The new normal for Atlanta residential real estate.

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

Residentail Reality Check - Our Lunch & Learn Event on Feb. 14th

Today I had the opportunity to hear from two leading real estate agents in Park Springs primary market area provide an overview of the market as part of our Lunch and Learn series. Both Bradford Smith and Beth Steele agree the market has reached a new normal. They share that when the crash occurred, there was a general sense it would turn around as it always had but over time they came to realize that significant improvement would take time. Some markets have improved more than others. Days on market and months of inventory, two key indicators of a healthy market, are at near-term lows not seen in years for some markets. Mortgage lending has stabilized and while more is required of buyers, loans are available and rates are at all time lows.

Market in-sight along with tips as to how best to sell a home (price it right and make sure it is move in ready) where but a few of the topics covered at today’s lunch and learn. Brian Thomas along and Maricita Hughes along with Golden Legacy Movers discussed first hand the services they provide Members ranging from an appraisal to best insure a home is properly priced to providing direction on which furniture to bring and how best to discard that which you don’t need. All of which are services listed in Park Springs Vintage Home Plan.

If you are interested in learning more, a second luncheon will be held Thursday, February 16 from 11:00 – 1:00 at Park Springs . Please contact Vanessa McCall at (678) 684-3300.

Park Springs’ Vintage Home Plan (VHP) can help you sell your house.

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

Brian Thomas

Brian is responsible for introducing the VHP process to prospects and helping them implement it. He hires real estate agents, appraisers and other professionals as needed. “I do as much or as little as the Member wants me to do.”

“The idea is to arm us and the Member with information we can use to defend the listing price, defend low-ball offers and defend us from potential reappraisal when the home goes under contract.”

VHP services include obtaining prices for repairs identified during the inspection process and helping the Member decide which to pursue. For repairs that will be done, Brian even helps negotiate the price. He gets regular updates from the real estate agent and, in general, holds all professionals to a high level of accountability.

Maricita Hughes

“Our goal is to help new Members identify and pack the items that they are going to use at Park Springs, and not everything else,” says Maricita with a smile. The process is done with stickers and is part of a package of services that includes packing, moving and unpacking Members’ belongings.

Many Members lack the physical stamina to pack and unpack, and family members are often in another city or too busy to assist.

Park Springs contracts with a moving firm that specializes in assisting seniors. Their care and concern for Members’ possessions is obvious in how they approach each move.

“Members routinely tell me how valuable it was to have help,” says Maricita. “They say, ‘I had no idea how important it was, but now I understand.’ By the second night they’re completely moved in, with no boxes in sight and everything in the proper drawer and closet.”

Tina Tyler

Tina says the consensus among the experts is that the market will likely slow down in the first quarter of 2012 and may pick up after that. “But it continues to be very slow – with 2012 expected to be fairly flat.” The same holds true in metroAtlanta.

Tina, Relocation Director for Coldwell Banker Atlanta Residential Brokerage, has partnered with Park Springs in a number of ways over the years. As part of the Vintage Home Program (VHP) team she prepares a market analysis to give Members an understanding of the value of their home. She helps price the home, offers guidance on improvements and even recommends vendors.

In her presentation she’ll touch briefly on economic forecasts, introduce the audience to tools that help real estate agents get market data and teach them to see a home from the buyer’s perspective.

Park Springs offers real, hands-on assistance selling your home.

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

There was no shortage of fine retirement communities in Atlanta to choose from. But none offered Bob and Charlene (“Chuckie”) Towles hands-on assistance with selling their Florida home.

Bob liked the value he saw in the Vintage Home Program (VHP). It gives new Members a way to start enjoying the Park Springs lifestyle even before their former home has sold.

Rather than wait, the Towles moved into Park Springs while their Florida home was on the market.

“Brian Thomas, who directs VHP, couldn’t have done more for us.” Bob adds. “He helped with all the paperwork involved in our sale and negotiated for us with the realtor. His team even arranged for packing and moving.”

The Towles’ sunny, two-bedroom Park Springs villa has a lovely view of Stone Mountain. Bob, an Atlanta native, has reconnected with a number of friends and neighbors, including several now living at Park Springs. Chuckie, whose health pBoblems were one reason for the move, is doing well.

The couple is enjoying freedom from cooking and the chance to participate in a variety of Park Springs activities. They’re also pleased to be near family members, including their daughter and Bob’s brother.

The sale of you current home should not be such an obstacle.

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

Linda and Bob Fleming areNorth Carolinanatives who moved toAtlantain 1983 for Bob’s management position with BellSouth. The Flemings spent 27 years in a lovely brick home in the Northlake area.

“About 2006 we could see that it was unlikely that I could continue to climb ladders, clean gutters and prune trees. We began our search for a retirement living facility,” recalls Bob.

The Flemings did not have to look long or far. Linda, a former French instructor, was working for an international nonprofit organization and learned about Park Springs from one of her former colleagues. She and Bob later found out that several friends from their church were enjoying life at Park Springs. The Flemings made an appointment to visit the facility.

All systems go

They liked what they saw, especially the onsite health care. Both Linda and Bob had some health concerns and although they were doing well, the availability of quality care at Cobblestone was a big plus. “We’d both had a good bit of health care experience with our own aging parents,” says Linda.

The only obstacle was selling their Atlantahome in a slow economy. That’s when they turned to the Park Springs Vintage Home Program (VHP).

Helping hands

The program offers a variety of services to assist new Members. Participants pay only a portion of the regular entrance fee; the balance comes from the sale of their home.

The VHP team can help select a realtor, price the house, prepare it for showing and recommend improvements. They assist with utilities and maintenance and keep the house looking good while it’s on the market.

VHP experts helped the Flemings prepare their home for sale. “They brought in contractors and really simplified the process, which for us included minor repairs, new paint and carpet. We felt very good about our decision,” says Linda.

After the “for sale” sign went up, the Flemings were able to move to Park Springs the following month. When the house sold seven months later, Linda and Bob were comfortably settled in their new villa enjoying the Park Springs lifestyle.

Wise choice

The Flemings couldn’t be happier with the move. Linda volunteers in the Park Springs Market. She also attends cultural programs and participates in water aerobics and yoga classes.

Bob indulges his love of singing by participating in two Park Springs choirs. He stays healthy and fit by working out in the fitness center and playing water volleyball. The Flemings enjoy dining with other Members and they remain active in theirDecaturchurch.

Concludes Linda, “Members are fascinating and come from many different places and backgrounds. But once they’re here, they’re all Park Springs people.” With support from the Home Vintage program, Linda and Bob Fleming are right at home among them.

Concerned about selling a home in a soft market? Park Springs can help.

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

DeKalb County residents Barbara and Don Howell had heard a good bit about Park Springs over the years. But the idea of leaving their home of more than three decades just wasn’t of interest.

“That changed when my wife developed some health problems,” recalls Don. “Our family was concerned.” The Howells’ children proposed a move to Park Springs. “We resisted a little but we visited and found out it’s one of the nicest communities around.”

The decision to move wasn’t the only obstacle the Howells faced. Selling their Smoke Rise home in a soft real estate market proved to be quite a challenge.

Park Springs stepped in with the Vintage Home Program (VHP) that lets Members move even before their homes have sold.

The Howells moved to Park Springs in late 2010 and the timing couldn’t have been better. Barbara took a fall and needed several weeks of rehab and recovery, which she was able to do at Cobblestone, Park Springs’ onsite health center.

Meanwhile, the VHP team worked with the Howells to price their home, choose a real estate agent and recommend changes – like painting and replacing old carpet – that would lead to a sale.

“The entire experience has been super pleasant. Brian Thomas and Maricita Hughes did an excellent job for us. We couldn’t have done it without their help,” Don adds. The Howells’ home is currently under contract. Barbara is back on her feet and the couple is enjoying the activities, dining and peace of mind that are all part of life at Park Springs.

Just in Time for Valentine’s Day: Park Springs Celebrates Newly-Weds!

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Park Springs

: Mr. & Mrs. Allen and Peggy Rosset

Allen Rosset and Peggy Packard first met in 1949 when they attended Delhaas Junior High School in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and though they were friends throughout high school, they never dated. On January 28, 2012, eight months to the day after they met in person again, they were married in the Ballroom at Park Springs, the Atlanta area retirement community where Peggy has lived since 2005.

“I did have a crush on her in school. She was the first girl who impressed my heart,” said Allen. “The last time I saw Peggy was at our high school graduation before I left to go into the Army, and she told me then: ‘Some day, you’re going to make someone a wonderful
husband.’”

After high school, their lives took different paths, although they are now discovering a lot of interesting parallels. Both married and had three children each. “Between the two of us, we have 28 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and a new baby on the way,” smiles Peggy, who was the Food Services Director at Atlanta Medical Center before retiring.

In 2010, Allen retired at age 75 from his job as Senior Intelligence Analyst for the US Air Force to care full-time for his first wife of 51 and a half years, who passed away that same year.

“Last February, while visiting my daughter in Georgia, I decided to go online and check on Classmates.comto see if I could find any one of my old high school friends – and there was Peggy. I sent her an email immediately, even though we had not seen each other since 1953, and was delighted to find out that she lived in Georgia, and especially that she was single!”

Continues Peggy, “Between February and April, we exchanged at least 100 emails, and really got to know each other all over again. But only after the internet had been out for three days did Allen call me on the phone, because he had not heard back from me on
his last email!”

Talking by phone soon led to plans for Allen to travel from his home in Ohio to visit Peggy. On April 28, 2011, he had 19 red roses delivered before knocking on her door of her home in Park Springs, one for every three years they had not seen each other. “I knew then that I wanted to marry her as soon as possible, and she, after a lot of consideration, several visits and roses, made me a very happy man when she said yes.”

Just a few weeks ago, on January 28, Peggy’s son-in-law walked her down the aisle. There were 65 wedding guests, including a mutual friend from high school, and the radiant bride wore a beautiful long navy-blue gown. “We are thrilled to be able to share this time
of our lives at Park Springs,” notes Peggy. “Allen loves taking long walks at nearby Stone Mountain Park, and we are both on the Wii bowling team.”

When asked about their plans for Valentine’s Day, the newly-weds smiled and said, almost together: “For us, every day is Valentine’s Day.”

Park Springs Market Rededication

Posted on February 14, 2012
By Lisa Kiely

In the early fall of 2004, soon after the first members moved into Park Springs, volunteers organized to open the Park Springs Market!

Today the market is open 10:00 am -2:00 pm daily and has over 54 volunteer associates and committee members keeping the store afloat on a minimal budget.

The Market has grown into a viable resource for dry goods, toiletries, sodas and frozen foods.

They not only sell goods but also donate to the Employee Appreciation Fund and hold an annual food drive for the Lilburn Cooperative Ministries to provide Thanksgiving Food Baskets for those in need.

On Monday, February 13th, the Park Springs Market celebrates its 7th Anniversary with a
Rededication reception. Employees, and members are encouraged to stop in and thank the Market Associates. There will be a wine and cheese reception in honor of all of the dedicated volunteers and committee members at 3:00 pm in the lobby outside of the store.

Drop by!

Vintage Home Success Stories

Posted on February 10, 2012
By Kevin Isakson

We have been offering the Vintage Home Program at Park Springs for over two years as a way for prospective Members to take advantage of all Park Springs has to offer with out having sold their home. Over 50 Members have taken advantage of the program and more than 30 have already sold their home, three of whom share their story at http://www.parkspringscommunities.com/lunchandlearn/. The program, which can be best described on our web site at http://www.parkspringscommunities.com/vintage-home-plan.php, will be the focus of two lunch and learn opportunities February 14th and 16th at Park Springs. If you would like additional information, please contact one of our Residency Counselors at (678) 684-3300.

Park Springs Annual Employee Service Award Luncheon

Posted on February 2, 2012
By Andrea Johnson

Annually, Park Springs, LLC recognizes it’s employees at a service award luncheon. This luncheon honors staff that have served on the employee safety committee, the previous year’s employees of the month and employee of the year, as well as staff that have achieved 5 years and 10 years of service. Our first 10 year service honoree, Anresa Davis, Senior Residency Counselor, was recognized at the January 27th event. There were 26 five year honorees from various departments. A special recognition was given to the ten employees who diligently served on the safety committee as well as the 2011 employees of the month. Genaro Alvarez, Reburbishment Technician, was chosen as the 2011 Employee of the Year. F&B and EVS provided a beautiful setup and lunch for the honorees and guests. Park Springs’ owners and management look forward to hosting this event for future honorees as they reach service milestones in years to come.

Andrea W. Johnson
Human Resources Director