Yesterday, I went on a listing appointment that I thought would take 15 minutes. I figured I would politely decline listing the over-priced home and go on my merry way. Boy, was I surprised! The seller not only wanted me to market and list the home at the price I recommended (thousands below what they originally paid), he agreed to spend money replacing the carpet, rebuffing the hardwood floors and re-painting the interior and exterior portions of the home to make it shine!

Agents have been saying to Sellers for four years, that price sells a home in this market. But up until yesterday, I didn’t realize they were starting to listen. It just goes to show that even experienced Realtors can still be shocked! Thank you, my new Smyrna home-sellers!

Silver Comet Trail

Saturday night, Atlanta’s School Superintendent announced his plan to redistrict or close certain schools. It is not yet   final but here are Superintendent Davis’s recommendations, with NO BOUNDARY CHANGES at this time.

For more information, take a look at this post:http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/413 . For more information on Atlanta’s schools and the best bet for homes, call me, your best for a Realtor!

How does one go about finding a good Realtor in Atlanta? Are you looking for one that is trustworthy and honest or one who knows the real estate market and all of Atlanta’s neighborhoods? Do you want a Realtor that will find you the right house or one who can negotiate on your behalf for your new Atlanta home? Can you combine these attributes and get it all?

The answer to all of the above should be a resounding “Yes”!

Ask your friends who own a home: “how did you find your Realtor”? In a recent study by the National Association of Realtors’ of how buyers/sellers found their agent, over 80% of buyers/sellers say, as they walk away from the closing table, they would use their agent again*. Yet when it comes to actually re-buying or re-selling, less than 10% actually used their previous agent*.

How frequently do you hear from your agent? Does  she keep up with you and your family’s lives? Does she know the market and give you information regarding the Atlanta real estate market’s fluctuations? If not, you could be one of the 70% that forgets your agent’s name and number, when you sell or buy property.

For many of my buyers/sellers, I am on  the 2nd, 3rd and in one case, 4th “generation”, of purchases/sales! My clients refer me to their friends and relatives because I keep in touch and keep my clients in the-know. Does your Atlanta Realtor do that? If not, may I help you with your real estate needs?

* From a National Association of Realtors’ study of buyers/sellers.

In Georgia, a buyer can buy a home, putting 3.5%* down, less if the buyer is a veteran. The average down payment in our state, according to Lending Tree, is 11.94%.

Also according to Lending Tree, the top 10 states with the highest down-payments US are:

1.  New Jersey –  13.71%

2.  Washington D.C. – 13.50%

3.   New York –  13.47%

4.  Hawaii –  13.33%

5.  California – 13.22%

6. Florida –  13.16%

7.  Alaska –  13.06%

8.  Connecticut – 13.03%

9. Nevada –  12.98%

10. Massachusetts –  12.98%

Click here to see what every state looks like, in terms of an average downpayment.

* Qualified buyers of an FHA loan

A “warrior” is defined as ” a person engaged or experienced in warfare; a soldier; a person who shows or has shown great vigor and courage.” In other words, a Realtor!

Who among us agents has not shown courage and vigor by simply staying in Atlanta’s local market? In 2012, our market will be constantly changing, just as it was in 2011.

If you are looking for a “warrior” agent, I’m the one! Pick up the phone or send me an email or text. Let me show you that I’m ready! Set your goals and soar with me!!!

One of the new trends in real estate is not “big” (as in the mini-mansions of 2004), but more personal space (as in Owners’ Suite or Sun Porch). Anything that gives an Atlanta homeowner more bang for their buck, is hot right now.

People are always asking me what their home is “worth”.  Atlanta’s houses may not fetch the same price as they did 5-7 years ago, but what is making them hot and sell quickly, are the features that the owners have enjoyed, while living in their homes. Do you have outdated wallpaper or a master bath that feels like a spa? Do you have a living room no one enjoys or a sunporch that the kids use or one in which you like to curl up with a book?

I can help you modify your home to show off its assets and get it ready to sell. Call me, your Atlanta Realtor: Simply Done and always at your service!

Brookhaven Ashford Park Sun Porch

Atlanta Home For Sale

I’ve been feeling, and saying, that Atlanta’s real estate market is getting better. One of the ways to gauge Atlanta’s home market, is to look at new-construction. I feel like I’ve been right all along, as here’s another signal that the market is improving.

Single-Family Housing Starts rose to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 430,000 units in October – a 4 percent increase from September and the highest reading in 3 months (a “Housing Start” is defined as a home on which ground has been broken).

The increase surprised Wall Street analysts, although it shouldn’t have.  Earlier this week, the National Association of Homebuilders showed that Homebuilder Confidence is at its highest point since May 2010, the effect of better market conditions and more sold units. Rising housing starts, amid a lift in builder confidence, is to be expected — the two metrics have moved with loose correlation since mid-2000.

Of course, as with everything in real estate, Single-Family Housing Starts volume varied by location. The nation’s 4 regions posted wide-ranging results:

• Northeast Region :  +10.0% from September
• Midwest Region :  -4.1% from September
• South Region:  +11.3% from September
• West Region:  -10.2% from September

Buyers of new construction in Atlanta can infer two key points from last month’s data. First, with more homes being built, home supply should rise, thereby softening pressure on rising home prices. This should help keep homes affordable. However, the second point is
that with builder confidence rising, buyers are less likely to win price concessions and “free upgrades” in negotiations.

The last 6 weeks of 2011 may be the optimal time to buy new construction. Home prices remain affordable and mortgage rates are rock-bottom, the lowest they’ve been in decades. If you are a buyer and because there are typically fewer active home buyers during the holidays, you’ll be more likely to locate one of the few remaining new construction “deals” in the next several weeks.

Talk to me, your Realtor, about neighborhood trends and new construction. Simply done and always at your service!

Ashford Park Elementary School will hold its annual fall festival November 5. The festival will be at Brookhaven’s Ashford Park Elementary School from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $15 for an armband that will provide access to the rides and games, which include jumpies, carnival games, face painting, a cake walk and shopping vendors.

“Operation Shield” is now a go in Buckhead.

The Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID)  approved a proposal from Texas-based Iron Sky, the company behind the surveillance cameras in Sandy Springs. Iron Sky will install 16 cameras around Buckhead. The program, known as Operation Shield, will include 14 pan and zoom cameras and two fixed position cameras for the foot bridge pathway of a proposed pedestrian bridge.

The cost of the cameras, $140,000,  includes hardware and software installation and a one-year service agreement. The Atlanta Police Foundation will also pay $70,000 for the cameras, the Buckhead CID reported. The surveillance network will tie into the city of Atlanta’s new Video Integration Center.

Once the agreement is signed,  the cameras will be operational in approximately 3 months.

The chairman of the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods and the president of the Brookwood Civic Association both liked the idea of the cameras, one adding that it is “a great aid to law enforcement.”  The president of the Loring Heights Neighborhood Association said he is in talks with Iron Sky about setting up the cameras in Loring Heights and plans to bring a formal proposal to the neighborhood of Loring Heights in the spring.

Turn on a TV or the internet for the news and all you’ll hear about, is the new iPhone 4S. What’s the big deal about it?

Okay, all my friends and clients have been wondering where the “geek” in me has come from. I suddenly found myself debating iPhone vs. Android. I knew what the online gossip was, what Apple might be announcing and when; if Sprint would have an exclusive to the “maybe-released” 5-version; what the expected benefits were going to be for the new phone. But most important, I knew how long it was going to take before I’d get that phone in my hands. It has been an excruciating 4 weeks!

Yesterday, as I anxiously awaited the UPS delivery, I realized why I was so nutzoid about this new iPhone. It isn’t that it has better resolution or that it is lighter or faster than my old 3G. It is because my ENTIRE life is on that phone! In short, I am now connected to my life and to my business with a 4S iPhone!

• All of my contacts, with names, telephone numbers and email addresses, are in my phone;
• My calendar: all of my client- and personal-appointments are on my iPhone;
• Throughout the day, I check for emails. I need to know if an inspector or a lender is having trouble with a client’s transaction or if the closing attorney has rec’d the loan package. I need to know what buyers and sellers are thinking or working on;
• My motivational music is on my phone. I use songs to help me swim in the morning and make lead-generation calls for my business. I use music to get me up or calm me down;
• Reminders and lists are on my phone. Do I need to drop off a key to an appraiser? When I go past a Publix, do I need to pick up air freshener for the seller with 3 large dogs? What time will those dogs be out of the house for my Open House?;
• My GPS is on my iPhone. How do I get where I need to go?
• Traffic reports are on my iPhone – is Buckhead traffic snarled at one street or throughout the entire area, from Vinings to Brookhaven?
• The ‘net is on my phone: what if I need quick access to who, what or why?

My “old” iPhone was murdered. I had taken it into a large retail outlet, wanting a docking station to add music to my open houses. I started sampling the different docks and after a few tests, saw smoke coming out of my phone. I pulled it up and away from the dock, but it was too late: it was fried. The store management was really nice about it, but I wanted to replace it with the new version, not an old one. Technology is moving too fast to use old systems. The problem was, that I had to wait until Apple intoduced its new phone and that was 4-5 weeks away. The store gave me a phone to use during that time, but it wasn’t an iPhone. I have been going crazy looking for, thinking and obsessing about my new phone.

Yes, I have been absolutely insane. But wouldn’t you want your Realtor to be focused on the tasks needed to be done? And seamlessly doing them with organized systems? Yesterday afternoon, I finally got my 4s iPhone and I am no longer hyper-ventilating. I am back and ready: how can I help you buy, sell or invest in Atlanta real estate?