How pound wise may be penny foolish!

The current economy has everyone looking for ways to cut cost.  This means that your buyers may be looking for ways to save money at closing.  One of the few “optional” items on the settlement statement is the owner’s title insurance premium.

Most buyers understand that title insurance protects them from a loss caused by a title defect.  Buyers may not always realize the shortcomings of the title examination.  Title exams are performed by human beings who are capable of error.  The title exam is a review of documents filed and indexed by human beings, also capable of inaccuracy.

Even in the absence of a mistake, a title examination cannot insure that title is clear as of the time of closing.  It is a look back in time of 4 – 6 weeks, depending upon the county involved.  The time period between the effective date of the records and the time that it is examined is called “the gap.”

No one knows what may come up in that period of time.  The following are some examples: (1) equity lines taken out by the seller who needs cash, (2) materialman liens for recent work for which the payment was not made, (3) a lien resulting from a lawsuit by credit card companies or other companies for unpaid debts, (4) federal tax liens, (5) Georgia Department of Revenue liens, (6) lis pendens filed by disgruntled spouses/ex-spouses.

Buyers are cost sensitive but that has to be balanced against the risks of loss.  Owner’s title insurance is always important.  In a time when sellers are under financial stress, it is absolutely vital.  Make sure your buyers protect themselves.

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If you are interested in a free buyers guide or searching for your dream home – visit our website at http://www.AtlantaHousingSource.com.

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To search for homes, visit – www.AtlantaHousingSource.com. You can search for free and even get the newest listings that match your criteria via e-mail.

My wife Anne Lackey manages 240 rental homes and this is the time of year that the office phone rings on Friday afternoon when the tenant got home from work to find the air not cooling.

Usually they mention that they noticed it wasn’t cooling well a few days earlier but chose not to call.  Now they are hot and can’t understand why someone cant get there immediately to fix the problem. They tell her its 80 or 85 degrees and they can’t stand it.

It makes me think back to time before air conditioning.  We traveled on vacation to the beach at night because the car didn’t have air conditioning.  We left at 2 or 3 am. Dad drove all night so we wouldn’t overheat.

In elementary and high school there was no air conditioning.  During the break between classes we would run cool water from the bathroom faucet on our lower arms and splash water on our face and neck.

At our home we ran window fans, or in home like the one I have now that was built in the mid 80s, there was an attic fan.  We would open windows top and bottom on opposite sides of the house to let the breeze blow in and cool us.

Now I hear that they can’t stand the heat.  They can’t wait for the air to get fixed.  Well, fortunately we know a great guy that owns a great heating and air company and I am glad to recommend them.

If need to have your system serviced so it will work, or if your heat or air stops working I suggest you call Andy at Seasons Comfort at 770-616-2494.  They do great work at reasonable prices, and tell him Mark sent you.

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In this video, Mark Lackey shares with you about down payment assistance and how you may be able to qualify.

Superman Comic Saves Family Home From Foreclosure
Unexpected Find of Action Comics No. 1 Could Fetch Upwards of a Quarter of a Million Dollars at Auction

By RAY SANCHEZ / ABC News
August 3, 2010
A struggling family facing foreclosure has stumbled upon what is considered to be the Holy Grail of comic books in their basement – a fortuitous find that could fetch upwards of a quarter million dollars at auction.

A copy of Action Comics No. 1, the first in which Superman ever appeared, was discovered as they went about the painful task of packing up a home that had been in the family since at least the 1950s. The couple, who live in the South with their children, asked to remain anonymous.

“The bank was about ready to foreclose,” said Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Comics and Collectibles in New York. “Literally, this family was in tears. The family home was going to be lost and they’re devastated. They can’t figure out a way out of this. They start packing things up. They go into the basement and start sifting through boxes – trying to find packing boxes – and they stumble on eight or nine comic books.”

Most of the comic books in the box were worth between $10 and $30 but one – dated June 1938 and depicting the Man of Steel lifting a car above his head – was extremely rare. That issue, which originally sold for 10 cents, is considered to have ushered in the age of the superhero.

“It’s a tremendous piece of American pop culture history,” Zurzolo said. The couple learned online that ComicConnect.com had brokered the record-breaking sales of Action No. 1 copies for $1 million in February and then $1.5 million one month later. They immediately texted a cell phone picture to the firm’s co-owner, Stephen Fishler.
“You couldn’t have asked for a happier ending,” Zurzolo said. “Superman saved the day.”
Most Americans aren’t so lucky. Nationwide, more than 1.6 million properties were in some stage of foreclosure in the first half of the year, according to RealtyTrac, up about 8 percent from a year ago but down 5 percent from the final six months of 2009. The couple had recently taken out a second mortgage on their home to start a new business, which failed in the uncertain economy. Mortgage payments were missed and the bank soon came after their home, which became theirs after the death of the wife’s father. Fishler had to get on the phone to convince the bank to back off.

Rare Superman Comic Book Saves Family from Foreclosure
“My partner basically had to explain to the bank, ‘You’ll have your money soon,’” Zurzolo said. “We sent them information about our previous sales and what this could realize.”

A struggling family cleaning out the basement of their home stumbled upon what is known as the Holy Grail of comic books ? a fortuitous find expected to save their house from foreclosure.
(Courtesy Metropolis Collectibles, Inc.)
In a statement released through ComicConnect, the owner of the prized comic book said the family was still “a little shell shocked” after the unexpected find. “I was so nervous when I realized what it was worth,” the owner said. “I know I am very fortunate but I will be greatly relieved when this book finds a new home.”
Last Thursday, the couple’s copy received a 5.0 VG(Very Good)/Fine rating on a scale of 1 to 10. It could fetch upwards of $250,000 when it goes up for auction on ComicConnect.com from Aug. 27 through Sept. 17.

•17 trees for the use of pulp
•7000 gallons of water
•462 gallons of oil
•1 ton of cardboard uses 9 cubic yards of landfill space and dumping paper products in landfills adds methane to the atmosphere as it decomposes, with 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
•In 2003, paper and paperboard accounted for 35 percent of the total materials discarded in the United States. Just imagine the impact we could make by reducing the need for so much cardboard.
•In the U.S. we have lost 95 percent of our old growth forests.
•The U.S. pulp and paper industry is the second largest consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry.
•According to the American Forest and Paper Association in 2008 the average person in the US added 220 lbs of paper waste to our landfills.

Go through these shocking truths about the environment of our planet and share them with your friends.
•80% of the world’s forests are gone.
•Over 40% of all tropical forests have been destroyed and another acre is lost each second.
•The US has less than 4% of its forests left.
•The U.S. burns 10,000 gallons of gasoline a second. Burning one gallon of gas creates 22 lbs of carbon dioxide. Now that’s 220,000 lbs of Co2 per second.
•An average American creates 4.5 lbs. garbage a day — an amount doubled from 30 years ago.
•Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in the fall.
•Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations.
•99% of all those things we buy are not in use after 6 months.
•Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.
•About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.
•40% of our waterways are undrinkable.
•The US has 5% of the world’s population and 30% of the waste.
•Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can of gasoline.
•As per an estimation by The University of California, 30,000 deaths occur a year because of gasoline or diesel fuel use.
•Approximately, 70,000 people in the U.S die prematurely from heart and lung disease aggravated by particulate air pollution.
•Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 50%.
•Americans annually use 50 million tons of paper. This equals the consumption of more than 850 million trees.
•Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers.
•Turning down your central heating thermostat by one degree can cut fuel consumption by as much as 10%.
•Insulating your attic reduces the amount of energy loss in most houses by up to 20%.
•The amount of glass disposed of in 1990 was enough to fill the Twin Towers (1,350 feet high) of New York’s World Trade Center every two weeks.
•Using energy efficient bulbs in place of every 75 watt light bulbs can prevent 1 ton of carbon dioxide from being released in the air.
•Many banks lent large sums of money to developing nations. In order to pay those debts plus interest many nations have turned to the mining of their natural resources as a source of financial aid.
•40,000 children in the world die every year from preventable diseases.
•The human population of the world is expected to rise by nearly three times by the year 2100.
•A 3% annual population growth will result in the doubling of consumption and production of food and other products within 2033.
•The number of automobiles is expected to increase by 15 million per year until at least 2010.
•The world’s per capita grain production has been on the downfall since 1985 despite the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Already a train system has been developed (back in 1987) which is based on magnetic levitation and causes minimal pollution. These versions of a train are already in use in several countries.
•Fibre optics, made of glass, are being used to replace copper cables throughout the world.
•Uncontrolled fishing has resulted in the reduction of the population of many commercial species; some upto one-tenth of their original population.
•Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as their habitat and human activities destroy them.

Potted plants, freshly edged green lawn, and weed-free garden areas will make your home more attractive and appealing. The more appealing the home or condo, the more marketable it is and the faster it will sell.

Well-manicured landscaping helps frame other elements of curb appeal. It is considered a value-added feature because it helps create a positive first impression. Most buyers, however, will not pay extra for trees and lawn, flowers and shrubs.

But you can almost always get a return on your investment in decks and patios. As decks have become more desirable, their resale value has continued to increase.

In the yard and garden of your single-family home or in pots on your condo deck or patio, use plants, trees, and other landscaping elements freely to make your home more appealing and help you sell it more quickly when the time is right.

If you have any real estate–related questions, please call or email me. I am always happy to help.