Selling Your Home? Buying A Home? Staying In Your Home? An Inspection Is A Good Idea!

Selling Your Home? Get a Pre-Sale Inspection.
Most people think a home inspection is something that happens somewhere between making an offer and before closing on a home. But for a number of reasons, more homeowners are choosing to have their own home inspected before putting it on the market.

The reason is simple: uncovering problems early on enables you to fix them, often making it possible to add value to your sale price. An inspection is designed to reveal any potential problems a house may have—and that’s true for both buyers and sellers. Sellers may benefit from gaining this kind of detailed information about their home, so that they can choose to handle problems long before the negotiation process is underway.

Many sellers also report that their buyers feel more comfortable when the information from a pre-sale inspection is shared early on, even if the buyers choose to have their own home inspection as well.

In short, a pre-sale inspection can reduce the chance of a surprise and help speed the closing process, which would otherwise have been delayed by scheduling repairs and having the buyers confirm they were completed properly. Because for buyers, making an offer contingent upon a home inspection is about saving expenses and trouble—not to mention providing confidence in what may well be the biggest investment they ever make.

Even if you’re not a buyer making an offer, or a seller thinking of listing a home in the next few months, a home inspection can provide homeowners with a thorough to-do list for maintenance—or even a little peace of mind.

Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in the state of Georgia and regularly councils buyers and sellers as they consider the possibility of selling their homes or purchasing a new one. Sara Hibbard is happy to answer your many questions relating to the Atlanta metro real estate market in general or specifics regarding the buying / selling process. Sara is easily reached at 770-399-8108 OR 404-660-2481. Sara Hibbard is Glad Georgia Real Estate Is On Your Mind!

School Starts Next Week In Georgia

WOW! It's hard to believe that for the kids, summer is about to come to a screeching halt when they head back to school next week!

I feel sorry for them actually! Really. I do.

I can't imagine being expected to concentrate in class on a beautiful sunny day with temps hovering in the mid 90s to the 100 degree mark.

Admittedly, I'm a transplanted northerner. Growing up in Ohio, we never went back to school until after Labor Day -- typically the first Monday after Labor Day.

None the less, schools in Woodstock and Cherokee County open on August 1st. Cobb County schools will be begin the weeks of August 8 and August 15. Schools in Alpharetta and Roswell will begin around August 15th too.

Have a great (academic) year!

Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in the State of Georgia and specializes in assisting home buyers relocating to the area. Please feel free to contact Sara Hibbard with your many questions regarding the real estate market in Georgia, the Atlanta metro area, the buying / selling process or whatever is on your mind. Sara Hibbard is Glad Georgia Real Estate Is on Your Mind and looks forward to assisting you and your family too when the time is right for you folks. Sara can be reached at 770-399-8108 or 404-660-2481.

Crape Myrtle Trees

I love this time of year in the sunny south!

No, really I do!

I'll admit it, I'm a transplanted northerner. Up north we don't have Crape Myrtle Trees. I have grown to enjoy seeing these trees in their splendor every summer!

I love the deep purple Crape Myrtle Trees. Or, how 'bout the deep rose colored Crapes? Even the white Crape Myrtle Trees are truly brilliant. Really I love them all, but I think I am most impressed by the deep purple shade we are seeing all over the north Atlanta metro area and in Woodstock too right now!

Crape Myrtle Trees are blooming all over the metro Atlanta area. Depending on their color, these majestic trees will be blooming through September and beyond.

I spent several days this past week introducing Woodstock and the Atlanta metro area to a new family relocating here from Minneapolis. During our first day visiting property, Rob said, "hey, what do you call that funny tree with the naked tree trunks?". "They're beautiful," he said! I love it when you see a whole bunch of them used in landscaping!

To northerners, seeing the Crape Myrtle Trees for the first time always conjures up a conversation. During winter months, everyone wonders what happened to the tree branches. In summer months admirers always exclaim about the beautiful colors these trees provide as well as questions about the history of the Crape Myrtle Tree.

According to my Georgia Gardening & Landscaping book, Crape Myrtle flowers are born in summer and autumn. The flowers resemble crinkled flowers with a crape-like texture. Colors vary from deep purple to red, rose and white with almost every shade in between. Although no blue-flowered varieties exist, it is toward the blue end of the spectrum that the flowers trend with no sight of orange or yellow except in stamens and pistils. The fruit is a capsule of green and succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness. It splits along six or seven lines, and produces smalled winged seeds. The bark of the tree sheds throughout the year and many landscapers keep the trees and branches cut back until growing season.

I took these pictures today and I am sorry to say that my pictures simply do not do justice to the beauty these Crape Myrtle Trees offer the Atlanta area. You'll have to come and see for yourself.

Come to Georgia and check out our Crape Myrtle Trees blooming in full color right now!

Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in the state of Georgia and specializes in introducing home buyers relocating to the Atlanta metro area. I look forward to assisting you and your family too when the time is right for you. Please feel free to reach me anytime at 770-399-8108 OR 404-660-2481. Or e-mail me at Sara@SaraHibbard.com. I'm looking forward to guiding you and your family throughout the relocation process when the time is right for you folks.

Disorganized Potential Home Buyers

I had a closing earlier this week -- finally. Oh...don't get me wrong. I've had many closings this year, but this particular one should have closed two months ago. It has taken many months to get this closed because the buyer has NOT been in the habit of keeping their paperwork, bank records, taxes and finances in the proper order conducive to purchasing property. Can't help it. I picture shoe boxes under the bed and stashes of cash in the mattress.

Several months ago the Buyer came to my office and exclaimed that she wanted to purchase a home as soon as possible. After we looked at 13 properties in two days, she mentioned to me that her "ideal situation" would be to purchase the home she was currently renting.

Martha (not her real name) moved to Atlanta from New Mexico 8 years ago. For the last five years she has been renting a single family home that was ideal for her needs. A low-maintenance postage stamp size lot, 2 car garage, 2000 square feet, beautiful hardwood floors, granite in the kitchen and a huge master bedroom suite with a balcony helped to make this a perfect home.

During the last five years Martha told me she indicated an interest to purchase the home several times to the landlord. Martha's efforts were all to no avail when the landlord repeatedly denied her requests. Before we continued to look at more property, I suggested to Martha that we ask the landlord one more time if they would be willing to sell the property.

BINGO! We hit pay dirt!

Finally, the landlord agreed to sell the property. This was the charm that Martha craved! The first challenge we had to hurdle during our negotiations was that the value of the home had fallen significantly during the current recession in the housing market.

The landlord purchased the property 8 years ago for $245,000. The neighborhood and current appraisal indicated a short sale was necessary. Martha was able to purchase the property as a short sale for $159,000! GREAT NEWS FOR MARTHA! Too bad for the landlord!

Interestingly, the short sale lender agreed to all terms early on! This is the first time I have completed a short sale where the seller's lender was ready to close before the Buyer! No Kidding!

The reason it took the buyer so long to close was because they had no paperwork available. This home buyer never keeps receipts. Never keeps canceled checks or tax records. In fact, this particular client owed the IRS $1000! Every time the Buyers Lender requested information, it took Martha days and weeks to provide the necessary documentation. Often times the documentation was late or incomplete which required the lender to seek rate extensions. We completed four Amendments to Extend the Closing Date. Suffice it to say, we finally closed on Tuesday.

If you are thinking about purchasing property in the near future, I encourage you to be organized! Your lender will be scrutinizing all of your financial accounts from the time of your application through to the day and hour of closing. While you are going through the process, it is necessary that you not purchase any high ticket items or open any additional credit cards or accounts. This could harm your chance of being approved for your mortgage. Additionally, you need to provide all paperwork requested in a timely manner. Your lender and Realtor will be happy to answer your many questions regarding the process. After all, they recognize you don't buy property every day and that the process can be very convoluted at times.

Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in Georgia and specializes in assisting home buyers in the north Atlanta metro area. Please contact Sara with your many questions and concerns regarding the real estate market in general or specifics regarding the buying, selling and relocation process. Sara Hibbard is easily reached at 770-399-8108 or 404-660-2481. e-mail Sara at sara@sarahibbard.com. Sara Hibbard is Glad Georgia Real Estate Is On Your Mind!