Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The home appeared to be an abandoned, foreclosed property, but had a lockbox on it. When the real estate agent walked in with a client, they got a very unwelcome surprise.
I have been in the real estate business since 2007. I have seen a great many things as I have shown homes and had many laughable experiences, as well as few that make you scratch your head. Today I had one of those experiences that make you go hmmm. A client of mine wanted to view a home. It looked like a perfectly normal home from the outside. Nothing that would raise any alarm. When we entered the home, all we could do was say I can't believe this. The home has been trashed. When I say trashed, I mean it literally and figuratively. There was stuff everywhere. You could barely walk and couldn't really even make out the layout of the home due to amount of stuff that was everywhere. I took a few pictures which I have included. It appalled …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
In this real estate column, a local agent says that big-money firms could make it difficult for individuals.
As foretold earlier this year from research I had been doing, CNN recently ran a story about how big business is getting into the housing market. Investors are buying up mutual funds and stocks of builders, housing companies, etc and Wall Street is getting into the action, with even some builders raising capitol through IPOs. Pulte, Lennar and KB Homes have hit 52 week highs recently. Land has even become a target. While it drops the fastest in a downturn, it can increase the fastest in an upturn. Funding groups are also buying up blocks of hundreds of homes from banks, It will not become uncommon to see an entire block or part of the city owned by one company and collecting rent from those who want to live there. A word to the wise: if …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Good news comes for struggling homeowners.
As part of the "fiscal cliff" vote, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act is being extended. What this simply means is that when a struggling homeowner sells their home for $75,000 and they owe $150,000, they are not taxed on the $75,000 that the bank had to write off. This is good news for homeowners that are struggling. Other homeowner benefits extensions include being able to deduct your private mortgage insurance for those who make less than $110,000 a year. This is retroactive back to 2012 and includes 2013. A tax credit of up to $500 is available to homeowners who made energy improvements to their home in 2012. This is also available in 2013. By the Numbers: Active Listings: 165 Average Price: $192,157 Sold Listings:37 …
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
See what homes are the most expensive properties for sale in greater Lilburn.
If you're like most Americans, super expensive homes are beyond your price range. However, they can be nice to look at, even if you cannot but them. Here's a list of the top five most expensive homes for sale in Lilburn, according to AOL Real Estate. 1. $1,279,900 This home, located at 301 N. River Drive in Lilburn tops the list. It has 5,889 square feet, with three bedrooms and four bathrooms. It's located in a private, gated community, and it has indoor heated pool. 2. $769,000 This home sits on a lake at 605 Lake Front Drive in Lilburn. It has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, with 6,692 square feet of space. The home boasts two master bedroom suites and hardwood floors throughout. 3. $650,000 This home, located at 628 Cole Drive, is …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
With inflation on the horizon, real assets (real estate) will continue to prosper.
We all know that our economy has been at best shaky over the last several years. With Washington not agreeing on what to do next, what impact does that have on the real estate market in the upcoming months? Whether you were pleased with the election results or not, we have to admit that decisions now made in Washington will dramatically affect us in the upcoming months. The National Association of Realtors chief economist, Larwence Yun, paints for us a cautious picture of where we are at. There is a new wave of recent layoffs. These will counteract the 4.5 million jobs that had been recently added. Yun basically says we are treading water. The housing price increases we are seeing will continue. Low inventory coupled with low interest …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Borrowers will likely see higher premiums on mortgage insurance, among other things, as the Federal Housing Administratin could soon request a government bail-out.
For the first time in its 78-year history, the Federal Housing Administration may be facing the spector of a taxpayer bail out. The agency faces a $16.3 billion deficit in a report issued to Congress. How FHA will counteract this is by increasing insurance premiums by .01 percent, increasing the average payment for a mortgage holder by around $13 a month. They will also sell 1,000 delinquent loans a quarter and increase short sales. For buyers and our recovery (existing home prices placed another annual gain in October for the 8th month in a row), losing FHA financing would be detrimental. FHA financing allows buyers to purchase a home with 3.5 percent down, allowing more folks to take advantage of the low interest rates. I had a couple…
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
With a shortage of homes on the market, home prices are steadily going up.
This seems to be a common theme. Prices are up again. The median price of homes, that is the price where nearly half of the homes sold for, is up 7.6 percent over 2011's third quarter. The average median price is up to $186,100. Many areas are seeing housing shortages, including right here in our backyard. The shortage may lead to inflated prices, given that total home sales are up 10.3 percent when compared to third quarter last year. Where does Lilburn compare? Let's see: Inside the Numbers of 2012 Average price for a home in Lilburn: $127,543 for 2012 so far. Average days on the market: 74 Most expensive home sold: $501,000 Featured Home: Lilburn Home/Brookwood School District: four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, $214,900 …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Need to move? Mortgage too much? Consider a short sale.
It is well known that a good many homeowners are under water in their homes. They owe more than it is worth. That is the truth of the economic situation we are in. At the same time, there are still people that find themselves in a situation where they need to move. It could be because of a family situation or even their job situations. Many homeowners despair because they do not see any options. Buying a home was supposed to be a great investment. Now, they can't even get what they paid for it. Life is still happening, and they feel stuck. The good news is that there are alternatives. A short sale is a great alternative to being foreclosed on. In fact, many of the big lenders are offering cash incentives to homeowners if they opt for the …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Shadow inventory, or unlisted bank-owned homes, are dropping, which may not be a good thing for some potential buyers.
Shadow inventory dropped 10.3 percent in July which bring us down to 2.3 million homes. This is a six-month supply. Of these, 1 million are seriously delinquent and more than a quarter of a million of these are foreclosures. What this tells us is that there is still a fairly good supply of homes that will be coming to the market within the next six months. How slow or fast they come is the mystery. It is interesting to note that though one of the mega banks stated that they don't have "shadow inventory" (see earlier Patch article), here I am providing you shadow inventory statistics. Our market will continue to have a mix of normal sales, short sales and foreclosures for at least another six months. If you have been waiting to get into the…
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
How did September's numbers end up looking for the greater Lilburn area.
Local Area Snapshots Today I will focus on what is happening in our area by high school district. This will give us a big picture look of how the September numbers ended up being. Parkview Parkview had 34 homes that sold with an average days on the market of 51. The average price was just north of $149,000. The high sale for September was $419,000. There are still 154 listings left from September that have an average days on the market of 111. Berkmar Berkmar had 49 homes that sold with an average days on the market of 71. The average price was just north of $79,000. The high sale for September was $193,700. There are still 118 listings left from September that have an average days on the market of 90. Meadowcreek Meadowcreek had 19…
