1. read and keep a copy of any signed contract 2. inspect your property, and better yet hire a professional home inspector 3. inspect the neighborhood 4. inspect for wood destroying organisms 5. investigate, test and verify everything about the property and it's improvements 6. get a survey and verify zoning if you have development plans 7. buy an owner's title insurance policy 8. consider obtaining a home warranty 9. establish a fiduciary relationship with a Realtor 9.5 never buy a house in a hole Got that? … [Read more...]
Hot’Lanta is rekindling
January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Curbed.com’s regional real estate reporting is superb. Their site is interesting and they are really on point with the style of their site. Recently, they reported on a grim forecast that surfaced for Atlanta’s metro economy, bringing up the bad and the ugly that “planners” statewide need to consider. The article cites ““Atlanta's persistent unemployment, traffic congestion, a 29% loss in average per-square-foot housing prices between 2000-2010, and the fact that the city is increasingly offering a lifestyle opposite of that desired by the most desirable workers and companies. The opportunities he sees are also legion, though, and many of them simply involve re-embracing our transit roots: i.e. investments in commuter rail, continuing to capitalize on the power of our airport, making The BeltLine everything it can be and getting T-SPLOST passed.” The AJC reported on the same Brookings Institution report that brought up these findings, stating the following about … [Read more...]
Has Atlanta’s housing market hit the bottom?
January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This recent article from Forbes states that “national home price data indicates that the worst of the catastrophic home price implosion is behind us.” The folks at Local Market Monitor, a Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm, helped Forbes compile a list of the top ten markets poised for a rebound. “They sorted through a plethora of housing and economic data for the 100 most populous cities and their surrounding suburbs, defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Metropolitan Divisions (MSADs) by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. LMM assessed home prices over the past 12 months, unemployment rates, 12-month job growth projections, population increases from 2006 through 2009 (the most recent data available from the U.S.Census) and new-home construction rates for the third quarter of 2011 as compared to the same quarter in 2010. Home price changes over the past three years were also taken into account, as markets that lost less value in the downturn … [Read more...]
Georgia mortgage news you can use this week
January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Jeff Buchweitz at Fairfield Mortgage is the preferred lender for my Keller Williams realty market center, and I intend to copy and paste his informative “Mortgage News You Can Use” newsletter, regularly. The Fairfield site is loaded with information – here’s the links page if you want to do some further reading. First, the biggest news of the week – The Mortgage Insurance Tax Break is Gone. On Dec 31st, Congress let 58 tax code benefits expire, including credits for home energy improvements, credits for builders of energy-efficient new houses, and home buyer tax deductions for mortgage insurance. The mortgage insurance deduction has been a key mortgage financing benefit in place since 2007 which benefitted home buyers with income of $110k per year or less. Combined with the new fees they are imposing on Conventional loans this Spring, Congress continues to increase the costs of homeownership rather than reduce them! It should be noted that Congress … [Read more...]
Making an example out of $10,000 houses in Georgia
January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This will probably be my only post this year that addresses value in this particular price range. Why? Well, because most of these properties are not worth buying… But, this one is… for the right price. This one belongs to one of my clients, who needs to short sell this house in Oakland City – I listed it for $9000 in September – it remains unsold. We are relisting the property soon, and I am thinking that $4000 is the right price. His mortgage lender may differ with me, but I let them set the $9000 price back in September. No offers followed! Some of you may be thinking – huh? what? Is he really talking about this like it matters? Well, my client matters – he needs this short sale! So, check out these FMLS statistics - 8854 houses sold for under $50,000 in Georgia last year, 1422 in Atlanta, 147 in 30314, 265 in 30310, and 205 in 30315. 363 houses sold for under $10,000 in Georgia last year, 266 in Atlanta, 39 in 30314, 73 in 30310 and 47 in … [Read more...]
The Intown Insider foresees price increase
January 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday, while standing on the rooftop of Six Feet Under in Grant Park, I made the bodacious claim that we will see a median price increase for metropolitan Atlanta for residential real estate. We are already seeing that in places like Decatur, and other high performing real estate submarkets in Buckhead, and in some of the suburbs. Anecdotal evidence shows me that activity in the lower price ranges, particularly under $100,000, is strengthening while activity in the higher priced submarkets continues to show signs of stability. The recovery is underway but it will be some time before we see prices firming across all segments of metropolitan Atlanta. We will continue to see depressions in places like Lakewood, Vine City and even in some of the Atlanta neighborhoods that are going through school struggles. Here’s my video with the claim – stay tuned in 2012! … [Read more...]