Is This Home the Best “Decked” House in the Country?

Here's Topher H.'s entry into the "Deck the House" contest. Share your photos of your house decked out for the holidays, and enter to win $100,000 for your local school district.

For Real Estate, It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

The holiday season is ringing in a renewed real estate market, says C. Mark Willix in his latest offering.

Yes friends, the holiday season is in full swing. There are presents to be wrapped, baking to be done, holiday parties filled with revelry and the joy of the season filling each heart. And even with all of the hustle of post-Black Friday events the real estate market is usually expected to be slow this time of year. While we do generally see a bit of a drop in sales, this is definitely not a slow market. 2012 has been a banner year for the market recovery. Inventory levels started off strong and then began to drop at the end of the first quarter. As I've been telling you for most of the last six months, the inventory levels are spurring rising prices. While conditions still favor buyers, sellers are seeing a strong market as well. It is my…

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Get Holiday Decorating Ideas in Home Tour Today

The Homes for the Holidays Tour in Cobb County begins at noon, with proceeds going toward The Foundation of Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna to raise funds for new patient beds.

Weekend Spotlight: Holiday Homes Tour [VIDEO]

Get ideas on holiday decorating by heading over to Cobb County for this weekend's Holiday Homes Tour.

This week's Cobb, Douglas and Paulding Weekend & Community Spotlight features the Homes for the Holidays Tour presented by The Foundation of Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna. The event will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. Tickets are $20 and all proceeds will benefit The Foundation of Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna to raise funds for new patient beds.  Purchase tickets at www.SmyrnaCares.org or by calling 770-438-5233. Visit Patch's Event Calendar for more details. Have a great event coming up in your community? Upload it onto your Patch, then email Editor Jon Gargis at jon.gargis@patch.com, and your event could be featured in the next Weekend Spotlight on Patch sites across Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties.

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Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

Patch is launching its annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16: http://deckthehouse.patch.com/contest/dallas-hiram. Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. Last year, an …

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Yard Sale Roundup: Ice Skating, Furniture, Home Décor

With colder temperatures, area yard sales are becoming sparse, but we did find four going on in the metro area. If we missed yours, add it in the comments below.

Where: 4302 Grand Oaks Drive, Kennesaw When: Sat, 8am-3pm Featured items: Lamps, rugs, toys, games, books, outdoor tool table with sink, girls ice skates (Riedell and Klingbeil), ice skating dresses, skirts and prom dresses. Most items $5 or under. Where: 1365 Chelsey Lane, Alpharetta When: Fri-Sat, 8am-2pm Featured items: Furniture, housewares, clothes, gardening items, books and more. Where: 2396 Dunwoody Crossing Apt. A, Atlanta When: Sat-Sun, 9am-5pm Featured items: TV, furniture, home decor, kitchen equipment and more. Comparable pricing and everything must sell. Where: Storage World, 490 Eagles Landing Parkway, Stockbridge When: Sat, 9am-2pm Featured items: Each vendor will be selling various items from the different storage units. …

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Going Green for Thanksgiving

Some simple ideas provide for an eco-friendly holiday for which everyone will be thankful.

Here are a handful of green Thanksgiving ideas that will save you money, reduce waste and provide a warm family holiday for everyone. Greening up the holidays can be creative, fun, and easy—if you know how. Let there be light. You can save energy and create a festive mood by illuminating your home and holiday table with candles. I recommend beeswax or soy candles. Try candles of varying heights and sizes. If you don’t have a lot of candle holders around the house, you can set votive or pillar candles on small dishes or saucers, or place candlesticks into a slightly hollowed out pumpkin or gourd—making a beautiful holiday decoration as well. Never leave burning candles unattended, especially with pets or small children at home. While you're…

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Key Factors To Help Sell Your Home

Is it location or price that drives your market success? It might be both.

Now that the market is trending more towards the favor of sellers, it might be a good time to talk to your real estate professional about listing your home for sale. If you’ve wanted to downsize or even upsize or just simply want a different home than the one you have now, the best way to determine marketability is to consult with an expert. The following is a list that we provide to clients at Maximum One Realty that we believe can be very helpful in helping a seller understand what he or she can expect from the process. We refer to these as key market factors. It’s important to keep all of this information in mind both before and during the marketing of your home for sale. The time it takes to sell a home is specific to the individual …

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A Strong Community Can Raise More Than Your Property Value

Granite countertops are just one kind of home improvement.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of working with dozens of locally owned businesses and a small army of volunteers at a benefit for a Paulding county citizen who is battling a grave illness. Renae Hudgens is the wife of Paulding County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Hudgens. The event was sponsored by many of the county’s small business owners in an effort to support one of our neighbors in need to raise money to offset Mrs. Hudgens’ mounting medical bills. After a long and yet rewarding day of live auctions, raffles, motorcycle stunts, bands, bingo and barbecue, I went to bed that evening with a renewed sense of community and a greater understanding of the value of service. We often hear about what makes a strong community. Is it the businesses, …

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A Fresh Fall Landscape Can Attract Buyers

Improving you curb appeal is easier than you think.

This week we welcomed my second favorite season when autumn arrived over the weekend. While spring remains my favorite time of year, autumn brings with it a hearty helping of fall festivals, county fairs and of course delicious holiday food. Autumn also brings buyers to the local real estate market and with them an opportunity to help your property stand out as the most attractive in your neighborhood. This is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year as buyers are looking for great deals after the summer rush season and still want to be in their new home for the holidays. Inventory is still low for our area and it is a great time for sellers to entice buyers, but that doesn’t mean sellers can ignore their property condition. Even…

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