Life and Real Estate in and Around Athens Ga

New FHA Financing Requirements: Will They Affect You Buying or Selling a Home in and Athens Ga

01/21/2010 by livinginathensga

The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has made some changes to it’s home financing requirements that may have an impact upon home sales and purchases. The changes involve credit scores, mortgage insurance and seller contributions.

Previously, the FHA did not have a minimum credit score requirement. The new guidelines require a minimum credit score of 580. Credit score is determined by averaging the scores of the three major credit reporting agencies. Home buyers who do not meet the minimum will be required to make a 10% down payment rather than the 3.5% required.

The FHA has raised the upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75% to 2.25%. Annual premiums have remained unchanged.

Reduced the amount of seller contributions to 3% from 6%. Seller contributions are where the seller agrees to contribute toward the buyer’s actual closing costs, prepaid expenses, discount points, and other financing concessions.

So what does this mean, will it hurt sales in the Athens, Ga real estate market, which includes Athens-Clarke County, Watkinsville, and the adjacent counties, Madison, Jackson, Oglethorpe, Oconee and parts of Barrow & Walton? It is possible but the impact should not be too bad. Most lenders are already requiring a minimum credit score, often at 600 or higher. It will, however, require that the buyer have more money available at closing.

How much money will be required? Consider the case of a buyer purchasing a home at the average price, for the Athens, Ga area, of roughly $180,000.00.

Under the old guidelines, the buyer would require: Under the new guidelines the buyer would require

1.75% mortgage insurance premium $3150 2.25% mortgage insurance premium $4050

This would require an additional $900 in upfront mortgage insurance fees.

Additionally, the seller may have contributed up to 6% of the purchase price, or $10,800 to defray some of the financing costs. That amount is now reduced to 3%, or $5400. This means that the buyer may now have to come up with and additional $5400 that might have been covered by seller contributions. Therefore, on the average price home in the Athens, Ga area, the buyer may need to come up with anywhere from $900 to $6300 additional dollars at the time of purchase.

Some buyers may have a difficult time coming up with the additional funding. However, the FHA is looking for congressional approval to move some or all of the mortgage insurance increase into the annual premium to mitigate the requirement for the buyer to come up with additional money at closing.

Not all of these changes will take place at the same time. The increase in the mortgage premium will take place on FHA loans having a case number assigned on or after Apr. 5, 2010. The other changes will take place sometime in the summer, date to be determined.

So what does this mean? Basically, it means that buyers will need to come up with additional funds to bring to the closing table. Prospective buyers, planning on purchasing, need to start working now to make sure that you have that additional cash available.

Or, you can use one of several of other options:

You can move your home purchase forward, making sure that, if using an FHA loan, you get a case number assigned, Apr. 4, 2010 or earlier.
You can use a VA loan, if you qualify, which requires no money down and does not have mortgage insurance.
You can use a USDA Rural Development loan in areas that qualify. Those areas include Jackson & Oglethorpe Counties as well as parts of Oconee, Walton, Madison and Barrow counties.
You can get a conventional loan.

If you are interested in more information about this, or, are considering buying or selling real estate in the Athens, Ga area, including the surrounding communities and counties, please call me at 706-207-5290. For a copy of my 99 Tips for Getting Your Home Ready to Sell, please click here to email me with the request. To search for homes in Athens, Ga. area, as well as NE. Georgia, please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Posted in Buying A Home, Rural Development Loans, Selling Your Home, fha, home finance, home financing | Leave a Comment »

Baby, It’s Cold Outside! Protect Those Pipes

01/05/2010 by livinginathensga

Well, the new year is here, and so is the really cold weather. It appears we are in a cold snap where we are and will see temperatures that we haven’t experienced for over 25 years. There are a few things you can do to protect your home and furnishings during this period, that may last another 10 days.

The biggest risk from these freezing temperatures, to your home, is from water turning to ice inside your pipes and outdoor faucets. Make sure that you remove all of your hoses from any outside hose bibs. You can also cover them with insulating hose bib covers that you can purchase at any hardware store and even from some “super stores” such as a Walmart Supercenter.

Next, make sure that your water pipes, in your crawlspace or attic, are insulated. You can purchase these insulation sleeves that just fold over your pipes at the same places that you find the hose bib covers.

Also, you may want to leave each of your indoor faucets opened to allow for a drip. This will keep a slight movement of water inside of the pipes. Do this with both the hot and cold faucets. For a single spout, just align the control in the middle.

One last step you can take is to open all doors to your interior cabinets. This will allow the room temperature air to circulate around the water pipes and help prevent freezing.

Know where your water shutoff valves are. Sometimes, no matter what you do, those pipes will freeze and burst. Shutting off the water to those burst or leaking pipes will prevent further damage to your home. Keep the phone number of your plumber handy in case you do spring a leak in your pipes.

And, finally, if you are looking to buy or sell your home or other property, give me a call at 706-207-5290. For a copy of my 99 Tips For Home Sellers please click here to email me with your request. I will not share your email address with anyone. To search for homes and real estate in the Athens area and N.E. GA, please visit my website The Athens Real Estate Page.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful – Some Tips for Winterizing Your N.E. Ga. Home!

12/14/2009 by livinginathensga

Winter is here, and, according to those in the know, prognostications are for a much cooler than normal winter here in Athens and N.E. Ga, up to 40% cooler temperatures according to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). So, if you haven’t yet, it’s time to get the home ready for winter. It’s time to do the things that will keep you more comfortable and at the same time keep your heating costs down.

Here are a few suggestions for things that you can do to make your home more enjoyable this winter:

1) If you have a fireplace orwood burning stove have it cleaned and inspected. Either do it yourself or hire a chimney sweep to:

Clean your chimney of creosote and soot buildup. This makes your fireplace function better as well as remove a potential fire hazard.
Inspect your fireplace damper to make sure that it is opening and closing correctly. Keep the cold air out when the fireplace is not in use and let the smoke exhaust up the chimney when burning.
Check the firebox for cracks or damage
Check the chimney cap to make sure that it is in place and that the screen is intact to keep out birds and rodents.

2) Have your furnace, heat pump, etc. inspected and serviced by an HVAC professional.

Stock up on and replace furnace filters monthly.
For more savings, replace your existing manual thermostat with a programmable set back thermostat.

3) Exterior doors and windows:

Replace screens with storm windows and doors if you have them.
Caulk around exterior window and door jambs
Replace worn weather stripping in doors and windows
For additional weatherizing, you can cover windows with plastic sheeting, but, this will cut down the light and does not look good.

4) Prepare your exterior faucets (hose bibs).

Disconnect all hoses from hose bibs
Install insulating covers over hose bibs

5) Gutters and downspouts

Remove all leaves and debris from gutters and downspouts
Flush out downspouts with a hose to clear any debris
Remove and debris or blockages from around the base of downspouts to prevent ice dam buildup

6) Insulate

Insulate your hot water tank with an insulating blanket you can buy at the hardware store.
Insulate exterior outlets and switch plates with inexpensive foam sealing gasket.
Increase insulation depth in attic to 19″

7) Prepare an emergency kit

Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.
Replace the batteries in your flashlights and store them in an easily accessible location. Have extra batteries available.
Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.
Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.
Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.

Doing all, or even just some, of the above will make winter in your home more comfortable and will save you money on heating bills. As a bonus, some of what you do may be eligible for tax credits next year, so, keep your receipts.

And, on those chilly evenings, just sit back with the person and beverage of choice, and, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. But maybe not quite as heavily as last year.

For more information about real estate, or, if you are interested in buying or selling your home or property in the Greater Athens and N.E. Ga area, please call me at 706-207-5290. You can search for real estate in and around Athens and N.E. Ga by visiting my webpage, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Posted in Athens Ga Real Estate, Home Maintenance, winterizing your home | Leave a Comment »

Athens Ga Area Weekly Real Estate Sales Show Positive Signs

12/08/2009 by livinginathensga

The weekly real estate sales for the Greater Athens Ga area have been showing positive signs recently. Last weeks (Nov. 30 – Dec. 6, 2009) market statistics bode well if the trend continues.

The Greater Athens Ga real estate market consists of Athens-Clarke County, Oglethorpe County, Jackson County, Oconee County, including Watkinsville, and Madison County. Overall, active listings for the area decreased by 1.1% from 3242 active listings to 3207 active listings while closed sales went from 16 to 26, an over 62% increase. A lower number of listings, coupled with increased closings are both positive trends signs.

However, there is one negative indicator and that is pending sales. That number dropped from 283 to 249. But, there are two mitigating factors that may reduce the negative aspect of this. The first, this time of the year there is always a reduction of sales, so a lower number of pending contracts can be expected. Second, and perhaps having the most impact, the original first time home buyers tax credit was to expire on Nov. 30, therefore, there was a rush to get pending sales closed by Nov. 30. While the credit has been extended, and also now includes repeat home buyers, that extension has not been reflected in pending sales, and probably will not until February, 2010 and beyond. I expect pending sales to continue to decline until next year.

The following links will take you to the weekly market reports for each of the sections within the greater Athens, Ga real estate market area:

Athens – Clarke County, GA Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Watkinsville, Ga Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Oconee County Ga Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Jackson County Ga Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Madison County Ga Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Oglethorpe County Ga Weekly Real Estate Market Report & Stats, 12/6/2009

Posted in 2009 Market Statistics, Athens Ga Real Estate, Jackson County Ga Market Data, Madison County Market Data, Oglethorpe County Market Data, athens market data, oconee county market data | Leave a Comment »

For Your Enjoyment

12/08/2009 by livinginathensga

I received this link in an email and just thought that I would share it with you.

I have been to Alaska several times and have seen many moose, but I didn’t see what whoever made the video of this saw.

Take the time to enjoy.

Posted in Just for Fun, Videos | Leave a Comment »

New Fannie Mae Deed For Lease Program Can Keep People in Their Homes After Foreclosure

12/01/2009 by livinginathensga

Fannie Mae has announced it’s Deed For Lease Program (D4L) that can help those who are having their homes foreclosed remain in their homes for up to 12 months after foreclosure. The program is designed to allow qualified families to remain in their homes, under lease, for up to one year, after executing a DIL (Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure) property transfer. Children can now finish the school year with their friends, parents can stabilize their employment or credit situations, and, the borrowers can establish a rent/lease payment history.

Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure simply means means that the owner(s) gives the title to the home to the lender without going through either a short sale or foreclosure process. One of the advantages of DIL is that this process sometimes has a smaller negative impact on the borrower’s credit rating than a foreclosure.

If you are “underwater” on your home and finding it hard to meet your payments, you may want to talk with your lender about loan modification, and/or D4L and determine which may be best for your circumstance. Details of the D4L program can be found here on the Fannie Mae website. If you are anticipating any problems in the future, you may want to talk to a real estate agent about getting your home sold as quickly and at the best price possible in today’s market.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in and around Athens, GA please call me at 706-207-5290. To search for properties in Athens and N.E. Georgia, please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Posted in Athens Ga Real Estate, Foreclosure, foreclosures | Leave a Comment »

Athens Annual Real Estate Sales Up in October 2009, First Time in Over a Year

11/13/2009 by livinginathensga

The Athens-Clarke County area experienced the first increase in annual residential sales in over 18 months in October. Also, on a positive note, both the average and median sales prices have been holding steady for 4 months in a row.

The following are links to the details for Athens, Watkinsville and the surrounding counties:

Athens – Clarke County Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

Watkinsville Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

Oconee County Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

Oglethorpe County Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

Madison County Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

Jackson Residential Real Estate Sales Stats for October 2009

If you are interested in buying or selling a home or property in the area, or, if you would just like information about what is going on in real estate in the area, including a market analysis of the value of your home, please feel free to call me at 706-207-5290. You can also click here to email me with your questions. If you would like to search for real estate in and around Athens and N.E. GA, please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Can Sellers Take Advantage of the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit Extension?

11/09/2009 by livinginathensga

guynnfront2 As you may know, President Obama signed the extension of the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit into law. Also included in this extension are existing home owners who want to “move up” or become repeat buyers. But can this also benefit you as a seller?

Well, the first and simplest answer, is it benefits the seller when the seller purchases a new property, assuming that the seller has lived in the home they are selling for 5 of the previous 8 years.

But will it help sell your home and benefit you even if you haven’t met the residency requirements? It may not be obvious, but, yes, it can help, and it will help many.

How will it do this? First, it will not only bring more first time buyers into the market, it will bring “move up” buyers. It will bring those that have bought starter homes, condos or town-homes into the market to move up. It will also bring some who have mortgages paid off, or very low payments, into the market, giving an incentive to possibly move prior to their existing home selling.

Second, the timing of this extension is almost perfect. It will be in effect as we head into the “peak” home selling period of next year, spring. It will encourage buyers to go under contract by April 30, 2010.

Third, the binding agreement provision of the law. This means that buyers will not have to move during the middle of the school semester but can close near or at the end of school with minimal disruption to their children. It also means that buyers will be looking and trying to get into contracts up through and including April 30th. Under the previous plans, buyers effectively had to stop looking up to six weeks before eligibility ended in order to make sure that their contract would close by the end of eligibility.

But will it increase the sales price of your home? That question does not have an obvious answer. In some areas, the first time home buyer’s credit is credited with increasing the competition, and, as a result, the prices of some starter homes. In the Athens, GA area, including the surrounding counties, that has not necessarily been the case. However, as the Apr. 30 deadline approaches, there may be some leverage.

How do you take advantage of this? This may sound self serving, but the best way to take advantage is to use a full service Realtor® that will use all of the current and best tools to get your property marketed, including target marketing. Those tools will include market pricing, staging suggestions, dozens of photographs, virtual tours, large internet presence, and many others.

So what should you be doing? I know that this is the holiday time of the year, but, you should also be getting your home and yard in shape to sell. Condition of your home is only 2nd in importance to price. Yeah, we all heard about location, but if the price or condition aren’t right, location doesn’t mean that much in today’s market.

Call me at 706-207-5290 or email for a copy of my 99 Tips for Selling Your Home to get started on getting your home sold. And, if you have any questions about the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit extension, buying or selling a home or other real estate in and around Athens, GA or N.E. GA, please call me or email me with those questions. To search for homes and other real estate in and around Athens and N.E. GA, please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Posted in $6500 Tax Credit, $8000 Tax Credit, Home Buyer's Tax Credit Benefits for Home Sellers, Selling Your Home | Leave a Comment »

President Signs $8000 First Time & $6500 Existing Owners Buyers Credit Extension

11/06/2009 by livinginathensga

President Obama today signed the bill extending the $8000 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. guynnfront2 Also include in the bill is a $6500 credit for “move up” buyers, those that have owned their home for at least 5 of the last 8 years. Additionally, this credit is extended for 1 year to those in the military serving at least 90 days overseas during 2008 & 2009. The chart below provides the details of the bill as well as any differences between the original and the new credits.

FEATURE	Jan 1 – November 30, 2009 Rules as enacted	December 1 – April 30, 2010 Rules as enacted
First time Buyer –Amount of Credit	$8000 ($4000 married filing separate)	$8000 ($4000 married filing separate)
Firsttime Buyer – Definition for Eligibility	May not have had an interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to purchase	No Change
Current Homeowner –Amount of Credit	No Provision	$6500 ($3250 married filing separate)
Effective Date – Current Owner	No Provision	Date of Enactment (November 6, 2009)
Current Homeowner – Definition for Eligibility	No Provision	Must have used the home sold or being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years
Termination of Credit	Purchases after November 30, 2009. (Becomes April 30, 2010 on Date of Enactment.)	Purchases after April 30, 2010
Binding Contract Rule	None	So long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.
Income Limits (Note: Increased income limits are effective as of date of enactment of bill)	$75,000 – single $150,000 – married Additional $20,000 phase out	$125,000 – single $225,000 – married Additional $20,000 phase
Limitation on Cost of Purchased Home	None	$800,000 Effective Date of Enactment
Purchase by a Dependent	No Provision	Ineligible Effective Date of Enactment
Antifraud Rule	None	Purchaser must attach documentation of purchase to tax return

One of the most significant changes in these credits is the binding contract provision. Buyers now have up until the end date of eligibility to enter into a binding agreement on a home purchase. They then have another 60 days to close. This will alleviate any stress on the lenders trying to get expedited contract closings.

For more information on the home buyers tax credits, for information on getting your self ready to purchase a home, or, for my 99 Tips for Getting Your Home Ready to Sell, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can email me with your questions or requests.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home, land or any other type of real estate in Athens, GA and the surrounding counties in N.E. Georgia, please call me or email me. If you would like to search for real estate in and around Athens and N.E. Georgia, please visit my website, The Athens Real Estate Page.

Your real estate success is my job, and I do love my job!

Posted in $6500 Tax Credit, $8000 Tax Credit, Athens Ga Real Estate, First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, buyers credit | Leave a Comment »

Love Notes Left Behind – A Story of Tragedy and Hope

11/06/2009 by livinginathensga

A Realtor acquaintance of mine, whom I have never met other than through a real estate related social network, wrote a blog post that moved me tremendously, especially after I went to the websites she provided links to. I just thought that I would share this with those of you that read this blog and encourage you to visit those sites also.

She graciously gave me permission to reblog what she wrote. I hope that you find compassion and inspiration in this. And take Rita’s message in her closing sentence to heart.

Love Notes left behind by Rita Fong

I was reading an article about this little girl named Elena Desserich, she was diagnosed of brain cancer right before her 6th birthday. She died 225 days after the diagnose. After she passed away, her parents found lots of notes Elena wrote and hid them all around the house. You can see the love notes Elena left to her parents on www.notesleftbehind.com It just breaks my heart to know what her parents went through and lost their child at such a young age. Yet, Elena was so compassionate, and loved her family so much and left behind some unforgettable memories for them to treasure, she was an amazing girl.

Her parents published these notes in a book called Notes Left Behind, and all the proceeds go to a non-profit organization called The Cure Starts Now to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer.

Children love is so unconditional, pure, and genuine. Remember to hug your child and tell them you love them everyday. Don’t take anything for granted. Be thankful what you have.

Posted in Causes, Childhood Cancer, Not Real Estate | Leave a Comment »

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