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Atlanta Housing Options - Many first time buyers find Condo living ideal!

By: Maxsell Real Estate,
Posted: October 1st, 2008
Category: First Time Buyers, Real Estate Investors



Could A Condo be right for you?

Choosing an Atlanta condo makes a great deal of sense to many people. And in today’s Real Estate market there are more choices than every before. From the newly built to the older apartments that have been converted, they are as diverse as the prospective Atlanta buyers who are considering them. You can find Atlanta condos in all price ranges, but they usually offer a more economical alternative when compared to Atlanta single-family homes.

Your finances may not allow you to purchase an Atlanta single-family home, but a condo might allow you to stop paying rent and move closer to that ultimate goal. Many Atlanta condos offer shared resources that might include a swimming pool, exercise facilities, community rooms or other amenities. The lure of no or minimal upkeep is also attractive.

Of course there are advantages and disadvantages to owning an Atlanta condo. You will have to consider many factors and hopefully the following will point out some of them.

Positives of owning a Condo

A quick rundown of the why a condo might work for you:

  • A condo may be more attractive at certain stages in your life. Singles, newly weds, and retirees find they work very well because they allow you to have the security of ownership while having more time to “get on with life”. Instead of paying rent you are investing.
  • Condos are usually more reasonable than their single-family counterparts.
  • You can still be king of your castle – your interior choices are yours to make with few limitations.
  • Condos are often located in a central area with easy access to thruways, and/or public transportation.
  • Unlike apartments, condos have an association that maintains all common areas – so no more lawn mowing or shoveling snow for you! They also make handle repairs to the roof, decks, hallways etc., leaving you responsible for repairs to only your interior and mechanicals. Many condos include cable and internet access.
  • There are condos that have added security or is part of a gated community.
  • If shared amenities are important to you, choose one that features a swimming pool, exercise room etc.
  • Since the 1980’s there has been a boom in the building of condos, so they reflect the features that are important to today’s buyers.

Negatives to Atlanta Condo Ownership

Now for what many consider to be the downside of owning a condo:

  • As in apartments, you will have some common walls.
  • Many do not have a garage or adequate storage.
  • Association dues. These are assessed on all condo owners and are used to finance repairs and maintenance. Depending on the condo they can go from $50 to $350 per month.
  • You are living in closer confines than in a single family. But if you are now renting, it will be a similar experience.
  • In a buyer’s market they are more difficult to sell, and they grow in value at a slower rate than a single-family home.
  • Some condo associations allow owners to rent out their unit, while others do not. Living next door to a renter might be a different experience than living next to an owner.

The best advice is to thoroughly research an Atlanta condo before buying. No sense in buying a condo that allows pets when you dislike dogs. The same holds true if you are over 60 and find children irritating. No sense in paying increased association dues for a swimming pool, spa and exercise facilities if you are a couch potato. There are so many Atlanta condo’s – be sure that you find the one that represents the best value for your circumstances.

Additional Articles of Interest:

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Attention Atlanta Renters! Now is the time to purchase an Atlanta home!

By: Maxsell Real Estate,
Posted: September 18th, 2008
Category: First Time Buyers, Real Estate Investors



It is time to buy now!

Are you sitting on the fence for the wrong reasons?

Are you sitting on the fence for the wrong reasons?

 

If you currently do not own a home and were holding off buying an Atlanta home because prices were out of your range, then you should take advantage of the declining market.  In a Buyer’s market you have an opportunity to buy “right”. 

Delaying the purchase of an Altanta home in the hopes that the market will continue downward could be a mistake.  Don’t be sitting on the sidelines in the hope that it will continue on the downward spiral – it might not.  

Read Also:  Atlanta Stats and Facts

Now is not only for first time buyer!

 

By the same token, if you do own your Atlanta home, and were thinking of moving up, it is also a good time to check the market out. There are more factors for you to consider than the first-time buyer, but these factors are not all negative.

·         Equity – the more equity you have in your home the better the argument to putting it to work in a new home. 

·         Price Differential – Even though your chances of getting top dollar in a Buyer’s market might be an unattainable challenge, remember that when you go to buy, you won’t be paying top dollar either.  Do the math, you might like the results.  For instance a lower priced home will likely get closer to market value than a more expensive home.  For figuring purposes, say a $100,000 home ends up selling for $85,000.  But a $200,000 home ends up selling for $175,000.  If you’re the person selling the first home and buying the second, you have netted $10,000 between the two transactions.

·         Investment Property.  This is the time to investigate Atlanta rental property.  There are many Atlanta investors who have spread themselves too thin and are interested in divesting themselves of some of their Atlanta property.  Read Also:  So you want to be an investor

·         Vacation or Retirement Homes.  If you are in a position to take advantage of purchasing a vacation home, now is the time.   If you had thought of retiring to a location that has been severely impacted you have an opportunity at hand that might now be available in the future.

 

Read Also:  What everyone needs to know about the housing bubble

 

In any event, if you have considered buying an Atlanta home, now is the time.  Don’t sit on the sidelines and then in the future say “I should’ve”.

 

 

Discussion: Comments

Real Estate Homestead Idea

By: Brad Nix, Managing+Broker
Posted: August 21st, 2008
Category: First Time Buyers, Real Estate Finance



One of my favorite real estate bloggers is The Notorious R.O.B., not just because his blog name makes me smile, but because he is one of the most thorough writers and has a very keen mind for analysis. He covers everything from MLS to NAR and lots of commercial real estate topics.   I recently read one of his genius ideas about making the Homestead Act updated for the 21st century.  Here are Rob’s ideas:

“Rough outline of a new Homestead Act:
* Banks surrender the property to the municipality. They can claim a loss for future tax writeoff, but importantly, they get the property off their balance sheets.
* Municipality waives all back taxes, transfer fees, etc.
* Utilities write off all water/electric bills, etc.
* Property is made available as is to any legal resident willing to live there.
* You must stay in the residence for at least five years.
* During your stay, you must maintain the house in reasonable condition and not engage in any illegal activities in the house.
* It must be your primary residence for those five years.
* You must pay all property taxes and fees associated with home ownership, such as for trash removal, water and sewage, etc.”

I doubt there is any chance in hell that these ideas are ever considered by Congress, but I think it’s a great way to make people think outside the box about real estate laws. I encourage each of you to read more from the Notorious R.O.B.

Additional Reading:

Discussion: Comments

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

By: Brad Nix, Managing+Broker
Posted: August 3rd, 2008
Category: First Time Buyers, Real Estate Finance



UPDATE: Linda Dvorak commented at Agent Genius with some great clarifications of the nuances of the capital gains issue in this law.  Please visit http://agentgenius.com/?p=3193#comment-16288 and read comment #41 for a great explanation.  You can also visit Exeter for a detailed analysis.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was recently passed and it included many positive things for buyers and sellers of real property. Many real estate bloggers have covered this topic (view blog search results), but Dan Green brought to light one of the biggest downsides to the new act.

As he found buried deep on page 690 of the 694 page law an important change to the Capital Gains Exclusion rule that could cost home sellers across the country.  Dan said…

“Under the former Capital Gains Exclusion rule, home sellers could claim $250,000 of home sale profits tax-free ($500,000 if filing jointly) provided they physically lived in the home for 2 of the previous 5 years. Savvy real estate investors exploited this tax rule by moving between residences every two years.

Even “regular” homeowners were coached to stay in their homes for at least 2 years for tax reasons.

Under the new Capital Gains Exclusion rule, however, this sort of tax-minimizing behavior is rendered impractical. The new Capital Gains Exclusion formula is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Instead, it’s a ratio.

In other words, if a home seller occupied a property as a primary residence in 2 of the last 5 year, under the new system, he would be entitled to 40% of his capital gains tax-free versus 100 percent of those gains before the new housing law passed.

The effective date for the new Capital Gains Exclusion rules is January 1, 2009 so homeowners selling in 2008 are exempt. “

Here is the formula:

Here is a sample equation:

You bought a home in January 2004 and paid $500,000.  This has been your primary residence until this year, January 2008, when you bought another property and moved your primary residence.  Say you sell your original property next year, January 2009, for $600,000.  Your capital gains formula:

1460 / 1825 = 0.80 x $100,000 = $80,000 Capital Gains Exclusion

1460(365 days x 4 years) / 1825(365 days x 1 year) = 0.80 x $100,000 ($600,000 - $500,000) = $80,000

Which means you would pay capital gains tax on $20,000.  Capital Gains Tax is currently at 15%, so you would pay $3,000 in new taxes that you would have avoided prior to this new law. *Please note this does not account for the state portion of capital gains, In Georgia that would be an additional 6% of the gains or $1,200 for a total of $4,200 in taxes on the gain.

It may sound like a small number when you profit $100,000 to only pay $4200, but what happens if the new government leaders change the Capital Gains Rate? This rate has been as high as 45.5 percent in the past.  This is not good for future sellers of real estate.

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