Atlanta Real Estate | Atlanta Housing News for Real Estate

Ah, my favorite topic whether it's the house for sale my buyer with six kids must have or the house someone wants me to list it for me!
 
The property in question is almost always the 1900+/- square foot house that's a raised ranch or split foyer, whatever you'd like to call it.  As you open the front door, you can go up about 7 steps to the living area or go down about 7 steps into the basement.  As you go upstairs, you have the usual living room/dining room combination, kitchen, hall bath and in this case, 3 bedrooms, owner's suite has it's own bath, then there's a small sewing or craft room with an armoire in it that the sellers say is the fourth bedroom because Grandma stays there when she comes.
 
As you return to the entry and walk down the 7 steps to the basement, you face the laundry closet.  To the right is a small room with a nice ceiling light fixture, carpeting, a half window and a pull out style daybed against a wall, no closet.  "Bedroom number five," the owner announces. We turn left into what was originally designed as a rec room and closest to the window half of the room is a set of bunk beds, separated from the rest of the room by a bizarre rigging of a heavy sort of plastic accordion dooring for lack of a better description.  I say nothing as the seller looks me in the eye, nodding and I can hear him say in his head "Bedroom number six."  We keep walking to the back where the entrance should be to the garage.  Sure enough, as we approach what was a storage area, I look where the seller was standing yet I see none other than Rod Serling standing in a fog of smoke, squinting, cigarette in hand saying, "Bedroom number seven."

At Starbucks with a fellow real estate agent who's always been fairly successful.  Lives in a nice gated community, has a Mercedes, two other properties - one on the lake, the other a rental condo in town.  She tells me business is slowing down more than expected.  While volume seems up, prices are down, everyone wants that fifty cents on the dollar house so you're out showing dawn till dusk.  Many foreclosures in lower price ranges are priced according to condition with some having the copper plumbing missing, heat and air units stolen, neighbor kids have used a property for a clubhouse, sewage back up makes smell unbearable to view the property and the beat goes on.  You have to show a lot of properties to find one that's acceptable.
 
Meanwhile back at the ranch, this agent has got to jettison the rental condo, the condo fees either will go up or there will be an assessment to cover non-payment by some of the residents who are going into foreclosure and have already moved out!  This agent informs me that she just lost a great tenant who was moving back home and that attempts secure another renter haven't worked out because of lack of credit worthiness.  She hates to have to mail back the keys, but with everyone doing it, the bank will understand and while her credit score will be dinged, it will be more comfortable for her and she'll be able to continue to pay for both houses and cars.  If something comes up, the CDs, IRAs and bonds are there for backup.
 
I ask her to go back a few steps.  What makes you think the bank will be so benign?  Why will the bank merely take back the condo, ding your credit and give you a hug?  Don't you realize when you go to a loss mitigator at the bank after you miss a few payments that you'll have to hand in your tax returns and when they see that you're both still earning, have money in the bank and other assets and can still make payments that you'll either have to continue paying or liquidate some assets.  Where did you get the idea you could just jingle mail the keys back to the bank?  The bank is going to go over your financial information like no tomorrow and they have your social security numbers and can do the research, trust me.  Once it's obvious to them that you can make your payments, it's just a drag for you but not financially impossible, you'll have to break your promise to the kids, not go to Disney during spring break and keep paying your mortgage.  You will have a financial autopsy the likes of which you have never seen.  She looks at me incredulous and says "you're such a downer, that would never happen.  Let's change the subject."
 
Physician heal thyself.

Have you ever been dissappointed showing homes?  You know the feeling, you have a great buyer and most of the Atlanta homes you show are just a total dissappointment?  I have a buyer that must settle in 45 days and doesn't want a foreclosure.  He wants a home, not a project.  "Turn Key" would be perfect. The first two Atlanta homes we saw had terrible views, really needed some trees behind to hide the nuclear landscape or perhaps beautiful wood blinds to buffer the obvious, not just juvenile curtain toppers.  I told the buyer if she really liked the home, we could ask for trees to be planted, fast growing pines.   Had a few trees been planted there, the bare landscape wouldn't have been an issue and the reason the buyer didn't put in an offer.  Buyers have a lot of inventory to go through, so why add to the hassle?
 
The third Atlanta homes we looked at had a lovely area around the front door and looked very appealing and inviting, like home.  Across from it was the community park which was well groomed adding to the appeal.  Once we opened the door, you could smell a lingering cooking oil scent; not just today's meal but many different meals and that oil and spice scent hung heavily on the draperies, furniture, and carpets.  It permeated,a nd penetrated everything.  Even the door knobs and floor were sticky.  I thought to myself that once the owners moved, they could take the draperies and furniture and clean the carpets.  However, as we walked around, it was obvious the carpets had been more than well lived on.  A note announced "we will clean carpets upon move out."  What happened to having your listing pristine?  Obviously the owners know the carpets are a mess and should address that issue. 
 
When we got into the kitchen area, there was a nice breakfast bar, but no stools or chairs because that's where their child played and stacks and stacks of toys and books were piled under the counter area so that was made "invible" to the eye, like an optical illusion.  I had to go over and put my hand on the counter and point out the barstool possibilities.  No dishes in the sink, but lots of pots of varying sizes clean and placed on the four burners of the stove.  "That means there's no storage in this kitchen" my buyer said as her eyebrows raised punctuating her point.  The dining room chandelier had glass globes that were dirty - we originally thought they had the lighting turned down low, but the glass was obscured by a greasy film.  We walked over to the door going down into the basement and I was ready to leave as was my buyer.  How much money and time would it take to paint a door?  Someone who used the basement door must have had a routine of reading several newspapers, then opening the door because there were inky hand and fingerprints at all levels and again the door knob was gummy.  We left.
 
Now if I were to return that agent's email and phone call asking for my honest feedback, all I'd get would be grief because he/she probably keeps their home like that.  Possibly they have tried to reason with the seller and the seller would either not want to hear it at all, or would say "let the new people deal with it" because they're already emotionally detached from the property.  The agent would forward my email to the seller because the agent doesn't have the common sense to have told the seller her home needs to look like new as that is the standard set by today's buyer.  Atlanta is a buyer's market on steroids, and even most foreclsoures homes look better than this one. 

This home in this market in Atlanta will not sell!  All the staging, a good price, lots of advertising and showings will = NO SALE!  The buyer I had isn't going to be the "new people" and until you do some housekeeping, have your mortgage company loss litigator's number handy because you'll be sitting for awhile.

Looking for historic homes for sale in Atlanta?  They are really not easy to find, and require a lot of research!  You have ot remember that many of Atlanta's finest homes were made of wood, and they were burned by General Sherman in the Battle of Atlanta on his March to the Sea!

Cookie cutter Atlanta homesare not for everyone, and you do not have to be eclectic to own one.  Swim tennis and an active HOA did not exist around the turn of the 20th century.  Sometimes a home buyer likes to buy a home or restored property that has character and has some history to them.  These are historic homes.  They exist in the heart of every community, yet they are sought after by just a few home buyers that know the true values and worth of them.  Agents that do not know the value of them may call them "Tear downs or money pits!"  To a savvy home buyer they are a lot more. They may require a a planned restoration, but they are a labor of love.

Atlanta historic homes beckon a match for historic house lovers. They are a marriage made in heaven when you find just the right property for just the right buyer.  These fine older homes are for those that would like to restore and preserve the past for this current generation and beyond. 

Whether the buyers of these historic properties are into Victorian with a gabled roof, a Georgian antebellum mansion or a Federal style older home...it doesn't matter.  These fine homes are for those historic property aficionados that appreciate older properties for their architectural uniqueness, the style of a different age, old world craftsmanship and handiwork of earlier day and time, and more often that not their location in the historic downtown epicenter. 

These historic homes are sometimes fully restored to their past glory and yet mechanically updated and outfitted with modern conveniences without sacrificing the charm of the older home.

If you are interested in buying or selling an Atlanta historic home or property, please do not hesitate to contact us. It will be our pleasure to assist you!

We've had a number of people calling us regarding listing their homes as a short sale. They've heard the expression "jingle mail" and assume all they have to do is get the house listed at an artificially low price, call an agent and list it, mail a set of keys to the bank and live in the house till it settles which could be a year from now and somehow move into something affordable.  Wrong.  I can't just pull a number out of my hat, you have to have missed payments because of a financial or documented medical hardship.  Your credit score is lowered to a point where you can't purchase another more affordable home.  If you're unable to pay your mortgage now, why would a bank lend you money even for a smaller house with smaller payments?  You'll be directed to someone who should be able to lower your payments until your circumstances change.  I'm only at the tip of the iceberg. 

Here's a blurb from HAMP dated 11/2009:  

In Supplemental Directive 09-01, the Treasury Department (Treasury) announced the eligibility, underwriting and servicing requirements for the Home Affordable Modification Program(HAMP). Under HAMP, the servicers apply a uniform loan modification process to provide eligible borrowers with sustainable monthly payments for their first lien mortgage loans. While HAMP program guidelines are intended to reach a broad range of at-risk borrowers, it is expected that servicers will encounter situations where they are unable to approve a HAMP modification request, a HAMP modification is offered and not accepted by the borrower, or the borrower falls out of a HAMP modification. In these instances, the borrower may benefit from an alternative that helps the borrower transition to more affordable housing and avoid the stigma of a foreclosure.

If I pull a price out of my hat to induce multiple contracts to present to the bank, isn't that false advertising?   Once you've established in writing with a bank that you'll be going into short sale, the bank is going to send out an appraiser to determine price.  If you've borrowed 100% on the loan and the house was purchased at $100,000 but the house is now worth $90,000 and that number has been established via certified appraisal and market analysis, who pays that $10,000 deficit and when?  Should you just throw in the towel and file bankruptcy?  Consult an attorney, not your REALTOR!  I cannot practice law! How much information do I give other agents who have buyers interested in putting in offers?  What tax consequences are there?  Do you the seller sign the offer before the bank accepts terms?  Will a special stipulation in the contract fully protect you?  When is the contract binding?  Can you get to the closing table and the sale fall through?  What happens if the bank wants you to sign a promissory note at closing for any shortfalls?  What are the buyers options at closing and the seller won't or can't close?  Providing a property is a good value, why wouldn't buyers prefer a full foreclosure so they don't have to wait months for a short sale to be approved?

Signs of Agent Burnout:

It is that time of year again when in the tradition of "Groundhogs day" is upon us.  We look for a sign of good weather or bad weather just ahead.  We look for an end of winter, and forward to spring and better times.  However, if you understand the tradition...either way it is a 50/50 chance what will occur.  The only variable is the availability of the sun to cast a shadow.   In real estate we have a lot more variables.  Home sales based on contingency sales, employment, neighborhood price trends, the ability to obtain financing, income, mortgage rates, home prices, and yes the buyers confidence that the home is worth what he/she is paying for it and will not go down further.

So in speaking to other friends of mine in real estate and reading online..there seems to be a 50/50 split on which way things will go in real estate.  In one camp many feel this last year or so in real estate was nothing less than a forced retirement.  Keep in mind these are big producers.  There are those too that say things are really picking up.  However, a veteran to real estate will tell you that busy work does not always translate into closed production.  There will be a lot of homes coming on the market this spring that were not able to sell in the last few years. 

So if today was your "Groundhogs day" for real estate what do you see?  Does good weather just ahead or a little more hard times in store?  Will business pick up by the spring market or will it be dampened by rising rates, and unemployment?

The average sale price for single family attached in December 2009 was $155,819. This sales price was a full 7.9% below December 2008 even thought there were more sales this year over last year.  This period marked a 25th consecutive year-to-year monthly decline in price. The last time the average sales price for a detached home was below $160M before 2009 was February 2001.  I created a 6 year price trend chart for attached single family homes to show you what is occurring in Atlanta.

***These sales numbers are not for the City of Atlanta, but rather represent the Allanta Metro areas coverage of our MLS for Detached homes for sale.