Can a Discount Broker Save You Money?

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!

For a free copy of our marketing plan, visit www.TheJustinWoodallGroup.com

When Should You Buy a Home in Athens?

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!

How to Prepare Your Home for Resale

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.