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Hello world!
Categories: Uncategorized
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
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Saw 3 new listings in Dunwoody on Caravan today
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News, Dunwoody
One of the best things about Tuesdays are Open Houses, aka Caravans, for Realtors to preview new listings. It’s a great way for Realtors to see the homes … keeping all the information top of mind for Buyers. The 3 homes I saw today were on 7520 Mount Vernon Rd, 5258Wyntercreek Drive, and 1123Atcheson.
- 7520 Mount Vernon Rd is a wonderful ranch and boasts over an acre of privacy.
- 5258 Wyntercreek Drive is a fabulous brick traditional in one of the best Swim Tennis neighborhoods in Dunwoody … feeds to award winning Austin Elementary.
- 1123 Atcheson is a beautiful brick, spacious home with a backyard pool nestled in Dunwoody Station … feeds to award winning Austin Elementary.
All great Dunwoody homes for sale … if you’d like more information about any of them, please contact me!
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Wine & Cheese Open! 5 -7 Wednesday May 12 … 1696 Chateau Drive in Dunwoody
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News
Come see one of our new fabulous Dunwoody listings! We are hosting a Wine & Cheese Open House this Wednesday, May 12th from 5 – 7pm. The address is 1696 Chateau Drive! This renovated home is nestled in one of the most popular Swim Tennis neighborhoods and features a brand new top of the line kitchen! Have a glass of wine and tour your new home! See you then! 
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How to sell your home in 30 days or less
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News
YES, it is possible to sell your home in 30 days, even in a Buyers Market! And I am going to share with you how to do it…
- Price it right – Consult with your Realtor – Realtors have the most information, ie Market Statistics (Sold Properties, Pendings, Expireds, Actives, absorption rates). This information is a powerful tool. When pricing a property, it must be within 5% of what BUYERS perceive its value to be. If it is overpriced, you may have Lookers, but no Buyers.
- Condition it right - Aside from price, condition is the only other factor that one can affect. Having the condition just right is a very important element when getting your home to sell, so, my first advice again is to consult a Realtor … Realtors know exactly what Buyers are looking for and how to translate this into getting your property ready for the market. I can say from a statistical standpoint, homes that are turn key, or move in ready, sell the quickest and for the most amount of money. Ask your Realtor to give you a detailed list of items they’d suggest addressing. I never would advise a total renovation, however, don’t be quick to dismiss other updates a Realtor may suggest … ie, hardware & lighting improvements, paint, carpeting, super cleaning, and probably MOST IMPORTANTLY their encouragement of enlisting the help of a professional Stager; many Realtors actually have staging already built into their listing program. Staged properties typically sell within 30 days and for 97% of the list price.
- Location it right- Though there is virtually nothing you can do to alter the location of your property, what you can do is point out the positives of your location. Consult with your Realtor … your Realtor will no doubt market your home to the best of its advantage, whether you are in a Swim Tennis Neighborhood, walking distance to Marta, or in a great school district … whatever the case, always emphasize the positives of your location, and of course, minimize the negatives …
There is a Buyer for every property. Keep in mind the object of the game is find the Buyer that will purchase your home for the most amount of money, in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of stress. Good luck and happy selling!
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January – Upswing of Sellers & Buyers want to take advantage of the tax incentives
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News
I was just talking with my husband, Greg, about the upswing in showings we are having in our Listings! And our phone is ringing with Buyers! Not sure if its everyone is receiving their W2′s – realizing they need to buy a home to get some shelter from taxes – or – more than likely, they are out shopping for a new home to take advantage of the Tax Incentive – you have to be under contract by April 28, 2010 … whichever the reason, NOW is the time for Sellers to Sell and Buyers to Buy … see below for the details! Take advantage of this awesome Atlanta Real Estate Market! We’d love to help you! Contact us … The Bankston Group | Keller Williams Atlanta Perimeter
The Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit
In addition to extending the First-Time Home Buyer Credit of $8,000, Congress also created a tax incentive for repeat home buyers.
Effective Dates: purchases made after November 6, 2009, and closes by June 30, 2010 (based on a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010).
Who is eligible? a person who has owned and resided in the same home for at least 5 of the 8 years prior to buying a new home. The new home must be used as a principal residence. The buyer can not purchase from family members or a spouse’s family members.
How much is the credit? 10% of the purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500. Homes over $800,000 are not eligible.
Does the taxpayer have to pay the credit back? Not if the home is owned and occupied for at least 36 months.
Income Limits: $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. There is a phase-out phase range for single incomes up to $145,000 and joint incomes up to $245,000.
* The tax credit is a straight dollar-for-dollar reduction of your income tax bill
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Tis the season to sell Atlanta Real Estate
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News
People always need to move, even around the Holidays…in fact, I’d offer that the most urgent and busy time of the Real Estate year is around the Holidays…I know what you are thinking….you wouldn’t want to sell your home at Thanksgiving or Christmas because you don’t believe there are any buyers right now. That simply isn’t true. Many job offers and job re-locations happen at the end of the year. People that buy homes at the end of the year are urgent and they also have a definite time table in mind. When we consult with home owners considering selling, they usually want their home to be on the market at the 1st of the year… we say, why wait? Right now, there are fewer homes on the market than there will be in the Spring…meaning less competition. Plus, the buyers out there now are urgent…remember? Because they need to get in by the start of the year for their new job in Atlanta. We suggest that you do yourself a favor, and get your property listed now. And did I mention that buyers also love the warmth that holiday decorations give a home! Good luck! Bet it will be a good Christmas!
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Home Buyers Seeking Dunwoody Club Forest
Categories: Dunwoody
It’s great when we have Buyers that know exactly what they want…because its so much easier to find something when you know what you are looking for…makes sense, right? Until you consider that sometimes, in real estate, there is just not enough inventory, or the right inventory, for your Buyers to select from…
Most ‘stores’ always carry a full inventory of their entire product line. In the real estate market, inventory is never the same from day to day. And sometimes, while your Buyers know exactly what they want to buy, a property like the one they want is simply just not for sale, at least right now. Sometimes, it’s just about ‘timing’…
Well, we can’t sit around and just wait for ‘timing’. Sometimes we need to create our own ‘timing’. So today, I picked up the phone and started calling home owners that live in the subdivision that our clients want to move into … Dunwoody Club Forest. In case you aren’t familiar with Dunwoody Club Forest… its only one of the very best neighborhoods in all of Dunwoody, Georgia – located just off of Mt. Vernon Road, its convenient to everything….its well established – built as one of the premier subdivisions of Dunwoody in the 70′s… and who could argue with its walking distance to Dunwoody Country Club? Not to mention its award winning school system: Vanderlyn Elementary, Peachtree Charter Middle School, Dunwoody Elementary and Dunwoody High School. Tree lined streets, large homes, and just a friendly Southern charm, Dunwoody Club Forest residents enjoy a lifestyle others dream about…simply put – a very nice place to live!
Anyhow… I asked these home owners that I called if they were considering selling … or if they knew of any of their neighbors that were considering selling. At the end of the day, I talked with lots of nice people, but none of whom are planning to move in the near future… although they all did say they’d keep an eye open for me and call me if they heard of anyone thinking of selling…Some laughed and said they were never moving! They love their neighborhood and home that much!
So, if you hear of anyone that’s planning on selling their Dunwoody Club Forest home, call me at 770-676-9158 – it is much appreciated!!
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Dirty houses don’t sell
Categories: Why Buyers Buy
We just showed a few homes in Dunwoody today to a BUYER and what we heard just reinforced what we already knew – dirty houses don’t sell. Nobody likes to walk into a house that smells, is dirty, has cobwebs, grease on the kitchen counters, the carpeting is stained, moldy grout in the baths, and you can’t see through the windows…
When a home is not clean, it distracts the buyer from noticing what counts – the best selling features aren’t even noticed – floor plan, square footage, design elements – because the BUYER is fixated on the dirt and the unpleasant odors and just can’t get past it.
By far, when preparing a home for sale, the best money invested is with a professional cleaning service. Everything needs to be super clean – starting with the kitchen, including the refrigerator, onto the baths, including the grout, the floors and baseboards, the ceiling fans, window treatments – especially when the curtains hold all sorts of odors – from smoke to pets…
According to the National Association of Realtors, BUYERS are used to seeing as much as 25 percent of available inventory as new. Brand new means clean. That’s the competition, and the closer the home owner / SELLER can get the BUYER to think of the house as new, the likelier the property will sell.
More than 33 percent of home buyers prefer a home less than 10 years old, yet the typical home purchased by all buyers is 12 years of age. This tells us that condition is very very important. And if you take a community like Dunwoody, where the average age of a home is 30 plus years, there could be a lot of layers of potential dirt to be dealt with in order to make a home to feel fresh and clean. So here’s the ROI… for every dollar spent on cleaning could mean thousands kept as equity…and who doesn’t want to get the most amount possible on the sale of their home?
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Stressed over homebuying?
Categories: Atlanta Real Estate News, Buying Your Home
Anytime you have change going on in your life, you are subject to stress. It just so happens that moving, that is selling and or buying a home, is one of the biggest stresses that you’ll have in your entire life. Being Realtors, we have the opportunity to be in the midst, or height, of the most stressed time in our clients’ lives. Emotions run high. Time and logistical constraints need to be addressed. Financial and legal documents have to be managed. There’s much to do when real estate is being exchanged…so follow this helpful advice from The National Association of Realtors and you’ll alleviate most all of your stress when home buying:
1. Find a real estate agent who you connect with. Home buying is not only a big financial commitment, but also an emotional one. It’s critical that the REALTOR® you chose is both highly skilled and a good fit with your personality.
2. Remember, there’s no “right” time to buy, just as there’s no perfect time to sell. If you find a home now, don’t try to second-guess interest rates or the housing market by waiting longer – you risk losing out on the home of your dreams. The housing market usually doesn’t change fast enough to make that much difference in price, and a good home won’t stay on the market long.
3. Don’t ask for too many opinions. It’s natural to want reassurance for such a big decision, but too many ideas from too many people will make it much harder to make a decision. Focus on the wants and needs of your immediate family – the people who will be living in the home.
4. Accept that no house is ever perfect. If it’s in the right location, the yard may be a bit smaller than you had hoped. The kitchen may be perfect, but the roof needs repair. Make a list of your top priorities and focus in on things that are most important to you. Let the minor ones go.
5. Don’t try to be a killer negotiator. Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate process, but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price or by refusing to budge on your offer may cost you the home you love. Negotiation is give and take.
6. Remember your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Don’t get so caught up in the physical aspects of the house itself – room size, kitchen, etc. – that you forget about important issues as noise level, location to amenities, and other aspects that also have a big impact on your quality of life.
7. Plan ahead. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage, investigate home insurance, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to sellers.
8. Factor in maintenance and repair costs in your post-home buying budget. Even if you buy a new home, there will be costs. Don’t leave yourself short and let your home deteriorate.
9. Accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will probably pass. Buying a home, especially for the first time, is a big financial commitment. But it also yields big benefits. Don’t lose sight of why you wanted to buy a home and what made you fall in love with the property you purchased.
10. Choose a home first because you love it; then think about appreciation. While U.S. homes have appreciated an average of 5.4 percent annually over from 1998 to 2002, a home’s most important role is to serve as a comfortable, safe place to live.
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Open House in Sandy Springs Sunday, July 12th 2-4
Categories: Featured Listings, Open House
We are holding an OPEN HOUSE this Sunday, July 12th from 2 – 4 pm in Wyngate at Spalding in Sandy Springs! This gated community is a swim / tennis neighborhood and is located conveniently from Roswell Road near Spalding Drive. This is a brand new listing so come check it out! A great location in Sandy Springs, this home is offered at 325k … it is light, bright and open and has 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths…see the virtual tour below and make sure to visit us tomorrow!
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