Are your Atlanta-area property taxes too high? Read this to learn how to file and appeal your tax assessment!

Many properties have dropped in value since last year, but this does not mean that the property taxes will automatically go down. If you want to lower your assessment, you must file a Real Property Tax Return early in 2010 to lower your assessment from 2009 and to have the right to appeal your 2010 assessment.

This tax return is not the same as an appeal, and the value submitted by the owner does not set the final assessed value.  However, the tax assessor will review the owner’s value and decide whether to accept it or dispute it. The property owner will then have the right to appeal an official assessment that exceeds the owner’s proposed value.   This is a separate process.

The procedures and deadlines vary by county (usually March 1 or April 1, with no extensions).  Most counties require the form to be mailed – no fax or email. PLEASE NOTE:   This is in addition to filing for your Georgia homestead exemption.

See these websites for forms and details:

Cobb County:     http://www.cobbassessor.org/Forms/HtmlFrame.aspx?mode=Content/TPRRP.htm

DeKalb County:   http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/TaxAssessor/events.asp

Fulton County:    http://www.fultonassessor.org/Forms/HtmlFrame.aspx?mode=content/taxpayer.htm&LMparent=180

Gwinnett County: http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channelId=-61080&pageTypeId=536880236

 A special thanks to Leigh Clack, Neel & Robinson Attorneys at Law, for pulling this fantastic information together!

Today, I showed thirteen homes to two different buyers, all of them in Atlanta’s upscale areas of Sandy Springs, Brookhaven and Buckhead. We were looking in the $750,000 to $1.2M range and the majority of these homes were in horrible showing condition. I couldn’t believe that a seller would present a home in this manner, or that an agent would actually allow a Seller to do it. I was embarrassed for both the seller and the agent.

I made appointments to show all of these houses one day in advance, so the sellers and the agents knew that buyers were coming. I also gave them a 45-minute to 2-hour window in which we’d be arriving. We saw pet “deposits” left on floors; hoarders’ clutter (and I’m not talking about a little bit; I’m talking major hoarding); blinds pulled and lights off; cleaning products left on counters; pets gone wild; beds unmade; dark rooms with burned-out light bulbs; one house even had an alarm turned on, with no way to turn it off and no way to reach the listing agent! In three homes, the seller/owner or their agent followed us through-out the house, talking constantly. What were they thinking?!!!

In the future, I’m going to post pictures and blog about the worst offenders. It may not help my buyers, but I think it will help the sellers that I represent.

If you are thinking of selling a home in Atlanta, call me to see how you can present your prperty in the best possible way. Call me and Experience True Experience!

Who is Affected? 

• Any property owner who was personally liable on a real estate loan that was foreclosed or partially paid off in a short sale.

What is 1099-C Form?

• This form represents ordinary income (not capital gain) for the “Cancellation of Debt” of the seller/owner.  The amount must be included in income on the seller’s income tax return.

When will the 1099-C be Issued?

• Unless the lender is pursuing a deficiency judgment, the 1099-C must be issued by January 31^st.  If the lender sends the 1099-C, the lender has written off the loss as a bad debt. 

 How is the Amount on the 1099-C Determined?

• For a Short sale: the difference between the full payoff and the short sale payoff  
• For a Foreclosure:  the difference between the full payoff and the fair market value, based on an appraisal at the time of foreclosure.

Does the Seller have any offsets against this income?

• Sale of principle residence (IRS form 982): this is subject to some limitations on amount and the qualifying debt;                                                                                                                 
• Capital loss: seller’s capital loss (for investment property) can be used to offset capital gains and a small portion of ordinary income;
• Insolvency: income can be offset to the extent that debts exceed assets;
• Bankruptcy: depending on when it occurred and whether the debt was included.

Be sure to consult with your tax preparer!

Buying a home is an exciting adventure! It can also be a very time-consuming and costly one if you’re not familiar with all aspects of the process and don’t have all the best information and resources at hand.

How do you select a real estate agent? Whether you are buying or selling, here are some thoughts for you to ponder, before selecting an agent to help you:

I am a Realtor. All Realtors are real estate agents, but not all real estate agents are Realtors. Realtors are agents who belong to a Board of Realtors and more importantly, adhere and subscribe to a Code of Ethics. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) prides itself in their Code of Ethics, which in 2013, will be 100 years old. NAR constantly changes the Code, to be relevant to real estate business practices, market conditions and technology. Realtors do not charge extra for this designation and, typically, are better trained and educated.

Get to know your agent. Let’s get to know each other so that you feel safe and comfortable with me and that I can best serve your needs. This may take a while, whether in person, on the telephone or via email; I will ask a lot of questions and listen closely to your answers.  These conversations, along with every conversation, email, text or meeting we have, will give me the information I need to make sure your Atlanta home search is focused on what you are looking for, so that we don’t waste your valuable time looking at homes that are not appropriate.

Ask questions of your Realtor. How long has she/he been licensed and how many transactions does she/he do in a month or in a year? Is your Realtor a full-time or a part-time agent? Does your agent have repeat clients? In terms of number of transactions and commissions earned in 2009, our office was the #2 office in the Atlanta metropolitan area, city-wide and I was in the top 5% of agents in my office.  Can your agent say that?

Your agent will help you find a lender that will tailor a loan to fit your needs. Getting pre-qualified and pre-approved will lend weight to any offers you make and add valuable criteria to use in your Atlanta home search. I work closely with lenders throughout the purchase, making sure you have a smooth transition from “home buyer” to “home owner.” 

Your Realtor will recommend inspections when necessary, schedule your inspections, make sure the reports get turned into the appropriate parties, schedule repairs (if needed), work with the other agent, your lender, appraiser, closing attorney and other professionals as required to keep your Atlanta home purchase moving forward.  I will help you measure your rooms for furniture, recommend gardeners, insurance agents, places to stay while you’re home-shopping (if you are coming from out-of-town) and places to eat, plus I will be accessable to you for your questions and concerns throughout the process.  I enjoy these details and do not pawn them over to an assistant or to another agent!

If you’re like most people, buying a home is the purchase you will ever make.  Whether you’re buying a starter home, your dream home or an investment property, why not take advantage of my experience to make the most informed decisions you can, every step of the way?

If you or a friend are buying or selling an Atlanta home or property in 2010, call or email me.  Experience TRUE Experience!

Are you an Atlanta home seller who has some, but not unlimited, cash for upgrades? Whatever your budget, remember that this market is a beauty contest and in a beauty contest, the “prettiest one” always wins.

According to Realtor Magazine, there are ten (10) big-impact, low-cost remodeling projects you can do to enhance your home and make it stand out in the beauty contest:

1. Tidy up the kitchen cabinets and the closets. Buyers do open up cabinets and closets to look inside. They want to feel that there is room for their things.
2. Add or replace tile.  Go for low-cost tile. Retiling will make a kitchen backsplash or bathroom look clean and updated.
3. Add a breakfast Bar. When a wall separates the kitchen from the family room, think about cutting out an opening to create a breakfast bar. On top of the new cut-out/opening, place a large slab of granite and add chairs in front of it. You’ll only have spent $400-600 and can now claim an “open-to-the-family-room look”.
4. Install granite tiles instead of a granite slab. Everyone wants the look of granite, but a granite slab can cost thousands of dollars, depending of the size of your kitchen and the type(level) of granite you select. Using granite tiles will give you the look of an expensive countertop, but the labor and materials will be a fraction of the cost of a granite slab.
5. Refresh a bathroom without retiling. Exchange dated mirrors, vanities and  ”jewelry” (plumbing and lighting fixtures). Also consider scraping and regrouting the existing tile, which after buffing, will make the tile look brand new. Installing glass shower doors adds elegance and people will notice the doors, not old tile.
6. Freshen up the Basement. The basement may not be finished, but it shouldn’t show as a damp dungeon. Have a contractor fill in the cracks with hydraulic cement and then paint the cracks with a waterproofing paint. Sellers can also paint a basement floor with floor paint to add color.
7. Add a “room”. Look for large spaces that can be enclosed to create a new bedroom or sunroom, for just the price of a wall. Sometimes a $400 procedure can add an increase of $15-40,000 onto the sales price.
8. Spruce up a kitchen or bathroom cabinet front.  Reconditioning is the most inexpensive way to do this. If the wood is starting to look shabby from use or contaminants in the air, recondition it with oil and put on new jewelry (hardware) on the doors. Or replace the cabinet doors and drawer-fronts. It’s like putting a new skin on the boxes, for a fraction of what new cabinets would cost.
9. Replace light fixtures. Replacing light fixtures in the foyer and bathrooms provides a lot of pop for a little money. Or, if you have dated track lighting in the kitchen, spend $500-700 for an electrician to replace it with recessed canned lights, with a dimmer switch for added ambience. You can also add pendant lights over a kitchen island or peninsula.
10. Tech-up the Garage. Replace the opener with a remote touchpad entry system. Another low-cost idea is to install built-ins for more storage space.

The averge cost of every remodeling project has gone up, though at a slower rate than in the previous year. According to Remodeling Magazine, one surprise is the common misconception that contractors are hungry for work and therefore, are willing to wheel and deal.

To get to the finish line (the closing table), you need to get your home ready for the market. If you need help getting your home ready in this highly competitive market, call or email me for more suggestions. Experience TRUE Experience!

In December, two permits were issued  for new-homes in Sandy Springs. Both permits are in $750K-850K sale-priced neighborhoods. One house will be ITP (inside the perimeter), just off Windsor Parkway and the other house will be OTP (outside the perimeter), south of Northridge.

This month’s total is the largest in Sandy Springs for two years and may signal the return of new-home growth in the newly-formed city.

If you want to buy or sell a home anywhere in Sandy Springs or  in the Atlanta area, call or email me for help. And Experience TRUE Experience!

The Dunwoody City Council has awarded bonuses to its city manager and city clerk for getting the one-year old city off the ground.

City Manager Warren Hutmacher will receive a $5,000 bonus and clerk Sharon Lowery will receive a $2,000 bonus for “outstanding” job performances in the past year. Mr. Hutmacher was instrumental in assembling and starting the city of  Dunwoody’s first police force, while Ms. Lowery lead the set-up of the city’s Municipal Court and managing the city’s records.

What do you think of rewarding bonuses to government employees?

If you live in Dunwoody and want to move up, down-size or just plain move into Dunwoody, call or email me for more information. Experience TRUE Experience!

According to Forbes Magazine, Sandy Springs GA and Marietta GA were ranked #1 as the best place in the US to retire in 2009! Georgia was ranked #19 as the state that residents are the happiest, based on personal reports of happiness and other objective measures, such as how crowded that state is, air quality, home prices and other factors known to impact quality of life. The bad news is that Atlanta ranked #4 for the worst traffic in the US, behind Los Angeles (#1), New York (#2) and Chicago (#3). My guess is that everyone is rushing into and around Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Marietta, to experience our metro-area.

Atlanta was also ranked as the 9th top relocation city in the country by Forbes. The top 10 cities were ranked in order of getting a business or family relocated and productive quickly.

If you are looking to retire in, move up, into or around Sandy Springs, Marietta or the Atlanta-area, I have the experience to help you with your move; call or email me. Experience True Experience!

Thanks to Forbes Magazine and The Real Estate Bloggers.

A great little development in Brookhaven’s Ashford Park neighborhood, just off Dresden Drive, Village Place Brookhaven, has finally gotten real! They have reduced several of their home prices by an average of 65.6%.

When a buyer can buy a larger single-family home for less than he can buy a condominium (with condo-sized monthly fees), most buyers will flock to the single family home. Ashford Park’s Village Place Brookhaven has finally realized that their wonderful product will sell, but not for the high $300’s to mid-$400’s. Now reduced to the mid- to high-$200’s, I think that they have hit their price point! 

 Brookhaven and Ashford Park are two great neighborhoods located 2 miles north of Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, but are still in unicorporated Dekalb County. If you would like to see these or other affordable single family homes or townhomes, call or email me today!

Last night, as I began to spend a week with my just-flown-in relatives, I thought of all the things that I love about them. They are all lovable, quirky, funny and healthy. In this season of thanksgiving, I am cognizant of that and thankful for them.

I know that almost everyone thinks of their immediate family over the holidays, but I also am thankful for my real estate family. I am talking about my truly wonderful clients, both sellers and buyers and my friends who often refer their friends to me; my team of agents and brokers, whom I rely on constantly; the adminstrative helpers I work with daily; the closing attorneys and the loan officers that will go the extra mile for me; the vendors, such as my marketing lady, Christine; the handy-men; accountants; web-techies Terrence, Drew and Catherine; and my coach Teri.

My business of  ”one” could not survive without you. Even though I may not tell you as much as I should, I will be thinking of you this season. I am thankful you are not only in my real estate life, but also in my real life. Thank you; I wish you a happy and healthy holiday!