Perfect home for the avid gardener! This 4BD/2.5BA home is tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac and offers lots of privacy. The main level features include a formal Living Room and Dining Room, Family Room with woodburning fireplace, half bath, Laundry Room, plus a Kitchen with plenty of cabinet space. Upstairs you will find the Master Bedroom with private bath along with 3 guest bedrooms and a shared bath. There is an abundance of natural light throughout the home. Beautiful landscaping covers the property and inlcuded in the sale is a greenhouse and small barn/potting shed!

Very spacious in-town condo with large foyer entrance, Living Room with gas log fireplace and built-in bookshelves, updated Kitchen with Breakfast Area, Dining Room, huge Master Bedroom with 2 walk-in closets and a Master Bath with garden tub and separate shower. This one features nice touches such as wood shutters, crown molding and recessed lighting.  Close to downtown Athens and the University of Georgia.

This home in Oconee County has really been well cared for and loved.  4BD/3BA with hardwood floors on the main level, formal Living Room with built-in cabinets and fireplace, formal Dining Room, Kitchen with newly installed granite countertops and a Breakfast / Keeping Room.  The Owner's Suite is on the first floor and upstairs you will find 2 spacious bedrooms which share a Jack & Jill bath.  The basement features a Family Room with fireplace, bedroom/bath and lots of storage space.  Very private, wooded back yard with beautiful landscaping.

Stunning all brick French Provincial with all the space you can imagine! This gorgeous 5BD/6.5 BA features a circular drive, two-story foyer, formal Living Room, formal Dining Room, Kitchen with Keeping Room, Sunroom and enormous Owner's Suite on the first floor with seperate walk-ins leading into separate baths! There are 3BD/3BA upstairs and the finished basement includes 1BD/1BA, Recreation Room, Kitchen, TV Room and office. In the back yard you will find an L-shaped black pebble swimming pool with diving board and spill spa.

Lots of space for the money! This 3BD/2BA in Athens features a Great Room with vaulted ceiling and fireplace, Dining Room, breakfast area with bay windows, and a very spacious Sunroom on rear.

Extremely well cared for home in Greystone. 3BD/2BA with beautiful hardwood floors, Great Room with gas log fireplace, Kitchen with breakfast area, Dining Room and a large Master Suite. The Master Bath features a jetted tub with separate shower.  Screened porch is on rear.  Amenities include a clubhouse, swimming pool and walking trail.

Well kept home in Brittany Place on the Westside - 3BD/2BA featuring  a large Great Room with vaulted ceiling and fireplace, Master Suite with trey ceiling, Master Bath with walk-in closet, garden tub and separate shower, updated mission oil-rubbed fixtures and door hardware and mission style lighting.  All of this on an unfinished basement.  You will love the beautiful back deck with arbor terrace - it's a great place to relax.

In fact, these consumers represented about half of home sales logged during much of 2009’s first two quarters, according to the National Association of REALTORS^®, a significant increase from historic levels. And the favorable conditions that prompted many of these buyers are likely to continue. Even the first-time homebuyer tax credit – set to expire Dec. 1 – may get a second wind as legislation is pending in both houses to extend it into the new year.

Today’s opportunities aside, here are eight time-honored reasons why those considering homeownership for the first time should make their move.
 
1. Pride of Ownership
Owning your own home adds to your own sense of self-esteem and personal pride. The satisfaction that comes from feeling connected to the land you occupy and the home in which you live is ages-old. 

2. Security of Tenancy
With homeownership comes stability. When renting, you never know when you may have to move because of new ownership, rent increases or other changes. As a homeowner, you decide when and if you want to move.

3. Privacy
While there are usually some limits on the access landlords have to property, almost all landlords can access your property for necessary inspections and maintenance. For many renters, this lack of privacy is a significant discomfort. Homeowners on the other hand generally have much stronger property rights and experience an increase in perceived and actual privacy.

4. Decorating
Homeowners are free to decorate, remodel and accessorize a home any way they want. Not only do you have the right to make improvements, but the value of those improvements becomes yours as well. Having your living space and exteriors just the way you want them can significantly increase your satisfaction with your living environment.

5. Financial Predictability
When you buy a home with a fixed-rate mortgage, you have more predictability over future housing costs. Because your interest rate never changes, the amount of your payment never changes. Financial planning and credit are more easily managed with a fixed-rate mortgage compared to renting.

6. Building Equity
When you own your own home, you pay rent to yourself instead of a landlord. Most homeowners pay for their purchase by obtaining a mortgage. As you pay off that mortgage, your equity builds and you gain an increasingly larger share in a valuable asset. Over time, that asset can work for you in many ways, such as home equity lines of credit. And of course, a home is a wonderful asset to pass along in an estate.

7. Investment Appreciation
There are certainly no guarantees of property value appreciation. In the long-term, however, real estate valuations almost always increase. This means that when you decide to sell your home, its value may be significantly higher than when you purchased it. The difference in value is called appreciation. You can reinvest that appreciation in other real estate or you may wish to downsize and keep the value of that appreciation for retirement or other purposes.

8. Tax Benefits
In the United States, the cost of home mortgage interest and property taxes are usually tax-deductible. Depending on your circumstances, thousands of dollars in taxes can be saved each year. These tax savings are not limited to federal taxes either. Many states and localities either base their tax system on the federal system or offer similar incentives to homeownership. Some additional benefits are designed specifically for first-time homebuyers. See your tax advisor for additional information.

If you still have doubts, contact me and I can answer questions you may have about homeownership and explain the buying process to you.

Great investment opportunity!  2 units available in Moose Club @ $79,900 each - conveniently located near the University of Georgia.  Each unit features 2BD/2BA with Living Room, Eat-in Kitchen and private rear deck.  Moose Club has on site management, a community swimming pool and is on the bus line.

Absolutely stunning home in Oconee County! This 5BD/5.5BA is constructed with true Hard Coat stucco and has all the space you could want. As you enter the home you will be blown away by the two-story foyer entrance with spriral staircase and cathedral ceiling. The main level features a formal Living Room, Dining Room, gourmet Kitchen with granite counters and backsplash, island and a breakfast area which overlooks the Family Room with a two-story stone fireplace. The oversized Master Suite is complete with a sitting area, fireplace and private deck. The Master Bath features a double vanity, jetted tub, separate shower, 2 spacious walk-in closets and a kitchenette! Three bedrooms are located upstairs, each with a private bath and walk-in closet. The finished basement includes a recreation room with fireplace, office, game room and a bedroom/bath. All of this on 4.96 private, wooded acres with a beautiful creek running through the back of the lot. This home has it all!

Wonderful home at a great price in Mallard Lakes! 4BD/3.5BA with hardwood floors, formal dining room, great room with fireplace and plenty of windows for natural light. The very spacious kitchen features an eat-in area, island with breakfast bar, custom cabinets, tile backsplash solid counters and pantry. The master bedroom is on the main level and has trey ceiling and 2 walk-in closets. The master bath is amazing and features a jetted tub and separate shower. 3BD/2BA can be found upstairs - one of the rooms is oversized and currently being used as a den. Back of the house you will a deck and beautifully landscaped garden area with lots of trees for your privacy.

In San Diego, Steve Doyle, division president for Brookfield Homes, is trying to close out the final 20 houses of a 120-unit single-family subdivision at prices ranging from $340,000 to $350,000. But recently there’s been a major hitch as appraisers assigned by banks are coming in with valuations of $60,000 or more under Doyle’s selling prices. The appraisers, who Doyle says are inexperienced, unfamiliar with local market trends or both, are using distressed sales — foreclosures and short sales — as their “comparables.” Some of the distressed properties are in poor condition, and all of them offer fewer amenities, Doyle says. In the suburbs near Cleveland, Enzo Perfetto, manager of Enzoco Homes, builds custom houses on clients’ lots. Recently, he said, banks have begun assigning appraisers from far outside the area to value lots as part of mortgage packages on new homes. Some of the comparables they use are in foreclosure situations, and that depresses land valuations. A young couple who paid $75,000 for their lot recently had it valued at just $30,000 by an out-of-area appraiser who looked only at online data, according to Perfetto — discouraging the couple from proceeding. “I think the pendulum is swinging way too far in the wrong direction on appraisals,” Perfetto said. Bank-assigned appraisers often “don’t know the local market and they’re going for low numbers to be ‘safe.’” (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (7/4/09); Kenneth R. Harney

You’ve made the decision to sell your home. Even if you’ve sold a house before, this process can be daunting because it is a major financial transaction that involves many steps from selecting a sales professional and marketing the home, to negotiating with buyers and finally receiving funds at the closing. Yet, the home-selling process doesn’t have to be intimidating if you know what to expect. The process can be divided in nine steps.

Step 1: List your property with a real estate professional. Select someone who is knowledgeable, listens carefully, and with whom you feel comfortable. Interview at least three real estate professionals. Use their listing presentations to compare their preparation and professionalism. Don’t base your selection solely on selling price or commission. It’s probably best to avoid working with someone who promises you the moon—in this case, an unrealistically high price—then has to make price reductions until the property sells. Instead, focus on marketing plans, service and past results.

Step 2: Establish price and time frame. Determining a fair asking price is crucial in this market. Price the property too high and it could languish on the market. Of course you could always decrease the price later, yet you’ve lost potential buyers. Your real estate professional can help you determine true market value based on a comparable market analysis, which will include recent home sale transactions as well as homes currently on the market. Supply and demand, craftsmanship, amenities, condition and any special circumstances can also impact price. For instance, a relocation move might necessitate a quick sale.

Step 3: Develop and implement a marketing strategy. To get the most exposure for your home, you should have a marketing plan with clear objectives and an outline of specific resources to be used. Your plan should include a mixture of conventional and online marketing to optimize your reach to potential buyers.

Step 4: Get Your Home in Show Condition. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression. So make sure your home is in tip-top shape inside and out. Eliminate clutter and remove personal items. Refresh the paint, clean the carpets and make minor repairs. Keep the grass trimmed and add color to your landscape. You may also want to consider hiring a professional to stage your home. A home in move-in condition is much more attractive to buyers in a competitive market.

Step 5: An offer is submitted. Once your home is on the market, a buyer will make an offer through his/her real estate sales professional. The buyer’s sales professional will present the offer to your representative, who will promptly relay it to you and help you evaluate the offer.

Step 6: The negotiation process begins and eventually an offer is accepted. One of the most critical roles played by your real estate professional is in the negotiation phase. Negotiations over the terms of a home-purchase contract can be extremely sensitive. The process of offer and counter-offer may go on until parties arrive at an acceptable contract, which can go very quickly or take days, even weeks.    

Step 7: Buyers submit a loan application and home inspections are scheduled. Most often, the loan approval is contingent upon a satisfactory appraisal and various inspections.

Step 8: The loan is approved and the closing process begins. Once the buyer’s home loan has been approved, preparations begin for the closing. The closing, also referred to as settlement or close of escrow, is the final step toward completing the sales transaction between the buyer and seller. During this process, your sales professional will funnel all the necessary closing documents to the escrow agent. This may include the deed, mortgage, tax receipts, a Certificate of Occupancy and other documents. A final walk-through will also be scheduled. Once the escrow agent receives the paperwork and the funds pertaining to the sale of the property, the escrow is closed.

Step 9: Time to move!

Of course this is a simplification of what is otherwise a complex transaction. As you are going through each stage of the process, look to your real estate professional to provide guidance so that you feel comfortable every step of the way.

Paint and polish. A fresh coat of paint breathes new life into a tired-looking home. If your home looks dull or suffers from peeling, cracked or chipped surfaces, a paint job is a great investment. Polish the doorknocker and mail slot on the front door, as well as any light fixtures by the entry. Re-condition your deck. Consider renting a power washer to clean dirt and mildew from the wood, and then apply an all-weather sealer or stain.

Manicure the grounds. Mow and edge the grass, and trim the trees and bushes. Also, clear away dead leaves and flowers, and mulch and weed the beds. Check to see that tree branches are not touching the home's roof or outer walls. Add some color to your landscape by planting annuals and placing planters of flowers in strategic spots. You can even spruce up the property by hanging flowering baskets. Add flowering plants in the back yard, too. 

Make needed repairs. See if anything is unhinged, loose or just an eyesore. Fix everything including broken fencing, windows and screens. Make sure winter’s cold weather didn’t leave any gutters sagging or loose. Replace any missing shingles from the roof. Try the doorbell. Check stairs and railings. Test doors for squeaks and rusted hinges. Don't forget to take a critical look at the property at night. Make sure the lights work, and replace dim and burned-out bulbs.

Unclutter. Tidy up the deck, patio and back yard. Rearrange the outdoor furniture to look inviting.  Put away gardening tools and toys. Clean up the barbecue area. Eliminate any "evidence" of pets, and restrict them to the back yard when showing the home. Move extra vehicles from the view of passersby.

Clean. Clean the windows, inside and out, wash down the walks and driveway, and hose down the siding. Clean outdoor furniture and cushions. Check for oil spots on cement surfaces, especially the garage floor.        

The old saying about making a good first impression couldn't be truer than when you are selling your home. Even the smallest enhancements can make a big difference in creating love at first sight for buyers.