Tag Archives: Atlanta Metro

Heave Ho, Industrial – Here Come the Hipsters

16 Wednesday Nov 2016

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Heave Ho, Industrial – Here Come the Hipsters

By Mary Anne Walser, Realtor & Attorney, 404-277-3527, maryannesellshomes@gmail.com

 

Industrial is IN!!! If you haven’t noticed, industrial areas are hot right now, particularly if close in town. Case in point is the Armour Ottley area, where you can find Sweetwater Brewery, Mason Art Gallery, and the new ARMOUR YARDS which bills itself as “Atlanta’s newest restaurant district.” It’s in an area under I-85 near Monroe and Morningside that was, until very recently, ALL INDUSTRIAL. Now it is the cool “in” place to play and will soon be “the” place to live as well.  But note this – the industrial areas are “in” for other uses, meaning they are no longer all industrial.

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Hipster interests, then, are giving the old heave ho to industrial uses.  But of course the areas in question retain a certain industrial vibe; that’s part of the appeal. Consider Castleberry Hill, near the Falcons Stadium: still lots of warehouse space, but more and more condos, art galleries, and restaurants (like No Mas, an awesome Mexican restaurant and shop/museum – if you haven’t been there, go!)  There’s even a regular “Art Stroll.”

But let’s talk about that misplaced industrial – where is it going? There’s more and more demand for e-commerce space. After all, when you order online and want your goods delivered fast, they’ve got to be warehoused somewhere close. The worse Atlanta traffic gets, the closer those goods must be to the end user. This greater demand for industrial space, with more of former industrial space being used for “something else,” means that industrial space in Atlanta is getting more and more pricey. It’s a landlord’s market for industrial, for sure.

At a recent panel discussion before the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, the panel of experts indicated that the biggest demand and most activity in the industrial sphere is in the NE Quadrant (Doraville, Buford Highway, up to Norcross), I-20 west (but inside the Perimeter), and I-85 south (airport area and south). While you might think the movie industry coming to Atlanta is driving a lot of this, it’s not. The experts indicated that the movie folks can move and store their stuff even farther out. It’s the e-commerce that is driving most of the activity.  Amazon advertises “AMAZON PRIME NOW” not “Amazon Prime whenever we can get it to you.”  Amazon and other e-commerce retailers know where development is likely to happen. It behooves us to watch where the industrial sector is hot and consider investment nearby (or investing in some industrial space).

If you are looking for industrial space for your use or for investment, give us a call. We are always happy to help!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential & commercial real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT from you and me…

02 Wednesday Nov 2016

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THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT from you and me….

By Mary Anne Walser, Realtor & Attorney, 404-277-3527, maryannesellshomes@gmail.com

“The Rich are different from you and me,” said F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Yes, they are – they have more money,” replied Hemingway (or so goes the legend). The rich often are different in other ways, too. Let’s look at what is it that they expect and want, and how are the homes they buy different from our typical Atlanta homes. (Even if you are NOT a luxury home buyer or seller, these insights can help you when considering how to add value to your home in any price range.)

This isn’t a scientific study, but I took a look at luxury homes on the market and those that have currently sold in Atlanta. The first interesting fact is that there are more than 1300 homes in the Metro Atlanta area that are currently listed above $1M. 1368, to be exact. More than half of those, however, are between 1 and 1.5M. More than 3/4ths of them are between 1 and 2M. The pickings get slimmer and slimmer as the price is increased, with only 26 homes over $6M. When we take a look at the luxury homes above $2,000,000 (since with those numbers, 1 to 2 million is barely “luxury”), many of the homes are largely alike in ways you would expect. Most of them:

  • Are 6,000 square feet at a minimum
  • Have a lot of land – generally speaking, the more expensive the home, the more land associated with it
  • Most of them have swimming pools; infinity edge pools are particularly popular
  • A disproportionate number of them are on the following Buckhead streets:
    • West Paces Ferry
    • Blackland
    • Tuxedo
    • Valley
  • Most of them are in Buckhead or in the northeastern Metro Area, especially Milton
  • There is a lot of statuary (statues) on the grounds
  • Movie theaters with movie seats and popcorn machines are popular
  • Forget guest ROOMS – luxury estates have guest HOUSES on the property
  • Privacy is important – the homes are often gated and far from the street

There are further trends that could apply to ANY price range – so let’s take a look at those:

  • CHEF’S KITCHEN with commercial style appliances (to make it look as if you cook, even if you don’t)
  • SPA BATHROOMS – two shower heads and body jets, heated flooring, towel warmers
  • OUTDOOR KITCHEN – grill, fridge, sink, beer tap
  • TECHNOLOGY – control your entire home from your smart phone. Now that most everything is wireless, this can be the case even in lower priced homes

Even if your home is NOT luxury and worth two million or more, the more you can incorporate luxury elements the more you will be able to get from you home when you go to sell.

The most expensive home in Atlanta right now? A $48,000,000 home on Riverview, inside the Perimeter east of 75 and south of I-285. It has more than 18 private acres, 17,000 square feet and comes fully furnished. It’s an English Manor style home with… you guessed it – a four-bedroom guest house. And, of course, statuary. If that doesn’t appeal to you, there is always the “Urban Island” of Old 4th Ward, which you have definitely seen if you drive down Freedom Parkway. Right in the middle of it all with amazing views of downtown, it’s listed for $5,000,000. Or the “Zombie Fortress” at an undisclosed Georgia location, a bunker built underground with room for 15 people in the event of catastrophe – yours for $15,000,000.

If you want to buy or sell a home or just need advice, for million dollar service in any price range, call us!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne s a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

Splish – Splash – Splost – Why I think T-SPLOST is important

21 Friday Oct 2016

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Splish – Splash – Splost – Why I think T-SPLOST is important

By Mary Anne Walser, Realtor & Attorney, 404-277-3527, maryannesellshomes@gmail.com

ARRRGGGHHHH. Traffic. Lots and lots of traffic.  That’s what we face in Atlanta every day. Please consider voting “yes” for T-SPLOST, at the bottom of your ballot – and I hope that this blog post will help explain why I think it is important.

As a busy Realtor with clients all over the Metro, I am in traffic all day every day. And it’s not getting any better – only worse and worse and worse. With Metro Atlanta projected to grow by 2.5 million people over the next several decades, is there any hope in sight? Those in the know say that there is no way we can add that many residents if we keep DRIVING everywhere. Cities are not static – they are dynamic and everchanging, have life cycles of their own, and the “people” market corrects itself. Meaning that if traffic is unbearable, fewer people are going to move here and some who are here will move out.

Unfortunately, my job as a Realtor requires that I be in the car. And as one who drives ALL THE TIME, I know I’m biased, but I believe that traffic is the number one problem the Metro faces. If we don’t deal with the problem, Atlanta will start shrinking, not growing. We have to figure out a way to add more transportation capacity or risk losing lucrative business and losing great people.

So how do we get cars OFF the road? Some traffic relief is happening organically. Milennnials, more than prior generations, like walkability and rideability. More of them walk to work, bike, or take public transit, and they tend to favor those neighborhoods where this is possible. Witness The Beltline! The 22 mile loop around Atlanta is transforming the way we live in Atlanta.  The Beltline trail only accommodates walkers and cyclists – NO CARS. The largest portion of it that is finished is The Eastside Trail and it has increased property values near The Beltline by 26% on average. The hip new companies moving to Atlanta like MailChimp and Google Fiber have moved into Ponce City Market in no small part because it is ON The Beltline. Consider this – at Ponce City Market (“PCM”), there is only one parking space for every 2.5 people who show up there every day, showing that many who go there must indeed be walking, biking, or taking public transport (go to PCM any day and you can see for yourself – people arriving in all modes of transport).

But the organic densification is not enough; there are still many of us in the Metro very dependent upon our cars. At a recent panel before Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), a panel of transportation experts opined that T-SPLOST passage is absolutely necessary for providing some relief to our crazy traffic.  T-SPLOST stands for Transportation – Special Local Option Sales Tax. No one likes more or higher taxes! But we need money for traffic fixes, and this is the best we have got.  It would increase sales tax slightly and the money would go for projects designed to make moving around the Metro more manageable. T-SPLOST will be at the bottom of your November 8 ballot. A majority of those voting must vote “yes” for it to pass – so a failure to vote is effectively a “no” vote. Rusty Paul, Mayor of Sandy Springs, said that “if it doesn’t pass there is no opportunity available for the long term. If we can’t get people in and out, they go away.” SO PLEASE VOTE YES for T-SPLOST.

You might remember the T-SPLOST ballot from 2012 that did not pass, largely because many voters outside the city did not see how the proposal at that time would benefit THEM. The 2012 ballot was perceived as primarily benefitting only certain select areas.  In hopes of preventing a replay of 2012, this time around each city within the Metro has their own list of projects that will be funded so it’s no longer a battle of regionalism – each city benefits.

Google “T-SPLOST 2016 list of projects” and see what is in store for the county and city where you live. And give me a call to discuss if you’d like – I will be waiting in traffic. Somewhere. Hoping that T-SPLOST will pass.

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne s a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

The Wonderful World of Atlanta Mortgage Lending

08 Thursday Sep 2016

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The Wonderful World of Atlanta Mortgage Lending

Mary Anne Walser, Realtor & Attorney, 404-277-3527, maryannesellshomes@gmail.com

Tony was a first time homebuyer. He balked at my requirement that buyers be prequalified by a lender before we go out looking at property. “I don’t want to share my personal financial information,” he said. “Well,” I laughed, “welcome to the world of mortgage lending.” Not only your personal financial information, but lots of information that you think would not even be relevant to the purchase of property must be shared with strangers (the mortgage banker and staff).

I always prepare buyers for the fact that they will be asked for a LOT of information. I joke that the lender will even ask them for their third grade report card (being particularly interested in their math scores). A recent buyer – Mia – called me up laughing one day. “You remember when you said they’d ask for my third grade report card? Well, you were almost right. The lender wants my college transcripts!” Now, Mia was well out of college and fully ensconced in her current job for at least two years. But this is just an illustration that there is no telling what the lender is going to ask to see. The best I can do for you is prepare you so you aren’t surprised. Get together everything that the lender will likely need (see the list below), but then be ready that they may ask for much much more. Like your third grade report card.

Here are some of the documents you should have ready for your lender:

  • W-2 forms from the previous two years, if you collect a paycheck.
  • Profit and loss statements or 1099 forms, if you own a business or are an independent contractor.
  • Recent paycheck stubs.
  • Most recent federal tax return, and possibly the last two tax returns.
  • A complete list of your debts, such as credit cards, student loans, car loans and child support payments, along with minimum monthly payments and balances.
  • List of assets, including bank statements, mutual fund statements, real estate and automobile titles, brokerage statements and records of other investments or assets.
  • Canceled checks for your rent or mortgage payments.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have had credit problems or a complicated work history, be prepared to produce even more documents. And the requests just keep coming, sometimes right up to and on the day of closing. The lender may also pull your credit report again right before closing. That’s why we tell you not to make major purchases between loan application and close. WAIT to buy your new furniture and a new car. Big purchases on credit might disqualify you for the loan because they disrupt your income/debt ratio.

So why the need for all this information, borrower laid bare before the mortgage altar? Remember that the lender is giving you a great deal of money to purchase a home. Back in 2006-2008, they were giving money much much too freely. Back then there were even what were called “stated income loans,” where the bank would pull your credit score, ask you what your income was (without any verification requirement) and give you a loan based solely on your credit and what you claimed that you made. You can see where lots of borrowers got into trouble with this. I personally saw real estate agents who I knew did not make a lot of money purchasing huge houses, thinking that they’d be able to resell them at a profit. When the homes didn’t resell, they defaulted. This happened with borrowers of all professions on a national scale – hence the mortgage meltdown.

So now things have tightened up quite a bit, and the documentation requirements are once again onerous. There’s a person called the “underwriter” who you may label the “undertaker” before all is said and done. Your loan officer gathers the preliminary information from you, then hands the file over to the underwriter, whose job it is to “underwrite” the loan. This means that they make sure it conforms with the relevant guidelines and that it is a loan that is likely to be repaid. They require any and all relevant documentation (and some that certainly seems irrelevant) to satisfy the lender that you have the ability to and will repay the loan.

So call a lender and be prepared for the onslaught of requests. Now, let’s talk about the types of lenders. You can call a direct mortgage lender or a mortgage broker – the difference is that a direct lender is lending you money they control. A mortgage broker is shopping around for a loan and is lending you someone else’s money. So a direct lender will usually have more control over the process (through the underwriter, in particular) and the mortgage broker can shop around, but will not have a lot of control over the loan once they choose one for you. I have favorite direct mortgage lenders AND favorite mortgage brokers (call me if you want a referral!) It is just a matter of finding someone experienced and fair.

Most of my buyer/borrowers these days do a 30-year conventional loan, twenty percent down. Interest rates are still so low – I definitely do NOT recommend doing an ARM (“Adjustable Rate Mortgage”). With an ARM, you have a fixed rate for some period of years – three, five or seven – and then when the ARM expires the interest rate resets to a formula based upon the prevailing rates at the time. Since interest rates are SO low now and likely to rise, you would be better off just signing up for one continuous interest rate over years. What if you think you will move before the ARM expires? The ARM rate is generally lower than the conventional loan rate, so that is tempting. But consider that you may change your mind about moving OR about selling. When I purchased my first home, I used a seven-year ARM, convinced that I would move before the seven years were up. I didn’t! But rates were lower at the seven year mark and I refinanced to a 15 year loan instead. And I still own that property (now as a rental). If rates had gone UP, I would have been quite sorry that I had chosen an ARM instead of a fixed rate mortgage.

Find a lender you know and trust, and sit down with them and talk through the wonderful world of mortgage lending and what is best for you. Then let’s go find your home!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne s a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

 

 

MOVING TO ATLANTA – “The City in the Forest”

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

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MOVING TO ATLANTA – “The City in the Forest”

By Mary Anne Walser, Realtor & Attorney, 404-277-3527, maryannesellshomes@gmail.com

Ah, Atlanta, land of opportunity and of trees. Yes, trees! We are known as the “City in the Forest” and Atlanta takes great pride in its green canopy. It’s one of the first things you will notice about the city from the airplane or car – we’re one of the “greenest” cities around. (In the conventional sense, not necessarily in the LEED certified sense).

There are some great books about the city itself – including one I love to give to my relocation clients, Moving to Atlanta by Anne Wainscott-Sargent. And great websites – my favorite is curbed.com. You will also want to subscribe to Atlanta Magazine and to the Atlanta Business Chronicle for great information about the City in the Forest.  But before we begin delving into the specifics and legalities of purchasing property here, I would like to give you just a general view of my favorite city. After all, when you are moving, it’s important to know exactly where you are moving!

When folks say “Atlanta,” they may be referring to any number of cities within the Atlanta Metro Area. Once you live here, everyone knows that “Alpharetta” and “College Park” are on opposite ends of the Metro, but when I talk to relocation clients, they sometimes speak of them almost as if they are twin suburbs of Atlanta. I had a sweet couple relocating from North Carolina. On one of our initial phone calls, they told me that they wanted to live in either Alpharetta or Decatur. As I explained to them then, Alpharetta and Decatur are hours and hours apart during rush hour, traffic wise, and are worlds apart in other ways as well. The couple turned out moving to a city in-between the two, Tucker, and they are very very happy there.

That couple’s experience is instructive in many ways, but particularly in this one: in deciding between their initial two cities, Alpharetta and Decatur, I told them about Atlanta traffic and advised them to carefully consider their commute. The wife could work from home, but the husband’s new job was in Tucker. After considering my advice and seeing Atlanta traffic for themselves, they quickly decided to live as close to the husband’s job as possible. Since he works in Tucker, that’s where they moved. We visited and considered other cities, but the ultimate “win” for them was less time in Atlanta traffic. Traffic is a HUGE “driver” (if you’ll forgive the pun) for many moving into and within the Metro.

For each of us, the primary drivers of our decision about WHERE in Atlanta to move are different and personal. My husband and I love Atlanta’s trees. We love a green, verdant forest and we love to walk.  I spend all day every day in traffic (and as a real estate agent, I always will!), so I like to come home to peace and quiet. My husband is an architect in Midtown and wanted to live as close to work as possible, but in as green a place as possible. So we are inside the Perimeter, but right near the River. We can walk to the Chattahoochee River after work and watch the sunset.

Many of my clients, however, would rather be closer to where the action is. Walking distance to The Beltline, Piedmont Park or to the restaurants and shops of Virginia Highland, Kirkwood, Edgewood, Oakhurst, Ponce City Market, Glenwood Park, Morningside, or Buckhead. If you like a quaint and charming walkable downtown atmosphere, you may prefer Decatur, or outside the Perimeter: Marietta, Roswell, or Norcross. Old Fourth Ward (O4W in Atlanta parlance) or Little Five Points (L5P) are the edgy and hip walkable neighborhoods and those who work downtown can get to work in minutes.  The downtown and Midtown commutes are walkable from Ansley Park or Brookwood Hills, and those neighborhoods are more established and traditional. Ansley is nestled between the Botanical Gardens, the High Art Museum, and Woodruff Arts Center, so if you love culture, it’s a great place for you.  In short, there are MANY neighborhoods in Atlanta to consider, each of them special and wonderful in their own ways.

I spend every day, including weekends, introducing these areas to my clients. Each is perfect in its own way, and each is perfect for DIFFERENT clients. I cannot give you a list of the “best neighborhoods in Atlanta” without knowing YOU because each neighborhood is “best” for a different client. So find a real estate agent who knows the entire Metro and who will get to know you and what will make you happy.

Here are some of the major considerations for most clients, as a guide to you in what to consider. After traffic, first, of course, is price range. Ansley Park may be perfect for you in theory, but if you want a house (as opposed to a condo) and you can’t afford a $700,000 or more mortgage, it’s NOT perfect price wise. So that’s one of the first things we figure out – how much a buyer can and wants to pay for a house. In addition, if you have children or WILL have children and want to put them into public school, you will want to consider the school districts. East Cobb has long been the bastion of close-in good schools with affordable housing. Those who work farther out or who don’t mind a commute may consider Roswell, Johns Creek, or even farther out Forsyth County.

In sum: price range, traffic, school districts, walkability, safety, proximity to golf, swim tennis neighborhoods, playgrounds, proximity to the Chattahoochee, proximity to The Beltline, historical vs. newer neighborhoods are all things you may or may not wish to consider in your hunt for a home.  Let’s get started in the search!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

 

Channeling Don Draper – Positioning Your Atlanta Home in the Homebuying Marketplace

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

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If you are a Mad Men fan, then you know Don Draper went in for the product pitch fully prepared. He learned as much as he could about the product he was being interviewed to market, and he researched how to best appeal to the most likely buyers. Don’t forget that your home is also a product. You need to identify the strength of the market, the target buyer, and the best way to approach and appeal to that buyer. Much can be learned by utilizing some simple tools Mad Men style to position your home correctly in the marketplace. So here we go!

Like bringing any other product to the market, first we do a market analysis. We price your home right by looking at the comparables that have sold recently in a close radius – that’s looking at what has already SOLD. We also determine how much inventory is currently in your price range, how long it may take to sell, and what our competition looks like. We must keep in mind, of course, that there are many buyers who will look beyond a “close radius” of your home. For instance, a buyer may be looking in Decatur AND in Dunwoody – in Inman Park AND in Sandy Springs. While a prequalified buyer will know what they can afford, they may NOT have decided exactly where they want to live. But we do not let that overwhelm us. We start with what’s closest, since that is most immediately relevant. And we keep in mind that pricing and marketing homes is as much an ART as it is a SCIENCE.

One of the key indicators we look at is the ABSORPTION RATE in your particular market. Many sellers make the mistake of pricing their home relative to other homes that are CURRENTLY presented for sale. The problem with that is that the other homes currently on the market HAVE NOT SOLD (by definition). So if you price relative to current listings, and those homes aren’t moving, you may be overpricing, even IF you are priced less than the others.

So the absorption rate is one tool that allows us to look back at the homes that HAVE sold and how quickly they have sold. Here is what you need in order to calculate absorption rate:

  1. The market you wish to analyze. This can be one specific neighborhood or a larger area.
  2. The time period you want to analyze (typically we’ll take six months, sometimes longer).
  3. The number of homes SOLD within that time frame.
  4. The number of homes currently under contract or PENDING sale.
  5. The number of homes currently on the market.

So, by way of example, let’s take Chastain Park as of June 2016. First, know that to truly get an accurate absorption rate you sometimes need to do a specific map search. There are several reasons for this. For instance, Chastain Park is a prestigious area so some listings may claim to be in Chastain Park when they really are not. Also, there are neighborhoods within Chastain Park that are named differently – so the neighborhood name might be used in the listing instead of “Chastain Park.” So using a map search will give us the most accurate information.  And using a map search, we find that 134 homes have sold in Chastain Park in the last year. There are 27 homes that are “pending sale” or “under contract.” And there are 99 current active listings.  So what does this tell us?  Here are the calculations:

  • What is the rate of home sales in Chastain Park? We take the number of sold homes and pending homes added together, (134 plus 27 = 161), divided by the number of months in our chosen past time frame (here we will use a year, or 12 months). This calculation results in 13.41 (161 divided by 12), meaning that 13 (and almost a half) homes are sold every month in Chastain Park.
  • We can figure out the absorption rate by taking the active listings and dividing that by the average number of listings which sell per month. Thus, we get active listings = 99, divided by the average home sales per month (13.41), which equals 7.38 months. That means that if no other homes came on the market, it would take 7.38 months to sell the inventory that we have.

A BALANCED absorption rate is generally between 5 and 7 months. By balanced, we mean a market that’s balanced between buyers and sellers; neither holds a particular advantage in a “balanced market.” Less than five months is a seller’s market (meaning better for sellers), more than seven is a buyer’s market. So we’re in a little bit of a buyer’s market in Chastain Park at this particular moment in time. This is an important piece of information which tells us in part that it’s important to price competitively.

Once we have figured out the absorption rate and how quickly homes are moving, we ask: who is the likely buyer for your home? First time homebuyer? Move up executive who is now making a lot more money and ready for a showcase home to entertain clients? A downsizing widow? A couple planning to have children? You get the idea. To figure this out, we look at the types of buyers who have purchased homes like yours in the same general area. While we want to have as broad an appeal as possible (at least as to those homebuyers who can afford homes in your price range), it doesn’t hurt to also have a good idea of who the “most likely” buyer might be, and to develop a plan to target them in our marketing efforts.

Keeping the likely buyer in mind, we stage carefully. Many of our staging rules apply no matter who the audience, but we also tailor our staging to the likely buyer, the style of the house, the neighborhood and the season. The marketing plan extends to photography as well. If our target buyer is one likely to enjoy the outdoors, we play that up in photographs. If our buyer is likely to entertain in the evenings, we may take some of our photographs at night. Nowadays we often also use drone photography to showcase a particularly large lot or extensive home, a pool, or outdoor area.

After years in the business, I have become expert in marketing homes, but I always also get the input of other agents. We invite other agents into your home to get feedback on our planned approach to appeal to buyers. We often make adjustments based on that feedback.  These agent previews provide a sort of “focus group” intelligence that helps us make your home most appealing to the buyers who come through.

Once we are in the marketplace as a live listing, the adjustments never stop until your home is sold. If buyers aren’t seeing the home, we want to know why. If buyers see the home and aren’t making an offer, we also want to know why. It’s important to have continual and honest feedback until your home is sold. As a seller, you must have a tough skin and take all feedback in stride. As your agent, I will gather the feedback and let you know what I believe is valid and what is not. It’s difficult to have strangers “critiquing” your home. But know the critique is really a critique of the marketing of the home, and not of the way you live. Put on your Don Draper hat and think of it as simply more market intelligence. Together we can determine the best marketing plan and get your home sold!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

 

Investing in Atlanta Real Estate

10 Thursday Mar 2016

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A 2014 Gallup Poll shows that Americans believe that REAL ESTATE is the best investment, above stocks, mutual funds, bonds, gold, CDs or money market accounts.   I agree – with the proviso that it is the best investment only when the real estate is chosen very carefully and with expert guidance.  Here’s my “short” guide to real estate investment, with an emphasis on Atlanta.  While your primary residence can be an excellent investment, in this piece the emphasis will be on investing in real estate you do not plan to live in personally.

For many, the best approach is to buy and hold, renting out for a continuous income stream.  Some investors make great money “flipping” houses, but by and large I believe to do that well and profitably, it is best that you be well versed in building and renovation personally, and have a larger amount of time to spend overseeing the project.  So today we’ll concentrate on the investor who wants to buy and hold for some period of time.

For the first time or casual investor (i.e., the person for whom real estate investing or building, developing, or contracting is not a full time job), it is vitally important that you know what you are getting into.  Real estate is not a “passive” investment, even when you have a property manager.  It will most likely take more of your time than other sorts of investments, but it can produce wonderful returns, both monetarily and psychologically.  There is a lot to be said, for instance, for taking an unloved undervalued home and turning it into something beautiful, or choosing a property in a rundown area of town and watching it get better and better as the years go by.  Just ask anyone who is sixty years old or older here in Atlanta.  When that generation was of first time homebuying age (in their mid twenties), Virginia Highland was considered by many to be a rundown, scary area of town and not worthy of purchasing.  Those who did NOT feel that way are the extremely lucky ones who either had foresight or luck or both.  Now those homes are worth many multiples of what was paid for them back in the 1970s.

My husband and I own four rental properties, all in different neighborhoods and different areas of town.  I started with rental properties by holding onto my primary residence when my husband and I got married and bought a home together.  The home I still own is one I loved in a neighborhood that I couldn’t bear to totally leave.  Over the years, I have rented that home to a series of young professionals who have given us an excellent return while generally taking very good care of the place.  From there, for further investment properties I chose areas, communities and properties that I felt were on the “cusp” of becoming something great.

And that is how real estate investors often begin – by holding on to the property they lived in when they go to purchase their next principal residence.  Sometimes they hold onto the old because the market is down and they cannot get what they want or need from the “old” house, and sometimes they hold onto it because it can become an income producing asset.   More often, for both reasons.  And that’s a good way to start.  The home is in a neighborhood you know – and you KNOW the home; its intricacies and quirks – in short, you know what you are getting into.

But say you’re interested in exploring rental property for its own sake apart from your former residence.  Obviously, a great time to do so was in the period between 2008 and 2013 when the mortgage meltdown brought property values down across the board.  But even now that it’s a seller’s market, there are still bargains to be had – you just have to know where to look and choose carefully.

My favorite investment areas right now are the communities straddling the future West Side Beltline.  As you know, the Beltline is a 22 plus mile trail around the city core that will one day link neighborhood to neighborhood and neighbor to neighbor.  When the east side Beltline was completed just a few years ago, property values skyrocketed around the new Ponce City Market, Krog Street Market, and all the neighborhoods nearby.  Indeed, the increase has continued and today properties are being sold with multiple offers above list price – and in some instances, buyers are even taking off appraisal contingencies so that they will win in the midst of a bidding war.

I believe that the west side is poised for the same sort of growth, and it’s getting a leg up from public officials who are espousing the benefits of developing these communities.  In fact, City Council Member Mary Norwood has held bus tours of these neighborhoods to show potential investors and forward thinking city leaders the potential there.

To continue the Virginia Highland example, there are awesome examples of the same type of architecture found in that neighborhood elsewhere in Atlanta for a lot less money.   For instance, the West End and Westview have Va/Hi bungalows built at about the same time; but of course those neighborhoods did not experience the incredible growth and popularity (yet) that Va/Hi has.  In West End and Westview one can purchase one of those bungalows for less than $250,000.  The same bungalow in Va/Hi would cost $650,000 or more.

Once you identify an area of town that is ripe for investment, like the West End, how do you choose the “right” property?  You will want to calculate your ROI, or return on investment.   It’s easiest to illustrate this by example.  Say you decide to buy a property for $200,000.  Your closing costs and some basic repairs on the property cost you about $20,000.  So your cost so far is $220,000.  If you rent out that property for $2,000/monthly, you calculate your return on investment as follows:

$24,000 (yearly income) divided by $220,000 (total investment) = 0.109, or 10.9% ROI

A great return (although keep in mind that you also want to factor in taxes and insurance on the property as investment costs).

Cash is king, and many investors find it easiest to obtain great rental properties by paying cash or using private equity, but if you leverage your investment your return looks even better.  For example:

On that same deal, if I put down 20% for a down payment, my investment is only $40,000 plus closing and repair costs.  With a loan, my closing costs will be higher, so by way of example let’s say repair and closing costs are $23,000 instead of $20,000.  So I’m up to $63,000 cash out of pocket and I’m borrowing the rest.  Say I use a 30 year loan at 4.5% interest – my monthly loan payment would be $811.  If my tenant pays $2,000 a month, that nets me $1,189 monthly, and my ROI looks like this:

$14,268 divided by $63,000 = .22, or 22% ROI.  Unlike the stock market, this is a return that is regular, predictable and which gives you some control over your investment.  And there are other benefits, as John Adams recently pointed out:

  • TAX BENEFITS. You can take a loss for depreciation and apply that loss to rental income OR to regular earned income, lowering your income taxes.  Rental income is not subject to social security tax, and when sold your gain is “long term capital gain” taxes at only 20% federally and 6% in Georgia.
  • BUILDUP of EQUITY. Your tenants’ payments are helping to pay down the balance of your loan, thus increasing your net worth.  This is unique to real estate.
  • This is the tendency of real estate to increase in value over time.  Average appreciation is 4-5% per year.
  • With real estate, you are able to borrow money to buy a larger investment than you might be able to pay cash for.

Real estate can be an amazing investment.  Be sure you have the right professionals on your side, choose carefully, and go for it!

 

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne serves on the Committee that drafts and reviews the contracts utilized by all REALTORS in the State of Georgia. In addition, she is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

SOME MUSINGS ON LOWER PRICE RANGES AND NEIGHBORHOODS

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

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NeighborhoodA reporter working on a story recently contacted me and wanted me to give my opinion on the “BEST” neighborhoods for a given type of buyer in a given price range.  Unfortunately, I can’t know that without knowing the buyer.  Not only WHO you are (first time homebuyer, young family, aging empty nester), but also your personality.  Your personal traits and also your architectural personality.  Do you like historic bungalows, sleek modern houses, or traditional homes with gorgeous molding and impeccable finishes?  With any personality and price range, there are numerous neighborhoods which might fit the bill.  What you need is the Realtor who will get to know YOU and help you find the right house in the right neighborhood at the right price.  I’m going to share with you some insights I recently gave to a writer for Atlanta magazine who asked me to GENERALIZE on the best neighborhoods for a given demographic in a given price range… but keep in mind that it ALL DEPENDS ON THE BUYER.
SOME RECOMMENDED NEIGHBORHOODS for price points/demographics:

I’ll start with another disclaimer: SO MUCH depends upon where the buyer and family members WORK.  Traffic in Atlanta just gets worse and worse – and commute time is precious time away from the family.  So NO neighborhood is a good neighborhood for you if your commute time is more than an hour, I’d say!  And we have good neighborhoods all around – so I usually start by asking the homebuyer, WHERE DO YOU WORK?  And then WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY/where are your friends?  And gauge the “right” neighborhood accordingly.  Another important factor is the homebuyers’ PERSONALITY.  One may HAVE to live in a walkable neighborhood while another would prefer a newer swim/tennis community. But I will do my best giving you in a general sense some of the best neighborhoods that I think exist for each price range….

Young family
1.  Under 200k: For a young family under $200,000, believe it or not there are several very good options not too far out!  I love Doraville/Chamblee.  Montgomery Elementary School is a favorite.  If they don’t mind living farther out and commute is not an issue, $200,000 will buy you a nice home in far East Cobb.  I usually recommend that the family VISIT the school personally where their child will go.  Some schools that don’t have great scores “on paper” are well loved by some of their constituents, and if there’s an IB (international baccalaureate program), a gifted child can have a great experience even at a not as great school.
2.  200-350k: Closer in East Cobb for the schools.  While the Sope Creek district is outside the range, there are a number of other great schools just a little farther out with houses in this price range.
3.  350-500k: Oakhurst, fun, diverse, walkable, family friendly.  There are also great options in Ashford Park/Drew Valley/Brookhaven Heights.   These are neighborhoods across Peachtree to the east of Historic Brookhaven.  Ashford Park Elementary is well thought of and it’s a very central location, close to I-85 and to 400.  Dunwoody is always a favorite – close in, family friendly.
4.  500k+: I can’t say enough about Decatur, as long as your work commute isn’t terrible from there.  Everyone loves City of Decatur schools, the walkability and the city services.   A lot here depends on the personality of the family!  Inman Park history might be perfect for some (with great Mary Lin Elementary), Druid Hills serenity and history (Fernbank Elementary), or for the rising corporate executive perhaps Buckhead (although homes in 30327 are generally a young family’s “second” home).

20 something
1.  Under 200k: A 20 something could go for a small condo just about anywhere they want to be.  There are even cool places in this range in the heart of Virginia Highland, in Midtown, and in Buckhead.  But if investment is also a consideration, I’d go for Doraville/Chamblee area.  With The Assembly (mixed use) development going in where the old GM Plant was, there’s a whole lot happening in this part of town.  Another great place for investment would be the historic West End – anywhere near where the Beltline WILL be going in the coming years.  There’s some awesome housing stock – great historic bungalows! And soon enough this will be the new “hip” area of town.
2.  200-350k: Ormewood Park, Reynoldstown, Kirkwood – these are the cool areas of town near the Beltline that are still affordable.  I also like SMYRNA near the Smyrna Market Village.  With the Braves Stadium moving to Cobb County, Smyrna is far enough away to avoid traffic (and you’re able to get south without getting on I-75 from there) but close enough to benefit from the development.
3.  350-500k: If they are the Buckhead type, a cool sleek condo walkable to Buckhead action!
4.  500k+: Virginia Highland, Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, anywhere near the Beltline!

Empty nester
1.  Under 200k: On the north end of town, Kennesaw is a good option and Kennesaw Mountain is a great place to hike and to take the grandkids.  On the east side of town, Stone Mountain has some great solid one level ranch housing that might also be perfect.
2.  200-350k: In this range, a good option might be a one level ranch close to where the kids live (if the kids are in Atlanta) or close to the neighborhood they are downsizing from (to stay in touch with friends).  Lots of great neighborhoods in Tucker and nearby; Tucker has a great small town feel but is so close in, and very warm and welcoming.
3.  350-500k: I find many empty nesters in this price range love the ACTIVE ADULT communities a little farther out of town.  These generally are designed in a 4-pod pattern; basically 4 houses joined together, each all one level with a garage.  There’s a central clubhouse and pool and the exterior maintenance is generally covered by the homeowners association.  Jim Chapman is one of the prominent builders of these communities.  They are generally pretty far outside the Perimeter – there’s one near Serenbe and several which are past Alpharetta.
4.  500k+: The place historically we see empty nesters in this price category purchase is in VININGS, because taxes in Cobb County are much lower for senior citizens (the county takes off the “school” portion of the tax).  Many empty nesters end up in one of the beautiful highrises like One Vinings Mountain and The Aberdeen or buy a Weiland townhome at Paces View with an elevator.  An added bonus is that those properties are within walking distance to the Vinings Jubilee and to many awesome restaurants.

Mary Anne Walser is a licensed attorney and full-time REALTOR, serving buyers and sellers in all areas of Metro Atlanta. Her knowledge of residential real estate and her legal expertise allow her to offer great value to her clients. Mary Anne serves on the Committee that drafts and reviews the contracts utilized by all REALTORS in the State of Georgia. In addition, she is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors, the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. Contact Mary Anne at 404-277-3527, or via email: maryannesellshomes@gmail.com.

 

Atlanta Metro TSPLOST SPLASH

30 Monday Jul 2012

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Tomorrow, please go to the polls and vote!  I am hopeful that you will vote FOR TSPLOST.  In a nutshell, TSPLOST would increase our sales tax to 9 cents in order to fund a laundry list of projects – some make sense, some might not – but all of which are designed to help alleviate our increasingly difficult traffic problems.  The project list is lengthy and encompasses all ten counties which are voting on the TSPLOST but particularly benefit those of us who live intown.  The AJC ran a detailed list of the projects in the paper yesterday – and the list is also available online.

TSPLOST may well NOT pass – no one likes a tax increase, and some in areas outside the immediate Atlanta area feel as if they will not be getting enough from the tax.  The Marietta Daily Journal ran a headline: “Cobb County Not Getting Much Bang for the Buck [with TSPLOST].”   But helping intown Atlanta also benefits those who live farther out, in that all of the Atlanta metro area is losing business and relocations because of our difficult traffic – anything and everything that helps alleviate traffic helps Atlanta AND the areas surrounding Atlanta.

Why vote on it NOW?  The political negotiation process in the Legislature that resulted in the list was a lengthy, involved process (no surprise).  We need solutions, and even though these solutions may be imperfect, they are before us now.  If rejected, and the process has to begin anew – who knows how long that could take, or even if the outcome would be very much – if at all – different?