Keller Williams Realty Highest Ranked in Home Buyer Satisfaction

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Keller Williams Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Home Buyers for a Third Consecutive Year

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., the third largest real estate company in the United States, has received the highest overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms for the third year in a row. The company also ranked second among home sellers in the study for the second year in a row.

“We are incredibly proud of our associates for earning this distinction and want to thank them for their commitment to their clients and communities,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “We see this honor as demonstration of our company philosophy that it is the agent’s brand that matters most and no amount of money spent on advertising can replace the influence and reputations our agents have in their local communities. Our associates have earned this on their own, by building relationships in their communities.”

The study was produced by J.D. Power and Associates to measure home buyers and sellers customer satisfaction. The results of the home-buying experience were determined by three factors including the buyer’s experience with their agent, the real estate office and a variety of additional services. Keller Williams Realty performed particularly well in the agent and office factors. And, overall satisfaction of buyers for the industry was up over last year.

Additionally, the study noted that the importance of real estate agents has increased substantially in the past year, with buyers and sellers relying on the negotiating skills of their chosen agent and help in navigating the market.

“It is thrilling to see our firm, once again, get public recognition for its incredible focus on customer satisfaction from such a prestigious group. Our associates continually demonstrate that it is possible to deliver the highest level of customer service in one of the toughest real estate markets on record,” said Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty. “We feel incredibly fortunate to be in business with them, and want to congratulate them on their hard work and dedication.”

In the past year, Keller Williams Realty has continued to grow despite the well-publicized turmoil in the real estate industry. In addition to becoming the 3rd largest real estate company in the U.S., surpassing RE/MAX®, Keller Williams Realty was ranked as the No. 1 real estate franchise on the 31st Annual Franchise 500 list by Entrepreneur magazine and was voted the Most Recognizable Brand of Real Estate Franchises and the Trendsetter of the year for 2009 in an industry-wide survey for the Swanepoel TRENDS Report.

We at Keller Williams are obviously excited about this award because it supports our efforts to be leaders in the real estate industry by providing unparalleled customer service and local market expertise. Please contact us if we can be of assistance with your Atlanta real estate needs.

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5 Tips to Take Advantage of the Homebuyer Tax Credit

Sandy Springs home buyers have been taking advantage of the current $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit, but time is running out for other Sandy Springs home buyers who haven’t found a new home and for some who haven’t even started looking.

In order to qualify at a minimum, you must have a binding contract to purchase a home by April 30, 2010. So time to stop dawdling and start shopping.

There is certainly time to find a great home and get the home under contract in less than 30 days, but it will require working with a local, knowledgeable Realtor to guide you through the process and in particular identify the best homes currently available.

Wanting to take advantage of the tax credit? Here are some tips:

1. Dust off the books and become knowledgeable about the area: In reality, leave the books on the shelf. Buyers can do this simply by searching for homes here at AllAboutSandySprings.com. Our home search provides all the homes in metro Atlanta currently on the market. Or better yet, contact us and we’ll do a buyer consultation to identify what areas and homes best fit your needs and can even notify you of hot new listings before they even come on the market.

2. Talk to a lender about financing: This is critical. A lender can advise you on how much you can qualify to purchase and with a pre-approval letter the seller of the home you want will actually take your offer seriously. At today’s extremely low interest rates, that amount may be more than many buyers imagined. But either way, the process will help buyers determine how much they are willing and able to spend on the home.

3. Narrow your search: Metro Atlanta is a huge area and you need to determine where you want to live to narrow down your options. By identifying specific criteria of the home you want, you will be able to filter out homes that aren’ t the right fit. Prioritize your criteria such as schools, proximity to work, church, family and friends. Proximity to work is clearly a huge point to consider in Atlanta. Afterall, we’re not really known for having good traffic.

4. It’s all about Perspective: While it may be great to get the tax credit, don’t let the desire to do so completely control your home search. If you feel rushed to make a decision just because of the tax credit, then don’t worry about it and just remove that deadline from the equation. In the grand scheme of things, it’s much more important for you to be comfortable with the pace at which you find your home to ensure you are comfortable in your decision.

5. Watch out for Short Sales: If the home you want to buy is offered as a short sale, qualifying for the tax credit may become more difficult. A short sale must be approved by both the seller and the sellers’ lender(s) and the process is generally not short. While banks have improved on response time considerably, you are definitely pushing your luck pursuing a short sale at this time if you want to qualify for the homebuyer tax credit. But back to point #4, the short sale deal might be worth more to you than $8,000 in your pocket.

Contact us today to get your Sandy Springs home search started today and help you find your new dream home.

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Homestead Exemption for Sandy Springs Homeowners

Deadline quickly approaching for Sandy Springs homeowners to file for their homestead exemption. You can apply for exemptions year-round by mail or in person; however, you must apply by April 1st to receive the exemption for that tax year.

If you purchased a home in 2009 or earlier, you have less than a week to file for the Georgia homestead exemption in Fulton County. If you purchased this year, you can file at any time this year, but the homestead exemption won’t take effect until 2011.

Applications not filed by the deadline constitute a waiver of the exemption for that year. Your closing attorney does not apply for you.

Fulton County Homeowners will receive a $25,000 exemption for tax year 2010 and by 2011 the basic exemption will increase to $30,000. For those homeowners currently receiving a homestead exemption, no further action is required to get the increased exemption, unless there is an ownership change or if you become eligible for an additional exemption.

First time Fulton County homeowners or those applying for an additional exemption, have until April 1st to file. You can access the application at the Fulton County’s Tax Commissioner site.

To qualify you must own, occupy and claim the property as your legal residence on January 1st of the year for which you apply. The applicant’s name must appear on the deed to this property in order to qualify.

Exemptions are automatically renewed and you need not reapply if you refinance your home.

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Keller Williams Most Recognizable Brand for 2009

The 2010 Swanepoel TRENDS Report, scheduled for publication on February 8th, 2010, details the Top 20 largest real estate brands based on agent count as of December 2009, inclusive of recent changes and acquisitions up and including that date.

In addition, RealSure, the publishers of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report, decided that it would be interesting to compare agent count rankings with the perception and recognizability of franchise brands by the industry itself.

On December 3rd a nationwide online survey was launched to determine the “Most Recognizable Franchise Brand in Real Estate.”

In the end an astonishing 11,355 agents voted, casting just over 390,000 votes for 33 different real estate franchise brands making this — according to knowledge — the largest survey of its kind in the industry.

The Top 10 real estate franchises, most recognized by the real estate industry as quality national brands are:

1. Keller Williams Realty
2. Coldwell Banker Real Estate
3. RE/MAX International
4. Century 21 Real Estate
5. Prudential Real Estate
6. Sotheby’s International Realty
7. EXIT Realty
8. ERA Real Estate
9. Weichert Real Estate Affiliates
10. Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate

The brands that made it to the Top 5 were to be expected and are also the five largest real estate franchises in the country. The Top 5 also comfortably attracted more votes than the second five on the list, strongly pointing to the industry’s own internal belief that these are the top five brands that agents would like to work for.

Keller Williams Realty’s surprising #1 ranking was most likely due to the strong, above average online and social media presence of their agents and the fact that during 2009 KW surpassed RE/MAX in agent count according to a widely published REAL Trends survey. Click here to read the article in it’s entirety.

Contact us today to learn about the benefits of working with Keller Williams Realty for all of your Sandy Springs real estate needs.

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Should I Short Sale My Home?

That is a question that many financially strapped Sandy Springs homeowners are debating right now. Clearly, they’re finding it difficual to qualify for federally-sponsored mortgage assistance programs covered under the Making Home Affordable program.

Over 500,000 homeowners have qualified for a modification, with little over half actually agreeing to a temporary modification and just a little over 1,700 actually receiving permanent modifications.

Short sales have helped many homeowners in resolving their debt issues, but there are pros and cons to consider. Below are some of the most important questions to consider before deciding whether to short sale your Sandy Springs home or not…

1. Can you afford to keep your current home? This is relatively a simple question. Because if you can afford to keep your home, then why wouldn’t you? Depending on your specific situation, you may qualify for a loan modification. Is your hardship temporary? Are you struggling to make the payments today, but may be fine in just a couple monthsl? If your hardship is more of a permanent nature due to loss of job or disability, then a short sale may be something you need to consider.

It’s important to be brutally honest with yourself. I’ve had many clients who have pulled out all of their funds from retirement accounts to try and make their payments, but when those funds ran out, their option was to do a short sale. A little foresight goes a long way in protecting yourself.

2. Do you want to keep your current home? Whether from a change in marital status, children leaving home or moving back in, a job change or health related issues or other events, sometimes you may no longer want to keep your home. You’ll need to evaluate your present accomodations to make sure it is still a good fit before deciding whether to stay or sell.

3. Can you handle your other debt obligations? Short sales are often a great alternative to those seeking to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure.

4. Do you owe more on the home than it is worth? With home prices declining and many teaser rates or interest only mortgages automatically adjusting, many homeowners now owe more than the current market value of their home. For some, we’re not just talking about tens of thousands, but into the six figures. It should be a priority to determine whether it is worth the long term cost of paying down a high mortgage or saving for retirement, college and other expenses for the family.

5. Are you unable to refinance or gain more favorable terms? Not only have home values dramatically declined in many parts of the country, but rising unemployment rates, tighter lending standards and higher debt to income ratios caused by re-setting interest rates on ARMS have resulted in the perfect storm in the lending world. Homeowners are increasingly unable to obtain favorable refinance terms. The biggest issues for most homeowners is that their home won’t appraise high enough for them to refinance without putting more money down.

6. Do you desire a relatively quick sale? Due to the decline in the economy and surplus of existing home sales, there is a large inventory of homes on the market. Those that really want to sell must price right and work aggressively to position their home for a quick sale. While a short sale isn’t “short” (typically 60-120 days), they are generally much faster than the current sales period for a regular MLS listing (6 to 12 months). Contact your Sandy Springs Realtor to understand the stats!

7. Do you want to avoid fixing the property in anticipation of a sale? Few things are worse than being forced to spend money in order to sell a property below the price you originally paid. Short sales are generally sold “as-is” which keeps you from spending more time and money necessary to put the property up for sale in the traditional manner.

Aaron Hofmann, a Certified Distressed Property Expert and a local Keller Williams Sandy Springs Realtor, is available for financially burdened homeowners to discuss their situation in confidence. Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about short sales, check out our Atlanta short sale resource.

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Black Friday

Time for some turkey and time to give thanks. Thanksgiving time. It’s certainly a time of year when we get to spend time with friends and family and realize that we are fortunate.

But for some savvy shoppers, this is also the time of year to prepare to assault the stores on what has become known as Black Friday. Now while you may be looking to take advantage of the latest deals, keep in mind that not all deals are found in the stores.

For example, you can find lots of great deals online.

 

Another option is in the Sandy Springs real estate market. Home prices have been reduced, interest rates are phenomenal and if you’re a first-time homebuyer you can qualify for $8,000 and if you’re a move-up homebuyer you can qualify for $6,500.

These kind of deals are going to be hard to beat in the stores or even online. To make your Black Friday shopping spree, easier, we’ve compiled up-to-date lists of Sandy Springs short sales as well as foreclosures in Sandy Springs.

• Sandy Springs Short Sales
• Sandy Springs Foreclosures

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the Sandy Springs Black Friday deals in the real estate market, be sure to contact us for your free buyer consultation.

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Congress passes Extension for Homebuyer Tax Credit

Congress has overwhelmingly passed a bill, with the House of Representatives passing it today and the Senate passing it on Wednesday, that would extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.

This is an extension of the credit that was set to expire on November 30th. This The bill could be signed by the President as early as Friday.

The bill also creates a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after living in their current house at least five years. These homes would also need to be under contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th.

The credit would be available only for the purchase of principal residences priced at $800,000 or less.

The bill also raises the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

This is a great opportunity for first-time homebuyers and move-up homebuyers and we’ll be discussing the value and opportunity for both of these targeted groups.

If you need assistance with your Sandy Springs real estate needs, be sure to contact us, your local market experts.

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Aaron Hofmann Receives Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation

Aaron Hofmann of H2 Realty at Keller Williams Realty Cityside has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

In the Sandy Springs area, many homes are in danger of foreclosing. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune. Currently there are over 200 homes, condos & townhomes that are currently marketed as distressed properties (short sales or foreclosures).

“This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales,” said Hofmann. “It is so rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure.”

“To help educate the consumers, our team has developed an informational site called ShortSalesCentral.com. The site provides a lot of valuable information for both distressed homeowners as well as buyers looking to purchase a home,” according to Mr. Hofmann.

Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as Aaron Hofmann with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

If you are behind in your mortgage payments or contemplating not making your payments, contact Aaron Hofmann and his team to understand your options and identify the solutions that are best for your situation.

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Georgia Homebuyer Tax Credit

It’s still preliminary, but the state of Georgia is working on a homebuyer tax credit in addition to the $8,000 tax credit passed by the federal government last month.

Georgia residents who buy a home would get a three-year tax credit under legislation that easily passed the House today.

Under the bill, home purchasers would receive income tax credits of up to $3,600, up to $1,200 for each of three years. In order to qualify, homeowners would have to apply for the credit within six months of the date the governor signs the bill.

The measure now moves on to the Senate. The goal is to help revitalize Georgia’s residential real estate market.

Georgia’s housing issues are not nearly as bad as many parts of the country, but it’s great to the Georgia leaders understand the importance of kick-starting home sales as this will have a direct impact on a multitude of industries and the overall economy.

The legislation would apply to new and previously occupied homes as well as residences that have been foreclosed.

The credit could be used either for houses and condominiums and either on primary or second residences.

We’ll keep you posted on as this bill moves forward. For some homebuyers, this could mean a total of $11,600 in tax credits for the purchase of their new home and for others who didn’t qualify for the federal $8,000 credit, it would mean a $3,600 tax credit. Either way, it’s a great incentive to take advantage of this great buying opportunity in the Sandy Springs real estate market.

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Homestead Exemption Information

A homestead exemption is a reduction in homeowners’ property taxes.  To qualify, the homeowner must apply for this exemption on or before April 1st. Once granted, this exemption is automatically renewed each year as long as the home is continually occupied under the same ownership.  The home must be the legal residence for all purposes including the registration of vehicles and the filing of income tax.  A homestead exemption cannot be filed for rental property, vacant land or on more than one property.  In addition to basic homestead exemption, there are additional exemptions for residents age 62 and older and/or disabled veterans.  These exemptions must be applied for in person with Fulton County.  For additional information and requirements, please contact 404-612-6440.

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