Cobb Real Estate Blog

For those of you road warriors out there, this news will surely be enjoyed. At some point in time, next year, Kennesaw will be going WiFi.

The initial access points will be City Hall, the train depot, the community center, the 33-acre Adams Park and the soon-to-open Swift-Cantrell Park.

The only scary issue I had with this whole thing is the fact that the article states that “The service will be free initially.” I don’t want free initially, I want free forever. I want to drive around aimlessly with my laptop and always have an excellent signal, and I want it free. I want to surf on my Blackberry using WiFi, and I want it free. I don’t want it free “initially”, I want it free… just free.

But in all seriousness, this is great news for Kennesaw. Let’s see if more Cobb County cities can follow suit.

Technorati Tags: WiFi, Kennesaw, Cobb County

As you can see, there has been a face lift to our blog here. I wanted to change the look and the feel of the Cobb Real Estate Blog, and I think things went really well. I’m still tweaking and adding small things here and there. I also have a bigger surprise that I plan to unveil very soon. This surprise, once it’s finished, will change the functionality of the blog and will surely be useful to many of you who frequently get their Cobb County real estate information here.

If you have any questions about the changes made here today, or if you have any ideas or feedback, I would love to hear them. I also would like to thank James, who was the brains behind this re-design. He took my vague ideas and desires, and turned them into what you see now.

Technorati Tags: Cobb Real Estate Blog, Cobb County real estate

A 24 hour, 7 days a week hotline has been announced to assist Georgia homeowners avoid foreclosure. The program, called HOPE, will also offer face to face counseling to Georgians who may be at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. This program announcement comes on the heels of a report that places Atlanta’s 2006 foreclosure total at 63,737 homes, 4.4% of the city’s households, which is 2nd highest in the country among major metro areas.

The hotline phone number is 1-888-995-HOPE (4673)

A Cobb County School Board vote that resulted in a 3-3 tie, failed to meet the needed majority to create a tax allocation district, which means that a run down 34 acre parcel of land on Kennesaw Due West Road will not be redeveloped. The proposed site called for 250,000 square feet of shopping and a major national chain grocery store.

The site has been down for a little over 24 hours. But we’re, finally back up now. I apologize to everyone and hopefully, we’ll never have to go through that again. Without boring everyone to tears, a server crashed when I was upgrading the software this blog runs on. Thankfully, I backed up my database prior to starting the upgrade. I almost thought I had lost everything because the first backup resoration didn’t work.

But anyway, enough said about that. Let’s get back to Cobb County Real Estate

GTRA officials announced that they are planning a $93 million bus transit station over I-75, just south of the perimeter, next to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. The station will sit 25 feet above the interstate, it will span two football fields in length and have room for 18 bus bays, 9 on each side of the interstate.

This will be the southernmost station connecting the Cumberland Mall / Galleria area with the Town Center Mall in Kennesaw. Two more stations will be built along side I-75 and two other will be elevated to sit above I-75, similar to the Cumberland Mall Transit Station.

The structure will be approximately 75,000 square feet and will be connected to a parking garage on the westside of the highway by a pedestrian bridge. Also, near the parking garage, negotiations are running currently for a developer to purchase the 5 acre tract of land and build a 15 story office building an 18 story hotel / condominium tower, and ground level restaurants and shops underneath one or both structures.

The terminals would service this rail like service that uses buses, instead of train cars, that will travel via HOV lanes. Construction could begin as early as 2009 as officials are still searching for $300 million in funding to match the $300 million already promised by the state of Georgia to complete the whole stretch from Kennesaw to Vinings. Also, in the planning stages is another bus transit line to connect this one to some other point across the top end of the perimeter. Whether that point is Ga 400 or I-85 near spaghetti junction is unknown at this time.

I’m a big fan of the Capital One, “What’s in your wallet?” ad campaign. Even if you aren’t, you have to admit that’s it’s done wonders for their branding efforts. To pay homage to this creative campaign, or maybe I am just stealing like an indentity thief (pun intended), I am going to list all the real estate blogs who have rss feeds in my news reader.

I’m going to throw them at you in alphabetical order and I will also identify one of my favorite posts from the last month or so. If you feel so inclined, comment here with a few feeds that I am missing from my required reading. Or better yet, comment or post your own “What’s in your RSS reader?” post and link it back here. No need to alphabetize or link to a fav post. Feel free to place them in any order you want or find your own creative way to show link love, or dont… sometimes just a list is better anyway.

• 360 Digest - Adventures in Relocation
• Bankrate Mortgage Blog - New words enliven the real estate world
• BloodHoundBlog - Online searches fun but offer too few details
• Boulder Colorado Real Estate Research Blog - Boulder Low Ball Opportunities
• Counter Intelligence: The Real Estate Cafe Weblog - Will real estate “consultants” replace real estate agents?
• Luxury Clues - High End New Home Owners Demand Outdoor Living Retreat!
• Lenderama - Official Mortgage Industry Blog - Core Logic Sept Fraud Facts
• North Fulton County Real Estate Blog - For the love of maps
• Northern Virginia Real Estate Guide - I wonder…or, let me tell you what I really think…
• Pittsburgh Homes Daily - 500 real estate blogs to watch
• Planetizen - Suburbs Without The Sprawl
• PressReal - Is there a right time to make a low-ball offer?
• Property Grunt - The Cost of Construction
• Real Central VA - What is the future of the MLS?
• Rain City Guide - Exotic Loan Programs and Potential Foreclosures
• Sellsius Real Estate Blog - 2010: A Real Estate Odessy
• The Boston Real Estate Blog - Get your new home, at the price you want
• The Real Estate Tomato - Being Business Friendly In Business Blogging
• Twin Cities Real Estate Blog - Closing Costs and Junk Fees - Another View
• Urban Trekker Blog - Commuting vs. Housing Cost
• YoChicago Today - Is new construction cooling or just spreading?

As I was canvassing my morning reading today, I came across a bit of exciting news for the Cobb Real Estate Blog. This blog has been tagged as one of the top 500 real estate blogs to watch, worldwide. With over 55.9 million blogs online and more than 75,000 new blogs being created every day, this is a big honor.

I’ve been blogging about Cobb County Real Estate for a little over a year now. Every time I hear someone tell me they saw my blog or when they call and ask about a neighborhood I mentioned, it makes me feel good. I appreciate everyone who reads, comments and recommends the Cobb Real Estate Blog. Thanks!!!

The Marietta City Council recently approved the master plan for Henry Memorial Park, a multi purpose park surrounded by Henry Drive, Reynolds Street and Wright Street. The plan includes play areas and swings, handicap access, half court basketball, a discovery garden, a multi purpose field, a walking trail, landscaping, a plaza with public art and a shelter.

The park could open as early as fall of 2007.

If you would like to see a larger picture of the park and its proposed layout you can click here.

Here is a link to a few questions and answers about the topic of Vinings becoming a new city.