About Jefferson County, AL

Facebook Threatened to Give Me the Boot

The other day I decided to send out "Friend Request" from my Yahoo phone book. Mind you that if I have you in my address book, then at some point we've made contact.

Well late yesterday evening, a message from Facebook popped up indicating that I had made Friend request to people that I don't know. And immediately I'm thinking "maybe they just don't remember that we've had some contact in the past."

I also thought that when you think about friendships, you rarely have to "ask" a friend to be your friend. So in essence, Facebook's policy of asking someone that I don't know, to be a friend is kind of a misnomer don't you think? I mean why would I ask an existing "friend" to be a "friend?"

Take this post as:

#1 - A warning that you might unwittingly be violating Facebook guidelines

#2 - Me just rattling on

#3 - And most importantly, since we are already friends, please go ahead and "Like" my Bham WIiRE business page AND consider this friend request as an effort to seal our friendship on my personal page rather than initiate it.

#4 - If you aren't my friend, will you be my friend. Friend me on Facebook and Like my business page. That would be really nice.

Can't we just all be friends?

Birmignham Alabama real estate investors that flip houses are all about their business. The competition in the Metro Birmigham-Hoover market is fierce and the investors are doing quality work and they are selling fast. Make no mistake, just because the housing are selling fast, don't think for a minute that these houses are being purchased and flipped haphazardly. Birmingham Alabama real estate investors don't play that game. They use quallity products, create imagination, stagers if necessary and they take their time to deliver homes that are not only being sought after, but fought over in bidding wars.

So if you are new to the investment market here in Birmingham, Alabama and If you are planning to flip houses in Birmingham, Alabama you would be well advised to bring your A-Game. I would strongly recommend that you take a look at the work that your competition is doing if you are serious about competing compete in today’s market. The Birmingham real estate investor that comes to the table with the notion of replacing the carpet and painting a unit and then putting it back on the market to make a quick buck, will be the investor that stands the greatest chance of either becoming a landlord or letting the property dwindle away as a neighborhood eyesore.

Take a Tip From the Best House Flippers

First and foremost, real estate investors have to have money and be willing to part with it. From the start, you must see a quality end product. The quality of the output is wholly dependent upon the quality of the input and it starts with the quality of contractors that you use and the quality of materials used for the job In other words, you can't dress up "cheap" and "shabby." You don't have to be a copy cat, but it's okay to incorporate the ideas of other investors. Anybody who thinks that you don't need to know about your competition, should never be in business. I

Don’t Half-Step

Mediocrity breads mediocrity and no one wants to pay top dollar for mediocrity when for a few dollars more, they can buy quality. Unfortunately for many newly minted real estate investors, this lesson is learned the hard way: after money has already been lost. The end result is that those investors end up placing the blame on everything except the mediocrity of their work. If you plan to be a house flipper in the Birmingham, Alabama real estate market, than you also have to have a comprehensive rehab plan. If you can’t visualize the end result in it’s entirety, then you should delay rehabbing until you can see the big picture in your head.

Real Estate Agents Are Your Best Allies

The days of FSBO investors is all but over in today’s Birmingham, Alabama real estate market. Real estate investors that flip properties now realize that if anyone knows what’s hot and what’s not in today’s market, it the Birmingham, Alabama real estate agent. Real estate agents get a chance to witness the absolute best rehabbed houses on the market on a day to day basis. We know what works and what doesn’t. Real estate agents recognize “true effort” even before opening the door of a rehabbed property. Real estate agents know when we open the door, if the property is merely a carpet and paint job or a work of art. And guess what? So does the prospective Birmingham home buyer.

What’s Better Than a Real Estate Agent?

If you really luck you, you’ll align yourself with a real estate agent that has a history of real estate investing. By hiring a real estate agent who is or has a history of personally investing in real estate, you’ll have the benefit of someone who truly understands your “investor” mindset. Oh, did I mention that I am one such real estate agent (hence Bham WIiRE stands for Birmingham Women Investing in Real Estate).

So Come With Your A-Game

Because if you don’t then you and your rehabbed house will just be sitting on the sidelines.

February 2012 Market Statistics for Homes Sold in Mountain Brook AL

(Single Family Residences)

Units Sold: 7

Average List Price: $491,784

Average Sold Price: $475,571

Average Days on Market: 200

Compare February 2011:

Units Sold: 11

Average List Price: $629,263

Average Sold Price: $582,863

Average Days on Market: 231

There are currently 185 homes for sale in Mountain Brook ranging from $225,000 to $3,998,000 (per Birmingham MLS)

If you would like updated information or details for this or any community in or around Birmingham, Jefferson or Shelby Counties, please feel free to call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!

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Courtesy of Ann Allen, CDPE, e-Pro, SRES, ASP

205.902.4868

RE/MAX Advantage South

2635 Valleydale Road

Hoover, AL 35244

© 2012 Ann Allen, All rights reserved

Photos taken by Ann Allen and may not be reproduced without express written permission of Ann Allen, RE/MAX Advantage South, Hoover AL. Please check if Creative Commons License as been granted for this or other photography provided by Ann Allen. Permission usually granted if credit is given with a link back. Thank you for your understanding.

The Right Price, Location and Condition = A Home That Sells

Birmingham Alabama Home Seller

There isn’t much you can do about location if you are planning to sell your house. Hopefully it’s in a prime location. But even if it’s not in a prime location, if you are serious about selling the house, then you need to price it right for the location and its condition. Andif it’s an investment property, at the very least, you’ll want to make sure that it isn’t trashed. Here’s a little secret, if you hire an agent that is willing to list your house for sale for more than the available data supports (a.k.a. overprice it) then don’t count on that agent doing their best to try to sell your overpriced home. Yes,I know this sounds awfully harsh, but I’m afraid it’s the true. Personally, I’d much rather walk away from a listing than to overprice it.

Let's Talk About Condition

When we talk about pricing a home right for its condition, we mean its present condition. Of course our vision is not always the same as the buyer's vision of their desired home, so pricing it on what you believe the buyer do with it, is usually not a formula that works well. That doesn't mean that your ideas aren't good. It's just that I'm sure that the buyers probably want to do things their way and as they see it (No offense. Really). If the home needs to be updated and you are not willing to do it, then pricing it like the home down the street that has been update from the foundation to the roof is not a good idea. Price the house "in the now" and see how buyers come a calling.

Birmingham Alabama Home Buyers

If you are in the market to purchase a home, then location means everything. If at all possible, it just makes sense to move in areas where values are not dropping more often than you bat your eyes. It’s no secret that homes for sale in prime Birmingham-Hoover locations that are priced right and show well, will sell faster. The best advice that I can give you is to make your offer like you want that house. You can play games if you’d like. You can ignore the advice of your agent and the facts presented to you and watch home after gorgeous home go under contract (with another buyer) if you’d like. But know this, more often than not, buyers loose out on homes that they want because they don’t use the available information to make their decisions. In other words, they wing it. The best homes, in the best locations that are priced right, almost always command the price that is being asked. It just can’t get any simpler than that.

Here's Where I Come In

My job as a Birmingham-Hoover real estate agent is to provide you with the best information possible so that you can look at the evidence (proof) and make the best decision possible (or not). What you decide to do with that information is up to you.

The Home Buyer is the Guest of Honor

When selling your Birmingham Alabama home, you should apply that same tenacity as if you were
planning a party for a guest of honor. Think about it: Don't you want the guest of honor to be pleased enough to make an offer on your house that is for sale? That is your goal right?

Have you ever planned a party for someone at your house? If so, then I'm sure that you try to think of everything that might make it a pleasant experience for the guest of honor. Right? If you have celebratory decorations, you probably spent some time thinking about and coordinating the colors of the party decorations. The house is picture perfect and everything is in it's proper place. You stand back look on with pride. Your first thought is "I hope the guest of honor will like it."

Planning the Party

You’ve decided to sell your home. Besides contacting and selecting a Birmingham real estate agent, one of the first things on your mind is a good old fashioned house cleaning. Don't just go through the motions of having the carpet cleaned, reducing clutter, polishing the furniture and spit shining the floors. In your mind, once you’ve done all of that, you believe your house is list and show ready. You’ve done everything that you could think of to make the home look show ready as far as you could see.

When preparing to sell your Birmingham Alabama home, the foremost thought on your mind should not be how good the house looks to you, but how it will be looked upon by the potential Metro Birmingham-Hoover home buyer (your guest of honor). After all, that is who you are trying to impress right? If your answer is no, then you should clearly rethink your position. Everything that you do to prepare your house for sale should be done with potential home buyers in mind.

Consider What Would Appeal to the Guest of Honor

• For starters, if these walls could talk would they say "paint me?" When cleaning the walls and trim or painting, consider if the color choice would appear to the broadest number of potential Birmingham home buyers. If you are asking yourself whether or not you should paint the walls, then you probably should.
• When reducing clutter, choose wisely where and how you will store the excess household items. Perhaps a short term rented storage space may be necessary. Home buyers like to be able to clearly see the available space (not envision the space through the clutter).
• Closet space is vitally important. Do you view your jam packed closets as being evidence of its huge capacity? If so, then think again. An overstuffed closet can actually make the closet look smaller. Remove items that are not in season and store them elsewhere. Home buyers want to know that the closet space will be sufficient to store their current and future belongings.
• Neatly box up articles and place them in an area that is designed for or can easily be used for storage. Make sure the space that you chose to store the items will not interfere with a potential home buyers ability to visualize the use of the room for something other than storage.

Curb Appeal

The party starts at the curb. The curb appeal of your house should be like the doorman at a fine hotel: welcoming.

• If the yard is full of leaves, rake them.
• If the grass and hedges are overgrown on lack balance, cut and/or trim them.

When home buyers get home at the end of the day, all they want to do is relax. A yard full of leaves,overgrown grass and bushes will instantly conjure up visions of “work” for the home buyer.

Update Those Outdated Features
Updating outdated features of a home is probably the most important aspect to consider when preparing to sell your Birmingham Alabama home. Not everyone can afford to do a vast overhaul of the kitchen and bathroom. Ideally, as a home owner, you've updated your while “living” in it and ensured that the home’s features have kept up with the times. Rarely does a decorative style transcend from one decade to another. By periodically updating your house, you won’t run the risk of having to come up with thousands of dollars at once, to do a job that could have been completed over time. If you’re thinking about selling your house in the future and your it is currently in need of updating, start planning the work now and accomplish the updates over time. Give yourself a year or more if necessary, but don’t let procrastination stall the sale of your house.

Check out more tips for the selling your Birmingham Alabama home.