Don Gale Homes

It's amazing how the media creates panic in an effort to sensationalize everything that is bad in the world.  If you were to read about Atlanta in any exterior source, it sounds like everyone is drinking bottled water and trying to survive.  The real story is somewhat less spectacular.  Our lake resources have been drained by a poorly managed Army Corps Plan.  Water has been let out indiscrimately because of poor planning, faulty controls, etc.  We are only two years from the wettest year Atlanta has ever seen.  What the result may be is having to update our water facilities, deepen our water intakes, and use a better forward reaching water supply program.

Many of the municipalities watershed lakes are at or near full pool, and those that prepared will suffer no shortages.  Hopefully, the winter rains will return us to normal.

In the meantime, don't let the media scare you from your Atlanta decisions.  We will continue to grow and the city will still be a great place to live and work.  Reality is not as exciting as shocking news stories, but that is good thing.

Atlanta once again named in the Top Ten Real Estate Markets in the United States.  Now is the time to buy. 

Prices are down for the first time in over 15 years.

New Homes are evolving daily, new materials, new kitchens, new styles, Hardwoods, Granite, etc.

Interest Rates are down before the usual Spring Run-Up!

Gwinnett County, Grayson, GA, Value, Schools, Future!!!

Come and Take a Look.

How many homes have you looked at? How many builders have you considered?  Look at all the details.  Many times you look at builders because of location of neighborhood to churches, schools, jobs, etc. 

Do you buy a home because of the size of the builder? Is bigger better?  How many times do you purchase an item because of it's marketing?  When you buy something and the box looks better than what came in it, how do you feel?

Don't buy the lifestyle.  Don't buy the dream.  Buy the home you want to live in, it is a major purchase.  You will keep it for years. 

Is your builder accessible?  You can't buy fried chicken from the colonel, but could you find the builder if you needed to?  At Don Gale Homes, every buyer gets the cell phone number of both the individual bulder in a subdivision and of Don Gale.  We are familiar with your home and if you have an emergency, you can find someone to help.

Ever play the shell game with car dealers?  We will "give" you the best deal, 10% above invoice.  After awhile, they act like they will sell you a car at a loss.  You hear about 10% below dealer invoice, sales at invoice, etc.  As an educated buyer, you need to ask yourself, "Who prints the invoice?"

It's just like all retail transactions. One toy store at xmas raised prices 4 times before the big sales and then offered 10,20, 30 even 50 percent off.  As the store raised pricing, they advertised the sales to generat traffic.  It became very evident that the store was going to get the required price, even though the customer thought they were getting a great deal.

Educated buyers are the best.  They know what they are looking at. If you have owned several homes, you have feelings about what is and is not acceptable quality of differing items.  Allways look all the way through the transaction and consider the bottom line, including the fact that if you buy a new home based upon the "deal", so is everyone else in that neighborhood.  What kind of neighborhood are you creating?  What will you have when you go to sell??

Many people ever question the quality of what they are buying.  Instead, we shop nothing but price.  Cars from third world companies, Appliances from China, Electronics from Bangladesh, where will it stop?  Many times now, we can get more by buying products from parts of the world where labor is cheap and you get a lot for your money.

What about housing.  Chase the cheapest, biggest, most bedrooms, baths, square feet, etc.  All are ploys set up to make you believe you are getting "the deal".  A home is not a disposable item and you had better consider what the neighborhood will look like in 3 years.  You are getting a 30 year mortgage.  I like $39 cellphones that they will give to you just to collect the pricing on service.  When it fails, you can throw it away.  If you buy one of these "deals" , you may end up just like the purchaser of one of those appliances. It's cheap, allways manufacturered by the cheapest possible bidder, at minimum standards. 

Don't forget, the neighborhood will determine the value on your home down the road.  Consider the long term value, especially when homes built at the lowest pricing may require constant extensive maintenance, that if not kept up will result in deterioration that lowers the value. Think Long Term in Real Estate.

Just who is moving into Atlanta at such a high rate.  In our neighborhoods, it is mostly upwardly mobile young couples from New York, New Jersey, Chicago and others.  Due to the affordability of our marketplace and the strong business environment in Atlanta, many families from these locations are coming to Atlanta. 

Lifestyle, International Airport availability and a stable economic environment are all responsible for Atlanta's continued Growth.

A rare opportunity exists today for a small window of time.  Due to inventory levels, pricing is low, and what's really unusual is that at the same time interest rates are also down.    Usually these two factors have an inverse relationship, meaning when one is down the other is up.

Smart Money knows, buy now, pricing is pretty much guaranteed to go up as the market improves.  Interest rates are at a very low level and will(just like gasoline) go up in price.

Ask about 100% financing, move before it's too late.

Things to know about concrete.  As building material costs skyyrocketed, concrete doubled in price over a short period of time.  In an effort to control the costs of building both labor and materials, concrete use is minimalized on some jobs.  There are many misnomers about concrete cracking, houses settling, etc. 

Many large builders will hire a turn-key concrete company which provides the material and labor for the foundation process.  While minimizing management of the job, the quality is now determined by an outside contractor whose profit is directly related by how much concrete and steel are used.  Sometimes, grade beams (interior footings), minimum concrete depths and steel (rebar) can all be shorted or left out alltogether.  Again, minimum standards that are required by code aren't the same as a solid, permanent foundation that won't shift over time.

Make sure what kind of foundation is under your home Steel ties concrete together so that it can crack but not separate either vertically or horizontally.  Also, sometimes fiber is used inside the concrete to limit movement if cracking occurs.

http://dongalehomes.com

The entire real estate market throughout the United States is in a state of topsy turvy.  Progressive Trends of Maximum Growth due to low interest rates and high population growth rates have eased off, leaving the market in a state of maximum inventory.  As the market is correcting, buyers have the best opportunity for good deals.  Builders have priced their homes to sell, resales are selling at the discounted rate that an older home should sell at.

Last time rates ran high into the double digits, prices were at this low level.  As soon as rates dropped, costs ran up $20,000 at a time.  Don't miss the best opportunity to buy in a market of deflated pricing.  It's just like the stock market, when it is announced time to buy, it's too late.  Prices will be spiraling upward.  Remember, buy low and sell high.

The Harvard School of Real Estate Studies stipulates good growth in the real estate market until 2014, with the need for new homes at 1.8 million a year.  This is a growth level in the realm of 2003 levels.  As soon as the market upticks, so will prices.

Don't wait until it's too late. Buy now, rates and prices are down, both destined to go back up.

http://DonGaleHomes.com

Look at all the new homes in our price categories.  Most of the time, builders will look at economics over quality on construction materials and techniques.

Very large multi-community builders never see their own homes.  Subcontractors and Superintendents are responsible for Quality Control.  Budgets are the primary concern on the basis of construction.

Framing-Code Minimum? or Why be different.

Finger Jointed Studs on all 9' walls will resist warping in finished walls. Single pieced studs have all grain running one direction and the changes in moisture content in the wood can cause movement.  Multi-piece studs, especially in longer studs will resist twisting or warping.  The finger jointed studs are more expensive, but are better for the long term.

24" centers  are common on non-bearing walls in many builder's homes.  When you spread the studs from 16" to 24" you can save on the number you use.  Now there is a bigger empty space between studs and any movement of a stud is magnified in the wall.  A wall framed on standard 16" centers will allways be stronger.

Solid Headers above doors. Most Large builders frame above door frames without solid headers if it is not required for weight bearing. Over time, the continuous opening and closing of the door may cause cracking in the sheetrock.

All Don Gale Homes are framed on 16" centers throughout, use solid headers throughout and all walls over 8' tall will have finger jointed studs used to protect from twisting.  Just a few of our Framing Differences.

http://DonGaleHomes.com