Last weekend both of my parents' families held their annual reunions. The Dixons got together in their home town of Waycross on Saturday. To be more precise, their home town is Blackshear, but most of them now live in Waycross. About 80 Dixons, in-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins showed up.
The next day, Sunday, the Murray-Etheredge reunion was held at the Concord United Methodist Church in Schley County. Again, for the sake of accuracy, it should be said that my mother was a Lawhorn. But her particular Lawhorn family is now history except for her youngest sister, the last survivor, who is 88 and lives in Gwinnett County.
My mother's mother was an Etheredge (Cora) who married a Lawhorn (Fred D.). Both are buried with an infant child at the cemetery at Concord. Through my mother, I am descended from the Etheredges, Murrays and Lightners who settled in the Concord area in the mid-1800s. And so it is that I attend the Murray-Etheredge reunion every year on the third Sunday.
It's always good to see kinfolks. In the back of your mind you know you could be seeing some of them for the last time, life expectancies being what they are. My dad was one of 13 children of whom six remain. They posed for a picture Saturday. Then their children all stood together and smiled for the cameras, and then the children's children.
At this stage of my life, I know the names of the older generation, but few of the younger ones. As the elders go on to their reward in eternity, the families continue to grow but I know fewer and fewer names. In due time, I, too, will drop off the rolls. Truth forces itself upon us. We deal with it.
After our sumptuous meal at Concord Sunday afternoon, a bunch of us rode over to the Philippi Primitive Baptist Church and cemetery. The old church building still stands, but for how much longer? My cousins Margaret McMickle Gooding, Norman Manning and I were old enough to remember attending services and dinner on the grounds at Philippi.
Inside the church, the men sat on one side and the women on the other with an aisle between them. The congregation practiced foot washing. I recall seeing that symbolic act performed as members seated on the front pew would place their feet in a metal wash basin to be washed by other members.
If you have memories of people and events in Ellaville and Schley County, you would enjoy visiting the Yahoo group "Ellaville Memories." It is there for anyone with Ellaville or Schley County roots to post their memories and old photos. The website is moderated by former Ellaville resident Ernie Jones. It is entertaining and informative, and it serves as well as a repository of vignettes and pictures of people and the things they did years ago.
Another valuable source of Ellaville and Schley County history is the Schley GenWeb site maintained by Harris Hill, a Florida resident with strong Schley County ties. Harris is indefatigable. He has transcribed many articles from old newspapers that served the area over the years including The Ellaville Sun. If history interests you, visit (and contribute to, if possible) these informative websites. We must not bury our history.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
MLS mysteries. Like, what is it?
MLS mysteries:
Just in case you have not had any experience with the MLS -- Multiple Listing Service -- let me give you a brief introduction.
A Multiple Listing Service is a voluntary, cooperative group that real estate brokers and agents join to make it easier for buyers, sellers and REALTORS to get from point A to point B in the real estate buying and selling process.
For example, the Americus Board of Realtors has its own MLS, with its own website, where sellers can advertise their properties for sale and buyers can "shop" for properties to buy. REALTOR members of the MLS make their listings available to each other for showing and selling.
As a buyer, you can use one agent to look at any listed property in the MLS rather than skip around from agent to agent in different companies. Your agent can show you all the other agents' listings, and handle your offer if you make one.
When your purchase is closed and you become the new owner of a piece of real estate, the company that listed the property is paid a commission. If you worked with a different company to buy the property, the two companies will split the commission, usually 50-50.
Throughout the process you have been able to look at properties and purchase one while working with one agent. This enabled the agent to get to know your likes and dislikes about houses or land, and be better able to help you find what you wanted.
The MLS makes it possible for one agent to take care of you from start to finish. It gets the property sold by the seller, bought by the buyer, and earns a commission for the listing broker, the selling broker, and the agent or agents who worked with the buyer and the seller.
When you go online to look for a home or land to buy, hopefully you and the agent who shows properties to you will develop a rapport and be confortable working together. When that happens, stick with your agent. Your loyalty will motivate your agent to help you reach your objective. Everybody wins.
Do you have a question about buying or selling a house or land? For example, what is earnest money? What happens to your earnest money? Who gets it? How about commissions? How do you decide how much commission to pay? Who pays the commission? Buyer, seller, or both? It's something to think about. Email me at: michael@michaeldixonrealty.com or call me at 229-924-3089.
P.S. -- Don't listen to the doom and gloom commentators on TV about us being in a recession, and how terrible everything is. They are politically motivated, and are trying to effect the outcome of the November presidential election. The growth of our economy has slowed, but it does not meet the standard definition of a recession.
This is a great time to buy real estate because supply exceeds demand and most prices are negotiable. The value of your property should appreciate as the inventory of unsold properties declines. Think long term. As an investment, real estate should be a top priority.
Just in case you have not had any experience with the MLS -- Multiple Listing Service -- let me give you a brief introduction.
A Multiple Listing Service is a voluntary, cooperative group that real estate brokers and agents join to make it easier for buyers, sellers and REALTORS to get from point A to point B in the real estate buying and selling process.
For example, the Americus Board of Realtors has its own MLS, with its own website, where sellers can advertise their properties for sale and buyers can "shop" for properties to buy. REALTOR members of the MLS make their listings available to each other for showing and selling.
As a buyer, you can use one agent to look at any listed property in the MLS rather than skip around from agent to agent in different companies. Your agent can show you all the other agents' listings, and handle your offer if you make one.
When your purchase is closed and you become the new owner of a piece of real estate, the company that listed the property is paid a commission. If you worked with a different company to buy the property, the two companies will split the commission, usually 50-50.
Throughout the process you have been able to look at properties and purchase one while working with one agent. This enabled the agent to get to know your likes and dislikes about houses or land, and be better able to help you find what you wanted.
The MLS makes it possible for one agent to take care of you from start to finish. It gets the property sold by the seller, bought by the buyer, and earns a commission for the listing broker, the selling broker, and the agent or agents who worked with the buyer and the seller.
When you go online to look for a home or land to buy, hopefully you and the agent who shows properties to you will develop a rapport and be confortable working together. When that happens, stick with your agent. Your loyalty will motivate your agent to help you reach your objective. Everybody wins.
Do you have a question about buying or selling a house or land? For example, what is earnest money? What happens to your earnest money? Who gets it? How about commissions? How do you decide how much commission to pay? Who pays the commission? Buyer, seller, or both? It's something to think about. Email me at: michael@michaeldixonrealty.com or call me at 229-924-3089.
P.S. -- Don't listen to the doom and gloom commentators on TV about us being in a recession, and how terrible everything is. They are politically motivated, and are trying to effect the outcome of the November presidential election. The growth of our economy has slowed, but it does not meet the standard definition of a recession.
This is a great time to buy real estate because supply exceeds demand and most prices are negotiable. The value of your property should appreciate as the inventory of unsold properties declines. Think long term. As an investment, real estate should be a top priority.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The two sides of being pre-qualified
Being "pre-qualified" is usually a reference to having a preliminary clearance to obtain a mortgage loan. Sometimes it's called "pre-approval," but by whatever name, it precedes final approval. There are hoops to jump through in the loan application process, beginning with a chat with your friendly loan person. That always should be your first step when you are thinking about buying real estate.
I tell my customers: Don't look at homes or land for sale until you have at least been pre-qualified by a lender. Ask the lender for a written statement. It will be conditioned on your meeting certain requirements, but it will give a seller some assurance that you have the ability to buy his or her property.
Pre-qualification tells you your price range. Why waste time looking at properties you can't afford? If you have been pre-qualified for a loan of $100,000, there's no reason to look at houses priced at $200,000.
There's another kind of pre-qualification that's very important as well: motivation. On your list of priorities, how high is buying a house? If you are both financially and mentally ready to buy a house now, then you are pre-qualified. If one element is lacking, you are not ready to buy.
Money and motivation: Make sure you have both.
When your real estate agent can see that you are ready, he or she will go all out to help you reach your goal of home ownership. After all, your agent is also motivated. There's a commission check waiting at the end of the process, but to get there may require a large investment of time, energy and expertise by the agent.
We REALTORS get paid, not so much for what we do, but for what we know how to do. A big part of what we do in many cases is "put out fires." We save deals that might otherwise go down the tubes. Again, we are motivated by the financial reward that awaits us. If our buyer and seller are equally motivated, we all will be rewarded at the closing table.
If you are a first-time buyer, and want to get started on the right foot to buy a home of your own, please call me. Let's chat. I have no "sales pitch," and there are no "dumb questions." I'll try to put myself in your place, and give you my best advice. Till then, best wishes.
Calling all Schley County
I tell my customers: Don't look at homes or land for sale until you have at least been pre-qualified by a lender. Ask the lender for a written statement. It will be conditioned on your meeting certain requirements, but it will give a seller some assurance that you have the ability to buy his or her property.
Pre-qualification tells you your price range. Why waste time looking at properties you can't afford? If you have been pre-qualified for a loan of $100,000, there's no reason to look at houses priced at $200,000.
There's another kind of pre-qualification that's very important as well: motivation. On your list of priorities, how high is buying a house? If you are both financially and mentally ready to buy a house now, then you are pre-qualified. If one element is lacking, you are not ready to buy.
Money and motivation: Make sure you have both.
When your real estate agent can see that you are ready, he or she will go all out to help you reach your goal of home ownership. After all, your agent is also motivated. There's a commission check waiting at the end of the process, but to get there may require a large investment of time, energy and expertise by the agent.
We REALTORS get paid, not so much for what we do, but for what we know how to do. A big part of what we do in many cases is "put out fires." We save deals that might otherwise go down the tubes. Again, we are motivated by the financial reward that awaits us. If our buyer and seller are equally motivated, we all will be rewarded at the closing table.
If you are a first-time buyer, and want to get started on the right foot to buy a home of your own, please call me. Let's chat. I have no "sales pitch," and there are no "dumb questions." I'll try to put myself in your place, and give you my best advice. Till then, best wishes.
Calling all Schley County
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