Rental Market Upswing Good Indicator

During the housing correction many of us, including myself, assumed that apartment complexes would have an increase in renters who had recently lost their homes. What actually happened was that these people moved back in with family or with existing apartment renters.

Apartment owners were also forced to compete with a flood of single-family homes pushed onto the rental market at bargain prices. Now the apartment rental rates in most cities, with the exception of those especially hard hit, have recovered much more quickly than expected.

The fact that home values are down, has actually made home ownership more affordable. However getting approved for a mortgage is still difficult, but with great rates if you qualify. http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/stevebergsman/balance-shifts-in-rent-vs-own-debate

Home values in the Gulf area have declined 34% since the peak of the market in 2006, and some studies expect it to decline 10% more over the next few years. This will be about $4.3 billion in overall property values along a 600-mile coastline from the LA bayous to Clearwater, FL.

Please, please let’s all hope that they have a light hurricane season. http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100812_rentals.htm

Stealing Houses

Well just when you thought you had heard everything some sovereign citizens come up with something even sleazier.  These individuals are stealing houses by signing fraudulent deeds to themselves, then they use those deeds to get the locks changed and turn on the utilities and they move right in! 

 One of the oddest parts of this story is the philosophy these people are using to rationalize their crimes.   They say they are acting as sovereign citizens, when really it is just theft and…well I’m not a lawyer but I’m sure it is a lot of other really bad things too.  Bad, but amazingly easy to do. 

 I wish I was more surprised by the fact that it was so easy to deed a property to yourself, you just go to the clerk or court and get it signed over.  Hopefully they will be making an immediate policy change as this has been all over the news.  Unfortunately, because paperwork is so important in the closing of a home sale this can delay a closing and force the real owners to prove it in court. 

 The part that gives me a giggle is that according to Assistant District Attorney John Melvin it is the all that paperwork that will be their downfall.  Melvin said, “The more paperwork you have the bigger the web, the more people you can catch.”

 You really have to read this whole story http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24311535/detail.html Also check out the slide show to see the pictures of the remaining five.  I hope they are not your new neighbors.

Government Efficiency

Kudos to Sandy Springs government!–I am secretary of our HOA and in charge of some flooding issues we had with those spring floods, so had to contact Sandy Springs, INC to get their response and input.  Am so HAPPY to report that the ball is already in motion, and that the government response has been swift and appropriate!

This is SO different from dealing with the Atlanta city government, who took forever (if ever) to respond to any request.

Yippee for Sandy Springs!

Summer’s here!

 

Georgia Renaissance Realty, LLC Visit us on the Web at www.soldbyruth.com 404-252-4895 Read my blog at http://mizrealty01.wordpress.com sprinkleruth@mindspring.com

 

Friday, June 18, 2010

Hi friends and colleagues,

Property values rose in Atlanta!  Okay, that is if you live in 30080, 30024, 30004 and 30223.  The report also showed that certain areas like Va-Hi, Brookhaven and Decatur lost less than 5%.  That is great, especially when some areas are down as much as 30%.  This shows that people are still out there buying, but of course are using the market to their advantage and buying in the most sought after areas.  http://www.ajchomefinder.com/mortgage-center/what-your-home-gained-528966.html

New homes and age-restricted homes factor in most of the increases.  Along with the fact that pending contracts were up for the third straight month and that consumer confidence rose as well are signs of positive trends.  http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100607_realestateoutlook.htm

If you aren’t lucky enough to live in those areas, don’t despair.  A positive trend anywhere in this market is a good sign that things are moving in the right direction. 

Don’t forget Father’s Day is this Sunday.  I think a lot of dad’s would like The Allure of the Automobile exhibit at the High.  This coupon code 3OFFADULT should get you $3 off adult tickets.  They have Music and BBQ from 2-5 PM and the BBQ plates are $12.    

Oh and by the way, I have a blog now too.  I’d love to hear your opinion.  Please read it and comment at http://mizrealty01.wordpress.com 

Do you have a blog?  Let me know and we can share comments. 

 

Buy it or Sell it? Check out these cool high-tech homes.  http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/31/cx_gd_0801homeslide_3.html?thisSpeed=20000

DIY Atlanta in the fall is perfect for enjoying an outdoor fire in the evenings, so get started now and you should be ready by football season.    http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,1636191,00.html

If you have a DIY project in the works please share before and after pictures. 

Let Us Know!  Do you have a neighborhood event, charity drive, yard sale coming up?  Let me know and I will include it whenever possible sprinkleruth@mindspring.com

This article on Trulia is a great reality check.  http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2010/05/top_10_myths_about_buying_a_foreclosure

There are some big misconceptions out there about purchasing a foreclosure.  What I see and hear about the most is the expectation of a price 50% below value.  While it does happen, I rarely see it.  They are also typically more complex than the average sale, so many find them too frustrating.  The current distrust of banks (although really were they ever in the circle of trust?) makes things a bit more emotional too.  My advice is that anyone thinking of purchasing a foreclosure should do their research and be prepared, flexible and patient and you’ll be well compensated.  

We had a great 40^th anniversary dinner at Haven in Brookhaven.  I highly recommend it for a special occasion. 

Buy it or Sell it? I thought these images of houseboats were amazing.  The sub concept picture was neat.  If that got you in the mood for some time on the water and those aren’t in your budget you can rent at Lake Lanier http://www.houseboating.org/houseboats.cfm?lake=LANIER

 DIY I love garden ornaments and statues, so I thought this was helpful to those of you into gardening.  http://gardening.about.com/od/gardendesign/a/Ornaments.htm If you got inspired you can shop online here http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Art-Outdoor-D%C3%A9cor/b?ie=UTF8&node=553802 while they might not be to your taste some are good for a laugh.  Nothing says class quite as much as a mooning garden gnome.

BP Oil Spill Info and Helpful Sites

I know that some of you own second homes or have family with homes on the Gulf and I have thought of each of you every day as I turn on the news and hear more of what sounds like bad news about the oil spill.  I also try to imagine how helpless and angry those who live down there must be feeling, so I thought I would do some basic research and share it with you.  If you have some input or if you have some specific questions please let me know at sprinkleruth@mindspring.com 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has a map of areas affected by the oil spill http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/oilspill/

Here is the live feed from the BP site

They are now estimating that 19,000 barrels of crude oil a day are gushing into the ocean, with crude oil prices at $74.09 today I can’t even comprehend the amount of money being spewed into the ocean.  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2820013420100528?type=marketsNews

BP well disaster stuns hardened oil men http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64Q4LS20100527?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r3:c0.092593:b34474554:z0

 

If you are planning a vacation in the area, don’t cancel…just check to see if it will be affected.  I imagine it may be less crowded as some will stay away because they assume it will be covered in more than just tanning oil!  I have also heard that hotels are offering deals, so call and talk to the manager to broker a deal.  http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/oil-spill-gulf-coast-resort-towns/19495794/

Here is a great source for house rentals if you prefer that to a hotel www.vrbo.com

Downey and Downers

Ironman 2 was great, we loved it. We thought it was good as the first movie, a little less ‘tightly directed’, but very entertaining…but we both love Robert Downey Jr. 

 What I don’t love is the info in this article http://abcnews.go.com/Business/TheBigMoney/mortgage-meltdown-banks-silenced-whistleblowers/story?id=10600611&page=1 Sit down while you read it, get ready to yell.  It is long, but you’ll be mad enough before the second page. 

 Someone tried to do the right thing, THEIR JOB no less, and they are punished for it.  I hope that Parmer got a good settlement from Wells Fargo because it sounds to me like she deserved it. 

 I wish I was more surprised by the fact that this could happen, but I’m not.  I have friends that quit the mortgage industry because they wouldn’t write bogus deals that their bosses told them to write.  The part that did surprise me was that the gangs got involved???  Really?  I mean talk about sleazy. I sometimes worry a deal won’t close, but imagine if it didn’t close and you had to call a gang member and tell him/her that…talk about a bad day in real estate. 

 Okay, on to a lighter topic.  This article reminded me of that famous Gordon Gekko statement, “Greed is good.”  They just released Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps  at Cannes.  I was supposed to be there but I had a closing (JK!)  I wonder if they are going to include any mortgage related fraud as part of the plot.  I am looking forward to seeing it.

Atlanta Events for Mothers Day Weekend

http://eventful.com/atlanta/events/this-weekend

Pending Homes Sales on Upswing

Pending home sales are up!  That means that the amount of homes going under contract this March have increased since March of 2009.  A lot of this is stemming from that tax credit, so a drop is predicted in the months after that time.  http://rismedia.com/2010-05-04/pending-home-sales-on-an-upswing/

Rent vs Buy in Atlanta and the 2011 Boom?

I found a great article that I’d like to share with you.  It outlines how to weigh renting vs. buying in a way that really makes sense.  As we have seen in the past years renting sometimes is better than buying…though it pains the Realtor in me to express it!  Please share this http://realestate.msn.com//article.aspx?cp-documentid=23911287 with your friends and family.   

 Let me know if you need rental rates for any areas, if I don’t know it someone at Georgia Renaissance will.

Did I hear some good…no GREAT news on the real estate front yesterday morning?  Jim Cramer of Mad Money predicts a real estate BOOM in 2011.  Do I agree?  Do you?  Who cares…please just let me have this moment!!