Real Estate Associates Needed - Growing Company

Click link for full details http://macon.craigslist.org/rej/5504707668.html

Retirees Don't Need 20% Down

		Dear Military Retiree, The VA Loan Benefit makes it easier to get a home loan of up to $417,000 and allows you to buy a home with $0 down or streamline refinance to a lower rate.         Buy a Home with $0 Down         Refinance to Lower Monthly Payments         Pay Off Higher-Rate Balances         Lock in a Low Rate Use the VA Loan before 2013 Ends. Find Lenders to Help You Buy or Refinance

Never Again

Mortgage Rates Jump Higher Following Employment Report

If you have been on the fence about purchasing your next home - I would sit to much longer. The longer you wait the more it will cost you.

 

Mortgage rates shot higher at their fastest pace in two months after this morning's hotly anticipated Employment Situation Report showed that job creation in April was better than expected. Stronger economic data tends to cause longer term interest rates to move higher.

 

Call me today - Let's find the right home at the right price for you and lock in those interest rates.

Rick Tipton

Broker/Owner

Select Property Solutions, LLC

(478) 719-4535

Unique Clients

 

 If your like me you are more than you appear to be. I find that some real estate agents sterotype clients into two groups, buyers or sellers.  Personaly I find each of my clients or customers (and yes there is a difference) unique in all aspects.

 

Each client has a laundry list of wants and desires. My goal is to match up my clients needs with properties that fit their sensibilities and budget.

 

I usually start the process of determining what their goals are and the time frame to accomplish those them. If they are looking to purchase a property then we must determine their method to pay or finance. What amenities do they need large lawn, small lawn, 3 bedrooms, etc.

 

In other words there is a process that must be followed inorder to provide a uniquely satisfiying experience to each unique customer or client.

 

If you would like to know the difference between a customer and a client email me.

 

Have a Great Day

 

 

Have a Wonderful Christmas Eve

Tis The Season - Enjoy It

     

You Better Watch Out and I'm Telling You Why

You better watch out and I'm telling you why - REOs (Real Estate Owned) aka bank owned foreclosures will be around for many more years to come!  REO/Foreclosures purchases are up 19% from the previous quarter. Foreclosure sales totalled 20% of all sales last quarter as well.  The states with the highest rate of REO sales are CA, GA,  GA, NV, and FL.   The shadow inventory will be released starting in January and that will lead to the largest overflow of foreclosures hitting the market in years!

So what you need to do is write down my phone number above and when January comes - call me. We will discuss your housing needs and find the right home for you and your family.

Merry Christmas Every.
Rick & Ann Tipton

How Real Estate Agents Can Be An Asset To The Real Estate Investor

Author: Frank DeFazio

Everyone who’s investing in real estate is looking high and low for the next killer deal.  Some real estate investors argue that they get their best deals by generating their own leads and and that all properties listed on the MLS are overpriced and thus not worthwhile.  This begs the question of what value, if any, the real estate agent has for the real estate investor?  Here’s a few ways I think real estate agents can be an asset to a real estate investor that does not including emailing overpriced properties listed on the MLS.

Agents Can Help Locate Relo Listings, Distressed Sales, and Motivated Sellers

Real estate agents have access to relocation listings and other distressed or highly motivated sellers whose listings will sell for 10-20% below asking price or more at times.  Sellers will often communicate their desire to sell quickly to their agent and if you, the investor, are able to close quickly with cash you might be able to purchase properties that are listed on the MLS for substantially less than the advertised asking price.  Let your local real estate agents know the type of properties or discounts you are looking for and ask them to contact you if the opportunity arises.

Agents Often Have Pocket Listings or Quiet Listings

Real estate agents may have access to pocket listings or quiet listings – listings that aren’t publically advertised but that are still quietly available for purchase.  Many times these come from sellers who have already listed and sold a property with the particular agent who now has insider knowledge of that client’s portfolio or from past dealings with investors and clients.  For the most part agents only know about their own quiet inventory and not the quiet inventory of other agents.  For this reason it is good to reach out to all of the local agents in the community or communities you invest in and ask them to contact you with any quiet or pocket listings.

Agents Have Access to Expired Listings/Withdrawn Listings

Every day dozens of listings expire or are withdrawn from the MLS.  Only members of the MLS have access to these properties in real time so ask your local real estate agent to send you the expired/withdrawn inventory and then you can attempt to contact the sellers on your own.  You’ll already be able to get the property for at least 6% below asking price plus whatever additional amount the seller was willing to negotiate now that the seller no longer has to pay a real estate commission.  You will probably have to have a gentleman’s agreement with the real estate agent providing the expired/withdrawn leads that if you purchase any properties you will list all of the flips with him or her after renovation is complete.

Agents Can Make Great Property Managers

Reliable, experienced real estate agents often make great property managers.  Be careful when selecting a real estate agent because there are laws that govern who can manage properties and what procedures must be followed but if you do find an agent that is willing and qualified there is nobody in a better position to handle your day to day real estate issues than an agent who is already dealing with real estate issues on a daily basis anyway.  Real estate agents also usually have lists of reliable contractors and other real estate professionals – for more on this see below.

Agents Have Great Contractor Lists

Real estate agents usually have an up to date list of reliable contractors, vendors, lawyers, accountants and other real estate related professionals that a real estate investor can use to help keep his or her real estate investing business profitable.  Since real estate agents are frequently giving out referrals and getting feedback they are in the perfect position to know whether or not a contractor is reliable and priced competitively.  Obviously the value of this type of information can’t be overstated.

Agents Know Neighborhood Info

With blogging and social media becoming such an important component of the real estate agents daily tasks few are in a better position to know where the neighborhood has been and where it is going, what commercial ventures are coming or going, how the neighborhood association feels about improvements or zoning requests and lots of other information that will help investors decide where and how to allocate risk.

As you can see local real estate agents can be a valuable asset to your real estate investing business in many ways.  Making yourself known to real estate agents in the community will help you find opportunities and help you mitigate some of the risks that come with investing in real estate!

Let Me Help

The E-Harmony of Real Estate

                   Allow me to find the perfect match for your property.

 For many home owners the listing on their home has regrettably expired without a sale.

As a general rule, five ingredients are needed to result in a sale which is mutually satisfactory to the Seller and the Buyer.

They are:

1)   The listing price and terms must accurately reflect the value buyers are
      currently placing on similar homes in the area,
2)   Your home is in top condition, broken items repaired, paint if necessary, etc.
3)   If occupied, your home must be properly staged to maximize the selling price
4)   Understanding that selling a home is a process of preparation and negotiation.
5)   Most importantly a close working relationship between you and your agent.

As your schedule permits call to discuss the above and allow me to work with you in selling your home – in a BUYERS MARKET. My direct line is: 478-719-4535

Sincerely Yours,

Rick Tipton
Broker/Owner

  Please Note: This is not a solicitation to list your property if you are already working with a Realtor

Top 10 Ways to Make Home Buyers Hate Your House

Selling a Home? Avoid these Home Buyer Turnoffs
Are you selling a home? Did you know that even though home buyers are all looking for something different, the majority of them will turn around and walk back out of your door if they notice one or more of these Top 10 problems.
1. Odors
House odors are number one on the home selling uh-oh list. And narrowing it down, odors from cigarette smoke and pets take top billing, with mildew not far behind.
If you smoke indoors–the house smells like cigarettes. If you have pets, the house might smell bad–even if you don’t notice it. Ask someone who doesn’t live there to take a sniff, and don’t get angry when they tell you the truth.
Eradicate the odors so that you can present potential buyers with a clean, fresh atmosphere–not a house that’s full of perfumes to cover up the odors.
2. Dogs that Meet You at the Door or in the Driveway
Dogs frighten some people and irritate others. You’ll have a much better response from showings if you control your pets–dogs, cats, whatever.
You say you plan to put them in a bedroom or garage and then ask people not to open the door to that area? Bad idea. Would you buy a house you can’t inspect? Of course not.
Remove pets during showings if possible. If you can’t, contain them in crates for their own safety and to show respect for the feelings of potential buyers.
3. Dirty Bathrooms
Grimy bathrooms are an instant turnoff. Scrub them, paint them, buy a new shower curtain, rugs and towels–do what it takes to make them shine. If you’re serious about selling the home, the extra work is a must.
4. Dimly Lit Rooms
Dark homes are a turnoff to most home buyers, so try to brighten them up:
Replace dim light fixtures
Install additional light fixtures
Install (quality) sun tunnels or skylights
Remove heavy drapes to let the light stream through windows
Repaint some rooms with colors that reflect light
Trim tree limbs that shadow the house
Dirty and fogged windows are another buyer turnoff. Clean them inside and out to bring in more light. If possible, replace any double-pane windows with broken seals. You can find them by looking for a foggy residue that cannot be removed.
5. A House Full of Busy Wallpaper
Busy wallpaper in every room turns off most buyers, and even people who love wallpaper rarely like what you’ve chosen. It’s a personal decorative touch that they want to select themselves.
It’s the masses you must appeal to when you’re selling a home, so take a hard look at your wallpaper and decide if it should be removed and replaced with paint. Don’t paint over it, because it will be obvious that you did–and buyers know that makes removing it even more difficult.
6. Damp Basements
Dampness or damp smells in the basement throw up a red flag to buyers that the foundation leaks!
Most problems we see are not caused by faulty foundations. They occur because rainwater is being diverted towards the foundation instead of away from it.
Clogged underground drains
No rain gutters along roofline
Downspouts aimed the wrong way
Go outside the next time it rains and determine where runoff water is going.
7. Bugs
Roaches, spiders, any insect that shouldn’t be in the house. Get rid of them.
8. Poor Curb Appeal
You must grab a buyer’s interest from the curb if you want to sell the home for top dollar. Home buyers often refuse to go into a house with an unkempt yard, sagging doors or peeling paint. You say you can’t afford to paint? Okay, but get that yard in tip-top shape and grab a screwdriver to fix those doors.
9. Gutters with Plants Growing in Them
I’m serious. Some people never clean their gutters, and it always makes buyers wonder what else hasn’t been maintained.
Remember the drainage issue in #6? Cleaning packed gutters might help.
10. Sellers Who Hang Around for Showings
Yes, you… leave the house during showings. Home buyers feel awkward about opening closet doors and lingering for a really good look at the house if the seller is home.
If you’re selling by owner, give them some space, don’t hover.

Parting Words
Most of the Top 10 problems are home selling issues you can correct without spending a lot of money. Do it now, before you put the house on the market, because if your house develops a reputation among agents as the house that smells, the house with the huge barking dog or the house where the owner won’t leave people alone, it will be too late. Your house will be last on their list to show potential buyers.

What Type of House

When working with Buyers we understand that discovering one’s dream home is hard work. Buyers usually  begin with  an emotion and work out from there — i.e., “warm and  cuddly” or  “clean and modern.” Function follows form — at least  at first.

After some hard work on the part of the buyer’s agent,  ferreting out  the true desires of the client (bedrooms, baths and living space),   it’s back on the road to do the real home sleuthing.

Tips to Get Your Home Sales Ready

It's a buyer's market. Your house has competition, and that means you have to do some work to get it ready to sell. So, while your home looks great compared to the neighbor's foreclosure, it might not quite compare to that house a block over where, rumor has it, the owner clips the lawn with an electric razor.

You don't have to spend a ton of time or money. A few simple tricks can get you market ready in time for the start of the spring selling season. Especially if you start now.

Here are tips to give your home the edge.

Step one to getting your house market ready: Break out the cleaning supplies.

"Give it a really good cleaning.

The problem: "A lot of sellers might not have the same perception of 'deep cleaning' that a buyer would,". For that reason, "it might be worth spending a couple hundred dollars to have professionals come in and clean."

Two places where clean can be critical for buyers are kitchens and bathrooms. Having those rooms clean and sparkling can make a huge difference in the perception of "whether a house is kept up or not,".

Windows and baseboards are crucial. If you're not replacing carpets, have those cleaned, too. The potential outlay for a cleaning service and carpet cleaning is likely in the neighborhood of $300 to $500 total. This has a much greater impact than most sellers think.

Ditch junk and clutter to make your house look more attractive and spacious.

"This is now a showcase,"You are no longer living in it; you are showing it."

A couple of pro tips:

Laundry room: Make it neat and orderly. Your goal is to make it look like the room is plenty big enough for the job.

Pantry: It's for food only. Using the pantry for general storage screams, "Not enough cupboard space.

Garage: If it's a two-car garage, make room for two cars. For a lot of men, if the garage "looks small because of the clutter, there's an issue."
"And while you're de-cluttering, you're depersonalizing," "You really need the buyer to be able to picture your home as their home." A picture of your kids on the nightstand is "not a big deal," he says. But you don't want the family portrait gallery lining the hallway.

With paint, stick to neutrals..

We have clients who have painted some of their rooms and picked the colors themselves" in shades of pink and purple, that is a no no as it was more of a negative than a positive when they put their homes on the market.

Their mistake wasn't DIY painting but color selections. Opt for neutrals, which have a broader appeal.

Then consider the flooring. If the carpeting is old and stained, put in new carpeting.

Keep any planned changes to the house reasonable and in character with the home and the neighborhood.

"Don't lie to yourself. If the house has areas that show wear, get that work done before offering the home.

Seek a second opinion from your agent or a potential agent. A real estate professional can advise you on what repairs or upgrades will give you the most bang for your buck.

"The price of your house is going to determine what things you should do," One client spent $10,000 putting in hickory cabinets and granite countertops in the kitchen of a home that listed in the $100,000 range.

"In that price range, it wasn't necessary, as we couldn't get any more money for the house."

View the house from the buyer's perspective. "Pull up and stop right in front of it, just like a buyer's going to do". Then "let yourself in the front door, like a buyer's going to do."

How does your home compare to others on the street? Is it inviting? Does it make you want to see more?

Walk through the home with the eyes of a buyer. If you're buying another house, think about what you want to see in your new home.

Pay special attention to the entryway. "You want it to be open as much as possible. Look at the furnishings you have in the area, and err on the side of less-is-more. "When in doubt, get it out. "You want it open and bright with neutral paint."


Respectfully Yours,
Rick Tipton
Broker/Owner of Select Property Solutions is a Full Service Real Estate & Property Management Company More importantly we are Trusted Professionals in Your Neighborhood

Banks are starting to unload REOs

Fnally it seems our prayers are being answered.  With millions of REO inventory just sitting there, banks have been waiting for the prime time to start to unload them.  Well, it seems we have reached that point.  Banks nationwide are starting to release the tremendous backlog of REOs (foreclosures).  As many predicted, the election has served as a catalyst for this.  Banks wanted some certainty as to what kind of administration they would be dealing with for the next 4 years, and also some signs that housing values were stabilizing.  Last week, housing reports confirmed that housing values have been rising slowly but surely for the last 5 months.  Remember 2 years ago, when all we saw were REOs popping up left and right.  Well, get ready my buyer and investor friends, it's coming back, and we hope you are all prepared to handle the exceptional deals I can bring your way.  I expect to get much busier, and we'll need to limit my time to serious buyers - ARE YOU ONE OF THEM? Call me today. 478-719-4535

Realtors Rank High in Honesty & Ethics

Monday, June 4, 2012 — Real estate professionals rank higher than lawyers, business executives, and advertising practitioners when it comes to the public’s perceptions of honesty and ethics, according to a recent Gallup poll.
In fact, real estate professionals received their highest rating yet in the poll, since Gallup began measuring Americans’ perceptions of honesty and ethics of 21 professions since 1976.
In the survey, 20 percent of respondents gave real estate professionals a “very high to high” rating on honesty and ethics. Fifty-seven percent of the Americans surveyed rated them as “average” when it comes to honesty and ethics.
Meanwhile, the profession that scored the lowest of the 21 professions ranked were members of Congress, in which only 7 percent of respondents rated them “very high to high” when it comes to ethics and honesty — the lowest on record.
The professions that scored the highest in honesty and ethics belonged to the medical profession, with nurses, pharmacists, and doctors — who were all at the top of the list.

10 States with the Most Foreclosure Sales

Posted by GLOZAL on June 6, 2012 at 12:30pm

Foreclosure sales are making up a bigger bulk of sales. In the first quarter of this year, sales of homes in some stage of foreclosure accounted for 26 percent of all residential sales, which is up from 22 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to RealtyTrac’s latest foreclosure report.
But in some housing markets, foreclosures are making up an even bigger bulk of sales. For example, in Nevada, foreclosure sales made up 56 percent of all residential sales in the first quarter—the highest percentage in the country when compared to any other state.
According to RealtyTrac’s first quarter report, the following are the 10 states with the highest percentage of foreclosure sales.
 
Nevada: Foreclosure sales accounted for 56% of all residential sales
California: 47% of all residential sales
Georgia: 46% of all residential sales
Arizona: 40% of all residential sales
Michigan: 39% of all residential sales
Illinois: 31% of all residential sales
Colorado: 30% of all residential sales
Wisconsin: 28% of all residential sales
Oregon: 27% of all residential sales
Minnesota: 27% of all residential sales

Better to Buy than Rent

Since the housing bubble burst, it seems like everyone and their mother can’t stop talking about what a great time it is right now to buy a home, but how good is itreally? After years of seeing home prices drop like flies and rental markets tightening up better than pair of Spanx, it’s safe to say that homeownership is very affordable almost everywhere. In fact, it is now cheaper to buy than to rent in 98 of the 100 most populous metros – including (shocker!) pricey places to live like New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

Call Rick Tipton at Almost Home Realty lets talk about your options in todays market.

Home Ownership - No Longer Just a Dream

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs Dream Homeownership Program has helped over 35,000 Georgians achieve the dream of homeownership by providing affordable first mortgage financing and down payment assistance.

Special emphasis has been given to help, those working in the school system, the medical community and of course our protectors, active duty military and the Georgia Army and Air National Guard, law enforcement (to include correctional department), firefighters, day care providers and to individuals with a disability. This is quite an extensive list. Practically everyone is eligible.

There are a few stipulations of course, such as the purchase may not exceed $200,000. First time home buyers must also attend Home Buyers Education Training, we recommend this to all potential buyers. These loans are usually ½ to 1 full basis point below the prime interest rate. Of course the home buyer must contribute $500.00 of their own personal money, this cannot be borrowed. To acquire a 100% loan the borrow normally must have a credit score of 620 or higher. Lenders usually require 30 business days to complete the paperwork so it can be submitted to DCA.

One of the most inspiring concepts about the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) program is the GREEN program. This program provides grants to builders, up to $20,000 to offset the cost of building energy efficient homes. These energy efficient homes must be Earth Craft, Energy Star or Easy Living certified. The added bonus is that Home buyers who wish to purchase an energy efficient home are eligible for a host of incentives as well.

Talk to your local Almost Home Realtor, he/she will help you find a participating lender. At Almost Home Realty can turn your dream into a reality.

Live the good life and allow your dreams to come true in Jones County, it just keeps getting better.

In the Eyes of the Beholder

Rental properties provide 2nd income.

The approximately about a half a million vacant houses controlled by the federal government currently sitting on the market today. Many of these are not actually listed for sale, either because the foreclosure process has not been completed or because the entities (Banks) who repossessed them believe that the cost of selling will not be recouped by the sales process. Because we have so many people that have lost their homes to foreclosure coupled with the fact we are running out of rental properties, creates a perfect storm for people who are looking to create a second income from owning rental properties. At Almost Home Realty and Property Management we cater to those folks who don't know the law or procedures to properly manage properties. For more information, call us today.