Real Estate
Julian McPhillips
The first thing you notice when you walk into the old house on South Perry Street is that there’s some great art on the walls of the McPhillips-Shinbaum law firm. It’s historic and welcoming, but they’re busy, fielding calls and meeting with clients, and there in the waiting area is a small table with three […]
In Praise of the Fearless Few
If you are like me, you’re fascinated with the idea of buying a wonderful old home and making it like new or better again. The popularity of make-over TV shows, which you find all over cable, confirms that there are a lot of us. The reality, however, is the majority of the homebuying public is […]
Getting on the Ladder to Homeownership
Recently I read a blog post about Millenials and their being largely absent from the ranks of homeownership. It delved pretty deeply into the factors that might contribute to that situation. “Settling down is being pushed further out,” the article observed. And that made me think of my two youngest nieces, Emily and Lilly, the […]
A Good Thing Lasts a Long Time
Why pay rent when a beautiful home is within your reach? Is your object to enrich your landlord or to provide a cosy corner for yourself and family? Please remember that we are offering lots for almost nothing as compared to City lots, and on terms which will enable you to pay for them with […]
Fixer-Upper TV Shows and the Unrealistic Expectations They’ve Created
Chances are you’ve seen, and may be a fan of, Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, Flip or Flop and a host of other fix-up shows classified as “reality TV.” And like the Bachelor, Pawn Stars, Hell’s Kitchen and so many other iterations of reality television, very little “reality” is included in these highly scripted and edited […]
A Renter’s Hunt for Home
My house hunt began when I realized that my rental unit was actually a True Friendship Litmus Test. With its one-butt-kitchen and lone bathroom, houseguests waited in line for a snack and/or the loo. Even when no guests were there, I still had to handle the stress of murmuring “Excuse me,” hundreds or perhaps thousands […]
Thinking About Waiting to Buy? Might Want to Think Again!
Forgive me if this sounds a bit commercial. After all, I am real estate agent and my team and I make our living selling houses. So you may find me a bit suspect. What drives me to write this today is my many years in the business and memories of people who have told me, […]
Three Issues to Consider When Shopping for a House
Three main issues inspired my house-gazing hobby to shift gears into actual house-shopping. So far, in my quest for a Home, I have learned some Profound Truths through frankly confronting three issues, which I will share with you. Profound Home Truth #1: The Bathroom Issue When I was not really on the hunt for a […]
Columns and Arches and Moldings … Oh, My!
On Sunday — the annual Old House Expo Day in Midtown Montgomery — I spent four hours in the home at 728 Felder Ave. During the course of the afternoon, 147 people visited the property and the choruses of “Oooh and aaah” were loud and many! We Southerners (whether by birth or “By the grace […]
The Debut of Renovators’ Happy Hour
If perchance you happened to be passing by Felder Avenue in Midtown’s Old Cloverdale neighborhood last Thursday, you might reasonably have assumed that there had been a death in a prominent family or something. After all, that’s the typical reason that long lines of parked cars accumulate on a residential Montgomery street. Well, the truth […]
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