Much anticipation surrounds the spring ’13 real estate market; will the “improvements” seen over the last year carry forward? Nationwide data suggests the bottom may have been reached but we think there are seven distinct hurdles to be cleared before saying the housing market has corrected. We ex
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10/29/2012
A DeKalb County jury on Thursday acquitted three so-called “sovereign citizens” who were charged with racketeering for moving into and living in foreclosed homes. The defendants did not deny their actions, arguing that no crime was committed. The three defendants acquitted Thursday were among 12
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10/25/2012
So is posting a Craig’s List ad that says “take what you want” a good idea? Well a Woodstock, GA homeowner learned that people will do just that as they literally broke into it and ransacked, ravaged, and took everything they could. Never a good idea to break into a house, but the ad can be con
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10/25/2012
Why would anyone spread possum urine around a house, turn up the heat and close all the windows for a few days? Because they're flopping, of course. Flopping is the latest in mortgage fraud, in which sellers actually want as low a price as possible. The scheme works if they are underwater on thei
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10/23/2012
Much anticipation surrounds the spring ’13 real estate market; will the “improvements” seen over ’12 carry forward? We're not so sure, we see 7 major hurdles to clear. Nationwide data suggests the bottom may have been reached but we think these challenges need to be handled before saying the mark
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10/23/2012
1 in 5 homeowners say it's a good time to sell and 77 percent of sellers say their home is worth more than their real estate agents’ recommended selling price. Some home owners are overestimating the value of their home by up to 20 percent. Nearly 40 percent of real estate agents surveyed by Home
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10/19/2012
The analogy between real estate and roller coasters is obvious. Everyone knows they both have crazy ups and downs. With the U.S. real estate ride lately, we are all wishing we were riding on the kiddie roller coaster with the small bumps and turns. Unfortunately, it’s more likely we are riding on
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10/19/2012
The appraisal conundrum continues to rage, we expect this is just a glimpse of what we’ll see come spring. Continued smothering appraisal underwriting, a shortage of closed sales available for use as comps and sellers expecting higher prices due to the “improving” Atlanta market will combine fo
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10/18/2012
Those of us in this business long enough know the benefits of pricing a listing at "hard" search points: 00, 25, 50 and 75. Almost all public search sites use those figures as brackets and you can easily increase the likelihood of your listing being found by simply pricing it correctly. A home fo
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10/17/2012
Should pay off your mortgage early? Being mortgage free is liberating and a goal for many, but is it worth while to do? With interest rates at an all time low, there are wiser avenues to consider before paying off your mortgage. While paying off your loan certainly will give you peace of mind, co
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10/17/2012
