Lilburn, GA

The October issue of Realtor Magazine (our industry magazine) had an interesting article about dispelling myths while educating first time home buyers. The first point was about the weakness of the housing market.

They are absolutely correct that we can't flip on the TV, radio or computer, nor pick up a newspaper or magazine... or even sit in a restaurant without hearing about the tremendous "Buyer's Market" taking place right now. Quickly, the common wisdom is that since there are few buyers in the market, the ones that are there can beat sellers into incredible deals...

Of course, there is some truth to that. There aren't as many buyers in the Gwinnett County and Lilburn, GA markets as there were a few years ago... at least buyers that can get financing. BUT... in some segments, there is actual competition for properties. The First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit is pushing buyers into the market at the entry level. Prices are rising, and we are seeing properties bringing multiple offers. For now.

So, while there is still definite weakness in the luxury market, the entry level market is much different. Just as the market can vary from one ZIP code to another, it can also vary by price range. From now until the beginning of November (the credit currently is set to expire at the end of November, but most closings take 30 to 45 days to consumate), I think we will continue to see strength in the entry level market.

This is actually helping the move-up market, since many of the first time buyers are freeing the sellers to step up to a new (to them) home.

Things could be very different by January... Or not. If this indeed kicked the market, then we may see continued strength into the first quarter of next year.

I wrote a post not long ago about how water (uncontrolled) can destroy your house, and how simple things like gutters and paint can protect your investment.

But this isn't abut anything so trivial...

If you haven't been paying attention to the news... or you aren't reading this post in mid to late September (2009), we are having some serious water issues here in Atlanta. The words 100 year flood are making the rounds... and I have NO reason to not believe that. I have been here 20 years and have never seen anything like this.

While out and about today, I saw displaced roads, flooded creeks and rivers flowing over bridges. Those things all happen sometimes, but the word is that there are several HUNDRED roads closed from flooding. And the rain hasn't stopped.

Here is the important part...

So far there are six people that have died in the floods. Most of them have died in their cars. All of the folks that have died in their cars have died while driving through flooded roadways... and had their cars swept from the road.

Simply, if a creek or river is FLOWING over the road, do drive through it. Sure, you MIGHT make it through if the water is low enough. But you might not. Is it worth it? Not for me...

Stay safe...

I am perfectly willing to admit that I have taken Jeeps through creeks that were fairly deep. Even some that were running pretty fast. But there are a couple of HUGE differences. With the larger tires and lifted suspensions, the vehicle is well out of the water. A standard sedan starts getting pushed by the water as low as six or seven inches. My jeep kept the body clear of the water for almost two feet...

And then there was a "happening" in Kane Creek in Moab, UT. Some friends had a Jeep start to float while crossing the rain swollen creek. The Jeep would have kept floating for a while it not attached by winch cable to a stable object. As it was, it rolled in the creek, and the driver barely escaped a dunking by climbing out the passenger side and jumping to shore. The Jeep was totaled. It could have easily been much worse.

And stay smart...

Today I saw a car parked in the middle of the road after a deep spot (pooled, not flowing). The engine may have been toast (we call it hydro-locked. Water doesn't compress, so if it gets into the engine, bad things can happen. And the worst thing to possibly do is try to turn the engine over with the starter if it stalls in the water. Instead, get towed out, and then take out the spark plugs. Turn the engine over with the starter (watch out, because gas/water may spray out a few feet). Shoot a little WD-40 in each cylinder and then reinstall the spark plugs. If there are ugly, unnatural sounds, it might be too late, the damage may already be done.

Sounds like good reasons to NOT drive in deep water, huh? Death or mechanical devastation...

Yep... another plan.

But, as a home owner, there are a lot of things to keep up with. Air filter changes, painting and gutter cleaning. Those are just some of the tasks that we need to schedule... and then there is caulking, raking, trimming shrubs and fertilizing the lawn. That isn't even including things like updating the amenities inyour home...

Sure, every once in a while we think it might be nice to redo the kitchen or the bathroom. Maybe there is a thought about expanding the garage, building a deck or opening up a wall. It could be adding a skylight or getting new windows... even adding insulation.

The point is that there are a LOT of things that we, as home owners, need to keep up with... or that we want to change. And a great tool for that is a longer term plan for the changes we want to make, and how they can be included in the maintenance and upkeep that we need to do anyway.

After all, if the plan is to add a new master suite, do we want to paint the house before we tear off the siding? If we are going to replace the roof, maybe that would also be a good time to install the skylights we've been thinking about. And, of course, caulking and then tearing out the windows to install new energy efficient units would be kind of pointless.

So, here is an idea... Sit down and list out all of the things you'd like to do to your home. Whether it is getting new appliances, remodeling the bathrooms, painting the bedrooms or adding new landscaping, list out everything you can think of... get the whole family involved.

Then comes the hard part... Group together the various items to make a plan. Try to put them into groups that are both achievable (don't bite off too much at once) and related (sealing the crawlspace and replacing the windows aren't a good match...).

Prioritize the groupings. If the house is ready to be painted, maybe the kitchen remodel should be put a little lower on the list. If the stove doesn't make heat, perhaps the windows need to move down the list a notch.

Cost out the various projects. This is very important... but at the same time, some things are going to change. While you want to know what it will cost to put a dry creekbed in the back yard, if you aren't going to do it for a few years, having a "down to the penny" estimate probably isn't terribly important. But, if you have windows with rotted wood, knowing almost exactly what it may cost IS important... you don't want to tear out all of the windows and find out that you can't afford to replace them until next week...

As items come up for completion, be sure that the new items are going to be available. I have been halfway through a project and found that the item I was building around was out of stock...

the bottom line...

Do a little homework. It can actually be a lot of fun. If you have kids, they might really get into "designing" their own rooms. And there is something more important. You might find that it is cheaper and/or easier to find a home that is ready to go... In my own household, we want more space... As I am costing out another garage, and my wife is dreaming of a new master suite, we are thinking that maybe a new house would be better. But... we REALLY like where we are. We'll see what the winning plan is. Will we buy a new house or do a big remodel? I don't know.

You'd think as a real estate agent that I would always say "buy a new house", but I know that reality needs a voice, too. I don't like to move... I shouldn't expect that you want to pack all of your stuff and move it, either. On the flip side, I know that if you sink too much money into your home, you will never see it come back out... especially in the short term.

Balance YOUR options.

If you need to move... we can talk about it.

Water is essential for life. Without it, everything dies. But... sometimes it can be a pain in the butt... like when it is in the wrong place in the house... or outside of the house...

I have a buyer that is under contract on a beautiful home... or more accurately, a home that could be beautiful. But it has problems. Water.

The biggest issue is one that people usually don't think of...

Gutters

There are several damaged gutters around the house, and some that we suspect are clogged. Furthermore, the downspouts are in less than great condition... blocked, broken or poorly moving water away from the house. This has led to damaged window and door frames, as the water has caused rot in several places. It has also led to damage to carpet in the basement, erosion around the deck supports and erosion of the landscape.

All of this is easily correctable... or at least the direct causes are easily addressed. The damage is more involved. in fact, we don't know how much damage there might be... we are currently dealing with contractors to see if we can get a handle on it.

And there is another issue that people often don't think of...

Paint

As mentioned above, there are several damaged window and door frames. While the water is the damaging agent, the reason they could be damaged is that the paint was seriously lacking. The home is only 7 years old, but the trim hadn't been repainted, and the original paint wasn't super high quality.

Again, the base condition is inexpensively and easily corrected, but the damage that has been caused is much more involved.

And the last problem is another one that usually escapes notice...

Landscaping

Ok, admitedly, I'm not talking about grass here... I'm talking about landscape design. As it stands, the ground around the home is actually channeling water TOWARDS the house rather than away. It is a testement to excellent waterproofing by the builder in the basement that there aren't any places where water is coming in. But there are actually places where the erosion is trying to undermine concrete slabs and footers.

Here, the correction is a little more involved... but still not terribly difficult. The lot will need to be re-graded with a slope away from the house. Additionally, a swale will need to be built into the landscape design to route water coming on to the property well away from the house. French drains will need to be installed, and the downspounts routed into them... all in an effort to move the water around the house.

Finally, the landscape design needs to incorporate appropriate plantings and ground covers to stop the red clay from splashing up on the sides of the house. It is likely only cosmetic, but the bottom two to six feet of the house is stained red... requiring the house to be repainted.

When we do inspections and look at homes from potential problems, the things that usually concern buyers are systems like the HVAC and electrical, or areas like the roof or deck. But, from this house we can see that it is VERY minor repairs and maintenance that have caused the problems. Keeping the gutters in good repair and trim painted are both simple.

This home hasn't had a real "owner" for a few years. Depending on the estimates, it may soon have one. Homes NEED people in them.

So...

This should be a good case study in why keeping up with the little things can be very important... spending a hour cleaning out the gutters and $100 on trim paint might save $5000 in repairs later. In this case, $1000 in gutter cleaning and trim painting may have save $15,000 or more in damage. And the value of the home might have been $50,000 or even $100,000 higher.

That is a solid RoI (Return on Investment).

If you are looking for a deal, they are out there, but many "cheap" properties are actually money pits that will require way more money than they are worth. This one should give the buyer a solid equity position when they are done. And, as with most properties that are "deals", they require resources... money, time and skill... being invested BEFORE they return that equity.

Call me if you want a deal in or around Gwinnett County... especially 4+ car garage homes, as well as homes in and around Lilburn.

(I am NOT including pictures of the home because my buyers haven't closed on the property... They are aware that I am blogging about it, but I don't want the property identified.)

There are always great things happening in Lilburn...

• September 19th, 2009 - Community Garage Sale in the Overflow Parking Lot across from the Lilburn City Park - 9am to 2pm
  
• October 10th, 2009 - Lilburn DazeFestival in the Lilburn City Park - 9am to 5pm
• October 12th, 2009 - City Council Meeting in the Auditorium at Lilburn City Hall - 7:30pm
• October 17th, 2009 - Community Garage Sale in the Overflow Parking Lot across from the Lilburn City Park - 9am to 2pm
• October 24th, 2009 - Get Fit Lilburn in Old Town Lilburn and at Lilburn City Park - 4:30pm to 8:30pm
• November 8th, 2009 - Veteran's Day Celebration in Lilburn City Park - 3pm to 5pm

For more details on what is happening in Lilburn, check out CityOfLilburn.com. There is a registration required to set up a table in the garages sales or to have a sale booth at Lilburn Daze.