Real Estate News in Metro Atlanta and Beyond

Will AOLs replace expensive Title Insurance?

A Guide to Real Estate Comps - https://longleaflending.com/real-estate-comps/

Richard Montgomery: Here's How to Prepare Your House for Its Real Estate Photo Op

Build to rent

Investors Bought 26% of the Country's Most Affordable Homes in the Fourth Quarter—the Highest Share on Record

Bad commercial real estate loans put strain on banking system

Georgia House bill would ban locals from regulating short-term rentals

U.S. foreclosure activity ticked up significantly in January

5 Important factors for frugal buyers

Zillow files antitrust suit against real estate listing services

Atlanta median sales price jumps 7% 

A New Perspective: The Top Ten ROI Home Improvements | Real Estate Insights

Cyberattack hits major title insurance firm  First American Financial

Inflation data still pointing toward rate cuts in 2024What is the responsibility of the real estate agent?⁠ ⁠Plan To Hike Real Estate Transfer Tax To Fund Homelessness Prevention Moves Forward⁠ ⁠Chicago considers transfer tax⁠ ⁠Real estate appraisals: What agents should know⁠ ⁠Five million homes vacant while US grapples with housing shortage⁠ ⁠Judge reaffirms agents' right to create listing floor plans ⁠ ⁠Housing Affordability Conditions Tumble in October 2023

⁠Unlawful fees

hee hoo!

Real Estate's 80/20 Rule - An Introduction To Mortgage Insurance⁠

12 Costly Red Flags I Look for During a Home Inspection

What is HECM for Purchase? Real Estate's 80/20 Rule - An Introduction To Mortgage Insurance Fannie and Freddie face dilemma in loan repurchases

Rocket Mortgage - class action lawsuit

Fannie and Freddie face dilemma in loan repurchases

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Shows Continued Rise In Third Quarter, Approaching Levels Seen Before Pandemic

NAR lawsuits ‘a seismic event' for agents, portals  Real Estate Brokers Pocketing Up to 6% in Fees Draw Antitrust Scrutiny Special Report: What's at Stake in the Sitzer/Burnett Trial

What is HECM for Purchase?

Are ‘What Ifs' Paralyzing Your Home-Selling Hopes? Here's a Reality Check

Zillow wins jury verdict in lawsuit over its display of non-MLS home listings

Redfin is Leaving NAR

How a Government Shutdown Could Impact the Industry

Realty Report: Is home staging worth it? - buyers reasonably come with expectations of what they want their new home to look like, sellers benefit from looking at their home with a buyer's lens. remove visual distractions from your home The home improvement items real estate agents say they recommend most to their clients before listing a property include: · Decluttering: 96 percent · Entire home cleaning: 88 percent · Remove pets during showings: 83 percent · Professional photos: 73 percent · Minor repairs: 72 percent · Carpet cleaning: 71 percent · Depersonalize home: 65 percent · Painting: 58 percent · Landscaping: 50 percent · Grouting: 30 percent Source: “2023 Profile of Home Staging,” National Association of REALTORS® NAR Report of Staging

Appraisals What to Know About an HOA Real Estate Investors Pull Back, Buying 45% Fewer Homes Than A Year Ago Pickleball Courts Serve an Ace for Vacant Malls, Retail Stores

Home buying ideas for hard core renters

What Is a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) in Real Estate?

7 Bathroom Renovations Under $1,000 KW to slash profit sharing for former agents  New NC legislation comes after real estate firm found enforcing 40-year agreements As demand has risen for self-storage in the US, so have prices How Much Does it Cost to Build a House in Atlanta, GA in 2023? Seven typical buyer questions answered

Appraisal Gap Waivers

First, it's important for two reasons - (1) Fixtures normally stay with the property and objects go with the seller.   (2) Fixtures are normally attached and go with the sale of property and transfer ownership tio the new owner, unless specifically mentioned they don't. What are real estate fixtures? Fixtures are considered real property: They “belong” to the estate. In contrast, personal property belongs to the individual owner (seller or family member) and is generally portable. Fixtures typically transfer their ownership along with the home while you're free to take personal property with you when you sell. - a feature, item or object that is permanently attached or affixed to the property in some way - it's been installed to stay in place; it's not easily portable The MARIA test To identify whether something is a fixture, agents and other real estate pros apply a sort of test — a set of measures or characteristics to judge whether something counts as a fixture. Each letter in MARIA is an acronym for these criteria, any one of which can affect fixture status: Method of attachment: Items permanently attached to the property, such as by cement or screws are usually considered fixtures. Adaptability: Items adapted to a specific purpose in the home and that have become an essential piece of the home, such as floating flooring or a pool cover, are fixtures. Relationship of the parties: The status of each party can determine whether something is a fixture. If a homeowner installs something, it's more likely to be considered a fixture than if it was put there by a tenant who is renting the home. Intention: The intent of the person who put the item in the home matters. If they clearly intended it to be a permanent (or sufficiently long-term) addition to the home, such as a stove or washer/dryer, it's a fixture. Agreement: Anything itemized and identified in a certain way in the purchase and sale agreement gets its status from that agreement. If the contract states something will remain in the home or is a fixture, it becomes one.

How Zillow Group is thinking about AI and the future of real estate

The Real Estate Appraisal Process  The Next Generation of Appraisals: Revolutionizing Real Estate Valuation with Computer Vision

Termite Inspections: Cost and What to Expect

Selectboard considers real estate transfer fee to support affordable, workforce housing

Mass. real estate lawyers must disclose pay from title insurance to homebuyers

A homeowners association, or HOA, is a group of all the homeowners in a defined area. It's run by a board of neighbor volunteers that oversees services and enforces the HAOA rules, regulations, and by-laws. Most states have laws clearly defining the role of an HOA that are often adopted from recommendations in the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, created in 1982 by the Uniform Law Commissioners, a nonpartisan group of attorneys that established the general legislation for HOAs and have regularly maintained it since. The uniform law includes guidelines for holding HOA board elections and what bylaws may or may not prohibit. Which HOA Rules Can Be Enforced – and Which Can't? - comply with local, state, and federal laws Your Guide to HOAs

https://humrealestate.com/blog/the-impact-of-inflation-on-mortgage-rates - Don't let headlines about the latest decision from the Fed confuse you. Where mortgage rates go from here depends on what happens with inflation. If inflation cools, mortgage rates should tick down as a result. Zillow shutters closing and title division - Despite its efforts to be a one-stop shop for homebuyers from search to close, Zillow has determined that its Zillow Closing Services division has become a weak link in the chain. NAR: Contract Signings Flat, More Inventory ‘Critical' - contract signings flat in April compared to March. Nevertheless, contract signings are 20.3% below last year's bustling pace. Zombie Foreclosures Keep Increasing But Remain A Tiny Presence Around Most Of U.S. - 1.3 million (1,285,633) residential properties in the United States are vacant. That figure represents 1.3 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation. -311,508 residential properties in the U.S. are in the process of foreclosure in the second quarter of this year, up 4.3% from the first quarter of 2023 and up 20.2%from the second quarter of 2022. A growing number of homeowners have faced possible foreclosure since a nationwide moratorium on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners, imposed after the Coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020, was lifted in the middle of 2021 (Note: But the income tax burden on cancelled mortgage debt has expired, so double whammy.) Tax Implications Following Foreclosure: What You Need to Know - it's vital to understand that the IRS considers most canceled debt income because you benefit from not having to pay the additional amount owed on a loan. What is meant by the word Escrow? - simply put, escrow means "setting aside money for any number of purposes related to closing a real estate trasnaction - normally homeowner's insurance, property taxes, and mortgage insurance, but it could mean setting aside funds for repairs after closing, or to pay other debts, liens, or related costs that are not typical to closing agent or lender.

What Is a Real Estate Excise Tax? (And How Much Does It Cost Buyers and Sellers?) By Meera Pal What Out-of-State Buyers Should Know About California Real Estate Transfer Taxes

A mid-year real estate report for metro Atlanta

Mortgage fee changes raise costs for some, lower costs for others

Avoid Legal Snafus Around Canceled Contracts

Foreclosures Jump—Is Another Wave About To Flood the Housing Market?