I often get calls from, work with and close deals with folks who want to invest in real estate in Georgia. Some of these folks are from outside of Georgia, many of them know what they are doing and all of them believe that they see value in Georgia real estate. Most of them bring cash. Other folks, from inside Georgia and from outside of Georgia, want to become real estate investors, but want some guidance on where to start. Here are a few basic questions that I need to know about you if you are a real estate investor. 1. what has been your experience with real estate investing? 2. how much cash do you have reserved for real estate investing? 3. how many properties would you like to invest in over the next two years? 4. your intention is to buy, hold and rent properties, correct? 5. if so, then what has been your experience with land-lording? if not, then what is your investing strategy? what is your criteria for what makes a good investment? 6. how soon do you want to … [Read more...]

Marcie Geffner is a noted real estate, finance and business writer and Bankrate.com published three of her recent articles that offer lots of information on the current federal income tax credit. Here's one entitled "4 Tips for the Homebuyer Tax Credit." Here's another entitled "Secrets of the Homebuyer Tax Credit" And, here is one more entitled "Homebuyer Tax Credit Rewards Repeat Buyers." Here's my favorite item from the guidelines that govern use of the credit: "The home can be a mobile home or travel trailer that is fixed to land owned or leased by the home owner. A mobile home or travel trailer that is actually mobile doesn’t qualify." Uh, does this particular mobile assemblage account? Here is a helpful cut and paste graphic from my friends at W.R. Starkey Mortgage – they show the differences between last year’s Homebuyer stimulus plan and this year’s Homebuyer stimulus plan on an easy chart. Please let me know if I can help you get your … [Read more...]

Here is the “To-Do List” that my Assistant Dana and I follow for our clients when we need to market a luxury penthouse for rent. It looks exactly like my marketing checklist for the sale of a property, only I add some personal teeth to the tenant selection process. We modify and customize our list to suit every client, but this is pretty much what we do every time we list a property. 38 items – turn me and my team on and we will get it done for you! Dana, my Assistant is a hyper-detail oriented master of the internet, so she gets the major media placements done. I’m just the hustler. Please call me if I can answer any questions… … [Read more...]