Discover Richmond Hill Georgia

I have the pleasure of visiting Richmond Hill, Georgia in the springtime, you will surely want to get outdoors to marvel in the natural beauty of the area. One great way to do that is to visit the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail. The trail begins at 5270 Cedar Street, Richmond Hill.

Created in large part by the efforts of the Richmond Hill Boy Scout Troop 527, the trail boasts 32 historical marker sites that paint Richmond Hill and Bryan County's history back to pre-Civil War days all the way through the 1930's.Of particular interest are the points that reflect the contribution that Henry and Clara Ford made to the area while living in their winter home on the Ogeeche River near Richmond Hill (known then as Ways Station).

If you choose to follow the trail, put on some good walking shoes or bring a vehicle because there is more than one can see in an hour!Some of the highlights of the trail are the Courthouse Annex built in 1793, Ways Station, built in 1856 and the Community House, an imposing building that the Fords built in 1936.

Community House offered area residents access to cultural development, education and community events like dancing without cost.It served as a community center where locals could learn cooking skills, home economics, and sewing but also spend the evening hours basked in live music.

Another gracious reminder of Richmond Hill's past is the Burnt Church Cemetery. Here you can meditate while strolling through a graveyard filled with some of Bryan County's first residents. Built alongside the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church in 1830, the cemetery remains a visible marker of local history even though the church itself burned in 1882.

True to the impact the Ford's had on Richmond Hill is the Martha-Mary Chapel named in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.Built in 1937, the building was dedicated to the spiritual needs of students at nearby school.

You will also want to visit the George Washington Carver School, built in 1939.It was built by Henry Ford to provide African American children with access to a quality education. Named in honor of the famous agriculturalist and educator, George Washington Carver, the school was years ahead of the curve toward creating equality in education.

True to the impact the Ford's had on Richmond Hill is the Martha-Mary Chapel named in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.Built in 1937, the building was dedicated to the spiritual needs of students at nearby schools. Of interest are the furnishings in the chapel that were designed and constructed by students at the school.

The truth is that no matter where you stop on your visit tothe Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail, you will gain a sense of the amazing events and people that shaped live in Richmond Hill. It is time well spent in the beauty and wonderful weather that each spring brings us. The trail also offers a glimpse into the bright future that awaits those fortunately enough to live in Richmond Hill! For more specific information about the trail.

Selling Homes in Richmond Hill to wonderful people is a blessing. Over 15 Years of helping clients buy and sell homes. Serving Richmond Hill , Fort Stewart , Hinesville, Savannah. Randy Bocook

Richmond Hill Ga Real Estate

Richmond Hill GA Real Estate

For the Love of God, Make a Decision!

How many times have I wanted to make that statement; “For the love of God, please make a decision!” How much time does a person need to find a home? I know, I know, there is no right answer to that question. Our job in real estate is to be informative, knowledgeable, and I guess be patient. You would think after 15 years that I would know the business a little bit better than I do now. But, once again, I got fooled.

I was told a magic statement over the weekend, “Oh my gosh Randy, this is the perfect house for me!” Bells and whistles, fireworks went off after a couple of weeks of looking at homes – This gentleman finally found the perfect home! We went as far as inviting family members from different cities to come in over the weekend to look at the home. They took additional pictures and I even shot and edited a personal video of the home so they could look at it again when they got home.

The price was well below this gentleman’s top price point; the seller was willing to pay all the closing costs. So really the negotiation was done before we even got started. How many times have you heard the statement, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.” I get a phone call today from the gentleman that simply said “I’ve decided to not buy that home, I want to look at some more.” I instantly wanted him to send me his match.com or eharmony.com profile sheet to see if he is afraid of commitment. I wanted to see a copy of his college transcripts to see if he is a chronic procrastinator. I wanted to glance down at his gas gage to see if that showed below a quarter of a tank. But, I didn’t.

I sent my head buyer’s agent out with him today to show more homes to him. So you would guess my opinion of this buyer was not super positive. I thought he was manipulative and noncommittal and was a professional shopper. It’s amazing how one small thing can change your entire opinion of a situation. He simply sent me a follow up email that stated “Randy, I have a very sick mother that I’ve decided to move in with us and I don’t want her to climb stairs. I want to sacrifice what I want for what she needs for the short time she has left.” As you could guess that’s all I needed to reaffirm the relationship and to give me the motivation to work harder for him because his heart is in the right place.

What’s a little bit more time for someone who is making a big decision to sacrifice his wants for a loved one’s needs.

Fort Stewart Ga housing

Fort Stewart GA Housing

Fort Stewart, Georgia, the largest military installation east of the Mississippi River, is the home of over 20,000 active duty military personnel. Fort Stewart is considered a heavily mechanized military installation; this means that Ft. Stewart has armored tanks, fighting vehicles, and a large array of combat weapons. The base is located outside of Hinesville, Georgia which is a town of approximately 75,000 people.

To the north of Ft. Stewart is a small town known as Richmond Hill, Georgia which has a population of approximately 18,000 people. It’s a small, cozy, coastal town with no industry to speak of and structured neighborhoods and communities for families. Richmond Hill is known to have some of the best schools in the state of Georgia. The average price of a home in Richmond Hill is around $200,000. As you can imagine, many of the Ft. Stewart soldiers live in Richmond Hill and choose to raise their family around other like-minded military families. There are many services available in Richmond Hill, such as the Richmond Hill Medical Home, an Army-run primary care clinic for family members. The average stay for a soldier at any typical military base is 3-5 years.

Being a Realtor and servicing incoming and exiting soldiers to Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field, you have to take the troop movements in to account. During OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) the entire military base was sent to the desert for up to 15 months at a time. To say that our town was a little bit bare would be an understatement. Real estate took a dive, as you know and could imagine, and rentals became a very popular option for the soldiers and their families. Think about it – Who would want to buy a home knowing they would be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq for up to 15 months and not be able to enjoy it. Many wives went home to stay with their parents or family members for support.

Approximately 5 years ago the military decided to break up Ft. Stewart in to separate brigades. The brigades have always been there but what was done was each brigade was autonomous. This allowed one brigade to be deployed with a full regimen of equipment and service personnel needed during that deployment period. This staggering of sending brigades to the desert gave some stability to our housing market. The idea of 4,000-5,000 soldiers going to the desert at any given time was much better than 16,000 soldiers going all at once. The deployment term was also lessened from 15 months to a timeframe of 9 months through one year.

As you can imagine – Ft Stewart is the lifeblood for all of the cities within a 50 mile radius. As such, I honored to be able to help military families and be a part of their lives.

Richmond Hill Ga Real Estate

Richmond Hill GA Real Estate

Real Estate as a Movie – Quiet on the Set!

Sit back and think for a second about your real estate career as a movie. Think about the ebb and flow of a movie script. The beginning of the film is your journey to get a real estate license and form the foundation of your early real estate career. Like any good movie or script, there must be elements of drama, humor, tragedy, redemption, and finally happily ever after. It goes without saying that not all films are created equally.

The Academy awards are designated to give out the Oscar for the best films of that current year. The worst films of the year have their own awards called the Razzies. Sometimes the film that wins the Razzie award is the most entertaining and fun to watch. Compare that to the new, rookie agent landing, listing, and selling an incredible home in your community. How did that happen? Didn’t the seller realize that the agent was brand new? A better analogy on this is the new agent is an independent film that came from nowhere and went on to win an Academy award.

It goes without saying that the drama within the every-day real estate career seems more like a movie than not in many cases. You’re dealing with personalities that come from a wide spectrum; a very picky buyer to a nonchalant seller, to a cocky buyers agent in your office. Watching HGTV and seeing House Hunters, the consumer gets a fake, staged presentation on the process of buying or selling their home. In reality people are nicer, friendlier, more talkative, and frankly more honest about a home instead of the politically correct statements that come out of those House Hunter style shows. Real estate, if filmed daily, would be a much better show. The problem is the public would see the scars, hear the curse words, and see the true process. The rewards are bigger and the journey is much tougher than the show indicates. While writing this blog, I got caught up in the moment and yelled QUIET ON THE SET! We’re rolling here!

Richmond Hill Ga Real Estate Real Estate as A Movie- Quiet of the Set!

Richmond Hill Ga- Real Estate As a Movie

Richmond Hill GA Real Estate

Real Estate as a Movie – Quiet on the Set!

Sit back and think for a second about your real estate career as a movie. Think about the ebb and flow of a movie script. The beginning of the film is your journey to get a real estate license and form the foundation of your early real estate career. Like any good movie or script, there must be elements of drama, humor, tragedy, redemption, and finally happily ever after. It goes without saying that not all films are created equally.

The Academy awards are designated to give out the Oscar for the best films of that current year. The worst films of the year have their own awards called the Razzies. Sometimes the film that wins the Razzie award is the most entertaining and fun to watch. Compare that to the new, rookie agent landing, listing, and selling an incredible home in your community. How did that happen? Didn’t the seller realize that the agent was brand new? A better analogy on this is the new agent is an independent film that came from nowhere and went on to win an Academy award.

It goes without saying that the drama within the every-day real estate career seems more like a movie than not in many cases. You’re dealing with personalities that come from a wide spectrum; a very picky buyer to a nonchalant seller, to a cocky buyers agent in your office. Watching HGTV and seeing House Hunters, the consumer gets a fake, staged presentation on the process of buying or selling their home. In reality people are nicer, friendlier, more talkative, and frankly more honest about a home instead of the politically correct statements that come out of those House Hunter style shows. Real estate, if filmed daily, would be a much better show. The problem is the public would see the scars, hear the curse words, and see the true process. The rewards are bigger and the journey is much tougher than the show indicates. While writing this blog, I got caught up in the moment and yelled QUIET ON THE SET! We’re rolling here!

Richmond Hill Ga Real Estate Real Estate as A Movie- Quiet of the Set!