Atlanta Condos For Sale

Planning to Age in Place? What to Look for in a House

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What to look for in a house if you plan to age in place
That tub might not work so well later!

Depending on your age, this may not be a topic at the front of your mind, but have you ever considered Planning to Age in Place? What to Look for in a House is very important! 

And if not you, maybe for your parents? Perhaps they are considering downsizing, and a frank discussion about what their next home should be, or not be, could be important! 

Things like types of flooring, or a no-threshold shower for easy access, outdoor space with no stairs or a convenient laundry room….all of these are things you just may not think of. 

Back in 2004, my Mother lost our family home to a fire. It was devastating to say the least. While she was younger, we had already had conversations about how she would be able to stay in the house on our family ranch. It had multiple levels, washer/dryer in an older basement with a crazy staircase down there, not to mention in the winter months (Montana) the snow would at times require she hire someone to plow open her road. Anyways, she ended up building a new home in town, and my brother-in-law brought some of these exact issues up. So, her house was “sunk down” so there are no major steps. (Well there is a slight step into the garage that is now challenging for her base on current conditions) Also, she has a walk-in shower instead of a bathtub in the master bedroom. And the garage has a large store room that helps her store things and acts like a pantry as well. 

But thankfully, because there was so much happening at the time, she would have never thought of these things without the help of a family member. 

Here’s a great article about What to Look for in a House if You Plan to Age in Place! 

 

Choosing the Right Atlanta Neighborhood

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Whether you are moving across Atlanta, or coming across country, you have a big decision to make. Single, or married or married with kids….one decision you have is choosing the right Atlanta Neighborhood!

What Should I Consider when Choosing a Neighborhood?

Search Atlanta NeighborhoodsOf course, the answer to this question is not a one size fits all! What is important to you will play a major role in where you decide to live in Atlanta. Schools? Walkability? Style of type of house? House or condo? Commute to work? Hospitals? Hmmm. 

Schools

While I personally don’t have children, I understand that schools are important. HEY…they are important even if you DON’T have kids, as quality schools can have a huge impact on property values. I’m happy to help you with resources for school information, but again, what may be important to you and your kids may differ from any website I may offer you. We can always talk and look for resources together. 

Walkability

Much of Atlanta’s mobility is very, very dependent on four wheels! As such, we have traffic and we have commuting issues (see below). But maybe you want to live someplace where you can easily walk to restaurants or retail without the aid of your car. It’s certainly possible in Atlanta, but the type of housing you may want might not match with the walkability. Areas like Midtown Atlanta offer the most walkability, but much of the housing is in the form of condominiums. There is Historic Midtown with single family homes, but they may not be they type of home you are looking for. There are other “pockets” or areas to look at. Decatur, Chamblee, parts of Brookhaven, and others are out there that will offer some walkability. We just have to look at your wants and needs and find that right spot!

Choosing an Atlanta NeighborhoodStyle of House — Condo, Single Family or Townhome

Again, many choices here. And that is where your lifestyle comes in, and what we will talk about during our Initial Consultation. We look at your wants and needs, and they help identify the neighborhoods, or buildings that meet what you are looking for! And we might even point out things you did not think of!

Commute To Work

Yeah…this is a biggie when you look at Atlanta. If you telecommute…awesome! You have lots of options! But where you live and where you work could have a big impact on your quality of life if you spend to much time behind the wheel! Our sister website, MyAtlantaMojo.com has a cool Commute feature in the Search function. Look at a specific listing, and then you can calculate the time it will take you to get to work. It’s pretty cool!

Hospitals or Medical Services

Maybe you are relocating to the Atlanta area to be close to your adult children and their families. But you might want to be closer to doctors or hospitals as you age in place. These are other factors we can look at to decide what neighborhood is right for you!

We are here to help you sell your home and buy the next one. If you found this blog post, and are moving from another city, maybe you have not found a real estate agent to help you there? We can even help with that!! We have a vast network of agents that we know and trust all across the country. Whether it’s Los Angeles or Little Rock, we can help! 

We look forward to meeting you and getting to know you!

 

 

5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers

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No matter how much time you spend on researching and educating yourself about your home purchase, it’s hard to cover every detail. Here are a few tips for avoiding rookie mistakes with your first home purchase.

5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers

  1. First Time Home Buyer tipsSave as early as you can: Even if you think you’re years away from buying your first home, try to start saving for your down payment. It makes a huge difference in your monthly payments, and helps avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance.
  2. Be thorough with mortgage shopping: There are countless resources out there that can help you get the best terms for your mortgage. It may seem like a lot of work to shave less than a point off your mortgage rate, but it’ll save you thousands in the long run. If you are looking for a good lender, check out MyMidtownMojo’s Team Lenders HERE!
  3. Consult a skeptic: You’re likely to fall in love with a home, and that can make it difficult to take problems seriously. Bring along a skeptical friend or family member who can give you an honest opinion. A word of caution here….don’t bring the ENTIRE family or you will never find your new home!
  4. Be patient with getting settled: You’ll be anxious to make your new home your own, but take some time to see how your budget truly shakes out. In other words, hold off on big furniture purchases and remodeling projects. I always tell my buyers to “get the feel” for the house or condo, then look at things you might want to change to make the home function better for your life style!
  5. Make sure you’re happy with the neighborhood: The house may be perfect, but don’t discount the surroundings. You don’t want to end up in the suburbs if you’re going to miss walking to your favorite coffee shop, and you don’t want to settle for the city if you’re looking forward to some peace and quiet. If you are planning on a family soon, schools will be important, and will factor into where you want to live. If you are single, or no children…that elevator ride to the street might be the living concept for you! 

We LOVE working with first time home buyers. We have some other great resources and tips at our Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide.  But we are happy to sit down and talk about any part of the home buying process, and in fact, that a big part of our initial consultation with new buyers! We are here to help! 

Call us now at 770.713.1505 or complete our Buyer Questionnaire to help us understand what you are looking for in your new home! 

Let these Tips for First Time Home Buyers help you get started!

Just give us a call and we can schedule a time to meet! 

Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

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Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

Georgia Real Estate ContractToday, I was looking at some of my past blog posts and pages here at MyMidtownMojo.com. I’m always working to put out NEW content, but it’s well worth my while to go back and look at some of my old content. 

I’m getting ready to launch a new website that is more encompassing of the Atlanta real estate markets I serve. (Never fear, MyMidtownMojo is not going anywhere!!!!) So I’m looking at content here that I can share on the new site. Afterall, I’ve spent many an hour creating everything that you read and find here! 

But as I looked over some of the older posts, I realized that one subject I had not looked at in a few years is the various forms we use in buying and selling real estate in Georgia. In fact, many of my posts are dated from 2011!! Shreek…that is FIVE years ago! Our Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) contract and forms have certainly undergone some changes since then. 

So, the new contracts and forms will be released in the coming days. And with that, I’ve got a whole heaping lot of writing and reviewing to do with you and help you be a more informed real estate consumer. 

So, stay tuned! We will start the series, probably during the holiday week, but there will always be links to find any posts that you may have missed as well as where you can find the information here on the site. 

Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

Atlanta Passes Historic Transit Referendum

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Not since 1971 when MARTA was first created, has the City of Atlanta sent a message that transit is what we want! 

This is GREAT news for the City, and we can only hope it will one day trickle out to the burbs. It’s just a shame that the Metro Atlanta region is so limited with transit options when you compare us to other cities. 

First off, click on the photo below to read the latest newsletter from Citizens For Progressive Transit, a grass-roots transit organization in Atlanta. 

Atlanta Passes Historic Transit Referendum

And here is an interesting study we found regarding the economic benefits of investing in transit.

Click on the photo below to read the report

Atlanta Passes Historic Transit Referendum

 

Thinking About Buying Soon? Make Sure Your Credit is in Order

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There’s no more important time to work on your credit score than when you’re about to apply for a mortgage. Improving your credit can save you a ton of money—we’re talking about thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Here are the actions you can take that will have a notable impact on your score.

Thinking About Buying Soon? Make sure Your Credit is in Order

Make Sure Your Credit is in OrderPay down your credit card balances Credit utilization is one of the biggest factors in determining your credit score. Your credit utilization should at least be less than 30 percent of your limit, and it’s even better if you can get it below 15 percent. This rule applies to both individual cards and your overall credit limit.

It may even be worthwhile to use some of the cash funds you were planning to use for a down payment to pay off credit card balances.

Do no harm While you certainly want to improve your score if possible, at the very least you’ll want to keep it steady. Avoid opening new lines of credit if you’re applying for a mortgage in the very near future. This will cause a hard inquiry to show up on your credit report. Like don’t start shopping for a new car, or a TV or furniture until AFTER you buy your home!

Take care of negative items It’s good practice to check your credit report for negative items a few times a year—you can get one free report from each of the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) per year.

If you find any negative items (collections, late payments, etc.), write a letter to the original creditor. Explain the circumstances that led to the negative item, and request that it be removed from your report. It can be surprisingly effective, and removing a negative item will improve your credit score in a hurry. You can find some good templates for a request letter online.

These are good things to look at, and look at LONG before you start the mortgage application process. This way, you can make changes as needed and be ready to get the needed pre-approval letter from the lender so we can start shopping for your new home!

 

Thom Abbott

Associate Broker, REALTOR(R)
905 Juniper Street, NE Suite 110
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
770.713.1505 Direct
404.876.4901 Office

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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