Homeowners who purchase high quality homes in subdivisions like The Registry in Fort Mitchell, are enjoying spacious living at affordable prices.  The homes are brick, energy efficient, built on large lots, and include double side entrance garages. The neighborhood is well maintained and aesthetically appealing with covenants and restrictions for the homeowners protection.  Homes in The Registry are built by Hugh Morton of Peachtree Homes, Inc.

This same builder is now building homes in Harris County, Georgia, just north and east of Columbus.   An old “new” Hot Spot, Harris County has long been a desired area for Columbus residents who wanted to move out of the city.  Now the newly relocated military families are coming to that same conclusion.   Still less than a 30 minute drive, residents can zoom down I-185 from Harris County straight to the main gates of Fort Benning.

With building  codes allowing new development only on two acre or more lots, this area is perfect for country living subdivisions.   For families with school age children, the Harris County school system has a high ranking and new school facilities.  The opportunities for outdoor activities in Harris County are numerous with its proximity to Pine Mountain, Georgia, and its hiking trails, Callaway Gardens with all its events, and the many lakes, sports arenas and equestrian facilities in the area.

From the friendly tellers at the local Wells Fargo bank, to the waitress at the Whistling Pig Barbeque, you’re going to love this laid back welcoming community.   Just walk into any one of the many churches in Harris County and you will be greeted with a friendly handshake and  welcomed to the congregation.  Rev. Tommy Henschel at Cornerstone Baptist Church on Hwy 315 in Ellerslie,  Harris County, Georgia, makes a point to personally welcome and shake the hand of every visitor each Sunday morning during worship services.  And his opening prayer always includes a prayer for our military, especially those deployed and in harm’s way.

Harris County subdivisions that are currently being developed with new home construction include Timberland, South Haven, Madison Woods and Ellerslie Place.   Choose your lot and your house plan and be in your new Harris County home by Christmas!  Contact Bob McLain, New Home Specialist, for more information on these properties.   334-524-8200 cell or 706-565-7479 home

The Best form of FREE Advertising!

Step One: Invite an honest friend or relative to meet you at the street in front of your home. Have a pen and notepad ready for each of you. Draw a line down the middle of the first page and at the top lefthand side, write “Negatives” and on the righthand side write “Positives”. Now start walking toward your front door and write down what you see in the appropriate column. For Example: Negative column: bushes need trimming, front door needs paint, take down that tacky wreath, remove the twinkle lights from last Christmas. Positive column: Clean sidewalk to entry, freshly painted mailbox, well kept lawn, inviting appearance from street, I want to see inside.

Step Two: Open the front door and step in. Now flip to the second sheet of paper in your notepad and write down your immediate reaction to the home. Was it a positive or a negative? For example: Negative WOW: bad smell, too dark and gloomy, too much clutter, could they hang any more things on the walls? I’ve seen enough, let’s get outta here. Positive WOW: nice smell, light and open feeling, roomy, spacious, not too many nail holes, my furniture could fit in here, can’t wait to see the other rooms.

Step Three: Eliminate the Negatives. Walk thru the entire house writing down the positives and negatives. Then compare your negative list with your friend/relative’s list. Discuss ways you could begin to eliminate the negatives immediately. For example: Bad smell? Locate the source and get it corrected. Animals? Old carpets? Smoking in the home? Another example: Too dark and gloomy? Paint a brighter color, remove or change window treatments, add a brighter light fixture.

Step Four: Accent the Positives! This is the fun part! Compare your positive lists now and think about ways you can make these into even greater WOW factors! For example: Spacious and roomy? remove some unnecessary furniture to make the rooms look even more spacious. Light and open? remove or open draperies and blinds to let in more sunlight. Lots of windows? make sure they are super clean and sparkling. Lots of cabinets and counter space in kitchen? remove all small appliances and knick knacks from counters to show off the space even more. Just remember that sometimes less is more when showing off your home! Buyers need to be able to imagine their stuff in your house and not be overwhelmed by all your stuff.

Step Five: List your home with an experienced and professional team of Realtors, Gail Dunn McLain and Bob McLain, highly recommended by our past clients!  Enjoy showing off your “model home” to prospective buyers! Be prepared to hear a lot of WOWs! Good luck and happy selling!

Below is a simplified Step by Step explanation of the homebuying process for those who have never been down this path before:

Step 1) Call Bob or Gail McLain, 334-524-8200 or 706-888-4063 and tell us you are ready to get started with the process of buying a home.

Step 2) Contact a lender (we can recommend a few that have treated our clients great and provided fast and professional service) to get pre-approved.  This will let you know how much a lender is willing to lend you based on your income and debts and credit history & score.

Step 3) Once you know how much you can borrow, then simply add the amount you have available for a down payment to determine the maximum house price you can afford.   This will help you narrow your search.  Just think of it this way, when you are car shopping, you don’t want to look at Jaguars when you can only afford a Chevy….. or HUMMERs when you can only afford a Ford Truck.   The same is true of homes.    We will only show you the homes in your price range so we don’t waste your time or get you excited about a home you can’t afford.  On the other hand, we will do our best to help you find a home that meets or exceeds your expectations and stays within your budget!

Step 4) Have FUN!   Make a list of what you want in your new home…number of bedrooms?, baths?, style?, brand new home?  which rooms are most important?, what about the yards?, and location?….close to shopping?, schools?, Ft. Benning?, Columbus?, what about special needs?   Once you have made your wish list, now go back and prioritize the items…what is most important, least important?   Now let this be your guide when searching thru the homes listed for sale in your price range.   Bob & Gail can send you photos and details of homes that meet your criteria.    After looking at the homes online, try to narrow your search to 5 to 8 homes that most interest you and let Bob & Gail know when you will be available to preview these homes in person.

Step 5) Meet with Bob & Gail to preview homes in person and narrow your search by comparing each home to the next one and eliminating those that don’t appeal to you.   Soon you will have 2 or 3 top choices.   From these you can choose which one is your first choice and the one that you would like to make an offer to purchase.

Step 6) Bob and Gail will assist you in writing the offer to purchase and presenting it to the seller’s agent along with your earnest money (usually $500 to $1,000).   Once the offer has been accepted and a closing date has been established in the contract, then you will need to proceed with your loan application with the lender who pre-approved you.

Step 7) Once your loan has been approved and the home has been appraised and any repairs/inspections have taken place, the closing attorney will prepare all documents and set the date/time of the closing.   This is usually within 30 to 45 days from the date of the contract. 

Step 8 ) Attend the closing, sign all the necessary documents, pay all the monies due at closing, and become the new owner of a home!

Step 8) Move in and celebrate!

This is a very simple explanation in a nutshell, but just know that we will walk you thru it step by step and be there for guidance and advice along the way.   Our goal is to have more than satisfied happy customers, we want to have RAVING FANS!!   In order to do that, we have to WOW you with our service and commitment to your goals!   Please give us the chance!

Now go get a TALL DRINK OF WATER and STAY COOL!!

Bob & Gail McLain, Realtors

Solid Source Premier Realty

Bob and I had a very busy day today showing homes in the Fort Mitchell, Alabama, area near the back gate to Fort Benning, Georgia, and he is meeting with the couple now to write an offer on a beautiful new home we found for them.  Four bedrooms, 3 baths, huge backyard, woodburning fireplace, and a gorgeous kitchen with black and tan granite countertops with an island workstation in the center.  They are so excited and so are we!   We helped them get in touch with a local lender and they are pre-approved already for their home loan with payments less than what they have been paying in rent!   This is what makes our job fun! 

Anyhow, I say all of this to let you know why Bob is not speaking on this post tonight.   So I am also going to give you some other good ideas of where to get some Good Food…

If you like catfish, you’ve got to go to Ezell’s Catfish Cabin.

Mexican?  Head to The Cantina on Broadway in UpTown

Casual American with a wide variety of choices?  Go to the Cannon Brew Pub on Broadway in UpTown  (gotta try their Sun Spots – sweet potato chips with raspberry sauce!  yummy!)

Fancy lunch on the River?  Head to the River Mill Cafe…. great view of the river if you request a window seat and a real gourmet chef here!  Gotta try the Warm Chocolate Cake dessert!  Order it when you order your entree’…it takes 20 minutes to prepare.

Best Chicken Salad Sandwich in town?  The Yogurt Shoppe in St. Francis Shopping Center… lots of other great food including daily specials of homecooked veggies and meats.   Gotta try their banana pudding!

Well now that I have made myself totally starving, I’m going to text Bob and see if he can meet me at one of these places for dinner!    Catch you later!   Enjoy your Holiday weekend!

B: Oh yeah, I can hardly wait!  With all the soldiers from Ft. Knox, Kentucky, heading to Ft. Benning, Georgia, I expect you and I will be very busy helping them find and get settled into their new homes!

G: So much fun!  And hopefully most of them will have some time to get to know the area before reporting for duty.  There are so many things to do and see in and around Columbus and Fort Benning, like Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, for instance.  In fact, I know that Memorial Day weekend is your favorite time to go there because of the Masters Ski Tournament, right?

B: You bet!  The action on Robin Lake is exciting when the Ski Tournament is there.   I love watching those ski jumps!   And the funnel cakes get my attention, too! 

G: There you go, always thinking about your stomach!   So before we sign off, do you have any words of wisdom for our customers who might be looking to buy a home this summer?

B: Absolutely!   Don’t delay!  It is a buyer’s market now.  Plenty of homes to choose from, the prices are right and interest rates are still at all-time lows.  One of our local mortgage lenders can get you pre-approved quickly and we can help you narrow your search down to the perfect home for you and your family!    How does that sound?

G: Great to me!   I have a few suggestions for our customers who might be wanting to sell their homes this summer.  

#1.  Clean out, throw away, organize, donate, until the clutter is all gone.

#2. Go outside to the curb.  Turn around and look at your home.  Would the outside make you want to get out of your car and come inside for a look if you were househunting?  If not, do what it takes to increase your curb appeal.   Trim old shrubbery, plant new bushes, mow the lawn, wash the windows, paint the trim, replace broken shutters, give the front door a new coat of paint, polish the door knob, fix the mailbox, take down the Christmas lights, remove the ceramic dwarfs from the walkway.  Whatever it takes to get the customer out of their car!

#3. Walk thru your front door and pretend you are a visitor to this home.  Does it smell stinky?  Is it dark and drab?  Does it give you a sense of spaciousness?  Is there too much furniture to actually see the rooms?  Is it welcoming?  What about the garage?  And the attic?   Fix whatever jumps out at your senses negatively.    Just cleaning out one junk drawer or medicine cabinet each night will get you one step closer to a sale!

#4. Ask a friend or relative to walk thru your home as if they were a customer and write a “to do” list for you to include things that need to be put away, taken down, repainted, repaired, cleaned, decluttered, straightened up, etc.    And promise your friend or relative that you won’t be offended by the list….and mean it.  You want honesty here!

#5.  Call Bob & Gail McLain to ask for a competitive market analysis and to schedule an appointment to discuss pricing options and a marketing plan for your house.

Any closing comments, Bob?

B: Want some milk and a piece of my famous chocolate cranberry peanut candy?  If so, get off the computer and let’s head to the kitchen.

G: I’m right behind you!

B:  Yep, and how exciting it is!  Both for the customer and for me!  With the help of You Tube videos and Skype teleconferencing, the customer gets to see and do everything as if they were actually here on a househunting trip.   If they want to build a new home, my videos on You Tube help them decide on a neighborhood, then they can view houseplans and make changes they need or want.  Once we get under contract, they are an integral part of the homebuilding process, choosing everything from bricks to appliances, flooring to wall colors…and all online!   And the really cool thing is that I get to film the construction progress and send it to them on a regular basis…so they can literally see their home come up out of the ground!

G:  And then the most fun comes when they actually arrive here and get to see their masterpiece in person for the first time.  I know that gives you as much a thrill as it does the customer, right?

B: You’ve got it!  That’s why I love this business.  It feels so good to make folks happy!    Speaking of making folks happy, what’s for dinner?  You know I’m always starving!

Gail:  As many of you may already know, I will be retiring from my banking career and working with Bob in his real estate practice at the end of May.   This will not only give our customers double assistance and two-for-the-price-of-one, but it will also give me and Bob more time together…which we hope is going to be a good thing!  ha ha

Bob:  So glad you found us on this new feature to my website!  We plan to give you all kinds of tips, hints and current news about buying or selling your home right here!

Columbus, Georgia, Phenix City, Alabama and Ft. Mitchell, Alabama, are experiencing continued growth due to the expansion of Fort Benning and its transition to the Maneuver Center of Excellence.   This is great news for homeowners and those wishing to purchase homes in our area!  

Check out my website for all the current listings of homes for sale!   As a Certified New Home Specialist, I can also help you design and build a customized new home to meet your needs!

And, as a Military Relocation Specialist, I can help you from the time you get your orders until you are settled into your new home.   Need temporary housing?  A place for your pets?  Just give me a call or an email to get the ball rolling.  I’m here for you!   

And, I’m thrilled that Gail will be joining my Team soon so we can both Welcome you to Georgia!