Tag Archives: #AtlantaRealEstate

Your Atlanta Pandemic Real Estate Plan

15 Saturday Aug 2020

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Pandemic Real Estate in Atlanta

Despite the pandemic, real estate is selling. And fast. In Atlanta we’re seeing record number of sales and prices are still rising. I attribute this to a number of factors, among them:

  • PENT UP DEMAND. When the pandemic hit full force back in March, and things started shutting down, real estate shut down also to a large extent. Fewer buyers wanted to go out and look at homes, fewer sellers wanted to put their homes on the market, and fewer agents were out there working. A lot of folks put everything on hold.
  • TIME TO DREAM. And while everything was on hold for months, people spent a lot of time at home. They had time to look around at their home and think about what they liked and didn’t like. They had to time to think about where they might want to live next. And since they were spending more time at home, and might be working from home for some time, SPACE became more of a premium. Zillow got a lot of hits during those months.
  • HISTORICALLY LOW INTEREST RATES. Add to the mix that interest rates remain low. Lower interest rates mean that buyers can afford more home. And buyers want to take advantage of that before interest rates begin to rise one day, as they inevitably will.

So when things started to open up again, there was a surge in demand that continues. Residential real estate is still moving quickly. But the way we show and sell real estate has changed – I think for the better, and I think the changes will remain even when the pandemic is past. Here are some of the changes we are seeing.

  • SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY. With the pandemic comes concern about virus spread, particularly in properties that are occupied. So many agents instituted a “serious buyers only” policy. Only buyers who are in the market to purchase a home in the very near future should actually cross the threshold of homes on the market.
  • MORE AND BETTER PICTURES ONLINE. Most of us already hire professional photographers and do our best to make our listings look fantastic online. But since it’s harder for buyers to get into properties, this is more important than ever. The First Multiple Listing Service (“FMLS”), which is the primary listing service utilized by agents in metro Atlanta, now allows agents to upload up to 199 (199!) pictures. We also use more drone photos, videos, and floor plans so that buyers can tell a lot about a property before ever setting foot in the house.
  • LIMITED NUMBERS OF PEOPLE AT ONCE. Rather than a huge open house, many agents are instead opting for virtual open houses or videos. When the house IS shown, numbers who may enter at once are limited, and depending upon the house masks may be (and often are) required, as well as booties and in some instances gloves. Sellers leave all the lights on before they leave the house (so no one needs to touch a light switch). Buyers are asked not to touch anything and if an agent needs to open a door or touch a switch, they are to sanitize the surface afterwards.

Navigating real estate sales during the time of Covid-19 and be confusing. I am here to help with any of your real estate needs – and can help you figure out the best option for you during these unprecedented times!

Among the changes the pandemic has brought to Atlanta real estate: masks! Worn by agents, clients, and photographers alike. And photography becomes even more important – pictured here is photographer Michael Pigford doing drone photography for a high rise listing, and homebuyers Travis Nichols and Dana Haberling, who opted more more space near the Beltline in Virginia Highland.

Design in the Time of COVID

15 Monday Jun 2020

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The global pandemic has us all rethinking a lot of things, from the larger questions of what we are doing with our lives, to where and how we work, to more mundane everyday questions like “how often should we wash our hands”?  As a result of all of this new found time to think, mostly at home, and with these new questions, many people are rethinking the way that they live (and now work) at home.  So what are the big residential changes we are seeing and what are those that we are likely to see in the coming months as the result of COVID? 

  1. THE DESIRE FOR MORE SPACE. With mom and dad working from home, and kids attending class virtually, space is at a premium more than ever before. So areas that were previously underutilized, or not used at all, have suddenly taken on new life. One of my clients turned her large kitchen pantry into an office for one of her kids (the downside – an overabundance of pantry snacks consumed by that child during the school day). In fact, my husband Jimmy who is now working from home turned our LAUNDRY ROOM into a remote architect’s office.
  2. THE IMPORTANCE OF OUTDOOR SPACE. Even a small balcony can suffice – but outdoors comes at a premium now. Condo dwellers who never before used their balconies now find they are an excellent way to enjoy some fresh air without exposure to others. And for others stuck at home, the yard becomes a sanctuary away from the dwelling.  And now that it’s been determined that we’re safer seeing other people if we are outside, many only socialize outdoors and so outdoor kitchens and covered outdoor spaces have surged in popularity.
  3. HANDWASHING STATIONS. Clients who are remodeling are considering extra faucets. In addition to an extra faucet in the kitchen island nearest the stove, why not install a faucet on the guest side of the island to make it easier for those passing by to wash?  While I haven’t seen it done quite yet, there’s talk of putting sinks inside the main doors visitors enter. And of course, while COVID does not appear to be carried via outdoor dirt or soil, the new emphasis on cleanliness has many installing shoe racks and taking shoes off before they enter the house.
  4. DROPOFF STATIONS and PACKAGE DOORS. Since more food and other goods are being delivered to the home these days than ever before, in order to limit contact with delivery people (and avoid work and school interruptions to open the door during the day), dropoff stations have become popular. This can be in the form of a large lockable wooden box or a door similar to a pet door in the exterior entrance allowing packages to be put inside.
  5. WHERE DOES THE PELOTON GO? I have heard this more times than I can count! Home exercise equipment is more important that ever before, as some are reticent to go to gyms and public spaces to exercise.
Laundry room turned into architect’s studio. With more of us having to work from home, homeowners are getting creative with their use of space.

What does all this mean for home sellers and buyers? Home sellers will want to stage with these ideas in mind. Make sure you dress up outdoor spaces and make them looked used, useable, and inviting. Showcase an exercise area. While you don’t have to remodel in order to sell, a little staging can help the buyer visualize how wonderful your home is even in quarantine. For home buyers, keeping in mind what is most important to them when they are at home is key.

Please contact me for more information on the current market and trends.  I am always here to help.

“Marvel”-ing at Pinewood Forest

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Atlanta Real Estate, Pinewood Forest, real estate

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Whether it is frustration with Atlanta traffic, the need to live close to the airport, or just the desire to “get away from it all”, buyer interest in the communities south of Atlanta has grown exponentially over the past few years. This interest has been largely driven by Serenbe, the nature-centric sustainable artistic community that feels like an entirely different world of farmland, horses, farmhouse-inspired architecture and farmer’s markets.

Now another arts-driven fantasyland has sprung up south of town, this one movie-centric, indeed, looking like it is itself a movie set.  PINEWOOD FOREST is a development just across the road from Pinewood Studios located northeast of Fayetteville, like Serenbe less than a half hour from the airport and from downtown Atlanta. It is picture perfect and design savvy, with and includes everything from tiny houses to manor homes. Generally speaking the offerings are more affordable than Serenbe, by design. The idea here is to encourage fewer cars, more walking, and more human interaction. Pinewood Forest is named after the production studios across the street, Pinewood Studios, where Marvel and other Hollywood studios have filmed some of their larger recent productions.

I took a tour of Pinewood Forest recently with the town’s President, Rob Parker, who describes Pinewood Forest as a “Town for Creating”. Part of the new urbanism movement, the town is designed to encourage artistic creation of all types and to provide an environment where residents can easily walk to restaurants, theaters, gyms, and to parks where children can play and adults can socialize. There is also lots of green sustainable features as well, including the fact that all the air conditioning is geothermal.

There are fifteen miles of walking paths, plenty of electric car plug-in stations, and in addition the garages are all positioned behind the homes and townhomes, which is a cool feature which keeps the focus OFF driveways and cars. (There is still guest parking situated in plain view, but at least the residents park off the main drag, adding to the pedestrian feel of the town).

And there are plenty of grand theatrical touches one might expect from such a place, including a Keith Summerour-designed, Roman inspired, movie star-worthy swimming pool and a large multiplex where it is hoped some of the movies filmed across the street at Pinewood Studios will premier. There’s a brand spanking new (well, heck, EVERYTHING here is brand spanking new) Piedmont Wellness Center where you might be able to work out next to your favorite Marvel superhero.  (Among the movies filmed in full or in part across the street are Antman, Spiderman, Captain America, Passengers, Black Panther….)

Pinewood Studios across the street from Pinewood Forest is the second largest studio in North America, and it’s the only one stop shop for film makers in the Southeast. Everything one needs to shoot a movie is here – even the Georgia Film Academy, which trains students to work in various aspects of the movie business and provides skilled labor and interns to the movies that shoot here. More than 450 productions were filmed here last year.

So if you have an urge to get away from it all yet still be in the center of a thriving arts community, Pinewood Forest is your place.  Just give me a call – I would love to give you a tour and show you the homes for sale there.

A gathering at one of the beautiful light filled homes at #pinewoodforest
#pinewoodforest is a motion picture themed green community south of Atlanta.
A rendering of the new activity/fitness center at #pinewoodforest
The pool at #pinewoodforest has a Roman theme.

Know Your Nonhuman Atlanta Neighbors

13 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in Disclosures, real estate

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You can find the PERFECT property at an amazing price if you don’t mind that the house is:

Next to the nuclear power plant, on top of the pet cemetery, behind the Superfund site, under the high voltage power lines, adjacent to the transcontinental oil pipeline, catty corner from the slaughterhouse and down the street from the 24 hour casino.

Joking aside, what about adverse neighborhood conditions?  How much should you worry about the neighborhood (and what surrounds the neighborhood) when you purchase a house?

In Georgia, generally speaking, the doctrine of caveat emptor, or BUYER BEWARE, applies to real property, meaning that the onus is on the buyer to investigate and discover adverse conditions pertaining to a home if those conditions can be discovered through reasonable inspection of the property.  The seller does have disclosure obligations if they know of adverse material defects that are not easily discoverable by the buyer.  Those seller disclosure obligations DO NOT, however, apply to conditions that are not present on the property itself.  In other words, Georgia courts so far have not held a seller liable for failure to reveal information about adverse neighborhood conditions even when those conditions are not easily discovered.  And the Georgia real estate contracts also put the burden on the buyer to investigate the neighborhood.  As the official Georgia Association of Realtors contract states:

In every neighborhood there are conditions which different buyers may find objectionable.  Buyer shall have the sole duty to become familiar with neighborhood conditions that could affect the Property such as landfills, quarries, power lines, airports, cemeteries, prisons, stadiums, odor and noise producing activities, crime and school, land use, government and transportation maps and plans.

Therefore, when considering the purchase of a home, you should definitely investigate not only the houses that surround the home, but also the neighborhood and the immediate environs.  Personal drive arounds at various hours of the day and night (and on different days of the week) as well as examination of Google maps is a good place to start.  In addition, you may want to check with the municipality and county to see what sorts of businesses are within a mile or so radius of the home.

You can research whether there are registered sex offenders in the neighborhood by reviewing the Georgia Violent Sex Offender Registry at www.gbi.georgia.gov, and you can search for reported drug laboratories or dumpsites at the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration website (www.dea.gov/clan-lab   – the national clandestine laboratory database).

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has information about landfills, medical waste treatment sites and the like at www.epd.georgia.gov.  You can also find information about some, but not all, closed landfills on the EPD website (that vacant lot across the street may be an old landfill; something you will want to know when you buy the house.)  On the subject of landfills, note that in Georgia previously many builders and homeowners created “inert landfills”, or landfills composed of concrete, rocks, bricks, yard debris and the like while building or renovating.  This is no longer allowed legally, but of course inert landfills still exist and may be difficult to find (this is something the seller would be required to disclose if present on the property you are purchasing, but not if it is elsewhere in the neighborhood.)

And do not forget the obvious – simply doing a Google search of the address and looking past the real estate listings to see if there are any news stories or other hits for the address can give information, as can googling the neighborhood and the houses which surround the house you are planning to buy.

Ask your Realtor to help.  And ask the seller what they know (even if they are not legally obligated to tell you something, they are often willing, especially if asked outright).  Ask the neighbors.  Drive the neighborhood, stop your car, and greet those you see.  Most will be happy to talk to you about the neighborhood and what they know if you smile and are friendly.   And the bonus will be that not only do you know what is happening around the house you are purchasing, you will also know your new neighbors – the human kind.

 

 

 

DISC-overing an Important Tool in Atlanta Real Estate

28 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in negotiation, real estate, Real Estate Psychology

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One of the most important things your real estate agent does for you is to NEGOTIATE on your behalf.  Even if you yourself are an expert negotiator, chances are that you are not expert in real estate negotiations, which have unique nuances.  In addition, it is better in a transaction to have someone else (not you) negotiating on your behalf – having a proxy helps by taking emotion and possible personal affront out of the equation.

One of the interesting and powerful negotiation tools that your agent can work with is the DISC personality assessment.  We have always known that each person looks at the world in different ways, but in 1952 William Marston introduced something that was revolutionary in psychological circles.  He identified the four most common ways in which people approach the world (and negotiation) and explained how they work.  His four categories have evolved in the DISC Profile.  The beauty of DISC, and why it is so often referred to in business, is that it is a very simple system and one that can be applied without extensive testing.  You can often tell a person’s primary “category” by simple everyday words they use and actions they take.  For example:

D –for “DOMINANCE”, these personality types talk fast and unemotionally, are task oriented and “get the job done”.

I –for “INFLUENCER”, the “I” personality is outgoing and friendly, chatty, and extroverted.

S –for “STEADINESS”, “S”s  are other/people centered, loving, take time to think.

C –for “COMPLIANCE”, these people are task oriented and numbers focused.  They know data.

Thus, if we can identify the primary or two primary profiles of the other party, we can determine what is important to them psychologically, which can in turn help us to come to a deal more easily, with everyone more likely to be pleased at the closing table.  If you are a high “D” you may not care that the other party be “pleased”, but think of it this way: a deal in which everyone is happy is a deal that is most likely to actually stick – more likely to CLOSE and not fall apart.  Here’s how you would use the DISC knowledge to better come to resolution with each personality type:

D-a “D” wants to WIN, so figure out a way that helps the D personality feel that s/he has won.

I-the “I” wants to feel good about the process; a win/win works best for them.

S-the “S” wants everyone to get along.  A win/win without too much bickering and argument will work best for them.

C-the “C” wants everything done correctly and wants to be sure that there is enough data upholding the result.

By knowing the other party’s psychological “DISC” profile, we can negotiate more effectively.

DISC also, of course, helps us in other facets of real estate.  If a client is a “C”, for example, we know that providing lots of data is important.  For a “D”, it is important to be quick, smart and effective.  And so on.

From you, the client’s perspective, it is important to have an agent who has all the tools necessary in his or her toolbox.  The “DISC” information is just one of many tools we use to craft deals that work.

And please remember to contact our team for all of your needs with respect to real estate.  We believe in continuous training to always supply the utmost service and benefits to our clients.

QUICK JOT OF THE DISC PROFILE

Quickly jotting the DISC categories can help during a negotiation.

Listings in Our Pocket

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

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2015-08-04 13.50.33In Atlanta, there are many agents who tout “pocket listings” which, simply put, are listings that are never put on the open market.  They are sold without ever being put into the Multiple Listing Service.  It is said that the listing is “in the agent’s pocket” because only the agent and those she or he tells about the listing ever knows that it exists.

There are some instances when this makes sense.  If both buyer and seller agree to a pocket listing for their individual purposes, or prefer the listing not be made public, then it may never go into the Multiple Listing Service.  But it is important or all parties to consider carefully before taking this route.

Here are the PROS for this particular method:

  • From the seller’s point of view, there are limited showings, which can be very disruptive.  There are more limited numbers of people traipsing in and out of the home.  There is more privacy; for when the home is listed, the pictures and price are out on the internet for all the world to see.
  • From the buyer’s point of view, they are gaining access to a home that might otherwise be unavailable for them to purchase (if not listed, they might not know about it otherwise).  They do not have to face competition or get into a bidding war.

The primary potential CON that both sides must consider is PRICE.  The law of supply and demand tells us that when supply decreases, demand (and therefore price) goes up.  If the home is not available to the open marketplace, how does the seller know that they are getting the absolute most that they could get for their home?  From the buyer’s side, how do they know that they are getting a good deal, or are paying more than they should?

If the agent sells a pocket listing themselves, they will get double (or at least more than standard one half) commission.

All parties need to be AWARE of the various considerations and consider them carefully before proceeding as a “pocket listing” so as not to be caught with their pants down (forgive the pun).  The Georgia Real Estate Commission prohibits keeping a “coming soon” sign up in front of a house for too long prior to listing the home in the multiple listing service, but there is no prohibition against keeping a home out of the multiple listing service, and plenty of homes get sold that way.  If you are planning to participate in such a sale, however, carefully consider the pros and cons before you do!

Shining Light on “Blind” Offers

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Atlanta Real Estate, homebuyers, Offers, real estate

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Low Inventory, Fast Turnover

Property is moving quickly!

Low inventory and rising prices make for harried – and hurried – homebuyers.  Our client Michele couldn’t get into homes fast enough – due to her work schedule and travel, homes were under contract before she was available to even see them.  So Michele took an extraordinary step that we are seeing more and more clients take with increasing confidence.  Michele made an offer on a home that she HAD NOT YET SEEN.

This is becoming more common according to the National Association of Realtors.  Because there is so much competition over limited inventory, buyers like Michele – or buyers who are moving in from out of town and aren’t IN town to see a new listing – are more and more likely to make an offer sight unseen.  While it is always preferable to see a home before you make an offer on it, there are circumstances where a sight unseen offer can work out.  Here is our handy guide for successfully making an offer “sight unseen”.

  1. Sight unseen only means that YOU have not seen it. As your agent, I will have seen it if you cannot, and preferably with a trusted family member or friend you designate as your eyes on the property prize when you are not available.
  2. The sight unseen tactic is most likely to work if you have a base knowledge of the inventory out there, and a good idea of the area in which you want to buy. If you know you want to live in Virginia Highland, for instance, and have seen enough in person to know what you like but are not available with the “right” listing comes on the market, a “blind” offer might be fine.
  3. To increase the chance that your sight unseen offer will be accepted, be sure that at least your agent has seen it, and write a note to the seller about why you are in a hurry to make an offer and what about the home seems perfect for you.
  4. Make sure you see the property AS SOON AS YOU ARE ABLE. Even if we feel the property will move so fast that you have to get an offer in right away, when you come to town or are free from work, SEE IT as soon as you can.
  5. Most contracts in Georgia have a DUE DILIGENCE period during which the buyer can terminate for any reason or no reason at all, making it much less risky to make a sight unseen offer than if we did not have that due diligence period. However, to be fair to the seller, to other buyers and to yourself, if the property turns out not to be right for you, you will need to know sooner rather than later and terminate the contract as soon as you know it is not the right property.

While a seller will prefer a buyer who has seen their home personally, this phenomenon is *good news* for sellers.  Buyers will to make good offers “sight unseen” mean there is great demand in the marketplace.  So if you have been thinking about selling your home, NOW is the time – please call and let us show you how to get the most money for your property.