The media is killing us with all the drama of the "financial crisis" and frankly I'm tired of hearing about it 24/7.

I know like everyone else what kind of impact this situation has on our lives. Not only does it cause havoc with our 401K and other investments but it also hurts our independent businesses as well.  It's hard to stay positive with all this going on around us. Therefore, this past Saturday I headed to The Taste of Suwanee a yearly event that is simply outstanding and got an attitude adjustment. Located at the 10 acre Town City Park in Suwanee Georgia, Town City is not just a park, it offers shops, restaurants and residential living all at the same place.

A gorgeous fall day in the 70's, a perfect time to walk around and take in all the sites! My daughter sings with the North Gwinnett choir so I got to hear her sing in the amphitheater which has 1500 seats. Along with many others, was a drum group called the Drumline also from North Gwinnett that rocked the house!  Activities for the festival hit all ages. Some of those activities included a rock wall, inflatables, pony rides and many booths for your shopping pleasure. We ate some awesome food and did a little mother/teenager bonding.  Since it was close to my house I didn't spend a lot of gas getting there!

So if you're like me and need a break from all the hoop-la; pack the kids, backpack and some comfortable shoes and get to a fall festival, you won't regret it. In fact, if you know of any festivals close to you, email me with the location or respond here. I will get the word out; we could all use a little attitude adjustment right now.

 

 

My husband and I have a boat at Holiday Marina located in Buford Georgia at Lake Lanier. Over the 4th of July we took several of our friends for a day of fun and fireworks. We have been doing this for several years and can't imagine being anywhere else for our Nation's Holiday. When we started inviting our friends to come up with us I received a bit of sarcasm (all in fun!) "Is there any water in Lake Lanier"? ("Do you need a boat with as much shoreline visible")? AND how about this statement " I have never seen a red (GA red clay) beach this could be interesting"! All of this sarcasm led me to blog on how fun it is to live, work and play in Buford and Flowery Branch. So... below are the reasons we love North Georgia.

Although the lake levels are 15' below normal for this year, I don't see anyone complaining, do you? 

I have never met a person on the water that didn't wave. Boaters with sea Do's, large and small houseboats, all sizes of aft-cabs, sedan bridges and cruisers. No one cares about your financial portfolio on the lake, we are all friends... I don't know about you but that's cool!

 

 

 Oh and the dock parties...anyone that has not been part of the dock experience is surely missing out.  Eat, drink, socialize and sleep right there on the boats. You wake up the next morning drive to the next tie up and start all over again.

 "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

 

 

Who says banks should say who gets to buy a home? Right now, banks are turning away good borrowers, choking home sales. What's the answer? Seller financing. There's just one little problem. Real estate agents need to tell sellers that it's an option.

Why are agents out there losing deals because they're still relying on banks? We as Realtors give them all the power.  If a lender can't put a deal together get creative! Everything is negotiable between buyers and sellers. 

Here are two examples of deals gone sour.

I read recently that an agent in North Carolina had an investor putting up $50,000 for a $72,000 investment property. Denied by three lenders for not showing enough financial information. When an angry seller calls to vent, she offered to hammer out a deal using seller financing, an idea that allot of agents don't offer as an option to their clients.

Another example was a client with high credit scores that wanted a second home. The deal was killed after weeks of delays by a lender after using  HOA financials as an excuse. Go to the listing agent and offer seller financing as an option!

Most  Realtors (including me) are not previous loan officers but that shouldn't discourage any agent from trying.

All it takes is a willing seller and buyer and a good real estate attorney to structure the terms and do the contract.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Immediate cash upfront from buyer to seller (negotiate 3%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% ... )

 2. Negotiate terms that will benefit both seller and buyer.

 3. Tiered interest rate options

 4. Negotiate monthly, quarterly, yearly payments

 5. Negotiate additional payments to seller quarterly, if long term

 6. Obtain buyer asset(s) to add strength the deal

 7. Explain seller default options

Advantage for the buyers: They get to eliminate the huge closing costs associated with working with a lender and all the multiple, questionable, and unexplained fees.

Advantage for sellers: Where seller financing isn't risk free, there are options even in default situations, like the seller takes back the house.

Now that's a deal you can take to the bank!

While it seems no one has a crystal ball about the housing market, you'd assume it's a bad time to build that dream home - at least until the market comes into some kind of balance.

But the truth is, it may never be a better time to build. The silver lining in all this is that land prices have been and continue to go down, materials prices are competitive and there are a lot of contractors out of work, willing to resort to bargain basement prices for their services.

According to CNN Money, framing lumber is now 18 percent cheaper than it was a year and a half ago, while drywall is selling for 40 percent less. Even land prices are 20 percent lower in some areas due to developers having acquired too much land before the bubble hit.

Thanks to a 34 percent decline in new home starts, you won't have to get on most builders' waiting lists, either.

According northern California-based Kensington Homes' custom homebuilder Jeremy Bernau, just a few years ago when the real estate frenzy was in full bloom, the cost of materials, land and labor was skyrocketing.

Because contractors and trades were so busy, they could charge pretty much anything they wanted for their services. Of course, all that has now changed and a lot of the costs now are reminiscent of ten years ago.

To top it off, many cities and towns are making it easier to cut through the red tape when building a home these days. Building permit and impact fees are adjusting downwards in some areas as a response to changes in the market.

Of course, building a new custom home isn't something to enter into lightly. Building on speculation or to "flip" a property for a profit may not be a safe bet right now.

But if you've been hanging on to land for just the right time to build your dream home to stay in for the long term, it just may be time to dust off those blueprints and get busy getting some bids.

Recently I heard of someone that was fined because she owned 6 very loved and cared for dogs in Dekalb County. Evidently, there is an ordinance in Dekalb that allows only 3 dogs per household. You might say that 6 dogs is a lot anyway but there are many people that don't know the county ordinances on pets restrictions.  In Gwinnett for instance, it is illegal to tie up a dog even if the owner stays with the pet. In Cobb the leash law applies to dogs and cats. There are also additional laws in place by City as well. If you are an animal lover Know your County and City ordinances on pet laws before you purchase a home in that area.  I have 2 dogs a 14 year old Bichon and a 4 month old Shih Tzu a cat and a bird. I love where I live and work and I couldn't image having to give up any of my animals

A growing number of crooks who steal your identity don't swipe your personal information to pilfer from your financial accounts. They want to get their hands on your home and snatch it right out from under you.
      Modern day malefactors are mindful of the fact that while you may have quite a stash to swipe from your savings, credit and investment accounts, chances are your home is your most valuable asset. You can, however, protect your home from a heist by taking measured preventative steps.

Here's the basic house stealing scam:

A grifter chooses a house and assumes the identity of the homeowner, often using the Internet to obtain personal information. The information is used to create fake identification papers.

The culprit then transfers the deed into his or her name using forged documents, signatures and fake identification, but by filing the paperwork with the proper authorities. Now they "own" the home.

In one variation, the house thief steals the home and then sells it to pocket the profits -- even if someone still lives there. In another variation, crooks prey on homeowners in financial trouble. They promise to refinance the mortgage, but instead "buy" the home using fake identities.
      Sai Huda, CEO of San Diego, CA-based Compliance Coach recently deployed CompliancePal the first-of-its kind software clients use to meet federal requirements to weed out ID theft "red flags" -- indicators that identity filching could be afoot.
      Huda said the software has found other variations on the house stealing scheme including a team posing as both the owner selling the property and the buyer making the purchase. The real homeowner is left in the lurch. He developed the software to help federally regulated institutions comply with the so-called "Red Flag" provision of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). Fully effective in November this year, the provision requires that financial institutions, creditors and others who handle your personal identifying documents develop and deploy an ID theft prevention program.
      The federal provision comes with more than two dozen red flags regulated companies must heed.
      "If businesses fail to comply it's not only civil monetary penalties, it's also violations of federal and state unfair and deceptive acts laws. It's a serious risk for Realtors, mortgage brokers, lenders and others who don't comply," Huda said.
But Huda's software has found nearly as many additional red flags beyond the federal regulations and he says that indicates consumers also have their work cut out for them. "Consumers need to ask, 'Who am I doing business with? What are they doing to protect me? What am I doing to protect myself?' " he added.
      To prevent someone from stealing your home, take conventional ID-theft prevention measures with a focus on protecting your home's ownership.

Review your credit report frequently. You can do so three times a year for free at the one and only federally-sanctioned AnnualCreditReport.com by getting one report, in turn, every four months from each of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Avoid sound-alike services.
      "Just as you keep tabs on your credit report, keep a watch once or twice a year on your home's title records," says Huda. You don't need to hire a title company for a title search, but it's a smart move to visit your county recorder or other public recording agency to check your title for lien changes or additions, requests for information or other anomalies.

Invest in a confetti shredder to destroy identifying documents before tossing them. Better yet, rub out the paper trail and move financial transactions online. Conduct as much digital banking as possible. The online account gives you 24 hour access to inspect your accounts as often as you wish.

When you are away, put a stop on all mail and deliveries rather than have someone pick them up.

Use a safe or safety deposit box for any important documents paperwork you must retain.

For anyone that is interested in purchasing a foreclosure, here are some very good reasons to buy a new home foreclosure.

1. You don't have to worry about the old homeowner destroying the property before they leave.

2. Most of them are already complete but if they are not, a lot of the time it's just flooring, paint and cleaning.

3. You can still hire an inspector prior to purchasing.

4. It's not personal.

5. When it comes time to sell, nearly new is more marketable and may cost less to prepare to sell.

6. You may get to pick your flooring, color scheme, etc (most of the time).

7. You will be under priced from everyone else that bought new.

8. Buying "As is" isn't nearly as scary!

9. Most people in the neighborhood don't know it's a foreclosure and if they do they forget that your the one that bought it for a deal... you just become another homeowner in the community.

10. Future material leins can be taken care of with title insurance. (just make sure you purchase the insurance)

When purchasing any home whether it is a foreclosure or not, you should contact a Realtor to help. With new construction seek out a new homes specialist. They normally have a list of properties and know which builders were, and are, good.

I have a client that put a contract on a Town home in Lawrenceville Georgia mid September 2007 with a national builder. The Builders policy is not to start construction until all units were sold in that building. The builder released the building in early February (with 2 units not sold) and set the closing for May 2008. This is where the fun begins! I was driving by the Community last week and noticed that the entrance sign read a lower price than what my client's contract read. When I approached the sales agent she confirmed that the base price had in-fact been lowered and gave me the new price sheet. She also stated that they were going to pass this savings on to my client but not until 2 weeks prior to closing,and only if the prices had not gone back up! She also stated that her building company takes care of their home-buyers and she was sure they would take care of my client. So...why should my client pay more for her town home than others purchasing now and closing at the same time? Usually you get a better deal the earlier you purchase in a community or at a close out.  If this builder truly cares about their home-buyers then why are they excluding my client? When they decided to reduce prices it put my client in a $19,387.00 deficit maybe I'm crazy but you do the math. She would be better off terminating the contract and losing $2000, turn around and re-write on the same unit!

I wanted to update everyone on the out come of my last posting.

As it turns out, the Builder was very gracious and extended to my client the reduction in price. Needless to say my client is very happy :)

As a new blogger, I am sure I will screw this up somehow but here goes. I recently joined a group to learn how to blog and blog effectively. Our first assignment is to write a blog about our business and what we do, so to complete my assignment and stay out of hot water with Cheryl, here goes.....Born in the South and the youngest of 3 I have been in sales all of my life. I can't remember the last time I made a salary. I got into Real Estate because like so many people I got hammered by a real estate agent. In this case, the Builder went under and my husband and I were left with a home in a community that had foreclosures as close as across the street and next door. The real estate agent knew this Builder was embezzling but was more interested in making money than their integrity. I'm a Broker so I do know NOW that the fiduciary responsibility was to their client (the builder) not me, but there is such a thing as disclosure of adverse material facts to all parties. So you say...OK...sorry..but what  do you do?? Believe it or not I have worked primarily with Builders almost 12 years and now I work for mostly Buyer's of new home construction as a buyers agent. We also list nearly new properties that are under 10 years old. We have a great staff. They tell me what to do and like a good manager I do it! All jokes aside, we are Atlanta Home Connections a Real Estate Brokerage that offers tremendous love and care for everyone we do business, whether we represent them or not. Everyone at our Brokerage enjoys what they do and we do it well, because we care. (even for builders) ha ha, which I still have a great relationship with (most of them). :)