I am not sure that these are the funniest listings, but I smiled, so I figured I would share. You are welcome.
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My wife and I were shopping for my daughter's homecoming dress a few weeks back at the Mall of Georgia. (Yes, I was helping my daughter shop for a dress) It was late, it was Saturday night and we were starving. We were thinking of going to PF Changs, which is my favorite restaurant. We were looking at an hour and a half wait... (did I mention we were starving). Well, I am always willing to try something new, so I suggested that we try Fuego Cantina and Grill.
If you have not deduced by now, Fuego is a Mexican restaurant. The wait was non-existent. We were able to sit right down and it was less than a third full on a Saturday night. That typically is not a good sign, and I began to second guess my suggestion. But, we were in and seated, so I wasn’t going to make a break for it. I was pleasantly surprised. The service was great. Granted, there were very few people there……so… Anyway, we started with Chips and ordered a Queso dip. The chips were seasoned, not just salted. It was a nice change. We ordered the Queso with Jalapenos on the side. The Queso was good, but really is there such a thing as bad cheese dip? I ordered the Mexican Tacos, my wife ordered the shrimp enchiladas. My children ordered soft and hard tacos. Everything was phenomenal. It was amazing food. Everyone was supremely satisfied. The only word of caution is that if you get the Mexican Tacos, apply the red sauce sparingly. It is amazingly hot. It has a great flavor, but when I had finished, I was sweating. We have been back one other time, and ordered the same thing. The only criticism I have is that the food was not quite as good the second time. They hand make their sauces, and the second time, the salsa tasted a little different, the lobster sauce on the enchiladas was a little different and the meat on the Mexican Tacos had a slightly different flavor. All in all I would give it a solid four out of five and it is one of the best Mexican food restaurants in the area. I am actually worried that it won’t last long because it isn’t getting enough traffic. So, I guess this is self-serving. I don’t want to see this place go out of business, cause I like the food. One note of caution, it becomes more of a bar at 10pm. So, if you are looking to enjoy a family night out, you should stick to early evening. This is an awesome look back at the history of the company I associate with. And, while this may seem like propaganda to some outside the organization, I actually see this in everyday practice. I serve on the career development committee. In conjunction with three other agents, the Team Leader and Director of Agent Services, we set the training calendar each month. The culture committee plans our fund raising and charity events. The ALC is mentioned in the video, and I see how they work with our team leader to mold and shape our market center. The great thing about KW is that you never feel like you have no voice. First, you can run your business any way you choose (within the confines of laws and ethics of course). In fact, we are encouraged to think outside the box. And, second, you have a direct line of communication to the ALC and the team leader to affect change in the market center.
Granted, KW is a rah, rah kind of place. We get excited, we encourage each other and we share what makes us successful. That isn't for everyone. I know that. Although, I have to wonder.... why not? Being in the Buford Keller Williams market center, I get to see this commitment to our clients on a local level. I get to see our commitment to training and our commitment to being the most knowledgeable agent in the transaction. I also get to see how this pays off in us dominating market share in our area. It is nice to see that the company I associate with embraces these ideals on a national scale, and that it has translated effectively into our clients being well served. Highest overall satisfaction (Buyers AND Sellers) is a great honor, and I am glad to be a part, (albeit a small one) in such a great achievement. Just another reason I know I choose to work with the best brokerage on the planet!
In a word: No. There is a perception that if the appraisal comes in low, the seller would be required to reduce the sales price. A contract could be written with language to dictate this, however, a seller would be ill advised to accept a contract with such language. As such, it is rarely if ever seen in our market.
The first thing to tackle is what an appraisal contingency is, and where it is found. An appraisal contingency is language found in the contract that gives the buyer the ability to ask the seller to reduce the price in the case of a low appraisal or terminate the contract in the case that the seller and buyer cannot come to an agreement on price. So, now where is it found? Most of the time, the only appraisal contingency will be found in the financing contingency. In the case of an all cash transaction, the appraisal contingency is a stand-alone form in the contract package. There are times that agents will have more than one appraisal contingency in a contract. They may put the stand alone appraisal contingency in a contract package that already has an appraisal contingency in the financing contingency. Some agents do not realize there is one in many of the financing contingencies or they are under the impression that the stand alone appraisal contingency gives the buyer more protection. One appraisal contingency in a contract is sufficient and having two appraisal contingencies could hurt the buyer, not help them. One may have language in it that would cancel out the other. I can think of a specific example, however, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, I will not include it here. As a matter of practice, you should not use the appraisal contingency as your only protection from paying too much for a property. Your agent should show you other sales that have sold in the area and other listings currently on the market to give you a good understanding of the market value of the property. If you and your agent have done a good job of previewing homes and going over the market data, you should have a good feel for what you are willing to pay for the house. Appraisers are like every other type of professional. There are good ones and bad ones. As a former Certified Appraiser, I am sometimes appalled at some of the appraisals I have seen. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to the appraisal contingency is that there are specific time frames which you must act within. If the appraisal is not completed in a timely fashion, your agent may not have the opportunity and you lose the right to request the seller to reduce the sales price. And, unfortunately, if your agent is not mindful of the time frames spelled out in the appraisal contingency, you lose your right to ask the seller to reduce the sales price. In the case that the appraisal is done and your agent acts accordingly within the time frames spelled out in the contract, and the appraisal has come in low, now what? At this point the sales price becomes negotiable. There are many moving parts to these negotiations. The seller can reduce the price, the buyer can bring more money to closing, the agents can cut part of the commission, the seller may reduce the closing costs, etc. The key thing to remember is that if you and the seller cannot come to an accord in regards to the sales price, your only remedy at that point is to terminate the contract. Remember that there is a specified time frame that you have to operate in to do this without putting your earnest money in jeopardy. As mentioned above, don’t rely on the appraisal as your only protection against paying too much. By the time the appraisal is complete, you will have most likely paid for an inspection fee and an appraisal fee. At this point, you will have already invested between $600 and $1000 in most instances. So, the goal should be to go into a transaction with a good idea of what the home is worth and what you are willing to pay. As with most things related to real estate transactions, the details are important and must be managed. The contract and contingencies have to be filled out correctly, and the agents must act within the time frames spelled out in the contract. A good agent will stay on top of these, however, there is nothing stating that you cannot write down these dates yourself to ensure your agent’s compliance. Please feel free to post any questions you have regarding this or any comments you have! Thank you so much for investing the time to read this. |
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Testimonials 557886 David is awesome to work with. He knows the area very well. He is extremely responsive, always took my calls and answered my emails and txts. He truly ... more 5.0/5.0 by philipkupersavage 557657 David was extremely helpful.....We were very picky buyers & he never pressured us to look at a house outside of our parameters or place an offer... he ... more 5.0/5.0 by dwcourter 309784 Mr. Blanton helped us find the home of our dreams and he did by listening to what we wanted. He taught us about the housing market, guided us in the ... more 5.0/5.0 by user30821228 Archives
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