IN THIS MARKET DO YOU HAVE YOUR HOME APPRAISED?

Just attended a continuing education class hosted by DS Murphy and Associates. They do appraisals, as well as, consultation appraisals. There is no doubt that the Atlanta metro market has seen a well deserving swing upwards in pricing. What that has done for homeowners is give them a sense of optimism. It has also made some homeowners revert back to unrealistic expectations. Despite the climbing prices, we are still below prices of 2007, when the market started its considerable decline. As agents we are finding ourselves in situations where the homeowners are putting our market analysis to the side. We call it yeah....but syndrome. In other words, yeah I see the market in my neighborhood BUT.....(you can fill in the blank). This might be a good time to consider having an appraisal done on your property in order to get an unbiased opinion on your homes worth. If the homeowner truly believe that his home is worth more than the market he should welcome an appraisers expert analysis. At the end of the day price still drives our North Atlanta market. If you are priced above the market, you receive less interest, and no offers. Potential buyers do not believe you are motivated to sell. The Wells Team represents our sellers to the best of our ability. That includes giving them expert market analysis. As a homeowner remember this: The real estate agents do not dictate the market If you doubt you agents price analysis then call in an appraiser. If you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, or North Georgia area look us up. www.randywellsteam.com

Do Garage Door Maintenance

Some words of wisdom from my Dad: Be a good husband and father Be kind to other people Tighten down the nuts and bolts on your garage door????? I happened to look at my own garage doors today and noticed how many nuts were loose. Matter of fact a couple of the nuts were missing. Lack of maintenance could cause problems with the door and potential damage to the door opener. So this weekend change your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke detector, and tighten the hardware on your garage door. Thanks Dad! If you are in the north Atlanta, Lake Lanier area, come see us.... www.randywellsteam.com

Is There a Time Not to List Your Home???

It is that time of year when I hear the following from our clients: • Time to take my home off of the market. • Don’t want my home on the market during the holidays. • Nobody looks at homes this time of year. • I will wait until spring to relist the home. I decided to run some statistics from my home county, Dawson county. I took the two slowest back to back months and compared them to the two busiest back to back months Nov-Dec July-Aug Homes for sale Avg 267 Avg 339 Homes sold Avg 20 Avg 35 Percentage of sale/vs sold Avg 7.5% Avg 10.32% In other words a mere 3% was the difference between the busiest back to back months and the slowest back to back months. During the busiest time 3% LESS in sales would have resulted in 1.05 less homes being sold During the slowest time 3% MORE in sales would have resulted in .6 more homes being sold So what I want to convey to my clients is this: The difference between the slowest time of the year and the busiest time of the year is very small in terms of statistics. And: IF YOUR HOME IS NOT LISTED YOU HAVE A 0% CHANCE OF SELLING! If you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, North Georgia area look us up. www.randywellsteam.com

North Georgia Events for November and December

Some great local events in North Georgia. Come up and see us! www.randywellsteam.com

Keller Williams Community Partners, Forsyth County, #1 in Sales

Know your Pipes!

How well do you know your pipes? If you know them as well as I do then you need a professional to help. Yesterday a representative from BPG Home Inspections spoke at our KW Team Meeting. He did a quick overview, with pictures, on some plumbing issues that they encounter. His emphasis was the new, and old, types of non-copper pipe that are being used in the home. PBE or Polybutylene “blue pipe”- This pipe was used in the US for a majority of homes built prior to 2000. Because of problems with the pipe it is no longer used in the US for home building. Numerous lawsuits took place because of the failures of the pipe. This appeared to be caused by a chemical reaction between the pipe and chlorine in the water. PEX or Cross-linked polyethylene- Used as an alternative to copper pipe, this pipe is flexible and cheaper. It continues to grow in popularity because it can be used easily in home construction. PVC or Polyvinylchloride-Also used an alternative to copper pipe, this pipe is less expensive to install. A good home inspector should educate you on the type of piping in your home and the potential benefits/pitfalls associated with it. The moral of the story: Do not hire a home inspector based on the cheapest price. I have seen this many times before and the results were not good. Call the inspector; ask for their qualifications and experience. Ask for references. Make this one of the most important factors in purchasing a home. If you find yourselves in the North Atlanta, North Georgia, Lake Lanier area, give us a call. www.randywellsteam.com

Yes Redesigns Still Work!

Yes the market was a lot busier than we have seen in the past few years. The downside is that I see sellers thinking their house will sell because of the market, regardless of how it looks. The Wells Team disagrees with this premise. We disagree based on experience. In the last few months my partner Barb, and marketing specialist Sue, went into two homes and did an extensive redesign on each. They have providing this service to our clients for over 8 years and has brought a lot of successful sales. House number 1 had been for sale for over 3 years! A nice cozy ranch that just needed furniture moved and other items rearranged to give it a "larger" feel. A simple process that resulted in a sale in two months! House number 2 had been for sale over 6 months! We attacked this home the same way moving furniture, rugs from under beds, and moving other smaller items. The idea was to take this 3000 square foot home and open up the living space. Result? Yes we sold this one in a few months also. Buyers are busy these days, as a result, do not have the imagination to see the actual home. Having the home redesigned, or staged, gives these picky buyers a better visual presentation. Better visual presentation means quicker sale. If you need your home staged, or marketed in the North Atlanta area let The Wells Team know! www.randywellsteam.com