It has been an absolutely great run and to those of you who supported our little venture, I send you so much love and gratitude that I actually just don’t have the words. 

The reason I started Atomic was, if you’ll look through my posts, largely driven by my need to spend more time with my daughters.    The good news is that the year and a half that Atomic was full-steam-ahead was ALL in the black.   The other good news is that I was able to identify what I needed for myself to be a good businesswoman AND a good parent.  Unfortunately, at present, small business ownership was not something that I could continue to do.

That said, I’m going to be starting work as a Closing Agent with Rudy Title and Escrow - great company with a great group of people - in January of 2010.    They can be contacted at 615.383.2903 or at www.rudytitle.com.  I would love to continue working with you there.

The ___ lady sings. For now.

I will still be available to answer any questions regarding any transactions you’ve closed with Atomic.   This site will remain open and monitored for the next six months and my email will remain active indefinitely.

This was a very hard decision and I have no regrets.  Just gratitude.

Voted Best Festival (take THAT, Bonnaroo!) in Tennessee by the Nashville Scene for the past two years, the Tomato Art Fest is one of the many beautiful things that make our corner of the world utterly unique.   Atomic Escrow is a very PROUD SPONSOR of this event (you can view our commercial spot that has been airing on WKRN during Good Morning America in the morning and Sex and the City at night here, if you’d like); we’ll have a booth at the event - please come by and say hello!

Atomic Escrow is a VERY proud sponsor of the East Nashville Tomato 5K on August 8! 

All funds raised by the East Nashville Tomato 5K directly benefit the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA’s We Build People campaign and programs such as: Y-CAP, Urban Services Youth Development Center, membership assistance, Restore Ministries Fun Company, DiabetesSmart, ABC (After Breast Cancer), swim lessons, Christian Emphasis, and the USSAA program. 

East side loud and proud!  Run or walk it out!

A few basic factoids:

Makes you want to take the leap, doesn’t it?  That fat refund will help you throw one heck of a housewarming party…

By Renae Merle

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 5, 2009; 5:06 PM

The Obama administration will announce Monday a multi-agency effort to combat loan modification scams.

As the country’s foreclosure rate rises, companies have popped up offering to help borrowers save their homes. But banks and consumer advocates complain that the fees, which can reach thousands of dollars, do not translate into results and many of the programs are scams.

In particular, state and local officials and consumer advocates have said they were concerned that homeowners looking for help through the administration’s foreclosure prevention plan, Making Home Affordable, could be taken advantage of. The plan calls for lenders to receive a federal subsidy in return for lowering a homeowner’s monthly payments to affordable rates.

The new federal effort is scheduled to be announced by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.

According to a government statement, the effort will align responses from federal law enforcement agencies, state investigators and prosecutors, civil enforcement authorities and the private sector to protect homeowners. It is unclear whether federal officials are dedicating money.

This initiative comes after a government report showed last week that while mortgage lenders have boosted their foreclosure-prevention efforts, homeowners are increasingly falling into delinquency even after receiving help on their loans. Many borrowers have received loan modifications that failed to lower their payments, the report by the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision found. It also found that prime borrowers, who are traditionally considered less risky, have increasingly fallen into trouble.

disclaimer: Atomic Escrow does not spend one scintilla of quality time with the tortured souls who are using these new loan-saving packages for ill-gotten gain. Promise.

Marie Sharp Summarell

November 16, 1941 - March 22, 2009

My mother.

We’ll be closed on Wednesday, March 25.  Thank you for understanding.

Yep, that’s the back of Nicole Kidman’s head.  At the Nashville Fairgrounds.  In the ’suicide seats.”  Now quit gawkin’ and just go next time!

She hasn’t been Bubbles for a while; I think she much prefers entertaining her children.

She is, by her given name, known as Melissa Duke Mooney.  She is one of the most impressive multi-taskers I have ever met in my life.  She has Dorothy Parker’s wit, a cheerleader’s enthusiasm, and the above picture says it all about her looks, but if you’re not sure from this one picture, I can find you about a thousand more of her, bespectacled and wrapped in the arms of her friends and her husband and daughters, that will remove any doubt of her beauty.

East Nashville, Los Angeles, Louisiana… well, the world lost her this week.  With no warning.  The universe found her, I’m sure.  Found her to be fetching, fascinating, kind, and welcome.

One of the best things that I’ve enjoyed about working from my home is that when I had down time, I could be involved with my children instead of sitting in an office waiting for the next phone call.  Melissa gave me an amazing template for how to juggle these worlds with grace and humor and for that, I am so grateful.  Her family is amazing and her friends are delicious.  She’s the closest thing to a Community Organizer that I’ve ever met.

The way that our neck of the woods is handling this is the reason I adore the east side.  A lot of my colleagues have been so kind this week about understanding this loss to our community, and I’m thankful to them, and to have known this woman.

I personally have no familiarity with them any other time of the year (but oh, you should ask me about nutria sometime), but along with everyone else, I am curious as to whether or not Punxatawny Phil sees his shadow on the morning of February 2.    This year, we’re told, Phil saw the shadow and the nation heaved their collective shoulders in anticipation of six more weeks of winter.  Oh, well.

The current economic situation and the varied responses reminded me a lot of yesterday’s (non) event in Pennsylvania.  There is a fine line between doing what you’re told and being told what you’re expected to do in almost any situation.  Someone holding an enormous rat-thing yesterday took a look around, decided he saw a shadow, and told everybody to get ready to be cold.   He could have handed the rat-thing to another person that may have been standing at a slightly different angle and they could have seen no shadow, taken off their parka, and scampered around with impunity.   Regardless, we all heard at some point and time yesterday from someone that we should just get used to being cold for a bit more, right?

Conversely, you can look at today’s Dow Jones Index, the job reports, the foreclosure percentages - do it right now if you want - and then, with very little effort, find very different multiple interpretations online or with your remote control.  It has, for better or worse, become a matter of professional pronouncement as to where we stand as a nation, a state, a city, rather than what we see ourselves.

Our corner of the world seems to be adjusting, making changes, offering alternatives, and turning just enough to stay out of our own shadow.  But maybe that’s just the way I’m looking at it.   From my perspective as a closing agent, I see hope, resolution, and perseverance every day and I like the view.

2009 marks the beginning of my 20th year in the Title and Closing industry.  The 19th year for me was one of great change, great contemplation and - ultimately - great satisfaction amid a lot of uncertainty.  

2009 is also now the second calendar year of operation for Atomic Escrow and I am so pleased to report with no irony whatsoever that the economic fundamentals of my company are sound.  I have many colleagues to thank for this as well as many vendors who helped this transition be a relatively easy and clean one.

My only resolution in this regard?    That continued gratitude and quality inform my actions as a Closing Agent, every day. 

Thank you so much for everything, y’all, and Happy New Year.  It’s going to get better every day.