You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April, 2008.
Selling a home while you’re living in it can be trying during any market. Today’s sellers are generally looking at a longer marketing time than was the case a few months/years ago. Appropriate pricing for this changing market can make it easier. So can taking a few precautions:
The houses that look the best are the ones that get serious attention from buyers. Preparing a house for sale is more important than ever! Keeping it in pristine condition can be a challenge for sellers with small children and pets.
One benefit of decluttering your home before you try to sell it is that you’ll have less to clean up before a showing. Some sellers find it helpful to keep everyday essentials like toothbrushes and children’s favorite toys in plastic tubs. These can be hidden in a closet, under a sink or under a bed and brought out when the public is not around. Before showings the tubs can be quickly filled and stashed away.
Your house should look its best when a prospective buyer comes through, so set up a showing procedure that asks buyers to give a courtesy call before showing.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Don’t be restrictive with showings. It’s difficult to sell a house that cannot be shown. You need to strike a balance between accommodating buyers and being inconvenienced. If a buyer wants to come on short notice, try to keep in mind that some of the best buyers are relocating from elsewhere and may not have much flexibility in their schedule. Don’t be rigid and miss one of the best opportunities to sell your home.
Helen Lynch
Senior Vice President, Managing Broker - Sandy Springs office
Source: AJC Homefinder.com
Atlantans travel 131.7 million miles every day. (Source: 2005 Air Quality Report, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority)
The average one-way commute in Atlanta is 19.7 miles, and the average one-way travel time is 35.9 minutes. (Source: Atlanta regional commuter survey, 2007, conducted by the Center for Transportation and the Environment on behalf of the Georgia Department of Transportation)
You probably don’t need Homefinder to tell you that traffic is tough in Atlanta, and commuting times are getting longer.
“Over the past 10 years, daily traffic on Georgia’s urban roadways has increased by 51 percent, and as one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, Atlanta traffic is likely to keep getting worse,” says Tracy Paden of the Clean Air Campaign.
“Research shows that 16 percent of Atlanta commuters moved residences or changes jobs within the past year. Of those, 42 percent said the ease of their commute was more important than other factors in their decision to move or change jobs; 34 percent said it was of equal importance,” says Paden.
Advice from a Realtor
Craig and Barbara Christie of Jenny Pruitt & Associates sell a lot of homes near MARTA and bus lines to commute-conscious buyers. “We find a lot of people have heard about the traffic issue in Atlanta, but they didn’t realize the magnitude of it. They buy a home and then get discouraged in their quality of life, and they want to make a change,” says Craig.
The Christies are often in the positionof advising their clients on things to consider when buying for a better commute. Craig says, “What we’re looking for is a win-win, where they get a better quality of life and a home that meets their needs. A lot of it is like any home buying purchase, but here are several things to consider when buying with commuting in mind.”
- Does this home fit my lifestyle? Price is an issue, so if you’re moving closer to downtown, you may not find a large lot on a cul-de-sac in your price range. If the commute is right, do the house and the neighborhood have enough of what you’re looking for? Do you feel comfortable there?
- Will the commute allow me to spend more thing with my family? This has a huge impact on quality of life. Being home in time for dinner or to participate in school activities can make a big difference. Are there churches, synagogues or mosques nearby.
- Reducing your commute can substantially reduce your auto insurancerate, as well as cut gasoline and maintenance costs. Will this offset any additional costs in home expenses? Can your family now keep only one car instead of two? Saving this much money can even help you secure a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage, accelerating the equity in your home. Some mortgage lenders say they’re more likely to approve a larger mortgage for a person with one car, instead of two or three.
Source: USA Today. April 24, 2008
Real estate agents are increasingly courting foreigners to buy homes in the USA - hiring agents fluent in other languages, marketing to foreign buyers and in some cases, offering to pay the airfare and hotel bills of foreign shoppers who buy a home.
The agents are eager to win the business of foreign investors who are swooping in to buy property in the USA as home prices plummet and the dollar’s weak value produces eye-popping deals for international buyers.
Because of the sinking value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, a home bought by a foreigner comes with a discount averaging 30%, the National Association of Realtors estimates. Between April 2006 and April 2007, about 30% of foreign buyers came from Europe, according to an NAR survey.
Nearly one-third of Realtors reported in that survery having had business with foreign buyers. Activity is especially busy in affluent cities such as New York and in warm-weather vacation destinations such as Miami and San Diego. Many of these investors, Realtors say, are buying homes as vacation retreats.
“With these prices, you can’t say no,” says Monique Burger of Belgium, who’s buying a Miami Beach vacation condo for $270,000. “With the low dollar against the euro, it helps. And the low housing prices made us want to buy.”
Agent are seizing the opportunity:
- In New York, real estate agent Jacky Teplitzky’s firm has staff lawyers who specialize in foreign buyers. Sales to foreigners jumped from 10% of her business to nearly 25% in the past year or so.
Teplitzky says she’s seeing a surge in interest, especially from Britain, Italy, Spain and Russia. In April, an Italian buyer in town for Easter took just 48 hours to buy a $3.8 million two-bedroom condo. Teplitzky recently sold $30 million worth of property to Russians who are using the homes as pieds-a-terre.
“We’re a bargain right now for foreign buyers,” she says. “A lot of them looked two or three years ago and found themselves in too crazy a market.”
- Jenny Pruitt & Associates, Atlanta-based Realtors, is wooing foreign clients by maintaining agents who speak such languages as Dutch, Korean, Farsi and Arabic. A search function on its website can help locate a foreign-language-speaking agent. Recently, the agency sold a $2.2 million listing to a British couple who were amazed at the value for the price. The couple had upgraded from a 2,000-square-foot flat in London to a 9,000-square-foot home in Atlanta.
Source: Southern Living April 2008
Think your landscaping is hopeless? Think again. We overhauled this lackluster lawn and got big results in just four months. Follow these steps, and see the difference.
It all starts with standing at your curb and making an honest evaluation. Before the first shrub is planted, take a good look at your home. Follow these no-fail tips for updating your outdoor look.
- Start with a simple, smooth bed line. No wimpy curves allowed. When in doubt, swing it out. You won’t regret the extra room when plants start to grow in. This bed line should start on one side of the yard and move your eye across to the other. Space plants within the bed so that they echo this curve. Why you’ll be glad you did: Good bed lines can camouflage design flaws and waning plants. They also make it easier to mow the grass.
- Don’t clog corners. Give them breathing room. Too often we overplant the ends of our homes with a pyramid of plants that grow beyond their bounds. Instead, work in layers. Beneath a single crepe myrtle, we planted seven ‘Olivia’ Indian hawthorns that will max out around 4 feet tall. Ground-hugging ‘Purple Pixie’ loropetalums and ‘Happy Returns’ daylilies front and flank this pairing. Why you’ll be glad you did: You’ll save money now and spend less time pruning later.
- Mass plants for impact. Keep your plant and color palette to a minimum. Satisfy your desire for saturated hues with groupings of ‘Serena Purple’ angelonias, ‘Landmark Gold’ lantanas, ‘Double Knock Out’ roses, and chartreuse sun coleus. Why you’ll be glad you did: Clustering your plants creates a big effect. A garden of singletons doesn’t look like much. Later, you’ll wonder where your money went.
- Surround sitting areas with plants. Sure, you want to be friendly with the neighbors, but who really wants to relax on the lone bench that sits beneath the tree? By using plants, you can still survey your domain without feeling as if you’re on display. Set back 10 feet from the walk and staged on an 8-foot-diameter flagstone landing, our Adirondack chairs are nestled in a sea of hostas relocation from the backyard and a collection of Halo Series hydrangeas. Why you’ll be glad you did: You’ll actually use the space.
- Place details where they can be appreciated.Why waste money? Plants with interesting attributes should be used where they’ll be noticed. ‘Chocolate Chip’ ajuga is a winner when paired with autumn fern. Around mailboxes, at the ends of walks, and along driveways are other natural choices. Why you’ll be glad you did: This combo is a favorite!
So you are ready to put your home on the market and look for your dream home? There is no doubt that this market can allow you to sell your home for a premium and find a deal in the marketplace. There are several tips that can help you sell your home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time.
- Listing your home with a Jenny Pruitt & Associates, Realtor is the smartest move you can possibly make! Jenny Pruitt & Associates Realtors’ are the best in the industry for selling your home for the most the market can bear and in the shortest amount of time.
- Ask your Jenny Pruitt & Associates Realtor to help you de-clutter your home. A home that is well organized and free of that clutter will give your home a feeling of more space.
- Clear off countertops in the kitchen, baths and other areas in your home. Again, this will allow your home to appear more spacious. Your refrigerator, cook-top and baths should sparkle.
- Clean out your closets. Put part of your clothes in storage to make your closets seem to appear larger than they are. Clean out all the cabinets under sinks in baths and in the kitchen. Space, space, space!
- Remove all of your personal photographs. Buyers want to see themselves living in the house and not your family.
- Remove as many of your personal items as possible. It gives an un-cluttered appearance and the buyers can see themselves living there.
- Hire a professional home stager to stage your home for sale. Your Jenny Pruitt & Associates Realtor can suggest a professional.
- De-clutter your yard and outside your home. As clients see your home for the first time, it should give them a wow factor!
- You might consider painting the outside of your home or maybe just the front entrance.
- When you leave your home for the day, be sure it sparkles and leave as many lights on as possible. A light and bright home is a joy for a client to see.
Jim Alexander
Senior Vice President, Managing Broker - Sandy Springs office
Source: Mark Nash, Realtor Magazine
IN:
- A reduced carbon footprint: How you and your home impact the Earth matters to more buyers who want a home that lets them save energy and lessen their contribution to global warming.
- Outdoor living: Massive fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, and under-patio heating to extend the season are not just for the Sun Belt anymore.
- Fully concealed appliances: That wood-printed cover for the fridge is not enough any longer; now appliances are hidden behind hinged doors.
- Floating homes: Not your father’s houseboat, these nonmobile homes are basically ranch houses sitting on stationary barges in a lake or river.
- Home elevators: Even builders of mid-priced homes are adding this, which is essential for boomers wanting to age in place.
- Pet showers: Clean pets mean clean homes, and who want to mess up the bathtub when this feature can be a part of the garage or mudroom?
- Freestanding bathtubs: These oversized soaker tubs, or “bath thrones,” have supplanted whirlpool baths as the must-have bathroom centerpiece.
- Bathroom suites: Whether it’s multiple flat-screen TVs or a mini fridge and cappuccino maker, you’ll soon have a whole home inside this one room.
OUT:
- Living rooms: The incredible shrinking parlor has ceased to exist in some homes.
- Voluminous ceiling heights: The absurd look and wasted space of 20-foot ceilings in 12- by 10-foot rooms in finally dawning on buyers.
- McMansions: Could it be that “small is beautiful” is finally gaining traction?
Jeanne Linden
Senior Vice President, Managing Broker
Cobb office
Source: CNN.com
Are job worries tempting you to start your own company? CNN canvassed the country to find towns with the best mix of business advantages and lifestyle appeal.
#3. Buford, Georgia
Population: 13,576
Pros: Affordable housing, scenic environment
Con: Aggressive competition for labor force
Safe neighborhoods, affordable real estate and a relaxed pace, along with easy access to major highways, draw Georgians to lakeside Buford, 35 miles northeast of Atlanta. Besides being home to an artist colony with 40 working painters, photographers, sculptors, and other creative types, Buford also draws entrepreneurs: about 30 new startups launch every month in this 16-square-mile city, according to Buford’s occupational tax clerk.
As part of Gwinnett County, Buford is involved in the region’s greater effort to develop its presence in industries such as healthcare, information technology, distribution and trade, and advanced communications. Depending on the business, owners may find tax exemptions (for instance, a 100% sales tax break for qualified manufacturing equipment), tax credits (such as the job tax credit for certain tech industries creating at least 25 jobs in a single year), and assistance in permit acquisition and hiring. Active small business organizations, such as the nonprofit Buford Business Alliance, bring member owners together for networking events and to promote tourism in the area.
Besides lakeside activities such as boating and fishing, the area downtown bustles with restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries. There’s also the Mall of Georgia, the largest in the Southeast, with 15 million visitors a year.
