Atlanta Real Estate 
The complete guide to buying, selling and investing in Atlanta real es
There are currently 24 blog entries related to this category.
4 Problems of Overpricing
Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 5:45pm. 114 Views, 0 Comments.
Price Problem #1: Where's the Excitement?
The first problem is... it's hard to get sales people excited.
And it doesn't make any difference how much marketing you're doing... the problem is the same ... its hard to get sales people excited.
You see ... agents generally know what buyers are willing to pay for similar homes in similar areas in this market right now.
And when a house is sitting on the market for any length of time not selling, their reaction might be that it's overpriced.
They won't get excited because they know they can't get their buyers excited.
On the other hand ... when your price your home competitively ... this is what happens:
Agents get excited because they know they can get their buyers excited.
Excitement is…
The Market Is Always Talking
Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 3:20pm. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
With a steady stream of negative news on the economy and real estate market, I think it's important to mention - despite what the media has to say – we’re selling houses!
My team and I have closed on 10 houses so far this year and, as we head into the spring season, I expect we'll more than triple that number before the tax credit runs it's course on April 30th.
Sure ... it's a taking a bit longer than it did a couple years and prices are, without a doubt, lower today than they were a year ago.
It's times like this I remind myself:
Selling real estate is simple.
Simple... but not easy.
And selling real estate, for all it's complexity, boils down to very simple rules and universal truths.
But to hear the truth about selling ... you've got…
Enemy #1
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 2:35pm. 45 Views, 0 Comments.
Water is the #1 enemy of a home.
Atlanta Foreclosure Report: February 2010
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 8:21am. 105 Views, 0 Comments.
In February foreclosure notices skyrocketed 27 percent erasing the memory of declines reported in January. A total of 10,357 notices were published this month compared with 8,181 last month.
The most recent report by Equity Depot also reveals a 34 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase with 7,701 published foreclosures notice in Februray 2009.
What's striking is there is no marked difference in foreclosure rates relative to price range or geography.
It's seems this recession doesn't discriminate.
Gwinnett topped the charts this month with 2,163 foreclosures, Fulton came in close second with 2,008 and DeKalb County rounded out the top 3 with 1,511.February foreclosures notices are scheduled for auction the 1st Tuesday in March.
The Perfect Storm
Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 2:49pm. 207 Views, 0 Comments.
Spring is here.
I know it sounds silly coming to you on a rainy day in early February when it's 35 degrees outside and "wintery mix" is the weekend forecast, but the real estate market is on strange footing these days.
Here's A Fact:
Spring has sprung in the real estate market.
And the next 3 months are the best opportunity to get your home sold in over a year.
Why?
Several factors are creating a "perfect storm" for sellers in the current market.
I'll do my best to explain...
Wikipedia defines a "Perfect Storm" as an "expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically."
It's also a movie starring George Clooney as the captain of an ill-fated fishing boat.
But the perfect storm…
FHA Changes the Investment Game
Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 1:08pm. 128 Views, 2 Comments.
In addition to residential sales, my team is heavily involved in helping investors profit by investing in foreclosure properties. Mainly by purchasing small single family homes in Atlanta foreclosure market at 60% to 70% of future value, rehabbing them, and quickly reselling them for a healthy profit. Most of these properties are in blue collar neighborhoods that we resell to first time buyers using FHA insured financing. Most of the foreclosed properties we purchase were also financed by FHA insured mortgages.
The one wrinkle in this buy, rehab, and resell process was the arcane Housing and Urban Development anti-flipping 90 day rule 24CCFR 203.37a(b)(2). This rule "provide that a rehabbed property would not be eligible for another FHA insured loan if…
What's Up With FHA?
Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 5:31pm. 81 Views, 0 Comments.
FHA announced this week it will seek to implement changes to current policies. These changes are all restrictive and have a significant impact on the real estate buying public.
You can read all about the changes here: FHA Announces Policy Changes to Address Risk and Strengthen Finances
For those less inclined to sift through all the beauracracy ... here's a quick snapshot:
- The upfront mortgage insurance premium will increase by 0.5% from 1.75% to 2.25%
- The maximum seller concessions will decrease from 6% of the sales price to 3% of the sales price
- There are some credit score/LTV limitations that should not affect “A” paper lenders
When Do The Changes Go Into Effect?
FHA will issue a notice and have a comment period on most of…
Atlanta Foreclosure Report: January 2010
Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 10:45am. 195 Views, 0 Comments.
2009 was a record setting year in Metro Atlanta with 117,107 published foreclosure notices.
And the 2010 outlook doesn't look promising as the economy and job market continues to show signs of weakness.
But with just 8,181 foreclosure notices filed in Janaury 2010 we're able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Surprisingly, we saw the first January-to-January decline in 10 years. So what is the can this decline be attributed to? Likely a combination of several factors, not the least of which being that we are finally seeing fall out from the "subprime" crisis getting cleaned up.
But it's far too early to predict how the year will go from here. With many banks slowing the pace of foreclosure through the Holiday season -- it's possible this is just…
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 3:51pm. 109 Views, 0 Comments.
If you've been following mortgage rates over the last month you've likely noticed a quick and steady climb. In fact, since a low of 4.5% on November 27th, 2009 to around 5.25% today (December 30th, 2009) they've done nothing but go up.
What's Going On?
Mortage rates are going up. And this rise in mortgage rates is something I've been expecting for a few months now. Mortgage rates are on their way up, likely to 6% or more over the next few months
Why Is This Happening?
Because that's what they were about a year ago (and where they would be today) before unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve. It's not the result of the economy is recovering ... the economy isn't in recovery mode. Last year the Federal Reserve starting their…
Move Your Money
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 10:19pm. 145 Views, 0 Comments.
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I urge you to read, watch and take action.
