We have put together links to articles that address common questions both first time buyers and experienced buyers ask. If you do not see an answer to YOUR question, please post a comment and we will get you the information you need.

Good luck with your home search and please feel free to call Carol (678-414-0760 – direct) or visit her website at www.TalkToCarol.com.  If you are moving in or out of a state other than Georgia we can help you too! We have an amazing network of top agents across the country.

Hope this stuff helps:

Question:How do I sort out everything I need to know?
Here is a link to several pages that answer a lot of general questions.
Question: What do I need to know if I want to buy a short sale?

Click here is one link  you can also click here for another link

Question: What do I need to know about buying a foreclosure?
Click here for a link to an article from Money magazine.

Need more info?  We have lots of articles on MANY different topics so please let us know what you would like to hear.  Comment, email or just Talk To Carol….678-414-0760 (direct) 770-973-9700 x 289 (office). You may also email carol at carol@carolmoson.com

Thank you and we look forward to assisting you with your purchase.

Carol

Carol Moson
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta

• Tax Rules Encourage Short Sales Sooner, Rather than Later

  Tax rules that let you escape paying federal income tax after a short sale expire this year. Read
• 
  
  

  6 Home Deduction Traps and How to Avoid Them

  Get an “A” on your Schedule A Form: Dodge these tax deduction pitfalls to save time, money, and an IRS investigation. Read
• 
  
  

  What You Can and Can’t Deduct When You Work From Home

  Working from home can offer many advantages including tax deductions. Just take care what you try to write off for your home office on your return. Read
• 
  
  

  Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

  To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment. Read
• 
  
  

  Are You Entitled to a Property Tax Exemption?

  Property tax exemptions are available to many homeowners, but you’ll need to do some legwork to find them and lower your property tax bill. Read

Remember…..Talk To Carol!
Carol Moson
Certified Residential Specialist
Accredited Buyers Broker
Seller Representative Specialist
GREEN
Short Sale and Foreclosure Certified
Employer Assisted Housing
e-Pro

Thinking of Making an Offer on a Short Sale? What You Need to Know

Are you looking to buy a new home? Are you thinking that now’s a great time to find bargains? That’s true, but it pays to know a little about the seller’s situation before you make an offer.

If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a short sale. Many more home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, including job losses, aggressive borrowing against their home in the days of easy credit, and declining home values in a slower real estate market.

A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

You’re a good candidate for a short-sale purchase if:

• You’re very patient. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale.

• Your financing is in order. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you’re preapproved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

• You don’t have any contingencies. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property—or you need to be in your new home by a certain time—a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.

If you’re serious about purchasing a short-sale property, it’s important for you to have expert assistance. Here are some people you want to work with:

• Experienced real estate attorney. Only about two out of five short sales are approved by lenders. But a good real estate attorney who’s knowledgeable about the short-sale process will increase your chances getting an approved contract. Also, if you want any provisions or very specialized language written into the purchase contract, a real estate attorney is essential throughout the negotiation.

• A qualified real estate professional.* You may have a close friend or relative in real estate, but if that person doesn’t know anything about short sales, working with him or her may hurt your chances of a successful closing. Interview a few practitioners and ask them how many buyers they’ve represented in a short sale and, of those, how many have successfully closed. A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you short-sale homes, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender. (All MLSs permit, and some now require, special notations to indicate that a listing is a short sale. There also are certain phrases you can watch for, such as “lender approval required.”)

• Title officer. It’s a good idea to have a title officer do an initial title search on a short-sale property to see all the liens attached to the property. If there are multiple lien holders (e.g., second or third mortgage or lines of credit, real estate tax lien, mechanic’s lien, homeowners association lien, etc.), it’s much tougher to get that short sale contract to the closing table. Any of the lien holders could put a kink in the process even after you’ve waited for months for lender approval. If you don’t know a title officer, your real estate attorney or real estate professional should be able to recommend a few.

Some of the other risks faced by buyers of short-sale properties include:

• Potential for rejection. Lenders want to minimize their losses as much as possible. If you make an offer tremendously lower than the fair market value of the home, chances are that your offer will be rejected and you’ll have wasted months. Or the lender could make a counteroffer, which will lengthen the process.

• Bad terms. Even when a lender approves a short sale, it could require that the sellers sign a promissory note to repay the deficient amount of the loan, which may not be acceptable to some financially desperate sellers. In that case, the sellers may refuse to go through with the short sale. Lenders also can change any of the terms of the contract that you’ve already negotiated, which may not be agreeable to you.

• No repairs or repair credits. You will most likely be asked to take the property “as is.” Lenders are already taking a loss on the property and may not agree to requests for repair credits.

The risks of a short sale are considerable. But if you have the time, patience, and iron will to see it through, a short sale can be a win-win for you and the sellers.

* Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is bound by NAR’s strict code of ethics.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA. 

Carol Moson, CRS, ABR, e-Pro, SRS, SFR, EAH, GREEN, REALTOR
“The Moson Group”
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
678-414-0760
770-973-9700 ext 289

A: Well, it is really hard for someone to make that determination for you. Whether you purchase a condo or a single family home, you are purchasing a life style. The condo offers some advantages such as most, if not all, of your exterior maintenance is taken care of for your as is your roof and siding. A single family home offers a little more privacy but more maintainance on your part. What you choose is a really personal decision. Here is a list of some pros and cons of condos. Hope it helps, at least a little… Thank you for your question. Carol Carol Moson, CRS, ABR, GREEN, SRS, SFR, e-Pro, EAH ”The Moson Group” RE/MAX Greater Atlanta 678-414-0760 770-973-9700 ext 289 www.TalkToCarol.com Contact Me

A: That is a VERY popular question these days. Basically a short sale is when the bank agrees that when the seller sells the home, the bank will take less than what is owed on the mortgage. This is a pretty long process so if the bank has not already approved the seller for the short sale it can literally take months to even know if you can purchase that home. If the bank has approved the short sale it means that the seller has presented an extensive financial package that shows the bank they are in financial hardship and the bank has accepted the information. It does NOT, however, mean they have approved a price for the house to be sold at. That part normally remains unknown until an offer is presented. These are the reasons why a short sale can take so long to be approved.

A foreclosure is very different. Once a property is in foreclosure it has probably unsuccessfully been on the court – house steps for auction and the bank has taken it back. The bank will list the property for sale with an agent and the price set for sale is generally a price you know the bank will accept. Of course this does not mean you cannot still negotiate.

Good luck and let us know if we can help!

Carol
Carol Moson, CRS, ABR, e-Pro, SRS, SFR, EAH, GREEN, REALTOR®
“The Moson Group”
carol@carolmoson.com
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
www.TalkToCarol.com

contact me
678-414-0760
770-973-9700 ext 289