Please go to http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/08/18/home-listings-only-half-of-last-years-have-sold/ to read it!

One of our family traditions is to go to Mardi Gras. It is amazing as I speak to people, how many people have a misconception about what Mardi Gras is. Mardi Gras is a family destination in some areas of the parade route. Here is some footage. Enjoy.

I want you to know who I am and what I believe. Watch here…

“Peace, Love & Catnip” was a tremendous success raising over $43,000 for the shelter! Thanks to our co-chairs, Nikki Gordon, Joan Peterson and Lori Trahan and the auction committee: Carole Bache, Pam Cobb, Christi Fisher, Debra Lieb, Kelly McNamara, Barb Murphy, Heather Pechter, Karen Redlew and Robbin Yeager. We also want to thank auctioneer, Rhonda Duffy, host of The Duffy Realty Show on 640 WGST, and Proprietor of Duffy Auctions and Duffy Real Estate and DJ Debra Lieb, lead vocalist for JAZZ-i-TUDE. Enjoy some photos of the evening - many people dressed in their 60’s attire!

I have also done many other charities lately which is a blast. I bring in my whole team at no charge to the charity. Let me know if I can help you too. I am a licensed auctioneer and I own Duffy Auctions where we auction houses as well.

All 4 news channels interviewed me when a house buyer turned up with a warrant for stealing a necklace in Sandy Springs while posing as a real estate buyer and working with agents all over town. I am very fortunate to be known by the media as an expert and this is not the first time that I have been interviewed to get the scoop. Of course, I always have a different spin on the matter. My take is that Sellers need to get smarter about what they leave lying around.

By the way, they did catch the guy in Richmond, Virginia a few days later. An agent googled his name after becoming suspicious, saw this story and called me at home to compare notes. She decided that it was him and turned him in.

Check out the article that WSB (Channel 2 – ABC) ran after the story was reported on air by all major news channels.
Read more…

Duffy Realty of Atlanta Goes Green; Firm is doing its part by driving high gas mileage company cars, eliminating paper usage and encouraging use of Fluorescent bulbs by Sellers.
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I found this photo while looking at 850K and above homes in the area that I am looking for a home. This was taken in a virtual tour (not my listing) and was most likely paid for by the Listing Agent. Can you sell a home that is marketed this way? So, I ask the question, did the agent tell the Seller to clean up? If so, why did the photographer proceed to post pictures like this?

Photos are the MOST important piece of marketing that you have. This picture is populated to 100′s if not 1000′s of sites and these owners expect foot traffic as a result of being listed. But instead, this is a HUGE turnoff to any buyer in this price range with the amount of homes on the market. Unless this home is in a hot location, this home will not get the traffic that it would have if these folks had cleaned up.

Remember, when you sell your home, you have to make it a product. That starts with you taking the steps to make it awesome and ends with you taking or having a professional take exceptional photos showing your home in peak state.

Real estate needs to change from Sellers expecting agents to wave fairy dust on a cluttered and dirty house to make it sell. Sellers need to understand the importance of marketing and how buyers search.

Stay tuned. I will show you a house that will sell in the 850K price range to show you the difference.