Home warranties help you budget for the repair and replacement of major home systems and appliances.  Most home warranties will cover Plumbng, Electrical, HVAC systems and kitchen appliances.  In addition, many hom warranty companies provide optional coverage choices that can be purchased to “custom fit” the Plan to the unique needs of your home.  This means that you could also include your swimming pool or roof in the plan as well!

There are many home warranty companies to choose from…I recommend using either Old Republic Home Warranty or American Homeshield Home Warranty.  Most home warranty company’s offer a basic/standard plan that typically ranges from $350 to $500 per year with a fee per service call between $55-$75. 

Here’s how a home warranty works:

• You pay an annual rate to cover your home’s systems and appliances (renewable each year)
• You can opt to have additional coverage to “custom fit” the plan to your home
• The plan you choose will determine the deductible that you will pay each time a service technician comes to your property
• When a home system or appliance needs to be repaired or replaced you contact the home warranty company and inform them of the problem
• The home warranty company will provide you with the contact information of a preferred vendor that will contact you to setup an appointment
• The service technician will usually be out to your house within 24-48hrs.
• If needed repair or replacement is covered by your plan, then you pay your deductible ammount and the home warranty covers the remaining balance
• If needed repair or replacement is not covered by your plan, you pay the deductible ammount and have the option of paying the technician out of pocket o resolve the problem

In an eight month period I have used my home warranty plan a total of five times and only one issue was not covered under my plan.  As a result of my plan the following reapirs have been covered:  kitchen faucet replaced, garage door opener sensors replaced, outdoor condensing unit (AC) replaced, and a new AC fan motor installed.  (To date I have saved thousands all as a result of having a home warranty)

I strongly urge anyone to purchase a home warranty and renew it every year…at the very least, look into what the cost would be for a plan that fits your needs.  A home warranty plan is great for the first time home buyer, older homes, investment homes, or rental homes.  I have avoided situations of extreme stress as a result of having a home warranty plan…you could to!

Have you saved money by having a home warranty?  Tell us about it.

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The housing crisis has moved up the economic ladder with Olde Taylor Farms a luxury subdivision in Johns Creek going bust.  Harrison Design Associates, the developers of Olde Taylor Farms in Johns Creek, with homes priced from $1.6 million to more than $3 million, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection July 1.

Olde Taylor Homes is situated amongst some of the most prestigious schools and organizations in Atlanta, such as the Atlanta Athletic Club, St. Ives Golf and Country Club, Woodward Academy, and Wesleyan School.

An exclusive enclave of 33 residences, Olde Taylor Farms is a serene community with pedestrian and bike paths that cross over the Chattahoochee River.  The neighborhood backs up to open green space that can not be developed.  Community sidewalks and wooded homesites will encourage neighbors to spend time walking and enjoying their outdoor living areas.  Ancient oaks and hardwoods line the streets and give the neighborhood an established feel.

From GA-400 take Exit 10 - Old Milton Parkway.  Follow signs to GA-120 East.  Take a left onto Medlock Bridge Road/GA-141.  Turn right onto Bell Road and continue left on Bell Road.  The subdivision will be on the right.

Olde Taylor Farms Homes for Sale

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Allstate Insurance looked at accident statistics from the nation’s 200 largest cities and compared the average number of years between accidents for drivers in each city.  The results are in and Atlanta came in at number 144 out of those 200 cities.

John Heid with Allstate says Atlanta drivers have an accident on average every 8.4 years.  That means Atlanta is about 19% more likely to have an accident than drivers in the average city.

There you have it…a little useless information that you can toss around at the next cocktail party you attend!

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Ranked metropolitan statistical areas and divisions which is calculated using estimates of all transactions house price index which includes purchase and refinance mortgages found that the communities of Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta ranked 151 nationally.

Below is a chart depicting the fourth quarter price change by state for the entire United States.

The graph above shows (click to enlarge) that the state of Georgia had an increase of 2.6% in the forth quarter.  Though these are tough times felt across our nation the market in Georgia isn’t as bad as one may think.  Georgia can contribute its continued appreciation to the many new jobs and population growth that the state has experienced.

Search Georgia homes for sale.

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The activities begin at 4:30pm with Clark King (Teen Roswell Rocks 2007 Winners), then the band, Wichita, performs at 5:30pm and the popular Banks & Shane performs at 7:30pm  Moby, a popular local radio personality, will emcee the event.  At dark, a beautiful 40-minute fireworks display will be the highlight of the evening.

Bring your chairs, blankets and picnics and for an old fashion family outing.  Concessions will be available.  For more information, call 770.641.3705

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The Starlight Six is an Atlanta drive-in theater located near East Atlanta.  The theater is open 7 days a week, 364 days of the year and movies currently cost $7 for each adult, $1 for each child 3 to 9 years old and free for those under the age of two.  Be sure to have cash on hand, because that is the only form of payment accepted. 

Like most drive-in theaters you listen to the movie through your car’s stereo system by tuning your radio to a designated frequency. 

For an alternative to the norm, try out the drive-in…not only will you have a great experience, but the food is also less expensive than typical theaters!

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The National Apartment Association recently conducted an online poll in which results showed 17 percent of renters plan to purchase their first home within the next year; 41 percent of the 2,041 respondents planned to be home owners within two years.  Only 31 percent planned to still be paying rent five years from now.

The past six months have seen a drastic drop in mortgage rates, however fixed-rate mortgage rates rose to 6.32 percent, the highest it has been since October.  Following the months of aggressively dropping interest rates, many feel that the Fed will be forced to raise rates back up.  If interest rates rise, so to will mortgage rates.

According to a press release by Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice presient and chief economist said that, “Mortgage rates jumped this week after a number of Federal Reserve officials, most notably Chairman Bernanke and Vice Chair Kohn, expressed concern over a threat of inflation.” We may very well be seeing the beginning of the end of the super-low mortgage and potential buyers may realize that with rising rates, now may be the time to jump in. Nothaft added, “Moreover, pending home sales for April unexpectedly rose by 6.3% and mortgage applications for home purchases … were also up last week.”

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Weatherford Place is the creation of Cadmus Construction a company that is a one stop shop of architectural design, landscape, construction and development.  Three business partners make up Cadmus Construction, they are; Simone du Boise, Dan Downey, and Denise Donahue.

Each home in Weatherford Place will generate more power than it needs, thus being able to be called, net-zero energy homes. 

They will produce PV electricity which is sold to Georgia Power at 18 cents/kw hour and bought back off peak at 8 cents/kw hour.  The homes will use two thirds less energy than a typical house.

They will feature a rain harvesting 1,880 gallon cistern placed underground to catch rainwater for irrigation.  Municipal water will be used for consumption.

Lifetime Warranties on both electric and solar hot water tanks, high efficiency custom windows and doors with aluminum cladding exteriors and rich hardwood interior finishes include Zo-e-shieldT glass, the world’s best energy glass (reflects winter solar heat back into room, rejects summer sun’s heat and reduces window heat gain by 73%). 

The entire community is designed to a platinum LEED level which makes it the first platinum LEED level community in the United States.

Weatherford Place Homes for Sale

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Client: Do you think the house prices will continue to drop? Should we consider renting, and buy next spring?

Brenda: I have been in real estate in Atlanta for 5 years and during the past 5 years have seen our average appreciation to be between 4% - 6% depending on the area. Right after the bank issues that occurred in the banking industry (July/August), we began to see a leveling off. During the 4th quarter of 2007 we began to see a decline, although still not significant compared to other US markets. In the first quarter of 2008 we saw prices, on average to be 6.6% below the same quarter of 2007. We are seeing a climb back upward, but it is hard to know if that is just because of the time of year or if we will continue to see the market recover. Some are already beginning to say the recovery has started, others say it has not. I will not have Q2 numbers until mid July to know the trends for sure, but even if I do, it can only give me a snapshot of the rear view mirror vs. a prediction of the future.

I can tell you that our team is swamped! It has really exploded for us in the last two to three weeks. This time of year is always busy, but we are really seeing alot of activity. Our Keller Williams office, of about 250 agents, has also just had two of its strongest months if that is any indication. Regarding waiting until next spring, I would have a hard time advising you to do that based on what I am seeing. I think now is the absolute best it has been in our market to buy in some time. It is always possible it will go lower, but I also think it may just level off and then recover as well. But if I could predict it for certain, I would be a very rich person!

I have been working with clients all week that are also relocating and want to live in Forsyth County. They thought they would have a lot of flexiblity to negotiate price, especially on new construction. However, just today they said to me that it is harder than they thought it would be to get sellers to negotiate their prices down. But, from my perspective, it is still the most flexibility I have seen over the past 5 years to negotiate prices. Depending on where you choose to live may also impact your negotiation. There seems to be more flexibility on price out in Forsyth County then there is in Dunwoody/Sandy Springs.

Below is a chart that might give you a little better visual on what we have seen in our market since 2000. As you can see we are currently on par with the same trend line we saw in 2004. Prices are currently holding at levels between 2004 and 2005:

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Client: I am working hard to be educated. Another family from here is relocating to the area and they feel that the housing prices will drop more and they plan on renting. I was trying to locate more factual information so I can make an educated decision. I appreciate all of your help.

Brenda: You are smart to try and gather factual information. I think it is very hard to do right now as the media has really run a bit wild with all of this. You can literally find two articles in the paper some days that say two totally different things about the market. The media also tends to paint the housing market with a very broad brush. The national statistics often do not apply at the local level.

I am pasting an article below that I think was one of the most factual and balanced articles that I had seen in a long time. It was in CNN Money and outlined the Top Ten Cities that would likely recover the quickest from the housing market challenges and why. Atlanta was ranked as #4.

I am not sure what your relocating friends are basing their information on, I can only tell you what I see happening and I work in this every single day and have for the past 5 years. I cannot say with absolute certaintly that we have hit the bottom, but I can say with certaintly that this is a great time to buy. Waiting may gain you a few more bucks, but I really do not see it being anything dramatic in the Atlanta market. And, in fact, I think waiting is more of a risk. If you wait for prices to go lower, but interest rates or inflation rise, then you waited for nothing. Instead, you have just spent more money on rent and storage costs…something you cannot recuperate.

Those who seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to our specific local market will consistently say that Atlanta did not see the extremely high appreciation rates that other cities experienced and as a result, Atlanta will also not see the lows. As a result, if we drop any further in our average prices, it would likely still be in the lower single digits. Even if we were to drop another 3%, on a $500K home, that is $15K. My sense is you could likely negotiate that 3%, and probably more, off the current price of the home now and not incur the additional rental and storage costs…not to mention the hassles of renting. It is pretty difficult to time the stock market and the housing market is the same.

The other thing that you see in many of the articles is they compare how much the prices have dropped from the same month/quarter of 2007 to 2008. I think 2007 prices are long gone and it doesn’t make sense to continue to compare to them. What does make sense is to look at if the 2008 numbers are following the natural trend lines that we see in Real Estate month to month as you can see visually in the graph below.

Inventories are also at their highest right now so you have the best selection to choose from. As we get past the summer months, selections will be a bit more limited. I have an entire book of about 30 charts that I get updated every quarter regarding how the market is doing. I’d be happy to review them with you guys when you are in Atlanta next….the file is too big and complicated to just send via email. If you find any other information that you would like me to take a look at, I am happy to do so.

Client: Thank you so much for the article. My sense is that with the continued growth that Atlanta experiences the housing market cannot bottom out like other areas. We tend to do the research and want to buy in an area that tends to have good resale. I try to take the media with a grain of salt.

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On a standard 30 year fixed amortized jumbo loan (over $417,000), a borrower can borrow the following:

- loan amount from $417,001 to $650,000 has an LTV of 90% with a credit score of 660

- loan amount from $650,001 to $1.5MM has an LTV of 80% with a credit score of 680

- loan amount from $1,500,000 to $2MM has an LTV of 80% with a credit score of 700

- loan amount from $2,000,001 to $3MM has an LTV of 70% with a credit score of 720

Let’s look at an example:

You like a house with a sales price of $900,000, and you want to put 10% down. This would leave you with a loan amount of $810,000 and an LTV of 90%. As you can see from the above, a loan amount between $650,001 and $1M requires an LTV of 80%. You will need to find another 10% to put down for a loan amount of $720,000, or find another house.

Another example:

You  like a house with a sales price of $750,000 and want to put 10% down. This would leave you with a loan amount of $675,000 and an LTV of 90%. This also won’t fit in the bulleted points above, however, you are very close to the $650,000-and-below tier. Instead of forcing you to come up with another 10% for a 20% down payment, you will only be required to come up with an additional $25,000 to get to the $650,000 tier, which only requires a minimum down payment of 10%.

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