They are going to find out!

I'm not one to use slang or to be vulgar (if I can  help it).  But a phrase that resonated with me from a political campaing had to do with putting lipstick on a pig.  Although I think this is an indelicate phrase, it gives you a a really powerful image.

Recently I had the privilege of selling a home in our area that had been a rental.  I was heartened when the homeowners announced that they were going to update some items.  They also announced that they were going to repaint some rooms and give the bathrooms a deep clean and take care of some deferred exterior maintenance.

Woohoo!  This was music to my ears.  As an agent, I didn't have to cajole and discuss the virtues of getting the house ready for market.

So, imagine my surprise when the home inspection was done and there was a laundry list of deficiencies found.  When I contacted the seller to discuss the inspection results, and was discussing one particulare repair which I was certain would be a quick fix (HA!), they said "Oh yeah, we know about that, we tried to fix it and it didn't work."

Huh? You knew about it and thought what, it would go away, they wouldn't notice?

Of course they noticed and found it as well as a myriad of other problems (which the seller also knew about) and wanted them all fixed.

After 20 years of real estate in and around McDonough, GA, this is what I know:  Buyers will always overestimate the cost of repairs.  The last thing the seller should have to worry about after they are under contract is what is going to turn up during inspection/due diligence.

When discussing the sale with sellers, I ask them, Is everything in good working order? Are you aware of any thing that is in need of repair? Is there any deferred maintenance?  We walk around the house and we discuss things they know about or that I notice.

Some folks are maintenaance fanatics and the house is in great condition. Others don't have a clue (even thought the house is falling down around them). So, I play it by ear and  try to address any issues before we go on the market.  It is always better for the seller to make needed repairs while they are not be under pressure to make a quick decision once presented with a list of repairs after the buyer has their inspection.

Please, if you are the seller, do yourself a favor and get the house in good order before you put it on the market, or price it to compensate for condition and items you don't want to deal with.  If you don't know what might come up during inspection, have your own inspection.  Disclose it as part of the listing materials and make any necessary repairs and provide receipts for the repairs.

If you do this, the buyer may very well not do an  inspection and rely on yours.  Or if they do their own, they may find nothing at all and you will be one step closer to closing.

photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via photopin cc

100% Financing for Rural Buyers

Below is great information about USDA Loans shared by Debbie Miller of Heritage Bank in McDonough, GA.  

If  you have never heard of these loans, they are for people who wish to buy homes in rural areas.  The loan is a 100% loan - no down payment required.  There is a fee involved and the home has to be located in a designated area.

So, if you have questions - call Debbie Miller - her contact information is below.  Once she gives you the nuts and bolts, give me a holler!  I wold be happy to help you find a home.

With the start of USDA’s fiscal year on October 1^st, the following two important changes become effective for the Rural Housing program.

·         Increased Annual Fee

o   Effective with all new obligations as of October 1^st, 2014, the annual fee will increase from 0.40% to 0.50%.

·         Eligible Rural Housing Areas

o   Barring any further Congressional action, the changes to the eligible rural areas that were announced at the end of last year will become effective on October 1^st.

o   Please consult the USDA Income and Property Eligibility web site for details on the areas that will be affected.

§  http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov – Choose the tab for “Future Eligible Areas”

o   For the state of Georgia, the major change will be the removal of Chatham County from the list of eligible areas.

o   For the current eligible areas, USDA will accept complete submitted applications through September 30^th.

Debbie Miller | AVP,Mortgage Banker

2125 Keys Ferry Court, McDonough GA 30253

o: 770.288.3155| c: 770.630.6579| efax: 404-829-1747

Apply| Email | Linkedin   nmls #588646

Featured Home 4th week of January, 2014 - McDonough, GA Home listed at $1.695 Million.

Wow, I guess in my next life, I can buy this house.

This $1.695 Million home is situated in Henry County's premier Golf Community, Eagles Landing.  The pictures are to die for.  The seller is represented by Atlanta Fine Homes, Sotheby.

As of this writing, it is the most expensive home in Henry County.  If you are interested in seeing this home or others, don't hesitate to contact me to schedule your private showing.

Choose the #1 company in Georgia to represent you when you are ready to buy or sell your Luxury Home. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties,

(If the link to the property does not work, that means it is no longer available. Not to fear - I have more.)

Want to search for homes as you drive through Atlanta area neighborhoods?  Download my free mobile app - it searches both MLS and FMLS!

Either 

• text BuySouthSideAtl to 678-400-6100 or 
• go to this link :  http://app.bhhsgeorgia.com/CarlaHaight

Flipping 101, Part 2

In Flipping 101, we were exploring the posibility of buying this little house to flip.

Yes, you guessed it. We are not going to buy this little house.

We could not get the numbers to work. We are just devastated.

Here is the original foot print. This is a modest, 1963 ranch with a carport and an outside entry laundry room, 1000 square feet. We were going to convert the carport to a bedroom and turn the laundry into a bath, adding 200 square feet.

Here are a few Things we did not count on:

• Rewire the house - $4-$5 per square foot - $4,800 to $6,000.
• Install an LVL- that's a beam.
• Plumbing costs- about $5,000

Add that to demolition and framing, about $12,000

That's over $20,000 and now there's

• interior painting
• exterior painting
• kitchen cabinets and counters
• some HVAC work
• bathroom tile work
• some landscaping...

We were going to do some of this ourselves, but there's still cost of materials.

We had a contractor give a preliminary estimate. He  said "Moving Plumbing is easy''. I heard  "Moving Plumbing is cheap''. ..

He gave an initial estimate of $15-18k and that morphed to - mid twenties! Then the final came in at $35,000!

So, we can't buy the house, because as a flip, the numbers don't work. If your going to live there, it would be fabulous. And actually, you may he able to buy it with an FHA 203K (not KS) loan. You can't do the 203ks because there is some structural work and that loan type does not allow for structural.

Moral of the story: insist on full, accurate figures before you buy the house. We had a due diligence period in order to check everything out and, unfortunately, had to terminate the transaction prior to the end of the due diligence because of our budget.

It would have been nice, don't you think?

The measurements are pretty accurate -just trying to give you a quick visual.

Flipping 101, Part 1

I've watched all the rehab shows. So have you. Flipping Boston,  Flipping Las Vegas, Flip or Flop - more titles than I can remember. Hours and hours of TV- ideas, successes & major problems.

I am a real estate agent. I've been in hundreds of houses. I've been through countless inspections, I'm a major DIYer. My good friend Essie is an excellent decorator & loves "the idea" of doing a flip. We looked in earnest for a couple of months last year & couldn't find anything.

Then there it was. Another friend listed this little, old house-only 1,000 sq.ft. I looked at it for a client. It was a sad little house, my client didn't like it. It hung around. My friend had some nibbles, but no one bought it. The owners eventually lowered the price & after much thought & planning Essie and I decided to buy it.

We are being careful. She talked to her financial planner. I researched the market. I talked to an appraiser. I had a contractor look at it to see if we could make the changes the house needed & still make the numbers work. Possible sales price minus purchase price minus rehab costs, should give us SOME profit. It SHOULD work.

So, we wrote an offer. It was accepted! YEAH!

Contactor called ... he thinks he is off by $3-5K! what???

It's O.K. we got it for a good price. Had the inspection today. Went pretty well. Found out the HVAC is pretty new -YEAH! Found out we might not be able to remove some walls
without extra support, yikes!

It's O.K. still in due diligence phase.

Stay tuned. It's going to be so pretty when we're done! We're refinishing hardwood floors, new cabinets, granite counters, new windows, adding a bedroom & bath. Oh my goodness!

I really hope it works, it will be so pretty when it's done....

See Flipping 101, Part 2

How to make your kitchen store more

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been organizing the kitchen.  I used to do it for my mother on summer vacation.  I used to do that and wash all the china and put it back in the china cabinet - nice memories!

Now, I'm in a ranch style home with no basement.  My kitchen is average with builder grade cupboards and always short on storage.  The pantry is one of those 24" deep cabinets, but if you pack the cabinet, you won't be able get to the stuff in the back.  And, the older I get, the less I want to bend. 

A good client/friend of mine and I were talking last week and she wanted to organize her cabinets with pull out drawers.  I couldn't believe the prices she was quoted. 

Check out these pictures:

Since I'm a big DIY advocate, I decided to tackle this project myself.  I was able to buy slide out "Elfa" shelving from the Container Store and really pack things in.  I only had to make minor modifications by shortening the shelving tower in the lower cabinets.

Let me know if you want any pointers!  The Elfa shelving is on sale sometimes - it's worth it to wait for the sale.

Never saw so much OSB in a tract home!

Monty and I were driving through a new home subdivision the other day.  Remember that this is 2011 and building has just about stopped in Metro Atlanta.  So, watching a home being built is a fairy rare occurrence these days.

But, I was just awe-struck by the fact that the entire home is sheathed in oriented strand board (OSB).  See photo below. When this house gets its exterior siding, it will have an all brick front and hardi-plank siding on the sides and rear.

About a hundred years ago, when I first moved to Atlanta (really 1986), I wrote a contract

Pay for college or retirement - why choose?

Buy a piece of real estate for each child and avoid the dilemma...

I watched this story on the Today show today. (If you are on an ipad, you may need to
click here).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's a debate on how or if  you should fund your child's education or your retirement fund.  I submit to you that you can do both!

This has always been a sore topic for me. I am first generation Italian.  I am the last of 5 children.  I would have loved to go to college.  But, my parents worked very hard, my father was a steel worker and my mother was a seamstress in a factory. Although I wouldn't consider us poor, I certainly wouldn't consider us rich. I didn't want to be a drag on them - they were in their late 50's and early 60's when it was time for me to go to college.  For some reason, the State of New York said they made too much money in order for me to qualify for any tuition assistance. 

Has it come to this? and why you shouldn't wear crocs to a crime scene.



First break-in - too much
broken glass for crocs

 Yes, I did wear crocs to this crime scene - thieves threw a big rock through the door which caused the alarm to go off.  There was glass everywhere.  I couldn't go into the house all the way. I had to tip toe gingerly into the kitchen so I could survey some of the damage. They smashed the thermostat and the alarm control panel off the wall. We dealt with that break-in and about a month later... another theft at the same house.

I got a phone call from a fellow who was the neighbor of one of my listings.  He used to cut the grass for the homeowner and wanted to get in touch with her.  I gave him the information and then he said, "By the way, did you know the air conditioner is missing?"

No, I didn't know the air conditioner was missing! Very frustrating! So, I ranted on facebook for a minute and two friends commented.

One said, "While my rental is vacant, I had the appliances and the air conditioner removed until I get a new tenant."

The other said, "In some areas, we don't advertise the address of the rentals we manage nor do we put a sign in the yard."

Amazing!

I will be talking to my alarm company representative and see how hard it is to put a sensor on the air conditioning compressor so that if someone tries to steal it, the alarm will go off.

Of course, it didn't help that when the owner moved out she:

• Took the curtains off one of the front windows
• Didn't have anyone cutting the grass
• Didn't ask any neighbors to  park in the yard
• Generally left the place looking abandoned...

I welcome any words of wisdom.

What’s Your Balance?

Financing outside the box...

I hadn’t heard of this either, but, believe it or not, people are doing it. They are buying foreclosures in Georgia with credit cards.

A good friend of mine said, Carla, you have the money to buy that foreclosure—put it on a credit card. I thought she was crazy, but believe it or not, now you can buy a house, not just a building lot, but a real live house for just over $10,000.

Yes, you need to fix it up, but if the foundation is sound and the framing is OK and interior walls, and fixtures are OK, you’re getting all that AND the land! It’s a beginning.  Look at the pictures below of these foreclosure homes that were fabulous deals.