The Atlanta Market Update…Today

It seems like common sense – if a home is listed for sale and buyers are going to be touring it, sellers should ensure that the property is clean and presentable. However, not all sellers get this memo, so here’s a reminder.

If you’re trying to sell your home, aside from pricing it correctly for today’s market, the second most important thing you can do to ensure it sells is to stage it right, and that means you have to keep your property clean. Here are a few tips:

• Make your beds - every morning! You never know when a buyer is going to come through during the day when you’re at work.
• Pick up your dirty laundry and place it in a laundry basket, then make sure it isn’t over flowing. Don’t let wet towels mildew.
• Do NOT leave dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter! Buyer’s perceive this as gross, and may wonder how you’ve been maintaining the property.
• Dust happens! Don’t let it!
• Clean the dust off your fans and air vents. Buyers do not want to see years of grime on appliances and vents meant to circulate air.
• Keep your bathrooms clean and tidy. Spray an anti-mildew mist on the shower after usage to ensure it doesn’t get funky. I’ve toured a lot of homes with pink-rimmed showers, and it says “Run Away” rather than “Buy Me!”
• Make sure you keep the toilet bowl lids down.
• Take your trash out daily. Don’t let bags of trash accumulate or over flow your trash bin. Stinky houses do not show well.
• Purchase some plug-in room fragrances to keep your home smelling inviting.
• Vacuum and sweep your floors daily. Don’t let crumbs, hair or general trash accumulate on your floors.

These items should not take long to complete each day or week, and they’re guaranteed to help your home show better and sell faster!

By definition, a buyer’s market occurs when the supply of available homes on the real estate market is greater than ten months. This means that if no other properties were to come onto the market, it would take ten months at the current sales rate for all currently listed homes to sell. This makes for a VERY competitive market, and with today’s tech savvy buyers, it is important to do everything you can to ensure your property stands out. Here are three very important tips on how you can help your agent do that.

Tip #1 – Price Your Property Right From The Start

At lot of the homes that are sitting on the market and expiring are over priced and buyers know this. In order to garner the highest price for your home, it’s important to price your home in line with the current market price from the start of your listing. Homes that go on the market over priced and are then reduced take twice as long to sell, if they do sell at all, and then typically sell for a lower price than homes that were priced correctly to begin with. Consulting with a knowledgeable real estate can help you determine what this price is for your home.

Tip #2 – Stage Your Property to Be Appealing

The first impression your property gives buyers from the street and the first impression your property gives buyers when they walk in the front door can make or break the sale of your home. Make sure your property’s exterior is well maintained and appealing. Take care to cut your grass and trim your bushes. Inside, always leave your home in showing condition. Sometimes, agents will bring clients by at the last minute and this is much less stressful for you as a seller if you know that your home is presentation ready. There are a few easy ways to do this. Every morning, make sure all the beds are made and the laundry is picked up. Check and make sure all the bathrooms are clean and the waste baskets are empty. Decrease the clutter around the counter. In the kitchen, don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink. In order to subconsciously appeal to buyers, use plug in air fresheners to keep your home smelling fresh.

Tip #3 – Be Flexible

Due to tightened lending restrictions, the potential pool of buyers has gotten very tight. To ensure that you don’t miss an opportunity for an interested purchaser to view your home, agree to let your agent leave a lockbox on the door and make your home available for showings. The more difficult it is for an agent to show your home, the less likely they will bring their clients by to view it.

Myth: In a buyer’s market, buyers do not need to have a sense of urgency when putting on offer on a home.

Truth: If you wait to offer on the right house, you could lose it to another purchaser.

In any market, properties that are priced right and are in good condition are going to sell. In today’s Atlanta real estate market, these homes are receiving multiple offers. Buyers who don’t act with haste risk losing the home to another, more pro-active purchaser.

Myth: It’s a buyer’s market, so buyers do not need to worry about financing until they find the home they want.

Truth: You should be fully pre-approved before you look at the first house.

Finding the house before structuring your financing is like putting the cart before the horse. The lending guidelines for home loans have been tightened in the last year, and not everyone who thinks they can get approved for a loan can. Buyers who get fully pre-approved before touring homes not only save themselves a lot of time and only look at homes they can afford, they also ensure that their offer will be looked at and taken seriously when presented to sellers.

Myth: There’s a lot of sitting inventory, so sellers who receive a really low offer should just be grateful they received an offer at all and accept it.

Truth: Buyers should be realistic about the value of a home based on the comparable sales and the condition of the property and should base their offering price accordingly.

Its true that in a buyer’s market there is a glut of sitting inventory and that a lot of the available inventory may be over priced. It’s also true that a property’s days on market time may be longer than it would be in a normal or seller’s market. However, it is unrealistic for buyers to assume that that all sellers are so desperate to sell that they are willing to sell their homes for pennies on the dollar. While some properties, especially foreclosures, do sell substantially below market value, not all properties will.

Myth: Real estate is a risky.

Truth: Responsible, educated real estate purchases are a solid method of building wealth.

If the media is to be believed, everyone in the United States who owns a home has already been foreclosed on, is in the process of being foreclosed on or will be foreclosed on shortly. No one should purchase real estate because it’s the basis for financial ruin. In America, the media makes money for delivering sensational news. This is not actually the case.

Individuals who take the time to educate themselves about their financial options and take a realistic assessment of what they can afford and buy accordingly set themselves up to build long term wealth in real estate. For most home buyers, this means taking out a stable 15 or 30 year mortgage at a fixed rate that is a little less than what they could afford if they maxed out their buying power to ensure that even if they take a dip in income, they’ll still be able to afford their home long term.

YourPropertyToday.com encourages you to remember to request your medical records from your physician’s office when moving. Medical records are something that few people think about when moving, but are a really important set of records to keep track of.

There’s a lot of information to remember, and in many ways, keeping track of your medical history is just as much work as going through all of the exams, tests, and operations, which is why we are advocates of the MedicMinder.

The MedicMinder is a single source record-keeping system for medical and drug history and family history, including contact numbers for doctors, pharmacies, insurance companies, and more.

While most health care will occur in the physicians’ office, treatment also occurs in the emergency room or medical clinics. When services are provided anywhere other than the physicians’ office, the health records may not be available to the treating physician. It can be distressing to realize the records needed are at your previous doctor’s office, perhaps thousands of miles away, because of the recent move. When using the MedicMinder to keep track of all your health records you’ll have all the information any physician needs easily available.

An option is to have your physician professionals mail the documents. Unless you have already selected doctors in your new hometown, the records won’t be sent until you do. Many times, the shipping of medical records is not a high priority in a doctor’s office and it could take a month or two for your new doctors to receive them. Are you willing to take the risk?

The MedicMinder has thought of everything so that you don’t have to in your time of stress. It provides peace of mind for you or a caregiver – the knowledge that all pertinent medical and drug history is documented in one comprehensive, easy to use system. No second-guessing in an emergency – reach for the MedicMinder and you will be assured that vital and accurate information is at your fingertips.

The MedicMinder is a single source record-keeping system for medical and drug history, treatment record, including important contact numbers, for doctors, pharmacies, insurance companies, and more.

Simply stated, the MedicMinder is “Trusted by Caring Families.”

Diane Carter, PR Contact, trust@themedicminder.com, http://www.themedicminder.com, Post Office Box 333, Marietta, Georgia 30061, 770-499-0127

A lot of my clients ask about how to buy a home with little or no money down. While it’s not realistic to go into a home purchase expecting not to have to extend any funds, it is possible to get assistance coming up with a down payment and closing costs funds.

What is Down Payment Assistance (DPA)?

Down Payment Assistance programs are grants that can be used by homebuyers to help cover closing costs and the down payment on a home. The funds are provided by a charitable foundation such as the Nehemiah Program and the amount of funds given to purchasers is generally between 3% - 6% of the purchase price of the home.

Who Qualifies for DPA?

Anyone who qualifies for an FHA loan (up to a loan amount of $625,500 in Atlanta) is qualified to receive DPA funds. By FHA’s estimation, 40% of the purchasers they service use down payment assistance funds. Often, these are individuals and families who are perfectly capable of handling their monthly payments, but do not have the necessary savings to come up with the funds necessary for closing.

What’s The Catch?

As we stated, anyone who qualifies for an FHA loan qualifies for down payment assistance…provided that they have a seller who is willing to participate in the program. Sellers who participate in the program agree to contribute an amount of money that matches the grant the buyer is receiving back to the organization and to pay an addition processing fee, which is generally about $400.

How Exactly Does This Work?

An Example:

DPA Program gives Holly Homebuyer $6,000 to purchase a home valued at $100,000. At closing, the DPA program wires Holly’s closing attorney $6,000 to help cover her expenses. Sammy Seller, in turn, makes a contribution to the DPA program of $6,000 plus a $400 administration fee for a total of $6,400. This money is deducted from his proceeds at closing.

Will Banks Agree to Participate With Foreclosed Property?

Most banks, yes. However, not all banks will participate in DPA programs. The best way to find out whether the bank who owns a property you are interested in will participate in DPA programs is to have your buyer’s agent call the listing agent and simply ask. Most banks are very open about their policy regarding DPA.

Isn’t This The Same Thing As Buying A Home With No Money Down?

Not quite. Purchasers who use DPA funds will still have to pay for an appraisal, a home inspection and will have to put down some earnest money, which will be credited towards their expenses at closing.

When it comes to buying a home, there are some expenditures that are mandatory, such as an appraisal, which is required if you are taking out a loan in order to purchase, and then there expenditures that are not officially mandatory but highly recommended, such as a home inspection.

While not an officially mandated purchase, the purchase of a home inspection is perhaps the number one most important investment a home buyer can make when looking to purchase a house. Often, in an effort to save money, clients ask me whether they “absolutely” need to get a home inspection. As a consultant who places the best interests of my client first, my answer is YES!

A home inspection is generally going to run about $300 in cost, and is worth every penny. During the inspection, a home inspector who is preferably experienced, certified by a regulatory board such as ASHI and insured, will go through the home in question and ensure that the home is in good condition, checking items such as – but by no means limited to - electrical outlets, circuit breakers, the furnace, the water heater, available appliances, etc for correct function. The inspection lasts roughly three hours, and at the end of the inspection, the inspector will present you with a written report regarding any problems that they found with the house, whether there are emergency items which need to be handled immediately or whether there are just a few preventative maintenance issues that need addressing.

When most people buy a car, they want to know the car isn’t going to break down on them after they leave the lot. A home inspection is necessary to ensure that your dream home isn’t going to become a nightmare after you move in. In most cases, after the home inspection is completed, buyers have an opportunity to request that the sellers repair, replace or offer an allowance for items of concern that appear on the home inspection report.

It’s a lot cheaper to spend $300 ensuring that the home you are purchasing is in good condition, than it is to have to replace appliances and have the house rewired because you didn’t take the initiative to ensure it was working before closing on the home.