Stephanie McCarty, real estate agent Snellville, Suwanee, Grayson, Gwinnett

I thought that this might be helpful to the general public. I think that too often consumers believe that agents are uncooperative or lazy when we do not immediately agree to jump in our cars and drive to meet a complete stranger at a house to show them.

Here is a brief explanation of how we work.

First, although the media has done a pretty good job of keeping it "low key" and out of the headlines, thankfully, there are too many real estate professionals who have fallen victim to crimes when they have failed to exercise the proper precautions and safety habits. Agents are attacked, molested, raped and yes, killed, while trying to show a property. It happens with alarming frequency. We are easy targets when we don't listen to our common sense and follow safety precautions.

I would love to show you a house when you call but I don't know you. I like to think that anyone who contacts me is serious about buying a home, and genuinely ready to engage in the process but that is not always the case.

Agents are trained and reminded time and time again by their brokers to refuse to meet strangers or new prospective buyers at a property. If a buyer is unwilling to take a few minutes to meet an agent at the office for a buyer consultation, the agent should be leary and refuse to meet at a property.

I've had people become very angry, argue with me, hang up on me, say ugly things like "you must not want to sell a house today", etc. I am sure other agents have their own stories about similar encounters.

Most buyers begin their search online. The internet is a great place to start. But, ultimately, in order to get into houses you must engage an agent in some capacity. Why not go ahead and establish a working relationship with your own buyer agent if you are ready, willing and able to purchase a home? Calling on 10 different agents and expecting each one of them to drop everything, jump in the car and meet you at a house, usually vacant, is not only unrealistic but will become very frustrating for you.

Buyers, ask yourself this question. Would you be okay if your wife were meeting complete strangers at vacant houses alone? It's not that we are trying to control you. We just would like two very simple things: to know that we are going to be safe while we are trying to make a living and to know that the time we spend is not being wasted by a casual looker.

Contrary to what many believe, 99% of real estate agents work on commission only. The broker is not paying me to show houses to whoever might contact me through one of the websites. I am using my gas and my time, at my own personal risk. I am cancelling plans with my family to show you property on the spur of the moment. The least you could do for me is to relieve me of concerns for my personal safety by selecting an agent who shows you ALL properties that you want to see. Trust me, it's alot easier, I've had many buyers tell me so. You will get better service and FASTER!

On behalf of all agents, this is our simple plea: please be mindful that safety is a big concern. Find a buyer agent, meet her at her office initially and lay out your plan for success. I promise you that she will show you as many homes as you wish and, AFTER she gets to know you, she will likely be VERY flexible about showing property at times that meet your needs.

Good luck!

How many times have we heard in recent years that it's a buyer's market? That buyers are "naming their price". Well, those stories were written by news reporters, not real estate professionals. Let's clear up some of the myths about what has been happening the real estate market generally since the middle of 2008.

1. sellers are desperate and should jump at any offer. This might be the case but in reality it's an impractical approach to purchasing a home. Yes, your interest is wanted, needed and appreciated. However, in order to even get you to the house that seller had to price his property competitively so that you would consider a closer look. If the house is worth $100,000 on the market today and he priced it at $175,000, you would see the listing and imagine that he is unrealistic, stubborn, and probably decide not to waste your time. We can't expect to penalize those sellers who "get it". Any seller who lists his home for sale today is a brave soul. That seller knows that he is going to "lose" equity that he would have otherwise enjoyed in the height of the market in 2007. He probably needs to sell - maybe he has to move for a new job. Odds are that if a seller is competitively priced to the point that you would even consider a closer look, he is pretty close to market value. I've had buyers contact me saying they want to find a house but it "has to be a really great deal". They give examples like $100K homes that they can offer $70K. These are not buyers who ever see the inside of my car. Seriously? Does it really make sense that someone who wants or needs to sell at $70,000 would ask for $30,000 more? In 11 years of real estate practice I have NEVER seen an appraisal come back that much higher than the contract price. You can listen to all the water cooler talk you want at the office but the fact remains, a buyer's perception of value is not always rooted in reality. You can say that you got a $200K house for $150,000 but there is a good chance that it was $150,000 or close to that when you found it for sale and your "$200K" value is based on height of the market pricing which has no relationship to value today.

2. Why would I put my house on the market now? From a real estate professional's standpoint, this is as good a time as any to sell if you are buying another home. In the sale of residential real estate it is amazingly rare for an individual to get top dollar on his sale and then purchase again at the bottom of the market pricing. You are going to generally "make out" on one side or the other, not both. If you are an individual who wants to move, whether it be to downsize, move closer to family or work, or maybe buy a bigger home, waiting until prices are at the top again only accomplishes one thing for you - the passage of time. When your home price goes back up the homes that you are buying are also going to be back up.

3. What determines how much a house is worth? Recent sales of comparable homes in the area.

4. If I sell my home today, I can price it higher than the short sales and foreclosures right? Wrong. Well, you can, but if you expect to attract serious buyers, you will need to be competitive. Buyers don't care if your house was not foreclosed or is not selling short. If a buyer is looking for the best 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home with a basement in a given area, he is going to consider all of them in a price range. I have NEVER had a buyer tell me that he would look at foreclosures and shorts at $150,000 but would be willing to look at some owner occupied homes at $175,000. It's just common sense folks.

5. You need to see inside at least 100 homes before you decide to make an offer? OMG. Don't get me started. So are you going to be okay with all the wasted time when you get to #100 and #7 is gone and you loved it more than all the other 93? I've shown and sold 1 house to buyers in my career many times. See as many as it takes to find the one that you like, in an area you want to live, at a price that you can afford, in condition that is suitable to your level of tolerance. You can find an amazing home in your price range but if it has been really torn up and neglected for years, it may not be worth it to you.

6. If I make an offer any seller, including a HUD or a bank owned foreclosure, they should respond within 24 hours or less. Right, well, that's not going to happen. No matter how many times we warn people not to expect ANY part of this process to be timely or quick, they don't believe us. I recently worked with a couple who despite all the warnings insisted on making an offer on a foreclosure AFTER they told me more than once that they HAD TO close within 3 weeks. At first meeting I told them straight away that they needed to find an owner occupied property if there was any hope of coming close to their required closing date. No, they ignored me, what could I possibly know. We didn't even have a signed contract in 3 weeks. Was this one unusually painful? Yes it was, but better to expect the worse and be pleasantly surprised with the process and time that it takes to accomplish a closing than try to push an REO, bank or a Department of the United States government with idle threats of walking away. Trust me, they don't care if you walk. Seriously, they don't. There is no emotion here. They are not afraid that they won't sell this house. They are not afraid that they won't be able to make their next mortgage payment. You are dealing with a corporation for all intents and purposes - this is a business deal and emotion is far removed from the process. The only one who is likely to get very emotional is YOU if you try to manipulate the transaction into something that it will never be. Relax. . .this is the "upside" to buying a short sale or foreclosure. You get a great deal but there is another price to pay. . .your patience.

7. When I contact an agent about seeing a house they should agree to show me the property without insisting that I get prequalified or provide a prequalification letter. . .they should "trust" that I know what I am talking about when I tell them I can afford the house. When is the last time you bought a car? Nuff said. I mean really? Car salesmen don't even want to open the car door on the lot for you until they have your driver's license and run your credit. I recently bought a car myself and I was one of those "difficult" buyers. Actually, I was not intending to buy that day. I did my research online (like you would do when home shopping) and then I wanted to go out and take a closer look to narrow down the choices (sound familiar, i.e., real estate!). Shame on me. I should have thought about what I was asking. I saunter into the lot and just start dashing around looking, not really wanting to be bothered with the salesman. Once I focused on the car that I came to see, I wanted it to be opened. He was good. . .he gingerly guided me into the dealership for "a little" information about what I was looking for. Was it frustrating for a minute? Yes, it was, but I understood. This guy works on commission. He needs, not wants, NEEDS to know that the time he spends with me has at least a chance of developing into a paycheck. Otherwise, we are all just working for free right? Would you be okay if your boss said that next week you would work for free and if he decided he liked your work product he would pay you? Sounds kind of like a gamble doesn't it! Well, yes, it is, as a matter of fact. You cannot imagine in your wildest dreams how many people in my career that I have given of my time so that they could lie to me and finally admit something like, oh, for example, "I have a friend who wants to buy a house and I was just curious if this one might be something she would like." So, in your world you think it is okay to occupy someone's precious time when you are not even thinking of really making a purchase? In whose world is that right or fair?

For the general public, here's the bottom line. And, I believe that I can speak for many other real estate professionals in this business. If you would do me the courtesy of answering a few questions, perhaps even agree to meet with me, or speak with a trusted lender on the phone, just cooperate with a serious process, I will spend all the time that you need and then some. I will bend over backwards. I will drive you around FREE of charge. I will feed you FREE of charge. I will listen to your concerns on the phone at night FREE of charge. I will treat you like family. I will do whatever it is that YOU need to be comfortable with the process and your decisions during the process. But, if you treat me like I owe you something, just because you ran across my picture and phone number on the internet, when I have never met you and you have no intention of ever buying a house from me (like the ones who admit they already have another agent but she lives so far away they hate to ask her to drive over to see the house when they can just call ME to do it for FREE with no chance of ever getting a sale from it. . .yea, those are the ones that I have recently started laughing at), then no, you are not going to be taken seriously. You will have instantly labelled yourself a "looky looker" or "time waster". Telling me that you intend to pay cash just to stop the prequalification conversation doesn't work. That's GIANT red flag to real estate agents. Why? Because so many have been burned by people claiming to have cash when they didn't have a penny! Just relax, buying a home is not an emergency and should not be treated as one. If you find a house today and have to meet an agent today and see the house today and arrange financing today, all before the bank or HUD's deadline, do you think you might have buyer's remorse for not taking your time? Probably.

There's a process. You can handle this. Get what you want when YOU respect others and their time. We work on commission - the promise of a paycheck once the job is done. We do not work for free. Take me seriously and I will happily take you seriously. I do my best work for clients who treat me like a professional. I'll bet you feel the same way when you are at work.

Happy 2012! The real estate market is going to be great! Jump in early.

How many times do we hear "it's a great time to buy" in our lifetime? Just every single year! But, this year, this market, REALLY is the best time to buy. We think that for the metro Atlanta market we have hit bottom. Buying now will be the best financial decision you ever acted on. Here are a few tips that will:

make the process less stressful and frustrating

save you from costly mistakes

Help you get a better deal - lower out of pocket costs and lower purchase price

Make the best use of your limited "spare" time

help you make the most for your hard earned money in this market

1. Find an experienced full time agent in the general area that interests you. Her office doesn't have to be in Grayson if you are lookiing only in Grayson, but reasonably close enough that she is sure to know the area well and meeting at the real estate office (if necessary) is a convenient drive for you.

2. Ask if you can come into the agent's office for an initial buyer consultation. She will fall out of her chair in astonishment but after she recovers she will be happy to set that up and be prepared to discuss an overview of the process with you.

3. Your agent should provide you with some basic buyer disclosures that are important for you to have: (a) agency disclosure (b) lead based paint EPA brochure (c) EPA Mold brochure (d) Georgia Association of REALTOR brochure entitled "Protect Yourself when Buying a Home", (e) a copy of a home warranty brochure (you can shop them online but this will give you a general idea of what the typical coverage consists of in the industry).

4. Your agent will encourage you to take the first and most important step of getting prequalified by a direct lender. Suntrust, Bank of America, Wells Fargo are all trusted direct lenders.

5. Your agent will explain why you shouldn't go out looking for a home BEFORE you are prequalified.

6. Ask your lender to send your agent the prequalification letter so that she will have it in her file ready to write your offer. Offers presented without a prequalification letter are RARELY taken seriously by banks, HUD or occupant sellers. Remember, it's the listing agent's job to present to the seller offers from ready, willing and able buyers - you MUST have a prequalification letter to get past GO!

7. Don't expect to write lowball offers and be successful. Inventory levels are down considerably. We have less than 40,000 homes on the market in metro Atlanta. In a "normal" market we usually have double that, and in recent years, more than double. There are plenty of homes to choose from but the good ones will go quickly and for full price or higher. Accept that and save yourself alot of grief.

8. If a home is overpriced your agent should tell you. The agent will do a market analysis to show you recent sales of comparable homes in the area. Seriously, if you find a practically new, very well maintained home with a full basement in a nice neighborhood and situated on a quiet cul-de-sac, priced at $150,000 and you offer $135,000, I hope you can deal with rejection well. You won't get it.

9. Don't believe all the water cooler stories that you hear from friends and co-workers. "I got my house for half price". "I only paid $180,000 and they were asking $200,000". Right. Every single one of those stories that a buyer passes on to me, when checked out by me, reveals, well, let's say, embellishment. The last one I heard about was a house my buyer really really wanted. My buyer was willing to pay full price but we called and it had just gone under contract. A friend of a friend of a friend's dad heard they got it for $180,000. My buyer was furious. Even though he never had a chance to make his offer he would have paid more. I looked up the sale. It was over full price that the buyer REALLY paid.

10. Have patience. It's okay to really want a house, in fact, you should really want the house that you make an offer against but just keep in mind that there are many others out there looking for the "best" also so it may take two or three offers to get a good one.

11. Time is of the essence. It's in the contract but people rarely pay much attention. It means that everyone involved needs to act diligently throughout the process. If you are asked for a signature or a document, try to turn it around in less than 24 hours. The last thing you want is your file placed at the bottom of a pile because the underwriter is tired of waiting for a missing item.

12. Ask your agent for 2 or 3 recommendations for a home inspector. Call them. Ask about the standards they use to inspect. Ask about price. Be ready to schedule your inspection immediately once you have a signed binding agreement in hand. If you wait or schedule your inspection at the end of the due diligence period and then something unexpected comes up, don't expect the seller or the bank to grant you an extension.

13. contact your loan officer immediately after you have a signed contract and make loan application. There are penalties in the contract for not making loan application within the stated period of time. It will take time to gather documents so don't delay even for a day. The earlier you jump on this process the less intrusive it will be in your life during escrow.

14. Make sure your agent knows how to reach you at all times. Your agent will try to get business done during normal business hours so that you can have a life outside this process. Try to show her and others in the transaction the same courtesy.

15. Do not visit the property unannounced. You have a contract on the property but you do not have the right to inspect or visit without notice or unattended. I had a frightened elderly seller call the police because someone was walking around in her backyard - it was the buyer! She didn't know. She had never seen them.

16. While you are previewing homes with your agent, plan to see no more than 4 or 5 in a day. It's either very hot or very cold, you get tired and frustrated more easily. You will forget details that are important to you. Make sure that you let your agent know with plenty of advanced notice when you will be available to see property with her - it takes time to track down sellers and/or listing agents to check status and showing availability.

17. Do not buy anything like furniture, large appliances, cars, nothing. Even if your car payment will be the same or less, the loan balance will be more. You just toasted your debt ratio without even realizing it.

18. Do not move large sums of money in or out of your account 30 days prior to home shopping and up to the date of closing. Anything financial that even might impact your loan approval - call your agent or loan officer first.

19. Repairs. Most foreclosure sales are "as is". Not every new homeowner is up for "as is". Make sure you know what you are getting into - the bank won't change it's mind after due diligence and decide to make repairs to keep you in contract.

20. With an owner occupant seller, negotiate in good faith. It's not about winning. It's not about getting everything you can out of the seller. It's not about having every window caulked and every little thing perfect. You are buying a house. It must not have been too bad - you picked it! Be reasonable, be fair, ask for repair or replacement of true defects only.

21. Make sure that you know the amount of cash you will need "max" before you sign an offer. The last thing you want is to bite off more than you are prepared to handle. Your agent should negotiate a portion of closing costs paid by the seller, even on foreclosed properties. It's not carved in stone - it is a negotiation, but it is customary for sellers to come to some accomodation on concessions overall, taking into consideration sales price and total amount allowable by the lender.

Be nice. Be patient. Be excited and enjoy! It's definitely a process but it's buying a home, not a new coat! Trust me, having purchased a new car recently, it won't be NEARLY as agonizing as that! LOL.

I recently had the opportunity to visit with a lovely homeowner in her 90's. The call was from a current client who has been very gratious and has already referred 2 other home sellers to me. When I met with Ms. Ruth and her daughter at Ms. Ruth's home I knew that I had my work cut out for me. How difficult is it to walk into a lovely, immaculately clean home that an elderly person has been living in for many years and tell her it all has to change before she can even have a chance of selling?

I have to say it was not fun. I toured this awesome custom home with Ms. Ruth's daughter and I was really excited about listing it and filled with dred at the same time. My inclination was to tell both of them that it was perfect, that we would put it on the market right away and I was certain we could get at least $20,000 more than anything else had sold for in the neighborhood. Well, that's what I WANTED to do. . .

How would I broach the subject of what REALLY needed to be done without insulting either one of them? It wasn't like the daughter was someone who had recently sold a home either - would they think I didn't know what I was talking about? I wonder sometimes as the words and advice are spilling out of my mouth whether the homeowner is sitting there thinking. . .yea, right, she wants us to do all this work and spend all this money so she can get a quick commission!

I mean, how do you tactfully bring someone current on the market "generally" while basically telling them that their lovely custom brick ranch on an awesome daylight basement, that is a true standout just for its unique floor plan, MUST have alot of work done before she can put it on the market?

Geez, I was distraught. I really like older people. I enjoy spending time with them and in the past have been fortunate to work with many on the sale of their homes. It is always an enriching experience. I visited one in his nursing home after we sold his home. I was crushed when I later learned that he passed away about a week later.

I hope that I have made the process a little easier, a little less stressful and maybe even a little fun. You know they have to be afraid - it's been so long since they made a move, much less had a home on the market. Can you imagine how different it is from their previous experience - literally night and day!

Ms. Ruth was a trooper. She sat in her chair in the gorgeous vaulted family room just taking it all in. She was passing the time with knitting or something - once in a while she would look over my way and smile like your favorite grandma!

It was primarily the daughter and I going back and forth "strategizing" about what really needed to be done and what wasn't such a big deal. It really all came down to packing many of Ms. Ruth's lovely collectibles away, thinning out some furniture, removing draperies - this was the shocker, replacing kitchen flooring, just generally making the home less personalized and as modern as we could make it. No, they would not be removing wallpaper - that was made clear. No, they would not be installing granite - that was made clear. The wallpaper would be an issue - no one in our market wants to deal with it and there are plenty of homes where it isn't an issue. Will I push back on this? Probably not. Sometimes you have to "ease" a seller into it. No sense in overwhelming them from the start. We'll probably get feedback and eventually have a painter come in and take care of the wallpaper for Ms. Ruth, painting the walls neutral like the rest of the house is already.

No granite? Not an issue with me. In this price range granite would be the icing on the cake for this lovely floor plan and the full daylight basement. Since the countertops are in excellent condition and a neutral color, I'm not pushing that.

I left Ms. Ruth and her daughter with the name of an older woman I used to work with who loves to decorate and assist homeowners and fellow agents with staging. I think she will be great for Ms. Ruth once they get started. She'll help her pack and hopefully, in the process of spending time with her, help me to ease her into selling a home in 2011 or 2012. Hopefully she'll just "do something" with those doilies in the tables. . .I just did not have the heart!

Havenstone is conveniently located off of Webb Gin House Road in Snellville, a short distance from the popular Avenue shops and the Snellville/Grayson 124 shopping and restaurant corridor. With convenient access to Ronald Reagan Parkway, Havenstone has become a sought after destination for homeowners who want to live in the suburbs but seek to minimize their commute via the parkway and quick I-85 access.

Havenstone is a gorgeous neighborhood, planned for a more intimate "enclave" feel with homes sited in clusters and on cul-de-sacs. Most of the homes are 2003 and newer. Public access is restricted by the gated entrance with security guard present at most times.

Current market conditions in Havenstone:

In the past year there have been 12 sales ranging in price from $324,210 to $630,000.

There are currently 10 active listings in the community, priced from 294,000 to $599,900.

Four homes are currently under contract with pending sales, listed prices from $399,000 to $439,900.

If you are interested in a swim and tennis gated community in Gwinnett, contact me for your personal tour of homes available in Havenstone. My office is conveniently located on Janmar Road, approximately one mile from the community.

Have a great summer!