The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan Lagniappe columnist

Mobile’s favorite raconteur, Eugene Walter, opened his novel, “The Untidy Pilgrim,” with this famous passage (well, it’s famous in Mobile anyway):

“Down in Mobile they’re all crazy, because the Gulf Coast is the kingdom of monkeys, the land of clowns, ghosts and musicians, and Mobile is sweet lunacy’s county seat.”

Can you imagine a more apt description of our fair city?

So when I see people moving here, I have to wonder why. Some might say it’s sweet lunacy if you don’t have a compelling reason. The boss who gives you a choice between a transfer or a job search. The spouse who tells you to set up residency in another state or they’re calling the police. That sort of thing.

Not that Mobile doesn’t have more than its fair share of attractions. But you’ve got to admit, this city is, well…a bit unusual. And it’s never had the magnetic lure of some of our hip ‘n happening neighbors to the north such as Birmingham and the ATL (of course, with TK and other recent developments that may all be changing…).

I’ve always wondered what brings newcomers here. Take my new friend, Sherrie Quander, for example. Sherrie’s moving here from LA (the other one) where she’s lived for the last 28 years. What is she thinking? As near as I can tell, there’s no one saying she has to leave the state of California or else. Just a trip last September to visit her friend David (who moved here from LA two years ago under similar circumstances) and some urging from him.

I thought it would be interesting to do a series about Sherrie’s search for a new home here, for some insight into what our city and real estate market looks like to an outsider. Think HGTV’s “What You Get for the Money” and “House Hunters” without all those annoyingly perky TV personalities and their overflowing sweaters. And the fact that she’s moving here from what might be described as the epicenter of the real estate market meltdown makes it even more interesting, at least to me.

This column will look at what she wants to sell in LA, and what she hopes to buy here. Another column will follow her home search, revealing her impressions of different Mobile neighborhoods. Once she buys a new house, we’ll look at what and where she bought and why.

First, a little background on Sherrie. Actually it’s hard to give a little background on Sherrie. Let’s just say she’s one of those people who lives a bit larger than most of the rest of us. Her Web site (www.indeliblegrace.net) describes her as a motivational teacher, speaker, human resource consultant, life coach, minister and singer.

Sherrie’s home in California is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with 1,440 square feet and a two-car garage in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of LA. She’s owned it for 18 years, riding the ups and downs of the California market, so now she has a lot of equity.

The good news is, as we all know, prices are much lower in Mobile than in LA. Sherrie’s hoping to buy a similar house here for between $150,000 and $200,000. She’d prefer a little more space, say 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. She wants a decent-sized front and back yard, and she’d really like a gas line for a gas range.

If she can sell for close to her asking price and buy for close to her target purchase price – cha-ching. She’ll be able to pay cash for her new home plus pay off some debt she incurred when she started a new business awhile back. Not bad, huh?

But is it do-able? Well, one would certainly think so. A quick search of the local MLS system revealed about 200 houses that meet her basic criteria. Actually it wasn’t very quick because the search tool on the local MLS Web site is cumbersome, and the results show lots of duplicate listings. The tool real estate agents use is no doubt more flexible but this is 2008 and buyers want to search effectively online before they call an agent. Helloooo?

Anyway…after doing a couple of searches, I extrapolated that there are maybe 150 houses meeting Sherrie’s basic criteria. That’s a pretty nice selection no matter how you look at it.

The first (highest priced) listing was a brand new Creole-style brick home in 36608 (Midtown) for $199,900. Three bedrooms, two baths, about 1,700 square feet. No garage, but it does have a carport, screened porch and a lot of other extras.

At the other end of the list was a similarly-sized brick ranch in 36605 for $150,000. It’s 30 years old so it doesn’t have the stainless appliances, open floor plan and some of the other up-to-date features of the first house. But it’s attractive, and it does come with an extra lot, a two-car garage and an above-ground pool. And you can do a lot of updating with $50,000.

In between these two houses, there’s a head-spinning selection. Sherrie can choose from new and resale houses of all sizes, ages, descriptions and locations. I’m looking forward to seeing what she chooses. Stay tuned…..

Know anyone who’s looking to buy a great townhouse in LA (the other one)? Or looking to sell in Mobile? Want to hire Sherrie? Email me at sharman@sharmanegan.com, and I’ll pass it along to her.

Sharman Egan is Lagniappe lagniappe columnist. Contact her at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com.

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