Since lending restrictions have tightened, FHA has BY FAR been the most popular loan program out there.  They have competitive rates (practically as low as you’ll find on a 30 year mortgage), the LOWEST downpayment option at 3.5% and they will loan up to $346,250 for your home purchase, so a home slightly over $350k would still qualify for an FHA loan with the 3.5% downpayment on top of the loan amount.  This loan program has had a LOT to do with the metro Atlanta Real Estate Market’s stabilization.

Coming in early April, FHA’s upfront mortgage insurance should increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of the purchase price.  This fee is paid at closing as part of your Closing Costs or “rolled” into/added to your loan amount & you basically pay it with each mortgage payment.  This will increase a payment approximately $5/month on a $150,000 loan.  Nothing drastic…

Spot approvals (for condos) will be going away, possibly by end of February, but this has been rumored for a few months so we’re not sure when they’ll finally make this official.  Spot approvals are used for Condo units when the Building, as a whole, hasn’t been fully approved by FHA.  That doesn’t mean something’s wrong w/ the building…it may only mean that the building HOA or Management hasn’t taken the time to go through the FHA approval process.

Lenders will still be able to do FHA Spot Approvals, but it will just be a little more difficult for them & it will take a little longer to close a loan.  It would probably be smart to add 15 days to the Contract to Close timeline to give the Lender a little more time.  Some lenders, like the one we use, will still get the job done in 30 days if needed…give me a call & I can put you in touch with him.  Many others you talk to will ask you to schedule a 45 day closing to make sure they can get the job done in time, but our guy is no feet dragger…his team will make sure you’re not inconvenienced by this change.

Whether you’re thinking of Buying or Selling, this is a great market to reach those goals.  Buyers want that $8000 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit or the $6500 Move-up Buyer Tax Credit.  And since Buyers have been so active, the home inventory has drastically reduced, making it a very opportunistic market for Seller’s with a well priced home in good condition!!

Please feel free to call/text/email us with any questions or if we can help you in any way.

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team
#1 Team in Keller Williams Premier Atlanta/Buckhead
404-863-8680 | aaron@kellysellsatlanta.com
www.KellySellsAtlanta.com
>> click here to see what homes in your n’hood are selling for…>>

One of the toughest elements of this market is the fact that houses lose their uniqueness. The real disconnect is coming from this: Most sellers are trying to sell emotionally and buyers are buying logically. And agents who list properties and only speak “emotion” are really exacerbating the level of disconnect because buyers can’t understand the logic behind their sales pitch. The best thing that we as agents can do for sellers is to speak “logic” when we take a listing a pitch it to buyers in the market. An emotionally charged marketing campaign in the absence of a logically based price results in reduced prices and expired listings, and sellers continue to be “held hostage” by a home they no longer want. Logic means that something has to make good sense, particularly when compared to other things. Therefore, the properties that sell in less than 1 month on the market are the properties that show better than the other active listings on the market and are priced better than anything else that a buyer sees.

A listing is like an illness. With the right prescription (price) it goes away. With the wrong prescription (price) it gets worse.

As agents (and essentially independent business owners), no matter what, we have to be more concerned about taking an overpriced listings: it hurts our bottom line; it hurts our reputation; and it does our sellers a disservice by giving them false hope and wasting time and money that many of them don’t have.

Our ability to price listings accurately enough to attract offers has never had more importance. The time and money that this can save our sellers can literally save them. It can save their marriages, their families and it can save them financially. For the agents who understand this and become obsessive about it, there’s never been a more rewarding time to be a Realtor.

We realize that the truth is tough and can hurt a seller right now. However, the lack of truth hurts more and does more damage than most people can see on the front end of selling a home. Our challenge and our opportunity is to raise the level of our game so that our clients can trust our data, trust our recommendations and predict the future as clearly as we can. Together we can meet this challenge! 

We’re fighting the good fight! Together, we are making a huge difference in the lives of the people that we serve.

Thanks to Keller Williams & our owner, Shaun Rawls, for providing us with this info and for all of the traning we receive.  I’m so proud & fortunate to be in business with you.

Aaron Allen & Kelly Allen | Atlanta Real Estate Consultants

The Kelly Sells Atlanta Team | Great Service for Great People

1% off on your list price could be the difference between a quick sale (25 days on the market) and hybernating on the market for over 200 days!  1st quarter was 29 days on mkt for well the well priced homes – so the pace is picking up!

Statistics show that if you’re priced correctly the 1st time, you’ll sell in 25 days for 96.9% of list price – crazy, right?  I bet your neighbor didn’t tell you that the last time you talked Real Estate, and I know the news didn’t leak it…

However, if you miss on your pricing, even by a little, you could end up selling for 75% of original list price and torture yourself for months & months & months cleaning & praying, wondering what the problem is & why your home won’t sell. (more…)