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Author Archives: Lane Bailey

Big Garages Aren’t Always The Coolest.

Friday, 02 September 2011 08:00
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A sitting room in the United Kingdom. Original...

Image via Wikipedia - Can you imagnie a Ferrari parked in there?

OK, space IS really nice.  But when it comes to cool, space isn’t always the defining factor.  But, usually when we see the articles in the big papers or magazines, the garages are huge and expensive.  I have to admit that I don’t see that many really cool garages done on the cheap.

But what if the garage were incorporated into the living space?  How would YOU feel about your ride staring at you while you watch Burn Notice on the flat screen?  Frankly, I kind of like the idea.  Not to say that I could have that as my ONLY garage… I am not so keen on the idea of welding in my living room.  But, if I had a showpiece, I would be happy to park it in the house.  At least in the RIGHT house.

Home-Designing.com recently had an article about Cars in the Living Room.  It was a pretty good follow-up to an article a couple of years ago about the Coolest Garages.

 

BTW, if I had a fairly big budget to create a garage, I would have a 1950s Service Station behind the house.  It would be complete with lifts and 6 bays or so.  Of course it would have to have space for a little machine shop, and those really cool glass roll-up doors.  While I’m at it, I guess I would want to have gas pumps, too.  How cool would it be to have my own pumps for bio-diesel and gas… right at home?

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Wayback Wednesday… Bankrupt Subdivisions… Good Deal?

Wednesday, 31 August 2011 08:00
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Sign of the times - Foreclosure

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Two years ago, I wrote about some of the pros and cons of buying a home in a ‘distressed’ subdivision.  While there aren’t quite as many builder foreclosure properties as there were a couple of years ago, there are resales coming into the market now from people that bought builder foreclosures.

As with many things, all that is old is new again.  I’m hearing from buyers more than any time in the last year and a half that they are thinking about buying a home in an abandoned subdivision.

As I said in the original post, there are both pros and cons.  It would be a great post to go back and read.

Oddly, a couple of months after writing the post, I got a call from a local TV station that wanted to interview me on camera regarding this situation with a specific subdivision.  Unfortunately, I was on vacation with my family and out of town.  I wasn’t important enough to warrant a satellite interview…

Homes had originally been marketed at $600k to $800k in the neighborhood.  As the market started to slide, the prices offered by the builder started to drop.  They weren’t able to sell many units though.  Eventually, the bank took over and was selling the homes in the $400k to $500k range.  Just after the last existing home had been sold, another builder bought the remaining lots and began selling homes under $300k.

Some of the owners in the neighborhood that had purchased at higher prices were VERY upset with the builder and everyone else involved.  One owner had purchased for just over $800k, and needed to relocate.  Her house was not likely to sell for much over half that.

The bottom line is that there is potential for a VERY good deal… and there are some major pitfalls that could make that deal go very sour.  Step in with your eyes wide open…

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School Has Started… Moving Season Must Be Over. Or IS It?

Monday, 29 August 2011 08:00
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Etchingham School 1946

Image by ttelyob via Flickr

I get a similar question every year about this time…  Many buyers (and some sellers) worry that after school has started it must be too late to move their kids if there is a school change involved.  The feeling is that it is rough to move kids during the school year because the classes might not be in sync… students may be learning different things.

A few years ago, I ran across an article by a Child Psychologist.  (I wish I could locate the article again…).  In it, she stated that kids actually cope best with a move during the school year, and the best time during the school year to move is at the very beginning.  The theory behind that timing is that it puts the kids right into the situations that will most easily allow them to meet new friends.

Since I am NOT a Child Psychologist, I can’t comment on the psychological effects from a medical standpoint.  However, when I was a kid, we moved a few times, including cross-town moves and one from Michigan to Virginia.  All of our moves happened during the summer…  My Dad was a school teacher, so move coincided with his contract renewals…  And each time, I recall that I didn’t really begin making friends in earnest until school started.

Just this year, our family moved…  And we did it right after the end of the school year.  Had we been able to influence the timing of our move more, we might have tried to push it back to the beginning of the school year.  We did consider making the move shortly before the end of the school year, but it wasn’t practical for us.

The result was that my older son spent the majority of the summer not really knowing many kids in the new neighborhood.  He met a couple of them at the pool or riding bikes in front of the house…  but for the most part, he didn’t meet many new kids.  Granted, he had a VERY busy summer.  But by the end of the first day of school, he was much more integrated in the neighborhood.  In fact, after school, he was out riding his bike with all of his new friends…

So, don’t just assume that kids can’t effectively move during the school year.  It might actually be easier on them socially.  Educationally is a different matter.  In some cases, it might be very easy.  In others, it could be a tough transition for the child.  However, the same could be true in moving during the summer.  Moving into or out of a district that is very performance oriented can be a total shock for someone coming out of or going into a more laid back district or school.

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Gwinnett County Homestretch… Again…

Friday, 26 August 2011 08:00
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I wrote a post a few months ago about the Gwinnett County Homestretch Program.  It is a REALLY cool program for buyers with qualified incomes.  The actual caps change regularly, but follow HUD limits.  Buyers also have to go through a financial counseling class.

But the end result is that buyers get $7,500 in Down Payment Assistance.  This is money that does NOT need to be repaid, as long as the buyer stays in the home at least 5 years.

Earlier in the year, when I wrote the post, funds were available even for existing home owners, not just first time home buyers.  Since that time, Gwinnett County has changed that… they ran out of funds for existing home owners.  But they still have plenty of funds available for first time home buyers (remember, to qualify as a first time home buyer, you can’t have owned a home for the last three years).  BTW, please don’t think that there is a way around that by not having a spouse on the title or something.  It doesn’t work…

In order to qualify, the buyer needs to have $1000 in the deal.  I recently was asked what qualified as part of the $1000…  Did the inspection count?  Did the earnest money count?  I wasn’t asked about the appraisal…  Here are the short answers.

  • The inspection doesn’t count.  I ALWAYS recommend that buyers get an inspection, but it isn’t part of the $1000 that the buyer has “in the deal.”
  • The appraisal DOES count.  It is a requirement, and it is a closing cost.  The funds CAN be used to pay closing costs.
  • The earnest money is actually like a security deposit.  It is money credited toward the closing and/or down payment, so therefore it DOES count.

One thing to keep in mind… money can NOT flow back to the buyer at closing.  Even if they overpay closing costs, they can’t be refunded at closing.  Ken Cook (of America Home Key) and I have been through the rules and know how the program works.  If you want to see if YOU qualify, contact us.

 

We’d love to help you buy a home.  There are great deals on the market right now, and interest rates are exceptional.  For more info, click here. There are other Down Payment Assistance programs available around the Metro Atlanta area.

Here is my video from the original post.

Wayback Wednesday… Police Response, 15 Minutes…

Wednesday, 24 August 2011 08:00
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Special Response Team of the US Mint Police

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Every job has it’s hazards, and one of the ones we face in real estate is the occasional police call…  and my last one was two years ago this week.  It was an alarm.  It has happened a couple of times.

It actually happened twice on the same house on different days.  I wrote the post, and then we went back out to look at the house a second time… my buyer was pretty serious about it.  The seller had actually changed the code between our visits.  So, even though I had left the information in the lockbox (per the Listing Agent’s request) it was wrong.  The seller also didn’t bother to tell the agent that they had changed the code. Gee… thanks.

On the second call, the exact same officer showed up.  He didn’t even stop the car.  Rather, he recognized us, made a radio call and just rolled by, waving to us out of the window.  I guess we had made him pretty comfortable with us on the previous visit.

Should I also mention that the house was vacant and cleaned out?  There wasn’t much to steal… but vandals could have had a field day stripping out copper.  I understand the fears on the part of the seller, but they were actually making it difficult to show their home.

For sellers, the piece of advice I would pass along is this…  Make your house easy to show.  Communicate with your agent if you are changing alarm codes, and trust your agent to have a fail-safe code if the normal one is lost. 

 

Picture of the

Image via Wikipedia

For buyers, I would say this…  Stuff happens.  Keep a cool head.  Your agent should be cool under pressure, too, but ii helps if you aren’t flipping out.  

 

And for other agents…  You are the pro.  Don’t get flustered.  Getting angry won’t help.  No person involved in this little event woke up that morning looking to pee in your oatmeal.  Stuff just happens.  If it is an alarm, walk outside, relax, gather up any papers you might need and stay in view.  Keep your buyers calm and with you. 

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