Zillow.com is actually the #1 site for Home Owners to check their home’s value.

What most don’t realized is how inaccurate that Zestimate really is. Check out this chart below from Zillow.com (go to www.Zillow.com, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page & click “Zestimate Values & Accuracy” and you’ll see this chart as well). You can also drill down by Counties for a better look at your metro Atlanta area.

Basically, Zillow’s Zestimates Home Values are not calculated by a Real Estate Market Specialist and they apparently aren’t very accurate at all. If Zillow has a 20% error rate in your area (Atlanta’s is 24% off) then that’s a potential 40% swing (20% higher & 20% lower) than what they “Zestimate” your home is worth. With that said, if we are 20% off in either direction, we wouldn’t still be in business, and our Team has been selling homes in the metro Atlanta area for 10+ years now! And as a side note: of the last 5 listings we’ve taken & sold, the Average Days on Market is ONLY 18 days and the Average List Price to Sales Price Ratio is 98%!! That’s a statistic that we’re very proud of and even get excited about!! We’re getting our sellers more money faster. That puts smiles on faces!

Based on Atlanta area market statistics, if you overprice your home (even by a little bit) it will likely take you 250+ days to sell your home & you reduce your price until you only get around 80% of your original list price. But if you price it correctly, you can sell within 30 days and even net yourself more money by pricing it properly rather than overpricing. And don’t worry so much about leaving “negotiating room” because that’s how you price yourself out of the market… the hot properties sell so close to list price that if you price it right, you won’t have to negotiate much at all. And another way to look at it: if you overprice, you’re likely not going to get an offer to negotiate anyways, so you’d be best off pricing it correctly and having a really good offer in hand in a short amount of time. The alternative can be a long, drawn out, frustrating and defeating process, without a better way of putting it.

Our job is to look at the market from a practical perspective and advise you on price based on actual comparables for your home, whether it be an Active Listing, a Pending Sale or a recently Sold home in your neighborhood or immediate area in the last 3-6 months.

It’s a simple strategy: we help you price it right, stage it, a professional photographer takes GREAT photos and from this (especially the price) you’re able to draw quick attention, and that’s what you want! A feeding frenzy! That’s when you get your BEST offer(s). You want an offer within 30 days and hopefully multiple offers, and you’re not going to get that being 20% off on pricing by using Zillow Zestimates.

So don’t trust Zillow to price your home for you… go to a Real Estate Agent you trust and you’re on your way to your selling and buying goals. Go with the pros on this one… “do what you do best and let an expert do the rest.”

And if you’re still just wanting to get a glimpse of the market before calling an agent, click here use this FREE Market Snapshot tool to view market data (including home sales), analysis & trends in your area. It will send you bi-monthly updates so you can keep up w/ the market until you’re ready to speak with a Realtor (like us!).

Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading!

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team of Keller Williams Premier Atlanta
404-863-8680 | hometeam@kellysellsatlanta.com | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com

Listed below are a few of the most common issues that can arise during the process of a Real Estate Transaction, which usually last 30 to 60 days from the Contract Date (aka Binding Agreement Date) to the Closing Date. Our Team’s job is to avoid these scenarios, along with the help of our preferred lender & closing attorney. Let me know if you need a referral to them & hope you find this info helpful:

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS:

A) FHA Condo Considerations:

a. Condominiums must be covered by hazard and liability insurance and, when applicable, flood and fidelity insurance.
b. No more than 15 percent of the total units may be in arrears (defined as more than 30 days past due) of their condo association fee payments.
c. Condo associations must have a reserve account which holds an amount equivalent to at least 10% of the condo association budget.

B) Furniture Sold as Part of the Contract:

a. Be cautious when including personal property, such as furniture, in the contract. Appraisals are consistently coming in lower than the sales price, and an inflated sales price due to personal property can exacerbate that issue.

C) Seller Mail Aways/Seller Signing Early:
a. Be aware of whether the buyer has an FHA loan. If so, the lender will send documents that must be signed by the seller with the loan package. The seller must have access to a fax machine on the day of closing so that they can sign the FHA docs and fax them back to us as these docs are usually required for funding authorization.

D) Closing Costs:

a. Make sure to prepare both the buyer and seller that closings costs can change. The lender can put a cap on the amount of seller concessions allowed or a minimum on what the buyer must contribute. Therefore, the closing costs listed in the contract will not always be the closings costs allowed to be paid at closing.

Again, our Team’s job is to avoid these issues – whether we’re the Buyer’s Agent or Listing Agent. Our Preferred Lender and Closing Attorney are with you every step of the way to ensure a seemless closing & experience for our clients. I’m serious – they’re fantastic, and our business woulnd’t be where it is without them. We’re definiltey blessed to have found them & our clients have always felt the same.

Hope this was helpful! Let us know if you need us…

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team of Keller Williams Realty
404-863-8680 | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | HomeTeam@KellySellsAtlanta.com

Keep more of your own $$ by appealing your property assessment valuation if it’s too high. If you haven’t received an assessment valuation this year, call the county or go online & look for a PT-50R form (Property Tax Return form) and also find out what your current valuation is (you can also find this online through the county tax assessor’s or tax commissioner’s website or office). We just won our appeal & reduced our property valuation by $42k…2 years ago we reduced it by $38k.  Go save yourself some of your OWN $$$.  It’s a little work (which = a little pain in the butt) but if you can save some $, it’s worth it.  I have informational materials if you need them that will help you along…also, after your assessment appeal is finalized they will freeze that valuation for 3 years so you don’t have to worry about it while (unless you decide to appeal again)!! – hope this helps…

The Kelly Sells Atlanta Team | 404-863-8680 | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com
#1 Real Estate Team in Keller Williams Premier Atlanta - Buckhead office

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

See all of the homes for sale in this sought after Cobb County School District – Sope Creek Elementary, Dickerson Middle, Walton High: click here…

This is one of the most popular Elementary, Middle & High School combos in all of Metro Atlanta…and it’s so close to Sandy Springs & Buckhead, you’d never even feel like you’re waaaay out in Cobb County.  Get your kids into the best school district possible!

All the Active listings are right here & updated in Real Time! Enjoy & let us know once you’re ready to go see some homes and if you’d like a more tailored search (to your price range, minimum bed & bath combination, etc) just click here to shoot me an email & I’ll get it going…

Right now, the Median List Price in the area (for homes under $1mil & over $200k) is $$595,541.

The Median Sales price since 4/1/09 has been $473,217 and there are currently 18 under contract. 

There are 43 homes currently available but only 4 listed under the max FHA Loan Amount of $346,250 & only 7 that are listed under the $417,000 Jumbo Loan amount! (FHA requires only 3.5% down, Conventional Loans 5%, but Jumbo requires 20%)

Don’t hesitate much longer!  There are just over 80 days left to qualify for the $8000 Tax Credit for 1st Time Buyers.

www.KellySellsAtlanta.com for all your metro-Atlanta Real Estate needs.

The Kelly Sells Atlanta Team > your next move is our business…