Kelli Meier Atlanta Real Estate

In this ever changing Real Estate market homeowners must be aware of all their options.  In order to completely understand these options, you must know what each means and what the process involves.  You often hear words tossed around like short sale , deed-in lieu. modification and repayment plans.  These are all very different and require certain criteria to qualify.

 Short Sale - This allows a customer to sell the home for fair market value and use the proceeds to pay off the mortgage even if the proceeds are less than the total owed.  Sounds great right?  There are requirements to qualify for a short sale.  If you are sitting on loads of savings or stocks and bonds, you most likely will not qualify for a short sale.  If you do qualify, you must be aware of the tax implications of a short sale.  This has become a common practice so the process is becoming more streamlined and simple. Contact us today to see if this is an option.

Loan Modification- This permanently changes one or more of the terms of the original mortgage.  This can include interest rate, number of years allowed for repayment   or monthly payment amount.  This is the best case for all parties involved.  You will need to contact your lender to see if you qualify for this program.

Forbearance- This temporarily suspends regular monthly payments if the client has an event on the horizon that will increase their cash on hand.  For example, you may have been awarded  a judgement that will pay out in the next year but right now have no cash.  A lender may grant a forbearance rather then seek foreclosure

Assumption-Some loans may be assumable.  These loans can allow the seller to sell to a buyer who then assumes all the original terms of the loan. This can be a win-win situation for both parties. A new appraisal is often not required and the new buyer may be willing to take the risk based on future appreciation

Deed In Lieu-This allows the owner to transfer ownership to the lender to avoid the foreclosure process if they cannot sell the home at fair market value.

Repayment Plan- This occurs when delinquent payments are distributed over a period of usually no more than 12 months. This distributed payment is applied to the regular monthly payment making it easier to pay off late payments.  This is a way to bring the account current without paying the entire balance due at one time.

Refinance-This is the unattainable Holy Grail in today's Real Estate market.  This is a perfect solution but there may be problems.  This requires an appraisal which may be a problem if the homes value has declined in this market.   There also may be more stringent income or credit requirements since the original purchase of the property.

As you can see, homeowners do have options. Do not hesitate to contact us and we can help you navigate the process.  There are ways to handle this crisis if you are an informed consumer

Ready for Your Personal Touches!

• 1 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS®$194,900 - Great value!

Medlock Park, Decatur  -  Here is your chance to get in the Emory area for under 200k! This adorable cottage is deceptively large. Beautful hardwoods throughout. Nice wooded lot with a fenced backyard. Walk to Medlock Park and Pool. Perfect for an Emory student or Professor. 3rd bedroom is being used as a study. There is a large living/dining room combination and a functional kitchen. This is a great opportunity for someone to use a little sweat equity to make this house a showplace. Own for less than rent. This home is a prime candidate for FHA financing. Do not let the outside fool you. You must get inside this house.

Property information

Just like there are stages of death and dying, there are stages in a market cycle. In today’s market, we are still trying to work our way back to hope. Whether you are investing in real estate, gold, or fine art, there is a predictable cycle with any investment.  The nine stages are optimism, excitement, euphoria, denial, fear, panic, despondency, depression, and then hope. The euphoria stage is where you have the maximum risk for any investment. The lowest point, between despondency and depression, is where you have the maximum point of opportunity and that is where we are today.

According to NAR, home values appreciate about 4.5 percent annually, but if you look at the years between 2000 and 2006, values appreciated 89% or nearly 15% per year. What is happening today is a correction to stability.

Well we are knew that Atlanta's a great place to live. Why? We have a warm and pleasant climate, reasonable cost of living, and affordable homes. Our median home price is $164,100. Sperling's BestPlaces rated the ten best places and you can click this link to hear what they have to say: http://realestate.yahoo.com/neighborhoods/ten_best_places_to_live.html

Posted by Heyward Young

Although home values are falling in other parts of the country, Atlanta has had an increase of 0.2 % over the last year.  This number is great news for those of us in the "ITP" area of Atlanta.  (That's inside the perimeter for you out of towners)  While the suburbs seem to be facing the same problems as the rest of the country, Intown neighborhoods are thriving and increasing in value.  Well established neighborhoods such as : Buckhead, Virginia-Highland, Morningside, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs are perfect examples.  There is no correction in the intown market because there was nothing to correct.  Foreclosures in these neighborhoods are much more scarce than in outlying areas.  The prices are not being undercut by the plethora of foreclosures that are plaguing the suburbs and other areas of the country.  The more established a neighborhood and the closer to town it is located , the better chance it is holding steady or gaining in value.  While markets such as Vegas, Miami  and Phoenix have declined 20-30%, Atlanta is holding steady and actually increasing in some areas!  Money is now available and rates are still very competitive.  NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY!!  Atlanta's market will continue to increase due to job growth and quality of life.  We are still one of the most reasonable markets in the country.  Let us show you the value of this market.  Contact us today!

The government takeover of embattled mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may well be just the thing for the sluggish real estate market.  Although taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the bailout, a sense of stability is expected to arise from this takeover.  Existing Fannie and Freddie mortgages will be shored up and new mortgages easier to get.  As with any government agency, the new Fannie and Freddie will require a lot of paperwork.  Buyers can expect to be asked to provide 2 full years of tax returns and several months of bank statements and check stubs.  Interest rates have fallen to around 5.5% on news of this takeover.  This is a great time to buy!  Chase Mortgage , our preferred lender, has a great program utilizing these new guidelines.  The program is called "Passport to Purchase".  Make sure and ask us how to qualify and we will put you in touch with Keith Spain our Chase representative.  

Posted by Heyward Young

What I love about Sanctuary is that we are a full service boutique. It's one stop shopping for any buyer or seller we work with.  I was reading an article in Realtor Magazine titled, One Stop Shopping, and I was reminded about all the great benefits of our brokerage. Not only do we have a fantastic group of agents, but we have a great partnership with Chase, our lender, and Ganek, Wright, & Minsk, our closing attorney. They are both in house so if you ever need to talk with someone, you can get it all here at Sanctuary. Having just purchased a home, I know how often I had questions and how often I needed to speak with someone. Keith Spain, our lender, is here in house so you can always get in touch with him at our office or you can always call him. He does return your call and pretty quickly. As for Ganek, Wright, and Minsk, you can close on your home here at Sanctuary. They will come to us! We hold closings at the office because it's convenient and it makes our clients feel more comfortable. So, if you're looking for one stop shopping, we're what you're looking for.

So, let me tell you what the article said. It says making the process as convenient as possible for the home buyer is what is important. Closing with a brokerage that has all the services packaged together makes the transaction process quick, convenient, at less cost, and with fewer mistakes. Eighty percent of buyers say the biggest perceived benefit is the chance to save money and just over seventy percent say there's less of a chance of the whole deal falling apart. They have found out that home buyers who have used this one stop shopping concept have a higher rate of satisfaction. The problem is that seventy percent of buyers surveyed had not heard of this concept until this survey. Let's get the word out. We want our clients to be happier!

Wow, it is an exciting time to be living in Midtown. Did you know there are about 100,000 people living within 2 miles of Midtown and the median age is 32? Your average family income is $92,500 and the median home value is $332,000.

Here are the changes that are happening in your neighborhood.  Do you know about the Midtown Mile? It consists of 14 consecutive city blocks (North Avenue to 15^th Street) and will have 1 million sq. ft. of retail space on Peachtree. A major component of Midtown mile is already underway. It’s a 2.5 million square foot mixed-use development and it is Phase I of three phases. 1010 Midtown, a 35-story building, broke ground September 2006. It will have 443 condominium residences and $50,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

Selig Enterprises and Daniel Corporation are developers that control the largest piece of retail on the Midtown Mile. They plan to attract retails unique to the market. These stores will be able to operate on multi-levels to maximize space and deliver that urban, yet sophisticated shopping atmosphere. You didn’t hear it from me, but we may be getting a Barney’s.

In Phase II, the developers will be adding office and hospitality space to the project. Construction is scheduled to start in the summer on a 725,000 sq. ft. office building with 60,000 sq. ft. of retail on the bottom. Part of Phase II is the addition of a 452,000 sq. ft. hotel and condominium building. There is no question; Midtown lacks an upscale, good business class hotel.

Phase III will include about 500,000 sq. ft of office space, 40,000 sq. ft of retail space and a super luxury boutique hotel. This phase will start when the developers are comfortable with how the second phase has progressed. If you’re wondering about parking, don’t worry. The project will accommodate plenty of parking!

So, what do you think? Midtown is definitely a place you will want to live if you’re not here already. Sanctuary Real Estate is in the heart of Midtown and we know Midtown! If you’re looking for an agent who knows what’s going on and what’s hot and new, give us a call 404.644.3146. We would love to find you a Sanctuary in what will be the next New York Madison Avenue.

Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007 10:32 AM by Kelli Meier