Here are 5 great business commandments that a loan officer just sent me:

1. The sale is made on what the client says, not what I say.
2. My clients want a trusted advisor, not a salesperson.
3. Adversity and opportunity are joined at the hip.
4. Never tell a client something I can ask him/her/them.
5. I don’t need twenty ways to close a sale; I need one good way to open a relationship.

If your Atlanta real estate agent does not live by these commandments; I do!!!! Give me a call or send me an email and let’s start a relationship!

Eligible buyers now have until September 30 to close on a home sale, to be eligible for the much heralded tax credit.  On July 2, President Obama signed a bill to extend the $8,000 Home Buyers Tax Credit. To be eligible for this extension, buyers needed to be under contract as of April 30, 2010.

The National Association of Realtors estimated that there were approximately 180,000 home buyer families who were unable to get their new-home purchases closed by the previously-extended deadline of June 30. It has been difficult for these buyers to get their mortgages approved on time, as lenders could not work through the clogged pipeline of applications.

It’s a shame that congress won’t give working families the credit indefinitely.

Atlanta’s home sales’ numbers and statistics for March are out and they are amazing! There are currently 27,042 homes for sale in the metropolitan Atlanta area and only 6,040 are “Pending” sales. That is a ratio of 18.2%, which roughly put, says that 4 out of 5 sellers didn’t, or couldn’t, sell their homes. Price and condition sell homes and to me, these numbers say that Atlanta home sellers are still over-pricing their homes for today’s market! In this same time period, 10,872 listings expired, or failed to sell.

For today’s market, unsuccessful home sellers have three choices. Quite simply:  Reduce it, Remain in it, Rent it. It is a market of the 3 R’s.

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!

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!

Does it feel like you pay more taxes than anyone else? Or do you feel like you are contributing towards your landlord’s, utility company’s or telephone company’s taxes?

No one likes to pay taxes, but things could be worse: you could be paying these numbers. According to The Atlanta Business Chronicle, here are the top-dogs, for Atlanta-area taxes, in 2008:

1. BellSouth Telecommunications/AT&T was the highest taxpayer in Dekalb County ($8,205,027), Gwinnett County ($4,760,362) and Rockdale County ($753,773); they were the 2nd highest taxpayer in Fulton County (combined taxes paid were $13,792,582). BellSouth/AT&T also ranked as one of the top 10 largest taxpayers in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Douglas, Fayette and Henry Counties;
2. Georgia Power ranked in the top 10 taxpayers in Fulton, Dekalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Douglas, Henry, Clayton and Rockdale Counties. Greystone Power, Cobb Electric EMC, Coweta/Fayette EMC, Snapping Shoals EMC and Jackson EMC are also Metro-Atlanta’s top ten taxpayers;
3. Atlanta Gaslight was the highest taxpayer in Cherokee County and was ranked one of the ten highest payers in Clayton, Dekalb, Fayette and Rockdale Counties;
4. The Development Authority of Fulton County was the top taxpayer in Fulton County;
5. Post Apartments was one of the top ten taxpayers in Fulton and Dekalb Counties.

If you are renting an apartment, paying a utility, telephone or cell bill,  isn’t it time to stop paying their taxes for them? Would you like to join the ranks of small-paying property taxpayers? Call me – I can’t help you pay your taxes, but I can help you sell your existing home or buy your dream home. Experience True Experience!

     It’s getting better!!!

This past week, HUD improved the first-time home buyers’ $8,000 tax credit by allowing the credit to be used towards the down payment of home purchases for first time buyers. This will surely provide an uncontestable motivation for wannabe homeowners.   This is an unprecedented stimulus package and everyone ”sitting on the fence”, waiting and wanting to buy a home, should be motivated to move now. 

Based on the amount of activity that is occurring in the market right now, the buyers who have been dragging their feet, hoping that economic conditions might worsen (to improve their ability to strike a Guinness Book of Records’ deal on a home) should be very concerned that they may have, indeed, missed the proverbial boat and their best opportunity to buy at the bottom.   As we closed in on the end of May, I am extremely encouraged by the level of activity and closings posted this month, and even more encouraged by the closings that are already scheduled for June! 

It‘s not too late to purchase a home while prices and rates are still low. If you are waiting to find the bottom, you may have missed it. However, the deals are sweet and are still there! If you are thinking of buying in Atlanta’s hot homes market, call or email me now and allow me to help you. Experience True Experience!

I’ve sold new-homes in Atlanta for over 15 years, working exclusively for the last ten of those years for one home-builder.  Two years ago, however, I felt that something was happening in the building industry. Although I couldn’t put my finger on it, I knew something was ‘going down’. In retrospect, I felt the rumblings of what was coming in the housing industry. 
 
It’s been almost 2 years since I left that job.  Happily, since leaving the job that I loved for so many years, I’ve found new passion in my work: I am absolutely in love with what I do!
 
I’ve branched out in my work and, instead of one seller, I now represent both sellers and buyers, from individuals to builders to a bank that holds title to many of the area’s new-homes (foreclosures). I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked, but I believe that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing: making a living and helping Atlanta’s home sellers and home buyers get through this difficult period of time.
 
I’m learning about areas of the city that I never knew, from  Brookhaven to Canton, Sandy Springs, Lawrenceville, Dunwoody,  Buckhead,  Vinings,  Woodstock,  Marietta, Snellville and back home again to Brookhaven. I’ve also added two great agents to my team, Joy Kirkland and Nora Jacobs, both of whom have helped me keep many of these areas straight! Joy lives in NW Atlanta and Nora is a 3rd-generation NE Atlantan. Both have experience in the housing industry and all three of us love what we do!
 
Even if you are not looking to sell or buy property, I hope you will continue reading my posts. Knowing what is going on in Atlanta’s housing industry is important and I would love to arm you with more information.

There’s always someone who wants an unusual home but Atlanta’s homes never seem quite as quirky as the homes in California.

On the 50th anniversary of the first Barbie doll, Mattel, Inc. rented a home in Malibu, which is frequently rented for film and photgraphy shots. The project took six months of planning and several weeks to install. When Mattel is finished with the project, most of Barbie’s decor will be shipped to the Palms Casino in Las Vegas to furnish a special Barbie suite that will be available for bachelorette parties, birthdays or anyone who wants to live like Barbie.

 Mattell, Inc., the maker of the Barbie doll, commissioned interior designer Jonathan Adler to create the 3,500 square foot version of the Barbie Dream House. With Ardy Warhol artwork and a chandelier made up of 30 blonde wigs, the house has been designed to look like the plastic home millions of little girls grew up and played with.

Who’s up for Barbie’s Buckhead mansion, Dunwoody condo or Sandy Springs home? Read more at:    Barbie’s Dream House

This afternoon, I went to the shareholders’ meeting for a publicly-traded, new-homes company. The chairman’s opening remarks were that the board and the officers of the company were focused on maintaining and managing the company’s liquidity.

When the chairman opened up the floor for comments and questions, I raised my hand and expressed concern that one of the company’s major priorities should also be closing homes! I questioned their internet “specials” of $100 in “Green” incentives for every $10,000 spent in upgrades and their version of low interest rates (market interest rates are lower than this company’s “special” rates). Another stockholder questioned why the Board approved executive bonuses when the stock has plummeted. In response to that question, the chairman said the bonuses were justified.

My initial shock at seeing these out-of-touch incentives and responses has grown into disbelief. How can this company be so unrealistic and uncomprehending of today’s market conditions?

In today’s real estate market, homebuilders must be pro-active and realize that it is a “buyers’ market”. This particular company’s stand is that they will negoitate, once a buyer becomes interested. But, if the buyer eliminates a homebuilder by visiting the builder’s website, how can a home builder expect in-person visitors? Or closings?

Does this homebuilder just not get it?