3 things to know before you list your home for rent

By Laura Sullivan
Virtual Properties Realty

If you want to lease out your home, here is my advice:

1. Use a Realtor or property management company that will look out for your best interests. Doing this your own is a lot of work, so if you are not up for the task then use someone that is licensed and professional to represent you. Ask the agents you interview whether they just list the rentals

Warnings for home renters

By Laura Sullivan
Virtual Properties Realty

The rental market is growing as the economy changes. More people are renting because it is the best choice in these uncertain times. Some are downsizing, some are unable to get a loan, some are saving for a down payment or paying off other debts before they get a mortgage. Whatever the reasons, more and more families are considering renting a better option.

Now is the time to get a great deal on a home

By Laura Sullivan
Virtual Properties Realty

Are you looking for a good deal on a home? Most of buyers are. I have been working primarily with buyers the last few years and I have noticed that many of them are still under the impression that they can walk away with a great price, all the closing costs paid,

Buyers Beware

By: Christy Brannon, Realtor

Buyers beware sounds kind of scary huh?  Well, it is.  Two things buyers should beware of, in my opinion, are indecision and an uncompromising stance when buying a house.  These two items can make the home buying experience a lesson in futility and frustration for you and your agent.  

Now, I am not talking about compromising when it comes to negotiations or even indecision over items in the inspection report you want fixed by the seller.  I am talking about the beginning of the process, the actual search for your new home.  I have seen too many buyers lose the house they eventually wanted to someone else because they thought they had to see everything out there first or they would not compromise on the little issues until too late.  

You should be very clear with your Realtor on what you are looking for in a home.  She/He will preview homes on the MLS and send you a list of homes that fit most of the criteria you have given them.  From this list, you need to pare it down further to the ones you are most interested in seeing.  The trick is finding what criteria matters most to you.  

My suggestion would be to sit down and write out a list of the items you want in your next home.  Start with the most important item first; the item you are least likely to compromise on, if at all, in your next home.  From there, the list should go in descending order of importance.  This list should not include the price.  The lender and your budget will let you know how much you can spend on a home.  But your Realtor does need to know the maximum amount you can spend on a new home.

I am writing about the items that are essential to you such as a master bedroom on the main floor, basement (finished or unfinished), whether the house should be a one level or multi-level house, pool or no pool (very important item), situated on a big lot or a small lot or the age of the home.  These are the items that should be at the top of your list and are the ones you will not compromise on having in your next home.  Everything after that should be items that you could either live with or change in your next home. 

 

Yes, it is a Buyer’s Market.  There are a lot of homes but you should not see every single house on the market in your price range.  This will only make the search harder and longer because almost every home you see will have something you want or like for your new home.  The reverse is also true.  Almost every house will have something you dislike or don’t want for your new home.  The only way to get possibly everything you want in a house is to build it yourself and even that is not a guarantee that you will be able to afford all the items you want for your new home.

Remember the saying, “The early bird gets the worm”.  If you are viewing a home and have strong positive feelings about it, make an offer.  If you wait, you may not have that opportunity again.  

Christy Brannon is a licensed Realtor, working with Dwayne Walker Homes, Keller Williams Atlanta Metro East. (In other words, she helps people buy and sell their homes in Snellville and all of Gwinnett County!) You can contact her by email at cbrannon@dwaynewalkerhomes.com.

Home Inspections - Are they worth getting?

By: Christy Brannon, Realtor

You bet’cha!!!!! I thought I would write about the importance of a seller having a home inspection before listing their house.

A home inspection gives the seller a chance to fix the critical items that can and, most likely, will be found when the buyer has an inspection done on the home prior to closing.  These critical items can break a deal in no time flat.  Once a seller knows of these critical items, he/she can either have them fixed or be prepared to reduce the price accordingly. An inspection will also let the seller know what the little “B.S.” items are going to be on the buyer’s inspection report. Most buyers will want everything fixed before they buy a house by a reputable contractor or service person and they will want the receipts as proof it was done professionally. So save all the receipts and make copies!   

Buyers should also be sure to have an inspection, regardless of whether the seller has had an inspection.  An inspection will assure the buyer that the seller had the critical items fixed properly, and that they have another set of eyes to see what else might have been missed with the first inspection.  Buyers should insist on seeing copies of receipts for the repair work done on the home.  This will assure you that the work was done by a professional and not just the handy work done by the seller. 

 

In addition, it is absolutely critical to have an inspection on any foreclosed, short sale or HUD home. You may or may not be able to get the items fixed by the sellers of those properties, but at least you know what you are getting into when you buy the house. This inspection will also let you know how much you may have to spend in renovating these particular properties once you buy them.   

Just remember that an inspector can only assess what he can see.  He cannot see through walls or the ground to determine if there are hidden problems in the walls or plumbing problems from the house to the street.  All in all, I would say an inspection by a "Licensed" inspector can make all the difference in a real estate transaction and is a critical step in the home buying or selling process.  

Christy Brannon is a licensed Realtor, working with Dwayne Walker Homes, Keller Williams Atlanta Metro East. (In other words, she helps people buy and sell their homes in Snellville and all of Gwinnett County!) You can contact her by email at cbrannon@dwaynewalkerhomes.com.