Real Estate Tips Archives -

Atlanta Real Estate Market Brief — February 2019

March 19, 2019 by Thom Abbott

The Atlanta REALTORS® Association has released their Atlanta Real Estate Market Brief — February 2019.

This market brief examines sales and prices in an 11-county area consisting of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Fayette, Henry and Paulding Counties. ( So take note…this is a really, really BROAD look at the real estate market in Metro Atlanta!)

Overall residential sales were at 3,464 which is a decrease of 7.4% from the previous year. When you look at price (both average and median) you see they continue to gain traction and are ahead of 2018 numbers. The median sales price in February was $264,000, an increase of 5.6% from February, 2018. The average Sales Price was up by 5.3% to $319,000.

What’s The Atlanta Inventory Like?

Inventory increased by 15.7% from February, 2018 with 12,806 active listings. (Remember those MetroBrokers digital signs back in the day that had 80,000, 90,000 and even 100,000 homes For Sale? Shreeeeek!) New listings were up by 15.4% from February, 2018. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 2.6 months.

Is This A Normal Real Estate Market?

A normal real estate market has 6 months of inventory. Less than 6 months (as indicated above) is a Seller’s market, and more than 6 months is a Buyer’s market. More inventory means buyers can probably get the Seller to negotiate more on price or other concessions. In a Seller’s market, we find homes selling for list price, and even above list price.

My word of caution in a report as broad as this…..real estate is all about location, location, location. These average sales numbers are just that… an average and what you may see in your neighborhood, city or specific condominium building may vastly differ from these numbers. This is why it’s always best to get a real estate professional to give you a market picture for your home and neighborhood/building.

If you have questions about the value of your home, give us a call, or just fill out the form below and we will be in touch with you!

Your Moving Check List

March 17, 2019 by Thom Abbott

Awesome! We have your home Under Contract, and moving day is just around the corner! SHREEK!!!!! You need a Moving Check List to get it all in order!

What do I do with all this stuff? How are we going to move it all? Change of address cards? ALL of these things come into play, and quite frankly, it can be a bit overwhelming! I’ve moved some 17 times in my life, and 5 of those were corporate relocations, and the rest were “do-it-yourself” moves, be they between apartments or even cities. And while I have not moved in many years, I can still remember the stress like it happened yesterday.

Your Moving Check List

It’s a big deal selling your home, and it’s no small matter to prepare to move. At Palmer House Properties and MyMidtownMojo, we know that moving takes time and energy, but there are ways to make it go as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips as you anticipate and prepare for your move. Keep in mind, if you are doing a corporate relocation, the actual packing may not be a worry as the moving company will do that for you! I know what that is like…and it’s sweet!

30 to 15 Days Before Moving

Sell or give anything away you won’t move. Maybe plan a garage sale, or donate items to charity.
Call several movers for estimates.
Consider insurance on movables.
Gather and store dental, medical and pet’s veterinary records.
Start alerting friends and companies that mail to you.
Contact children’s school and have transcripts forwarded to new school.
Go online and complete a change of address with the USPS.
For tax purposes (if you qualify for moving deductions), keep a record of all moving expenses and keep receipts of any items you donate to charity.
Arrange for disconnection of utilities and re-connection at new location.

14 Days Before Moving

Pack one room at a time and label all boxes as to what’s in them and the room in your new house they should go to. Label furniture as to the room it should go to. (Unless you are doing a corporate move or have hired a moving company. And if you are paying movers, you may have to pack, and they just load and unload, so this timetable could be changed!)
Make sure you return items you’ve borrowed from library and friends.
Resign memberships to clubs.
Arrange the cancellation of newspaper and other home deliveries.
Ask bank to release safe deposit box and transfer account to new bank.
Arrange for cash, traveler’s checks, or certified checks. (Movers usually require cash or certified check.)

Drain gas from your lawn mower, and properly dispose of flammable items and other materials that should not be put in the trash.
Arrange to have your phone disconnected.
Transfer your homeowners insurance so you will be covered at your new home.

Day Before Moving

Pack a suitcase you can live out of, if necessary, for the first few days at your new home.
Empty and defrost refrigerator and freezer and let them air dry for a day. Deodorize large appliances with baking soda or coffee.
Remember to leave the keys (and remote controls, such as for the garage) to your old property with your real estate agent.
Label your most important boxes, so you know what to open first.

Moving Day

Make sure mover is properly informed of your new address.
Make sure you have payment ready before van is unloaded at new address.
Confirm arrival date and time.
Before you leave, check every room, closets and the attic a final time.
Check locks on doors and windows.

Hopefully this list will help you get through all the details and stress of moving! Please know, we are here to help you with any of the “moving parts” (no pun intended!) and get you to your new home, or out of the home we helped sell for you!

The Otis Building Castleberry Hill

December 2, 2018 by Thom Abbott

Another new condo option is on the horizon with the announcement of The Otis Building Castleberry Hill. This new boutique building is expected to break ground in January, 2019 and be ready by October. That aggressive timeline may have something to do with the developer, one Ty Pennington of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We suspect he will be using his star power along with the other things happening in the area (Hard Rock Hotel, Mercedes Benz Stadium and the pending redevelopment of the Gulch, which are all nearby.

The Otis Building, which is named for the elevator manufacturer that once occupied the building, will have a total of just eight homes. 6 one-bedrooms ranging from 1,103 to 1,390 sq. ft, and 2 two-bedrooms that will be 2,652 and 2,748 sq. ft. Prices are reported to start at $475,000 up to $1M. Pre-sales should launch next month. The building will also feature 13 parking spaces (that would count out to 1 per bedroom and a couple extra for the retail space.

The top of the building will feature a roof top terrace with seating, trees and all.

This will be an exciting addition to the Castleberry Hill community as the building has long been vacant. There will also be a small retail part (about 1,200 sq. ft) for some hopeful small shops!

If you’d like more information about The Otis Building, just let us know, and we’ll get together with you!

5 Reasons You Should Never Sell a Vacant Home

October 28, 2018 by Thom Abbott

We are starting to see the very beginning of some changes to the real estate market. No, it’s not a crash or a bubble bursting….it’s called a “normal” real estate market. And as part of this change we want to share 5 Reasons You Should Never Sell a Vacant Home!

5 Reasons You Should Never Sell a Vacant Home

Just this other day, I did a walk-through with my Buyers that are about to close on their first new home….Yippie! By now, the Seller has moved out of the townhome, and boy oh boy, did it ever look different without the furniture in the home. So let me take this real life example and let’s talk about these reasons…..

People Don’t Buy Houses, They Buy Homes

One of the main reasons a buyer buys a home, is well, it “felt like home.” In our case, the home felt warm and inviting! When we did our inspection, we sat on the couch for a good 90 minutes! Talk about getting a “feel” for living there! If that living room had just been empty space, it would have not felt like home, and my Buyers may not have been able to “see” themselves living there. (I remember how they wanted to know where they bought the couch….and wanted one just like it!) A room with no furniture is cold and uninviting….

Without Furniture, There is No Frame of Reference

It can be hard to really tell just how big a room is. And this is especially true in condos! “Will my king-sized bed fit in here?” is a question I’m asked all the time. Now, if there was one there, we would know. In a single family home, you may have a hard time even figuring out what the room is for. Is this a living room, dining room, what? But when that dining room or breakfast nook has a table, chairs and some other decor, it’s much easier to see the space and how it will work for the buyer.

An Empty Room Changes the Focus

Imagine looking at a new BMW that has no paint on it! Would you notice the BMW (model, features) or would you notice it has no paint? Ahhhh…so you are focusing on the wrong thing!

When the room is empty, a buyer will focus on anything else there is to look at. Maybe it’s the paint color, or wallpaper, or a chip/crack in the tile floor. When your home is furnished, or professionally staged, this brings the focus to the positive aspects of your home, not the negatives! This can even be true of outdoor space. Maybe the deck of a townhome overlooks something less desirable…but if it’s furnished, you will be thinking out enjoying using the space more so than the fact the view is not so awesome. (and yes, sometimes even staging will not overcome these kinds of issues!)

Only Ten Percent of Home Buyers Can Actually Visualize the Potential of a Home

Ever heard someone say, “You have no imagination!” Well, the same can go for an empty home or condo. Some people can’t visualize how the couch would fit in the living room. Or how sitting on the balcony, taking in the sunset or city lights view would feel…if the balcony is empty. Even a bathroom….candles and some accessories around the bath can make one imagine relaxing there after a long day….

Two Mortgages Are More Expensive Than One!

Take into consideration that a vacant home can take much longer to sell….and the longer it “sits”on the market, we end up making price adjustments to get it sold! And if you have moved and bought another home, you are now making two mortgage payments. Would you not rather have this one sold, and only be making the one?

Professional staging does cost you, the Seller, money…yes. But what’s the cost of those extra mortgage payments? Or that $10-15,000 price reduction to get the home sold? The cost of staging will probably be less.

So at the beginning, we mentioned a “normal” real estate market. That is where you may put your home on the market, and instead of it being Under Contract in a day or a week, it actually could take 30, 60, even 90 days to sell! Now, keep in mind, this will depend on the amount of inventory in the neighborhood or building where you live, the price, etc. But, if and when we see this change, it will be critical for us, as your Listing Agent to help you get your home or condo sold as quickly as we can. And we need to look at all the steps necessary…including your home not being vacant!

Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

September 18, 2018 by Thom Abbott

Pretty much like any industry or business you can think of, times are changing in real estate. With the wonders of technology, it’s amazing what you can do, that you maybe could not do some 10 years ago…maybe even 5. But, in real estate, Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

There are probably countless professions where you will always need “a real person” to make it happen. A plumber? Fix your A/C? A Dentist? A Doctor? A real estate agent?

There is a new “disruption” in the real estate world with several on-line companies that are offering to help you buy or sell real estate. I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for OpenDoor and OfferPad, and now even Zillow is launching a home buying service. The question is, can you “automate” the biggest financial transaction of your life? Hmmmm.

In the article I’ve shown below that just appeared in REALTOR Magazine, it’s not all peaches and cream when you choose one of these options. In the article below, these companies are referred to as iBuyers. They business model is promising to streamline the real estate transaction with quick, all cash offers. This way, you (as a Seller) bypass the longer process of listing your home, going through showings, negotiations (maybe more than once if a contract falls out) and such. But, an all cash offer will often have a catch. And with an iBuyer, the catch can be quite a challenge.

The iBuyer, Opendoor, after their offer was accepted, came in with a TEAM of contractors, and when all was said and done, wanted new bathtubs, new toilets and a host of other things. In a nutshell, they wanted a remodeled house and they wanted the Seller to pay for it. (Not that I’ve not had the same thing happen in a real estate transaction, but it was not as dramatic.) The agent ……ah….note I said real estate agent spent weeks negotiation with Opendoor. They had requested some $16,000 worth of repairs on a $300,000 home. Shreeeek! Those weeks spent negotiating with Opendoor…..in an agent-driven transaction, that process would have been resolved in a matter of a couple days, during the Due Diligence period. The parties would have agreed on a price, or the contract would have been terminated. In DAYS….NOT WEEKS!

What kind of valuable marketing time was lost in looking for another buyer that would have purchased the home with perhaps minimal repair requests…not new bathrooms?

The article quotes an agent from right here in Atlanta that helped clients sell their home to Knock. (NOTE….”agent helped clients sell their home to Knock.”) And in this instance, there were multiple people involved from the Knock-side of the sale. As they sale moved along, there were “a lot of missed loops and extra follow-up needed to make sure everything was going smoothly for our Sellers.”

Having not worked with any of these iBuyers, I’ll make the assumption that these agents did not work for free, and were paid a commission, either by the iBuyer or by the Seller.

The priceless mention is an agent in Phoenix who had an iBuyer make an offer of of $750,000 on a home that the agent later sold to a traditional buyer for $900,000. Imagine leaving a $150,000 on the table they would have moved on the iBuyer offer? Of course, there can be any number of circumstances behind any of these sales that we are not aware of.

Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

I think it is a decision that cannot be made lightly. In the article below, and as I’ve highlighted, there were agents still involved to help the Seller SELL to the iBuyer. And it seems like there were a lot of added steps and ‘i’s to dot and t’s to cross’ to make it all happen. And unless you have bought and sold numerous properties on your own already, there could be a land mine someplace you’ll miss.

But if you can sell your home for more money, working with a real estate agent, than you can selling it to an iBuyer, you’ll probably see, or do the math and agree.

There is a lot of things that go on during the sale (or purchase) of a house that the agent is involved with, or handle. As agents, we may be bad in not letting you know every little thing we do. We just do it to keep it as stress-free for you as possible. We are kind of a stress ball in the process and keep as much of it from you as possible.

It’s not because I AM a real estate agent, but I think when you are working with the largest part of your financial portfolio, your home, you’ll want someone right there with you helping you through the process, and being your advocate to make sure you are protected and have the best possible outcome you can.

The link below will give you the entire article.

Should I use an On Line Company to Sell my House

FHA Approved Condos Midtown Atlanta GA

June 18, 2018 by Thom Abbott

What Midtown Atlanta Condos are FHA Approved?

UPDATE – JUNE 18, 2018

We first wrote about FHA Approved Condos in December, 2010! WOW! That was EIGHT years ago! We were coming out of the real estate “mess” and FHA was one way many Buyers were working to get into a condo. Well, the list of FHA Approved Condos is a far cry from what it was back then. We left the original list at the bottom of this post, and wanted to provide you with an updated list. This is for Zip Code 30308 and 30309 and we are only showing Midtown condos buildings that have an FHA Approval good into next year or beyond. There were some other buildings, but their approval is set to expire within a couple months or no more than 6 months.

We can always help you with an updated list if there are not options in Midtown Atlanta. You can Contact Us for more information and we can see what other buildings may be an option for you if you are considering FHA financing.

June, 2018 Midtown Atlanta Condos with FHA Approval

(Those buildings that we have a specific page built for will be a link to that page for more information about that particular condo building)

MidCity Lofts

The Dakota Condominiums

Enclave at Renaissance

The Reynolds

1280 West

Ansley Terrace

City Park Townhomes

Collier House

Colony House

Colony Park Citihomes II

Mayfair Renaissance Note: This Page DOES include information/listings in the Mayfair Tower which is NOT FHA Approved.

We went from 33 approved buildings in 2010, to just 15 buildings that are approved now. Many buildings (HOA’s) have elected not to renew their FHA approval. Most feel it has not affected the sales in the building, although some have simply let it expire, and may not even know it.

But, we can help you find options if FHA approved condos are what you need!

***********************************************************

In today’s real estate market, most buyers are now using FHA financing for their Midtown Atlanta Condo purchase. While the credit score requirement has gone up, what remains most attractive is the down payment amount of 3.5% of the purchase price. But another important factor you have to consider when using FHA financing is whether the condominium community you are buying in is FHA Approved. Ahhh….you say.

In Midtown Atlanta, our primary zip codes are 30308 and 30309 so this list reflects the buildings that are in that part of Midtown Atlanta. It also lists the date that their approval is good through.

Midtown Atlanta GA FHA Approved Condominium Buildings

ZIP CODE 30308

795 Myrtle Street Condominiums 7/31/2011

Glendale Heights Condominiums             10/5/2012
Melrose Park (Phase 1)                             10/5/2012
Palisades By The Park                               11/8/2012
Renaissance Lofts                                   06/17/2012
Renaissance Park                                     08/02/2012
Renaissance Park II                                 05/31/2011
Sienna at Renissance Park                    05/31/2011
Spire Midtown Atlanta                             11/26/2012
Cornerstone Village                                04/12/2012
Dakota Condominiums                             08/11/2012
The Reynolds                                            03/31/2011
The Tyree Condominiums                       07/31/2011
Troy Peerless Lofts                                12/07/2011
Viewpoint Midtown Tower 1                   12/07/2011ZIP CODE 30309

1010 Midtown Condominiums                    12/15/2011
1280 West Condominiums                        12/07/2011
905 Juniper                                               04/19/2012
Ansley Terrace Condominums                   05/04/2012
Aqua Condominiums                                    12/07/2011
City Park Townhomes                                03/31/2011
Colony Park Citihomes                               05/31/2011
Cotting Court                                                05/06/2012
Luxe Condominiums                                    02/10/2012
Mayfair Renaissance                                    11/22/2012
Mayfair Tower                                            05/04/2012
Metropolis North Condominiums            09/30/2011
Parc Vue Condominiums                             07/31/2011
Park Central Condominiums                      07/01/2012
Peachtree Lofts                                             12/07/2011
Peachtree Walk Condominiums                 04/08/2012
Piedmont Park West                                    02/28/2012
Plaza Midtown                                           12/07/2011

If you are interested in a FHA Approved Condo in Midtown Atlanta, I would be happy to help you with your home purchase. If there is a building that is NOT on this list, please let me know and I will be happy to help you find out the status of the building. Most of your major communities are listed here. For more information about purchasing your Midtown Atlanta condo, give me a call!

What’s The Atlanta Inventory Like?

Is This A Normal Real Estate Market?

Your Moving Check List

30 to 15 Days Before Moving

14 Days Before Moving

Day Before Moving

Moving Day

5 Reasons You Should Never Sell a Vacant Home

Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

Should I Use One of Those On-line Companies to Sell My Home?

Should I use an On Line Company to Sell my House

UPDATE – JUNE 18, 2018

June, 2018 Midtown Atlanta Condos with FHA Approval

PalmerHouse Properties