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

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 Do you have outdated wallpaper or a master bath that feels like a spa?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

I am looking forward to this report. On Sunday, December 19, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) will launch its “Property Tax Meltdown” series – an investigative report that reveals flaws in home property value assessments and their impact on metro Atlanta homeowners left with unreasonably high tax bills. The obvious question is: “What took you so long?” and why haven’t our towns, counties, town councils and elected officials realized this?

I believe 2011 will be the ‘Year of the Short Sale’. If you aren’t ready to handle this type of sale, you should be getting ready or finding someone who is! And make sure you know the tax implications of the sale for the buyer.

Many buyers are choosing to buy real estate for cash, thanks to low prices, a huge inventory of foreclosed properties, and poor rates of return on other types of investments. In September, 2010, 20.9% of all buyers in the metro-Atlanta area paid all-cash for their property! 

 Although the only legal requirement for a cash purchase is the money, there are several important considerations for a cash buyer:

1.  Home inspection – never buy a property without one;
2. Appraisal – there is no lender appraisal, so this is the only way to insure that the purchase price is reasonable;  
3. Survey – always recommended for small lots and properties in older or urban areas;  
4. Flood zone determination – a lender always checks this, and a buyer should also;  
5. Hazard insurance – always have the property bound with insurance from the closing date (do not put this off);  
6. Termite inspection – a termite problem can be a major expense;  Water bills: look at recent water bills to make sure they are not unreasonably high. A high bill could reveal a leaky or broken pipe;  
7. HOA dues or condo dues – inquire about pending assessments or increases in dues – check the foreclosure rates, owner/occupancy rates, and financial stability of the complex and association;  
8. Owner’s title insurance – this is imperative for the cash buyer, especially when buying a foreclosed or distressed property such as a short sale.

The 2010 Brookhaven Arts Festival takes place Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17. It’s open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Exhibitors will set up booths along Apple Valley Road between Dresden Drive and North Druid Hills Road, which is behind the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe MARTA station. More than 125 artists have signed up to participate in the show. Admission is free.

This afternoon, Jeff Nicholson, of Wells Fargo, told me that he is offering a “no-origination-fee” for the next two loans he does for my home-buyer clients. That’s $-0-!!! An origination fee is 1% of the loan amount and, depending on the loan amount, this fee can be thousands of dollars!

If you are looking for a home, it is worth it, to call or email me and ask about this sweet deal!

(Some restrictions may apply.)

Home Buyer Tax Credit Update

Last night, the Senate reached a deal on extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit; they plan to attach it to the unemployment insurance bill.  Click here to see a copy of the bill (the tax credit provisions begin on page. 14).  

The process should go like this:
1. There will be a cloture vote at 5 pm on Monday, November 2, in the Senate on the new Baucus substitute. If the vote succeeds, it takes 30 hours to “ripen” ( i.e.: before the bill is brought to the floor);

2. Thirty hours later, it is Tuesday night, the 3rd. More than likely, there will be another cloture vote on the full unemployment insurance bill, as amended;

3. Thirty hours after that, it’s Thursday morning, the 5th, when the Senate votes on final passage of the bill; 

4. The House of Representatives could take up the bill as early as Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.  They may accept the Senate bill as is, and vote on it.  However, if the House’s version differs from the Senate bill, then the whole thing has to back through Conference. That’s unlikely at this point – and undesirable.

5.  The plan, and hope, is to have the bill on the President’s desk as soon as next weekend, November 7-8.

Obviously, this is all subject to change without notice; after all, this our Congress we’re talking about!  The one thing, however, that you can always count on, is help and advice on your home sale or purchase. with Nancy & Company! If you are looking for a home in the Atlanta area, call or send us an email today. Experience True Experience!

Realtors recommend loan officers for a reason. It is not because the loan officer is “nice”; it is because they believe that that loan officer can “get you to the closing table”. 

Not staying in touch and un-returned telephone calls from loan officers and real estate agents are the biggest complaints in real estate transactions. So, what’s the big deal about a skipped or delayed telephone call? What difference does it make if he/she doesn’t stay in touch? And if a loan officer misses an occasional telephone call, does it make a difference if he promises you a better interest rate?

Right now, Atlanta home interest rates are the best they have been in decades. Of course, a low rate is important to a buyer, but the difference from lender to lender may only vary 1/8% – 1/4% of a point.  On a $250,000 loan, that is approximately $15-30 per month, or approximately $.75 per day! What if the lender cannot get you to the closing table? Consider this:

1. Will the savings of $.75 per day be worth it to the buyers if they have to move into a hotel, store their furniture and start looking for another home to purchase? How much will these additional things cost?
2. If the buyers have to start over again with another home and lender, will the interest rates will be as good at that time, as they are now?
3. A delayed closing may cost a buyer additional interest and tax savings;
4. What is the ‘cost’ of stress to all the parties when a buyer is late to closing or worse, does not close on the transaction?

Case in point: We were the listing broker for a home that was supposed to close almost three (3) months ago. No one in this scenario won and I blame “Vance” , their loan officer, for it. The closing date was extended six times, several days had two different closing times, often changed and reset by the loan officer. We were  not sure if this closing would happen at all. The loan officer, “Vance”, did not return calls from me  or the other Realtor (I was representing the Seller; the other Realtor was representing the Buyers, Vance’s client). Because of Vance’s  lack of professionalism, no one, not the Seller, the Buyers, the two agents representing the Seller and Buyer, the paralegal, the closing attorney or the underwriter, knew when the closing would take place. That is a minimum of eight people that “Vance”  directly affected by not returning our telephone calls! There was also the “missed opportunities”  for the attorney’s office, as other buyers may have wanted the Buyers’ closing time-slots (at one point, it was the end of the month and the end of the year: a key time for Atlanta home closings). The buyers had to be out of their rental apartment and the Sellers, initially, were unwilling to extend the closing date.  If ”Vance” kept all the parties informed, perhaps the Buyers could have moved into their new home on time and the Seller would not have had to agree to extend the closing date several times. But “Vance” didn’t return his telephone calls or keep any one informed as to why the closing was delayed. No one knew where the other party stood or if we would even close on the transaction. The loan officer’s inability to close this loan on-time, also cost the buyer their Homestead Exemption for 2009 (to file this tax exemption, a buyer must own his primary residence, as of January 1; this exemption represents a tax savings to a buyer in the State of Georgia).  The final straw was when “Vance” told the two agents that the loan was cleared to close, but his mortgage company was not cleared by the state of Georgia to handle FHA loans! The buyer decided to switch loan officers and closed quickly.All this confusion for less than $1 per day.

If you are in need of a good loan officer, please call  or email us – we call help. Listen to the advice of a seasoned agent – it will get you to the closing table!