Intown Atlanta Real Estate

December 2008

There are 4 blog entries for December 2008.

House of Cards


Joshua Keen

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 8:17am. 28 Views, 0 Comments.

A lot of folks are going into foreclosure.  A lot of folks currently owe more on their homes than they are worth.  And a lot of folks are losing their jobs.  A lot of folks are in serious trouble.

And it all falls down...


The Second Coming


Joshua Keen

Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:10am. 23 Views, 0 Comments.

No, it's not what you think. Though it would appear Judgement Day is on the horizon for the housing industry. According to the 60 Minutes report below, we're about halfway through this crisis with nearly $1 Trillion in loans predicted to default in 2009 through 2011.

Home for the Holidays?

Yes...a lot of folks still have a home to call their own this Christmas. But for those who have "Alt-A" and "Option ARMs" reseting in the next few years this story is only half told.


 


Short On Cash?


Joshua Keen

Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 11:34pm. 35 Views, 0 Comments.

Ask the Seller to Pay Closing Costs

One way to help minimize up-front expenses when purchasing Atlanta Real Estate is to request the seller to pay some (or all) of your "closing costs".  If the seller is unwiling, one alternative is to do what is called "rolling" closing costs.  In this scenario, you pay a higher a sales price for the home but the seller contributes the difference you pay by picking up the tab for your closing fees.  

A good example of this would be if you needed $5,000 in closing costs for your $250,000 home, you could raise the price to $255,000  - assuming the property will appraise for that value and your lender approves it...you then have the seller use the extra $5,000 to pay your cost to close the transaction.

If your short on cash…


Cheaters NEVER Win


Joshua Keen

Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 3:12pm. 207 Views, 8 Comments.

The term REALTOR® has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no instruction from clients ever can justify departure from this ideal. - Realtor Code of Ethics

Lofty Ideals

There is no more immediate example of a departure from "lofty ideals" than the last 5 years in the real estate industry and the economic mess it's gotten us into.  It seems that the real estate industry is the epicenter of the largest economic shift in a generation.

As a result of this financial crises everyone has been forced to make budget cuts.  From the Government's massive, multi-billion dollar bail out of AIG (and several other well known financial…