A New Home Seller Resource

Wow! Today’s market is crazy. Homes are going under contract within days of being listed and are generally being sold for more than what fair market price was a mere month ago. It is a Seller’s Market for sure.

Values continue to rise

I want to talk about a few things.

• Why do people hesitate to sell?
• You’ve Got an Offer – How to be sure the Buyer is going to be able to buy?
• What is your home worth right now?
• What are things to consider when selling a home?

Some people are hesitant to sell because they have nowhere to go. As a Realtor, I can make several recommendations to help you with that. Let’s say we are out looking at new homes for you because you have decided to downsize a bit and pull your equity out of your current home while it is so high right now. While you are looking, someone makes an excellent offer on your home – one you don’t want to pass up. What to do? Well, we can write in a contingency to the contract that says the closing date will be determined by the purchase of your yet-to-find home. So, when you go do find a home and close on it, we also close on the sale of your home. It takes coordination, but that is one thing your Realtor is there for. Let’s say you just aren’t finding what you want – but you don’t want to pass up the excellent offer you have received. We could ask for a later closing date or you could consider temporarily storing your household goods and renting a small home or apartment until the right forever home comes available. If you decided to buy a new construction home, this is definitely a consideration because they are taking four to six months from start to finish on the new homes.

Another option would be to close on time, bank the money, and then rent your current home until you find something to buy. There are some buyers out there who would gladly accept this option, especially if they planned to buy your home as a rental investment property anyway. It gives them an instant reliable tenant and saves you money on storage fees. There are other options to consider as well and I would be happy to discuss them with you.

We are living in a time of historically low mortgage interest rates. As a Seller, when you receive an offer, I would recommend you require the buyer to get a second opinion on their loan. There are loan companies out there that are giving pre-approval letters out without verifying the financial ability of the buyer to actually buy. Prosperity Home Mortgage is a Berkshire Hathaway affiliated company that has instituted reliable pre-qualification procedures that almost guarantee the buyer will be able to close. Most lenders do a quick credit check, ask for income and liability information and print out a pre-approval letter. Then they being the process of gathering supporting information. Even then, they don’t run the file past an underwriter until a contract has been signed and the appraisal conducted. So, at the nth hour, the buyer could be turned down. With Prosperity’s Home Buyer Advantage Program, they underwrite the person (now, doesn’t that make more sense?) and then you just have the appraisal to deal with, but the buyer’s ability to borrow is guaranteed at that point. And with the Second Opinion Guarantee program, Prosperity can normally beat the rates of other companies, thereby saving the buyer money in the long run, so there is no downside them getting a second opinion.

How Much Can You Expect to Sell Your Home For? Using some powerful algorithms. our automated system can give you a pretty good estimate of your current value. However, it can result in a wide range of values because it doesn’t take into account any upgrades you may have made to your home. It only knows who has sold a home similar to yours, near yours, within the last few months. But it gives you a starting point to work from. Then you can call either myself 404-903-7653 or Greta 908-303-0136 to get a personalized market valuation.

What Is Your Home Worth?

Thank you reading my Blog. Since you hung in here with me for this long, please accept a digital copy of my new book, Secrets Every Home Seller Should Know. See you next time.

Thinking About Buying A Home?

WoW! Where should you begin? You’ve heard that interest rates are extremely low and now is a great time to buy. There are a lot of things that go into buying a home, but would you expect less when you are about to make a multi-thousand dollar purchase?

Some people think you just need to go find a home on Zillow, call about it and then buy it. Really? If only it was that simple. I am a REALTOR® and I actually do get calls sometimes on home I have listed for sale, from people who have decided to buy and saw my sign, so they thought they would just call and if they like it, make an offer to buy it. You laugh? it has happened and more often then I would have thought possible. BUT, having said that, much of my focus and interest is in helping first time homebuyers navigate the whole complicated home buying process. There actually is quite a bit that goes into it.

First – find an agent. Not just any agent and certainly not the one off the sign sitting in front of the home you drove by and got excited about. Did I mention I am available? And even if you don’t live in what I claim as my territory, I can still help you find a reputable REALTOR® anywhere else in Georgia or the USA for that matter. I normally work in Henry County and Clayton County, since I live in Henry, but I also work Butts, Spalding, Fayette, Coweta, Rockdale, Newton, and Dekalb Counties regularly. All are within about a 30-50 minute drive from my house. I am not opposed to working in other counties in and around Atlanta, but I will. I have a network of other agents I would trust with your business though, on a referral basis if I thought they could be more responsive to you because of the distance from my home where you are looking.

Well, I have been working with a publisher to provide buyers with some insights into the home buying process and just published a new digital book last week. I want to make it available to anyone thinking about buying anytime soon. It is geared towards first time home buyers, but I know veteran home buyers will find some of it of interest. After all, unless you are an active investor, it has probably been years since you last bought a home. Add to that the fact that the laws and regulations governing home purchases changes annually, and if you don’t have an agent who is willing to take the time to keep their real estate training up-to-date, you could find yourself making a costly mistake.

If you want a copy of my digital book, How to Navigate the Home Buying Process just click on the title. It is free after all.

Why use a closing attorney?

Today we interviewed a great closing attorney, Brad Legare, with Weissman Law. We based our questions off of the those we have gotten from our clients and from inquiries on facebook, instagram and the like. If you didn’t find the answer to YOUR questions in this video link, drop either myself or Greta a line and tell us what burning question you have so we can get it answered for you. The thing is, if you have a question on your mind, it is likely there are others who also wonder the same thing but are afraid to ask! So help them out.

Watch our video interview of closing attorney Brad Legare.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fscarrollbhhsga%2Fvideos%2F2352777318073000%2F&show_text=1&width=560

 

Time to Winterize Your Home

Do this before winter.

Organize and Save Your Food for the Future and your Health

I was looking at a number of postings about getting organized for a move. I have posted on this topic in the past. It is funny to me how different ideas piggy back or morph into other topics, similar but different. This a an organizing topic that is one of those. This is organizing for a healthier lifestyle, enjoying a new hobby, getting back to your roots, storing for the move or however you want to look at it type topic. Anyway, I found this video fascinating and have already ordered her first of three books. I also now subscribe to her blog. One of these days when I retire, I hope to have a little farm, a little garden and a cellar full of canned goods. Perhaps if I learn to can now, it will come easier later.  Who knows, I may turn my canning efforts into home-made closing gifts for my clients as a special thank you for selecting me to represent them.

Creativity Part Three

Here is the third and final video in the Salvaging Creativity series I have been sharing each Saturday. I hope it inspires you do to more in your community to promote beauty and community pride.

 

Creativity Part Two

Carrying on from last week’s post, here is the second of three installments of the Salvaging Creativity videos. By the way, if you aren’t on the mailing list for my magazine which is published every other month and you would like to see one, email your name and mailing address to me at susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgiaproperties.com and I will happily add you to my list of recipients.

 

Landscape for Security

    In 2014, just over 1.7 million individuals fell victim to burglary according to the FBI. Sometimes deadbolts and alarm systems just aren’t enough to deter thieves. But there are outdoor security measures you can take to prevent property loss at the hands of a burglar. Here are 10 ways you can help protect your home with a well-planned landscape design:  Read more….

Fixer-upper or Move-in Ready?

Shows like HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” have popularized the idea of buying and renovating the worst house on the best block. Homes that need major remodeling, however, aren’t for everyone. Sometimes a move-in ready house is a better option. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned investor, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of each. Read more……..

Moving Art Pieces

I like art. I have a lot of it – more art than I have walls at the moment. I still have art pieces sitting around waiting for me to hang them. I noticed that my tastes have changed over the years and so I have a lot of art that I may never hang up again. The last time I moved, I used professional movers and they carefully wrapped each art piece and transported it to my new home where I carefully unwrapped each piece and leaned it against the wall in my “library” which is just an extra room full of books and art leaning against the wall.

I have hung a few pieces around the house, but I’ve only hung one or two pieces of art per room instead of a montage of pictures on each wall. I always imagined a wild collection of art up and down the staircases, running along hallways and hanging high above one’s head in a grand entryway. I have none of that. Instead, I have a lot of art pieces leaning against the walls in my extra bedroom. Hmmm.

One of these days I plan to move again. When I do, I plan to take all of my art with me and perhaps the new home will host the wild collections of art I have accumulated. I certainly hope so. I don’t expect to have an extra bedroom just for art and book storage. My next extra bedroom will be for guests. I like them too.

Art comes in many forms. I mostly have paintings – oils on canvass, prints, paintings on glass, and a myriad of others. I also have statuettes and statues, a whole bunch of ceramic Indians my Mom made, and a collection of Chickens. Oh! And don’t forget the Bosson Heads, Painted Plates, and Butterfly collections.

Most of the above can be packed just like you would your fine china. Lots of paper and the right sized boxes – meaning they are not so big items on the bottom will get crushed by items on the top. The paintings though, especially those which were painted on the glass instead of a canvass, must be packaged up much more carefully.

If they are framed with glass, you want to make sure that glass does not break and if they are simple canvas pieces, you want to make sure the painting is not torn or pierced.

Start by collecting boxes that will fit them comfortably and securely and use bubble wrap, newspapers and other packing materials to ensure they are protected during the move. I have found mirror boxes work well for art pieces. If your painting/picture is covered with glass, put a X on the glass with masking tape. For some reason this gives the glass strength and should it crack in transit, it will hold it in place and hopefully protect the painting from cuts. Then cover the glass with a piece of thick cardboard. This could be part of a box that you are not using. The cardboard should be large enough to cover the glass, but not bigger than the entire painting. You can use carpet padding and even towels if you do not have any cardboard. The purpose is to reduce the amount of static cling that can develop between the bubble wrap and the painting.

If they have exposed canvass, don’t place wadded paper directly on the painting as it may put “dents” in it. Put cardboard cut to fit inside the frame against the painting before wrapping the whole thing in bubble wrap.

You should consider protecting corners by cutting cardboard and fitting it over each corner and then securing it with tape. If you use enough bubble wrap, this step may not be needed, but definitely consider it for art pieces in which the paint has been applied directly to the glass. A crack in this glass and the painting is ruined. Obviously, it cannot just be fixed with a new piece of glass.

Use LOTS of BUBBLE WRAP. It is a wonderful invention. And keep the kids from busting the bubbles until after the move – bubble wrap works better to protect your art when it is full of air! Place your art pieces in boxes designed for that purpose. Most packaging stores sell boxes of all types and sizes. Use extra peanuts and/or paper to keep your art pieces from “rocking” inside the box. They should fit securely. Seal up the box an mark it as FRAGILE so anyone moving it knows it can’t be tossed around.

Picture or mirror boxes containing artwork should be placed in the upright position and never be laid flat during shipping.

At the other end, carefully remove all packaging. Box cutters are not a good idea, but if you have to cuts the packaging loose, make sure you keep in mind what it protects. It would be shame to carefully pack, move and unpack Uncle Art’s portrait only to cut a gash across his canvass!

One more tip! Consider hiring experts if you have high value pieces or a lot of paintings in your art collection. Professional movers who specialize in art have wooden crates and other special materials to protect your paintings. And make sure it is a company that will let you insure your artwork for its full value.

Well, there you go. The art has been securely packed, moved and unpacked. Now, hopefully, you will take the time to find a place and hang it where others can enjoy it as well. That’s my plan…….eventually.