Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
I’m here with my whole team today to wish you all a happy holiday season! We’ve had an excellent, busy year. We’d like to give thanks to the Athens community for your endless support and continual business. We’ve sold more houses this year compared to any other year! Thank you to our friends, family, and clients. We owe it to people like you! You make it happen.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Athens! We appreciate and look forward to working with you in 2016.
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Many people are unaware of the difference between the MLS and websites like Zillow and Trulia. There are a few things you should know about these sites before you begin searching for a home.
A long time ago, when brokers first started selling real estate, they were on their own and worked to connect buyers and sellers the best that they could. There was no rhyme or reason to how they did it and there was no process they followed. Eventually, brokers got together and agreed that sharing information was a great way to get a lot more business.
Eventually, this partnership evolved to the point that there was an MLS book that was published once a week or once a month with every available listing. After some time, this service moved online and became the MLS we know today. It allows agents to post a lot more photos and descriptive information, and makes sharing listings between brokers a whole lot easier.
Once the Internet became the primary source of information, various other home search sites popped up, including Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. Brokers then began to share information with these sites as well as the MLS in order to give their listings more exposure.
The problem with these sites is the data feed. They are often inaccurate and outdated, as they do not get the same kind of close attention that the MLS does. To get accurate information, you're much better off talking directly to an agent who has full access to the MLS than you are using a third-party site.
If you want to browse homes on our MLS, visit AthensAreaHomeSearch.com. Or, just give us a call and let us know exactly what you're looking for. A few times, we've helped clients find the right home before they were even put on the MLS. It gives you a distinct advantage to work with us, as we'll hook you up with homes that aren't yet listed! Give us a call anytime. We're always here to help!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Today, we'll offer tips on how to winterize your home.
First off, if you have a vacant property, you need to think about whether or not to keep the water on. This could especially concern a vacation or investment property, for example. If the water is on, make sure the heat is on so that the pipes don't freeze. Pipes in the basement or exterior walls need to be properly insulated.
However, even if you leave the heat on to protect your pipes, keep in mind that the power could go out as well. We recommend you winterize any vacant house. Most home inspectors can do this for around $100. They come out and drain pipes, put antifreeze in traps, and turn the water off.
Now, when it comes to the house you live in, make sure that the heating system is serviced before you need to use it. Insulate outside pipes to avoid water damage. Keep firewood, batteries, flashlights, and candles handy in case the power goes out.
If you have any questions about preparing your home for winter or about real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so
you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may
also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Now that the market is improving, we're seeing a lot of new Realtors and agents coming into the business. The sad reality is that most of these agents won't be in the business one or two years from now. Why is that?
My opinion is that new agents need training and support, and there's a lot of basics that they don't get with certain brokerages. Make sure you get an expert - don't just hire a friend or family member to support their new business.
I want to see agents be successful, but they need training and support. If you know anyone who is just thinking about entering the business, have them contact me. I can certainly help them out and make sure they get what they need in order to stay in this business.
I've learned over the years that if you work hard and put in the hours, you'll be successful; there's enough business to go around. I'd much rather cooperate with a knowledgeable agent than someone who has not been properly trained.
If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Today we are talking all about curb appeal. A lot of people ask us if curb appeal is very important when selling. You better believe it is. The moment a buyer pulls into your driveway, they are going to start immediately making judgements and assessments about your house. If your home looks bad from the street, you’ve got to compensate those negative emotions on the inside of your home, which is tough to do. You are better off making sure the outside of your home looks just as good as the inside, and let the buyer see the home as a full picture.
If a buyer doesn’t have a good feeling about your house from the start, they are less likely to make an offer on it, and will probably move on to another. Today I want to give you just a few small tips that you can use to make a big impact when selling. These are very simple things to do, but you’d be amazed at how many sellers don’t pay attention. Here are our top 5 tips:
Trim the shrubbery - maybe put some mulch out as well.
Cut the grass.
Add colorful flowers to your landscaping.
Clean the roof of the home.
Pressure wash the house, specifically the front porch. You want the first thing buyers see when walking in to be shimmering and shining.
Some of these are very simple, but it’s the small things that make the biggest impact when selling. Any home will sell in any condition, but to sell for top dollar, you’ve got to be in top condition. If you have any questions for us, shoot us over an email or give us a call. We would love to hear from you!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
I recently found a good video on HGTV that I thought would be helpful to you if you're preparing to sell your home. It's essential that when you show your home to buyers, it's clean, organized, and decluttered. You'll want to empty out your closets, or at the very least, get them organized. One thing you can do to get organized is to put up shoe hangers in your doors, and store everyday items inside them such as cleaning supplies, utensils, or anything else that you can fit in them.
Another way to cut down on clutter is to get organized. Use labels, or pick up storage bins to keep items like cords or wires in. A tip for organizing your closet is to divide your clothes into four different sections: hang, sell, donate, keep, and fold. Once you have something marked out for every category, you can then organize your closet in any way you see fit. Here's an extra tip: you can use belt hangers to hang your necklaces and other jewelry. I just thought this video would be useful for organizing your home whether you're selling or if you just want to tidy up a bit. If you need any assistance with staging, decluttering, or selling, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Today, we tackle a few very important topics. Many people are unaware of what an appraisal is and why it's necessary during a real estate transaction.
When an appraisal is ordered by the bank during the selling process, a licensed appraiser will perform a report to determine whether the sale price on the contract is a fair market price.Usually, this is just a formality, and the sale price comes in close to what the home is appraised for. However, sometimes issues arise.
While the TRUE market value is what a seller is willing to accept and what a buyer is willing to pay for a home, the bank still wants to make sure they are protected from lending too much. The appraiser comes in to offer a third-party opinion of the contract price and determines whether the value can be justified.
Occasionally, we see the appraised value come in less than the purchase price.Why do we see that? Well, in a rising market where prices are rising and homes are going under contract for more money, appraisers are bound to use past sales history; if home values are rising quickly, by the time an appraiser gets their hands on past sales history, the value of the home in question has already risen substantially. This results in an under-appraised home, and since the bank will only loan money based on that appraised price, this creates a problem for the borrower who needs the full amount to complete the sale.
If this happens, there are a few different ways this could play out.One thing that can happen is the buyer can dispute the appraisal.If it's found that poor comparables were used to find the value, sometimes the appraisal will be adjusted to make it come in at the value it should. In other circumstances, we've seen the borrower leave their lender and go to a different one and start the process over. Often, the second appraiser will get the value to come in where it needs to be.
The appraisal is an opinion of value, and sometimes two different appraisers find different values.Typically, the buyer doesn't have to leave their lender, as appraisers will sometimes adjust their report if it doesn't come in where it needs to be. Also, the seller will sometimes agree to decrease the price of the home to the appraised value. Another option is for the buyer to agree to pay cash for the difference between the appraised value and the seller's price. Of course, meeting in the middle is yet another way to avoid having the deal fall apart.
Most of the time, we see homes appraise, but it's better to know your options should a low appraisal come in.If you have questions about this topic, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're proud to be your Athens real estate resource!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Hey there everyone, welcome back to my blog. Today I want to start off by apologizing to you all. I made a commitment a few years back to produce great, educational videos and send them out to you twice a month. I have not given up my goal, but I have failed you lately. I haven't produced anything over the last month, and the only excuse I have is that we have been busy.
Today, I am getting back on the horse, and I am back with some very useful info for you about the Athens real estate market. So far, 2015 has been a much busier year in the market than 2014 was. If you look at the numbers for Athens and Clark Counties, sales are way up. Last year, through June, we had 497 residential sales. This year, through June, that number was 612. In addition to this, the average sales price in Athens has risen from $162,000 to $177,000 in just the last year!
In Oconee County, the number of sales has been pretty consistent with what we saw last year, but prices are rising significantly. The average sale price has moved up from $296,000 to $315,000 in the last year. In Athens County as a whole, home prices are up by about 10%.
If you are thinking of buying or selling in the near future, now is a great time. If you have any questions for us, or need assistance buying or selling, we would love to help. Give us a call or send us an email, and we will talk to you soon!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Hey everyone, today I want to talk about discount brokers. I want to make sure the people I know don't fall victim to what they think a discount broker can do for them, only to be disappointed in the end.
Now that the market is improving, we are seeing more and more of these discount brokers enter the market. A lot of them are offering specials, such as listing and selling your home for $999. You may think that is a great deal, but we want to tell you what you really get when you hire one of these guys.
You get a picture, an online listing, and that's' pretty much it. You write the check, they collect the money, and they're gone. The picture quality may be terrible. You are more than likely just paying somebody $1,000 to enter your home into a database and walk away. These companies make their money off that $999 investment and make little money anywhere else. They want to sign up as many people as possible and don't care about the outcome of the home sale. They actually have more incentive to take someone else's listing that hasn't paid yet than your own.
If they couldn't sell when the market was down, they aren't going to be able to sell for top dollar now. Our team has consistently outperformed the market, and our average sale price is $13,000 higher than the market average. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Today we are excited to answer another one of your great questions. Our question comes from Sharon, who asks, "Should I wait until I've paid off all my consumer debt before buying a house?" Honestly Sharon, in my opinion, it comes down to your financial philosophy. Some are conservative, some are liberal, and it depends on where you fit on that spectrum. If you're a little more liberal, you can find the money and get a loan, sometimes with 100% financing.
I will caution you, though, often times you can get a loan for much more than you really need or are comfortable paying. Use what you are comfortable with as a monthly payment as a guide. If you are more on the conservative side like Dave Ramsey, the advice is always to do a 15-year mortgage, and always do a 20% down payment. It's a good way to get that mortgage knocked out quick and put you in the place where you won't have to write a check when it comes to closing. I hope this advice helps you when it comes to deciding for yourself what course of action is best. If you have any questions at all, feel free to give me a call or send me an email, and I would be happy to answer them. We may even answer your question on our next video!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Hey there, it's Justin Woodall, your trusted Athens real estate adviser. A few weeks ago, I sent out a video asking for your questions and we are here to answer one of them today.
Alex, from Bishop, asked, "How do I increase the value of my home for future resale?"
Now, Alex hasn't been in his home for very long, and the house he bought was updated very nicely, so he is lucky. He should be in good shape for a while, as long as he doesn't neglect the house. If something needs fixing, take care of it, and stay vigilant about keeping the home in good shape.
As the years go on, there may be some updating you need to do, but if you are thinking about reselling in the next few years, you should be just fine. There are some things you can do with staging and photography to get a better resale value when you are ready to sell, give me a call when you're ready and we will get everything figured out.
As always, if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them in a future video. Give me a call or send me an email, I would love to hear from you.
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
As the spring selling season approaches here in Athens, I would like to share some tips with you on how you can best prepare your home for sale. Hopefully these tips will aid you in selling quickly and for more money.
Declutter: You want your home to be presentable to potential buyers. Instead of having them distracted by collections, antiques, or awards, allow them to see your home for what it is. Someone once proposed the idea to me that 50% of all the things on your shelves should be taken down and stored away when you're preparing to show your home. This is probably a good measure to follow, because you want your house as clean and organized as possible.
Clean, Clean, Clean: This is pretty self explanatory. Buyers just like to see clean homes. I might even recommend renting a power washer for the outside of your home.
Remodels / Update: There is a lot of new construction being built here in Athens, so to compete with these new homes you may need to spruce up your property a bit. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars, but you might want to consider getting granite counter tops in your kitchen or new hardwood flooring. Kitchen and bathroom remodeling is what buyers like to see, and money spent on those repairs is usually well worth it.
New Paint: Repainting the inside and outside of your home is relatively inexpensive, and it usually has a big payoff. Shoot for more neutral colors like earth tones, or light and bright colors because they tend to be inviting to buyers.
Landscaping and curb appeal: Curb appeal is still important although most buyers today are on the internet. You may want to plant some new flowers, trim bushes and trees, and perhaps even buy a new front door. A new entryway can really transform the whole look of your house, and it's also a relatively inexpensive project.
Hopefully these tips can be valuable to you if you have decided to sell your home in Athens this spring. It's a great time to sell because affordability is on the rise, so we can expect a lot of activity from buyers. Please contact me if you need any assistance with getting your house ready to sell this spring.
Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia?Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You
may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling
consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Today I'm going to be giving a recap of how the Athens real estate market fared in 2014. I know it's a bit late to do this, but we've been incredibly busy so far this year, which is a good sign for our local market. Overall, the market has been improving. Here are some specifics for you:
The average sales price rose nearly 10%, and this may be due to the lack of foreclosure sales from a few years ago.
There were 47% fewer foreclosure sales, which is a great sign for our strengthening market.
New construction has increased by 13% in 2014 compared to 2013.
Home prices rose by 5% in Clarke County, the numbers of transactions rose, and the amount of new construction went down. Foreclosure sales also fell by 42%.
Oconee County experienced a 4% growth in average sales price, transactions remained steady, and new construction has risen by about 9%. Prices for new construction have also risen by 8%. Foreclosure sales also dropped 41%, which is a good sign of market recovery.
Overall we're seeing fewer foreclosures, more homes being built, and the market generally seems to be improving. Now is also a great time to buy with low interest rates and new loan products from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We can refer you to some great lenders if you'd like.
If you ever have any questions or need any assistance with Athens real estate, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
