Hiram GA real estate listings and homes for sale, home buying, home selling information – GA-Homes

Real Esate Blog

HOUSING BILL...A CLOSER LOOK...NOT SO PRETTY

August 8th, 2008 10:46 PM

I promised more details as they became available on the new Housing Bill passed by congress and signed by the president. Well, the details are starting to come into view...and they are not as pretty as first thought.

First, the $7500 tax credit for new homeowners turns out to be an "interest free loan" to paid back in 15 years (begining the 2nd year after purchase) or when the home is sold, whichever occurs first, and the IRS is the one who will see that you do just that. You MUST file a tax return to claim the credit and it will added to your refund or applied to the tax you owe. Then each year you will have to file a tax return and have the payments added to your tax debt. Failure to do so will result in IRS penalities and interest. WOW! Not really a "gift" from the goverment at all. The total credit will be 10% of the purchase price of the property so most will qualify for the full $7500.

Next, owners of vacation homes or investment properties will no longer be able to avoid all taxes on capital gains. Simply moving to the investment property for a period of time will no longer assure you of the $250,000 ($500,000 for couples) tax free deductions you have enjoyed for a number of years now. It seems they will prorate this deduction based on the time you actually occupied the property since 1997. All appreciation for the time you did not occupy the property will taxed as income, not capital gains.

As usual with the goverment, the devil is, indeed, in the details. More on this bill as become known.

Posted by Phil Turner on August 8th, 2008 10:46 PMPost a Comment (0)

HOME PRICES....STILL DECLINING??

August 29th, 2008 12:29 AM

According to recent news, yes. Down another 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. 115 of 150 metro areas saw declines. The west was down 17.4%, the northeast was down 9.6%, the south 4.1% and the midwest down .9%. Foreclosure and short sales accounted for 1/3 of all sales and are the major cause of declining prices. Take away Florida and the south has been pretty close to stable, which is good news for us locally. And with building cost still going up buyers in our area should see some increased equity in the coming years.

Posted by Phil Turner on August 29th, 2008 12:29 AMPost a Comment (0)

WHAT ABOUT THOSE INTERNET "HOME VALUES"?

August 24th, 2008 2:20 PM

I'm sure most all sellers have seen and probably used the internet for finding their home value. These programs are all over the internet, on most all real estate sites for sure. Are they any good? Well, yes and no. If your home is about equal to the average home in a sub, then you will get an average value. If your home is not the average home then you will not get a good idea of the true value of your home. Wheather your home is better or worse than the neighborhood you will not get a very accurate value. If your home faces a main road, has high power lines in the yard, and a junkyard next door you will not get a true value. If you live on a cul-de-sac and have a larger lot, a nice pool and an added sunroom, you will not get a true value. Even if you are average for the sub, the method used by these sites use AVM (automated valuation models) can be wrong from the start. Many AVM's use county records for values which are updated only every 3-5 years, and this leads to many inaccuracies. Plus the AVM's depend on historical records which probably consider the values to still be escalating when, in reality, they are declining. So, I would have to come down on the "NO" side of this equation. How, then, do you get an "honest" evaluation? Two ways, first is with a "honest" real estate agent who knows the neighborhood. I note "honest" because a good portion of agents would like to list your property and will give you an inflated value to make you feel good about signing up with them. I always give clients the truth up front and lose many listings by doing so, but I do not want to come back to my client after 30 days or so on the market and tell them they will have to lower their price to get a sale. Second will be by hiring a legitimate appraiser. But once again you should be wary because, since you are paying for the apprasisal, many appraisers will also give you a somewhat inflated value. So, It is buyer beware when trying to find the true value of your home. The only true estimate will be found by putting your home on the market and see what offers you receive. The market will always give you the truth!

Posted by Phil Turner on August 24th, 2008 2:20 PMPost a Comment (0)

FRAUD...THE AMERICAN WAY??

August 20th, 2008 11:55 PM

Is fraud so rampant in American society that it has become a way of life? It certainly seems to have increased over time and we could be in danger of it becoming totally commonplace. At some time in the past it was just "some" politicians, CEO's and con artist who engaged in fraud. Now you have sport teams spying on each other, politicians taking outright bribes, platinum parachutes for executives who defraud stockholders, televanglist getting rich from their congregation, oil companies gouging the public, the list goes on and on. Whew!!! This is bad! But what does that have to do with real estate? Well we are sometimes willing participates in fraud when it comes to housing. In my opinion, this is what has gotten us into this "housing crisis". As consumers we were willing to borrow more than a home was worth, defrauding the lenders in the process. And the lenders, apparently knowing this, willingly went along with it. I've seem many homes go for very high prices and people borrow 100% or more of the exaggerated value. It seems everyone was "doing it". Borrowers would come to the closing table with no cash and walk away with a check for, sometimes, thousands of dollars. Now, with no real investment in the home, it is easy to walk away and leave the lender holding the bag. But is this the way we want to act? I certainly hope we have all learned something from the situation we find ourselves in now. Everything "trickles down" to each of us as individuals. There is no "free lunch" as we are finding out. Getting a little preachy arn't I. What do you think? Tell me I am wrong and the country and the people are as good as ever. I need to hear it.

Posted by Phil Turner on August 20th, 2008 11:55 PMPost a Comment (0)

FORECLOSURES, AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU!

August 17th, 2008 12:48 AM

If you are listening to the news at all you are aware that foreclosures are at an all time high. Georgia ranks 9th in number of foreclosures and most disturbing, is new foreclosures are coming faster than sales of existing foreclosures. So our market is getting even more overloaded with foreclosures for sale.What does all this mean to you?

If you are a SELLER it is very bad news. It means you have a lot more competetion at very low prices. Unless you absolutely have to sell because of a change in job or relocation, I would not suggest you even try to sell right now. Put off the move as long as possible and hope the market turns around. Other than rare circumstances this is not the time to think of "moving up" in a home. While it would be a great time to buy a home, getting your home sold at a reasonable price will be extreamly difficult. If you MUST sell now, be prepared for your home to be on the market longer and bring a lower price. Preparing the home to sell is more important than ever. The home must look better than any other in your area and price range. Be sure you choose an agent that can assist you with the preparation of the home and will give you the straight facts, not neccessarily what you may want to hear.

For BUYERS this could be the best time to buy. Interest rates are low, choices are greater and the prices are lower than I have ever seen in all my years in real estate. Does this mean you can make big money by buying now? Maybe not, because we never know where the bottom is. Home prices may very well go down even more. But, with the great selection of foreclosures on the market and discounts of 20-30% it is hard to imagine the market sliding that much more. So, if you can get the right deal on a foreclosure or a seller willing to let go "cheap", I would definitely say "go for it". The trick is you will need to be in the home for several years to see the best return on your money. It is NOT the time to consider "flippin". But with the low prices, low interest rates and tax advantages it is definitely a good time to buy a home to live in.

For INVESTORS this is a mixed bag. Sure, prices are low and discounts are great, interest rates are low and it is tempting to jump in. But, if you are a flipper, selling on the other side can be very difficult and much less rewarding. On the other hand if you are looking for investment properties for the future and for rentals, this could be the perfect time. With the credit crunch, rental property will be even more in demand, since borderline buyers cannot get financing to buy a home as easily as in the last few years. The rental market should turn around greatly in the next months to years. Long term real estate investments could be a real winner.

Of course all this is just my opinion and I have been wrong before, lol, but that is how I see things right now. Take it for what it is worth. Phil

Posted by Phil Turner on August 17th, 2008 12:48 AMPost a Comment (0)

HUD "SPECIAL" $100 DOWN PAYMENT!!

August 5th, 2008 12:18 AM

I'm selling a lot of foreclosed properties and some of them are HUD owned. HUD has a really great program for "owner occupants", those buyers who are not investors but intend to actually live in the home. You can purchase a HUD foreclosed home for as little as $100 down payment. And I can get HUD to pay your closing cost so you could get into a home for $100. It doesn't get any better that this. I don't know how long this program will last so you best move quickly. If the down payment is what has been holding you back, your prayers have been answered.

Posted by Phil Turner on August 5th, 2008 12:18 AMPost a Comment (0)

SCHOOL IS ABOUT TO START.......

August 3rd, 2008 1:58 PM

With school beginning over the next few weeks, sellers will see a further decline in potential home buyers. Most families have kids and when the kids are school age, parents want to be "in position" before school starts. Parents do no like to move their kids during the school year if possible so they try to buy during April, May and June and a last minute rush during July. August on, brings a shortage of buyers in the market. Of course this does not affect most first time buyers or people taking new jobs a distance from their home. But it does not bode well for sellers in this slow market. Since there is a last minute flurry right now I would encourage sellers to look very closely at ANY offers they receive. These offers will be harder to come by over the next few months and as we get toward the holidays, it will be almost impossibe to sell a home. You will probably have to wait till spring of '09.

Posted by Phil Turner on August 3rd, 2008 1:58 PMPost a Comment (0)