There is yet another Down Payment Assistance program in GA that many people are not aware of. It's the USDA's Guaranteed Loan Program and offers 100% financing in rural development areas. Before you dismiss rural development, check it out. It's not necessarily out in the "sticks" and not that far from metro Atlanta, GA.
The Housing and Community Facilities Programs guarantees loans made by private sector lenders. (A loan guarantee through HCFP means that, should the individual borrower default on the loan, HCFP will pay the private lender for the loan.) The individual works with the private lender and makes his or her payments to that lender. Contact me for a recommended lender.
I have a client that has excellent credit, a 788 credit score and a good paying job. Due to an injury, he was out on disability from his job for a couple of months and depleted a lot of his savings. He wants to buy a home, but didn't have the money to put down. I suggested we look at HUD homes where the buyer only needs to put $100 down, instead of the typical 3.5% minimum. (Buyers still need to come up with closing costs and money for appraisal and inspections.) There weren't a lot of HUD owned foreclosures in the area he was looking. So, I thought about the USDA program. The US Department of Agriculture has a Rural Development program where home buyers can get 100% financing.
He is now buying a home in Auburn GA in Barrow County. (That's not an area I normally work, but he was a referral from a friend. I don't usually turn down referrals.) It's less than an hour from downtown Atlanta, GA.
To see if a home you may be interested in is located in the Rural Development area, click on this link and put in the address.
There are income limits, a maximum of $73,600 for households of 1 to 4 people. To see the limits for each area in GA click here.
My listing in Franklin County is a small house on Lake Hartwell with a dock. It would qualify for this down payment assistance program.
For expert real estate advice and representation in GA contact local expert Jen Bowman, Realtor and Broker Associate with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.
View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search Atlanta GA homes for Sale
Info on $8000 Federal Tax Credit
Info on Georgia's $1800 Tax Credit
Info on Dekalb County Down Payment Assistance
Info on Georgia Dream Down Payment Assistance
Info on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)
Info on Buying a HUD owned Home with $100 down
Info on Making Home Buying Easier
This series of Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in Decatur GA tackles the garage. If you're getting your home ready to sell, don't forget the garage. Getting the garage cleaned and ready may not be so scary if you do it systematically. 
The garage is supposed to be used for parking your vehicles. Do they fit in there? If not, you have some work to do.
Gather some empty boxes. Label the boxes for:
Be ruthless. If you're not brave enough to do it, get a trusted friend or family member to help.
Ask yourself, if you haven't used it in years why do you still have it?
If you have a collection of car washing items and you haven't washed the car yourself in years, it's time to get rid of it.
If you have half empty cans of paint, move ‘em out. Dispose of them, properly. Check your local guidelines. In DeKalb County, GA you cannot put your paint in the landfill or throw it in the trash. You can solidify it by adding kitty litter or shredded paper from your paper shredder. Then you can toss it.
Sports equipment or toys that no one uses - donate or sell it. Play it Again Sports will buy good used sports equipment.
Broken tools, are you really ever going to get around to fixing them?
If you have things you're not using you can put it out on the Yahoo group Freecycle, there's one for Decatur and another one for Atlanta.That's the group for giving things away and keeping them out of the landfill. Freecycle groups are all over the country. Check your local area. You can also sell items on Craigslist or have a yard sale. Many local charities will pick up your unwanted items for donation.
Clean the cobwebs out. Sweep the floors. Organize the tools. Home Sellers often overlook their garages when it comes time to sell the house, but if the garage looks clean and well maintained it gives an overall better impression.
Stay tuned for the next post in this series of Getting your Home Ready to Sell!
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in or around Decatur, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.
View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search Decatur GA homes for Sale
See Part 1 of Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in Decatur GA - Kitchens
Showcase 2009 is here! Showcase is the Southeast's Residential Real Estate Tradeshow in Atlanta GA. If you’re in the real estate industry and you haven’t attended a Showcase yet, now is the time. It's on Wednesday August 19th from 10 a.m. to 5 pm. I look forward to the Showcase each year because there is so much to learn. There are 3 different theatres set up and nearly 200 exhibitors. Tickets are available for $10 online until Monday 8/17/2009 and after that they will be $15 at the door. Showcase 2009 will be at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA. Below are the scheduled presentations:
Professional Development Theatre
FMLS Theatre
Technology Theatre Sponsored by AJC Media Solutions and Verizon Wireless
Attending the presentations and applying the knowledge is just one of the ways to stay on top of this rapidly changing real estate market. I hope to see you there!
------------------------
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in or around Atlanta, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024. I'm also looking for agents to join my team. If you're interested, give me a call.
View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search Atlanta GA homes for Sale
Decatur BBQ Blues and Bluegrass Fest 
The 9th Annual Decatur Barbeque Blues & Bluegrass Festival at Harmony Park in Decatur GA will be Saturday August 15, 2009. The gates open at 4:00 p.m. and there will be live music until 10:00 p.m.
Please note that no outside coolers will be permitted at the park.
Harmony Park is in the Oakhurst Neighborhood of Decatur GA at the corner of Mead and Oakview Rd.
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in or around Decatur, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.
View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search for Decatur GA homes for Sale
Getting your home ready to sell in Decatur GA and don’t know where to begin? This series of blog posts will give you the tips you’ll need to have a picture perfect house to sell. The house needs to be ready in order to get it sold in the shortest amount of time and for the highest dollar.
Let’s start with the kitchen, which is a really important selling feature in a home. First, get everything off the counters, even the toaster. Put the toaster in a cabinet and take it out when you use it. Find a place where you can store everything in cabinets and drawers. Of course, you may notice that you do not have cabinet space to put everything. Clean them out. The dishes, pots and pans that rarely get used? Put them in a box and put that box in storage. If you have stuff that you haven’t used in years, donate it. Really, how many cookie sheets will you ever use at once? 
Home buyers will open all your cabinets and drawers, especially in the kitchen. They want to be sure there is enough room for their stuff. If your kitchen cabinets, pantries, and drawers look jammed full, it sends a negative message to the buyer and does not promote an image of plentiful storage space. The best way to do that is to have as much empty space as possible.
If you have a junk drawer, get rid of the junk Do this with every cabinet and drawer. Do one drawer at a time so it’s not so overwhelming. Create open space.
If you have a large amount of food items crammed into the shelves or pantry, begin using them – especially canned goods. Canned goods are heavy and you don’t want to be lugging them to a new house, anyway – or paying a mover to do it. Let what you have on the shelves determine your menus and use up as much as you can. It might be time to get creative!
Beneath the sink is very important too. Make sure the area beneath the sink is as empty as possible, removing all extra cleaning supplies. There might be stuff you forgot about under there. You should scrub the area down as well, and determine if there are any tell-tale signs of water leaks that may cause a home buyer to hesitate in buying your home. This should go without saying, but if you have a leak, even a little one, it needs to be fixed, now. Deferring maintenance does not help to sell homes.
Once you’ve de-cluttered, it’s time for a deep cleaning, including polishing the cabinet doors and making them shine. The refrigerator needs to be clean too. I don’t know why but home buyers seem to like to see what’s in the fridge. They’ll open the door. Make sure it’s clean inside and out. It can stay cleaner by wiping the containers before you put them back in the fridge. I always wipe down the bottom of the milk jug when I bring it home from the store and before putting it away. It can be really dirty!
Now that the kitchen is done, stay tuned for the next post in this series of Getting your Home Ready to Sell!
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in or around Decatur, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.
View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice.Search Atlanta GA homes for Sale
 |
|
|
I'm an Associate Broker actively working in Metro Atlanta. If you're thinking of buying or selling a home, let me guide you through this ever changing real estate maze. Call me at 404-456-5024.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
