if you aren’t already familiar, del.icio.us is a “Social Bookmarking” site. I ran across it last year, bookmarked it (how appropriate…) and then just kind of left it alone. At the same time I downloaded a plug-in for FireFox… and left it alone. I thought it was cool, but got sidetracked with running a business and building my website and logo.
Category Archives: garage
Want coverage for your car show?
- Thursday, 17 April 2008 14:39
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 0 Comments
I am a car guy, and I need a business excuse to go to more car shows… I can tell my wife that I am “networking”… Seriously.
So, to that end, I want to have a new feature on GarageHomesUSA. It will take a little while to spin up to full speed, but here is the plan:
- Visit cruise-ins, car shows and other enthusiast events
- Take pictures
- Shoot video
- Upload pictures and video in a searchable database
- As part of the videos, profile both the cars and the owners
My clients that move into Atlanta from other areas are car people. Many are looking for car clubs in the area. Many are also looking for cruise-ins, car shows and other events.
I’m also finding out something else… it is tough to find most of the events in the area. There are a few clubs that have calendars of their events. But, there are no central databases that seem to have up to date information.
Last year I set up a calendar on my old site. Even though I only supported it with one blog post, Google picked it up for several events… #1 placement. I’d like to get together a list of car shows, cruise-ins, autocrosses and other local events… all compiled in one place, and in front of other local enthusiasts.
I have also previously asked for local car club banners to put on GarageHomesUSA… and only had one response. It seems that some are worried that I want email lists or other info about members. I don’t. I just want to be a great resource for others iin the area that want to hang out with car people.
Are you NOT in a car club?
- Saturday, 12 April 2008 10:59
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 0 Comments
If you are an enthusiast, you should be…
I posted a few days ago offering a free rotating banner on my website for any local car club (or local chapter of a national club). I would love to have as many clubs as possible showing themselves so that people coming to Atlanta can find them.
But, what if you are an auto enthusiast and aren’t in a car club?
You really should be. There are several great reasons to join a club of like minded enthusiasts. To start with, there are the friends. If you have a GTO, and join a group of other GTO owners, you all have a similar interest. You will probably find that your fellow members are like-minded in a lot of ways. So, it’s fun to hang out after the meetings and compare experiences and trade tips. Of course, there are the great technical resources. You can bet that the other folks in the Porsche Club know exactly who should and should not service their cars. And they are quite willing to share that info. Instead of finding out the hard way that the independent shop around the corner isn’t really that good, get 50 personal referrals for a great shop. And then there are the deals. 
Almost every club I have been involved in has had a member or three just want to make sure that some parts or cars found a good home. In some cases, they were parts that were tough to find. In other cases, it was a cheap price because the seller wanted to make sure that someone was going to car for the toy. Finally, by joining together with other enthusiasts, you can accomplish great things. Oddly, nobody talks about it, but every car club, 4wd club and motorcycle club I have ever come across seems to have adopted some charity or cause. Usually it is because a member has had some connection at some time. And, these groups of enthusiasts band together and promote the cause. Toy drives at Christmas, Charity Runs, Blood Drives and all sorts of other events raise money and awareness.
So, if you are just about any kind of auto enthusiast, find a good club and join up. Participate. You’ll have a great time, meet great people, and maybe even accomplish some great things.
4+ Car Garage Homes in Gwinnett, GA… What’s available?
- Thursday, 10 April 2008 11:45
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 0 Comments
I try to sneak into the local MLS every few eeks and take a look at the overall picture of 4+car garage properties available in Gwinnett County, GA. There are generally a good selection, in fact there is generally a better selection than most of the other counties in Metro Atlanta. Please keep in mind that the MLS rules disallow me from specifically promoting listings belonging to other agents without their written permission, so I have to remain a bit vague. If you would like more info, I can send out the sheets on these and other properties that might interest you… just let me know.
So, what is out there?
There is a pretty good variety of 4+ car garage home properties available in Gwinnett. Let me start with a couple of overall stats.
- As of today, there are 148 properties on the market listing a 4 car or larger garage (or combination).
- The median price (half higher, half lower) is $749k.
- The high price is $8.5m.
- The low price is $129,900.
- The majority of the properties have a 4 car garage, only a few are larger.
- Most common is a 2 car attached and a 2 car detached.
Let’s talk about some homes.
If you are looking for a 4 car garage on a budget, the first property might fit the bill. It is in Snellville, and has a 2 car attached garage and a detached shop that is 30×30 (metal building with a concrete floor). The home is 3 bedroom and 2 baths and is described as totally renovated.
At the other end of the spectrum is an $8.5m home in Suwanee. It has a 6 car garage and is in a private community. Of course there is a pool and pool house, media room/home theater and just about every amenity you could imagine… and only the best finishes. It was originally priced at $10.5m, and has 6 bedrooms, 6 full and 4 half baths.
Of course, most people are somewhere in the middle. And, in the middle we find a home priced at $749k. Here we find a house that is about 2 miles from the Mall of Georgia, and has a 5 car garage, 7 bedrooms, 4 full and 2 half baths, full finished basement and 5 acres. It has a barn. This house also has two full kitchens and laundry rooms.
Halfway between the median and the top is a home with a 4 car garage in the Sugarloaf Country Club priced at $1,798,000. This house is a 5/5/2 (bedrooms/full baths/half baths) with a full basement. The neighborhood has a pool, tennis and a great golf course.
Halfway between the median and the entry level is a brand new home in Lawrenceville. It is priced at $449,900, and has 5 bedrooms and 4 full baths. The 4th garage is actually a boat door in the basement, but I have found that those can be great places to assemble or display a highlight from the collection. In fact, I know of a few people that have built the “boat bay” into an incredible featuring the car as art. this builder also features a trade-in program so that a potential buyer may be able to skip having to sell their home first.
Wrap up…
Usually when I start talking about 4+ car garages people assume that the homes will be out of this world expensive. But, there might very well be one that fits your price range. Here is a little breakdown:
- 10 homes under $200k
- 5 homes from $200k – $300k
- 15 homes from $300k – $400k
- 15 homes from $400k – $500k
- 9 homes from $500k – $600k
- 16 homes from $600k – $700k
- 6 homes from $700k – $800k
- 6 homes from $800k – $900k
- 3 homes from $900k – $1m
- 15 homes from $1m – $1.5m
- 17homes from $1.5m – $2m
- 16 homes from $2m – $3m
- 7 homes from $3m – $4m
- 7 homes above $4m
So, while there is a good representation at the higher end of the spectrum, there is a pretty good distribution of homes across the full spectrum.
To get more info about a particular home, please feel free to contact me.
Garage Floor Options
- Thursday, 27 March 2008 20:36
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 7 Comments
One of the biggest improvements one can make to their garage is to recondition the floor… or in the case of new construction, to do something to protect the floor. Let’s run over a few options…