Sweet Potatoes–The Traditional “Slap Yo Mama” Good

Savannah can boast of a myriad of great dining places.  Some are large scale and well known and others are in places you wouldn’t expect to find.  Sweet Potatoes is one of those unprepossessing locations.  Situated in a tiny strip center next to a gas station at Waters & Eisenhower, Sweet Potatoes is like an oasis in the desert.  It’s a place you never knew you always wanted to eat in.  For people who visit Savannah, Sweet Potatoes offers an opportunity to experience southern cuisine at its finest.  For an average cost of $15 or less, you can try the peach glazed BBQ chicken, meat loaf, catfish, pot roast, or a number of other entrees.  Sides range from every conceivable type of sweet potato dish; green beans with garlic, onions, and bacon; corn pudding; and much more.  The biscuits are light and fluffy.  And, as touted In a Travel Channel Man Versus Food clip, Sweet Potatoes is heralded as having the world’s best banana pudding.  It may not beat my grandmother’s recipe, but I guarantee it will be a close second!

2014 Savannah Book Festival A Hit

The Savannah Book Festival seems to get better each year.  The selection of authors who come to share their experiences includes so many great choices that there simply isn’t enough time to hear them all.  This year, I was only able to attend the free Saturday lectures.  There was a method to my madness in making the selection to hear: Robin Cook, Brad Taylor, Hugh Howey, Patricia Schultz, and C. J. Box (L to R).  Genre and method of publishing were key.  As a result, I was exposed to medical thrillers, counterterrorism, dystopian society, travel bucket list places, and a modern western hero.

Sometimes, as in many Savannah festivals and events, the attendees also offer a lot.  For example, while waiting for Howey to give his talk, I met the lady sitting behind me, who is an author of over a dozen books published in Australia.  In fact, many of the attendees had been published in just about every genre imaginable.  This made the Q & A portion of the session quite interesting.
So, what did I learn from these five presenters?

• Writers comes in all shapes, sizes, and fashion sense!
• There is no one path to writing and getting published.
• Cook recounted that, if not for his circuitous path to a submarine in the Viet Nam years, he wouldn’t have had the dedicated time to attempt a book. 
• Taylor, a special forces veteran, was a natural for counterterrorism thrillers.  His method is immersion in the terrain of his novels.
• Howey began his adventure by writiing for fun for his wife and family.  He created a blog and posted a novella.  The “what happened next” response from readers encouraged him to self publish.  His books subsequently were signed and a Ridley Scott movie is in the making.
• Schultz simply loved to travel and made the transition from working in a stable of authors for travel guides to creating her own series.  It is possible to make a living from your passion.
• Box took 20 years to publish his first book, had his first agent die on him, but now has a book series under consideration from Robert Redford as a platform for a TV series.
• Write what you know and what you like to read. 
• You have to DO something before you can SAY something.  Nevertheless, experience alone doesn’t guarantee success.  Research is vital.
• Stop studying English and have an adventure.
• Your first novel may be a total bust, but even that can be an opportunity to learn.
• Write every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes.  Otherwise, your thought process can be completely derailed.
• There is no perfect approach.  Some outline the entire book and others drift along, led by the protagonist.
• Most publishers are not interested in a one-trick pony.  Successful authors sign multi-book deals.
• If you don’t have an agent or plan to self-publish, select a good editing group of three people who can help you test the material as well as catch inconsistencies and errors.
• The timetable described for traditional publishing is incredible:  2-3 years to get an agent; 1 year to get a publishing deal; 1 year from deal to shelf.  This results in a 3 to 6 month shelf life in the store.
• Having a correlating blog for your work in progress can be a terrific value add.  (Howey wrote a blog in the form of journal entries from his main character.)
• Put the reader immediately into the scene from page 1.

Overall, the Festival was worth every minute of my time.  The speakers were not only informative, but personable and funny.  The folks in attendance were friendly and hospitable. The venues were great.  I’m already wishing for next year’s event!

What Sold in 2013–Part 2

The comforting news in Savannah’s 2013 real estate experience was the return to sales consistently over 400 transactions per month, with several months reaching into the 500’s.  This volume of total sales per month has not been seen in years.  Obviously, the trend in sales is reflective of an overall positive trend that should make sellers feel ready to hit the market.  Buyers should look at the 2013 “sold” experience as the death of the cut-rate “deal.”

Monthly Residential Sales through  2013

Of note, the fourth quarter of 2013 was particularly strong, showing a 6.9% growth over 2012 and almost 25% over 2011 same quarter.  Typically, fourth quarter sales are seasonally lower due to the concentration of holidays.  This appears to refute the opinion of many sellers that they should wait for springtime to put a home on the market!

What was the hottest price range?  The data for 2013 showed that both the highest concentration as well as the highest year over year increase was realized in the $100,000 to 199,999 range, which had around a 13.3% increase in sales.  Based on those numbers, it is clear that Savannah’s 2013 residential homes sales remains solidly in the first time buyer and first time move up buyer market.  Higher end market sales remained relatively constant, hinting that the $300k+ price range may take longer to completely recover.

Seashell Exhibit was Phenomenal

Over the weekend, the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens hosted a seashell exhibit that rivaled a day at the Smithsonian.  The seashell collection, gathered from all over the world, was the passion of Mique Pinkerton and the late C.E. Pinkerton of Wilmington Island.  Mrs. Pinkerton was on hand to tell stories of the scuba, snorkeling, and reef adventures.  While her husband was busy diving, Mique added to the collection through snorkeling and beachcombing.  Following Navy assignments and personal travel, the Pinkertons experienced the oceans of Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Belize, Texas, Hawaii , and California.  In addition to collecting their own specimens, the Pinkertons continued to build the collection by good old fashioned horse trading as well as accepting shells as payment for services.

At 93, Mique kept my total attention as she recounted adventures such as nearly stepping on a moral eel and narrowly escaping its bite.  She was an animated host who could reel off facts about any kind of seashell you could imagine.  Mrs. Pinkerton has worked as a shell jewelry maker, published a shell-focused newsletter, was employed by the Smithsonian for a time, and has done paintings for a famous clientele.   In short, she was just as delightful as her seashell collection.








I took dozens more photos of the specimen, jewelry, shell art.  It was a fabulous way to spend some time.  Mrs. Pinkerton is considering establishing a seashell club in the Savannah area.  After all, you’re only as young as you feel!

Spectacular Property–Nothing Like a Deep Water Lot

302 West Penrose Drive, Savannah GA

Can you imagine yourself settling back to gaze at the water and marsh?  Playing with water “toys?”  My pick for “home of the week” is 302 West Penrose Drive.  This Savannah property is between 2-3 acres on deep water at Richardson Creek.  It has been in the same family for decades and is now being sold as an estate sale.  The original bungalow could use a little work, but someone could live there while they build a dream home on the land.  The lot is so large, it could likely be subdivided and you could have the whole family on site.  A dock and small dock house are already there.  All you need is a fishing pole, a boat, or a jet ski.

Multiple outbuildings are also on site.  No restrictive covenants apply!

For more information on this property, please contact me at 912-667-6533!

Savannah Book Festival–Plan Now to Go

One of my favorite FREE festivals in Savannah is the annual Savannah Book Festival.  This showcase of both fiction and non-fiction authors is a great opportunity to get to know the writer behind the books that entertain, educate, or inspire you.  The list of 2014 festival authors has been published.  Each year I’m introduced to authors I haven’t read.  The Saturday presentations are free; the hard part is deciding who you want to hear.  There’s a lunch break, but you either need to plan to bring a lunch or go to one of the nearby cafes --- I always head to Roly Poly’s at 114 Barnard Street.

A few additional presentations, such as the opening and closing keynotes, require a ticket, but the cost of $15 is a bargain! 

Save the date for the 2014 Festival, taking place President’s Day weekend, February 13-16, in and around Telfair and Wright Squares.  This venue is a block from a parking garage, so it’s very convenient.

What Sold in 2013–Part 1

The Savannah area real estate market is roughly defined as Chatham, Bryan, and Effingham Counties.  Chatham County typically has the highest level of activity.  In 2013, a total of 3,749 Chatham homes were sold.  These sales reflected that the most popular areas  by total sales were West Chatham (predominantly Pooler), Southside Savannah, and Midtown (including both the Victorian District and Ardsley Park):

Area	Includes:	Total Sales	% Total
1	Historic District	179	4.8%
2	Victorian District, Eastside, Ardsley Park	738	19.7%
3	Southside, Highway 17 Corridor, Quacco Road	864	23.0%
4	Wilmington, Whitmarsh, Tybee, Isle of Hope, Dutch Island, & Burnside	686	18.3%
5	Landings	221	5.9%
6	Chatham County, Other	90	2.4%
8	West Chatham, Pooler, Southbridge, Westbrook	971	25.9%

The implication is that the opportunities available in new construction/newer homes has drawn buyers farther away from the core of Savannah.  Typically, where sales are strongest, the balance of power in negotiations tends to swing in favor of the seller.  These numbers for West Chatham, plus the low months’ supply of inventory in those areas, signals that buyers will need to work hard to get the terms they need.  It is critical that the Realtor involved in the transaction carefully develop a negotiating strategy based on market dynamics.  If you plan to buy in 2014, let me help!