Whew, the Atlanta housing market is crazy right now! So many of you are wanting to take advantage
of low interest rates (climbing, but still low) to put your stamp on the real
estate frenzy that has blown up around us. The problem? Like I said, you and
the other 5 million people that live in the metro-Atlanta area all have the
same end goal: To hear the magic words, “Congratulations! You’re under contract!”
Figures from First Multiple Listing Service support this
enthusiastic philosophy that is sweeping Atlanta. Inventory in the $150,000 - $400,000 price
range has had an increase in sales price over list price over the past 12
months. In fact, properties listed under
$200,000 are selling for 104% of their list price! That’s crazy. What’s even crazier is that April’s sales figures are already trending
towards 100% of list price for ALL homes, in ALL price points sold within a 10
mile radius from Buford (our home location).
It’s trending the same in other areas of metro-Atlanta. Look at Woodstock.
Inside the perimeter at Brookhaven.
Again, look at Grant Park.
This is great news for sellers. If their agent does their job right, they should
have a selection of offers to sift through. Your offer is in that stack. How
does yours stand out? Below are some
suggestions.
Make it as clean as possible.
What does that mean? Make it easy as possible for the seller to understand. When a seller sees a bunch of contingencies
that add to the paperwork, additional repairs to be performed on the seller’s
dime and confusing lingo, it can scare them.
Make the seller’s takeaway amount easy for them to
determine.
As an extension of our above tip, if the seller is having to
do a bunch of calculations to figure out how much money they will NET from your
offer, it could set an unfavorable tone. Remember, they could potentially be going through as many as 15 plus
offers in a very short amount of time. They want to know the net offer amount (figuring seller paid closing costs,
repairs costs, home warranties, etc) in order to compare it to others.
Make it personal.
Competing with investors is tough. Investors typically have the upper hand when
it comes to the ease of a transaction as well as having the incentive of paying
in cash. Cash investors are creeping
more and more into what used to be considered normal retail sales because the distressed and wholesale markets are so competitive right now. Sellers Jim Bob and Sally Mae may be selling their
home of 25 years to retire. Maybe they
raised their family there and have a huge attachment to it. A short note from you (the buyer) explaining
how you plan to raise your kids in the same house is something you really look
forward to doing. People like to know
that another family has the potential to have the same memories as they
did. Kind of a passing of the baton if
you will.
Pick the right agent.
I can’t preach this enough…all agents are NOT created
equal. Being in the real estate industry
is tough. Make sure you use an agent who
is readily available, someone who has dealt with difficult financing issues,
someone who knows a fair amount about home repair issues and someone who has
professional connections that can help you in your home buying process. Remember, your agent is representing you
against all of your competition. They
should have the skill set to work with the seller’s agent to create a very
seller friendly relationship while protecting and advocating for you, the
buyer, at the same time. None of which
is easy as it sounds.
-Published by guest writer, Jana Lambros