May 14, 2012 by Judy Jones
“What are your rates today?” This seems like such a simple question. However, there is no simple answer to this seemingly simple question.
Interest rates vary greatly based on loan type, loan size, loan term, and lock-in time, region of the county, world markets, bond prices and many other volatile indexes. These factors have a major impact on the movement of interest rates, but this list does not include the most important factor, the specific borrower’s credit score, LTV, DTI, property type, source of down payment, etc! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, interest rates, Judy Jones, Metro Brokers, Metro Brokers Financial, mortgages
Posted in Agents, Buyers | Leave a Comment »
May 7, 2012 by Tisha Gay
As summer kicks into high gear, we’re all starting to plan our summer projects. If you’re looking to sell your home, you might want to consider adding “working on my front entrance” to your to-do list.
From the moment a potential buyer steps through the threshold of your home, you want to do everything you can to excite and impress them. As they always say, first impressions are everything, and sellers could lose a potential sale if their entrance isn’t in peak form. With a little effort, you can create a home viewing experience buyers won’t soon forget. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Metro Brokers, Tips, Real Estate, georgia, success, first impression, listing, seller, marketing, Tisha Gay, atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, front door, front entrance, reduce clutter, hardwoods, door handle, door, mirror, artwork
Posted in Agents, Sellers | Leave a Comment »
April 30, 2012 by Dan Hinson
In today’s foreclosure-heavy market, it’s not uncommon to find land properties for sale in your area. Land has always been a great investment, due to its limited supply and historic rise in value. In fact, banks are now putting land on the market at prices that are pennies on the dollar compared with the original cost.
Many investors are purchasing land across Georgia. Depending on what you plan to do with the land, there are two different courses of action you can take: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Metro Brokers, Foreclosures, georgia, listing, Dan Hinson, Commercial Real Estate, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, land, investor, pipe farm, community, funding, raw land
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April 23, 2012 by Tisha Gay
As summer approaches, I can’t help but think of one thing: Vacation!
As a Realtor®, vacations are important. You’re constantly required to be “on” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Communication is an absolute requirement, and not answering your phone or email can cost you valuable business. So we need to be available, and that means answering an email from a seller at 6am and then following up with a buyer at 7pm, and a ton of to-do items in between. It’s also normal practice to work weekends, since that’s when most buyers and sellers are available.
But when we’re on vacation, we get to RELAX… right? Sadly, this isn’t the case for most agents. I’ve actually had agents answer my calls when on the beach, at a theme park, or even on the ski slopes! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, georgia, laptop, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, real estate agent, real estate career, Realtor, relax, smartphone, success, Tips, Tisha Gay, vacation
Posted in Agents | 4 Comments »
April 16, 2012 by Tisha Gay
Too many clothes, not enough closet space?
Where to put your heaps (upon heaps) of clothes can be a problem, especially if you’re planning to buy an older home or a smaller home. In those types of listings, closet space is at a premium. What can you do?
A. Buy a bigger home, with a bigger closet
B. Call a reality TV show for help with a closet makeover
C. Store your extra stuff in an off-site storage building
D. Throw away or donate stuff you don’t need
Plenty of people pick option A. And they have the oversized utility bills to prove it. However, we hope you picked option D. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Buyers, closet cleaning, georgia, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, seller, spring cleaning, success, Tips, Tisha Gay
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | 3 Comments »
April 9, 2012 by Ann Bone
Listing inventory has declined sharply. Where there were 33,743 active single family residential listings in the Atlanta metro area at the end of February 2011, there were only 22,726 at the end of February 2012 –approximately a 33% drop.
Buyer interest is up sharply, evidenced by a 26% increase in contracts pending for 2011 over 2010. More buyers trying to buy fewer listings means fiercer competition for the “good” properties. Sellers are receiving multiple offers, holding “highest and best” bidding contests and instructing their listing agents to keep the property “active” right up until the date of closing. This last item is dirty pool, unethical, illegal and unprofessional. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Metro Brokers, Real Estate, georgia, code of ethics, Realtor, listing, ann bone, seller, atlanta, atlanta real estate, real estate agent, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, fmls, GAMLS, inventory, license law, status, pending, under contract
Posted in Agents | 4 Comments »
April 2, 2012 by Tisha Gay
As the spring season begins, buyers across the country are beginning to look around and swimming pools can be attractive. You may be tempted to buy a home with a swimming pool, but before you go off the deep end (pun absolutely intended), there are a few things to consider.
Swimming pools are both beautiful and lots of fun, but you should be ready for the amount of expenses and work it takes to maintain, as well as the increase to your liability. So should you buy a home with a pool or not? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: above-ground pool, atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Buyers, fiberglass pool, georgia, gunite pool, in-ground pool, Metro Brokers, pool maintenance, pool ownership, poured-concrete pool, Real Estate, swimming pool, Tisha Gay
Posted in Agents, Buyers | 1 Comment »
March 26, 2012 by Brenda Waters
Throughout the day, each of us have numerous moments of truth. What is a “moment of truth” you ask? A moment of truth is anytime we have an opportunity to make an impression on another person. That impression can be good, bad or indifferent. Many times we’re not aware that we’ve just had a moment of truth… so much of what we do is done without conscious thought.
In the business of real estate sales, it’s especially important that we consciously manage the moments of truth that occur throughout the day. Prospective buyers, sellers and other agents make decisions whether or not to work with a particular agent based upon moments of truth. If a moment of truth is bad, people may choose not to do business with someone. If indifferent, they’ll be just as inclined to do business with someone else. Moments of truth are really “make or break” moments. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Brenda Waters, courtesy, customer service, georgia, Metro Brokers, moments of truth, phone call, Real Estate, real estate agent, real estate career, Realtor, success, Tips, voicemail
Posted in Agents | 6 Comments »
March 19, 2012 by Judy Jones
HUD announced this month that they were raising the Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) effective April 1, 2012. The Upfront MIP is changing from 1% to 1.75% and the Annual MIP is changing from .90% to 1.25%.
Before you panic about this bad news… the bottom line is that on a $100,000 FHA base loan amount, the payment will increase less than $7 per month as a result of both MIP premium increases. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, FHA, georgia, HUD, Judy Jones, Metro Brokers, Metro Brokers Financial, MIP, mortgage insurance premium, Real Estate, real estate agent
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | Leave a Comment »
March 12, 2012 by Dana Eskridge
Do you remember when Julia Roberts dressed in her “street” clothes and shopped on Rodeo Drive, and she was snubbed? Then, she came back looking like “money” and they were all over themselves trying to get her business. She reminded them of her past treatment and said “HUGE MISTAKE, HUGE”. I have actually heard similar stories from customers recently who were very upset that their agent talked about money before they even had an opportunity to talk to the customer about their wants and needs. I agree with Julia: Huge mistake.
I think two things come into play here. First, we’ve been conditioned from real estate birth to find out if our prospect qualifies to purchase. Today’s customer is really quite offended by the money conversation right out of the gate. Today’s buyer wants to know if their agent cares about them and can give them the level of service they expect. There’s nothing wrong with having them qualified by a mortgage company, in fact it’s beneficial to everyone, but only after you’ve established a relationship with the customer. Give them a chance to see if the relationship is a good fit for them and for you. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Buyers, dana eskridge, GAR form, georgia, Julia Roberts, Metro Brokers, mortgage company, Pretty Woman, Real Estate, real estate agent, real estate career, Realtor, relocation, Rodeo Drive, success
Posted in Agents, Uncategorized | 10 Comments »
March 5, 2012 by Tisha Gay
Thinking about starting your own blog?
I have a few tips to get you started. Metro Brokers’ Blog has remained successful, with thousands of views each month. In fact, this entry marks its 200th post.
While blogging is definitely a form of social networking, it can help you in ways that Facebook and Twitter can’t. It’s a great outlet for your business knowledge and personal views, and you can go into much greater detail than on other social networking sites.
Just be sure that you have time to dedicate to it. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, blog, blogging, Facebook, georgia, marketing, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, Social Networking, success, Tips, Tisha Gay, Twitter, WordPress
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
February 27, 2012 by Tisha Gay
In 2010, Mukesh Ambani – the richest man in India, forth richest man in the world – completed work on the most expensive home ever built. Totaling $1 billion, the 27-story tower in Mumbai has more floor space than the palace of Versailles and employs 600 staff members.
Named Antilia, the exterior features a very modern design with asymmetric stacks of glass, steel and tiles. There’s also a four-story hanging garden, health club with gym and dance studio, at least one swimming pool, a 50-seat cinema, 3 helipads and a 160-car parking garage on property.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Antilia, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, expensive home, highrise, luxury, marketing, Metro Brokers, Mukesh Ambani, Mumbai, Real Estate, Tisha Gay
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
February 20, 2012 by Brenda Waters
If you’re single and on the “dating scene”, there’s no better aphrodisiac than homeownership!
According to a recent survey by Trulia of 1,000 single people, more than a third of women and 18% of men stated that they’d rather date a homeowner than a renter. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta, atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Brenda Waters, Buyers, first time homebuyers, georgia, homeowners, listing, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, renters, roommate, singles, Tips, Trulia
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | Comments Off
February 13, 2012 by Dana Eskridge
Typically foreclosures – or real estate owned (REO) properties – are a very good buy. They’re priced to sell, and buyers are likely to get a great deal IF you and your real estate agent are knowledgeable about the procedures and pitfalls you’re likely to face.
It happens all too often. Buyers aren’t aware of how different REO’s are from typical homeowner re-sales. Here are some things to keep in mind: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: atlanta real estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, Buyers, dana eskridge, Foreclosures, georgia, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, success, Tips
Posted in Agents, Buyers | 2 Comments »
February 6, 2012 by Tisha Gay
Talk about a geek’s dream come to life! I recently came across a story on sciencefiction.com about a Star Trek home inLeicester, UK. Tony Alleyne, the owner, turned the interior of his flat into a replica of a Star Trek spaceship!
The transformation took more than 10 years, and it included hand-crafted furniture, reworked walls, a command console, a transporter room, voice-activated lighting system and more. The level of detail is absolutely incredible… Alleyne really outdid himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, dream house, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, star trek house, Tisha Gay, United Kingdom
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
“What are your rates today?” This seems like such a simple question. However, there is no simple answer to this seemingly simple question.
