The "4th Annual State of Our Watershed Conference - The Tallapoosa River Basin", coordinated from the Alabama Water Watch office in the AU Department of Fisheries, is for all who are interested in learning more about the health of streams, lakes and rivers of the Tallapoosa River Basin, the development plans for Lake Martin and visions of policy makers, watershed management strategies, and community participation in management of water resources of the basin. Conference Information:Location:      Central Alabama Community College, HEA Auditorium, 1675 Cherokee Road, Alexander City, ALDate:      Friday, April 11th, 2008Cost:     FREE registration and A FREE LUNCH will be providedTopics:      Drought impacts, upgrading Lake Martin to Outstanding Alabama Water, Lake Martin dam relicensing,... 03/27/2008

If you have a Lake Martin house in the Little Kowaliga area, you are well aware that Little Steel Bridge Road aka Elmore County Road 55 is closed.  If you are heading to the Real Island or Parker Creek areas of Lake Martin, and are coming from the south, be aware that you must detour.  Keep going north on highway 9, when you hit downtown Equality, take Coosa County Road 2 east.I have a home for sale near Real Island, and was heading over there last Friday.  I took that chance to snap these pictures.  I came away with a few observations:Click here for more pictures 03/10/2008

For anyone that likes old maps of Alabama - or if you would like to see what your Lake Martin property looked like before the lake was built - I have a great site for you.  The University of Alabama is a great site resource for these old maps.  Some of them date back to the early 1800s.   Here are links to Lake Martin counties:Old Tallapoosa County Maps  Old Elmore County Maps  Old Coosa County MapsClick this link for other Alabama Counties.  Hat tip to boataholic on the Lake Martin Forum for the heads up on this link!While I'm on the subject of mapsclick here for more 03/09/2008

Right now there is no one set of zoning rules that covers the entire Lake Martin area.  Why?  For starters, it stretches over three different counties, and most of the shoreline is not inside any cities' limits.  It's an old lake, developed in a rural area.  But, as things change, prices rise, and high end developments are created, more people start talking about a zoning plan that would control the entire Lake Martin area.I have been hearing a lot of local and industry talk about this lately.  It seems that some mysterious document has appeared on the internets (insert grain of salt here) that purports to be a proposed bill for the Alabama legislature and would create a Lake Martin Planning Commission.  The Commission would create and regulate zoning for all of the Lake Martin waterfro... 02/29/2008

Lake Martin waterfront property owners are in one of three counties - Tallapoosa County, Elmore County, or Coosa County.  If you're considering buying on Lake Martin, and are curious about property taxes, you would need to research all three counties to cover  of your bases.There are some similarities, however, in that they all are governed by the state of Alabama's property tax laws.   The property tax fiscal year in Alabama runs October 1 - September 30 every year. So the property taxes you would pay by December 31, 2007, were generated based on a snapshot of value taken on October 1, 2006.   Here is some info for further research:Click here for info on the 3 counties 02/25/2008

Lake Martin's water level has finally risen above the rule curve established by Alabama Power and the Corps of Engineers.Today's read of 481.83 is above the rule curve of 481.7.  What does this mean in English? Lake Martin's water level is ahead of the pace it needs to get to full pool of 490.  This is great news. It has been over a year since we could say that.How did it get there?  read more.... 02/23/2008

When it comes to architecture, I don't know rococo from romanesque. The Lake Martin Voice welcomes guest writer Amy Stoyles to help us all learn about the finer points of home design.  Thanks Amy!!! Does Your Lake Martin Home Need Botox?Okay, so since the holidays we've all been working on those New Year's resolutions... and I'm not talking about losing those last five pounds. Rather, it's those things you want to change about your Lake Martin home - the kitchen that's too small, the back porch you always wanted, the master bathroom suite with a super sized shower.  And, for the same reasons people hire personal trainers to finally get over that plateau, I have to break it to you - it's time to hire an Architect. I can hear the excuses already. While there can be some small truth to all... 02/10/2008

Lake Martin and Alabama have won a victory in the long running "water war" with Georgia and Florida.In this press release, Governor Bob Riley calls it "the most consequential legal ruling in the 18 year history of the water war."What happened?CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT 02/06/2008

Alabama Governor Bob Riley has recently played a huge role in lobbying FERC on behalf of Lake Martin's water level.  He is also Alabama's most visible representative in the ongoing "Water Wars" - the struggle of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama to determine the future water usage of each state, and how that impacts the other two.The Guv recently spoke to the Montgomery Lions Club, of which I am a member.  He spoke on a variety of topics, then opened the floor for questions.  Since I am keenly interested in feeding my children, I asked:"What is the update on the Water Wars?"Thankfully, The Guv limited his response to include some examples that affect Lake Martin.  Namely he talked about how the recent drought caused Georgia to nearly suck their lakes dry, which of course directly and indire... 01/29/2008

The Lake Martin real estate market suffered a major slowdown in 2007 for a variety of reasons.  I dug through the sales results in the Lake Martin MLS to attempt to cut through the gossip and analyze the numbers.In 2007, the number of Lake Martin waterfront homes sold was about 35% less than in 2006.  2006 was about 17% less than the peak of the sellers' market in 2005:  Witness the Transformation From Sellers' to Buyers' Market:  Click here for more 01/16/2008

 Trillium, one of Russell Lands' more mature Lake Martin developments, is located just west of Kowaliga Marina.  Along with Willow Point and The Ridge, Trillium has some of the more high end homes on Lake Martin.Trillium was one of Russell Lands' first neighborhoods that were completed in different phases.  The first homes were built there around 1989.  One element that was new to Lake Martin at the time was Russell Lands' use of causeway construction.Years of erosion on Lake Martin had made islands out of former peninsula. Click here for more....... 01/12/2008

The Lake Martin real estate market has not really felt a direct effect of the mortgage meltdown yet.  Sure, the subprime fiasco has caused conventional and jumbo rates to rise, but I consider that indirect.  By direct effect I mean huge waves of foreclosures from high risk loans, and we haven't really seen that on Lake Martin up to this point.  I don't think we will see as much of that here as was seen in other markets, because I don't think that many of the 2004 and 2005 sales were fueled by speculators.  A quick trip to the Tallapoosa County Courthouse last week confirmed the low foreclosure rate.This is not true of other markets around the nation.  Headlines like this abound: "Fraud Seen As Major Driver In Wave Of Foreclosures."  In a subject this big, there is a lot of blame to go a... 01/06/2008

Lake Martin's drought of 2007 created some low water levels and has exposed many spots that are shallow water hazards.  As of this writing, the Lake Martin water level is at 474.7 feet - about 5 feet below the normal winter water level, and 15 feet below normal summer level.  If you have been around Lake Martin lately, by car or boat, you have noticed some islands that are poking out of the water now that you haven't seen before.These shallow water spots can be downright deadly when the water is this low.  When (!!) Lake Martin gets back to normal, they will be merely hazardous to your boat motor, or maybe good fishing spots.  I thought I would make this post to create a spot for everyone to document these potentially dangerous spots.If you have the lat/long coordinates of any "new" isl... 12/25/2007

Lake Martin's Sand Island has been battered by erosion and losing real estate for many years. Alabama's 80 year record drought exposed a land bridge and afforded area developer Russell Lands an opportunity to drive to it and make repairs.I rode out there on Friday, December 14, 2007.  It was pretty weird to be able to drive to an island that I have ridden past in a boat hundreds of times.  I shot some video to show the repairs that Russell Lands did to stave off erosion.  They created a sea wall made of rip rap similar to those found on many Lake Martin waterfront homes.  To make the video play below, click on it, then click on the Play arrow in the center.Click here for the video.. 12/15/2007

Life as a Lake Martin area realtor means I hear (and try to answer) lots of questions.  One I get regularly is:"I saw on CNN where home prices in (fill in here with name of huge city 3,000 miles away) are down 75%.  All the sellers are being foreclosed on their sub prime mortgages.  It's spreading across the nation like locusts. When will Lake Martin be on sale like that?"My answer - probably never.It's because All Real Estate Is Local.  Including (and especially) Lake Martin.Click here to read why........ 12/07/2007

Ever been lost around Lake Martin?  Has anyone given you bad directions to their cabin and frustrated you by relying on the term "can't miss it?"  If you were looking for 1135 Lakeview Drive, Dadeville, how would you like to be able to see this map on your cell phone:  Download Google's Maps for Mobile on your cell phone and greatly diminish your odds of getting lost around Lake Martin.Top 5 Cool things about Google Maps for mobile:1.  It's free.  The software from Google is free.  You will pay, however, for the data that you download, so if you don't have some sort of Internet data package with your cell phone you will be charged.  If you have an unlimited data package - no worries! Even if my blackberry didn't have unlimited data, I still would pay to download this, so I would have it... 12/05/2007

One of Lake Martin's newest developments - Eagle's Point - has a model home that is ready to see plus several other spaces for lots.Located at the easternmost end of Coosa County Road 20, Eagle's Point has big water views looking southeast at the junction of Parker Creek and Kowaliga towards Willow Point and Sand Island.Density:  Phase I of Eagle's Point has a total of 11 homes planned.  Each home will have and its own pier.  They have already cleared out the home sites, so if you drive by boat or car, you'll see the phase I area.  The planned Phase II extends east, across the causeway towards Veazy's Marina.  There are 20 planned homes in Phase II.  A Phase III of interior lots is also planned.House Plans:  Eagle's Point offers three different house plans.  Click here for more info on ... 12/01/2007

Lake Martin scored a major victory when FERC approved Alabama Power's plan to raise the winter water level to 483, effective this year.Alabama Power has also requested to move up the date to fill the Lake Martin to summer level up to January 15, 2008.  THIS IS ALL GOOD NEWS.Lake Martin's winter water level is usually 480 msl.  It's lower than that this year, as Alabama has suffered through the worst drought recorded in 80 years.  Pretty much the rest of the southeast has suffered, too, but Alabama and Georgia have been hit the hardest.Click here for more...... 11/20/2007

Do you have a a cabin on Lake Martin with no little or no closet space?  Why not buy a nice armoire for $50?Lots of the waterfront homes around Lake Martin were built in the 1960s, so that means no storage.  The owners can fix them up or keep them rustic, but lack of closets can be a hassle.  In fact, one of my listings that sold this summer didn't have a closet.Solution: Buy a used armoire.  I read in a recent Wall Street Journal article that there are tons of really nice used armoires out there for the taking, some as little as $50.  This is caused by the flat screen TV phenomenon.  As people upgrade to the new thing, they can no longer fit them into their entertainment center / armoire.Hotels have it even worse.  As they struggle to keep fresh, they are dumping armoires by the thousa... 11/15/2007

Lake Martin Magazine interviewed me a couple of weeks ago about the effect of the drought on the Lake Martin real estate market, and general trends affecting buyers, sellers, and realtors. They included it in an article called "Special Report: The Water Issue" in the November 2007 issue. I thought Nikki Reeves and Kenneth Boone did a good job of covering a huge topic. While they didn't publish the entire interview, they did use a couple of nuggets, and managed to add in a compliment to me. Here's the entire interview, with the parts that Lake Magazine used highlighted in yellow:Lake Magazine: Has the lake level affected your individual/company's business this year in comparison to previous years? Has it done so in a positive/negative way? John Coley: While I personally have been fortuna... 11/05/2007