Residential Real Estate

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

SBJ Staff

11/23/2009 - Elizabeth Scott learned a thing or two from her father, the late Savannah homicide detective Robert Scott.

For one, she learned how to track someone down. Her sleuthing led to the identity of an individual code enforcement officials have been seeking to cite for illegal posting of real estate signs in Scott’s Bacon Park neighborhood and elsewhere.

Part of her job as director of the Bacon Park Homeowners Association is to combat visual blight. She became especially irritated by the 1-800-SELLNOW signs that began showing up on utility poles, trees and at intersections in the sprawling Bacon Park area that stretches from DeRenne Avenue south to Montgomery Crossroad and west from Sallie Mood Drive to LaRoche Avenue.

“It started about June. All of a sudden one morning they were everywhere,” she said.

“He’d put them up, we’d take them down. By the next week, he’s back with them.”

By then the posters had moved the signs farther up the poles and trees. “I took a few down that I could reach,” Scott said.

She had been in touch with Savannah code enforcement previously and made a second contact with it after the signs went higher up the poles. She insisted they identify the offender and begin enforcement action.

“This time they acted reluctant,” Scott said. “I can understand how they could get worn out with them. As soon as they’d take them down, they (the posters) would come back with more of them.”

Scott said she concluded that she would have to identify the illegal poster and turn her findings over to inspectors..
“I started on Twitter,” she said. “I just hit 1-800-SELLNOW.”

She got back the name of  Kit Clotheir, who has a company in Delray Beach, Fla. A check with the Florida Secretary of State’s office confirmed Clohtier was the CEO and registered agent of 1-800-SELLNOW.

“When I found the corporate Web site, I called in as if I was interested in purchasing a Chatham County” license to represent 1-800-SELLNOW, Scott said.

She said they told her the terrirory had already been bought by Johnson Root Developers.

A call to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office found that the name was registered by two different people, one far away from Savannah and the other in Chaham County. The one in Chatham County was identified as Ryan Johnson, Scott said.

In the meantime, she received a phone call from a Ryan Johnson, who had been told by 1-800-SELLNOW that she wanted to buy the Chatham County license.

“He called me. That’s how I got his cell number,” she said.

He wasn’t interested in selling his Chatham license, according to Scott, but he did share some details of his operation, especially the stealth part.

“How do you keep from getting in trouble putting up the signs,” Scott said she asked him.

Late night work is the key to erecting the signs, Scott said he told her.

He said he “had to do something to promote” his business, she said.

He didn’t seem interested in selling his Chatham license and sounded as if he didn’t want her to buy licenses for neighboring Bryan or Effingham counties “so he could keep the region,” Scott said.

She said she subsequently did a Google search with the name Ryan Johnson and 1-800-SELLNOW  that returned a media release by the company announcing Johnson had bought the Chatham territory license.

She said she subsequently sent her findings to Savannah and Chatham code enforcement officials and city and county officials.

“All of a sudden, the signs disappeared the next morning,” she noted.

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

SBJ Staff

11/23/2009 - Savannah and Chatham County code enforcers think they may be seeing a holiday truce in the war they’ve been waging against a stealthy real estate operator who nails signs to trees and utility poles in the wee hours of the night.

The illegal signs and the resulting visual blight have mostly disappeared. But for how long, code enforcement officials wonder.

Randolf Scott, city of Savannah zoning administrator, is hoping the city’s attention to taking down the signs as quickly as it can has made the posting too expensive. That’s what occurred a couple years ago along Montgomery Crossroad, Scott said.

“We hit them so hard it stopped,” he said. “The sign replacements go expensive,” Scott added, noting they are made of corrugated plastic.

Scott says his department has been trying to serve a code violation citation to an individual identified as Ryan Johnson and who is confirmed as the license holder for the Chatham County territory of 1-800-SELLNOW. Johnson has not been at the address listed on the citation to acknowledge receipt of the notice, according to Scott.

”We haven’t had good service on him yet,” he said.

That’s about to change, Scott said. He’s tired of the cat-and-mouse and is ready to turn the service task over to police, he said.

“Once police locate him and bring him in, we’ll have our day in court.”

The Ryan Johnson whose telephone number is listed on city code enforcement records insisted in a phone interview last week he is not the sign poster and is not in the business of buying homes from distressed homeowners. Further, he says he has no ties to the Delray Beach, Fla., company that lists him as the Chatham County license holder for 1-800-SELLNOW.

“I run a small home contracting business,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, code inspectors are happy to be getting a break from the sign wars.

For a while, escalation seemed to be the name of the game, said Scott, the zoning official.

The 1-800-SELLNOW signs first appeared in neighborhoods on utility poles at eye level and were tacked in. Enforcement officers pulled them down with relative ease. But not long after, the signs went farther up the poles and trees. And they became a lot harder to take down, Scott said.

“They were putting them way up in the air. And took to doing it in the middle of the night, in the wee hours of the morning.”

Next the poster began nailing them into the poles, then he began screwing them in. The most recent ones were bolted in, Scott said.

Greg Anderson, director of the Chatham County Building and Public Safety Department, said his enforcement crews have been on the lookout for the signs but have not seen them. “We will continue to inspect for illegally posted signs and take the appropriate action,” Anderson said in an e-mail last week.

Truce or no truce, some Savannah officials want to press forward in the war against the signs.

Mayor Otis Johnson said at a town meeting in late October that he wants to get the message out on the city’s public access TV channel and to alert the Better Business Bureau that the operator of 1-800-SELLNOW is a lawbreaker. “They should be prosecuted if they don’t desist,” Johnson said.

Alderman Tony Thomas said the signs have been a blight in Windsor Forest and elsewhere in his District 6. They seem to be targeted toward neighborhoods with a high number of home foreclosures, he said.

The 1-800-SELLNOW Web site indicates Thomas is correct.
Here is the pitch the site makes:


“In this difficult market, there are many options when it comes to selling your home. Cash buyers, Taking over payments, Lease-Option, Negotiating Short-Sales, and Aggressive Listings are just a few options that our representatives can provide. We are here to help you figure out what the best solution is for your needs.”

Thomas said he is eager to see prosecution of the offenders but not through the city’s Recorders Court.

The Livability Court is the best venue, he said, noting the administrative action can move more swiftly.

Thomas also wants to exact a higher price for the offense. “We’re not going to change these peoples’ behavior unless we slap them in the wallet,” he said.

Some of the signs are getting nailed and screwed into oak trees the city has planted as part of its canopy restoration effort. The nailing can kill the trees, he said, and for this the offender should have to pay the cost of tree replacement.

Also in considering the penalty, Thomas said, authorities must weigh the danger the sign posters have put city works in by forcing them to remove signs from high elevations.

Thomas said he got tipped to the lucrative nature of the illegal posting through a phone call from an offender inquiring about advertising on a Chatham County Transit buses, for which Thomas sells advertising. After hearing the CAT rates, the caller said he could buy 100 signs and post them illegally in the middle of the night for the price of a couple of signs on the sides of a CAT bus, according to Thomas.

“He is telling me how the system works,” complete with the after-midnight clandestine sign postings, Thomas said. “I’m absorbing all this.”

He said he thinks he knows who the culprit is.

For now, he added, “I just hope the guy who says he didn’t do didn’t do it. Then the sign fairy will go back out and take down the signs.”

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

11/09/2009 - The Pursuit Real Estate Group, LLC, recently announced its official launch, spearheaded by local real estate broker, John H. Sumner, a native of Savannah.  The group specializes in brokerage services for both residential and commercial properties, as well as property management in Georgia and South Carolina, and has opened an office at 7370 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

With listings in place throughout Chatham, Bryan, Effingham and Jasper counties, the company has a regional presence; further expansion is the goal despite the current economy.

“Our agents have perspective, vision and a drive of their own,” to pursue that goal, said Sumner.  However, he is quick to note that Pursuit Real Estate Group “is in partnership with the regional community and the company’s focus is on its core philosophy, which is putting customers first.”

Sumner is a licensed broker in Georgia and South Carolina and a licensed residential contractor in his home state.  With an inherent understanding of both coastal regions, Sumner and the company’s roster of experienced real estate agents will “work hard to provide knowledgeable, thoughtful and updated market insight to our clients on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Despite being in the midst of a struggling economy, Sumner is not fearful of a real estate start-up.  In fact, to the contrary:  “Many people feel this is a time of diminishing opportunity, but I believe strongly this is a time of increasing possibilities,” said Sumner, who foresees an inevitable period of growth in the nearing months.

Historically, most recessions post-World War II last an average of 10 months, according to Entrepreneur Magazine.  Following is a growth cycle that averages 50 months.  “A struggling marketplace forces you to be more creative than ever,” said Sumner, “but the final results can be well worth those initial strides.”

Sumner’s career has carried him from Heron Ltd., a mid-size leasing and management firm in New York City, to Lincoln Harris, a national real estate group based in Charlotte, N.C.  There he acted as a property manager in the corporate services division for such clients as Bank of America.

Returning to Savannah, Sumner signed on with Gilbert Realty Company to focus on various brokerage projects.

He then ventured into his own development and construction business, primarily dedicated to the raising of single- and multi-family homes in the Victorian and Thomas Square districts. He also served as a project consultant for Trustees’ Garden owner Charles H. Morris, in Savannah.

With a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Georgia, Sumner received the Real Property Administrator designation from the Building Owners and Management Association (BOMA) in 2003.  He is a member of Historic Savannah Foundation, The Society of Cincinnati, The 200 Club of Savannah, Telfair Museum, Home Builders Association of Savannah, the Savannah Board of Realtors, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Georgia Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

With Sumner are Keely Smith and Pamela Ellis-Disher, with experience in new construction and re-sales; and Beth Ann Jackson who “has a thorough background in the sustainable living and green building structures market,’ according to Sumner. She is currently on the board of directors of the U.S. Green Building Council.

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

11/09/2009 - The city of Savannah’s neighborhood revitalization efforts have earned it a National League of Cities’ Award for Municipal Excellence.

Savannah won the Gold Medal for cities with populations between 50,000 and 150,000 for its Neighborhood Renaissance program. City Council and staff received the award Friday at the National League of Cities’ annual Congress of Cities in San Antonio.

Savannah's Neighborhood Renaissance initiative works with residents to create revitalization plans for their neighborhoods, then uses public-private partnerships with multiple agencies to rebuild infrastructure, add new affordable housing, refurbish existing homes, acquire vacant property, aggressively enforce property maintenance codes and create enterprise zones to spur economic development.

Between 2000 and 2008, the City's Neighborhood Renaissance program leveraged more than $154 million for housing and neighborhood improvements in three Savannah neighborhoods: Cuyler-Brownville, Benjamin Van Clark, and West Savannah. The program has led to new parks, new streets and sidewalks, and the construction of nearly 1,300 dwellings occupied by existing homeowners, new owners and renters.

Another $100 million in investment is planned for a fourth Neighborhood Renaissance initiative – Savannah Gardens, at the site of the former Strathmore Estates off Pennsylvania Avenue – beginning next year.

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

11/09/2009 - “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming to Georgia and is looking for a Savannah family in need of a home overhaul, says Jean Arthur, casting producer for ABC’s Emmy award-winning TV series.

“We are in the process of finding families who are deserving and in need of a new home for our next season of the show.
“We are looking for inspirational families that America can really root for.

“We want to focus on people that have given back in some way despite their personal hardships.”

Interested families should e-mail a short description of their family story to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Nominations may be submitted by the family or by a member of their community. Each nomination must include the names and ages of every member of the household along with a description of the major challenges within the home. Anyone submitting a nomination should be sure to explain why the nominated family is deserving, heroic  and/or a great role model for their community. If possible, include a recent photo of the family. All nominations must include a contact phone number. Deadline for nominations is Dec. 1. (Details: http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply )

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

With more than 6,000 active listings in the Savannah area, and 1,700 new homes under construction or already built on spec according to area real estate experts, it’s obviously a buyers market.

There has been increased sales activity this summer, aided by the federal first-time home buyers $8,000 incentive program, but that is ending Nov. 30.  Realtors also report that closings are taking from four to six weeks longer.

There were approximately 1,000 new listings per month in 2007 and 2008, “and the story in 2009 proves to be following the same path, plus some, with increase in short sales, foreclosures and REOs,” according to Claudia Armbrister’s real estate column in Realty Trends.

Armbrister, a local Realtor working in Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties, is reflective of the current generation of realtors who rely heavily on the Internet to build their business. She retired to Coastal Georgia just a year ago, with her husband, after his 31 year career with the Army and raising seven children.

“If sellers want top dollar and to get their home sold in under 60 to120 days, they need to price according to this more cautious market, and have it model home perfect,” she says, also advising sellers to entertain all offers. Buyer are also expecting assistance with closing costs assistance and/or are making offers as much as 15 percent or more below the asking price.

Local realtors are very interested in listings under $150,000, in her opinion, because these are moving, generating income for the Realtor trying to stay afloat in this current economy.

Savannah is following national trends. In its September housing starts report, the U.S. Commerce Department said there was a very modest one-half of 1 percent increase in housing starts, including new homes and apartments, but applications for building permits fell for another month.

Of course, some of the best local economic facts and hard data on what is affecting the real estate market comes from Dr. Michael Toma, Ph.D., director of the Center for Regional Analysis, Department of Economics at AASU.

In his most recent second quarter 2009 report, he states that home construction industry began to show life during the second quarter. “While construction activity usually swings upward during spring, the sector staged something of a recovery, pulling back up to two-thirds of year-ago levels. This represents a gain when considering that construction activity recently stood at one-half its year-ago level. The number of building permits issued for single family homes in the three-county Savannah metro area increased to 303, up from 199 in the previous quarter.

“The average value of a single family home building permit issued declined by 8.4 percent (to $154,000) during the quarter and reflects activity in the first-time buyer market as new homeowners were enticed into the market by substantial federal tax credits. This impetus will wane during the later half of the year as the credit expires,” he states, supporting the contention that much of the sales activity continues to be in the $150,000 home price range.

But Toma does not seem any immediate improvement in the local economy, writing, “…the leading index continues to point toward weak economic conditions during the next several quarters. However, the slowing rate of decline in the forecasting index continues to suggest that the worst of the recession is behind us. The coincident indicators are sending a message that the economy may be entering the initial phase of stabilization prior to recovery, but that the foundation for an immediate recovery is not yet present.”

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

10/12/2009 – In a strategic effort to expedite sales, according to the developer, The River Homes of News Place will make 12 condominiums available to the public at a special live auction on Thursday, Oct. 29.

The auction, hosted by National Auction Group, will feature a dozen condominiums developed by Cathy Dunn and Ivy Realty in the westernmost building of The News Place project, located on Bay Street between Whitaker and Barnard streets.

There are two buildings involved in the project, both developed by Dunn and other Savannah investors, announced with great fanfare several years ago and built in the redeveloped former Savannah Morning News offices and production facility on Bay Street.

Developed was a mixed-use concept of retail, office and residential space, sitting above the city’s new parking garage under Ellis Square. Both buildings hit the market at the wrong time, as the economy began its downturn.

A number of area banks hold large loans, and all are being hurt as Ivy Realty and other investors have been unable to make loan payments.  Banks involved include First Chatham Bank, a lender on the west building where the condo auctions will take place, as well as Atlantic Southern Bank and United Community Bank, according to the board member of one of the lending banks who asked not to be identified.
Dunn issued a press release saying that, “This auction is by no means a distressed sale or a foreclosure sale,” adding… “In fact, it is an important way for us to fast-track sales of remaining condominiums and is part of our larger marketing plan for 2009.”

But several bankers and board members of the banks tell a different story.  And according to William Bone, president of National Auction Group, the company running the auction, the sale has been required as part of a negotiation with the lenders.

“They will be sold, no matter what,” he said. “It’s absolute, no matter the price. The banks have said, 'Get ‘em sold.' They know our track record," he added.

It was a negotiation the developers have been able to work out with lenders, he added. "The banks seem real friendly. They are all agreeing on this,” Bone said. His firm was retained by Dunn, and the sale is not a foreclosure sale by the lenders.

Bone said that the condos originally came on the market as high as $700,000 to $900,000 per unit, and he couldn’t estimate how low they might go for on Oct. 29.

“People need to come out for the sale,” he said. “We’re concerned about the amount of response we’re seeing so far.”

The condominiums that will be auctioned feature “luxurious appointments like hardwood floors, premium tile, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances,” according to Dunn. The units range in size from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet. One penthouse condominium is also available, which features 2,800 square feet of living space and 2,000 square feet of patio space.

“The River Homes of News Place offer an ideal opportunity to experience the very best of the Savannah lifestyle and to enjoy all the benefits of downtown living,”she added. “This signature project unites the past and the present to offer the ultimate Savannah experience.”

The River Homes of News Place abuts both River Street and City Market and is in the same block as the popular Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Lady and Sons and Sapphire Grill. A total of 22 condominiums were developed in the west building by Ivy Partners, each offering one parking space in reserved covered parking per unit, included in the auction process, and two spaces for the penthouse.

Ivy Partners, LLC, the developer of the River Homes of News Place, worked closely with the Historic Savannah Foundation to preserve the brick exterior of the historic Savannah Morning News buildings and built an adjoining building that blends seamlessly with Savannah’s elegance, charm and history, according to Dunn, who also owns London Properties. That company ran into difficulty with the economy in developing Abercorn Terrace on Abercorn Street in the Habersham Village area.

Dunn was unavailable at press time for additional comment.

NEWS - Residential Real Estate

10/12/2009 – The Georgia Department of Community Affairs announced recently that two major affordable housing developments in Savannah will be the recipients of competitive tax credits expected to bring in more than $15 million for the projects.

City council was notified that Savannah Gardens, planned along Pennsylvania Avenue on Savannah's eastside, will receive tax credits that will generate up to $8 million to build more than 115 affordable rental units. In all, the $100 million development will transform the former Strathmore Estates into up to 130 single-family homes and 440 mixed-income rental units.

Sustainable Fellwood, off West Bay Street on Savannah's westside, will receive tax credits with an estimated value of $7 million. The money will be used to help construct up to 100 units of affordable senior housing. In all, the development includes 320 mixed-income rental units and 13 single-family homes.

The tax credits are sold on the open market, which results in capital funding for affordable housing projects that meet specific criteria set by the Department of Community Affairs. The State awarded tax credits in 2009 to only about a third of the more than 65 applications received across the State. Of those projects, Savannah Gardens was ranked third highest in Georgia; Sustainable Fellwood was ranked sixth.

"The awards for both projects in the same community is yet another example of our quality housing partnerships and planning that is favorably recognized in the state and national housing industry," City Manager Michael Brown said. "This further advances our efforts to provide decent, safe and affordable housing for our citizens."

The State DCA scored both projects high in part because of the high level of community support for the projects, the fact that both applications were endorsed by City Council, and because of the unique public-private partnerships involved.

At Savannah Gardens, the City of Savannah is building infrastructure and parks, providing technical expertise, and offering funding assistance, while the nonprofit CHSA Development Inc. serves as master developer, and the nonprofit Mercy Housing developing the affordable rental units. Construction of the housing units is expected to begin early next summer.

Sustainable Fellwood is a Housing Authority of Savannah project, which will result in the redevelopment of the former Fellwood Homes site. Infrastructure and parks are being built by the City, with the private Melaver Inc. serving as master developer. Phase I is now complete, with Phase II under way.