Blogging Turns Into A Spot In A Newspaper Article | Atlanta Journal Constitution Feature My Buyer's

I got a call during Turkey week from George Chidi doing an article about the market for the Atlanta Journal Consitution.  He went down a list at Active Rain and I was one of the few agents who had buyers actually buying.

He went on to feature a choice couple, Grant & Jenny Shaw.  A great first time home buying couple.   Originally, he said it was just a piece about the market, but it's skewed to make it look like Gwinnett is in a slump.  It may very well be slower, but you can still sell your home for top dollar, you just need the right mix of condition and price.

The article can be found here, but I love the line:

"The Seller is down to his bottomline, PLUS closing costs."

Here's the article with some explanations by myself in the brackets.

THE BUYERS: Jenny and Grant Shaw of Lawrenceville

The Shaws started looking for their first home - in the low $200,000s - about a year and a half ago.

"We wanted something new that we didn't need to fix up," Jenny Shaw said. "We would look at houses online. Then we would look at the neighborhood and it would be like - no."

Too many houses in their price range had little land. Or they were too close to adjacent lots. Or in a poorly kept neighborhood.

After a few months, they rented a townhome near Lawrenceville and settled in for awhile.

"They keep saying it's a buyer's market, but I didn't think so," Grant Shaw said. [Joshua - As in the best homes were selling fast and the other homes did not seem to be a deal.]

Things started to change this summer.

After four months of searching with real estate agent Joshua Jarvis, the Shaws found a house for sale in a subdivision of a dozen homes. It had a half-acre wooded lot, but price comparisons were difficult because almost no one who bought one of the neighborhood's 13-year-old homes had ever sold one. [Historically, not recently.  This neighborhood has very low turnover, period.]

The Shaws watched and waited.

The asking price went from $225,000 to $209,000 in a few weeks.

"That was as low as he could go," Grant Shaw said.

The seller had bought the home a few years ago with an adjustable-rate mortgage. The lower set rate was about to expire and reset at a higher rate, Grant Shaw said, so the seller was motivated.

"He's down to what he bought it for, plus closing costs."

Look for the results of this transaction in the JUST SOLD! Group. 

To search all the homes for sale in Lawrenceville click here