Not Found Lane Bailey | Garage with a Detached Home | Gwinnett County GA

LaneBailey.com

Garage with a Detached Home

Contact Lane

  • What's YOUR Home Worth?

    Get a free Maximum Price Analysis to find out the current market value of your home.

    Read More

  • Browse Listings

    Take a look at what is currently on the market in the areas that interest you.

    Read More

  • Custom Listings

    Sign up to get notified when new listingscome on the market that meet your specs.

    Read More
  • 1

Follow Me on Pinterest

Author Archives: Lane Bailey

My home is worth what?

Friday, 08 May 2009 23:57
Written by
2 Comments
Burholme estate in Burholme Park, Philadelphia
Image via Wikipedia

I can’t think of a question that I am asked more…

What is my home worth?

And there as many answers as there are times the question is asked.  There are a lot of sources for the information…

  • Appraisers
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Automated Valuation Models

And the results come in many flavors…

  • Appraisal
  • Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
  • Broker Price Opinion (BPO)
  • Zestimates

There is one thing that they all share in common.  They are all opinions.  And they are all flawed.  That’s right… all flawed. They might hit the right value… but if they do, it purely a fortuitous accident.

Keep in mind, I work very hard on the accuracy of my CMAs.  I go over the data and try to stake out the trends as well as the differences between the subject and the comparable properties.

I know agents that do BPOs, and appraisers.  I have studied Zillow’s data that they use to get Zestimates.  In each case, they produce the best estimate of value that they can with the data available.

But they are all missing something…

What each opinion is missing is the buyer.  When it comes down to it, the person that is actually going to determine the market value of a property is going to be someone that may not have any training at all…

What is ironic is that the moment the closing is over and the sale is complete, the market value becomes a vaporous moving target again.

The market value is what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to sell for.  We can study the neighborhood values, floor plan, amenities and square footage.  We can crunch numbers and compare.  We can make spreadsheets and track trends.  But, a buyer gets to determine what the value is to them… and then see if the seller will go for it.

The point is…

It isn’t magic.  It is science… and an inexact science at that…  and a bit of art.  And pricing is actually a strategy.  The idea is to price it right to get it in front of the right potential buyers.  And that is the difference between a real estate agent, a BPO, an appraiser and an automated valuation model.  Only the real estate agent is working towards finding a willing buyer.

The other methods are important, and have a place…  And all should be in the same neighborhood.  Finally, make sure your real estate agent knows that pricing is a strategy, not a contest.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Looking for a real estate deal?

Wednesday, 06 May 2009 15:32
Written by
0 Comments

Of course you are… everyone is.  Maybe not everyone, but there are a lot of people that are looking for good deals in real estate in Gwinnett County, GA, during a buyer’s market… which is basically what we are in right now.

While looking for something semi-related, I ran across some interesting and possibly good deals out there for the right buyer.  These are basically unfinished, brand-new homes.  The builder apparently didn’t make it, and the bank has these things on their hands.

The ones I concentrated on are all finished on the exterior… except for landscaping and final doors… and a couple need replacement windows.  Possibly some other exterior repair on some as well…

The interiors are a different matter.  At the very least all of them need flooring, cabinetry, paint, fixtures and appliances.  Some also need HVAC, electrical and plumbing finish work and drywall repair. In each case, I would expect to see $75k or so to get these done and ready to live in.

Since the builder is no longer viable, I would assume that these are without any sort of warranty.  And just to be clear, these are NOT move-in ready.  In fact, as a very inexperienced construction estimator, I would guess that it would take 60 days to get into one of these after getting the work started.

On the flip side, the prices for some of the larger homes are around $250k.  Keep in mind that the ARV (After Renovation Value) of the homes should be in the $400k to $500k range.  So, one could expect that in a couple of years their $350k investment ($250k house + $75k renovation + $25k in stuff that always comes up) could yield $50k or more in profit.

That isn’t to say there aren’t challenges… the subdivision is not very built out and I don’t think the amenities are in.  The HOA doesn’t exist.

Another interesting point… all of the homes I went in had very tall garages.  With the right changes to the garage doors, I think that lifts could be installed in at least one spot of each garage.  One of the plans also had an unfinished bonus room over the garage… Interesting!

And my buddy Ken Cook at Novation is working up some special financing plans for these properties.
I noticed that several of the homes had gone under contract in the last few days…. don’t wait too long.

Social Networking and Breakfast!

Tuesday, 05 May 2009 23:57
Written by
0 Comments

We have a little bit of time, but we all know how time sneaks up on us…

Thursday, July 23rd 7-9am

I am teaming up with Ken Cook to facilitate the Social Media Breakfast series in Atlanta.  In a nutshell, we would hold regular breakfast meetings to discuss how to better implement social media and social networking for business.  There would be both expert presentation and round table discussion.

Of course, there would also be time set aside for some actual face to face networking and eating…

The first event will likely be in Gwinnett, with future events moving back and forth between Gwinnett and Cobb.  The idea is to hold meetings in different parts of the Atlanta Metro in order to allow perticipants to be able to meet up with people that are in their area.

I will be updating this blog as well as my other blogs with new information as it becomes available.

You can find me on FaceBook, Twitter and Flickr… as well as a bunch of other places.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

New Listings…

Monday, 04 May 2009 23:57
Written by
0 Comments
Busy Florida street
Image by lrargerich via Flickr

Things have been pretty busy around here.  We have been rolling out some new listings…

Read more ...

Beautifully Upgraded Townhome Just North of Alpharetta

Saturday, 02 May 2009 13:19
Written by
0 Comments
kitchen_3
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Just north of the extremely popular city of Aplharetta is Cumming, GA.  It is much more laid back, and also features lower Forsyth County property taxes.

It also is the home of this beautifully upgraded townhome.  It has all top of the line fixtures and features.  Looking through the photos you might notice the granite counters, stainless steel appliances, oil rubbed bronze lighting and plumbing fixtures and crown mouldings.  The first floor has all hardwoods, while the second and third floors feature luxurious wall to wall carpeting.

The first floor is very open, an entertainer’s dream.  With the open kitchen looking out to the great room and dining areas, the area is light and airy.

The second floor features the wonderful master suite with its luxurious bath.  Aside from the dual vanities, there is a generously sized jetted tub and a seperate shower done in tile.  There is also a large walk-in closet.  The laundry is also on the second floor, between the bedrooms.  At the other end of the home from the master suite is the guest suite.  it also has its own private bath and walk-in closet.  Both bedrooms are generously sized.

The top level is completely finished.  This was an option for this floor plan, and increases the square footage to almost 2800 according to builder data.  It has its own full bath, and would make an excellent office, teen suite or media room… or if could be perfect for many other uses.

There is a two car garage as well. Visit this home’s website for me details.

We cannot display this gallery

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Copyright © 2009 - 2019 Garage with a Detached Home | Gwinnett County GA. All Rights Reserved. Created by Blog Copyright.