Atlanta Real Estate | Atlanta Housing News for Real Estate

An Active Rain Blgg that I wrote July 1, 2008 entitled "PVC or Poly Farms - Do You Know What They Are? You Should!" earned me a call today from our local WSB-TV News station reporter Manuel Bojorquez.  He requested an interview to explain what's happening on our area in Gwinnett new homes subdivisions where new home construction has come to a screeching halt.  Once active new homes communities have now given way to weeds, and green pipes on undeveloped lots.  Construction activity has ceased, and owners onf homes in those subdiviions are at a loss to sell, and buyers fears are making them reluctant to buy.  It is noticeable all through out the Atlanta area where new construction has always been a part of our lives and livelihoods.  The news interview will air shortly, and I may be able to obtain a video and will post that on-line once I receive it.  Once again, I love the power of Active Rain!

I had another article published today in RealtyTimes.Com It is based on how the consumer views us in real estate and how we are judged.

In real estate we try to dazzle would be potential clients with Million Dollar Credentials that are hardly worth the paper they are written on.  Many in our profession drive leased luxury cars trying to give the illusion they are successful and should be sought after for their advice.  It really doesn't work.  Buyers and sellers are more interested in our performance.  Did we look after their needs, or were we in it for a quick buck.  Real estate has long been looked on with disdain, and some of this is the reason we are sometimes held in low regard. Empty promises of unsold homes and broken dreams are not what the public are looking for.  The public is solutions oriented, and seek the right advice.  They are even willing to pay handsomely after the deal is completed.  The consumers needs are simple...they want a sale when selling and a deal when buying.  We will ultimately be judged on did we deliver the goods or just talk about a goal that was never reached?

If you would like to read the entire article in RealtyTimes.Com:

"Our Performance Says It All!" by Jim Crawford

The business news today is really down on Wall Street bonuses.  What they don't realize that many persons working on Wall Street are paid only by their bonus money.  You know sort of like real estate agents receiving commissions and being independent sub contractors.  We are not salaried. I can see those persons getting paid, but not heads of Wall Street companies and banks lining their pockets for doing nothing.  I think we can all agree to that no one should be enriched at the expense of others.  That is why I feel, that Congress should do the same.  They should set the right example of ethics by giving back monies they received from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After all, Freddie Mac was back last week requested another 35 billion dollars.    Congressman and senators should also turn over any lobbyist monies they are receiving or have already received while being representatives of the USA.  Like Madhoff their families should not be being enriched with jobs, and favors in return for political favors.  Now you know why 800 million dollars can be spent for a job that pays $400K a year.  And while the chief executive says ..."No lobbyists allowed in my administration"...the small print under a magnifying glass says....

"It doens't apply to me!"  Has anyone in DC ever thougth of governing by example?

Recently we have been receiving a number of phone calls from would be buyers that feel they can buy a home right away because their agents falsely advised them that no damage was done to their credit. This blog post was precipitated by those direct consumer inquiries. 

I don't think this should come to a surprise to anyone in the real estate industry.  I real a lot of Blogs and real estate ads where agents are making pretty much false claims that 'Short Sales' are not "foreclosures" but they are.  "Avoid foreclosure" claims may just be a half-truth. The fact of the mattter is that short sales are just a less litigious and formal foreclosure process.  "Jingle keys" or "deed in lieu of foreclosures" basically damage the owners credit for some time to come.  It is a pre-emptive turning the keys over to the bank or trying to force a lender to accept less than what was agreed upon for repayment of the loan.  It is a deficiency and avoidance in principle and interest owed.  Real estate agents in Georgia are reminded that under state law that advising a homeowners of the tax and the consequences of a short sale is basically left to lawyers and their clients.  A real estate agent may be accused of the unlawful practice of law.  The best advice for anyone considering a short sale is seek legal council first and know how the process will effect you.

I recently spoke to several individuals about the consequences of a short sale and Lisa Talbot a loan officer in Roswell GA affilliated with Wells Fargo shared this with me:

"Short sales are seen as a type of foreclosure.  The direct implications are still evolving but we are being told that foreclosures, including short sales, could eventually end up staying on credit reports for as long as 10 years.  That is yet to be determined.  The rules are constantly changing and what we know is the rule today will not necessarily be the rule for tomorrow.  The only exception to the foreclosure and short sale implications would be a life changing event, typically a one time occurence as in the death of a spouse or a devastating medical condition."  Lisa Talbot Wells Fargo Mortgage

Fair Isaac, the company that compiles credit scores imply that A foreclosure and short sale inflict equal damage to your FICO score.  In their eyes there is not difference between the two.  Other than documented extenuating circumstances (illness or death of a wager earner etc) either process will make the borrower inelgible for 3 years for a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration.  Either a foreclsoure or a short sale may limit the borrowers ability to purchase a home in the future. 

If you haven't wanted to look at the pork that is included in the new bailout measure you should. Congress seems to have no shame, so it is up to each and everyone of us to demand transparency.  The projected cost to the US taxpayer is enormous ($10,520 for each family in the United States!)  It is incredible, and numbing.  You thought change was coming?  Guess again.  The economic problems today are based first in real estate, and real estate related.  However, bailout dollars have yet to get sales moving again, not have they stopped the tsunami of foreclosures or stopped the drop in home values.  In fact most of the monies spent have no strings attached to them.  Banks can buy other banks, and still lose values, and although the purpose of the bailout was to free up liquidity, it hasn't put anything back on the right track.  It is our responsibility as citizens to ask questions on how the funds will move things forward.  We have a right to ask what is included in the new stimulus ans why it is there!  We must realize that in the world of politics a lot of the bailout stimulus is really a Trojan horse to pass previously defeated Congressional agendas.  They have nothing to do with creating any new jobs. By the way...I thought all lobbyists were to be removed from Washington?  If the new administration really opposes this, why don't they out those self serving members of Congress?  Or are they all on the take?  We need to ask, it's your money! 

• ACORN is slated to get 4.9 billion
• Over $142 Billion in Federal education funds - Double education funding!
• Socialized Medicine - Expanded Medicaid coverage
• Refundable Tax Credits for people who don't pay taxes.
• $16 billion for science and rural Internet facilities
• Barney Frank has money earmarked for a local bank

January is a milestone on Active Rain for me.  It marks two years of active Blogging which I joined active rain on 01/06/2007.  As January starts to come towards a close this year I can take a look at several radio, television, and newspaper interviews that were a direct result of my Blogging Active Rain.  I sold my own home as a result of a Blog on Active Rain in 4 days, I received a few referrals, and gave out many referrals to other Active Rainers.  I am very satisfied with the results of my efforts.  If times were better, I know the return would be much greater.

January also allowed me to surpass 400K in AR points, a technical milestone for 2 years on AR.  I find the most important thing on Active Rain is reading, and gaining more knowledge.  That is my idea of social networking.  It is visibility, and recognition of others and their abilities.  I have made many new friends since I have joined Active Rain, and my life is much richer for the knowledge they freely share.

Thank you Active Rain!

I was reading a story online tonight about Merrill Lynch.  Merrill Lynch was a 100 year old investment firm was acquired so to speak by a merger into its Bank of America last September for 50 Billion dollars.  On the surface it was not a bailout by the Government, but it was another one of those "To big to fail categories"  that we hear so much these days.  New management was supposed to turn things around, but did it?  In the last quarter of 2008 Merrill Lynch took a 15 Billion dollar loss, but also paid out 4 Billion Dollars in Bonuses!  That is right 4 Billion dollars in bonuses!

For the other banks that have received bailout monies, they are buying other banks with the money, they are still making major contributions to politicians with taxpayers monies, and they are still really not making loans!  All of the promises from Congress, said this will get things moving...we went through the bailout of AIG, the failure of WaMu, 28 bank failures, all of the major US investment firms ceased doing business last year, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, GM, FORD, and after each intervention the economy seems to have gotten worse.  Is there really a need for the bailouts public or private?  Freddie Mac wants another 35 Billion dollars and they are definitley still giving money to those in congress. 

My question is this.  Have any of the the interventions impacted your life in a positive way?  Should we have allowed loser companies to just fold and go their way of all bad business?  We are talking about another type of bankruptcy here, and it cannot be fixed.  It is called "Moral bankruptcy!" It is no different than an addict taking the entire weeks paycheck and wanting to throw one more party before they sober up.  Have you called your Congressman and Senators to voice your concerns?  You should, it is your money they are giving away. 

The bailouts in my own opinion are total losers!

The end of January is approaching fast, and based on my observations I realize a lot of sellers are going to try to get a jump on the spring market.  Will they sell their Atlanta home, or just list it?  What does that mean?  It means that more sellers will be listing their homes much earlier this year than normal trying to avoid the fierce competition to sell a home in the peak of the market. But the question to ask, is will they be successful?

In a normal spring Atlanta real estate market sellers will normally place their homes on the market around mid-April.  This allows the seller to list a home, and perhaps make some adjustments to price and appearance and have it close by the time the children are getting out of school.  This year things will be different.  There are not as many buyers, and other Atlanta home sellers are getting hip to the fact that selling a home is not a given.  So when home inventory is down this time of year, many will try to get a sale before the competition gives them a run for the money.  Sellers will try to get a jump on the market by placing it on the market early.  Timing is one thing in this coming real estate market, and strategy is another thing.  It will take more than a sign in the ground to sell a home.  This time it is going to take some real planning.  This is a market that a home seller may only get one chance at bat!  With over 80% of all home sales begining on the Inernet, will your home be found?  If a website cannot be found, neither can your home!  For over 11 years, buyers and sellers have been selling Atlanta homes for sale on the number #1 Atlanta real estate site - AtlantaBestHomes.Com

Items to consider when selling a home:

• Does your agent have a marketing plan to sell your home?
• Does your agent have a website that can be found on the Internet?
• Can they demonstrate the business it generates?  Closed deals, clients?  Testimonials?
• Can the agent's website be found on page 1 of the Internet?
• How many unique visitors a day visit the site?
• Price - is it competitive?
• Condition of home, paint, mechanics.
• Updates, and upgrades - how does your home compare to the competition?
• Will you negotiate with the buyer?

I am curious if there is any quality signs in anyone's real estate market.  Increase in prices would be a major plus.  Are you seeing any trends?  I know in many markets sales are increasing, but the average price is still declining.  That means the sales are lead by distressed properties.  In Atlanta both price and sales are still in decline.  I posted a few  this week about the Atlanta real estate market that discussed our trends.  I also noticed in some real estate markets there is a trend that listings are increasing daily.  January is an early time to go on the market.  In a normal market listings tend to rise with Spring break to coincide wtih selling and closing a home by the time the children finish school for the year. I personally do not think that will be the case this year.  My thoughts on this is that sellers want to move their home, and will place it on the market much earlier this year, prior to the spring market.  Their reasoning is probably that they will try the higher price at first and then lower it until it sells.   In some markets I have seen a substantial increase in new listings in several MLS's this week alone.  I would love to hear what is happening in your market.  Please include anything you feel is interesting: sales prices, price points, list prices, days on market, number of listings would all be interesting.  What is selling and what is not?

I was searching Google News Stories this evening about 'real estate' and came across a very interesting article.  It makes sense economically.  The name of the article is "Another real estate crisis is about to hit!"  This time it will the collateral damage of layoffs.  It was written by By Paul Craig Roberts who has incredible credentials (Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal, and He was awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand.)

The basis of the story is really how we live in America, too much credit, and not enough savings.  As savings and frugality disappeared, the excesses of our society can be easily seen in consumer spending which became over 72% of GDP.  Those excesses in easy cedit fueled our residential real estate growth, and also commercial real estate growth.  The second part of our real estate crisis he likens to a second Katrina hitting New Orleans before the effects of the first Katrina had abated.  The problem is the same Government that caused this is about to throw more fuel on the fire with even more credit debt. I would love to hear your thoughts on the the article.  It is well written, and easy to read.  There are many sobering points.

Another real estate crisis is about to hit
By Paul Craig Roberts