Fun Things to Do:  Prattville Cityfest, May 4 & 5, 2012   It's time once again for the annual Prattville Cityfest.  The 2012 Prattville Cityfest is scheduled for May 4 & 5, 2012 in historic downtown Prattville. Opening ceremonies are at 6:45 pm on Friday night, and shortly thereafter the wonderful Tip Tops will perform.  This free concert and street dance will go on until about 11:00 pm.  You're sure to enjoy the music and dancing!  Admission is free Friday night. On Saturday May 5th, things get going at 9:00 am.  There will be about 200 vendors this year, selling their arts and crafts.  There will aso be food vendors and even a dunking booth!  The youth art show opens at 10:00 am.  Admission on Saturday is $2 for adults, $1 for folks with a military ID, and kids 5 and under get in free... 05/03/2012

  Prattville Local Events: It's Time For the Autauga County Fair! The taste of deep fried butter.  The smell of corn dogs and caramel apples.  The feel of the wind in your face riding the tilt-a-whirl.  The sound of carnival music and children laughing.  Watching the judging of a cake baking contest.  Cheering at a kid's cow milking contest.  Dancing to the music of local bands.  What does all that remind you of? The fair!  It's time once again for the Autauga County Fair!  And it looks like this year's fair is going to be the best ever!   This year the Autauga County Fair will be held October 4th - 8th.  The location is Mac Gray Park, which is on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive across from Prattville Junior High School.  Admission to the fair is $3.00 for ages 4 and up, and armbands are a... 10/04/2011

Remembering the Prattville Tornado - February 17, 2008   It's just three years ago today that Prattville was hit with an EF3 tornado, with winds of 155 mph.  Tornadoes that strong are really rare here.  In fact, tornadoes that hit the ground are rare.  But when we do get one, we usually get EF0 or EF1 tornadoes.  Usually there are a few trees knocked over and maybe a roof or two damaged, but nothing too bad. But this tornado was different.  This one was about a quarter of a mile wide.  The Prattville East neighborhood, which is essentially across the street and down a little ways from my office, was heavily damaged.  Other areas, including homes in the Highland Ridge and Overlook Estates subdivisions were also hit and damaged. There were injuries, in addition to the property damage, but... 02/17/2011

Three Bedroom Prattville Homes for Sale Under $200,000 in the Daniel Pratt Elementary School District        For military buyers who are relocating to Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex in Prattville, Montgomery, and the River Region, finding reasonably-priced homes for sale in Prattville is important.  It can be hard to sift through so many houses on market, and many military buyers want to find nice, reasonably-priced homes near Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex within the popular Daniel Pratt Elementary school district.        Prattville is about a 20 minute drive from both Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex.  That makes for a nice, easy commute on work days.  Many military buyers are making the decision to live in Prattville.  And being able to find several three bedroom Prattville homes for sale un... 02/11/2011

Do I Have to Pay a Real Estate Tax On My New Home In Prattville Alabama? Part 2   In yesterday's blog, we talked about the new Federal 3.8% Medicare tax on the capitol gains you make when you sell your home in Prattville, Montgomery, and the River Region, AL, and we used an example to see how the tax is calculated.  Then we asked what happens if the amount of capitol gains (profit) you make when you sell your home is over the $250,000 limit ($500,000 for married couples)? That's where another rule, the income limit, applies.  The law says this new Federal Medicare tax only applies to people whose AGI (adjusted gross income) is more than $200,000 per year ($250,000 for married couples). So if you sell your house and make a profit of more than $250,000, then you need to look at your incom... 02/10/2011

Do I Have to Pay a Real Estate Tax On My New Home In Prattville Alabama? Part 1   There's a nasty rumor going around out there.  Recently someone started a rumor that soon every home owner will have to pay a real estate tax when they sell a home in Prattville, Montgomery, or the River Region, AL.  They claim that this real estate tax was hidden within the Federal health care bill.  They even called it a "sales tax." But it's not true.  At least, not the way the rumor told it.  While it is true that there is a 3.8% Medicare tax that high income households MIGHT have to pay when they sell real estate, it only applies to people whose income and proceeds from the sale of their house are over the limits that already exist.  There are two tests that will apply.  The first is the capitol gains... 02/09/2011

Special Financing Assistance for Hardest Hit Homeowners in Montgomery, Prattville, and the River Region, AL   Normally I post helpful information about buying homes for sale in Prattville and Montgomery, AL and the rest of the River Region. But today I want to post something a little different that is very important for anyone living in Prattville or Montgomery (or, in fact, anywhere in Alabama) that might help you if you are having trouble making your mortgage payments. The Federal government previously announced this year that it will be making approximately $2 billion (yes, that's two BILLION dollars) available to homeowners in Alabama who are unemployed or underemployed and are having trouble making their mortgage payments.  When you first buy your home for sale in Prattville and Mo... 01/12/2011

Montgomery AL Local Business Spotlight - Eastside Grille   Normally I write about homes for sale in Prattville AL.  But recently some friends and I found ourselves hungry on a Friday evening, and, being already in Montgomery, we decided to head over to Eastside Grille for dinner.  Eastside Grille is located at 6667 Atlanta Highway, at the intersection of Atlanta Highway and McLemore Road (map below).   Eastside Grille is known for their "meat and three" lunches throughout the week: one meat and three vegetables - tasty, filling, and very reasonably priced. But this was dinner time on a Friday evening, and I was thinking about steak. I couldn't resist the siren call of the cow, it being a Friday night, being out with friends, and wanting to have a good meal and a good time.  We couldn't ... 09/05/2010

What Are You Doing for Labor Day?  Fun Labor Day Activities in Prattville AL   Labor Day this year is on Monday, September 6, 2010.  If you have been spending your spare time searching for homes for sale in Prattville AL, this weekend is time to take a little break and relax and have some fun.   Prattville AL has many of the conveniences of big city life, but Prattville is proud of its small town heritage.  Like many small towns across the southeast and even across the entire country, there are lots of fun Labor Day activities in Prattville AL this year.   When you hear the phrase "fun Labor Day activities in Prattville AL" what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Well, for most people, that first thought is "Barbecue!"  This year, like many others in the past, the Prattville Servic... 09/04/2010

Credit Score and Home Loans - Prattville, AL - Part 2   Yesterday we talked about two of the five categories that make up a credit score.  Today we're going to talk about the other three categories and tie everything together.  Remember that having a good credit score is really important if you want to buy a home in Prattville, AL or anywhere else in the River Region.  Yesterday we talked about the first two categories, Payment History and Amounts Owed.   The third category that makes up your credit score is Length of Credit History. This category looks at the length of time each of your accounts has been open and also the time since your last activity on each account.  So your accounts that have been opened longer get a higher score in this section than the accounts that you have just ... 09/02/2010

Credit Score and Home Loans - Prattville, AL - Part 1   Once you have ordered your own credit report and looked it over to make sure the information on it is correct, you might be wondering what goes into calculating your credit score.  After all, your credit score is going to affect what type of home loan you can get and even the interest rate you can get.   Credit score and home loans are tied together tightly.  So having a good credit score is really important.  And it's important whether you're buying a home for sale in Prattville, AL or anywhere else in the River Region.   So what factors go into calculating your credit score?  According to FICO, the Fair Isaac Corporation, your credit score is made up of five categories.  Each one of these categories carries a different weight, or... 09/01/2010

Credit scores, credit history, improving your credit, using your credit wisely, etc.  All of these have an impact on buying a home.  Home buyers, especially first time buyers, can be confused about how your credit affects your ability to buy a home.  If you're wanting to buy a home in Prattville or anywhere else in the River Region, you're going to need to know how your credit affects your ability to buy a home for sale, and how some things you do will help your credit, and some things you do will hurt your credit. Have you checked your own credit report and credit score?  Did you even know that you could do this?  Well, you can.  You can get your credit report for free at www.annualcreditreport.com.  Just fill out the online application and you can instantly view and even print out you... 08/26/2010

Are you one of the many that have purchased WordPress type themed sites that promises unlimited capabilities and the ability to change all pieces to match your business? How did it turn out? Do you hate it? The WordPress sites that I have seen from most Realtors look like they still need to unwrap the power house of technology they just purchased. I know this is sometimes easier said than done but its not a wasted piece of technology that you purchased. You just need some assistance on how to configure the sites and possibly some rich graphic integration to enhance the presentation and to connect with your clients. The power of WordPress is unlimited and developers are working daily producing new plug-ins everyday that will further enhance the capabilities of the WordPress sites. I have... 10/13/2009

Connecting with Local Clients requires more than just adding your site to Google! Many small businesses today struggle with Search Engine technologies and end-up over paying or just adding their site to a search engine blaster which may or may not work as advertised because its difficult to judge these types of services. What we do know is that your next client could be Joe next door searching a search engine for products and services that you offer but will they find you, if so how will they find you. How can we get our services and products to the local consumer using search engines stuffed with millions of businesses from around the world? First you have to know that adding a site to google is only a small portion of what has to be considered when driving your products and services d... 09/28/2009

What follows is a local monthly market conditions report for Montgomery Alabama.  This particular report is for the month of October, 2008.  The following information is taken from statistics extracted from the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the month of September and includes the local area market (area 10,20) to include the county of Autauga, and the city of Prattville. A complete MLS map of the local area can be found on the http://RealtyVan.com web site at http://realtyvan.com/mls_search.html. Total number of Houses Under Contract 46, about the same as last month (47) AND a decrease from 56 compared to the same month last year. Total number of Houses Sold and Closed 31, a decrease from last month (48) AND a decrease from 47 over the same month last year. Average Selling Pr... 05/12/2008