For Sale, One slightly used Swamp Castle

Why is it all so...bright? Where is the darkness and gloom?

MY GOD WHERE ARE THE GAMES?

Found another link with more pics:
www.bradcarlton.com/Nav.aspx/Page=http:/...ypanorama.com/197432

He's obviously got his minions updating stuff today.

One big advantage of Swamp Castle is that you could hit downtown in 30 minutes, as I85 traffic is marginal. Great when we both worked for the AJC.

Backyard is 3.27 acres, and the foresty bit in the back goes forever with a stream and a dense vine-encrusted forest that more resembles jungle or swamp. It is at the bottom of a hill, and while water runs around it, Barnes is not kidding about the humidity.

And we purged the death and gloom, and gave it a bright paint job on the inside. The slideshow above does show the really empty game room (it is a bare floored room with a support pole in the middle).

So yeah, nice house, and the Atlanta market does suck. And if you think that is nice, you should see the new house. It will be amazing if we ever get unpacked.

Sweet baal.

That would be at least $900,000 in Vancouver.

Wow.

Shit! I would buy that fucker right now if we could get US residency somehow.

You had a lovely home, Frank. I sent it up the flagpole to the wife, we're actually looking to move south to Florida (she dreams of teaching Pilates on the beach..) and that's getting closer. The money's right, too...it's a hell of a deal.

Now, Frank, there will be a diminutive man who is an ex-Hasbrite there telling Zev and you that I want a copy of BBS. You ~WILL~ hold one for me, I gather. I am putting my Prophecy marker out there to Zev (he has my copy) as collateral.

3+ acres, a pool and close proximity to excellent Bahn Mi. I wonder what the commute would be to Smyrna?

Three days.

moofrank wrote: Found another link with more pics:
www.bradcarlton.com/Nav.aspx/Page=http:/...ypanorama.com/197432

He's obviously got his minions updating stuff today.

One big advantage of Swamp Castle is that you could hit downtown in 30 minutes, as I85 traffic is marginal. Great when we both worked for the AJC.

Backyard is 3.27 acres, and the foresty bit in the back goes forever with a stream and a dense vine-encrusted forest that more resembles jungle or swamp. It is at the bottom of a hill, and while water runs around it, Barnes is not kidding about the humidity.

And we purged the death and gloom, and gave it a bright paint job on the inside. The slideshow above does show the really empty game room (it is a bare floored room with a support pole in the middle).

So yeah, nice house, and the Atlanta market does suck. And if you think that is nice, you should see the new house. It will be amazing if we ever get unpacked.

I like the Kenny G background music that kicks in on that link. very soothing.

Hatchling wrote: I like the Kenny G background music that kicks in on that link. very soothing.

Why, oh why do they do this? Somebody decided to do it in 1997 and they've just done it that way since?

This is a amazing for the price. Good luck!

I think I did ask the realtor if the house gets its own myspace page. Oooh, and a tri-cities website. That would be totally cutting edge.

My wife, intrigued by the American real estate market, wants to know if you buy at that price, there are any debts or mortgages associated with the house, that causes it to be so cheap.

This is just because we keep hearing about $10,000 houses in the US, but they are only that cheap because if you buy the house you have to acquire the $500,000 debt that goes with it. Don't know if that is just urban rumor or fact.

Sagrilarus wrote: That would be $375,000 where I live. How big is the lot?

Hang on -- 30 minute commute to downtown Atlanta. Make that $425,000.

S.

The house could fall in on itself and the lot alone would be $600k in this bit of VA.

This is pretty much exactly the sort of place the wife and I are looking for in either southern PA or NC (though we'd prefer a bit more unimproved land thanks to little care for "lawn" or anything that goes with the concept of such). If exurban/rural VA was approaching even the 1980s in terms of telecom infrastructure, we'd look around Virginia. We both need to have some sort of broadband to telecommute like we do now, and, unfortunately, once you get about 80 miles south of here, they're barely beyond party lines for their friggin' telephones. NC has done a better job of wiring up quasi-rural spaces thanks to having to connect the Research Triangle and supporting 'burbs. (Oh, and, Charlotte aside, it's generally a hell of a lot cheaper.)

Ancient_of_MuMu wrote: My wife, intrigued by the American real estate market, wants to know if you buy at that price, there are any debts or mortgages associated with the house, that causes it to be so cheap.

This is just because we keep hearing about $10,000 houses in the US, but they are only that cheap because if you buy the house you have to acquire the $500,000 debt that goes with it. Don't know if that is just urban rumor or fact.

There are $10k houses in the US. Generally those are bank foreclosures where the house is so trashed they are selling for the lot. You can also buy a house off of the courthouse steps. Those you can get for $1, but they come with whatever liens are attached. Generally, no one takes them and the bank reclaims the house at that point.

Then the bank either finds a realtor to fix up and sell the house, or just sell the house, or offers it on their own internal auction site. The best deals are on the auction sites, but there are also some total rat traps.

I did some research on one house we were seriously considering. It was a $550,000 house. Gorgeous contemporary on a lake. Buyer was trying to short sale the house, but the bank ended up foreclosing. Eventually, they had a realtor offer it up for $298000. We figured the house needed $10000-$30000 of work before the foreclosure. And the neighborhood was headed downhill fast, and the commute had some ugli bits around it.

But an AWESOME house.
www.trulia.com/homes/Georgia/Duluth/sold...-Cir-Duluth-GA-30096

That house looks awesome at first, but whoever built it had no idea about the right materials to use in a modern design. Plank siding? Really? The interior could be awesome, but they totally went in the wrong direction with some of it.

Anyway, we bought a short sale...the lady had a hard time selling it because the bank wouldn't approve it, and she was close to foreclosure. It was actually the third time she had an actionable offer. Bank finally approved our offer Monday, we closed today.

The thing about Atlanta is that if you want to buy a $100k house in the 285 perimeter, you can. Just be prepared to have a hobo sleeping on your porch and used syringes in your yard every morning. Both are anecdotal truths. I know all of these people that have bought houses in East Atlanta, kind of a hipster burg that's right on the border of hardcore ghetto areas, thinking they got a deal on. $150k house. Then they have some dudes try to break into their house at 3am or they get robbed at gunpoint in the Kroger parking lot and move ASAP.

Go 45 minutes into the suburbs and $100k buys more and in better areas. But you're looking at 90 minute commutes both ways. And there's nothing but chain stores, fast food, and white people as far as the eye can see. Yuck.

When we were looking for our first house in 2007, I was shocked at how fucking awful the areas were with sub-$200k houses. We got lucky and bought a mid century modern house that needed about $20k in upgrades in a great neighborhood near Emory university. We sold it for $216k, didn't make a dollar.

But our new place, we got lucky and caught this short sale...it's in a neighborhood with brand new million dollar homes and a great school district, which is suddenly very important. It's also in the city, which we wanted. Of course, I don't commute...

House like that around these parts would hit a million easy depending on specific town/neighborhood, even just for the land. Gold Coast Connecticut ain't fucking around!

We got lucky on a short sale and also don't mind living right up in the city. But our house in Greenwich or Darien, 5 times the price.

Moving south seems cool until you realize that you're now living in the south.