Archive for September, 2009
September 28, 2009
Real estate has been a very rough business lately. Sometimes I have to remind myself that working in residential real estate satisfies a basic human need for shelter. And don’t we live for the moments when we know we’ve contributed to make a family happy and safe?
One of my favorite memories concerns a family moving to Atlanta from Salt Lake City, Utah. The family had moved to Salt Lake as a job transfer and had expected good things. Unfortunately, they were dismayed to find that their children had difficulty making friends, weren’t invited to functions and weren’t included in play activities because of their religion. The husband eventually took a lower paying job in Atlanta to allow his family to be near other Catholic families.
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Tags:agent, ann bone, atlanta, Christmas holiday, good moments, Metro Brokers, Real Estate, Realtor
Posted in Agents | 12 Comments »
September 22, 2009
Flooding in Atlanta affected Metro Brokers office in Woodstock
The recent torrential rains, resulting in widespread flooding, have caused many Georgia homeowners to re-think the insurance coverage they currently have in place. Areas that have either never flooded (at least no record of flooding) are under water from swollen streams and creeks. We’ve all seen the news reports showing homes with water up to the roof tops in the most severe areas. In other areas, the water flooded basements and crawl spaces, then subsided to leave a huge mess behind.
At Metro Brokers Insurance, we’ve literally been “flooded” with calls from clients filing claims for damages. We’ve also seen a marked increase in the number of calls from people wanting to purchase Flood Insurance.
Flood Insurance, why do I need Flood Insurance? Doesn’t my Homeowners Insurance policy cover flooding? The answer is “No”.
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Tags:atlanta floods, coverage, douglasville floods, FEMA, flood claims, flood insurance, flood policy, georgia homeowners, Glen Curry, homeowners insurance, insurance policy, metro brokers insurance, National Flood Insurance Program
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | 12 Comments »
September 21, 2009
Once you find yourself doing what it is you enjoy, always practice, practice, practice on getting better. Remember the Allen Iverson controversy (2006) “practice, we talking’ about practice”. We’ve heard that statement many times before with how important practice is, but so many times we get very complacent with our performance.
We do just enough to get by! Just enough so that everyone thinks we’re working hard. Do you know what separates the best from average? Practice! I’ve said it a thousand times before, what does Tiger Woods do when he’s not playing golf? Practicing. What do athletes do after a big game? They go back and watch tape and you guessed it…Practice.
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Tags:atlanta real estate, career success, mastering your craft, Metro Brokers, Michael McFadden, performance level, practice, professional, real estate success
Posted in Agents | 9 Comments »
September 14, 2009
It’s already September and the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Income Tax Credit (ITC) ends on November 30, 2009. That means that buyers hoping to take advantage of the ITC need to close on or before November 30.
Assuming that the “average” conventional loan is taking 30 days to close, 45 days for the “average” FHA, 60 days for the “average” VA loan, these buyers need to be UNDER CONTRACT on a property within the next 30 days! It’s time for the last-minute lookers to get in gear and begin their searches.
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Tags:$8000 tax credit, ann bone, atlanta real estate, atlanta short sales, closing timelines, deadline, first time homebuyers, Metro Brokers, short sales
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | 12 Comments »
September 11, 2009
Many buyers ask to see homes that are corporate owned because they are usually priced right and they’re in good condition. There are procedures that are unique to these homes that you should be aware of when a buyer wants to make an offer on either a “Corporate Owned” or a “Marketing Assistance” property.
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Tags:atlanta real estate, corporate owned, corporate transferee, dana eskridge, home for sale, listing, marketing assistance, Metro Brokers, move, property, relocation
Posted in Agents, Buyers | 8 Comments »
September 9, 2009
FSBO means “For Sale By Owner” to the public. To REALTORS, FSBO means “Fastest Sales Business Opportunity”. History shows that, on average, about 86% of FSBO’s will place their property in the hands of a licensed real estate professional within 30-45 days of deciding to sell. History also shows that only 5% to 6% of the FSBO’s succeed in selling their property without hiring an agent.
What happens to the missing 8% to 9%? They give up, take down the sign and may try again at a later date.
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Tags:ann bone, atlanta real estate, costs, for sale by owner, FSBO, home, Metro Brokers, no agent, no Realtor, real estate agent, tips to selling, what to do, without
Posted in Agents, Sellers | 8 Comments »
September 4, 2009
How many books have been written about time management? You’d think that by now just about everything that could be said, has been said, however, it continues to be a relevant topic.
At first glance, you might be inclined to ask: “how hard can this be”. All you have to do is buy some sort of organizer or today you can use your cell phone to manage your time. Just plan ahead and follow the plan. It really does seem simple enough. So, why do we struggle with the management and best use of our time? There are many reasons why time ends up controlling us.
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Tags:business planning, Dan Hinson, Metro Brokers, productivity, time management
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | 7 Comments »
September 2, 2009
It’s baffling to me why there are still thousands and thousands of folks still paying rent when they could own a home of their own and get up to $8,000.
What’s even more baffling to me is that many of these folks could own a home for the same or less per month than they pay in rent….and get the $8,000.
What’s most baffling is that most qualifed homebuyers could buy a home, pay the same or less per month then they do in rent and have money left over from the $8,000 tax credit.
No, the tax credit can not be used as the down payment, but it would replace the funds used.
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Tags:$8000 tax credit, atlanta, deadline, first time homebuyers, Judy Jones, Metro Brokers Financial, money, Real Estate
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | 17 Comments »
