1. Your photos are unimpressive.The vast majority of home buyers start their search for a home on the Internet, your house had better look great in print. Not just nice… downright fabulous.  Today we are considering internet views as a ‘virtual showing’… if your house gets past that, then they might (just might) make an appointment to see it in person… We consider that your SECOND showing. Today’s buyers are expecting good quality photos (and lots of them… just 1 shot from the street won’t cut it!), a virtual tour, maybe even a floor plan, if applicable.

2. It’s overpriced. You’ve got to view your own property as objectively as possible.  Look at the home like a “buyer”… if necessary, go out with your Realtor and view other homes that are priced comparably to yours.  Be objective.  Given the other options on the market (and yes, you DO have to include short sales and foreclosures on your list… your potential buyers are!), would YOU buy your home, over the others on the market?

If no, then you either have to “update” your home to meet or beat the competition… or lower your price to adjust for it.  if you can’t afford to sell for the price, that you KNOW it sell for, you may want to consider just removing it from the market.

3. It shows poorly.This could mean almost anything… from the barky, barky dog, to the smell of the diaper pail.  Maybe the carpeting is a bit worn, or the woodwork shows a lot of wear.  All things that don’t show up on the internet, but whoa…. once you get inside the house… they show up, like a cat-urine-smell on a 95 degree day in New Orleans!

4. You’re invisible.Today’s buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively.  Have you (or your agent) simply plopped the property on the MLS, and started praying?  Are you on all the websites…(Trulia, Zillow, Craig’s List, Google Base, etc…) all the places that buyers are searching?  If not, you want to be.

5. Your listing is tired and stale on the market. Okay… yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market 2 years ago.  But since then you have reduced your price almost monthly… constantly chasing the market down…. Now, finally you’re truly priced where you should be… but your listing is tired and stale.  Everyone looking for your type of property (ie: 3br/1.1 bath) in your area has already seen it, sometimes twice… and they remember that there was “something” about it that they didn’t like… but what they don’t remember is… what they didn’t like…. was the price.   Time to take the listing off market.  Let it cool off (3-6 months), and bring it back on fresh in the Spring.  Yeah, you’ll have 6 mos. worth of holding-costs… but you’ll more than make up for it in your purchase price.

btw… Avoid the temptation to bring the house back on at a higher price, than when you left the market.  Just “don’t do it”!

6. Your house won’t appraise.The house looks great… you’ve finally gotten someone to bring you a bid on your slightly over-priced, but beautiful pied-a-terre.  But the bank appraiser says it’s worth $20,000 less than what they’ve agreed to pay.  Heavy sigh… bite the bullet…. negotiate with them.   If you have to drop the price $20,000 to make it work…. “make it work”… chances are, anybody else trying to buy your house will run into the same problem.

Time is quickly running out to get the $8000 tax credit for the purchase of your first home, or if you have not owned a home in the past three years.  The deadline to close on the purchase of your home must be on or before October 31st, 2009.  I will be happy to assist anyone that is interested in taking advantage of this tax credit, so please contact me as soon as possible.

scott@scottsrealty.com

HUD announced on Friday that the $8000 tax credit can be applied toward customer’s Down Payment. Additionally they will allow lenders to help the buyer use the money before they receive the credit. As of yet no lender has agreed to the program and the State of Georgia has not approved any non-profits that would assist in this endeavor.

Please see the HUD announcement, which shows that if this program is implemented it could result in160,000 new home sales!!!

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-072.cfm

Some highlights on the $8000 Tax Credit include:

* Owner Occupied Properties ONLY

* Customers can not have owned a home in the last 3 yrs

* Home has to be closed and Occupied by December 1, 2009

* The credit REQUIRES the property purchased to be the primary residence for 3 yrs or the credit must be repaid

*Income restrictions DO APPLY

For specifics please visit hhtp://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html

HUD Foreclosures and Govt owned homes are some of the best deals in the real estate market today.  FHA financing as well VA Financing and many other options are out there for buyers.  First time Home Buyers will find these deals easy to get into, and often cheaper than the rent for an apartment or rental home.  Georgia has some great deals on foreclosed homes, and coupled with the $8,000. stimulus rebate makes for a great deal in the real estate market today.

Please call or email me today to get a Free List of HUD Foreclosures or Govt owned homes in your area of Georgia.

Scott Dilbeck 404-861-6623

U-Haul Names Atlanta as Top 2008 Destination
Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:00am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
PHOENIX, March 31, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — U-Haul International, Inc.,
America’s number one choice for do-it-yourself movers, today released the
results of the annual 2008 U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, titled “The
2008 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities.” According to moving data reflective of
nationwide statistics for calendar year 2008, Atlanta takes the No. 1 spot for
the second year in a row, while Houston takes second place, moving up from the
No. 8 rank last year. Los Angeles climbed to No. 3 from No. 13 last year, while
Las Vegas maintained at No. 4 for the second year in a row, and Denver, Colo.
moved up to fifth place from the No. 9 rank last year. Portland, Ore.; Chicago,
San Antonio, Austin, Texas and Orlando, Fla. rounded out the top 10.

“Since 1945, U-Haul has built a long and proud history of relocating Americans,”
said U-Haul President of Phoenix Operations John “J.T.” Taylor. “Our consumers
rely on us to provide affordable services at convenient locations, which makes
for a shorter distance to travel when moving. This not only makes their move
easier but also has the positive effect of reducing the amount of carbon
emissions released into the atmosphere.”

The ranking reflects destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles, and
considers every city in the country, regardless of size. However, the data is
not stated as a percentage of population and is not reflective of overall
growth.

The 2008 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities Report was compiled from more than 1
million U-Haul truck transactions occurring between Jan.1 and Dec. 31, 2008.

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the undisputed choice for the “do-it-yourself”
mover, with a network of more than 15,650 locations in all 50 United States and
10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers’ patronage has enabled the Company to
maintain a fleet size of 96,000 trucks, 75,000 trailers and 35,000 towing
devices. U-Haul offers more than 395,000 rooms and more than 34 million square
feet of storage space at more than 1,075 owned and managed facilities throughout
North America. U-Haul is the consumer’s number one choice as the largest
installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry.
U-Haul supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard barbecues as one of
the nation’s largest retailers of propane.

The U-Haul International, Inc. logo is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5134

Note to editors: The annual mileage of North American U-Haul trucks, trailers
and tow dollies would move a family to the moon and back more than 20.5 times
per day, every day of the year. The annual mileage of North American U-Haul
trucks, trailers and tow dollies would travel around the Earth 194 times per
day, every day of the year.

U-Haul Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities*

January – December 2008

1. ATLANTA, Ga. 26. PITTSBURGH, Pa.
2. HOUSTON, Texas 27. PHOENIX, Ariz.
3. LOS ANGELES, Calif. 28. NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.
4. LAS VEGAS, Nev. 29. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.
5. DENVER, Colo. 30. FULLERTON, Calif.
6. PORTLAND, Ore. 31. COSTA MESA, Calif.
7. CHICAGO, Ill. 32. CHARLOTTE, N.C.
8. SAN ANTONIO, Texas 33. SAN JOSE, Calif.
9. AUSTIN, Texas 34. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.
10. ORLANDO, Fla. 35. ST. LOUIS, Mo.
11. SAN DIEGO, Calif. 36. QUEENS, N.Y.
12. KANSAS CITY, Mo. 37. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
13. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. 38. OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.
14. MIAMI, Fla. 39. TUCSON, Ariz.
15. SACRAMENTO, Calif. 40. TULSA, Okla.
16. BROOKLYN, N.Y. 41. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah
17. DALLAS, Texas 42. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
18. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 43. SPOKANE, Wash.
19. WASHINGTON, D.C. 44. BRONX, N.Y.
20. TAMPA, Fla. 45. LONG BEACH, Calif.
21. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. 46. FRESNO, Calif.
22. VAN NUYS, Calif. 47. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.
23. FORT WORTH, Texas 48. BALTIMORE, Md.
24. COLUMBUS, Ohio 49. SEATTLE, Wash.
25. CHRISMAN, Ill. 50. SANTA MONICA, Calif.
*Data compiled from more than 1 million U-Haul one-way truck transactions from
January – December 2008.

Buying a foreclosure in today’s market can be a very lucrative purchase, and very wise investment.  In Georgia, there are many good deal in real estate to be had, but some of the best are in brand new construction homes that have been foreclosed.  There are many luxury foreclosures in new subdivisions as well as golf communities, and smaller enclaves as well.  The trick to making a wise purchase is to be sure that you are dealing with a real estate professional that have documented success in this field, and have them provide you with plenty of research on the comparable homes and neighborhood.  They should also help you in evaluating the home for improvements and the extent to which is will cost to bring up to living standards.  I have worked with many buyers and investors that have been able to buy bank owned homes for pennies on the dollar and thus have a very lucrative investment.  I am here for your free consultation, and hope to hear from you soon.

We just listed 220 acres of land that is along Lake Allatoona in ideal location, just on the west side of Canton.  The land has beautiful hardwoods and gently rolling landscape. Please click on the link to go directly to web information.  The Street is Ficklen Church Way in Cherokee County, and the land can be subdivided into smaller tracts.  This is prime property for development or private farm or estate.

http://www.idxre.com/idx/listingsMap.cfm?cid=13660&lstp=featuredListings&CFID=6013632&CFTOKEN=36046265

House Bill 261 Passes the Senate

Great news for the Georgia housing industry as Bill 261 has passed through the Senate and is on its way to a conference committee. The committee is in charge of working out the differences between the Senate version and the House version to create a decent compromise that incorporates factors from both. Hopefully we will see this updated version of the bill very soon and it will easily pass both the House and Senate again.

House Bill 261 authorizes a $3,600 home buyer tax credit for a six month period of time for the purchase of any single-family residence, including houses, townhomes and condos. This is not restricted to first-time homebuyers like the current $8,000 home buyer tax credit, and, in fact, is in addition to that credit. So first time home buyers in Atlanta would be eligible for a total of $11,600 in incentives for purchasing a new home. The legislation would be a great boost the housing market, which has already begun to see some positive numbers in the past month.