Welcome back!
Thanksgiving already. Hard to believe 2009 is almost over. It’s time for some turkey, time to give thanks and time for some extra football. It’s certainly a time of year when we get to spend time with friends and family and realize that we are fortunate.
But for some savvy shoppers, this is also the time of year to prepare to assault the stores on what has become known as Black Friday. Now while you may be looking to take advantage of the latest deals, keep in mind that not all deals are found in the stores.
For example, you can find lots of great deals online.
Another option is in the Atlanta real estate market. Home prices have been reduced, interest rates are phenomenal and if you’re a first-time homebuyer you can qualify for $8,000 and if you’re a move-up homebuyer you can qualify for $6,500.
These kind of deals are going to be hard to beat in the stores or even online. To make your Black Friday shopping spree, easier, we’ve compiled up-to-date lists of Atlanta short sales as well as foreclosures in Atlanta. We’ve also broken the list down to include some other popular communities in metro Atlanta.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the Atlanta Black Friday deals in the real estate market, be sure to contact us for your free buyer consultation.
It’s often the subject of the water cooler talk…the co-worker who just got a steal on a foreclosure. Now you may be in the market, having been looking at Roswell homes for sale.
Certainly, foreclosures are dominating the national and local housing market. Currently, there are 1.5 million such homes for sale, and more are expected to be available soon. That provides both opportunities and pitfalls for bargain hunters.
But before you jump into this with both feet, make sure you’ve taken the time to understand what it means to buy a foreclosure and make sure you’re represented by a local Realtor who can advise you throughout the process. Here are five tips to consider to successfully buy Roswell foreclosure home.
1. Contact your Realtor
This may seem simple, but local Realtors that are active in the market follow the Roswell home inventory closely and know when a great deal pops up. Their working knowledge of the local market provides you with a huge advantage.
2. Get pre-approved with your lender
With foreclosures, you’ll find being pre-approved is a two-step process. You’ll want to get pre-approved with your preferred lender prior to starting your home search. This sets the benchmark for what homes you can afford and what your monthly payment would approximate.
Second, when you’ve identified a Roswell foreclosure that you want to make an offer, you’ll generally need to get pre-approved with the bank’s preferred lender. You are not obligated to use them, but banks just want to make sure that you can truly qualify to purchase the home.
3. Like sharks to blood
Keep in mind that many banks have finely figured out that it makes a whole lot more sense to price their Roswell foreclosures at significant discounts to the market. This often results in a feeding frenzy and a multiple offer situation. Don’t get caught up in the feedding frenzy.
Just offer what you would be happy paying for the home and if you get it, you get it. Realize that if you don’t get it, there will be more opportunities in the coming months.
4. Inspect, inspect, inspect
Be prepared to hire a professional inspector once you have a Roswell foreclosure home under contract. Keep in mind that while foreclosures are listed “as-is”, it does not preclude you from being able to have a due diligence period to inspect the property.
By “as-is”, the bank is merely stating that they don’t know anything about the property and will not be fixing anything. Also, realize that you may be responsible for turning on the utilities. Foreclosures often do not have utilities turned on.
In 25% of cases, homebuyers do persuade lenders to fix some of the problems before the sale closes. Most of the time, banks would rather sell the house to the next available bidder — one who doesn’t ask the bank to pay for repairs.
5. Be patient
While banks do respond fairly quickly on an offer, it’s definitely not the same as buying a regular home. Keep in mind that some banks may have a holding period, say 10 days, when initially listed before they will respond to offers.
Each property may have different peculiarities, but just realize that being patient and flexible will go a long ways towards getting a great deal on a Roswell foreclosure.
Contact us today to learn more about the opportunities of buying a Roswell foreclosure.
If you thought you missed your chance of $8,000 from the government, think again! Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000. That’s right…President Obama is set to sign an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and this new bill also includes a credit for current homeowners.
Already passed by the Senate, the House voted 403-12 Thursday to expand on the current $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. Included in the bill is an extension of unemployment benefits and expands a tax break for money-losing businesses. It is expected that President Obama will sign the bill today.
Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible, subject to income limits, for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers — or people who haven’t owned homes in the previous three years — could get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign purchase agreements before May 1 and close before July 1.
The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.
Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes.
The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others.
Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their tax returns for 2008 to claim the credit.
The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that were included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without jobs for more than a year. The other tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years.
That break would help industries that have suffered big losses in the recession, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers.
Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.
Senators agreed on Wednesday to extend the popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers. The current $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit is set to expire at the end of November.
The agreement in the Senate extends the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while also offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 tax credit to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years.
These tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes.
September saw a 3.6 percent fall in new home sales…the first time it fell since March. Many feel that it was the uncertainty of the tax credit that made new home sales fall in September.
It takes 45-60 days to close on a house, making it unlikely that a sale made today would qualify for the current tax credit which has a deadline of the end of November.
About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.
Many critics of the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit say that it doesn’t really help motivate individuals to buy a home because there still exists job insecurity in the workforce. This is a pretty valid claim as many would-be homebuyers I’ve talked to have said that due to layoffs and poor company performance they are afraid to purchase a home in fear that they could be jobless within the next year. Brock Built understands these concerns which is why they are introducing “Stormy Weather” coverage.
Stormy Weather coverage helps protect against two primary reasons for default and foreclosure. These include involuntary job loss and extended financial hardship requiring negotiation with your mortgage servicer. The major components include: mortgage payment relief, homebuyer education, advocacy and counseling and loss mitigation.
Brock Built focus on creating warm and welcoming neighborhoods in the city and surrounding area of Atlanta. Steve Brock, founder and CEO of Brock Built, has been building for over 25 years. Visit a Brock Built community and you will likely find neighbors chatting at the mailbox, children riding bikes on sidewalks, at pool parties, home owners walking dogs and socializing at the community club house or community outdoor fireplaces/fire pits.
The Brock Built homes are intriguing themselves, but since the community is placed in unique locations the areas offer much more. The Smyrna Collection is located just next to the Smyrna Market Village which offers shopping, dining and entertainment. Smyrna is perfect for all ages and offers something for everyone. Few inventory homes remain priced from $300,000 and are priced up to over $100,000 off which make them unbeatable prices! Looking for something smaller in the Smyrna area at an affordable price? Watch for details on new Smyrna homes that will be available. Be sure to stop by and visit the Smyrna Collection homes and visit the fabulous Smyrna Market Village for a bite to eat as well as entertainment.
