Sellers Archives

47 Skills You Need to Survive Homeownership | This Old House

October 17, 2013 by Thom Abbott

Whether you have just purchased your Midtown Atlanta Condo or home, or you’ve been a homeowner for years, a home or condo simply does not operate on auto pilot. You need Skills to Survive Homeownership!

Especially if you live in a condo, you often think there is nothing to maintain….that “auto pilot” idea again! Nothing could be further from the truth. Take your dryer duct work as an example. Look at where your dryer is located in your condo. Now, where does the vent exhaust? Certainly someplace on the outside of the building, and it could be your balcony. Those lo-o-o-o-ong dryer vents can eventually get some lint and such built up in them from the dryer. Ever thought about having it cleaned? I thought not.

I found this article at MyOldHouse.com that lists some 47 “skills” you need as a home owner. Now, not all of them are going to apply to a condominium, but most of them will. And some of these skills could help you save some money when you call a professional to fix the problem.

47 Skills You Need to Survive Homeownership!

Read, learn, and enjoy!

Mom and Dad, Let’s Talk Real Estate — Real Estate Planning

June 30, 2013 by Thom Abbott

I often work with parents of college students who purchase a Midtown Atlanta condo for their son or daughter to live in while attending Georgia Tech. But this article is about a different conversation with Mom and Dad and real estate. It’s about real estate planning and estate planning when it comes to what to do with the family home, or other real estate assets.

This conversation is near and dear to my heart…I just went through it with my Mom (my Dad passed away in 1994) when I was home in Montana a couple weeks ago. We had a family meeting to discuss what remains of our family ranch and such. It was a good meeting (well, it at least got somethings out on the table that some of my family did not know about.)

And then today, the New York Times had an article of the same title. How true it is…the need to talk about family assets and what to do with them…be it sell them, deed them, etc.

They might want to raise cash to pay for possible medical expenses down the line or to reduce assets so a parent needing health aides or nursing-home care will be eligible for Medicaid. They might be eyeing the apartment for their own use.

How do children nudge often-reluctant parents toward making sound and fiscally smart decisions about the future of the family home? How can assets be protected while keeping a roof over the parents’ head? What are the main issues that need to be kept in mind as planning goes forward? How do children, or in their absence, other close relatives, begin the difficult and sometimes painful conversations needed to resolve these issues? In the case of apartments that have sharply escalated in value, how do you guide parents unused to dealing with large sums of money?

Here is a link to the rest of the article in the NYTimes.

Do you need to have a family meeting and discuss the future of your parents? Mom and Dad, let’s talk real estate.

Buyers Scramble as Home Prices Rise In Metro Atlanta

June 28, 2013 by Thom Abbott

The Standard & Poor’s Case–Shiller Home Price Indices are constant-quality house price indices for the United States. The indices reflect prices in real terms, which means they are corrected for inflation.

In looking at the report for Metro Atlanta, we note some interesting points….

The Case-Shiller Index reports show that Metro Atlanta home values have increased 19% in the last 12 months. But values remain down 28% from the peak of July 2007.

The available “months of supply” is 3.6 months based upon closed sales and 2.8 months based on pending sales. Six months of supply is considered a normal market. This mean’s a SELLER’s MARKET!!!!

The fallout rates of pending versus closed are higher than normal…. mostly due to low appraisals. Closed units are down for the past four months compared to the same months last year. The pace of short sales and foreclosures coming on the market has slowed considerably. In 2010, over 60% of sales were distressed properties but that is now down to 37%. Resales are the larger mix of sales.

New Homes are making a slow but sure comeback. New home closings are up 55% from last quarter. There are some wonderful new home communities coming online with the latest innovations in smart building. I do want to note that there is currently NO NEW CONDOMINIUM CONSTRUCTION underway in any Intown Atlanta market, including Midtown Atlanta. There are some new town home developments close to Midtown, but no high-rise construction. All the cranes you seen in Midtown Atlanta are for APARTMENTS!!

Home values will continue to rise in 2013 – especially in the lower price points driven by the very low levels of inventory and strong buyer demand.

Appraisals are still a problem. In Intown, Buckheard, East Cobb and North Fulton, where prices are rising fast, appraisers can’t keep up. Sometimes, we can help provide information to the appraiser in the formats they require. If I have your Midtown Atlanta condo listed For Sale, I meet the appraiser at your home to provide information about the market, building and surrounding area. This gives us a better chance to get the highest appraised value for loan approvals.

If you are looking to sell your Midtown Atlanta condo, I’d be happy to meet with you and discuss the market and conditions that may be specific to your building.

What is a Lockbox? |Midtown Atlanta Real Estate Questions

June 12, 2013 by Thom Abbott

My parents sold real estate in the early 1990’s in a small town in Montana. Like… BEFORE there was the Internet!! I once asked my Mom how they got access to homes as I know they did not use a lockbox. She said some sellers would simply leave their homes open when you scheduled an appointment and she could come by and show the home to her potential buyers. Or she’d have to drive to the listing office to get a key, and have to return it later that day or the next. As you can imagine, “back then” and in a small town, security issues were not what they are today. Today’s Midtown Atlanta real estate agent uses a lockbox to gain access to your home or condominium.

Lockbox History

In Midtown Atlanta condos for sale, lockboxes hold the key and possibly an access FOB to the amenities of the building. They are either on the door handle of the condo, or may be kept at the Concierge desk. If you have a single family home, the lockbox might be hanging on the door handle, porch railing or maybe the porch swing! Lockboxes were first introduced in the 1970’s and Midtown Atlanta real estate agents had a square “key” that opened them. As with everything, technology has brought great advancements in lockbox technology and they are now electronic. They are still opened with a “key” but can now be operated from many of today’s smart phones.

This electronic lockbox is an incredible tool for both YOU and your agent:

Your Midtown Atlanta Real Estate agent gets an alert when the key to your home has been accessed. It provides the name, phone number and email address of the showing agent

Provide the buyer’s agent with extra information about the home, including instructions from the homeowner, such as “Don’t Feed the Dog.”

Allows your Midtown Atlanta listing agent to set time parameters on when the lockbox can be accessed by others. (I typically keep mine set for access from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with showing instructions that I’m to be called first, so I can in turn alert you of an upcoming showing.)

Why You Should Use a Lockbox

Midtown Atlanta Condos for sale that use a lockbox are pretty much the norm. You can arrange for a key release to be left with the Concierge, but by doing so, you and your Midtown Atlanta real estate agent miss out on the important information from the Buyer’s agent I mentioned above. I provide lockboxes for all my Sellers as part of our marketing services.

How Do I Get A LockBox For MY Midtown Atlanta Condo?

If you’re thinking of selling your Midtown Atlanta condo with a real estate agent that has your safety and convenience in mind, give me a call at (770) 713-1505 or email me at Info@MyMidtownMojo.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

What IS Being a Midtown Atlanta Real Estate Agent All About?

May 18, 2013 by Thom Abbott

As a consumer, you may not really know or understand the role your real estate agent plays when you buy or sell a house.

That really could be OUR fault! But then, we sometimes serve as the “punching bag” as you will…kind of shielding you from all the things the happen, and HALF TO HAPPEN in order for you to buy or sell that house or condominium.

What IS Being a Midtown Atlanta Real Estate Agent All About?

Well, at the end of the day, there really is one goal…..

Spring Selling Season Is Here….And So Are the Cocktails!

March 30, 2013 by Thom Abbott

Yeah, we are really stretching the topic on this one. Sort of. Actually they do have something in common, the Spring Selling Season Is Here…and So Are the Cocktails!

First off, it’s almost April, and the Spring home selling season is upon us! Now, it’s not like the market has been in ANY kind of winter hibernation…quite the opposite has been happening in Midtown Atlanta! Sales have been rocking and rolling since before the holidays, and don’t show any signs of letting grass grow under their feet this Spring.

The Spring Selling Season Is Here … And Buyer’s Best Be Prepared!!

So how DOES a Buyer Be Prepared? Well if you are here at MyMidtownMojo, we hope you’ve made the decision on the real estate agent you are going to use to help y0u find your Midtown Atlanta condo! Now, our next step is to get you pre-approved with one of your Lender Partners! Why? The market is on a fast track with limited inventory! You need to be ready to pounce when we find you the right condo, and that pounce includes a pre-approval from a lender. (NOT a pre-qualification and I’ll explain the difference in a moment) When you submit that offer to the Seller, we want them to know you have done the leg work and the steps needed to have a pre-approval. It will make your offer look better knowing you have your financing in place.

In a pre-approval, you’ve submitted documents like your tax returns, bank statements, W-2”s and such so the lender can have all this information verified. Here’s a perfect example. I’m working with a Buyer right now that just had a $93,000 deposit made into her checking account. Can you say BIG RED FLAG to an Underwriter for her loan approval? YOU BET! Well, in the pre-approval process, she can submit the documentation necessary NOW as to what that deposit is for. (It happens to be the proceeds of her half of the sale of a home with her husband.) Well, she will need to provide documentation as to where it came from.

And So Are the Cocktails!

What do cocktails have to do with the Spring Selling Season? Well, for one…it’s Spring! You’ll soon be hitting the pool or club room at your condo building, or opening up those balcony doors and enjoying the sunshine. And why not with a great new Spring Cocktail you’ve learned about here and can share with your friends!

Plus, we’ll want to celebrate when YOU buy YOUR Midtown Atlanta Condo!

Here’s some great Cocktail Recipes from Southern Living Magazine! Let’s sample a few of these!