Wow @GamecockNation. #FreeAlshon!

As we're all a little stir crazy with cabin fever, a few hours Monday afternoon provided big time excitement for South Carolina fans. Pretty much every reader of this blog obviously watched the game, and has seen the comments of Facebook and Twitter so I certainly don't have to recap. That said, the two pics above are probably my favorites of the day.

The first pic came from my friend Pierce's Facebook page. I forgot who he said snapped it, but it captures a lot. The second pic is obviously our Alshon at the end of the first half. This pic is great because it freezes his extra effort, making it look like he's levitating. You may know of some better photos, but my bet is these two will be posterized, and placed somewhere @Williams-Brice.

Thinking back a few years, here's my one thought synopsis of this year's level of bowl play produced by The Gamecocks: Stephen Garcia. Obviously I don't know this for sure, but if you think to the last few bowl games, today's effort was a completely different level. Perhaps Spurrier knew something when he started Connor Shaw at the beginning of the season. Thanks to Connor for bringing a 'gamer' effort!

Impressed BIG TIME with the USC Gamecock Football Team. I haven't checked any stat sheet, but over the last two years, I think we're 8-0 vs UGA, UT, UF, and Clemson. We live with 7 billion people that would have thought that was improbable, impossible, and a down right stupid thought.

Thank you Carolina football for what you've done to this community, our state, and university. What a run...

@Great Friends @Big Time @New Year!

Last night we brought in the New Year with good food, great friends, and a lot of funny hats. As you can tell, pretty much everyone took part in the hat theme. Even though the fellas aren't in the pic above, rest assured we sported big lids too. For instance, I turned Finley's Bumbo upside down, which oddly worked out pretty well.

As we spilled in last nights Shandon's venue, a big time was had by all. Feeling safe and full of laughs, it's tough not to have a big time when around fun people.

Next up? Devour as many collards and black eyed peas as I can throw down. Then, it's Gamecock football time. After that, the "Holiday Season" will be over and it will be time to blow the hinges off of the world of real estate production.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!

Amanda and I End Year w/ Big Listing

True to our efforts and label, it looks like our 2011 will end with a huge bang, as Amanda and I are set to put this beauty on the market late Wednesday afternoon. Sporting five bedrooms and loads of living space, this home is sure to turn some heads.

One would expect a home of this stature, while gracing the corner of street names like Canterbury and Cambridge, to be somewhere across the pond in Wales or Scotland. Conveniently, however, this manor sits overlooking a gentle hill, in the historic downtown and picturesque Forest Hills neighborhood.

Stay tuned for links and pics. This house if full of charm, rooms, and blowing out the WOW factor from the curb.

Old Columbia Homes Can Punish Wi-Fi

If you know me (or Jennifer), or have read this blog a few times, you're probably aware that before we were married, I purchased a house in the first block of Shandon. It's old, brick, and has a deep footprint, to say the least. Well, it's so long, and has so many bricks, and so many walls filled with concrete and plaster, that our WiFi coverage doesn't extend from back to front. As you can imagine, it's been a constant battle.

Today, we set out to change this problem with a quick trip to BestBuy. As we were all set to purchase another 'booster,' or 'extender,' the salesperson sold me on the supposed fail safe product in the pic above. Given it's an Apple product, I had no problem paying for a product we'd have complete confidence in. Fast forward to 1:44AM, and we're back to a six or seven year old Linksys. Ugh.

To be fair, I'm confident the Apple router is experiencing "User Error." That said, thank you for bearing with me while we mess with technical difficulties.

I'll be back at the office tomorrow with no problems, and hopefully by tomorrow night, our old box of bricks will be glowing with new WiFi.

Thank you! FJ.

Nick Rolls Out New Habitat/Realtor Tag

New Design To Grace Car Trunks of REALTORS
The pic above is the president of the South Carolina Association of Realtors, Nick Kremydas, holding up what is sure to be known as "The Realtor Tag." The current version of the tag looks about the same but focuses more on beneficiary of the funds, Habitat For Humanity, instead of the professional organization supporting the cause.

I currently have the more subtle "Realtor/Habitat" flair screwed to my trunk. That said, I'm not sure the new one is for me. I like it well enough, but I'm not sure it hits on the label we try to project. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the new tag may be one step over the salesman(y) line, as opposed to the current "supportive" notion, which I very much prefer. It's a little hard to explain behind a keyboard, but I think you get what I'm trying to say.

At the time of renewal, I'm not sure which tag I'll go with. I do know, however, in the name of sales, and in the effort to fetch the most dollars for a great cause, the association wants to design the most popular tag possible.

Hmmmm, this fleeting thought may have just sold one more tag. We'll see....

Location...Location...Persistence...

Homes In Heathwood & Shandon Fetch Contracts

After a long real estate journey, as of today, the two homes in the pics above are finally Under Contract. One is my listing, and one is not. Nevertheless, there are two "sides" to every real estate transaction, and both have specific merits and challenges.

If you live in downtown Columbia, SC, you're sure to know the top picture as it sits handsomely atop the crossroads of Adger and Berkeley, looking down a Heathwood hill. Pretty cool spot, to be sure. When the flags are blowing, it looks not too unlike my visual of Appomattox Courthouse. That may be a stretch, but you get the idea. Given the location and topography of the lot, it stands tall from the street and is recognizeable by most everyone. All this considered, it's sort of a statement/landmark house.

The second pic above is the cool house in Shandon with the slammin' kitchen. Sloan St. is a very short street off of Burney, which not many folks know about. The buyers of this home endured the everlasting conundrum of; "Do we buy a little more house in Rosewood, or pay a little more to live in Shandon." The couple chose the latter. For Sloan's sake, I'm glad they did!!!

Once again, I hope I'm not jinxing these sales by typing about them. That said, I think it's nice to share some of what's going on in the market, that most of the public doesn't know about.

As a bonus to everyone involved, both properties enjoy "clean" (non-contingent) contracts.

Next up? Inspections!

Downtown Columbia's MLS Closings

Columbia's Transactions: Nov. 16 - Dec. 15, 2011