Mike Kinlaw's Georgia Real Estate Blog: 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008

Should I get a home inspection?

Unless you're particularly savvy in home inspection-type items, I would recommend that every buyer get a professional home inspection performed on any property they are considering. Yes, even new constructions! Builders have been hurting in the recent real estate market - don't you want to make sure they didn't cut any corners?

For my home inspection needs, I turn to the BrickKicker of Athens. Feel free to visit his website by clicking on the logo below and feel free to call or e-mail him with any questions you may have about home inspections.

If you're not familiar with home construction, building codes, electrical systems, plumbing systems, HVAC systems, etc., then why would you consider buying a property without a professional home inspection? A certified home inspector must be properly trained in each of these areas and will provide you an itemized report on the condition of each system in the house.
Most home inspectors base the price of the inspection on the size of the home they are inspecting. An inspection home on a standard three bedroom, two bathroom house will generally cost around $300. So if you're willing to pay $150,000 for that house, I'd recommend you pay $150,300 and have the home inspected.

Nearly every home inspection reveals various flaws in the home. Therefore, the inspection generally pays for itself. Let's say a home inspector finds a flaw in a heating and cooling system - certainly one of the most important systems in the home - this could be a $200 problem or a $10,000 problem. 99.9% of the time, after your realtor presents your professional home inspection to the seller (or the seller's realtor), the seller is going to contribute a monetary allowance for the flaw or have the system repaired at their own expense. This, in itself, will cover the cost of the home inspection.

Can I trust those home valuation websites???

Many new websites have been started recently that supposedly tell you what a home is worth and show you the most recent sales data from that neighborhood/area. The question is...are they accurate?

"The percentage of error on these estimates is still very large," says Delores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast at the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. If there are not many comparable sales in one area, for example, she says, "the estimates will have huge errors in them."

To read the complete article for yourself, click here.

What's the point of the story? If you're looking to buy or sell, call a Realtor in your area! Most Realtors will supply that information for you FOR FREE! And always remember, if you're going to buy a house, you can use a Realtor to help you every single step of the process COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE!!! Only sellers pay commission, so if you're a buyer...you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by using a Realtor! Why trust the data from some impersonal website when you can use a Realtor to show you all the home sales (with the accurate data from the local Multiple Listing Service)??? Also, good luck getting that website to write the contract for you and negotiate the deal!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Want to see the nation's biggest real estate blog?

Here it is! Enjoy!

You can find great local Jefferson, Georgia real estate information on Localism.com Mike Kinlaw is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.

Nation-Wide Real Estate Update

Check out the latest update from the National Association of Realtors' website and Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Higher conforming loan limits, rising popularity of FHA loans, and a potentially stronger economy towards the end of 2008 will all have a positive effect on the national real estate market.

http://www.realtor.org/research/reinsights/forecast

Remember, all real estate is local - markets differ from city to city...and certainly differ from state to state. Don't let the media's talk of a nationally poor real estate market completely influence your opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.

And, the most important thing...a "poor" or "soft" real estate market means what??? That it's tough to sell your house for top-dollar. What does this mean to buyers? It means that it's a perfect time to buy!!! Don't wait for inflation to get worse and let mortgage rates rise (and yes, they're already rising) before you buy! You'll kick yourself later!

Look at how a higher interest rate can affect your monthly payment (principal and interest) for a $200,000 house:

Rate: 5.5% - Payment: 1,135.58
Rate: 6.5% - Payment: 1,264.14
Rate: 7.5% - Payment: 1,398.43

At the current time, rates are still low - and sellers are very, very motivated...especially if there house has been on the market for months and months. If you're going to buy, buy soon! If you wait "for the market to come back," you're going to have to pay top-dollar!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Home Warranty Question

Hey Mike,

Our home warranty with Old Republic is up for renewal, and I was wondering if you think it's a good idea to renew it each year? As you know, you wrote into our contract that the sellers would pay for the 1st year of the policy we now have. I know these things are a gamble, like any insurance-type policy, but the fact is that in this last year, Old Republic paid about $2,500 toward the repair of our stove and the full replacement of one of our AC units, so I guess we got our (or the sellers') money's worth and then some. If I'm reading the form correctly, it looks like it will cost about $450 to renew the policy. I'd appreciate hearing what your advice is on this.

Thanks,
Tom

Survey Says Buyers are Ready to Buy!!!

Sellers, there's a light at the end of the tunnel! Buyers, better buy now before everyone else does, and prices & interest rates rise...

http://rismedia.com/wp/2008-04-08/get-ready-to-sell-survey-says-consumers-want-to-buy/

Unless you plan on selling in the next few years - and especially if you have an adjustable rate mortgage or a high fixed rate, most would tell you to refinance today! Check out http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2008-02-04-refinancing_N.htm