The Bonds Real Estate Team Podcast

What Are the First Steps in the Home Buying Process?

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 11:04:00 -0700

Before you start house hunting, here are the two steps you need to take to start your home search off right.

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

When it comes to the first steps in the home buying process, there are two things you need to do before you get in the car and start house hunting:

1. Hire a mortgage professional.
2. Hire a Realtor.

Why hire a mortgage professional first? You need to know how much it’s going to cost you to buy the house you’re interested in, and you need to know how much money you’re going to need to close on that house.

A lot of people don’t understand the different lending programs that are available for purchasing homes. One of the biggest misconceptions floating around out there is that you have to have 20% down. That simply isn’t true. There are plenty of 100% financing options and 0% down programs available for you. Also, there are FHA programs that only require 3% down.

If you don’t know any mortgage professionals you can trust, we have plenty of recommendations of people who have proven track records of success in this industry.

After hiring a mortgage professional, the next step is hiring a Realtor. We can offer professional guidance that will shorten your search and find you the home you need quickly. In order to provide that professional guidance, we need to understand your family, what your needs are, what your goals are, and what your motivation is. Don’t just call a random agent’s number and meet them for the first time at a listing—hire a Realtor and let them give you an initial consultation to guide you through the process.

After those two things are done, you can finally start house hunting!

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The mortgage professional and the Realtor are the GPS of your home search.

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Think of this process as setting your GPS. When you’re on your way to a destination, you set the address and it tells you the steps you need to take to get there. The mortgage professional and the Realtor are the GPS to get you to the address of the home you want.

If you have any questions or are thinking about buying a home, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!

Why Should You List Your Home Early in 2017?

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Tue, 7 Feb 2017 09:52:00 -0800

When do you need to list your home in order to take advantage of the 2017 spring real estate market? The sooner, the better!

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

Why should you list your home early in 2017?

Think of it this way: Black Friday has been starting earlier and earlier. Some stores are open on Thanksgiving, and some run Black Friday specials for an entire week.

The same principle applies to our spring market. That old established deadline of May 1st has been creeping up and up until now; if you want to take advantage of the spring market, you have to get ready to list in January.

The traditional mindset for the spring market was that you would list your home in the spring because that’s when the most buyers are looking. Now people are listing their homes earlier and earlier because there is still a lot of buyer demand during the first few months of the year as well. If you wait until May 1st, you will miss out on this great foot traffic.

Let’s quickly revisit that Black Friday shopping concept. The stores that open up earlier do get more of the sales than stores that open later. Again, the same principle applies to the housing market. Many sellers choose to put their homes on the market early because buyer traffic is still strong and they can sell their homes faster and for more money.

Buyer demand for your house has not significantly decreased throughout the holidays. Fewer homes are coming on the market right now, which means that you have a small window to take advantage of that strong demand before a ton of inventory floods the market. Less competition and high demand means that you can sell your home faster and for a higher price.

As we mentioned last time, interest rates are going to climb. The earlier you get your home on the market, the earlier you can make your next purchase, and the lower your interest rate will be. The threat of rising interest rates will cause a lot of buyers to make a decision sooner than they usually would.

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The sooner you list your home, the better your sale will be.

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Ultimately, our advice is to get your home on the market now. There is a lot of demand out there, which is quite an advantage for you. The new mantra for the spring market is, “The sooner you list your home, the better.”

If you have any questions about selling your home or preparing it for the market, just give us a call. We would be happy to help you!

What’s Happening With Our Market?

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 08:47:00 -0800

We’re here in our brand new space bringing you our 2017 real estate market predictions.

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

We’re here in our new location ready to share our 2017 market predictions. The three main topics we get asked about are rates, affordability, and availability, so we’ll cover those in detail today.

First, even though we have been predicting higher interest rates in the last few years, rates have stayed pretty low. However, it looks like that trend might be over. There won’t be a huge jump in rates, but there will be an increase over the course of 2017. Rates should stay below 5%, but make sure to watch them as they affect your affordability.

Appreciation is also a hot topic, as people want to know if the value of their homes is going to go up in 2017. In our area over the last few years, we have seen very aggressive appreciation. However, that has begun to slow a bit. Price increases are still great at 4% to 7% year over year, but keep in mind that appreciation won’t be as aggressive as it’s been in the past. Investing in real estate is still one of the best decisions you can make.

Finally, the subject of availability is brought up a lot these days, as we see a trend of low inventory nationwide. Availability is referred to in terms of months worth of inventory in the real estate market. Basically, if no more homes came on the market, availability is the
number of months it would take to sell all the homes currently on the market. Low inventory can generate frustrated buyers as there is less to choose from on the market. However, low inventory is also why we have seen more new construction, which should help offset the lack of resale homes on the market.

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2017 will be a great year to take advantage of our market.

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Whether you’re looking to buy for the first time, downsize, upgrade, or make a real estate investment, 2017 will be a great year to do all of those things.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help!

The Dangers of Overpricing in Northeast Metro-Atlanta

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Tue, 5 Apr 2016 10:24:00 -0700

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

Today, we’re going to talk about the pitfalls of overpricing your property in Northeast metro-Atlanta. We are currently in a seller’s market. If there’s ever a time to price at the high side of reasonable, it’s in a low inventory market like we’re in right now.

Although we are in a seller’s market, buyers are extremely educated on current market trends. They are spending countless hours online educating themselves about the market, so when they walk through your door, they have a confident handle on what the price of the home should be.

If you overprice your home, any educated buyer will not even consider it. You’re not going to receive any foot traffic on showings. All the hard work you did getting the home ready for the market will go to waste. You don’t want that.

How do you know if your home is overpriced? The National Association of Realtors says that if your home has been on the market for two weeks with no showings, or you’ve had 10 showings with no offers, your home is overpriced. If you’re getting showings but no offers, you’re actually selling the house down the street. They look at your property, see how expensive it is, and turn to the reasonably priced similar property on the same block.

Finally, if you price too high, your home will sit on the market. This level of inventory has a shelf life. Once a home has been on the market for an extended period of time, the buyer starts to wonder, what’s wrong with this property? Why isn’t it selling? Agents will wonder the same thing.

If you have any questions on how to accurately price your home, or any questions about real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Tips for the Perfect Northeast Metro-Atlanta Garage Sale

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 09:15:00 -0700

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

Today, we’re talking about how to rock your garage sale. So many of our clients have one before they move because they have to clean out their house. We’ll give you a few tips to help you get rid of a lot of stuff!

First of all, if there are no buyers, no one buys. You have to get people to your garage sale. Don’t use a pen on a cardboard sign; make your signs easy to read.

You never get a second chance at a first impression, so make sure that you stage your garage sale. You want people to see your items and run up to investigate. Lay everything out nice and neat.

Price it appropriately. We know you bought something at a higher price and loved it for all these years, but this is a garage sale and people want a bargain. Use color-coded stickers that are easy to read so that people aren’t constantly asking what things cost.

Have some refreshments. Put out some coffee, water, or lemonade. Make them feel comfortable so they stick around. The longer they stick around, the more they’ll buy, which means less packing for you.

If you’re thinking about having a garage sale, we have a garage sale package for you. You will get five double-sided yellow signs, a marker to make your wording bold and visible, and price tags. Contact us at garagesale@teambonds.com, and we will deliver this garage sale directly to you!

3 Tips for Atlanta New Construction Buyers

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:45:00 -0800

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

There's a lot of new construction properties available in today's market. Today, we want to share three tips to help you avoid these crucial mistakes new construction buyers often make.

Hire a real estate agent.
When you go to the new home subdivision to look at the model home and you talk to that very friendly, knowledgeable agent on site, who does that agent represent? That agent represents the builder! They're not going to protect your interests.

When you choose to hire a buyer's agent, the seller pays the fee.
Hiring a buyer's agent doesn't cost you any additional money. You're not going to save anything by not having representation. In fact, a real estate agent can actually save you money by helping you avoid mistakes during the buying process.

Reach out to an agent before you go into a subdivision.
Some subdivisions will not allow you to hire an agent if you don't have one from the very beginning. Let them know as soon as you walk in the door that you have a real estate agent representing you.

Do your research.
Research is so important! There are so many different factors that go into this process. Research the builder's reputation, area schools, the commute, home warranties, and future planned developments. Your real estate agent can help you find what you're looking for.

Read the fine print.
Most builders have their own contracts that are written to protect the builder. We want you to understand what you're signing. When you buy a resale home, you're using the Georgia Association of Realtors contract, which is designed to be neutral between the buyer and seller. New home contracts are written by the builder's attorney. The contract is most likely leveraged on the builder's side. Read the fine print so you know what you're committing to.

We can help you navigate the new construction home buying process. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Get Ahead in the Atlanta Market Today

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:04:00 -0800

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

The new year has just begun, but the spring market has already sprung in Atlanta. What is causing the spring market to come so early?

Well, for starters, we still have very low inventory and a lot of buyers out there ready to buy. Any time you have that kind of activity, it creates a bit of a frenzy in the market. Sellers are trying to get a jump on the spring market now, and selling their good homes now before the spring comes in earnest and the competition floods the market.

This reminds us of Black Friday. Stores start their sales earlier and earlier each year, and now many of them start on Thanksgiving so consumers can get a jump on those deals. The same thing is happening in our real estate market, as everyone is trying to get the great deals out there in the market before someone else does.

Many times, people will wait until March or April to take advantage of the spring market. Don't miss out on this market by waiting. If you're planning to sell this year, or are even considering the idea, give us a call. We can come in, give you a market analysis, talk about the process, and get your home on the market so you can take advantage of this early spring market.

If you have any other questions for us about Atlanta real estate, please give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Two Things to Know About the Equity in Your Atlanta Home

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 10:13:00 -0700

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

We have a nice little surprise for homeowners in Atlanta, and it's the fact that your home might be worth more than you think. Do you know how much equity you have in your property?

There are two different types of equity that I'd like to speak about today. One of them is negative equity, and that's when you're underwater on the home. The second kind is significant equity, which is when you have more than 20% equity in your home.

In a recent poll, 23% of people in the U.S. felt as if they had negative equity, but in reality, only 9% of homeowners are underwater.

In another poll, 37% of people think they have significant equity in their homes, while 69% of homeowners actually have significant equity in their homes. This is a huge difference, and the moral of this story is that your home is probably worth more than you think.

You may have enough equity in your current home to use it to buy another home. You can figure out what your home is worth if you contact us. We can find an accurate market value for your property. This is important even if you're not thinking of moving for some time. It's always good to know things like this!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact us if you need help buying or selling in Atlanta!

What Causes Contracts to Get Terminated?

info@teambonds.com (Jason Bonds) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 06:38:00 -0700

Buying a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Get a full home search

Selling a Northeast Metro-Atlanta home? Home Price Evaluation

Today we are here to answer a common question that we’ve been getting from our clients, “Why are so many real estate contracts being terminated?”

Well, one reason is that values have increased so much in the last few years, which is creating an unfortunate situation for both buyers and sellers. Buyers feel like they are paying top dollar for the house they are purchasing. At the same time, sellers, who bought high, feel like they are giving the house away.

Another reason we keep seeing this happen is because our inventory is so low right now, many buyers are finding themselves in a multiple offer scenario. When they try to vie for position to win the house, they end up spending all they have got. When we get to the inspection period, sometimes we just have a hard time connecting on what repairs need to be done, and which ones don’t.

How can we help you out today? Well, having an agent who understands this process and knows how to negotiate is ideal. You should also have a reputable home inspector. We want to make sure that there is some negotiating room when you get to the inspection period, because if the buyer or seller gets there and can’t come together for a fair deal, the contract is going to fall apart.

If you have any questions for us, or would like to get in contact with a reputable home inspector to get you through the transaction, give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to help you out!