A home priced right and in Good Condition Sells – even in todays market

If you price a home correctly and have it in top showing condition it will sell. If you are a buyer and love a home and when you do the CMA – you will have a good idea if the home is priced right or not – it can be a good value even if you pay full list price.  I just had buyers go through the process of loving a home, makeing a lowball offer, and then having someone else buy it without a counter from the seller.

Yes it is a buyers market – but homes that are priced right and in good condtion will sell.  If you are in the market to buy a home, or sell a home, call John Foster with Remax Greater Atlanta at 770 722-7010 or visit my website at www.FosterHomeInfo.com.

12/5/10 – Cumming Open House – Stop by

I am holding an open house in Cumming this Sunday from 2:00 – 4:30.  This is a wonderful ranch home with 3 bedrooms, 2 car garage, fenced backyard with a hot tub and an enclosed Lanai – to see the virtual tour and photos of this home visit my website at www.FosterHomeInfo.com. 

If this home does not sound like what you are looking for – call me.  I view homes everyday and would like to help you find your next home.

Visit this home at the Open House this Sunday

Alpharetta Foreclosure Report – including Cumming

It seems like the percentage of number of homes I am showing that are vacant is going down so today I seached the MLS for homes that are listed as foreclosures, Shorts Sales or Potential Short Sale for Cumming and Alpharetta.  Here are the results for 12/2/10:

Total Foreclosures/Shorts in Cumming  212 with total listings at 1,342 – so 16% of the listings are foreclosures or short sales in Cumming.

Total Foreclosures/Shorts in Alpharetta  125 with total listings at 1,014 – so 12% of the listings are foreclosures or short sales in Alpharetta.

If you or someone you know if facing foreclosure, have them call me at 770 722-7010.  To find out more about how to stop foreclosures in Alpharetta and Cumming visit www.MetroAtlantaForeclosureHelp.com

Get your FREE HaFa report and find out if you qualify for a short sale.

Stop Foreclosures in Metro Atlanta

The following is a Press Release sent out today about a new designation I received.

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

DATE: November 19, 2010                                    For more information, please contact: John Foster at 770 722-7010

JOHN FOSTER EARNS PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

John Foster, REALTOR®, with ReMax Greater Atlanta has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area has lots of “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With decreased property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

The Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Suwanee and Cumming areas, have a growing number of homes are in danger of foreclosing. It happens in all price ranges – even high-priced homes are not immune. “This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales,” said Foster. “It is so rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure.”

Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as John Foster with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

The CDPE is the premier designation for Realtors helping homeowners in distress and handling short sales and Foster is glad he put in the time and effort to obtain that designation. Shortly, John Foster will roll out a website specifically related to helping homeowners facing foreclosure. For more information about CDPE designation or to find a certified distressed Realtor in your area, please call John Foster 770 722-7010 or visit his website at www.FosterHomeInfo.com.

Remax market report – Alpharetta Real Estate

The AJC reported over the weekend that in the Metro Atlanta area the median sales price for a home dropped 7.4% to $113,500 from the prior year.  As a realtor selling real estate in Cumming, Alpharetta and Suwanee this is not a surprise to me at all.  It seems like homes priced at $200K and below are moving better while the higher priced homes (above $500K) continue to struggle – so with more lower price homes selling I expected the median price to decline.   I also believe we are still suffering from the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit.

In October I searched the MLS to find out what Percentage of homes sold in October were short sales/foreclosures compared all the sales.  The FMLS recently just started tracking this information.  The following shows “Distressed sales” (ie. short sales & foreclosures in Alpharetta, Cumming and Suwanee) for October 2010:

1. Alpharetta Short Sales and Foreclosures:  20% of all Sales
2. Cumming Short Sales and Foreclosures:  20% of all Sales
3. Suwanee Short Sales and Foreclosures: 29% of all sale

I will begin tracking these stats – as these numbers decrease (and I think they are decreasing) the market with strengthen – but the first item required to strengthen the real estate market is consumer confidence needs to improve – which mean the job market needs to improve.

If you are considering selling your home or buy a home – please call me (John Foster) at 770 722-7010.  I help people buy foreclosures and would love to interview for the job of helping you find your next home.  Visit my website at www.Fosterhomeinfo.com to search the MLS and leave more about buying a foreclosure.

Great Values for homes in Suwanee

Today I have been doing Broker Price Opinions for a bank for homes in Suwanee Ga.  I am amazed at deals for people that have good credit scores and a min. of 3.5% of the purchase price as a down payment.  Here are some of the deals I noticed:

1. A home that sold for $171,500 in 2004 is listed for $99K
2. A home that sold for $173,360 in 2007 sold for 107K.
3. A home that sold for $148,900 in 2006 is listed at 109

If you are considering buying a home - CLICK HERE for homes that are for sale in Buford, Sugar Hill and Suwanee.

Visit www.FosterHomeInfo.com to search homes for Sale in Atlanta.  If you are considering buying a home – call me at 770 722-7010 – I am always looking for people that need to buy or sell real estate – I know the market.

What is a Short Sale?

I have been asked many times what is a short sale and it is a good option for a buyer.  Those are two great questions and here is my answers:

1.  A short sale is where the market value of the home (price received) is not enough to pay for all the liens, mortgages etc on the home so the net proceeds at the closing take is “short” when it comes time to pay all the debts on the property.

2.  Is a short sale a good option for a buyer depends on the needs of the buyer.  If a buyer needs/wants to close quickly then a short sale probably is not going to be the route to go – it usually takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months to get an answer back from the bank as to if the offer is accepted.

What takes so long?  Well first the seller has to apply for a short sale – which means bank statements, tax returns and pay stubs and supplied to the mortgage holders (if there are two mortgages you supply both with this information) along with a hardship letter explaining why they can not afford the monthly payment and why/how they ended up in the situation they are in.  The bank will then either deny the short sale or send out an appraiser and one or two agents to give them price opinions.  Those three opinions are then compared to the offer price to determine if the offer is accepted or countered. 

I have found many times the banks counter with what they belive is the market price – sometimes higher than the listing price.  I have seen some great deals to people that have the ability to wait.

If you are considering buying a home in Alpharetta, Cumming, Suwanee or Johns Creek – call me at 770 722-7010.  I am happy to explain the short sale process in more detail or visit my website at www.FosterHomeInfo.com to search the MLS.