Anne Ortiz's (anneortiz) Blog

On this Thanksgiving Day, we reflect upon the many things which bring joy to our lives.  No one would disagree that the roof over our heads is perhaps our greatest source of safety and comfort.  Those of us who work in the housing industry know that regardless of its location and features, a hous...

Over the past few years we have seen many changes in the residential real estate market.  If your home has been on the market recently, or if you plan on selling it, no doubt you have confronted the issue of pricing it right. Simply, the right asking price for a home is the price that a buyer is ...

Thanksgiving is next week and many of us may take to the roads to join family and friends in celebration of the day.  If you headed over the river and through the woods you would be wise to glance over this 10-minute pre-trip car checkup...because the only thing worse than entertaining three chil...

The long awaited seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will premiere on November 19th.  Although the movie is expected to draw record audiences, it may not suit all tastes.  If you are in Marietta, Georgia on this day,  and prefer more classical m...

The holidays are an exhilarating time of year.  We surround ourselves with friends and family to enjoy luscious food and joyous laughter.  Along with the shopping, shipping and cooking, though, we hope to squeeze in some good downtime and get caught up on activities that may have passed us by dur...

Owning a home has always been considered a great investment.  Nowadays, many buyers are choosing to buy real estate for cash, thanks to low prices, a huge inventory of foreclosed properties, and poor rates of return on other types of investments.  Although the only legal requirement for a cash pu...

Some Fall home maintenance may require the use of a ladder. Falls and other injuries associated with ladder use are some of the most common, and potentially serious, home accidents. A safety-wise homeowner will make sure anyone working around the house uses the proper type ladder for painting, c...

If only Autumn's gorgeous colors could last forever!  Sadly, our seasonal eye candy is slowly disappearing, which means work for us to keep the landscaping well groomed.  However, there are ways to put nature's gift to work for a little while longer.  There are much better things you can do with ...

With colder weather approaching, our minds turn to heating bills that will soon appear in our mailboxes (or maybe they already have!)  What steps can we take to keep cost reasonable this winter?  There isn't a shortage of articles and advertisements in newspapers, magazines and on the internet to...

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and there will be events throughout Cobb County, Georgia to honor those who served our country over its remarkable history. The city of Marietta and the Marietta Kiwanis Club invite the public to honor the community's veterans with a parade and ceremony on the Square Thu...