As with all the neighborhoods in the area, short-sales and foreclosures have been a recurring event in Three Chimneys over the last several years.
If you need to sell for less than you owe, Results has unique access to a new, different and reputable program providing short-sale assistance. Call for more information.
Fortunately at the moment no-one in TCF is scheduled for the courthouse steps in September. If you know of someone who is falling behind on their mortgage payments, encourage them to call their lender first. They should ask for information and assistance from a HUD approved counselor, a REALTOR, a tax accountant and/or a bankruptcy attorney. The sooner they get assistance, the more options that will be open to them. For more about alternatives to foreclosure go to “Foreclosure? You Have Options?”
Unfortunately, I am seeing more and more people trying to walk away from their contracts! I’m seeing sellers who decide not to sell, buyers who don’t want to buy, and both who won’t honor their agreements with their agents. In particular buyers are breaching their purchase contracts at a much higher rate than previously.
Buyers typically want to get out of a contract to purchase property because:
- They’ve found another property they believe to be a better deal.
- They realize values are declining and come to think that they are paying too much.
- They find out that they aren’t qualified to get a mortgage.
- They just get cold feet.
What buyers don’t understand is that the contract is a legal agreement and there are serious consequences to breaching these contracts.
As a buyer if you do not complete the purchase when you have entered into a binding contract, all of the following may happen:
- You immediately lose the earnest money deposit.
- You become liable for $ commissions owed to the real estate brokers involved. Not just the agent working with you as a buyer but also the sellers’ agent. The brokers may pursue all legal means available to collect these moneys.
- The seller may pursue all legal means available to enforce the contract.
- The seller may sue you for compensation for other damages and losses incurred because the sale did not close in a timely manner.
- If the brokers and/or seller pursue legal action, you will likely also be responsible for all legal fees incurred.
With these consequences, walking away from a contract is not a viable option for most buyers!
What are the options? Don’t get into a bad deal in the first place. Work with an experienced agent who knows the market where you are shopping. First you must enter into a contract with the broker/agent so that they are legally bound to assist you. Then, they can help you see all the available properties that meet your criteria; work with you to establish a price and terms that are appropriate to the market; and be sure you have the appropriate safeguards in the contract to protect you from appraisal and mortgage issues.
Already in a contract and you want out? Seek legal council. It’s your only alternative.
If you are a buyer in today’s market, you have many choices. It may seem like a good strategy to have many different agents looking for your perfect home. Well, that game plan is probably back-firing.
Without a commitment to a specific agent, the message you are sending is “I don’t value your services and don’t need you.” You’ve given no agent a reason to go above and beyond in searching for your next home. In fact, you’ve sent signals that there is very little reason to make any effort at all. You appear to be a high risk buyer, one who will take advantage of our efforts and disappear into the night; leaving the agent with nothing.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, none of the agents really know you. There is no perfect home. Short conversations alone do not give a REALTOR® sufficient information to narrow down the myriad choices to the ones that best meet your needs. It takes comparing perspectives about on-line listings and visiting several properties together before someone can truly assess the suitability of a house to your needs and desires. You may have gotten an agent to bite and find some homes for you. But, when their first selections get shot down because they don’t truly know you, they most likely will quietly disappear and you’ll start all over again.
Unless you are prepared and equipped to spend a great deal of time and energy doing all of the research and work on your own – or going through the same steps over and over again with different agents, make a commitment to one agent. You’ll find that new home sooner and more easily if you do.
P.S. Don’t pick the first agent you meet! There’s more to come on selecting a Buyers’ Agent…
The Market Place Boulevard Extension is open to Bald Ridge Marina. If like me, you try to avoid the intersection of State Route 20 and GA 400, it may be time to change our thinking. With the extension being opened, the Bald Ridge Marina interchange is accessible from the shopping district, so the traffic at 20 & 400 should be less. Plus, the traffic on Route 9 from 20 to downtown Cumming will hopefully be reduced. BUT, I’m not in any hurry to find out. If you’re up that way, please let us all know the new, best directions to get to downtown Cumming and points beyond.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so if your home backs to Windermere Parkway and you don’t want the real story, please don’t continue reading. And, if you do, please remember I’m just the messenger.
Everyone intuitively suspects Windermere Parkway has a negative effect on the value and marketability of a home. The numbers say “yes” and the impact is from $15,000 to $80,000 dollars depending on how you slice the numbers. But there is more to be learned from analyzing the details. Over the last three years, 3 homes backing to the parkway have sold in the section of TCF accessed by Hearthway Lane. Those three homes averaged a higher price than the other 25 sold in that section in the same time period. Features and condition of the home can compensate for location. A closer look at the Three Chimneys section tells the same story. Looking at the Carriages there is a huge difference between the average sales price for home on the even numbered side of Horizon Court and others in the Carriages. In part, this is because the homes backing to WP are a bit smaller with two car garages. But also, the road has had a huge impact on the appeal of these homes.
One great piece of news, three years ago the road construction had a huge impact on the amount of time it took to sell homes backing to the parkway. Now, on average, they sell nearly as quickly as the rest of the neighborhood.
So if you back to a major road, how do you determine you homes’ value? Call me! Oh- sorry, that’s a sales pitch…want to do it yourself? Look for sales of very similar homes that also back to the road. If there aren’t any good comparisons, find similar homes and make an adjustment based on the statistics available. Depending on your lot and home characteristics, I’d recommend an adjustment of $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000 dollars. Overall, a good rule of thumb is to expect a home backing to the parkway to sell for at most in the low $400’s. Of the 13 homes that back to the parkway sold in the last three years, only two brought more than $430,000 – and they sold two (plus) years ago. And seriously, talk to a knowledgeable REALTOR®. Even if you’ve done all the best research and analysis, you’ll find a second opinion to be very helpful.
Want the details? Go to: Backing to “The Road” – By the Numbers
If you’ve visited RamonaSellsTCF in the past, you’ll notice we have an all new look with many changes and added features. The previous site was looking a bit dated – and like a home on the market these days, a web site needs to be fresh and inviting to attract visitors. My nieces and a young web-site designer provided the ideas and approval for the clean, updated look. Thanks Beth, Melanie and Matt!
Additional features on the site include permanent links to the TCF virtual tour and the community’s home page. We now have this blog where you can post your questions and comments about real estate activity in the community.
The changes to the active and sold information were made to keep information more current and comprehensive with less maintenance. Actives are now pulled directly, in real time, from the GaMLS system. It has a better look and is always up-to-date!
By adding GaMLS listings and saving files of the detail for each year, we are able to bring you more than 7 years of history. Some of you will find a picture of your home when it was under construction! What was the trade-off? The annual sales detail provides fewer pictures than in the past. TCF’s active listings and most recent sales continue to have extensive pictures and virtual tours available. [And I only have to update two links every few weeks instead of eight!]
The sales summary now includes properties sold outside the listing service. There is an interactive version that allows you to look for homes on your street or those most similar to yours.
Check back regularly because a lot is still to come: regular posts to this blog with information about what’s going on in the community; a sales summary that is interactive without Excel and includes additional search/filter options; more and interactive statistics; a library of past postcards, articles and special features; and an explanation of the incredibly difficult to understand GaMLS reports.
Please let me know what you want to see and read about. I look forward to your questions, comments and concerns.
Ramona
