Atlanta Housing Source

Vanderbilt subdivision, Sugar Hill, Georgia is conveniently located in Gwinnett County off Level Creek Road north of West Price Road and close to E. E. Robinson Park. The neighborhood is only minutes from downtown Suwanee.

Vanderbilt is very close to outstanding amenities like shopping, fine restaurants, and Old Town Suwanee.

The outstanding local schools that server Vanderbilt are Level Creek Elementary, Lanier Middle, & North Gwinnett High School.

Home in Vanderbilt are typically priced from$225K to $330K, so there are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Sugar Hill or Gwinnett county home buyer.

Markim Forest, Sugar Hill, Georgia is conveniently located in Gwinnett County off Level Creek Road north of West Price Road and close to E. E. Robinson Park. The neighborhood is only minutes from downtown Suwanee.

Markim Forest is very close to outstanding amenities like shopping, fine restaurants, and Old Town Suwanee.

The outstanding local schools that server Markim Forest Are Level Creek Elementary, Lanier Middle, & North Gwinnett High School.

Home in Markim Forest are typically priced from$155K to $180K, so there are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Sugar Hill or Gwinnett county home buyer.

You can see all of the available homes in this subdivision by visiting our site.

In Gwinnett county and others around the metro Atlanta area, most of us have suffered a loss in home value from the real estate peak in 2005 & 2006. So we were not surprised to find out the White House has been effected too.   You will be surprised to read just how much Zillow valued the White House. Seems like no one is immune!

Read the full article: 

                                               CNBC Article - Value of White House Drops by More Than $15 Million 

Peachtree Forest subdivision, located in the Peachtree Corners area of  Norcross in Gwinnett county, Ga.

Peachtree Forest subdivision, Norcross, GA.  is conveniently located in Gwinnett County near Jaybird Alley and Spalding Road.  The neighborhood is only minutes away from fine shopping and dining at the Forum.

Peachtree Forest is very close to outstanding amenities like activity/soccer field, playgrounds, tennis courts, Peachtree World of Tennis, and one of the newest of Gwinnett County’s Water Recreational Park. Peachtree Forest is one of Norcross’ most established and desirable neighborhoods.

The outstanding local schools that serve Peachtree Forest are Peachtree Elementary, Pinckneyville Middle, and Norcross High.  The school buses make stops throughout the neighborhood.

Homes in Peachtree Forest are typically priced from the mid $200’s to $400’s, so there really are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Norcross or Gwinnett County home buyer.

 SEE ALL PEACHTREE FOREST HOMES FOR SALE

Ivy Green subdivision, located in the city of Buford in Gwinnett county, Ga.

Ivy Green subdivision, Buford, GA  is conveniently located near the Mall of Georgia in  Gwinnett County off of East Maddox Road.  The neighborhood is only minutes away from fine shopping and dining and is convenient to I-85.

Ivy Green has outstanding amenities like a pool & lighted tennis courts. Being so close to the Mall of Georgia, there are several things to do like go to the IMAX theatre and summer concerts as well as eat at the many restaurants.

The outstanding local schools that serve Ivy Green are Harmon Elementary, GC Jones Middle, and Mill Creek High.  The school buses make stops throughout the neighborhood.

Homes in Ivy Green are typically priced from the mid $225’s to $275’s, so there really are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Norcross or Gwinnett County home buyer.

 SEE ALL IVY GREEN HOMES FOR SALE

The number of advertised foreclosures this month is 4957 for Hall County, Barrow County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, and Walton County. This number does not even include Cobb County, Dekalb County, Paulding County, Cherokee County and Douglas County.

In July there were 4415 advertised foreclosures in those same counties that were scheduled for sale on August 4, 2009. Just how many actually foreclosed is yet to be determined. This month, however, we see that there is a 10% increase.

We have been tracking the foreclosure rates for those counties for years and never have we seen these kinds of numbers. Georgia is a non-judicial foreclosure state which basically means that after 4 weeks of advertising, the lender can foreclose on the property through a sale on the courthouse steps.

So what is going to happen with all of these homes that are now owned by the bank? They are going to try and sell them at greatly reduced prices. This can be good news or bad news depending on your situation. If you are a buyer, there has never been a better time to purchase a home. The incentives for first time homebuyers are really phenomenal. Have you heard about the $8,000 Federal and up to $1,800 State credits available? Learn more details.

However, if you are an existing home owner, you are seeing your property values drop like never before. Most people who bought in the past 10 years purchased houses with a first and a second mortgage. When the bank forecloses all junior liens are wiped out. Therefore the bank that performed the foreclosure has a house that already costs significantly less that other homes in the neighborhood that were bought around the same time.

For example a house that normally would cost $100,000 has a first mortgage of $80,000 and a second mortgage of $15,000. Typically the owner would have paid $5,000 for the down payment. So let’s say the owner has lived in the property for 3 years and now can’t make the payment. The first mortgage would foreclose and purchase the property at the steps for roughly $78,000. Let’s say it costs them $4,000 to actually foreclose. They then list the home for sale at $85,000. So the other homeowners in the neighborhood who need to sell are competing with the banks selling what would normally be a $100,000 house for $85,000. So they have lost $15,000 in equity.

In addition banks are now competing with each other since there are so many of them on the market these days, that they are lowering their prices even further just to move the house off their books and to take the loss.

So my point is that there is going to be even more choices for people who want to get some great deals and we can help you find a great deal. If you want to know more about the home buying process, come to one of seminars. If you want to search through the thousands of foreclosures in Atlanta, you can search for free. If you want us to search for a home for you to narrow down the search, you can speak with us directly by contacting us or calling 404.886.8789.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you!

As a real estate agent serving Gwinnett, North Fulton, Forsyth and Cobb counties, I have a wide area of expertise. While everyone knows we have to conserve energy, the challenge is how to get started and what is the value in “going green” with your home?

Let me being by speaking of the value. In the Atlanta area, while a few people may pay more for a more efficient home, most will use that as a swaying feature between 2 comparable homes and the green home will sell faster. I wanted to share with you some ideas that we recommend if you wanted to go green and discuss the resale value of each option.

HVAC:  Replace A/C systems with a 13 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) or greater unit. Update furnaces to high AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) system of 80 or greater.  These will have a tremendous impact on your utility bills while you own the property, and is a great selling point. Also, when the prospective buyer looks at the property, knowing it is a relatively new system will be a big plus.

Install programmable thermostat(s).  Not only will this help you be more comfortable when you arrive home, it will save energy as well.

Replace kitchen appliances with ENERGY STAR rated appliances.  Everyone loves newer appliances. We all know that kitchens help sell homes, so make yours more attractive with this feature.
 

Replace plumbing fixtures & toilets with water conserving fixtures & low flow toilets.  In Georgia, as well as many other areas of the country, we are experiencing major issues with water shortages.  In some metro counties, this is actually a requirement before a seller can sell. We expect that more and more counties will enact similar legislation, so this might be a way to get your house prepared in advance.

Improve insulation. We find that the home’s insulation gets packed down over the years, so refreshing insulation in the attic or adding insulation in the walls will certainly reduce your energy cost as well as provide a great selling feature. It will make the house much more comfortable.

Replace old single-pane windows with Low-emissivity (Low-E) rated windows.  A Low-E coating is a microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metal or metallic oxide layer deposited directly on the surface of one or more of the panes of glass. Old windows are drafty, but the new windows are great for keeping the outside temperatures from affecting the interior temperature of the home.  This is an expensive but very effective alteration.  When we priced out new windows for our home, we were amazed at the pricing, but feel that it will allow us to be more comfortable and save us money in the long run.

While there are other options to consider, we don’t feel that they are as practical, but we thought we would list them for you to think about:

Solar technologies for heating, and active systems for power generation to supplement the grid. 

Grey-water recycling system.  

 
Rainwater retention systems. 
 

Ventilation systems that replace indoor air with fresh outdoor air. 

A whole-house and reverse osmosis water filtering systems.  Provides better tasting water and also reduces the waste of bottled water.

Even if you do only a couple of these items, you will find that you have increased the comfort and value of your home for years to come. If you have any further questions about going green, feel free to contact us – www.AtlantaHousingSource.com or call 404.886.8789.

The housing market in Gwinnett County is like most others – a buyers market. There are some fabulous deals out there. You can increase your net worth tremendously by purchasing a home in today’s market.

We were talking with some couples last night at a party – everyone loves to talk about real estate! They were interested in how they can take advantage of the market and trade their house for another one of greater value.

As sellers who need to sell become more and more desperate to sell their homes, people have to become more creative. You want to work with a real estate agent that can get creative and help you reach your goals no matter if you are buying or selling.

If buying, we encourage you to deal with an experienced agent who can come up with several creative ways to get you the best deal. That doesn’t always mean the cheapest price – but the best solution for you. Sometimes that means less money out of pocket and more money financed. An example of that could be exploring owner financing to have a better interest rate or a second mortgage provided by the seller so that you don’t have to come up with a large down payment.

If you are a seller, you too want to deal with an experienced professional, one who will accurately tell you the market conditions so that you understand your options. You will want to discuss your situation candidly with your real estate agent so that they can come up with the best scenario for you.

At Atlanta Housing Source, we don’t just list homes, we sell them. We use the best marketing techniques and pricing strategies to get homes sold. If you want to know what your house is worth, we will provide you with a free market analysis. So no matter if you are interested in buying or selling – call us so that we can help you.

If you are looking to either buy or sell a home in Gwinnett County, we want you give you an update on the market. There has never been a better time to purchase real estate. The competition to sell a home across the Atlanta Metro area is high with bank owned dominating the market with deeply discounted homes.

In addition, there is the $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit.

Here are the highlights about the credit

·   The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.

·   The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

·   The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

·   The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

·   Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

To take advantage of this huge benefit – contact Mark at 404-886-8789 and he will be happy to help you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE TAX CREDIT SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com