You are probably aware that the real estate market has improved greatly here in Buford, GA, and the surrounding metropolitan area.  In fact, in many areas, property values are at all time highs, even above the peaks we saw back in the mid to late 2000's.

One unfortunate side effect is that the property tax assessment that you just got in the mail probably reflects a significant increase to your assessed value.

I just received my property tax assessment from Gwinnett County, for my home in Hoschton, GA, and my assessment went up over 198%.  I wish I could call them and tell them I'll take their offer!  

Make sure to check your assessment and don't just throw it into a pile of paperwork that doesn't ever get looked at, or get's looked at six months from now.  This is time sensitive information.

My assessment is 50% higher than I have any hope of selling my home.  So, needless to say, I will be appealing my value.  

The process is very simple.  In Gwinnett County, you file your appeal online and wait for a date to go before the board.  If you live in a different county, the assessment should outline steps to appeal.  The important part is to make sure you file your appeal before the deadline.  My deadline is May 23rd, 2016.  Your deadline should be listed on your assessment.

An added bonus, is that in Gwinnett County, if you win your appeal, your property tax assessment will not increase for 3 years.  My understanding is that is also the case in other counties, however, I cannot personally verify that.

Finally, if you live anywhere in the metro Atlanta and want to know whether you should appeal your assessment, and would like help putting together comparable sales for the appeal, let me know.  I will be happy to do that for you.  There is no charge or obligation, we just want an opportunity to build relationships in our community.

And if, by some chance, you stumble on to this article outside of the state of Georgia and you need help, I would be happy to find someone in your area that could help you out.

Just another way we hope to help you make the wise move!  Take care and thanks for stopping by my blog.

As I was driving into the office today, I heard a national mortgage company advertising lender paid mortgage insurance, and I thought about how misleading the ad was to the public.

So, here is an overview of mortgage insurance.

What is mortgage insurance?  Basically, mortgage insurance protects the lender if you default on your loan.  It is not home owner's insurance in any way, and really offers the home owner no protection at all.  For a conventional loan, it is not required if you are putting down 20%.  For an FHA loan, the MI is always required.  And, for conventional loans, it is actually Private Mortgage Insurance, which is why it is abbreviated as PMI.  For FHA and USDA, it is just MI.  

PMI and MI can vary in terms of cost due to the following factors:  Loan type, Loan Amount, LTV, and credit score.  

PMI can be removed after a minimum of two years if the loan to value hits 78%.  That can happen from additional principle payments or appreciation.  Either way, you will likely have to have an appraisal from the banks approved list of appraisers.  In fact, they will most likely order the appraisal themselves.  You will also have had to have on time payments for at least 24 months.  

One hitch with FHA loans is that the MI cannot be removed.....ever.  This is a recent change, that is often misunderstood.

So, what's with lender paid PMI?  The lender makes the interest rate higher to pay for the PMI.  It will usually result in a lower payment versus a payment with normal PMI.  The hitch comes in that your rate will be locked in higher.  So, if you were to keep the loan for the full 30 years, you would actually pay more than if you had PMI that could be removed.  

The point is that the lender isn't paying it for you out of the goodness of their heart.  You pay a higher rate.  It may be worth it.  You may be able to afford a larger, nicer, more expensive home with lender paid MI.  But, just know going into it that there are pluses and minuses to this loan product.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to call me at 678-992-3817.  If you have feedback, please leave it below!

And, as always,  "Make the Wise Move".

You may already know all this information, but I run into a lot of clients that have questions about this.  Figured I would get it right from the horse's mouth.

Edited 10/01/2013- I was dead wrong yesterday.  


Well, no matter which side of the isle you are on, the government shutdown could affect you.   As far as Real Estate transactions go.... this is a big deal.

President Obama said specifically that "Federal loans for rural communities, small business owners, families buying a home will be frozen,"  


Yesterday, I went into each of the loan products and what the impact would be.  Well, if you aren't already in process, there will be significant delays regardless of the loan product.


Mortgage companies use a system to verify SSN's and another system to verify tax returns/income.  These systems are obviously run by the IRS.  And, these systems are currently shut down.


Until the government is started back up, cash offers should carry even more weight than normal.

One of the most asked questions I ever get.  

So, a while back, I started a series about what makes a good agent.  There are obviously two sides to a deal.  The agent that represents the buyer, known as a buyers agent or the selling agent.  Then, there is the agent that represents the seller, known as a listing agent.   

I wrote about some of the general things that makes a good agent with the part I of this series.  Then, I posted what makes a good buyer's agent.  Now, we will talk about what makes a good listing agent.

#1) Knowledge- I started to try to list out everything that a good agent should know.  And, well, it was a long list.  Here are the five major things that jumped out at me.  

Property value- You don't want to ask too much and have the listing go stale, and you also don't want to under price your home and leave money on the table.  (of course, in this market under priced homes are quickly bid up..so, believe it or not, it is even better to under price your home right now than to over price it)

Marketing-  How to get the most eyes on your property.  Yes, the listing services are a great start.  It is more than just that.  It is having a great website that ranks highly on Google.   It is featuring them on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com.  It is about getting them on Craigslist, Facebook, and Backpage.  Basically, everywhere you can get them.  Some agents feel it is a waste of time to run Craigslist and Backpage ads.  But, the first time homebuyer often starts there because they are comfortable with that sight.  They have looked for things there already.  Most people try the familiar first.  

Loan products and lenders- Why does this matter?  The seller isn't getting a loan.  The seller isn't buying the house.  Why should the listing agent care?  Well, there are many different loan programs out there.  And, so many things depend on the type of loan.  The listing agent should know the different types of loans and what the implications are.  The two biggest factors that change with loan types are time to get done and repairs required.  Some loan programs will require you to fix certain things.  So, you may be looking at two similar offers and decide based on price alone.  Only, one loan type may cost you thousands in repairs that the other would not have.   Oh, and of course, if the listing agent knows the loan types, then they can help you navigate those waters more smoothly and get the house closed on time.

Common negotiating strategies-  So many people think that the only thing that matters is price.  But, this couldn't be further from the truth.  Some buyers' agents actually overbid to get the house under contract, only to then negotiate the price during due diligence.  Some look to have ridiculous contingency periods that protect them long after what is reasonable and well into the realm of abusive.  Some overbid, knowing that the appraisal will knock it down.  Other than perhaps the first one, these are not 'improper'.  They are just strategies.  There are more, especially when you get into different types of sale.  Many negotiations are like chess matches.  The good agents see the board from many different angles.    

Contracts-  We use standardized forms.  However, so many agents have misconceptions about parts of the form.  It's as if we don't need to read and understand them, because it is a 'standard' contract.  And, due to this complacency, many agents put their clients in jeopardy by an improperly completed field.

#2) Communication-  This is one of the most common complaints I hear.  This is key.  Not only to the seller, but also to other agents.  I know how frustrating it can be calling a listing agent to show a home and not hearing back for days.  Or, calling with a question so that I can submit an offer and hearing nothing.  And, of course, communicating with the seller to let them know what is going on and what you are doing to get their house sold.

#3) Willingness to invest time, money and resources-  Listing agents are only paid if they sell the home.  Due to this, some are unwilling to invest the proper amount of time or, more importantly, money to getting the listing marketed correctly.  The shortcuts that they take will help their wallet, but it certainly doesn't help your home sell or sell for as much as possible. 

#4)  Knowing our own limitations-  I do not stage homes, nor do I take the photos that go on all my marketing.  I hire a certified staging specialist and a professional photographer.  Does this increase my expenses and decrease my bottom line?  Yes.  I could easily walk around and give you mediocre staging advice.  But, I know that homes sell better when staged.  And, I know that those photographs are what represents your home to millions of people.   This is so very important, especially in upper price ranges.  It isn't just about getting your home sold.  It is about getting the most for your home in the shortest amount of time.

#5)  Counsel-  Your agent is your advocate.  And, they should be willing to go to bat for you at all times.  That should never change.  They represent you in this transaction.  However, they should also be able to put things in perspective.  The other party may not be in the right.  However, it may cost you more in the long run to be right, than to let the other party have their way.  The agent has to be able to frame those conversations.  

Like I said at the beginning, there is a lot that goes into being a great listing agent.  It would be hard to pick the most important.  I supposed it would be integrity.  A person who has integrity would work on the rest because they would know how important each of these is.  

What do you think the most important attributes are?

What is a Due Diligence Contingency?
When going into a contract, there are several protections for the buyer.  This post will be covering the due diligence contingency.  IN other words, the deal is contingent on the buyer doing their due diligence.  Due diligence is defined:  Reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, esp. in buying or selling something.  

The due diligence contingency is active for a specified length of time.  This time is negotiable and can be any length that the parties agree on.  The seller will want this as short as possible and the buyer will want this as long as possible.  This length of time is called the due diligence period.

The easiest way to describe the due diligence period is a period of time that the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason.  This is the time that you will get your inspection completed, get any additional information about the HOA you need to know, and, well, do your due diligence.  In other words, discover any and all information that would cause or preclude you from buying the home.

The most common reason that someone terminates a contract during due diligence is that the inspection uncovers an issue that the seller is not willing to fix.  However, as mentioned above, the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason.  If at any point during the due diligence, the buyer changes their mind, they get their earnest money returned.

Don't hesitate to make an offer!
As many buyers, especially those purchasing below $150,000.00 realize, there is a lot of competition in the market right now.  There aren't enough homes being listed and those that are are getting put under contract within days, if not hours.  If you want to sleep on it, you won't have the opportunity to purchase it when you wake up in many cases.

So, right now, it is imperative that you put in an offer as quickly as possible, and use the due diligence period to fully investigate it and ensure you want to go forward.  

Word of caution:
Some REO companies do not allow for due diligence, they have an inspection period.  These are a bit more restrictive in the reasons you can terminate the contract.  However, these companies move slowly in responding.  You won't have signed contracts for a few days.  Until the contract is signed, it is not binding and you can terminate. 

Final word:
No one wants to rush the decision to purchase a home.  It is a huge purchase and you want to be sure that this is the home for you.  That said, you absolutely cannot handle these decisions the way we have traditionally handled them.  You can't 'think about it'.  You have to act.  Be decisive and know you have protections if you discover something that makes the house not work for you.

Oh, and of course, make sure you have an agent that knows how to protect you, and someone that can explain all the contingencies.


Happy Hunting and good luck!