Tag Archives: sellers

Hey, Atlanta Homeseller: How to Ace the Home Listing Interview!

03 Friday Jun 2016

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What, you say?  When you sell your home, YOU are interviewing the Realtor, not the other way around.  But we don’t accept every listing that is offered to us.  If you are determined to overprice, and can’t/won’t do the work needed to get your home ready to sell, a great agent may just pass on your listing.  And you WANT a great agent – that’s how you’re going to get the most money for your home.  The key to a successful listing relationship starts at the listing appointment – or even before.  SO – here’s how to ace the home listing interview.

What do you need to know?  FIRST, it is okay to call an agent even if you are only “thinking” about selling.  Making an appointment does not obligate you to list or to sell anytime in the near or far future.  Of course, if you are in a hurry to sell then you will be top priority.  So let us know your urgency when you make the appointment, and it is totally fine to consult with us even months prior to the time you actually plan to list.   Realtors are in the business of connection.  Even if you decide never to list, if you are impressed with us we trust that you will tell your friends about us.  If you are planning to list, but have some time, we can help you get your home positioned to maximize your return when you DO sell.

In fact, it is crucial that you call if you are thinking now about making home improvements in order to sell your home in the future.  Consult us first!  What you think is going to make you a lot of money may NOT be what buyers are looking for.  We agents are in the market every day with buyers in our car.  So we know what impresses buyers – what is worth spending money on and what is not worth spending money on.  We can help you choose your upgrades carefully with the future buyer in mind.  After all, if you are renovating TO sell, that is key.  If you are renovating for yourself and plan to stay, that’s a whole different ballgame.

When you call, we will ask you a series of questions over the phone to gauge your motivation and urgency, and to find out what we can about your home prior to our appointment.  We will pull your tax record and then pull comparable homes that have sold around you over the past 3-6 months.  We will send you our Seller’s Guide prior to meeting with you so you will know what to expect and can ask any questions that arise from it – but don’t feel as if you HAVE to read the Seller’s Guide prior to our appointment.  We are always available to answer questions and I will talk you through the process when we meet.

Our meeting will last between half an hour to an hour and a half, depending upon how large your home is and how many questions we have for one another.   Here is a typical itinerary:

  • I will give you disclosure forms to review while I tour your home. The disclosure forms ask you questions about your house – the age of systems, that sort of thing – and you will likely have questions about how to answer.
  • While you review those forms, I like to tour the home by myself rather than have you take me through the home. Here is the reasoning:
    • I want to view the home objectively, as a home buyer would. The best way to do that is if I simply walk through the home the way I typically walk through a home with a buyer.
    • I will take notes and take pictures. The pictures I take are NOT the ones we will use in listing your home – we use a professional photographer for the listing pictures.  The pictures I take are only for my review in advising you on staging and marketing.
  • After I walk through your home, I will sit with you and talk through the process – our marketing plan and what we do to sell your home.
  • Then we will look at the homes that are comparable to yours that I have pulled from our phone discussion. The ones that are most pertinent are the homes that have SOLD, but we will also review the homes that are pending sales and those that are active listings.
  • Together we will discuss what needs to be done to your house to get it ready to sell, the “right” list price, and the timing of the sale.
  • Most of my sellers sign a listing agreement during the appointment and we list right away (after a weekend for clearing out and staging the home).  Or I can send you the listing agreement and disclosures electronically.
  • After the appointment I will send you a recap email setting forth the repairs and staging notes we discussed during our visit.

While most sellers list right away, many consult me six months before they are really ready, and then of course there are sellers in every time frame in between.  My goal in meeting with you is to develop a relationship with you and determine how to best serve your needs.

There is no preparation required on your part prior to our meeting, however, if you are able and willing to do the following it will help streamline the process:

  • Pull your most recent mortgage statement with balance information. If you have a second mortgage (home equity line of credit) pull that statement also.  The tax records I have pulled show the mortgage amount when you purchased the home, but you have likely paid some of that off.  These statements will help us determine your anticipated net from the sale.
  • Have a survey of your property handy if you have one.
  • Similarly, if you have ever had architectural plans prepared (either for a renovation or addition that was finished, or one that was considered but not done) have those ready for us.
  • Have an extra key ready.
  • Have a list of key features of your home; details of any renovations and upgrades are very helpful.
  • Put together a list of what you love about your home, your neighbors, and your neighborhood. Be as specific and inclusive as possible.
  • Have any neighborhood newsletters, invitations, or flyers ready.
  • If you know of any property boundary disputes or potential liens (by contractors or creditors) let’s discuss at our meeting. We can have a pre-emptive title search done to be sure your title will be clear when we offer your home for sale.

So gather information, but remember to meet with us before you take action on anything.   Let’s get your home ready, price it right – and get ready to SELL!

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.

Staging to Stay

15 Friday Jan 2016

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Staging

As a Realtor, I help people sell and buy homes… but today I’m going to talk about staying IN your home.  Since most of you will sell or buy sometime in the next 5 to 7 years, today most of you are probably planning to stay where you are for the time being.  If you’re not, call me immediately and let’s sell your home!  But if you’re not planning to move in the very near future, what I’m telling you today will help you regardless.

When I go on a listing appointment with a potential seller, sometimes the house is perfect for selling.  Perfectly staged and ready to go.  You know the home – the one that looks like it belongs in House Beautiful or in the pages of Dwell.  But this is the exception rather than the rule.  If I can come in, get the listing agreement signed, have the pictures taken and get the listing in the system right away, that’s marvelous – but more often there’s work that needs to be done.  And often after the work is done, the seller will tell me that they wish they had done the work long before OR that they now don’t want to move!

SO let’s talk about the advice I’m going to give you when you go to SELL your home – if you do these things now you’ll be way ahead of the game and when you’re ready to really sell, you won’t have as much work to do; if you plan to stay, you’re going to LOVE your home all the more.

  1. CURB APPEAL. It’s everything when you go to sell – the first impression of your home is the most important.  So spend some money on landscaping and make sure you keep it up (this means an irrigation system if you don’t plan to water your plants yourself).  Don’t have too much “stuff” in the form of yard art and the like.  This will be a common theme as we move inside.  While we are out here, keep these in mind:
    1. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way in terms of curb appeal. A home’s exterior should be repainted every 7 years or so.
    2. A new welcome mat IS welcoming. And not that expensive.  Spring for a welcome mat you love.
    3. Consider adding seating somewhere in the front yard – some place welcoming, a place to rest, a place to enjoy the yard. You will meet a lot more neighbors if you hang out in your front yard!
    4. Along those same lines, if you have a front porch, use it! You’d be surprised how many people have awesome front porches and don’t use them.  For a small front porch, a small cafe table and chairs will do wonders.
  1. CLEAR THE CLUTTER. Moving inside, remember that most of us have way too many “things” for comfort.   Clearing your possessions also helps to clear your mind, as pointed out by that great NY Times bestseller “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”.  Because so much of it is relevant to real estate, it’s worth mentioning here:
    1. Only keep things that are useful and which you love. If it’s in a box that you haven’t opened or unpacked in more than a year, chances are you never will and it needs to GO.  Same with clothes!  I recommend a rotation system.  When an item of clothing comes to the front of your closet, you either wear it or donate it.  After it’s worn, it goes to the back. This way you avoid the trap many fall into of wearing the same thing over and over and over and never wearing half of your closet.
    2. The general rule for closets is that they should be HALF full with NOTHING on the floor whatsoever and if there are shelves, nothing folded on the shelves. Instead, use baskets and put extra items in there.
    3. Visual clutter kills a sale, and it makes you feel unorganized and unfocused. The best thing to do is to CLEAR EVERYTHING off horizontal surfaces – that is, from shelves and bookcases and tabletops, then come back and put only a few items back.  Ideally, your home should feel a little sparse to you.  Believe me, you’ll get used to it and you’ll love it.
    4. Much of the psychological difficulty about getting rid of stuff, I find, is that people don’t want to WASTE things. But you don’t have to THROW THINGS AWAY.  Give them to Goodwill.  Make it a goal to go to Goodwill with a bag of items at least once every two weeks until you feel you have clutter under control.
    5. Clearing clutter includes FOOD. How many of the items in your pantry are EXPIRED?  I am guilty of this, and after my son-in-law pointed out a few expiration dates, I went to work clearing out pantry and fridge.  It feels marvelous!
  1. TAKE PICTURES. My stager, after she’s met with my sellers and given a list of things for them to do which includes enhancing curb appeal and clearing the clutter, recommends that they go around their home with a camera or their iPhone and take pictures of each room from multiple angles.  Do this!  Then go back and take a close look at the pictures you’ve taken.  There will be lots of things you don’t notice with your straight eyesight that will pop out in a picture.  There are many reasons for this, but among them that you are USED to seeing your own home.  Seeing your home through a camera lens gives you a new perspective and you’ll notice things you wouldn’t otherwise, like cords that add visual clutter.  Taking pictures will give you a whole new perspective.
  1. REPAIR LIST. This is less visible, but an important part of making your home wonderful for yourself!  Keep a list of all those “little” repairs that need to be done.  You know – the ones that you notice only at certain times but which always bother you when you notice them.  The door that sticks; the drawer that doesn’t close all the way; the dimmer switch that heats up too much; the wood rot on the exterior.  It’s well worth your investment to hire a handyman at least two times a year to take care of this stuff.  Most of them will charge you by the hour plus materials.  And while you’re at it you can have them change the lightbulbs you have trouble changing or install that new light fixture you’ve been eyeing at Home Depot.  If buyers see a stuck door or dripping faucet, they are going to wonder if the home is well cared for and will be looking for other “problems.”  You want them focused on what’s RIGHT with the house.  The same goes for you!

That’s just a start of things I suggest for “staging to stay”.  In a future blog post, I will cover renovations – how to plan renovations that will pay off when you go to sell, but will increase your enjoyment of your home in the interim.  And never hesitate to call me, your Realtor, for advice and counsel.

 

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.

THE WEATHER TURNS COOL, BUT THESE ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOODS ARE HOT!

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Hot NeighborhoodsAtlanta has SO many great neighborhoods!  But here’s a quick take on what are some of our hottest (of the moment) neighborhoods and those that are HOT VALUE neighborhoods NOW, this Fall, 2015, in Atlanta.  Note the distinction.  When a neighborhood is “HOT” – i.e., very popular at the moment, oftentimes prices will rise rapidly as buyers bid against each other in their rush to move in.  A HOT VALUE neighborhood is one that is not yet “RED HOT” but which WILL be hot in the coming years, and so there are still bargains to be had.  Now, if you’re bidding in a HOT neighborhood and prices are rising, there is no need to fear overpaying as long as it’s a neighborhood that is likely to hold or increase in value in the coming years.  Usually a neighborhood is HOT either because of location, schools, or both; the location isn’t going to change and if the schools are good, residents always fight to KEEP them that way.

Don’t be concerned that I am leaving out your favorite HOT neighborhood – know that I’m not addressing CLASSICALLY HOT neighborhoods… I’m not addressing them in this particular blog post because they are always hot.  This would include Decatur zip 30030, Midtown, Va/Hi, Morningside, and many northern suburbs such as Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek, and East Cobb in its great school districts.

And also know that there’s no way to address all the “hot” areas in one blog post – I’ll just touch on a few to whet your appetite, and I’ll cover different areas of town.

Let’s start in Ashford Park, just east of Peachtree Road – Ashford Park is HOT.  The elementary school is awesome and there’s lots of new construction.  While several years ago one could get a pretty decent home for $300,000 here, I just sold a teardown LOT for $500,000 with multiple offers in one day.

HOT VALUE near there is CHAMBLEE.  While Montgomery Elementary is not yet par with Ashford Park, it’s getting there, and the City of Chamblee is making great strides in developing retail areas.  THE ASSEMBLY huge mixed use development is going in where the old GM Plant used to be and that’s exciting.  Because it’s up and coming, there are still values to be had.

NOW, let’s go to the Beltline, which is of course driving values everywhere it touches.  We’ll start with Old Fourth Ward, O4W in local parlance, and its neighbors, Inman Park and Poncey Highland.  HOT because of the Beltline (and that’s a continuing theme – the Beltline has made many Atlanta neighborhoods “HOT” so it is important to know where the Beltline IS, where it will be, and where it’s going…. ).  Quick aside = the Beltline is a 22 mile bike/walk/run path being built in a huge Atlanta circle.  Only parts of it are complete, other parts are underway, and some sections may be years in the making. But the O4W portion is complete and with it O4W Park, Ponce City Market, Krog Street Market – the list of “cool” things that have come with it are legion.

HOT VALUE is south of there, in Reynoldstown, Edgewood, and East Atlanta.  There’s also Ormewood Park, nestled between Grant Park and E Atlanta on the Southside (Grant Park has been and continues to be a “hot” area).  The beltline goes right through this great neighborhood of old bungalows and great diversity.  There is section 8 housing a block from $700,000 homes.  There are still a lot of values to be had – I just sold a $250,000 adorable house one block from the Beltline.  The Beltline here is not yet finished, so prices haven’t risen SO high SO fast.

For more hot values, seek out Capitol View Manor, Mechanicsville, and Adair Park – neighborhoods to the west of the afore-mentioned neighborhoods.  These are nestled in west of I-75/85 and south of I-20, and the Beltline goes right beside and through them.

Let’s leave the Beltline for a minute and head down towards to the Airport to stop at The Manchester Arms in College Park for a meal.  Marvel at what College Park is becoming.  Because Woodward Academy is down there, some northern suburb dwellers have built weekday homes for one spouse and the kids to live in before they go back to the northern burbs for the weekend.  PORSCHE moving into the airport has meant even more wealth moving into the area.  College Park is hot; East Point just to the north of it is still a hot value neighborhood.

Back on the Beltline and moving North; HOT is BRANDON SCHOOL DISTRICT = you’ll pay a premium for great public schools in Atlanta, and Brandon is a good indicator of that.  One of my favorite neighborhoods is CHANNING VALLEY, where prices have risen 22% over PRE recession prices; it’s a small friendly diverse neighborhood in a great convenient spot.

HOT VALUE is West Midtown = Howell Station is an example.  It’s near BELLWOOD QUARRY, which saw thousands of zombies in the season premiere of Walking Dead.  Now that the zombies are gone, that park will be the crown jewel of the Beltline.  Because that area is still very industrial and the Atlanta Jail is nearby, prices are still low, but demand is rising.

And finally, up North to just outside the Perimeter.  Smyrna west of 285, just outside Vinings, the area nicknamed “Smynings” is hot but there are also still a lot of value priced properties.  With the new Braves Stadium going in, it’s becoming even more desirable as a place that will be close to the action and the new development; and yet far enough west that residents can still get places without running too much into Braves traffic.

Again, these are just a FEW of the “hot” areas that I am seeing.  Please email me YOUR favorites so that I can feature them in a future blogpost!

 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.

No Need to Cork the Bubbly – Let’s Celebrate the Recovery

16 Friday Oct 2015

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After the dismal housing recession in Atlanta (and everywhere) that hit in 2008 and sent housing prices on a sharp decline,  prices finally started to stabilize in late 2014 and have risen ever since.  Having just emerged from the doldrums to a rapid rise in pricing, some experts are declaring a new “housing bubble”; but reports of the imminent death of the rising residential market are greatly exaggerated.

In Atlanta, we took longer to sink during the recession and have been slower to rise in the recovery.  Right now we have a shortage of inventory but our prices still are not rising as quickly as they are in many cities.  This measured response to the national trends bodes well for us; as does the fact that so many companies are bringing headquarters and employees to Atlanta.  We have more buyers moving here, which will naturally put upward pressure on pricing, but which will serve to continue to support that pricing in the coming years as they continue to live and work in Atlanta.

In addition, as more sellers receive the news that housing prices are rising and that they ARE able to sell and make a profit, more are putting their homes on the market.  This additional inventory is helping to reduce the number of competitive bid situations and to stabilize the rapid rise in pricing.

Further, it was a very loose mortgage lending environment that contributed to the original housing bubble.  It was far too easy to get a mortgage at that time.   That loose mortgage environment ground to a screeching halt in 2009 and it is still difficult today to secure a mortgage.  The strict underwriting guidelines that were implemented following the “mortgage meltdown” are still in place, meaning that the torrent of unqualified buyers that precipitated the initial crisis are nowhere to be found and are, hopefully, never to return.  Banks are lending only to qualified buyers with good credit scores who are less likely to default on their mortgage loans.  Interest rates are still low right now, but are likely to rise, which will create yet another governor on the ability of buyers to purchase and the ability of sellers to ask ever increasing prices.

After fifteen years in the business, I have seen a lot of ups and downs in the housing market.  This particular recovery, while fast, has not spun out of control and is unlikely to do so.   While it’s always prudent for a buyer to carefully review the sales of comparable properties and to research the  neighborhood and factors contributing to that neighborhood’s potential before agreeing on price, and although that price is going to be higher than it was three to five years ago, there’s no need to panic or to cork the bubbly over a housing “bubble”.  Rather, we should continue to celebrate the housing recovery.

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.

Let’s Sell Your Home this Spring

25 Wednesday Feb 2015

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We have had one of our busiest winters ever in the Atlanta real estate market.  With prices rising, many sellers realized that they again had equity in their homes and were ABLE to sell.  So those who had waited through the depressed housing years (since 2008) were suddenly in a position to be able to move.  Buyers were eager to purchase before home prices rose even more.   As a result, we had record home sales.  Demand in many areas of Atlanta exceed inventory, so some sellers who didn’t want to turn down  a great offer for their home even moved into a rental when they couldn’t find the “right” place to move into.  So there’s much pent up demand for homes to purchase this Spring.

If you are thinking of selling your home, there’s no time like the present.  The sooner the better, for many sellers wait until the Spring to sell – and as the season proceeds, you’ll have more and more competition.  We have a lot of “shadow inventory” poised to hit the market in late Spring and Summer; you’d like to avoid as much of that extra competition as you can.

Even with the buyer demand high, no one wants to overpay for a home so pricing is KEY.  We see competing offers for some homes, but those that are priced too high are receiving no offers at all and actually eventually net LESS.  The longer a home sits on the market, the less it is worth in the eyes of a buyer.  We can work with you to determine the ideal initial list price to bring you the highest return.

To prepare for listing, remember that first impressions are key.  A buyer will often decide from the street that they love or dislike a particular home; in fact, they will often tell us to “keep driving” if they don’t like the curb appeal.  So trim your trees and bushes and pressure wash your driveway, front walk, house, and deck or patio.  Clean and even repaint your front door and make sure the key works easily.  Have a nice, fresh welcome mat.  Buyers will linger with us at the front door while we open the lockbox for access, and they have extra time to notice these details.

Do your Spring cleaning NOW if you haven’t already.  And declutter, declutter, declutter.  Go through all your furniture, decorative items, and closets with a ruthless eye.  We have stagers and declutterers who help us prepare your home for sale – but start with the initial sweep immediately.  The savvy seller will remove half of all items in a closet and have nothing on the floor, for instance.  It sounds drastic, but it works.  Pack up everything you want to keep and take it to a storage unit or call in a company that will deliver a storage pod and then take it offsite for you.

Repaint to freshen up where needed; if you have any carpeting, get it cleaned.  If you know that a home inspector is going to find anything that needs to be fixed – go ahead and fix it now.  We have great contractor references if you need them.  It makes more sense to do the repairs first – a buyer may end up asking you to spend $300 on a repair you can do now for $100.

CALL US NOW if you are thinking of selling your home.  We can help you through the preparations and price your home correctly to sell at top dollar – it’s what we do!  And we’d love to hear from you.

 

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.

HIRING AN AGENT

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

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So you have decided that it is time to sell your home and move on to a smaller home, a larger home, or just greener pastures.  How do you find an agent?  You might ask your friends and colleagues who they recommend; you might decide to hire the “neighborhood expert”; or you might already know a great agent you would like to use.

If you are not certain who you want to use, it is time to call in several agents, meet with them and have them look at your home, and then decide who you are most comfortable with.  There are many factors to consider and questions to ask:

  • Is the Realtor a FULL TIME agent?  You do not want to hire anyone who only does real estate part time – they cannot give your home the attention it deserves.
  • Is the Realtor with a reputable company, and are they well connected/well liked among other Realtors?
  • Does the Realtor have an assistant to help with marketing efforts so that if the Realtor is very busy someone is still marketing your home full time?

Hire who you are most comfortable with, not necessarily the agent who gives you the highest suggested list price.  Some agents will give you an inflated price to entice you to list with them.  Overpricing your home can be deadly, since the longer a home sits on the market the less desirable it is to buyers and the less you will ultimately get for the home.  Go for the agent who is the most knowledgeable and realistic about your home’s value over the one who gives you a high price just to get you to sign the agreement.

Ask what services the agent offers as part of the listing – among the things a great agent may offer are professional photography, staging services, full color professional brochures, agent caravans, and videography.  Let the agent know what you expect from them – some sellers like to be contacted by the agent as much as possible, while others just want a phone call when an offer comes in.  Let your agent know what works best for you.

And as the listing moves forward, let the agent know whenever you are unhappy about anything and give them the opportunity to rectify it.  Most of us will bend over backwards to make a seller happy, and to sell the home.

CHEAPER TO BUY THAN RENT

26 Monday Sep 2011

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I just placed an offer for a client who told me that he’ll be SAVING $450 a month by purchasing the condo we found for him.  He is actually SAVING money by purchasing rather than renting.  Really?  I asked him.  Does your calculation INCLUDE the monthly HOA (homeowner’s association) dues on the condo?  He assured me that it did – and that yes, he’ll save $450 a month.  Not to mention the money he’ll save on his income taxes.  Interest he pays on his mortgage is TAX DEDUCTIBLE, and in the early years of a mortgage, much of what you pay is interest rather than principal.  So he’ll see more savings add up when he files his income taxes with the I.R.S.

It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?  Why are so many people still renting?  My client assures me he’s going to spread the word to his neighbors in the apartment complex, and I hope to see more clients from there!  But why aren’t more people automatically following his lead, with interest rates as low as they are, and home prices bottoming out?  As long as my client holds on to his condo for a few years, chances are he’s making a heck of an investment – and saving money in the interim to boot!

One reason more renters aren’t purchasing, of course, is that many of them have been foreclosed upon or have had to short sale their properties (a short sale is when the seller sells the home for less than is owed on it, and the mortgage holder agrees to accept a reduced payoff).  If you’ve been through a foreclosure or short sale, you won’t be able to purchase a new home for some period of time.  (Typically, lenders tell me, a foreclosure will prevent you from purchasing for seven years, and short sale for at least three years, although these time periods can vary).  Then there’s another group of potential buyers who have relocated toAtlanta, but who cannot afford to buy a new home until their home in the former state sells.  And of course, it’s much harder to sell a home these days – you’re competing with all the foreclosures and short sales.

But if you haven’t had a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy recently, if you have steady employment and enough money for a down payment, it seems crazy NOT to buy.  The client in this example is buying a one bedroom condo in a great part of Buckhead for less than $50,000.  Just two years ago the same condo was selling for double that.  I have other clients who are looking at homes $200,000 and below – and we are finding LOTS of homes in that price range that they like.  They are having difficulty deciding upon which they like best.  Home prices are just incredibly affordable right now.

If you are currently renting, you owe it to yourself to explore whether or not purchasing a home makes sense for you.  Interest rates are again at record lows and who knows HOW LONG these low home prices will last – so please, call or email me or your other favorite Realtor – we’d love to help!