart, to name just a few. Blockbuster premiers, fascinating documentaries, and stunning visuals will be found in abundance.

Savannah Speed Classic

Location: The Westin, Savannah Harbor
Date: October 27th – 29th

Get your dose of adrenaline at the Savanah Speed Classic hosted on Savannas own Hutchinson island. With its cobblestoned streets and historic past, the island comes alive for three days at the birthplace of Grand Pix racing. For engine and speed lovers this is a great day out family, couples, and friends.

Savannah Jewish Festival

Location: Monterey Square
Date: October 29th

This year’s Shalom Y’All Jewish Food Festival will be held on the last Sunday of October from 11 am to 3 pm. Come for the food stay for the culture. This annual event draws about 10,000 people and features delectable Jewish cuisine dishes and entertainment for all ages.

Haunted Ghost Tour

Location: Multiple Venues
Date: October 8th – 13th

Both kids and adults are in for a scare this month. The Savannah Ghosts and Folklore tour brings you on a guided tour of Savannah’s most famous ghostly sites and legends. This southern Gothic town has heaps of history hidden in its walls and more than a few tragic events that have birthed legends.

The Ghost Trolley Tour takes you around Savannah’s historic district and trills you with stories of hanged slaves, suicidal wives, and murdered husbands. Get into the spirit of Halloween with one of these terrifying tours.

Adults will love the fun, fear, and romp of the savannah Haunted Pub Crawl. Get your costumes on and join the guide (also in period costume) for a humorous and intriguing 2-hour candlelit walking tour. You’ll get to sample both types of ‘spirits’ in Savannah’s hallowed pubs. Almost every pub has its own ghost story and what better way to see Savannah then with two of its most time-honored traditions, ghost stories, and alcohol.

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Fall Cleaning Tips

Author: Tom Sharpe
Categories: Selling
Fall Cleaning Tips for Savannah Homes

Fall is here with pumpkins in the fields and bright colors everywhere. It’s also time for the annual Fall clean. With winter on the way, it’s time to start preparing now while you can. If you’ve got any exterior wood or composite structures you need to ensure they’re well protected for the colder months ahead. This time is also good for other deep cleaning chores that will get your home fresh and comfortable for the coming months. 

Our Fall cleaning list and tips will help you make the most out of it and prepare for the coming winter.

Perform a pantry audit

Start by going through all your cupboards and shelves in search of stale food that can be thrown out. This is a chance as well to clean the areas where you store food. Begin by taking out all your cans and boxes and cleaning away any dust that has accumulated. When you’re putting everything back check each item and throw out the ones you don’t need or have passed their expiry date.

Test and Clean Your Smoke Detectors

The safety of your home and family depends on these devices so ensure that they’re worked properly. The batteries should be replaced with fresh ones at least once a year, a good to remember when this should be done is by doing it on Daylight Savings Time. The devices themselves though also need to be cleaned as dust can build up and cause them to underperform. Use your vacuum cleansers soft brush attachment to clean in and around the detectors openings.

Flip Your Mattress

It’s good to also make this an annual chore every Daylight Savings Time. Flip your mattress around to prevent body impressions from causing it to slump. Sprinkle the mattress with baking soda to neutralize odors and then vacuum it up.

Shampoo Your Carpet

This should be done at a minimum once a year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner so you’ll want your carpet in top shape for those events. It’s well worth hiring contractors for a professional clean, they’ve got the equipment and expertise to achieve results not possible with store bought chemicals. However, if this is not in your budget you can still get a good job done by renting a carpet cleaning and following some DIY tricks.

Clean and Varnish All Exterior Wood Structures

If you’ve got a wooden patio, deck or seating you need to ensure they’re protected for the colder months ahead. Start with a thorough cleaning of the wood surfaces to remove any dirt. Try to keep any wet leaves off your deck as they can cause discoloration and water damage. What sort of varnish you apply depends on what type of wood you have so make sure you know which one does what. At a minimum, you should apply two coats for best protection.

Seal Your Concrete

If you have any concrete footpaths, patios or driveways you need to protect them from freezing. Without protection moisture, any moisture in any crevices can freeze and cause cracking. Get a good concrete sealant and apply it correctly. This not only protects against cracking but also prevents it from aging more rapidly.   

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How to Prepare Your Home for a Hurricane

Author: Tom Sharpe
Categories: Events

Your home is one of your most important investments so protecting it from natural disasters should be a top priority. The Atlantic storm season is heating up with more storms expected in the wake of Harvey and Irma. If you’re in harm’s way, either now, or in the coming weeks, then you should take all the necessary precautions.

Not all these improvements will require a serious investment but if you have the budget it’s well worth retrofitting your home as much as you can. Other things are just a matter of simple preparation which is within anyone means. Read on to discover what you can do for your home and family.

Stormproof your home

There are numerous steps you can take to storm-proof your home. Some will call for more of an investment but others not so much.

  • Secure your roof – you can reduce roof damage by installing hurricane straps and clips to secure the roof to your house’s frame. This, along with other methods will give you the best protection.
  • Buy or purchase storm windows – you can purchase commercially made storm windows, or make your own for each window and door. Use exterior grade or marine plywood that’s at least five-eighths of an inch thick and cut them to fit each window. Use more heavily reinforced plywood to cover large pieces of glass like sliding doors.
  • Secure porches and carports – if you have a porch or carport attached to your home this could cause severe damage in heavy winds. Make sure the posts supporting your porch are securely attached to the ground.
  • Install head and foot bolts on each door – protect doors against heavy winds by installing bolts at the top and bottom. This is both affordable and easy to do yourself.
  • Caulk around doors and windows – to protect your home from moisture damage apply caulk around the edges of your doors and windows. Make sure you do it right.
  • Test sump pumps and drains – test your sump pumps and drains to ensure that they’re working correctly. Also, keep an extra set of fresh batteries on hand.
  • Clear your lawn – don’t leave anything around your lawn that could act as a flying missile. Secure and store any garden furniture, flower pots and other items

Review your insurance policies

Home insurance policies can vary a lot by region. check that you’re adequately covered and if not take out extra insurance. Standard home insurance does not cover flood insurance so consider taking out some extra coverage. Your insurance agent can help with all this. If there’s an imminent storm on the way it may be too late for this. If however, you’re in a safe zone then now is the time to do this.

Take an inventory of your property

Lastly, take a survey of your home and possessions each year. This way you’ll know exactly what you have and what it’s worth. This will make dealing with the aftermath much easier as you’ll know exactly where you stand.

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3 Things to Avoid When Buying a New Home

Author: Tom Sharpe
Categories: Buying
Avoid these three things when buying a home

While buying a new home can be an exciting time in your life there are a few pitfalls to avoid if you want things to go smoothly. Many home buyers make the mistake of thinking everything will work fine if it’s a new home. Fact is, there’s no such thing as a perfect home.

Despite a builder hitting everything on their checklist, problems will always crop up. Problems can also arise from the buyer failing to ask the right questions. For instance, maybe you’re planning to have a child soon but only find out later that the water tank isn’t large enough to handle an extra person. Problems like these can be avoided if you approach things with the right mindset. In today’s article, we’re covering just that and what you should avoid when buying a new home.

Don’t buy if you expect to move again in the next few years

Everyone loves to feel like a homeowner but too often people let that desire dictate their purchase decisions. You may not like having to write your landlord a check every month while paying down zero equity. If though you expect you’ll be moving again in a few years it makes no sense to buy now.

If you’re unsure how long you’ll be in a location then it’s probably better to rent, equity or no equity. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to sell or rent it in the future and with closing costs, property taxes, and a potentially depreciating asset you may end up paying more than the equity you’ve put down. Check your finances and take a while to decide before ever buying a property.

Not having an inspection done

You wouldn’t buy a car without first looking at the engine, likewise, you shouldn’t buy a house without taking a closer look at it. Things might seem fine to you but a professional inspector can spot hidden costs you can’t. Before deciding on anything, hire an independent housing inspector to do a review of the home and what potential costs could await in the future. They’ll have a better eye then you for spotting potential problems like water damage or termite infestations.

If a price seems too good to be true then that’s a sure sign that there are a few hidden costs involved. Renovations can run into the thousands of dollars and take years to finish so don’t skimp on hiring an independent inspector. They find problems most of the time and only cost, on average, about $300.

Not being open to negotiations

Purchasing a new home will be one of the most important decisions of your life but surprisingly many people are often averse to negotiating. They don’t like being confrontational or disagreeable and feel the price should be the price. However, negotiations don’t have to be hostel and failure to be open to them could mean losing out on a better deal.

When done professionally negotiations most always work in the buyer’s favour. Lenders and builders will expect some negotiating, it’s how the game works. If you walk in knowing what your budget and credit limit is you can position yourself better in negotiations, making the time spent preparing for negotiations worth every penny.

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Foreclosures down for 7th straight month

Author: Tom Sharpe
Categories: Buying,Foreclosure,Selling
Foreclosures slowing down for 7 months

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The number of foreclosure filings issued in April plunged 34% from a year ago — the seventh straight month of declines.Foreclosures slowing down for 7 months

And there were just 69,532 homes repossessed last month, a 32% fall from the peak last September just before the eruption of the “robo-signing” scandal, in which banks were found to be mishandling the foreclosure process.

Will the seeming good news continue? No way, said Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac, which issued the latest monthly figures on Thursday.

Even with the drop, there were nearly 220,000 foreclosure filings during the month, including notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

And there are 3.7 million borrowers at least 90 days late on payments. Normally a large percentage of them would already be in foreclosure. They are not — for two reasons.

One is that ongoing regulatory issues. Banks want to make sure their procedures are all in place.

Second, the banks have already saturated many markets with repossessions they’ve put back on the market.(“Best shrinking places to live”)

“Banks can’t move inventory fast enough, at prices high enough, that they’re excited about foreclosing on any more homes,” said Sharga.

On the other hand, there are a couple of reasons to believe the conditions may be improving. Hiring has picked up, enabling some borrowers to resume paying their bills.

Banks are also doing more to keep borrowers in their homes. In March, banks completed 77,000 mortgage modifications without government assistance, according to Hope Now, a coalition of mortgage servicers, investors and private counselors. That was 26% more than in February.

“What’s important,” said Faith Schwartz, the head of Hope Now, “is that these modifications are much more affordable. They should perform much better.”

Home prices, however, continue to erode. That’s a problem because it pushes more borrowers “underwater,” with home loans worth more than the value of their homes. (“6 cities with falling home prices”)

That removes an important financial cushion should the borrower run into financial problems. And it given incentive to “strategically default,” or walk away from their homes and mortgage payments.

The percentage of underwater owners of single-family homes has now reached 28.4%, according to real estate web site Zillow. That will worsen if home prices fall further.

“Home value declines are currently equal to those we experienced during the darkest days of the housing recession,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “That’s going to put more homeowners in default.”

Home prices have fallen so fast lately that Humphries changed his 2011 outlook, forecasting a 7% to 9% price drop for the year, up from 5% to 7%.

Just as falling home prices result in more foreclosures, rising foreclosures hurt home prices by swamping housing markets with repossessed homes.

Bottom line is that the crisis could last for years, according to Sharga. It could be 2014 before the housing market returns to a more normal condition. To top of page

 

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