Athens Real Estate Podcast with Justin Woodall

Is It Better to Flip Homes or Hold Them?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 6 Feb 2018 09:28:00 -0800

The decision to flip properties or hold on to them for the long term depends chiefly on your own investment goals.

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More and more people want to invest in real estate these days. In today’s market, is it better to fix up a property and flip it, or to hold onto that property, either to live in or rent out? Honestly, it depends. What are your goals? If you’re looking to make some quick cash, then flipping homes is probably a better strategy. You can move a property and see a profit within a few months. The biggest downside to this strategy is that you will be taxed on this quick income exactly as if it were part of your regular annual income. If your goal is a long-term investment, then holding on to the property may be a better strategy. When you buy and hold property over a period of time, its value will typically appreciate over a period of time. Note that the market is not always predictable, and it will expand and contract occasionally, so property values will rise and fall, but over the long run, values trend upward.

Property values fluctuate with the market, but rental properties produce a stable, monthly income regardless of the property’s market value.

Looking back at market values from 20 to 30 years ago, it’s clear that prices have gone up! In addition, rental income on property owned is an excellent investment strategy. Real estate that is cash flow producing for you will pay you every single month. By obtaining financing, you can leverage your investment to get a higher return on your down payment. If your strategy is long term, it’s definitely better to buy and hold and rent that property. Let it pay you every single month. If you do have a loan on it, the balance will go down every single month, which means you owe less and less. When it’s paid off, you own that asset free and clear and it continues to put money into your account every single month. If you need quick cash, flipping can be a good option. Again, it all depends on your goals. Honestly, many smart investors combine these strategies. They may do a quick flip to get enough capital to make a long-term investment, for example. If you have any questions about this or help with any other real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

When Is the Best Time to Sell Your Athens Home?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 08:45:00 -0800

When is the best time of year to sell your home? There is no exact right or wrong answer, but if you plan on selling this spring, I recommend doing so sooner rather than later.

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What are the best months of the year to sell real estate in Athens? I get this question from people who are wondering if they should list their house in the spring, early in the year, or at the end of the year. There is no clear right or wrong answer. More homes sell in the spring and fewer homes sell in the fall, but typically there are more homes for sale in the spring and fewer homes for sale in the fall. Since there are fewer homes for sale in the fall, there is less competition for sellers. In the spring, there may be more sales, but there is also more competition for sellers.

I recommend getting your home on the market before the big spring rush.

It really doesn’t matter that much. If you look at our real estate market, it does look like a bell curve. When you start in January, the market starts to go up, peaks around June, and then starts to slow back down. Things do slow down over the holidays. Now that school has started back up again, things will pick up and the market will get even busier in the spring. If you are thinking of selling your home in the spring, I don’t think you should wait until the grass is green and flowers are blooming. That’s when everyone else will rush onto the market. Instead, get on the market a little earlier. Buyers are out looking now and will continue looking in the spring. But you could sell your house now before you have to deal with all that spring competition. If you have any questions about the market in your specific neighborhood, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

A New Year’s Resolution to Help You Grow as a Person

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 10:24:00 -0800

We’re always trying to learn new things so we can better ourselves, so we encourage you to do the same in 2018.

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Now that 2017 is coming to an end, we have a couple thoughts we want to share with you and a possible resolution to fulfill if you don’t have one already. One of our core values at Woodall Realty is to never stop learning. This year, we’ve spent countless hours attending out-of-state networking conferences and workshops, doing online courses, reading books, etc. We’re always trying to learn new things and better ourselves. When we attend these out-of-state events, we meet with some of the top real estate agents in the country and learn from the best of the best. We do this so we can be the best agents in Athens and serve our clients at the highest level possible.

Learn something new this year.

We know a lot, but we don’t know it all, so I encourage you as we enter the new year to learn something new in 2018 and continue to grow as a person. My team and I will continue to grow and learn as well. If you’ve ever worked with us, you know this. Whenever we meet with people, one of our main goals is to educate them. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, we educate you about the market and everything about the buying or selling process. So learn something new this year. Grow as a person. We’ll be doing the same thing. If you have any questions or there’s anything we can help you with, don’t hesitate to call or email us anytime. We’d be happy to help. Until then, happy New Year!

Is It a Good Idea to Make Improvements to Your Home Before Your List It?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 13:00:00 -0800

There are a few improvements you can make that will enhance your home’s saleability without costing very much at all.

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Do you have to make improvements to your home before putting it on the market? No, you don’t have to. Homes will sell in any condition. If you want to sell for top dollar, though, you should consider doing so. There are a few improvements I recommend that will make a big difference, even if they don’t cost a lot. The first is painting the interior and (if it needs it) the exterior of your home. Paint is one of the cheapest ways to make a huge impact on the way your house shows. After a house is painted, it looks clean and smells fresh. Another thing I recommend is improving your curb appeal. Trim your bushes, cut your grass, put out some fresh mulch or pine straw, and make the outside of your home look good. That’s the first impression people get when they see it.

If you want your home to sell for top dollar, you should consider making some improvements.

Next, declutter and stage your home. If you have stuff on your countertops or too much furniture lying around in one of your rooms, get rid of it. As I always tell people, less is more. Lastly, clean your home thoroughly. People can tell if a house is clean or not, and they’re far more apt to move into a nice, fresh, clean house. If you’re willing to spend a little money, there are other upgrades you can make, like replacing your countertops, installing new flooring, adding new appliances, etc. Sometimes these upgrades are worth it, but they can escalate how much you’ll spend by quite a bit. If you have any more questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

A Special Thanks From the Woodall Team This Thanksgiving

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 08:30:00 -0800

As Thanksgiving approaches, we want to take a timeout from the normal real estate talk to thank you for both your friendship and your support.

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In light of the upcoming holiday season, my team and I want to say that we are sincerely thankful for you and everything you’ve done for us. Whether you’ve worked with us in the past as a client or sent us a referral, we want to thank you for your support and putting your trust in us. Because of your support, our office is able to support four administrative office staff members and four agents in addition to myself.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND YOUR SUPPORT.

By giving us your business, you allow us to feed our families, and we’re sincerely thankful for all that you mean to us If you have any questions for us or need help with anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. As always, we’d be glad to lend a hand.

What Does the Lack of Foreclosure Deals Mean for the Economy?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 1 Nov 2017 13:01:00 -0700

Today we discuss the availability of deals on foreclosure homes and why they’re harder to find than in years past.

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Today I’d like to talk to you about the topic of foreclosures and about whether or not there are still good deals available on foreclosures. If you’d asked about foreclosure deals four or five years ago, I would have said there were tons out there, and half of what sold at the time were foreclosures. However, in today’s market, it’s a little bit of a different story. Foreclosures are becoming harder to find. The ones that are out there, if they’re priced-well, are receiving lots of interest and likely have multiple offers thrown at them. Investors and homebuyers are bidding those prices up. It’s harder to get the deals on foreclosures now than what we saw a few years ago: Is this a good or a bad thing?

It’s harder to get the deals on foreclosures now than what we saw a few years ago

If you’re looking for a deal, it’s a bad thing because of how hard they are to find. In the grand scheme of the economy and the real estate market, however, it could be seen as a good thing. It shows that the market is improving, prices are rising, and homeowners are no longer underwater like they were a few years ago because the values have increased, which has helped them be able to sell, instead of being forced into foreclosure. We are still working with buyers who are getting great deals on homes, so if you are looking for something, reach out to us. Oftentimes we hear things before they officially hit the market. It may or may not be a foreclosure—it could just be a motivated seller. If you’re in the market for a new home, let us know, and we’ll help you find a good deal.

What Does It Really Take to Downsize?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 10:34:00 -0700

Downsizing may be a natural and smart choice to make, but that doesn’t make it easy. There are a lot of things to think about.

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Today I want to talk about the topic of downsizing. When the kids leave the nest and it’s just you and your partner left, you may start wondering why you’re still staying in such a big space. When you no longer need a large home, the natural option is to downsize. However, even once people no longer have a need for such a large space or so many items, it can still be hard to adjust to change. People grow used to living a certain way, which makes downsizing difficult. Going from a 4,000 square foot house to one of half that size means that half of your personal items will have to go as well. This is something a lot of people have difficulty with. It’s important to realize that these are the kinds of things you’ll need to be thinking about. The idea of downsizing is good and smart, especially since it sometimes helps people to become debt-free, but it isn’t as easy as many people think.

When you no longer need a large home, the natural option is to downsize.

Another thing that often takes people by surprise is the change in amenities. In a downsized home, the kitchen may not be quite as nice as the one in the previous house. This is just one example. It really depends on what you buy, but it is possible to find a nice, smaller home in a lower price point. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

We’re Happy to Answer Any Question, Anytime

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 6 Sep 2017 14:55:00 -0700

We just wanted to remind you that if you have a question about real estate, we are happy to answer it.
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We’ve been fortunate enough to have a very busy year helping a lot of families buy and sell homes in Athens. Although our free time is somewhat limited these days, we always have enough free time to answer any of your questions. We want to be known as the Athens real estate experts, but we also want to be known as consumer advocates. If you have any questions regarding any part of real estate or real estate transactions, let us know. Whether you have a question about buying, selling, investing, appraisals, inspections, or any other real estate-related topic, we’d love to hear it.

We’re always here to answer your questions.

You can give us a call, send us an email, or just come visit us. No matter the question, we will do our best to answer it in a thorough and timely manner. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Is the Market Affecting the Appraisals of Homes?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:25:00 -0700

We continue to be in a seller’s market, which is affecting how appraisals come in for homes under contract. I’ll explain everything in today’s video.
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Today I wanted to talk to you about what’s going on with appraisals in the current market. In our last video, we gave you a snapshot of what the market currently looks like from a supply and demand perspective. Currently in our market, we have high demand and a low supply of homes, which is causing home prices to increase. So how is this affecting appraisals for the sellers that we work with? We’ve had more instances this year than in recent memory where we get a home under contract for a certain value, and the appraisal comes in lower than that value. This is a problem. Why are we seeing lower appraisals? Appraisers are looking back over the last three to six months of sales in the area, comparing similar homes to the seller’s, and coming up with their opinion of the value of the home based on those factors, as well as any improvements or updates done to the home.

Currently in our market we have a high demand and a low supply of homes.

In my opinion, the true market value of a home is what the seller and buyer agree on, but the banks have to protect themselves. Because of this, we’re seeing these low appraisals. I still continue to encourage sellers to list their home at a price that is a little higher than the homes that sold recently in the area, especially in this current market. If you find yourself in that situation where the home appraisal is lower than the purchase price, you have a few options to take care of that problem. You can reduce the price down to the appraised value, the buyer can pay that difference in cash, or you can meet somewhere in the middle. Some buyers aren’t willing to pay the extra money, and the low appraisal can kill your deal. If you get a cash offer for your home, it might be worth it to really consider taking that deal. Most cash buyers don’t spend the extra money on the appraisal, so you don’t have to worry about it. If you have any other questions about this topic or there is anything we can do for you, a friend, or a coworker, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

What Do the Latest Numbers Say About Our Athens Market?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 9 Aug 2017 14:57:00 -0700

With how our market’s been acting lately, there’s no better time to be a seller in one of the median price points.
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As I’m sure you’ve probably heard, the market has been going gangbusters lately, and I want to share some numbers to help you get a sense of what’s happening. When you hear news about the market going crazy and prices rising, that’s usually referring to what’s happening in the median price points. Homes in higher price points aren’t selling as quickly, however, and prices at those higher price points aren’t rising as dramatically either. This is because demand isn’t the same for higher-end homes. These latest numbers, then, represent the activity in our market’s median price point. In East Athens, there are only 31 single-family homes currently for sale under $200,000, which is a little over one month’s supply of inventory. In the last 12 months, 293 homes have sold in this area. With supply this low and demand still high, it’s naturally caused prices to rise. In West Athens, there are only 27 single-family homes for sale under $200,000. These homes encompass all age ranges and sizes, too—some are new, some are old, some are large, and some are small. In the last 12 months, 238 homes have sold in this area.

Now might be the best time ever to sell your home in the median price points.

In Oconee County, there are only 11 single-family homes for sale under $200,000. In the last 12 months, 84 homes have sold in this area. I believe there would be more sales in this area if there were more homes on the market. In addition to making prices rise, this low inventory is almost stifling sales. If you’re thinking about selling your house in this price range, now’s the best time to do it in the last 10 years—maybe even ever. If you’re a buyer, you have to be ready to act fast and make a strong offer if you see something you like. With inventory as it is, many homes are receiving multiple bids and flying off the shelves quickly. Times may be tough, but if prices continue to rise, you’re much better off acting now. If you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d be glad to help you.

Three Home Buyer Mistakes That Could Cost You Thousands!

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:50:00 -0700

There are a ton of mistakes that can happen when buying a home for the first time. Here are the three most common.
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I wanted to reach out to you today and discuss some bad buying habits I’ve been noticing. It’s typically the first-time homebuyers making these mistakes so if you are one of those buyers or know someone who is, we have some advice to share. Avoid these mistakes at all cost:

1. Not getting pre-approved before looking at homes. It can be tempting to just head right out to a home or start searching online, but know this: if you plan on buying a home with a mortgage, you’re going to need a loan. The only way you will then know what kind of loan (and home) you can afford is by meeting with a lender and getting pre-approved. Skipping this step will only lead to heartache, as you could fall in love with a home that’s way out of your price range without even realizing it.

2. Choosing the wrong lender. We always align ourselves with great local lenders and we want our buyers to do the same. The problem with a national or Internet lender is that if they drop the ball in one area and the closing is delayed, they will end up costing you a lot more than they initially saved you. A respected local lender won’t let your closing get delayed.

You need a market expert as an agent.

3. Choosing the wrong agent. You need someone who is an expert on your specific market. I couldn’t sell homes in Atlanta. I sell homes in Athens because I know exactly how things work here. I’ve been helping people buy and sell homes for years in this market and there is no replacement for that kind of knowledge and experience. You need an agent who can find you homes as soon as they come on the market—sometimes even before they are listed.

If you avoid these mistakes, you’ll be starting off on the right foot and be one step closer to a smooth closing. If you have any questions for me or want to know how we can help you avoid these mistakes and more, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

We Have Exciting News To Share With You!

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 23 May 2017 11:45:00 -0700

Are the rumors true? Have we decided to branch out into property management? Well, I’ve got some exciting news to share with you.
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You may have been wondering—are the rumors true? Are we doing property management? I’m excited to announce that we have opened up a second brokerage that will focus on strictly managing rental properties for clients. We’ve named our sister company Iron Horse Property Management.

I had clients come to me for years asking me to branch out into property management, and I was always hesitant because my main focus was on sales. I wanted to be great at sales and make that the main focus of Woodall Realty Group.

Now I feel like the timing is better than it was in the past. The reason for this is our sales team is staffed with four full-time agents in addition to myself, our systems and processes are really dialed in, and we helped over 200 families last year. We expect to help even more families this year, and our business is steady enough that I felt we could finally branch out into property management.

A big concern that I've had was that I didn’t have the time during the day to focus on the daily aspects of moving tenants in, handling repairs, moving tenants out, and all the things that come along with property management. My solution was to find and hire a great property manager who has years of experience and, in my opinion, is one of the best in Athens, Jennifer McMahon.

You'll get the same great service through Iron Horse Property Management that you get through Woodall Realty Group.

Jennifer has worked with two other property managers in Athens over the years and has done a great job. She’s a go-getter, a hard worker, and she will be handling the day-to-day aspects of the property management. She’ll be taking care of all of the things that you as a landlord don’t want to do and help things run more smoothly.

So, now we will be able to offer the same great service through Iron Horse Property Management that you get through Woodall Realty Group. If you have rental property that you’re managing yourself, or you’re dissatisfied with your current property management, give me or Jennifer a call.

Our goal with Iron Horse Property Management is to give you peace of mind while maximizing the return on your investment. We want to make owning rental property a completely passive investment for you so that you just receive income each month and not have to worry about it.

If you or someone you know has questions about Iron Horse Property Management or any other concerns, give us a call. We would love to be here for you.

How to Stop Paying PMI Today

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 11:33:00 -0700

If you put less than 20% down on your home purchase, you are paying private mortgage insurance. However, there is a way to get rid of it.
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I’ve got a tip to share with you today that will potentially save you thousands of dollars on your mortgage payments.

If you’ve bought your house in the last decade but put less than 20% down on it, you’re probably paying private mortgage insurance, or PMI. At this point, you’re probably not even thinking about it, as it is rolled up into your monthly payment. It costs you $100, maybe $150 per month.

However, once you pay down the balance on your mortgage to a 78% loan-to-value ratio or once the value of your home increases enough to cross that threshold, you can eliminate having to pay PMI for the remainder of your loan term.

It’s a smart idea to have your home re-appraised.

How do you do this? Just contact your mortgage lender and ask them to have the home appraised once again to eliminate your PMI. If you bought your home in the last 10 years, especially around 2011 or 2012, it has risen significantly in value. If you’re currently paying PMI, you should look into eliminating it. It will save you thousands of dollars over the loan’s term.

If you have any questions for us or we can do anything for you or anyone you know, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

5 Tips to Prepare Your Home for the Market

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 15:12:00 -0700

Today I have five quick, easy tips that will ensure your home sells successfully.
Looking to sell a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here for a Home Price Evaluation

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If you’re thinking about selling your home, I want to give you five quick, easy tips on how to prepare your home for the market.

Clean up and clean out. Wipe down your trim, blinds, ceiling fans, etc. Make sure all of your surfaces are spic and span. Also, if a room has too much furniture, move it out before you show the home. When selling, less is more.
Improve your curb appeal. Trim your bushes, cut your grass, paint your shutters, and put out fresh mulch or pine straw. A buyer’s first impression is of the outside of your home, so take the time to make it look neat and well taken care of.
Get professional photos taken. Buyers will see various qualities of photos when searching for homes online. Professional photos make a home stand out online and are more likely to convince a buyer to see your home in person.

If a buyer can’t get in to see your home, they’ll just move on to the next.

Be willing to accommodate showings. Your home needs to be show-ready at all times, and if a buyer calls, you need to let them see it when they request to. The market is very active right now, so if a buyer can’t get in to see your home, they’ll just move on to the next.
Price your home properly. Don’t price it too low or too high. Find a good agent, do your research, and make sure you know what the market is doing. Prices are rising rapidly in our area, so you need to make sure you get a professional opinion on what the value of your home is in the current market. This will keep you from selling yourself short and from pricing yourself out of the market.

If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a home or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Happens If the Appraisal Comes in Low?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 09:50:00 -0800

If for whatever reason a home doesn’t appraise, here are each side’s options in how to proceed.
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What happens when a home doesn’t appraise?
Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, the first order of business is to make sure the appraisal was done correctly. Our local appraisers do a good job, but occasionally we’ll get an out-of-town appraiser who doesn’t know the market or just does a bad job. However, if it’s determined that the appraisal was legitimate, what are each side’s options?

If you’re a homebuyer, as long as you’re still in your appraisal contingency, you have three options:

Ask the seller to adjust the price down to the appraised value. If they agree to that, we adjust the price and you buy the house for less than what you thought you were going to.
Terminate the contract if the seller doesn’t agree to lower the price.
Bring additional cash to closing and purchase the house at a higher price. The lender will only loan on the appraised value or the purchase price—whichever is less. Say you’re under contract for $210,000 and the appraisal comes back at $205,000. On top of your down payment, you’d also have to bring in an additional $5,000 to bridge that gap between $205,000 and $210,000 because your loan will be based off $205,000.

Whether you’re the buyer or the seller, everything is open to negotiation.

If you’re a seller and the buyer is still in their appraisal contingency, you also have three options, but they’re the inverse of what the buyer is facing:

Reduce the purchase price down to the appraised price.
Refuse to lower the purchase price, in which case the buyer has the option to either walk away or pay extra.
Negotiate between the appraised price and the purchase price and end up somewhere in the middle. Remember—everything is open to negotiation.

We work with good, local appraisers and lenders, so most of the time this situation doesn’t happen. If we do have a problem, though, we know how to work through it and resolve the situation for both parties.
If you have any questions about this topic or there is anything I can do for you whether you’re a buyer or a seller, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to speak with you.

How Do Rising Prices Affect Appraisals?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 11:30:00 -0800

Home values are on the rise in the Athens market, but rising values can often signal appraisal issues. Here's where our market currently stands on that issue. Looking to sell a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here for a Home Price Evaluation

Looking to buy a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here to perform a full home search

The Athens market is improving and prices are on the rise. However, rising prices can cause issues with appraisals. Any time a property changes ownership and the buyer gets a loan, the lender will require an appraisal. So are properties appraising now that values are going up? Our experience has been that properties aren't having appraisal issues on either the buyer's or seller's side. Of course, you want a house to appraise because you want the deal to work out.

Sometimes, sellers are concerned when I tell them that they can price their home above what past sales show due to low inventory. The concern is that the house won't appraise at a value above recent sales even if it sells at that price. So how does that work?

An appraiser's job is to justify a home's sale price to the bank.

The appraiser knows the purchase price of the contract before they perform the appraisal. It sounds crazy, but what it boils down to is that when a bank hires an appraiser, their job is not to determine the value of the property (the market determines value), but to justify that price and value for the bank. The bank wants to be sure they don't lend more money on the house than it's actually worth. When the appraiser knows the purchase price, their job is to pull sales and make adjustments to show that the purchase price is a realistic, fair market price that the bank won't be overpaying for. Most of the time, as long as an appraiser can do this within the appraisal guidelines, they will. Most of the time, we've been coming out OK.

Next time, we'll discuss exactly what happens for buyers and sellers if a house appraises low. In the meantime, if you haven any questions or you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the Athens area, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you!

Looking Back at Important Stats From the 2016 Market

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 09:26:00 -0800

Today we're taking a look back at the Athens area market statistics from 2016 to try and get a feel for where our market is and where it might be headed in 2017.

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As we head into 2017, I wanted to take a moment to look back at the most important statistics from the Athens market in 2016. Now, a lot of agents can be procrastinators and haven't yet entered all their year-end data into the MLS, so this data might not be perfect yet.

As of early January, these numbers won't change much even as agents add in late sales data from 2016.
In Clarke County, the average sales price went up 9.8% to about $202,000. Almost 1,500 units sold in 2016, roughly 8% more homes sold than in 2015. In Oconee County, we didn't see as many sales simply because the population is smaller. Prices rose about 6.8%, from an average of $312,000 to $333,000 in 2016.

If you've been thinking about making a move in the Athens area, the time is now.

When you look at the Athens area as a whole, it was a good year with the average sales price rising 8.4% to $225,000. Overall, we're seeing prices rise, and that's a great thing. We've certainly needed it after being in a slump for a bit.

We're also seeing good appreciation, so if you're thinking about buying a house, you probably should have already done so. It's time to stop waiting.
If you've thought about selling, this time is the best time in nearly the last 10 years. We hope prices will continue to rise, but we really don't know what 2017 and 2018 will bring. As of now, things are looking up with the economy improving.
If you've been thinking about making a move in the Athens area, the time is now. Give us a call or send us an email today. We'd be glad to help.

What Does the Future Hold in Our Housing Market?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 11:28:00 -0800

As we enter 2017, I foresee interest rates continuing to rise and inventory staying low. However, as you’ll see, it isn’t all bad news.

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Now that 2016 is at an end, what can you expect from the real estate market in 2017?

One prediction everyone can seemingly agree on is that interest rates will continue to rise. For buyers, this means you might be better off buying sooner rather than later. Buying sooner means locking in a lower interest rate and making your payments better for the entire life of your loan.

If you’re a buyer, you may want to act sooner rather than later.

This trend could cause sellers who are already locked into a really good rate in the home they currently inhabit to opt out of moving to avoid a higher interest rate and a higher payment with their next home.

Currently, inventory levels are really low. There aren’t a lot of homes available, especially in the lower and more average price ranges. These price ranges are a firm seller’s market. As you get into the higher price ranges, though, we’re still in a buyer’s market. As the economy improves, we may see more activity in these price points. Activity in this area has been slow up to this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that improves in 2017.

As rates rise and sellers settle in, that will probably make our low inventory problem even worse. I do believe that inventory levels will stay low in 2017, and home prices should continue to rise. If demand starts to subside, however, that may stymie the overall price increase. In the meantime, builders are acting far more conservatively.

Part of me feels like this market resembles the one we had back in 2006 and 2007, when prices were rising and everybody was getting rich buying and selling. The key difference, though, is that lenders are now asking for far more documentation from buyers than they were back then before they issue a qualification. Buyers, in turn, are far more qualified than they were a decade ago. That distinction alone might prevent us from entering the same recession as we did after that market peak.

In addition to home prices, rent prices have also been rising. If that continues, we may see more first-time home buyers entering the market who would rather own a home than deal with landlords increasing their monthly rate.

Lastly, more and more affluent buyers want to live close to town and in walkable neighborhoods. For Athens, this means the hospital area, the Five Points area, and the Boulevard neighborhood.

As you know, my team and I opened our brokerage this year, and 2016 was fantastic for us. We’re looking forward to having the same success in 2017. If you or anyone you know is interested in buying or selling, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you!

What If You Can't Put Any Money Down?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:50:00 -0800

If you want to buy a home without putting any money down, you might have to get creative with your financing options. These are some of the options you can choose from.

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Are there options to buy a home with 100% financing? Are there funding opportunities for these properties and rehab costs?

If you're considering buying a house as your primary residence to live in, there are definitely options to get 100% financing or very close to it. If you're thinking about buying a house to flip or own as an investment property, it's more difficult to get 100% financing. It's possible, but not easy.

A hard money lender may loan you up to 65% or 75% of a home's value after repair. This means you'd need to buy the home for significantly less than what it's worth, then, have an appraisal done to show the hard money lender that it's really worth more than what you paid.

There are plenty of options for 100% home financing.

For example, if the value of a house is $100,000 after repair but needs $25,000 worth of rehab, and the hard money lender is loaning you $65,000, you would have to be able to buy that house for $40,000. As you can see, it's tough to buy a house at a priced that low with no money down. Additionally, hard money loans are much more expensive in terms of interest rate and fees.

If you have 20% to put down on a home, a lot of local banks will fund the purchase and the rehab cost since that 20% is a significant amount of skin in the game for you.

Finally, there is the option of finding a partner. If you can find a partner to provide the cash on the condition that you do the legwork, it could be a win-win.

Hopefully, that clears things up for you about 100% financing options for buying a home and some alternatives to it. If you have any questions about this topic or about Athens real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We're here to help!

What Are Tenants' Rights?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 07:43:00 -0800

What does it mean when you see a house listed for sale with tenants' rights? If the home changes ownership, the lease must be honored.

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We always love answering your questions, so this week, I wanted to address a question from a viewer who asked about homes that are advertised with tenants' rights. They wanted to know what specifically the landlord owes the tenant and what the obligation is for the buyer.

So what does this mean? If you're looking online, you'll often see listings with tenants' rights. When you see this, it means there is a tenant renting the house. Most of the time it's under a lease, but occasionally it may be on a month-to-month term without an actual lease. Regardless, it means that there is a tenant currently in the home.

When you buy a house that has a tenant, the lease stays with the house.

If you buy a house that has a tenant, the lease stays with the house. If their lease runs until December and you buy the home in September, you assume that lease. In this case, the tenant would start making their payments to you through the end of December. If you're buying as an investor, it's a great thing because you're buying a house that is already providing income. If you're buying the house with the intention to move into it, however, you have to wait until after December when the tenants' lease ends unless you're able to work out a mutual agreement for them to terminate their lease or leave early.

Simply put, tenants' rights mean that you have to abide by the terms of the current lease when you buy a tenant-occupied home. If the tenant is on a month-to-month basis, Georgia law says that the landlord must give the tenant 60 days notice to vacate.

This is really important information to keep in mind if you're buying an investment property or you're just buying a house with a tenant in it. If you have any more questions about this topic or you have any questions at all about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Why Don’t Online Home Valuation Tools Work?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 08:38:00 -0700

Why are the estimates on Zillow and Trulia inaccurate? How do you know what your home is actually worth in the current market? We’ll go over everything today.

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Recently, we asked you to send in your questions, and today I would like to answer one that we got from Diane. Diane asks, “I would like to know why the estimates on Zillow and Trulia are so low. How can you get a real sense of what your house is currently worth?”

Zillow, Trulia, and other online home valuation tools use an algorithm to estimate your home’s value. The algorithm relies on other homes that have sold in your area, the age of your house, and the size of your house. The computer then takes all of that information and spits out a value.

Your local real estate agent or appraiser can help you figure out what your home is worth.

Keep in mind that because those values are computer-generated, there are many variables that those estimates do not take into account. Location is an important factor, too. For instance, a house on a busy street might not be worth as much as a house on a quiet cul de sac. A lot of those nuances are things that your local agent will be able to take into account.

Even if you look on Zillow’s website, you will see that they say the Zestimate is accurate within 7% of your home’s value about 50% of the time. That means that the other half of the time, the Zestimate is off by more than 7%. If your home is worth $200,000, that means Zillow is probably off by at least $14,000.

So, how do you know what your home is currently worth? As real estate agents, we can compare your home to similar properties in your neighborhood and give you a rough idea of your home’s value. We will look at the condition of your home, the upgrades and updates you have made, and figure out what your home is worth.

Another way to find your home’s value is to order an appraisal, which costs about $400. The appraiser will do a very scientific breakdown of the homes near yours that are similar in age and size. They will find the property most similar to yours and compare the two. For instance, if you have an extra bathroom or bigger lot, your value will be a little higher. On the flip side, if the other house is in better condition than yours, your value will be a little lower.

The reality is that your house is worth a combination of what you are willing to sell it for and what a buyer is willing to pay for it in the current market. If you have any questions about what your home is worth, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Where Have All the Short Sales Gone?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 10:47:00 -0700

A few years ago, short sales were everywhere. You couldn’t mention real estate without talking about short sales. Now, short sales are scarce. What happened?

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If you remember, just a few years ago, short sales were everywhere. These days, you don’t hear about short sales very often. What happened? Where did all of the short sales go?

In short, the market has changed. Home values have risen, the market has improved, and sellers are no longer being forced into short sale situations.

A short sale is when the owner of the home owes more money than what the home will sell for in the current market. Since the market has improved and home values have risen, those sellers are no longer underwater. They’ve become solvent, so if they need to sell their house, they are able to sell it for more than what they owe rather than being forced to sell for less than what they owe.

Now is the best time to sell a home since 2007.

What does that mean for buyers? Since values are rising, you could’ve gotten a better deal last year than you will this year. However, you could’ve gotten a better deal in 2014 than you could’ve in 2015. The good news is that if this trend continues, you will get a better deal this year than you would if you wait until next year to buy a home.

As a seller, if you tried to sell your house a few years ago but were unsuccessful, it’s very likely that your home value has gone up. You can sell today for more than what you owe. It’s also very possible that you can sell for more than what you were asking a few years ago because the market has improved so much.

If you have been renting that house out and waiting to sell it, now may be the time to put it on the market. In fact, now is the best time to sell since 2007. We don’t know what the future holds; we’re hearing that some markets are slowing down, but the market here in Athens is still wide open.

I will keep you updated on the latest market trends as we move forward. If you have any questions in the meantime, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Using Real Estate to Fund Your Retirement

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:09:00 -0700

I recently discussed funding your kids' college through real estate, and today I wanted to talk about funding your retirement through real estate investing.

Think about your current plan - are you putting money in stocks and your 401K, are you banking on social security, or are you just saving money? If you don't have a good savings interest rate, you're going to have to save a lot of money to prepare for retirement.

Consider the possibility of purchasing a few single-family rental homes or condos and financing them on a 15 or 30-year mortgage. You would have tenants who pay rent that's more than the mortgage for monthly cash flow, and in 15 or 30 years, that property would be paid for. If you have five houses paid for when you retire, that's a pretty good income.

Rental properties can generate monthly cash flow as well as equity.

Five houses renting at $1,000 a month is $60,000 a year in income, and if you have houses with $2,000 rent, you're looking at six figures in income from rental property alone.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is a good book to read to change the way you're thinking about money. He talks about acquiring assets and allowing them to produce income to fund other areas of your life. I encourage you to think along those lines.

For this reason, I want to see how much interest there would be in an investment workshop. If you're interested in attending a three-hour workshop about the ins and outs, the good, the bad, and the ugly of residential real estate investing, email me at Justin@WoodallRealtyGroup.com. We’ll get you on a list to keep you updated about a potential event.

I hope this topic has been informative and has challenged your thinking today. If I can ever do anything for you, give me a call or send me an email.

Jackie Ruined Her Life Going to College?

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 09:19:00 -0700

A recent headline on Consumer Reports' August edition really caught my eye: "I Kind of Ruined My Life Going to College."

What are they talking about? Well, 42 million people owe a total of $1.3 trillion in student debt. What’s even more scary is that 45% of the people with student loan debt said college was not worth the cost. Additionally, 47% of these people said given the chance, they'd go to a lower cost school if they could do it over.

This bears the question: What is your plan to send your kids to college?

If you can begin planning now, you want to start saving. Savings accounts don't have great interest rates now, so you have to save a lot. You could invest in stocks, but who knows what the market is going to do?

What if you used residential real estate as college funding for your kids? If you purchase a property that you can rent out when your kids are young, it can be paid for in 15 to 20 years, giving you options when the time comes for them to go to college.

"What is your plan to fund your kids' college?"

You can sell the home and use that equity to fund their college. You could also continue leasing the home and use the monthly cash flow to pay for college.

A third option would be buying a house here in Athens if your kids are going to UGA, for example. You could rent the house to them to eliminate room and board costs, and charge their roommates rent to pay for college expenses.

Remember, this strategy is not for everyone, but it's an option that I wanted you to be aware of. I think it's tragic for students to leave college with so much debt. It's hindering them from buying their first homes and saving for retirement, among other things.

If you have any questions about buying a rental or income-producing property, I'd love to help you out. Give me a call or send me an email and let's talk about whether this is a good option for you and for your kids' future.

An Update on the Greater Athens Real Estate Market

Justin@JustinWoodall.com (Justin Woodall) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 10:38:00 -0700

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The word on the street is that homes are selling like crazy in Athens and while that’s true, the pace at which homes are selling is also dependent on both price and location.

"We’ve got ourselves a hot market."

We are starting to see more activity in the lower price ranges and in certain areas of town that are hotter than others. Homes are moving in the higher price points, but not at the same pace. Inventory levels in the lower price ranges are extremely low, below a two-month supply. In the upper price ranges, however, there is still an eight to 10 month supply.

Here are some of the most recent statistics for both Clarke and Oconee Counties to give you a better picture.

In Clarke County, home sales have risen a little over 1% in the last year. However, the average sales price for homes has risen an incredible 9% in the past year. That’s a pretty significant increase. The average days on market has also sped up. Homes are selling in an average of 30 days faster, a 19% increased.

In Oconee County, we have seen a 13% uptick in sales, which is great news. The average sale price has gone up by an average of 5% as well. Homes are selling an average of 13 days faster in Oconee County than they did at the same time last year.

I hope this gives you a good idea of what our market is like right now. If you have any additional questions or are looking to buy or sell in the area, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.