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New Year Brings Opportunity for Home Shopping Bargains - 2007-12-30 |
The first two months of the year are traditionally among the slowest in the real estate industry, with sellers being advised to wait for spring while buyers aim to pick off bargains.
And with the current real estate slowdown in full bloom, I agree that this is a great time to be a buyer. If you find yourself in the position of considering a "next home" purchase, here are some realities to consider while pondering your decision:
* The Atlanta metro area is in a solid buyer's market, meaning there is more supply of homes for sale than there are buyers like you.
As a result, sellers who need to sell are more flexible than they've been in years. Don't be afraid to ask for concessions like seller contributions to closing expenses. Also, items of seller personal property, such as appliances or window treatments, may be more negotiable today than they might have been in years past.
My advice is to identify those items that would be most helpful to you in setting up your new home, and ask that they be included in the purchase price of the house.
* Don't confuse the concept of fair market value with the seller's asking price. Instead, try to arm yourself with two very important facts when considering making an offer.
First, you need to know what similar homes have sold for over the past six to twelve months. And second, you must learn what's on the market for sale today in nearby neighborhoods.
Even though the overall trend of home prices in the metro area may be headed up, it is entirely possible that the trend in your target neighborhood may be moving the other way, at least temporarily, and you can take advantage of that trend.
For example, if a neighborhood you like has recently seen a large number of homes listed for sale, that factor can drive down average resale prices until the market normalizes. If you buy during that particular down trend, you can pick up a bargain.
* Don't try to time the real estate market.
In other words, don't fool yourself into believing that prices are likely to be lower in the future than they are today, so it's better to wait a while and see what happens.
Even if home prices were falling, trying to guess when the bottom will occur is nothing more than gambling, and you can't know when we've hit bottom until after it happens.
Furthermore, interest rates are particularly attractive right now, and that won't be the case forever. Interest rates tend to go up and down in cycles, and most observers agree that we are near the bottom of this rate cycle. By locking in a fixed rate now, you guarantee yourself no increase in payments for fifteen or thirty years, whichever you choose, and you always have the option to refinance should rates dip even lower.
* Don't confuse an owner who puts up a "for sale" sign with a seller who actually needs to sell.
This is a key point. Many owners who list their homes for sale are simply testing the waters. If a buyer comes along who happens to meet their asking price, then they are willing to sell. In the meantime, if they can't get close to the price they seek, the owner is content to continue their occupancy indefinitely.
In contrast, the great bargains most often grow out of a listing where the seller is highly motivated to be done with the house, and he needs a sale right now.
A good example is a seller whose financial condition no longer allows him to keep his loan payments current, and he is facing the prospect of losing his home to foreclosure. As the days go by and the date of the foreclosure auction nears, the seller's motivation to sell increases exponentially.
* Know that the absolute best bargains to be had in this market are likely to be houses that no one else wants to own.
I recently bought a three bedroom, two bath house in a nice neighborhood in metro Atlanta for $68,500. Most homes in the area would appraise for $125,000 or more, some much more. I got a great deal on this house, not because I am a powerful negotiator. The truth is that no one wanted to deal with this house except me.
The deceased owner had moved to a nursing home several years earlier, the house was totally neglected and abused in his absence, and was literally uninhabitable on the date I purchased it. The family simply wanted to be done with the house, and could not face the task of cleaning and repairing the property in order to get closer to market value.
And here's my most important piece of advice for getting a good deal:
* See a lot of houses and make a lot of offers.
Your agent may want to kill you, but by seeing a lot of houses, you will develop a good sense for the market in which you want to live. And by making a lot of offers, you will be able to separate the sellers who truly need to make a sale from those that are merely testing the waters.
The next three to six months may offer a unique opportunity for buyers who are willing to be patient and who are willing to buy what others don't want.
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Upcoming Events
John Adams Presents
LANDLORD SURVIVAL TRAINING
with John Adams
Tuesday, February 28th
Being a landlord can be a rewarding experience. It can also be a difficult one if you don't have the knowledge and understanding of what the process requires.
Few schools offer degrees in property management, so most landlords learn "on-the-job" through acquired knowledge and on-the-job experience, essentially re-inventing the wheel. This is an expensive and depressing way to learn anything.
Whether you're a full-time landlord or just getting ready to purchase your first rental property, whether you are a licensed Georgia real estate professional or an accidental landlord, this seminar will help you improve your property's value, increase your cash flow and decrease your expenses, from attracting (and retaining) good tenants to maintaining your property to understanding your rights and obligations under the law.
For more details and to register click HERE
PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION WORKSHOP
with John Adams
Tuesday, March 27th
One of the significant annual expenses faced by any Georgia property owner is ad valorem property tax. Depending on where you live, it can be as high as three percent of the property's fair market value, and it must be paid year after year after year.
As a result, efforts to minimize this expense are not only worthwhile, they are encouraged by Georgia law. The phrase "ad valorem" means that each property is taxed based only on its value, and no one is required to pay a penny more than the minimum the law demands.
At the Property Tax Reduction Workshop, real estate expert John Adams will review the system he has used for over thirty years to reduce valuations and assessments in Georgia counties and municipalities, saving himself literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.
In this 3 hour information packed seminar, John will teach you how to:
1. Understand the legal process of Property Tax Assessment
2. Meet the newly uniform Tax Deadlines
3. File your own Property Tax Return with a realistic valuation
4. Document your PT-50R with facts to support your case
5. Proactively meet with your Appraiser to reach an agreement
6. Protest your Notice of Assessment in an Intelligent manner
7. Give the Assessor an Opportunity to Save Face
8. Appeal to your Board of Equalization, in person or by mail
9. Make Your Case to the BOE
10. Take Your Case to Superior Court if necessary
If you are not doing all these steps now, you are likely costing yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars a year. If you own just one house, you could easily save over a thousand dollars over the next three years. If you own properties valued collectively over a million dollars, you are literally throwing away your profits year after year.
For more details and to register click HERE
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