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Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Amenities like gyms and theaters give houses an edge
Buying a home is more than finding a place to sleep at night. It’s a purchase that revolves around your lifestyle. And especially with metro Atlanta’s long commutes, home buyers are looking for houses where, once they’re home, there’s no reason to get back in the car to do what they want to do.
That’s why some builders and developers are stuffing amenities into homes of all prices. Agents are playing up the gyms and saunas, pools, home theaters, outdoor kitchens and other unique extras to give their listings an edge in the market.
Some builders, such as Mike Deppe, are creating homes with entertaining in mind. His $1.599 million home at 2686 Jamerson Road in Marietta has secret passageways and rooms; a finished basement with a two-lane bowling alley, virtual golf, media room and wine cellar; and a gunite pool with hot tub.
“It’s a playhouse,” said Pat Deppe, Mike’s wife, who also works in the family-owned building company.
Mike Deppe, who has been building in the Atlanta area since 1986, said he adds such amenities because he would rather come home from work and stay home, instead of going for entertainment.
Theater rooms, for example, have sold many of his houses, said Deppe, who is building in Heyward Square, the Enclave at Adams Oaks and Walton Glen neighborhoods in east Cobb County. He makes sure to have a movie playing when showing the home. That way, potential buyers can experience it.
Deppe said about 20 people have come through the house - including rapper Bow Wow - since it was listed last spring. “[Amenities] really help it, as far as getting people to look at your house,” Deppe said. “People really want to see the bowling alley.”
Agents say sellers need to show potential buyers what special areas are used for, by keeping gym equipment in a workout room or home theater equipment in view. “There [should be] no confusion about what it was,” Williams said.
Rapkin added that sellers also need to recognize that those special amenities won’t appeal to all people. And remember that some amenities, such as gym equipment, can be taken with you or used in negotiations, while others, such as pools, cannot.
Some buyers aren’t necessarily looking for amenities in a home, or on a property, but find those features swaying their decisions.
“It really made the house stand out above all the others we were looking at because it had all these extras,” said Regan Buckner, who recently moved into a Hoschton home with a sauna, workout room and media room. Those extras have provided entertainment when the Buckners stay home with their two young children.
“We don’t go out like we used to go out. We want to be able to spend time at home and still have a good time,” she said.
Rapkin says buyers from out of state, particularly the west coast and Florida, expect features common in homes there. “I think we are getting showings we otherwise would not have a chance at,” Rapkin said.
A home in Dunwoody with an outdoor kitchen received five showings in the first two weeks of January, said Becky Morris, and agent with Jenny Pruitt & Associates. Among the features in the executive estate home at 245 Farmbrooke Court, which is listed for $1.05 million: a heated pool and spa, professional-grade Lynx grill, wet bar and refrigerator. The homeowners also added outdoor speakers, an irrigation system and an automatic mosquito misting system.
“Buyers really love the outdoor living right now,” Morris said.
Unexpected Benefit
Location: Cruce Lake neighborhood in Hoschton
Buyers: Jonathon and Regan Buckner, and kids Joshua, 6, and Brady, 3 1/2
Moving from: Buford
How long they looked: On and off for about six months
What they wanted: More space, a large yard for kids, and a subdivision with lots of children
What they got: A four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home on a 1-acre lot with a hot tub and finished terrace level with media room, sauna and workout room, for $260,500.
How they found it: John knew a friend of the seller and had looked at the home soon after it was put on the market. Regan thought it was too far out, and she was looking for a swim-tennis community. “In the course of looking for a house, he kept comparing everything to that house. Then once he finally got me up there, I was like, ‘This is only 15 minutes from the mall,” she said, referring to the Mall of Georgia. “This is not much further up there. It just seemed like for what we were looking at, we could just get so much more of our money if we went out a little further.”
Enjoying the extras:Regan, who participated in California triathlon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in September, has used the sauna and gym. “This stuff had been sitting in the corner of our office in our old house, and we really didn’t get to use it that much. Now we have a room just dedicated to that,” she said. Also, they negotiated for the screen and projector in the media room to stay. Now, Fridays are pizza and movie night with the kids. If the boys are good, they get to use the hot tub, too.
The benefits of one-stop shopping.
The problems exposed in the subprime mess of the last 18 months have at least one silver lining: If you work for a one-stop-shop brokerage with an in-house mortgage operation, you possess a powerful tool to aid customers who otherwise could have trouble finding safe, affordable loan options.
As news reports have made clear, the poor performance of many subprime and Alt-A loans, particularly so-called 80/20s, in which borrowers put no money down and are not required to document their incomes, has triggered stricter underwriting standards and higher costs among lenders. These new standards, accompanied by increased scrutiny by federal and state regulators, are squeezing mortgage markets. That will limit the ability of some borrowers to qualify for financing.
Through your in-house lender, you can easily provide home buyers information on the range of loan options available, including fixed-rate loans and traditional ARMs, government-backed products like FHA loans, and safe non-conventional subprime loans.
Making Mortgage Sense
Equally important, given the convenience and shared objectives your in-house mortgage professionals can bring to a transaction, you have an unparalleled opportunity to help customers close with a loan product at a price point that makes the most sense for them.
At the same time, developing a productive relationship with reliable, on-site loan professionals can help bring even the most challenging transactions to an efficient close. Horror stories abound about sales that blew up at the closing table because a lender didn’t deliver as promised. These troubling scenarios are as avoidable as they are unfortunate. By collaborating with loan professionals at your brokerage, both sides can be alert to potential conflicts. Read the rest of this entry »
So, you’ve decided to go for it and become a homeowner…congratulations! There is no better investment for you and your family to make. Now that you have made the decision to purchase rather then rent, there are a few common mistakes that you want to be aware of.
First, you may think that you don’t need a buyer’s agent to represent you on your purchase; that you will get a better deal if you negotiate for yourself. Nothing could be further from the truth! Typically, the seller pays the commission from their proceeds and with the complexities of the contractual process, you will need a Realtor to negotiate through the process on your behalf.
Second, you may think that you do not need to be pre-qualified by a lender before you begin to look for a home. Wrong! Talking to a well qualified lender to have an idea of the total costs of getting a loan and how much loan you can qualify for is essential to the process. A good lender will make sure that before you get into a contract that you have been pre-qualified and that makes your bargaining power much greater. Knowing that on closing day there will be no surprises will make the process of buying a home the joy it should be.
Last, but not least, you may be waiting until the market drops so you can get a good deal. There are more choices today for purchasers than almost anytime in the past twenty years. There are many sellers that are anxious to find a qualified buyer that is ready and willing to close. With the market conditions being somewhat complex, if you wait on the market to be just right, you may miss the golden opportunity to own that dream home you have always wanted.
As usual, you should contact your Jenny Pruitt & Associates’ agent and/or a Jenny Pruitt Mortgage Services loan officer for any questions you might have.
Senior Vice President, Managing Broker Sandy Springs office
Letting go of the past can liberate your time
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Realtors are hearing this more and more: “The expenses of maintaining my current home seem excessive, and I want to have more time to focus on the things I enjoy instead of moving the lawn.”
Many home buyers today are ready to move on to a different type of homeownership. You might think of it as downsizing, but maybe it’s just ”rightsizing” - finding a home that fits your purse, your time and your interests.
If that’s the case, here are five tips from the National Association of Realtors:
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Think through why you’re moving. Envision your long-term goals.
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Consider location. What do you need to be near - work, family, medical facilities, friends?
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Decide on your needs for your new home - one-level, gated community, single-family, condo?
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Discuss the financial side. Recycle all your equity into a new home or take on a new mortgage? Rent?
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Plan for what to do with your belongings if you’re going smaller. Read the rest of this entry »
Source: Associated Press
Mortgage Application Volume Surges on Refinance Volume Growth and Declining Interest Rates
Mortgage application volume skyrockets 32.2 percent during the holiday shortened week ending Jan. 4, ending three consecutive weeks of sharp declines, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey.
The MBA’s application index jumped to 706 from 533.9 the previous week, which was also a holiday shortened week because of Christmas. The index can be more volatile around the holidays, as volume tends to be smaller and seasonal adjustments are made. During the same period the previous year, the application index jumped 16.6 percent.
Application volume is still 13 percent less than it was four weeks earlier when it began a run of steady declines. The index stood at 811.8 for the week ending Dec. 7.
Refinance volume increased 53.9 percent during the week ending Jan. 4, while purchase volume jumped 14.7 percent. Refinance applications accounted for 57.7 percent of total applications, compared with 50.9 percent the previous week.
The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the weekend ending May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom.
An index value of 100 is equal to the application volume on March 16, 1990, the first week the MBA tracked application volume. A reading of 706 means mortgage application activity is 7.06 times higher than it was when the MBA began tracking the data.
The survey provides a snapshot of mortgage lending activity among mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. It covers about 50 percent of all residential retail mortgage originations each week.
Application volume jumped while fixed interest rates tumbled. The average interest rate for traditional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.73 percent from 6.05 percent the previous week. The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, which are often used to refinance mortgages, dropped to 5.21 percent from 5.61 percent the prior week.
Rates for one-year adjustable rate rose slightly to 6.04 percent from 6 percent.
By: Dana Mattiolo, The Wall Street Journal
Attractive images help entice buyers. Here’s what to do to get pictures with pizazz.
Selling a home used to be all about “curb appeal,” or the first impression a property conveys to potential buyers as they pull up in front. A house that looks unattractive form the street won’t sell, the mantra goes.
These days, a property’s “pix appeal,” or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings, is equally important. Eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that the Internet is where they first found the property they purchased, according to the National Association of Realtors survey. In most cases — 85% of the time — online photos are his first view of a home, he says, adding that poor pictures tend to turn him away.
Photographs are powerful bait. Good ones can lure buyers; poor ones can do the opposite. Follow these tips to create flattering photos of your property.
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Lighten up. For exterior shots, shoot in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and the sky is blue, says Gregory Haberstick, who trains professional photographers for Foxtons, a real-estate company serving New York and New Jersey. For interior shots, Bill Bayless, a real-estate photographer in Damascus, Ore., suggests turning on all the lights and using a flash. “The flash adds in all of the correct colors and fill in the shadows, making the room look brighter,” he says.
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More is Better. Home buyers want to see more than just the front of the house. Buyers also want to get a look at the living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, master bedroom/bathroom and the backyard, Bayless says. He suggest including your residence’s best features, such as a home theater or an exercise room. Most Multiple Listing Services allow several photos in their online listings, and classified sites such as Craigslist let sellers post up to four pictures. You can also make additional shots available by using free photo sites such as Shutterfly, Snapfish or Picasa. If your home has a spectacular view, say of a beach, lake, mountains, park or golf course, by all means post photos of it, says Ron Luxemberg, a photographer in Pasadena, Calif.
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Get a Clear Shot. Remove clutter from an area before photographing it. Clear counter space and remove fridge magnets, children’s toys, dirty dishes and other distractions, says Haberstick. “I’ve been known to spend a few hours moving things around,” says Grolig. He relocated appliances and makes beds to get the best photo. For outside shots, put away garbage cans and remove the car from the driveway, he says. Try not to include telephone poles, wires and other homes in the scene.
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Go Pro. If you’re planning to use a real-estate agent, ask to see his or her photography first. Find out weather the agency uses professional photographers. Some companies use pros at no additional cost to the seller. If you are selling without a real-estate agent or aren’t handy with a camera, hiring a professional real-estate photographer may be the way to go. Examine samples from photographers and ask about their experience before making your choice, Luxemberg says. Photographer’s fees can range from a few hundred dollars to $500, he says. Aerial shots are more expensive, but Nguyen used Microsoft Live Search Maps at no cost to show buyers a bird’s-eye view of his community.
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Give it Your Best Shot. Quality counts when taking photos, and cell-phone cameras don’t cut it. A camera with a wide-angle lens is ideal, but “point and shoot” digital cameras also can do the job. For a clear photo, place digital cameras on a tripod or something solid so the camera is steady when the shutter goes off, says Luxemberg. Set the camera on its highest resolution. If you decide to just use the photos online, you can always decrease the resolution, Luxemberg says. Never use fewer than 72 dots per inch for online photo, Bayless says.
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Edit. Improve a shot using basic photo-editing software. Crop out ceilings or unnecessary background, says Luxemberg, and adjust the brightness or contrast. A number of free Web sites make editing a snap. Some to try are Snipshot.com, Picnik.com and Pixenate.com, says Stephen Jagger, co-founder of Ubertor.com, a Vancouver, B.C., real-estate company that creates Web sites for real-estate agents.
Source: The Atlanta Journal Constitution (December 27, 2007)
When Minter isn’t selling houses, he’s retrieving homeless Labradors
Allan Minter never knows what to expect when his cellphone rings. It could be a client wanting to see a Vinings condo or someone needing to rescue a Labrador Retriever from the pound. It’s all part of everyday life for Minter, a real estate agent with Jenny Pruitt & Associates and a member of the Atlanta Dog Squad, an organization started in 2005 that rescues Labs in danger of being euthanized.
When it comes to selling houses, life is a bit more predictable. An agent for almost seven years, Minter, 29, has carved a niche out of selling to buyers in the Vinings, Smyrna and Sandy Springs areas. But when it comes to the dogs, there’s no telling where or when he’ll be summoned. “It happens pretty quickly,” said Minter, who is one of 10 to 15 core volunteers who rescue Labs all over the state. “A shelter will call and say they have a dog, and I’m on my way to go get it. Sometimes they don’t even give dogs five days before they put them down, so you have to move.”
For more than two years, Minter has devoted time to the Dog Squad, where members pick up the animals and take them to a supportive veterinary clinic to be checked out. Then come the tough part: Finding the rescued dogs a permanent home. Until they have a place to go, Minter often finds himself fostering the critters at his own Buckhead home. To date, he’s had almost 40 dogs in temporary residence before they have moved on.
“They’re good dogs; they’re adoptable and not aggressive,” he said. “They have small issues, like heartworms, that can be corrected.”
Minter gets a bit of help re-socializing the rescued dogs. His own two Labs, Guinness and Jackie, are welcoming playmates. “They’re like my kids,” Minter said. “They’re very OK with me bringing other dogs home. They’re very easygoing. The hard part is letting them go. But it’s not as hard as fostering a child. It does take a special kind of person to do that; someone who has heart and compassion but who also has a bit of a tough skin - I couldn’t do it.”
In fact, Minter got involved with rescuing dogs after realizing his volunteer efforts with children were too stressful. “I did some work with [Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at] Egleston and it was very intense,” he said. “I honestly couldn’t handle it. But I’ve always been into dogs, and when I saw an ad for the DogSquad, I couldn’t pass it up. I’m a single guy with a flexible schedule, so I can stop with I’m doing in the middle of the day to pick up a dog if I have to.”
Minter’s job not only gives him the time to rush to the aid of a sheltered dog; it has also provided a few foster parents, as well.
“We find people mostly by word of mouth, and when I find a client who says they like dogs, I plant the bug in their ear,” he said. ” I’ve actually picked up several recruits that way.”
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