Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide Archives

Atlanta Relocation Guide | What Is the Weather Like In Atlanta?

November 24, 2015 by Thom Abbott

There is a long list of things to like or love about living in Atlanta. And the weather ranks right up there. You could say that Atlanta is a city for all seasons, since we do have all four of them…Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Now, live here for awhile and you might find (or agree) that some of them are longer or shorter than others. Indeed.

Atlanta Relocation Guide | What Is the Weather Like In Atlanta?

Winter …. This season is supposedly from December to February. How do you define Winter in Atlanta? When the temps get to freezing? Then it can start in November! And the end of Winter is no different. It can run into March, and our last date for a frost is always the 2nd week or so of April. So, for those wanting to get crazy planting flowers and such….you just have to hold on till that frost window is gone. But you can have many days that are in the 60’s for a high and only 40’s for a low.

Does Atlanta get snow? Yes we do. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. And it does not take much snow in Atlanta to make the city freak out and shut down. But that is because it is often in the form of freezing rain, followed by snow, or the other way around. And in a city with hills and few snow plows, it does become a challenge to get around. If snow is in the forecast, you just plan ahead for groceries, have your car gassed up (not that you will be driving anywhere..I just know that from growing up in Montana!) and plan to work from home for a day or two. If you have an employer that insists you get to work, you might want to have a talk with them.

Spring… This season is supposedly from March to May. You know Spring is in the air, when you see yellow clouds and yellow dust covering everything. This, my friend is pollen. And he may not be your friend if you have allergies! But, it is a small price to pay for the beautiful, wooded canopy that covers the city!! Spring temps are in the 70’s and maybe 80’s….but it is this season that just one day changes and …BAM!!! It’s hot and it’s….

Summer… Anyone who has ever spent time in Atlanta during the Summer, knows how Atlanta was nicknamed “Hotlanta!” And this is one reason we stress to condo buyers that your building have a pool. You WILL thank me later! One advantage is Atlanta is less than 2 hours from the North Georgia Mountains…where the temp is always much cooler. And you will find lakes all around Atlanta, both almost in the city (Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona) and in the mountains, and central Georgia, like Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair. If you can afford to have a second home, a lake or mountain cabin is awesome…and you are sure to have lots of friends!

Fall… from September to late November is simply breathtaking. You can take a drive to the mountains to catch Fall colors, but you really only have to drive through any neighborhood and you will catch vibrant colors everywhere!! The temperatures moderate and make outdoor activities very enjoyable.

As you can see, Atlanta has the joy of enjoying all the seasons, our Winter not being as harsh as being up North, but not having constant warm weather you may find in Florida. It really is a great part of living in Atlanta!

What Are Condo Docs?

November 18, 2015 by Thom Abbott

Whenever I work with a condo buyer (and that is pretty much every day!) there are numerous things we do as we purchase a condo. While buying a single family home in a subdivision might have HOA rules, they are usually much more involved when you purchase, and live in a condo.

What Are Condo Docs?

In every condominium purchase contract I write for my clients, I always include this special stipulation:

SELLER TO PROVIDE FULLY RECORDED COPY OF CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS, CURRENT ANNUAL BUDGET AND LAST 6 MONTHS HOA BOARD MEETING MINUTES TO BUYER WITHIN THREE DAYS OF BINDING AGREEMENT DATE. IF BUYER FINDS OBJECTION WITH ANY INFORMATION THEREIN, OR THE SELLER FAILS TO DELIVER SAID DOCUMENTS WITHIN THREE DAYS, THE BUYER MAY CHOOSE TO VOID THIS CONTRACT WITH WRITTEN NOTICE TO THE SELLER WITHIN 4 DAYS OF BINDING AGREEMENT DATE AND WILL BE ENTITLED TO A FULL REFUND OF ALL EARNEST MONEY.

The condominium documents included the Declaration of Condominium and The Association By-Laws. As you can see above, I additionally request a copy of the HOA Budget and the last 6 months of HOA minutes.

What’s IN the Declaration of Condominium? Here’s a sample Table of Contents:

Definitions
Location, Property Description, Plats and Plans
Units and Boundaries
Common Elements
Limited Common Elements
Association Membership and Allocation of Votes
Allocation of Liability for Common Expenses
Association Rights and Restrictions
Assessments
Insurance
Repair and Reconstruction
Architectural Controls
Use Restrictions
Leasing
Sale of Units
Maintenance Responsibility
Mortgagee’s Rights
General Provisions

This particular condominium Declaration is about 70 or more pages. Your newer buildings will have much longer condo docs. But you can see there is a wide variety of things that are cover. I mean, I could do a blog post series on every topic. (Hmmmm, there’s a thought?)

It’s important for you to review this document, no matter the length. SERIOUSLY! You may not read it in depth, but by scanning the Table of Contents and then each section, you will have a better understanding of the “Rules of the Road” for living in that condo building.

The Declaration of Condominium is filed by the Developer when the Condominium is created. You are provided a copy (especially in new construction) by the sales representative for the Developer. But in any re-sale, you must obtain a copy from the Seller. If you note in my special contract stipulation, I underlined the words FULLY RECORDED COPY OF CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS. What THAT means, is over the course of years, the owners can have voted to amend, or change the condo docs. They could have agreed to change anything from a pet policy, to leasing terms to parking assignments. Each time the condo docs are changed, they must be legally recorded in with the Clerk of Superior Court in the County where the building is located. Of course, all of Midtown Atlanta will be Fulton County.

We want to see ALL the changes to the original Declaration, to make sure there is not some material change that could affect you, and how you live and enjoy your home.

The Association By-Laws are simply the rules and make up of the Homeowners Association, or HOA. Equally Important, as they will spell out the makeup of the Board of Directors, Meetings, and the Powers and Duties of the Board. (Yeah, this is important!)

As we obtain, and review these documents, I’m here to answer any questions you may have. Your lender, if you are obtaining financing, will certainly review the budget to look for things like reserve fund balances and the income and expenses of the association.

It’s all good…and certainly nothing that should “scare you” when you look at these documents. When you live in close proximity to your neighbors, and share common things (walls, hallways, club rooms, etc.) you need to have “rules of the road” to guide everyone!

Changes Are Coming to the Closing Process!! TRID

September 30, 2015 by Thom Abbott

If you are purchasing a home or condominium, and you will be making your LOAN APPLICATION AFTER Saturday, October 3rd, the process is changing! And could be a bit complicated if you don’t work VERY CLOSELY with your real estate agent, your lender and your closing attorney!!

If you have purchased in the past, maybe you remember last minute amendments to your Purchase and Sale Agreement? Maybe they were to correct a name, or an address, or clarify a special stipulation in the Agreement? Ah, not so fast now!!!!

The new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) is going to make follow up ever so important! NOW, when you receive something from your agent, your lender or the closing attorney, it will require your IMMEDIATE and FULL attention. Due to new disclosure time lines, everything must be in place at least 10 days before the closing (to assure that everything moves on schedule!)

Every purchased a home or condominium with a “back-to-back” closing? Where you needed to close on your first residence so you could buy your next home? These types of closings will be even more difficult to manage, because if anything goes wrong on the first closing, that messes up the days needed for the disclosure, it will in turn delay your next closing.

In a nutshell, what does this all mean? It means you need to have YOUR TEAM in place, and have your real estate agent as your Quarterback to make sure the process is moving along. Anytime you are sent something that requires you read and sign, you need to give it you immediate attention, so it can be handled accordingly!

Changes like this can be challenging, but I’m here to help you through, every step of the way!

For More Information about the new Process and understanding it, CLICK HERE for the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and helpful information about the new forms.

Who Is YOUR Real Estate Team?

September 11, 2015 by Thom Abbott

So it began last night….but it wasn’t Monday!! It was Thursday Night Football! I think they still have Monday, and Sunday…shreek! But, that’s not want I really wanted to talk about.

I wanted to talk about YOUR Real Estate Team. When your watch a football game, there are the players on the field, and those on the sidelines, hoping they make it in. And then WHO ARE all those other people around the actual football players. Well, you have the actual football TEAM, and then you have all those other people that support them.

It’s the same when it comes to buying or selling a home. Who Is YOUR Real Estate Team?

Of course there is me, your Real Estate Agent. I’m like the Quarterback of the team. Number One, I’m your consultant. Number Two, I’m your negotiator. And Number Three, I’m the person who oversees all your transactional details.

And there are plenty of those details to make happen. But helping me, help you is YOUR real estate team, that includes your home inspector, your lender, your insurance agent, maybe a plumber or handyman that needs to fix things (before you place your home on the market) or even after you buy and close, maybe something comes up. I’m still here as your Consultant and Quarterback to help you out.

But just like that football team on the field, if you don’t have the right team put together, you may not get to the goal post. In real estate, that would be the closing table, and you handing over the keys to the new Buyer or you receiving those keys AS the new Buyer.

Let me help you with YOUR real estate team!

5 Ways To Catch the Atlanta Seller’s Attention

August 14, 2015 by Thom Abbott

You’ve been looking for that “perfect” Atlanta condo, right. And whether you have been looking for a week or a month, you know that the HOT Atlanta real estate market does not offer you many choices! With the limited inventory, you might even find yourself in a multiple-bid situation….meaning there are more Buyers than just YOU interested in that condo. So, you need to make an offer that will convince the seller that YOU are the one they should sell to.

5 Ways To Catch the Atlanta Seller’s Attention

You don’t have to be in that multiple offer situation either. The seller still has the right to review, and refuse any offer they receive on their home. BUT, if we write an effective offer that focuses on 5 important parts of the offer, you have a much better chance of being the offer the seller accepts.

Pre Approval Letter From Your Lender

There IS a difference between a pre-qualification letter and a pre-approval letter. With the pre-approval letter, you have provided your lender with all the necessary documents they need to review to give final approval on your loan. (with the exception of the contract we are working on!) By having this in place, it will help you with the Quick Closing and shorter Due Diligence periods noted below. Additionally the Georgia Purchase and Sale Agreement has a Financing Contingency in it. You may be able to offer a much shorter time frame for this process by having your pre approval completed.

Offer the List Price (Or Close to It!)

The first thing the seller will look at when your offer is presented is the price you are offering. If their listing agent has done their homework, the home will NOT be overpriced! And offer a full price offer is not a bad thing. You are paying what the home is worth. If it is somewhat overpriced, and we are in a multiple offer situation, you may need to offer OVER the list price. A Seller is going to look much closer at an offer that is at or near the listing price. We will also have to be prepared for the appraisal process in case there is a difference between our offer and the appraisal. But to low of an offer and we could be out of the game before we even get started!

Request A Quick Closing

The sellers are either being relocated or have already found their next dream home or condo. We want to keep that in mind when presenting our Offer. Chances are, it is one of those two things that have prompted the sellers to list their Atlanta condo in the first place. Sellers may want to close quickly, to facilitate the closing on THEIR new home, or to complete a relocation package, so a general rule of thumb is to offer a Closing date that is within the next 30 days, provided your lender has said that is possible. By offering a quick Closing this can also show the Seller you are a motivated buyer.

Choose A Shorter Due Diligence Period

A Georgia Purchase and Sale Agreement includes a Due Diligence period, which allows the buyer to back out of the contract for any reason … or simply no reason at all. This is the time when you do a detailed investigation of the property including HOA documents and budgets, and your property inspection. Sellers like to see a shorter Due Diligence period, and if you are in a multiple-bid, this could be your winning card!

Offering A Higher Earnest Money Deposit

When you make an Offer on a property, you will also give the seller a good faith or earnest money deposit. A higher earnest money deposit also shows that you are serious about buying the home, as you have more initial money upfront!

These are just 5 Ways To Catch the Atlanta Seller’s Attention and just a few of many factors that a seller considers when they receive an offer. But by looking at these five key factors, we are focusing on those which Sellers tend to put the most significance on when making a decision.

I’m here to help you write the best offer possible! If you need help in this HOT Atlanta market, give me a call!

10 Questions You Should Ask Your Mortgage Lender

May 9, 2015 by Thom Abbott

Finding the right home or condo is important. I mean this is going to be your home. Your sanctuary to get away from it all after a long day at the job. So it’s a big decision. But part of that decision is also your mortgage. Unless you are in a position to pay all cash for your home, you will need a mortgage.

10 Questions You Should Ask Your Mortgage Lender

And there is a lot that goes into a mortgage. But that is not my role in helping you find your home. Much like when you go to a doctor’s office, there are numerous people there that have a role in your visit. From the person that greets you, to the one that takes your vitals to the doctor him(her)self, everyone has a purpose.

My purpose is to help you find the right home, and get it at the right price. There’s other considerations too, but we’ll keep it simple for this topic. But when you need a mortgage, then you need a mortgage lender. And that person is a specialist in what THEY do! They know the in’s and out’s of getting you the best financing arrangements they can. But just as there are questions and parts to the home buying process I discuss and questions I answer for you, here are 10 questions you should ask your mortgage lender.

10-questions-to-ask-mortgage-lender

If you need help in getting your pre-approval ready to begin your home shopping with me, please check out our team of mortgage lenders. We have worked with these people for years, and know they will do it right for you!

Atlanta Relocation Guide | What Is the Weather Like In Atlanta?

What Are Condo Docs?

For More Information about the new Process and understanding it, CLICK HERE for the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and helpful information about the new forms.

5 Ways To Catch the Atlanta Seller’s Attention

Pre Approval Letter From Your Lender

Offer the List Price (Or Close to It!)

Request A Quick Closing

Choose A Shorter Due Diligence Period

Offering A Higher Earnest Money Deposit

10 Questions You Should Ask Your Mortgage Lender

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