Selling Your Home: 

Sometimes, life just hands us the inevitable: just when everything seems right with your home, something happens and you have to sell your dwelling.  No matter what your reasons are for selling, remember that now is no time to dawdle, the process of preparing a home for sale can take a month or more. So, here's how to start:

1. Take a Fresh Look at Your Home
2. Clean Out the Clutter Before You Start to Sell
3. To Sell, Sell, Sell -- Clean, Clean, Clean
4. Get More for Your Home: Repairs Pay Off
5. Putting Your Home on the Market: Show It to Sell It
6. Get a Sense of the Market

Short Sales 101:

Estimates are that up to 50% of sales in the Georgia market are short sales and this statistic is likley to remain fairly steady for some time to come.  I hope to address some common misunderstands/misconceptions when it relates to short sales in this post.

1.) A short sale means that more money is owed on the house/property than what the current market value.  This money owed is most commonly made up of the mortgage(s) balance and costs to sell (Real Estate Fees).  This amount owed can also include other liens such has back HOA dues, unpaid property taxes and so on.

2.) The Seller/Homeowner is NOT the bank. What is important for buyer’s agents and buyer’s to understand is that the seller still holds title.  Some short sales may be close to foreclosure but they are NOT yet bank-owned and the seller still is the person who you initially negotiating with.  The main difference is that there will be a contingency for those who are owed money on the house to agree to accept less in order to allow the sale to proceed.  Think of it like a reverse financing contingency.

3.) Once the buyer and seller sign the contract, you have a binding agreement.  This is a something that many agents seem to either not understand or not want to accept.  They think that it only becomes a contract once those who are owed money agree to take less, this would be like saying on a regular sale there is no contract until the loan is fully approved and all contingencies are removed and they buyer will deposit the earnest money at that time.  In addition, this often means the buyer will have to perform an inspection upfront before the contingency is signed off on.

4.) Time-frame: Lenders can take 60 or more days to evaluate these short sale scenario.  You and your buyer most likely are not going to get an answer to this contingency in a few days.

Conclusion: While this post only highlights some very basic information on short sales, it does illustrate the complexities one does have.  It can’t be overemphasized enough that working with a real estate professional that has short sale experience is vital to the successful outcome on a short sale transaction

Advanced Property Marketing System:

I am proud to be part of a full-service brokerage. The reason is simple.  Our clients achieve a better return on their property investment!  
There are a number of variables to consider when calculating your return on investment including sale price, time on market, carrying costs, repair costs, staging costs and more.  The real estate process can be very complicated and time-consuming.  The key areas of value for full-service real estate include the following:

Extensive Contract Expertise - Understanding the Georgia Real Estate contracts requires a significant amount of training and experience.  A single mistake by a homeowner trying to sell their home by owner can be a very significant financial liability.  Did you know that the latest Georgia contract has 14 major changes? We know!

Advanced Property Marketing – Did you know that over 80% of buyers use the internet for their home search?  How will your home get maximum exposure and be distinctive on the right real estate websites?  What is the winning value proposition and story of your home versus the competition?  We have the highest skills and the best tools & resources in the market.

Accurate Market Valuation - What is your home really worth – and how does that change as the market changes?  Determining detailed market value requires the compilation of a significant amount of data plus local market expertise.  We are experts and can help you determine detailed market value so you can get the best price possible in the shortest amount of time.

Real Estate Negotiation Skills – Advanced negotiation skills are great asset.  Combining advanced negotiation skills with detailed facts and specific real estate expertise achieve the maximum result. 

Client Services – How much is your time worth?  The process of selling a property takes much more time than most consumers realize.  As the real estate market continues to evolve, it is getting increasingly complicated, time-consuming and costly to market and sell properties.  We are committed to unsurpassed service before, during and after the sale.   
Most buyers begin the search for a new home on the Internet. Prudential Georgia Realty showcases our client’s homes in more locations online- over 25 million unique views per month from our websites and affiliate sites- and we feature multiple photos and virtual tours to ensure your home rises to the top of any search.

Our past clients agree that Full-Service Real Estate was “The Right Choice ™” for them.