Three Home Buyer Mistakes That Could Cost You Thousands!

There are a ton of mistakes that can happen when buying a home for the first time. Here are the three most common.
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I wanted to reach out to you today and discuss some bad buying habits I’ve been noticing. It’s typically the first-time homebuyers making these mistakes so if you are one of those buyers or know someone who is, we have some advice to share. Avoid these mistakes at all cost:

1. Not getting pre-approved before looking at homes. It can be tempting to just head right out to a home or start searching online, but know this: if you plan on buying a home with a mortgage, you’re going to need a loan. The only way you will then know what kind of loan (and home) you can afford is by meeting with a lender and getting pre-approved. Skipping this step will only lead to heartache, as you could fall in love with a home that’s way out of your price range without even realizing it.

2. Choosing the wrong lender. We always align ourselves with great local lenders and we want our buyers to do the same. The problem with a national or Internet lender is that if they drop the ball in one area and the closing is delayed, they will end up costing you a lot more than they initially saved you. A respected local lender won’t let your closing get delayed.

You need a market expert as an agent.

3. Choosing the wrong agent. You need someone who is an expert on your specific market. I couldn’t sell homes in Atlanta. I sell homes in Athens because I know exactly how things work here. I’ve been helping people buy and sell homes for years in this market and there is no replacement for that kind of knowledge and experience. You need an agent who can find you homes as soon as they come on the market—sometimes even before they are listed.

If you avoid these mistakes, you’ll be starting off on the right foot and be one step closer to a smooth closing. If you have any questions for me or want to know how we can help you avoid these mistakes and more, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

We Have Exciting News To Share With You!

Are the rumors true? Have we decided to branch out into property management? Well, I’ve got some exciting news to share with you.
Looking to sell a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here for a Home Price  Evaluation
Looking to buy a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here to perform a full home search

You may have been wondering—are the rumors true? Are we doing property management? I’m excited to announce that we have opened up a second brokerage that will focus on strictly managing rental properties for clients. We’ve named our sister company Iron Horse Property Management.

I had clients come to me for years asking me to branch out into property management, and I was always hesitant because my main focus was on sales. I wanted to be great at sales and make that the main focus of Woodall Realty Group.

Now I feel like the timing is better than it was in the past. The reason for this is our sales team is staffed with four full-time agents in addition to myself, our systems and processes are really dialed in, and we helped over 200 families last year. We expect to help even more families this year, and our business is steady enough that I felt we could finally branch out into property management.

A big concern that I've had was that I didn’t have the time during the day to focus on the daily aspects of moving tenants in, handling repairs, moving tenants out, and all the things that come along with property management. My solution was to find and hire a great property manager who has years of experience and, in my opinion, is one of the best in Athens, Jennifer McMahon.

You'll get the same great service through Iron Horse Property Management that you get through Woodall Realty Group.

Jennifer has worked with two other property managers in Athens over the years and has done a great job. She’s a go-getter, a hard worker, and she will be handling the day-to-day aspects of the property management. She’ll be taking care of all of the things that you as a landlord don’t want to do and help things run more smoothly.

So, now we will be able to offer the same great service through Iron Horse Property Management that you get through Woodall Realty Group. If you have rental property that you’re managing yourself, or you’re dissatisfied with your current property management, give me or Jennifer a call.

Our goal with Iron Horse Property Management is to give you peace of mind while maximizing the return on your investment. We want to make owning rental property a completely passive investment for you so that you just receive income each month and not have to worry about it.

If you or someone you know has questions about Iron Horse Property Management or any other concerns, give us a call. We would love to be here for you.

How to Stop Paying PMI Today

If you put less than 20% down on your home purchase, you are paying private mortgage insurance. However, there is a way to get rid of it.
Looking to sell a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here for a Home Price  Evaluation
Looking to buy a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here to perform a full home search

I’ve got a tip to share with you today that will potentially save you thousands of dollars on your mortgage payments.

If you’ve bought your house in the last decade but put less than 20% down on it, you’re probably paying private mortgage insurance, or PMI. At this point, you’re probably not even thinking about it, as it is rolled up into your monthly payment. It costs you $100, maybe $150 per month.

However, once you pay down the balance on your mortgage to a 78% loan-to-value ratio or once the value of your home increases enough to cross that threshold, you can eliminate having to pay PMI for the remainder of your loan term.

It’s a smart idea to have your home re-appraised.

How do you do this? Just contact your mortgage lender and ask them to have the home appraised once again to eliminate your PMI. If you bought your home in the last 10 years, especially around 2011 or 2012, it has risen significantly in value. If you’re currently paying PMI, you should look into eliminating it. It will save you thousands of dollars over the loan’s term.

If you have any questions for us or we can do anything for you or anyone you know, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.