Jennifer Mandich

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Remodeling Your Home

Some people enjoy remodeling their home and making it their own. Others not so much. In this write up we will cover some of the things that you should do and mostly things you should avoid when planning and executing any remodeling in your home.

But first, if you think you have to remodel your house before selling it – think again. Here at Mandich Property Group we will buy your house in as is condition. Even if you have things you don’t want to take with you – it’s not a problem. Reach out to us at (770) 756-8680 or visit our website to complete a brief form and we will contact you shortly.

Now – on with some tips on Remodeling your home!

Create A Budget

This seems like a no brainer, but is often overlooked. Planning a budget is a must. If you have to go to an outlet store and start getting prices – do it! As investors we can tell you from experience that we almost always run over budget. We do try to stick to it, but in the end we want a product that we are proud of and that a new home owner will enjoy. The last thing you want to do is cut corners at the end of a project just to get it completed, only to not be satisfied with the end result.

Ayn-Monique Klahre from Real Simple goes on to explain even more about the importance of planning a budget:

Since the general rule of thumb is that it’s going to cost more and take longer than you think, make sure you have a big enough cushion in there that you’re not breaking the bank (adding an extra 10 to 20 percent more to the initial estimate is a good start). “If by some miracle you come in under your number, you’ll be happy to have a little extra for decorating!” says DiClerico.

As a general rule, you’ll want to spend more on things you interact with—like cabinets with doors you’ll open and close dozens of times a day—versus things you use less, like decorative tile.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Most Common Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid“

The last sentence in that snippet is extremely important. If you are doing a kitchen remodel you don’t want to spend all of your money on marble tile and granite counter tops only to have to buy cheap appliances because you are out of money.

Know Your Limitations

Just like Clint Eastwood said in the movie Magnum Force – “A man has GOT to know his limitations”, the same holds true when it comes to remodeling your home. There have been countless times when we have gone to a property that someone wants to sell and it’s very obvious that

  • they did the remodeling work and had no clue as to what they were doing or
  • they hired a sub par contractor or may have took the lowest bid

In either case we knew that the work would have to be redone.

Donna Boyle Schwartz talks about this in her article from Bob Vila’s blog:

Be realistic about your DIY skills. You may be a wizard at painting, and you may even be fairly proficient with Sheetrock and decorative molding, but certain projects are best left to the pros. Indeed, many communities require that plumbing and electrical work be performed by a licensed contractor. The last thing you want to do is take on a project that is beyond your level of expertise and then have to pay a professional to come in and fix your mistakes. Figure out what you can and, more importantly, cannot do yourself before you start a project.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Deadly Sins of Home Remodeling“

It’s extremely important to remember that if you are doing any kind of addition you should always hire a licensed contractor for plumbing and electrical work and get the proper permits.

Choose Your Contractors Carefully

So now you may know that you can’t or don’t want to do everything in your home remodel. Maybe you just don’t have the time, that’s totally fine, the last thing you want to do is get in over your head.

When it comes to hiring a contractor do yourself a favor and get quotes from at least 3, more preferably if it’s a larger project. Nationwide’s Blog (yes, the insurance company) has some great tips on choosing your contractor:

Don’t rush your decision on hiring a contractor. Interview multiple contractors and reach out to their references and previous clients. Make sure each contractor understands what you want. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions about materials, layout and the construction process. Don’t select your contractor based on price alone; compare price quotes and references, and make sure you can work easily with them.

Read The Full Article “The Biggest Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid“

We would add that you should also research them on the web. Look at their Google listing and check out their reviews. If they have a lot of bad ones – well maybe you should think twice about using them.

Every homeowner (including investors) want the same thing from a contractor, Good, Cheap, Fast work. The problem is that really only two of those at a time is possible. Here is a diagram that helps explain:

For example, if you want good work cheap – then it won’t be fast. If you want cheap work fast – then the quality of the work will suffer and if you want high quality work done quickly – you guessed it – it won’t be cheap!

Doing Projects In The Correct Order

This is something else that is commonly overlooked. This can be really important if your storage is small. You don’t want your new appliances delivered before they are ready to be installed and you have no place to put them.

Tami Brehse from Business Insider explains more:

Budgeting is an obvious part of the planning process, but many homeowners neglect another important part that requires strategy: workflow. Poor planning here can result in delays and added costs.

“When remodeling, things need to occur in a certain order,” Helling said. “For example, you don’t want to refinish flooring and then paint.”

Paint — or a crew of painters and gear — can easily damage brand new floor coverings, so flooring should almost always be done last in a renovation project.

Another commonly overlooked part of the workflow is cleanup. Will your project require a dumpster? What about a truck to haul away debris? Think through your project from start to finish to ensure you’ve accounted for all the necessary steps in the process.

Read The Full Article “The 8 biggest mistakes people make when remodeling their homes, according to real estate agents“

Finally here is a quick video from News 5 out of Cleveland that gives some quick pointers:

Summing It Up

Remodeling can be a daunting task, but if you plan properly you shouldn’t have as much stress and will be able to save some of your hair 😉 . Create your budget, check out your contractors and in general – plan properly. Try and have fun and don’t yell at your spouse or significant other to much!

 

Is The Atlanta Housing Market Slowing

Today’s Pulse On Atlanta’s Housing Market

For a few years now housing prices have been steadily climbing higher, especially in the Metro Atlanta area. If your house was immaculate or at least in decent condition, it would sell. Chances are you would have multiple offers on your property. But things look like they are changing.

First things first, if you have a property anywhere in the Metro Atlanta area, we would like the opportunity to make you an offer for it just the way it is. No hassles and a fast easy sale. You can contact us at (770) 756-8680 or visit this page and complete a short form and we will contact you shortly.

Okay – now on to why you are here – to learn what’s happening in today’s real estate market.

Bidding Wars Are Down

It looks like the days of putting a property on the market and the price getting run up by multiple offers are becoming a thing of the past for sellers. Don’t believe us? Check out this from Redfin’s Blog about bidding wars by Dana Olsen:

Just 10.4 percent of offers written by Redfin agents on behalf of their homebuying customers faced a bidding war in August, down from more than 42 percent a year earlier. That overtakes last month’s 11.4 percent bidding-war rate as the lowest on record since at least 2011.

The national bidding war rate reached a high of 59 percent in March 2018, then started to drop as homebuyers reached their limit with sky-high housing prices and rising mortgage rates in the middle of last year. As the housing market has cooled slightly, so has competition to purchase homes.

Continue Reading – 10% of Redfin Offers Faced Bidding Wars in August, a New 8-Year Low

We suggest you visit that page and look at the graph that shows the National trend and you will see it hit a peek of around 60% in 2017 nationally and is now down around 10%.

Recession Fears

If you watch any news at all you know that we are in the midst of a trade war with China. While we believe this hurts the Chinese more than us, yet it still reeks havoc on the Stock Market. Add to that every other country in the world has a slowing economic market. All of this makes buyers think twice about purchasing a property, especially if they think there is a down turn about to happen. Everybody remembers the housing bubble of ’08, it’s fresh in their minds. Also there was an inverted yield curve in the month of August, which is usually a good indicator of a recession looming.

Lisa Chamoff wrote about this in a recent post on Forbes:

Homebuyer confidence is dropping, and more than half of current house hunters plan to put their home search on hold until the economy recovers, according to survey data released this week by Realtor.com.

The survey this month by Toluna Research found that more than 36 percent of 755 active home buyers expect the U.S. to go through a recession next year. This is up by about 6 percent when shoppers were asked the same question this past March.

Continue Reading – More Than A Third Of Home Buyers Think A Recession Is Coming

Atlanta’s Housing Market

So where does Atlanta’s housing market fall in all of this. Inside the perimeter we are seeing some change. We have seen properties listed longer as well as sellers having to slash their asking price.

Michael E. Kanell had this to say about it in the AJC earlier this year:

Yet the number of homes sold during the month was 8.9 percent below that of March 2018 as fewer buyers and sellers found common ground. Home sales volume has been declining for several months in metro Atlanta, including a 7.4 percent drop in February.

Read The Full Article Here

Over the years we have always seen inside the perimeter to be effected first, then spread to the surrounding counties.

So Are We Headed For Another Housing Crisis?

In all actuality, we don’t think so. There were two major factors that really had an effect on the crash of ’07-’08.

  • First, there were a lot of homes available. Builders were going crazy putting up new subdivisions everywhere throughout the Metro Atlanta area. The supply far outweighed the demand.
  • Second, Banks and Mortgage companies were making very risky loans and basically lending money to people that couldn’t afford to make the payments. Since the crash though lending standards have tightened up, to a degree.

In Conclusion

So what’s the take away from this? We do think there will be a correction coming, no market keeps going up for ever. At some time there has to be some sort of correction and prices will probably drop a bit. If the China trade war continues or there is some other global economic catastrophe, it may be a little more severe. However, we aren’t trying to paint an all “Doom and Gloom” scenario!

Bottom line, if you have a house that you are thinking of selling, now is the time to do it. This is especially true if you have a house that is a “handy-man special” that needs some repairs or needs major work and you can’t afford to make the repairs and need to sell as is.

Even if you house is ready to list with an agent – it’s still a good time to sell. Better now than later and have to wait until after any correction because you never know how long that will take.

Here’s a short video that goes over a few of the points we covered and will expand more on these thoughts:

The Difference Between IBuyers And We Buy Houses Companies

IBuyer V.S. We Buy Houses

There are some new players in the Real Estate market that suggest they have an easier way to sell your home. These are companies like Knock, Offerpad and Opendoor and a few others. But is it really easier? And what’s the difference to a “We Buy Houses” Company?

Before we get into the differences between the two, we would like you to know that if you need to sell a house anywhere in the Atlanta area – please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 770-756-8680 for a free, no obligation on your home or visit our site here to complete a brief form and we will contact you shortly.

Now on to who and what these IBuyer companies do:

Algorithm Powered Home Flippers

Before we get into any of the differences in the two, here is a quick run down on how most of these IBuyer companies work from an article written by Joshua Fraser:

The iBuyer business model is pretty straight forward, a real estate company uses data science and property data, both public and private, to create valuation models that identify home with high investment potential. They can then make an instant offer that provides liquidity to homeowners that doesn’t exist on the traditional real estate market. Typically, iBuyers charge a 7-10% fee compared to a standard 6% agent commission and will offer an 80-100% of the market value for a home. They might charge a higher fee for convenience but many sellers will be willing to pay for the benefit of being able to have a sale finalized within weeks or even days. You may take home a bit less than the traditional method but you can save time and all the headaches that come along with selling or buying a home.

Read The Full Article Here

So IBuyers do work a lot like real estate investors, EXCEPT with all most all investors there is no 7-10% fee charged. Now also depending on where your home is located in Atlanta, investors will offer 70-75% of the properties ARV, or After Repair Value. So in all actuality, so far the two different ways of selling a home appear to be pretty close to the same.

Repairs

But what about repairs? This is where there is a difference in IBuyers And We Buy Houses companies. With investors they will typically buy the house in “as is” condition and deduct the costs of repairs from their offer.

So how about IBuyers? Here is a little snippet from an article written by John Wake:

If the homeowner accepts/signs the “instant” offer, the iBuyer will send out home inspectors and come back with a list of repairs and the estimated costs for the repairs the iBuyer wants done to the house before they will complete the purchase. The seller can make the repairs or the seller can agree to have the cost of the repairs added to the fees the seller will pay to the iBuyer at closing.

A common real estate agent complaint about iBuyers is that iBuyers tend to ask for a lot more repairs and a lot more money for repairs than traditional buyers…

Read The Full Article Here

So they might want repairs to be made to the house before they purchase it, and might charge you more. We would suggest that what ever repairs they say need to be made that you also receive a quote from a professional contractor as well to make sure their prices are in line. If you can get them done cheaper yourself, that might be the route to take, but it will take some time for your contractor to complete. Remember with most real estate investors, like us, you can sell your house in “as-is” condition.

What Are Other People Saying?

So what do some people think about this fairly new way of selling a home? Here is an excellent example just written and released by Andrea Riquier about the Ano family experience in Acworth GA:

Ano, who describes himself as someone who likes to do lots of research — including an exploration of how much he could expect to fetch for his home based on recent comparables — initially reached out on his own to Zillow, Offerpad and Opendoor.

“First of all, they gave us lowball offers,” Ano told MarketWatch. “But that still didn’t solve our problem of where do we move to? We’d essentially be homeless.” He knew that in the ultra-competitive Atlanta market sellers would be unwilling to accept an offer that was contingent on his selling his own home.

Ano received an offer of $248,747 from Offerpad. Several weeks later, citing “recent market activity,” the company sent another offer, unsolicited, of $256,459. Offerpad wanted a 7.5% commission. Opendoor offered $278,300 — less an 11.5% commission. After a Knock agent listed the home, it sold for $297,749. Once Knock’s 6% fee was taken out, and a seller concession of $10,000 was granted during the inspection process, and about $7,000 was spent out of pocket on repairs, the Anos netted about $262,000.

Read The Full Article Here

We highly encourage you to read Andrea’s full article. It has a lot of good data in it about how the entire process works as well as market data.

Is It Right For You?

First of all no two real estate transactions are the same, nor are the sellers motivation or need to sell. We would suggest that you look at all of your options. Check out an IBuyer company, a “we buy houses” company ( like us 🙂 ) and even a real estate agent. Anyone that you contact should make you a free offer. If they want to charge you – move on to someone else.

What and who will work best for you is going to depend on your individual situation and circumstances. Remember, in the end you have the final say on who and how you choose to sell your house.

We Buy Homes In Any Condition Fast For Cash In Metro Atlanta

How To Sell Your House For Cash Fast In Metro Atlanta!

(770) 756-8680

Do you want to sell your Atlanta house fast for cash and not have to pay commissions or any other hidden fees? Mandich Property Group will buy your house with a fair, all cash offer – no commissions, no closing costs and no hidden fees. No need for you to waste time looking for an agent and making costly repairs or waiting an unknown amount of time to get an acceptable offer and with no strangers trampling through your house – when all you want to do is relax. You don’t have to settle for any of those inconveniences or lengthy real estate agent contracts.

Mandich Property Group will buy your house in as is condition and in any price range. We purchase properties all over the Atlanta Metropolitan area. The best part is no fees, no commissions, no obligation and no cleaning whatsoever. Regardless of why you need to sell, we will buy your home fast.

We know selling a house is stressful under the best of times and if you are experiencing any financial problems on top of that – well it just makes it that much worse. We have bought houses from people that have had a death in the family and inherited a property, facing foreclosure, relocating, owe back taxes, facing divorce, damages and so many other reasons… we have worked with them all and will work with you also.

We will pay you a fair cash offer for your property in it’s current condition, no matter what that condition might be. We are an investment company that pays cash so you/we will not have to wait for any paperwork or approvals to be made, we can pay you cash in your time frame. Therefore we can make this transaction fast and hassle free! We will not pressure you at anytime, if you don’t like our offer you are under no obligation to take it. However, we find most people that weigh the options find they like our offer, due to the process being fast and hassle free.

We are not like some “we buy houses” companies that make an offer without even seeing the property. We take many things into consideration in the price of the offer we make. We base the price off the current market value, the condition of the property and a lot of other pertinent information such as the community and schools. Then we will make you a fair all cash offer.

We can move as quickly as you want and close on the sale in just a few days if that fits your schedule. We strive to make the process of selling a house as painless ass possible, we will answer any questions or concerns you might have.

We have made the selling process extremely easy for you;

  1. Contact us – just call us at (770) 756-8680 or click this link to fill out a short form, we just need some basic information to get started.
  2. We will do some research on the property and the area and contact you with any questions.
  3. We will schedule a time at your convenience to come look at the property (don’t worry, no need to repair anything or even clean – it will not be an inspection).
  4. We will make you a fair cash offer.
  5. Accept the offer and pick a closing date. Come to closing with our local, reputable real estate attorney and then the best of all – you walk away with cash.

We make it as easy as that! If you like the offer we make, you walk with cash on the closing date of your choice – if you don’t like the offer we make when meet you at the house, we walk away.

Again – any size, any condition and any reason, we will buy your house in as is condition. We have helped many others in the Metro Atlanta area, and we can help you too.

So contact us today to start the process, we look forward to working with you soon.

Check Out Our New URL Shortener!

We are proud to announce that we have our very own URL shortener! We know that some of our URL’s are really long, and remembering our web address to one of our pages can be really hard. We wanted to make it easier for you to find us and make it easier to contact us to sell a property.

So here it is – SellNow.cc

So now instead of having to remember this long URL https://www.mandichpropertygroup.com/cobb-county/marietta for a house that you are looking for information about selling in Marietta, now you can just use sellnow.cc/marietta – That’s a whole lot easier!

We have also included our social media sites as well. So if you want to check us out on Twitter, simply go to sellnow.cc/twitter.

We have also created a Google Spreadsheet for quick reference with all of our most popular links. We are continually adding to it, so check it out when you get a chance. You can access it at sellnow.cc/shortlinks and we have included it as well.

Thanks, and if you have a house that you need to sell anywhere in the Atlanta area, we would love the opportunity to make you an all cash offer on your property. You can call us at 770-756-8680.

Facts About Cherokee County Georgia

There are a lot of interesting facts to know about Cherokee County Georgia. If you have never visited, or are just curious about the county, keep reading to learn more.

Image Credit

Cherokee County GA is roughly 40 miles north of Atlanta. It is the home of Reinhardt University. The county was originally much larger as was divided up into 24 separate, smaller counties. It now covers about 424 square miles of land and 13 square miles of water, with the water being mostly Lake Allatoona.

It now has a population of around 240,000. According to the Census of 2000 the population was only around 141,000. The counties explosive growth is thanks to it’s proximity to Atlanta and being easily accessible via I75.

If you think the name “Cherokee” might have something to do with the Cherokee Nation of Indians, you are absolutely right. The county was actually named after the Cherokee Indians living there in the 1830’s, before they were forcefully removed, and was part of the infamous Trail Of Tears. Removing the Cherokee Indians allowed the county to be used for agricultural uses including the cultivation of corn and cotton as well as the mining of both gold and marble.

The gold rush started around 1828. Sixes Mine, on the site of present-day Sixes Mill, was one of the first in the area. The gold from this mine was noted as some of the purest in the state.

The county’s fourth court house which was built in 1929 was built with white marble from Georgia and today houses the counties administration offices.

The county seat is named Canton, which has an interesting story all it’s own. The name was taken from the city in China because residents tried to establish a silk trade in the late 1800’s. Prior to that, it had been called Etowah, for the Etowah River that cuts through the town.

The Canton Cotton Mills, founded by R. T. Jones in 1899, was the county’s main industry until the mills closed in 1981. The Canton Cotton Mills was the main source of industry for the county from 1899-1981, and the Mills are still standing to this day.

There are actually 9 mountains located in Cherokee County. They include Bear Mountain which is part of the Appalachian Mountains (and is even taller than Stone Mountain), Pine Log Mountain, Oakey Mountain, Dry Pond Mountain, Hickory Log Mountain, Polecat Mountain, Byrd Mountain, Garland Mountain and Posey Mountain.

With roughly 80,000 homes in Cherokee County, if you have one that you need to sell, and sell fast, please reach out to us. We would love the opportunity to make you an all cash offer on your house today. You can visit our website, or call us at 770-756-8680.

How To Sell Your House To A Cash Buyer

Looking to sell your house to a cash buyer and don’t know where to find one? Are there really any cash buyers for your home out there? Well, yes, there are investors and companies that are all cash buyers that want to buy your house. In this short write up we will tell you how to sell your house to a cash buyer and a few other tips.

In a previous article “Who Will Buy My House For Cash?” we talked about whom usually buys your house for cash are real estate investors, either individuals or larger companies. On some occasions you will be able to find a cash buyer that isn’t an investor and may be able to sell your home for more money, but these buyers are few and far between.

How To Find A Cash Buying Company For Your Home

Really it’s not that hard finding someone to buy your house for cash, provided you live near a large Metropolitan area. In all large cities across the country there are companies that pay cash for homes, as well as outside the large cities into the suburbs where people tend to raise their families. Here are few ideas for finding a cash buyer in your area:

Investors find motivated sellers by using direct marketing, which involves letters, bandit signs, websites or billboards. If you see signs that say “we by houses, any condition, we pay cash” that is an investor looking to buy homes cheap or a wholesaler looking to buy homes cheap. There are other ways to find investors as well:

  • Look for bandit signs on the sides of roads or at intersections that say we buy houses.
  • Search the internet for cash buyers in your area.
  • Look up real estate investor clubs in your area.
  • Look on Craigslist or Facebook for we buy houses advertisements.
  • Ask your friends or family if they know any real estate investors.

Read The Full Article “How to Sell a House Off Market Without a Real Estate Agent for Cash” Here

We would have to say that probably the best two ways of finding a cash buyer is to first ask friends and family if they know of an investor. If they don’t then the next best option is to use the internet. By making use of the interweb you can gain a large list of buyers as well as being able to check their reviews and learn more about the company to make sure they are legit. More on making sure they are legit a little later on.

Now let’s just touch on some of the pros of selling to a cash buyer –

Pros of Selling To A Cash Buyer

Selling to a cash buyer definitely has it’s advantages, as outlined here:

When a cash buyer purchases a home, they are accepting the condition that the home is in. This can mean that you don’t need to worry about repairing any problems with the home. It can also mean that you save more time by not having to put the home in showroom condition in order to sell it. You won’t need to repaint, decorate, or worry about other things to ensure a buyer will give you top dollar. You will be getting less than the market cost for the home, but the repairs, decorating, and painting will be up to the buyer instead of you, so you won’t have to worry about paying for them.

Read The Full Article “ADVANTAGES OF SELLING A HOME TO A CASH BUYER” Here

Being able to sell your property in “as-is” condition is a huge plus for a lot of sellers. Most cash buying companies not only don’t care about repairs that need to be made, but also if your house is a mess or not 🙂 . Not having to clean for showings is great for a lot of Mom’s and Dad’s with a full schedule taking care of the children.

Also, when selling to a cash buyer you don’t have to worry about “buyer mortgage contingency” where if the buyer can’t get approved for a loan they can back out of the deal.

Lastly, another pro of selling to a cash buying home company is that you can avoid a lot of the usual costs and fees when selling the usual route (learn more about how much it can cost to sell your home here “How Much Does It Cost To Sell Your House“).

Cons Of Selling To A Cash Buyer

The biggest draw back of selling to a cash buyer that is a real estate investment company is that you will get less money for your property versus selling the traditional route to a buyer that gets a mortgage. It’s a give and take though, you aren’t having to make repairs or even clean up the property. It’s also important to note that they are a company and they are trying to make money.

With that being said there are some investors out there that will try to take advantage of you or worse, try and scam you out of money. Here is a great tip from the Balance:

But be wary. Some may ask for “application fees” and other upfront payments, meaning they’re probably just trying to scam you. Legit real estate businesses take their cuts at the end.

Additionally, if you’re already near foreclosure, some of these companies may try to stall you until you’re really desperate in hopes you’ll take even less. Get online and check out a company’s Better Business Bureau rating, and surf around for customer reviews and rip-off reports before you contact them.

Read The Full Article “Sell to a ‘buy your house for cash’ biz?” Here

Those are just 2 of the things that you need to watch out for when selling to a cash buyer. Unfortunately nowdays as with almost any other industry, there are people out there that are wanting to take advantage of other people. Their first piece of advice is really good, no company that wants to buy your house should ever ask for any kind of fee.

Here is a video that kind of sums everything up that we have just spoke about:

Summing It Up

If you were wondering how to sell your home to a cash buyer, the good news is that it’s not that hard to do at all. It’s easiest to search the web for reputable companies that pay cash. All you have to do is sit back and wait for the offers to come in.

You do however do need to make sure that whom ever you decide to sell your property to, they are a bona fide company that really can purchase your property for all cash. If someone wants a fee, move on to the next investor.

If you have a property in Acworth or anywhere in the Metro Atlanta area and are looking for a cash buyer for your house, contact us! We would love the opportunity to make you an all cash offer for your house, no matter it’s size or condition. You can fill out a form on our website, or just call us at 770-756-8680 any time.

The Process Behind We Buy Houses Explained

Are you contemplating selling your house to one of those “we buy houses” companies? For some home owners it is a good option. If you have never worked with one before, or had a friend that has used one, you may be wondering just how do those companies work. Keep reading to learn some insights as to how these companies work.

How Do We Buy Houses Companies Work?

Usually when someone is considering selling a property to one of these companies they can’t sell the traditional way with a realtor. Maybe the home is in disrepair, ugly, or some other circumstance. Now maybe an agent has told you that you need to make these repairs before they will list it, or you don’t have the money to make repairs.  Selling your property without an agent can be a very time consuming process, and a real headache. Selling to one of these companies can help ease some of this pain and speed the process of selling your property on your own (check out our article “Selling your house without an agent ” to learn more about selling without using a realtor).

So what is the process involved in selling to one of these companies?

1. Fill out the Property Details on a Form

You may visit their office and fill out the form which asks for your personal data, property location, and details, and other information needed to buy your house. For more convenience, you may also just want to visit their website, fill in, and submit the form online.

2. Buyer Arranges Schedule for Home Checking

Once the company receives your form, they will review the information and contact you to schedule a meeting and check your house for sale personally. This will help them give a cost estimate of the value of your home.

Read The Full Article “How Does We Buy Houses for Cash Work For You?” Here

In today’s times in rare that someone visits an office. It’s a lot easier to go online and fill out an online form or simply pickup the phone and call, eliminating the need of you having to drive all over town.

After the company has looked at your property and done their due diligence they will then usually make you an offer on your home. It’s important to note that no matter what company you are using you can either accept or reject that offer.

How Do They Arrive At Their Price?

There are a few things that are taken into consideration when they make you an offer on your property. Here is a great explanation of how most legitimate companies arrive at their offer price:

Basically, we take 80% of the full market value of your home, also known as the after repair value, and then we subtract the estimated repair costs to determine a rough estimate of how much cash we can safely pay for the home while mitigating our risk and ensuring that the deal is profitable. Of course we are a company, primarily a fix and flip company, who is looking to earn a profit on the deal, which is why our home buying service revolves around being able to successfully find win-win scenarios with our clients where both parties involved are going to reap a massive benefit from the transaction.

Read The Full Article “How Does We Buy Houses For Cash Work?” Here

A good we buy houses company will be concerned with the selling of your house being a win-win situation for both themselves and you. The media and some realtors like to paint the picture that all we buy houses companies are bad and trying to rip you off. They are a company, and they are interested in making a profit. As we have noted before, using this type of company isn’t for everybody. They primarily help home owners that need to sell and there is some kind of problem with the house. If your house is in tip top condition and you have a couple of months to wait on a buyer, then this type of company is not for you. You’d get much more money going through an agent.

It’s Not Just Ugly Homes That They Buy

Some people mistakenly think that these companies only buy houses that are ugly on the outside, when in fact they can help in a lot of other situations as well:

They also offer to buy homes when the mortgage financing isn’t ideal, perhaps because of a high interest rate and the inability to refinance, or an adjustable-rate mortgage that becomes too expensive. Someone facing the prospect of foreclosure could also potentially own an ugly home.

Oh, and let’s not forget homes that are simply ugly because of some bad memory, such as a divorce or something much worse.

They also seem to target homes with problematic renters, or homes that were inherited that the family doesn’t want to deal with.

Then there are the typical unsightly houses, such as those in disrepair, those with water damage, termites, roof damage, or simply those that have been neglected or aged terribly.

Read The Full Article “We Buy Ugly Houses Review: Should You Sell Them Your Ugly House?” Here

Those are just a few of the reasons, and there are a lot more why you might want to consider using one of these companies.

Lastly, here is a video that explains a little more as well:

Summing It Up

Selling to one of these companies isn’t for everyone. However if your property has serious issues, or you have some other sort of problem, these companies can be a life saver.

It’s important to remember that they are a  company, they do this to put food on the table of their employees, just like any other company. And a good we buy houses company will look out for your best interest.

If you have a house in any part of Metro Atlanta, and it’s in disrepair or you are facing a situation that you need to sell quickly and you are looking for a we buy houses company, we would like the opportunity to make you an offer on your property. You can visit our website, or call us any time at 770-756-8680.

What Are The We Buy Houses Signs?

Everyone has seen them. In Metro Atlanta they are usually plastered on every street corner, every intersection and at the entrance and exits of shopping centers. We are talking about the “we buy houses” or “we buy houses cash” or “we buy houses as is” signs. So who is behind these signs and why do they put them up? Keep reading to find out.

We Buy Houses Fast Signs

In most parts of the country, including Metro Atlanta, these signs are illegal. That’s why you tend to see them mostly on the weekends, when code enforcement isn’t working. Occasionally you will see them during the week, but the individuals or companies that use them face heavy fines if caught.

So just who are these people that put these signs out? Usually it’s someone that has just attended some guru’s weekend seminar that tells them to put these signs out to get their first deal. It is an inexpensive way to start getting leads from people that need to sell their house.

Realty Acquisitions has this to say about it:

Once someone walks out the door of one of these weekend training sessions they are armed with step-by-step techniques on how to begin to make their millions. One of these techniques involves the posting of ‘bandit’ signs around town. (yes – the get rich gurus actually call these bandit signs!) These are the signs you see offering to buy your house. I it’s hard for me to believe anyone would call a phone number on one of the signs thinking it is a legitimate way to sell their house. A house is someone’s home — and one of the biggest investments anyone will ever make in life. I know it seems crazy that someone would try to sell their biggest investment to someone with a handwritten yard sign but it happens!

Read The Full Article “What’s the story with ‘We buy houses’ yard signs?” Here

There are a lot of people that attend these seminars. That’s why you see so many of those signs out with different phone numbers. In fact if you listen to talk radio, or late night infomercials and pay attention to the dates these guru’s are coming into town, you can almost bet that in the coming weeks there will be an influx of those signs.

Here is an interesting type of survey about those signs and the numbers on them:

On Tuesday, I dialed 59 numbers on so-called bandit signs collected by West Philadelphia resident Michael Froehlich, who offered a buck for each one ripped down and brought to his door. As for the numbers, he gave me those free.

Most of the numbers went directly to voicemail or Google Voice mailboxes. The messages requested a name, number, and address of the property I was interested in selling. Of the 16 humans I got on the phone, only four would give me their full names, and this was before I even told them I was a reporter.

Read The Full Article “I called 59 ‘We Buy Houses’ signs searching for humans. I got secrets” Here

We think the reason no one ever answered the phone was because more than likely these are people fresh out of the seminars and have full time jobs, or don’t know what to say when they answer the phone. To give you an example we have attended many REIA’s (Real Estate Investor Associations) and have run into many people that want to invest in real estate, however 90% of them will never buy a house, either because they over analyze or just don’t have the courage to put their neck on the line.

We can understand why the people called didn’t want to give their full name, they were worried that the caller was possibly code enforcement wanting to fine them, which may also be the reason they didn’t answer the phone and sent the calls directly to voicemail to get a sellers info.

Real Estate Investors Serve An Important Purpose

Because of these bandit signs, even good real estate investors get a bad rap. Realtors love to bash them and say that you always need to speak with an agent first. We actually think realtors are getting a little worried about the internet and all of the places online that you can sell and buy a house yourself these days, without using an agent.

But investors are extremely important to a healthy economy. Investors tend to buy homes that are in need of serious repairs, or properties that people just can’t afford.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for real estate investors it would have taken much longer for our economy to recover from the crash of ’07. Many of those foreclosed homes would still be vacant attracting vagrants, drugs and crime, not to mention falling down and continuing to lower home values.

Here is a good video that explains a little more about “we buy houses signs” and how important investors are to the economy and how not to get scammed:

He reiterates the fact that usually investors are buying properties that are in need of substantial repairs, allowing homeowners to sell their house as is (learn more about how to sell you property as is from our previous article “Should I sell my house as is?“). There are a lot of people out there that are still living pay check to pay check and don’t have the funds necessary to make repairs just to get a property ready to sell.

Summing It Up

So now you know what’s up with all of those “we buy houses” signs. Honestly, we don’t use them, we like using the web to find people that need to sell their house and can’t sell the conventional way with a realtor. It’s nice not having to worry about when the phone rings if the person on the other end is code enforcement or not 🙂 .

Still, real estate investors serve an important job in our economy. If you have a property that you need to sell in Cumming or anywhere in Metro Atlanta, WE BUY HOUSES in any condition, fast and for cash (there’s our bandit sign 🙂 ). You can learn more by visiting our website, or calling us at 770-756-8680.

What Sells A House Fast?

Your friends and family may have told you all kinds of things trying to help you sell your house. In all reality, they are all probably right. There are a lot of factors that come into play when trying to sell your house, whether you need to sell it fast or not. In this short write up we’ll give you a few more tips to make sure you sell your home as quickly as possible.

Tips To Make Your Home Sell Faster

There are a lot of things that you can do to make your property stand out from others when trying to sell a home quickly. Most everyone knows that really nice kitchens and bathrooms can and will help draw in more buyers. We could probably list out 100 things that you could do to help get a buyer faster. For sake of time, we will just give you a few right now, that are sometimes overlooked.

The first thing we want to touch on is storage in the home and how your property looks when potential buyers arrive, which AARP has some good advice on:

3. Storage space sells

Roomy closets and other storage space ranks among today’s most desired features, especially with younger people who typically buy boomers’ homes. “Problem is,” notes Debra Carney-Schoepe, a Realtor in the Philadelphia suburbs, “many boomers live in older homes with limited storage space. So remove excess seasonal clothing from closets and ‘color-code’ what’s left on the sides to make small spaces look larger and more organized — with empty hangers in the middle.”

Shelving units or organizers in walk-in closets are a fast-growing must-have — and worth their $200 price tag. Also, pare down kitchen cabinets and remove drain cleaners and other products that may indicate potential problems.

4. Know the eight-second rule

In that time, many buyers decide whether they’ll buy the home, says Corcoran. For better curb appeal, ensure that the lawn and entryway look neat and crisp. And plant yellow flowers. Studies show that yellow excites and stimulates buying, says Carney-Schoepe.

Read The Full Article “How to Sell Your Home Faster” Here

There are a few great tips in there that are even new to us. We like the idea of having empty hangers in the middle to sort of give an illusion of having more space than needed. We likewise didn’t know about yellow flowers stimulating buying. You can bet that every property we sell from now on will have yellow flowers 🙂 . We were also surprised that they think that a buyer makes up their mind in only 8 seconds! In the past we thought we had at least a minute.

Next is moving on to staging, which applies whether you are still living in the property or not. An unoccupied home with furniture in it will always sell faster than an empty property:

2. Have your house staged

Want to go the extra mile beyond cleaning? Consider having your house staged, a way of decorating it so it’s more attractive to buyers.

“It’s best to present the home in its best light,” explains Nile Lundgren, an agent with Trent & Company in New York City. He once had a listing—unstaged—on the market for five months without ever getting an offer.

“We took it off the market, staged it, reshot photos, and put it back on the market,” he says. “Within two weeks, we got into a bidding war and signed a contract shortly thereafter.”

Staging typically takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the availability of rental furniture, the movers, and the installers. If you’re facing a major time crunch, Lundren suggests focusing on staging the beds, sofas, tables, chairs, and art—items that make a house feel like a home where people can live and get comfortable.

Read The Full Article “How to Sell Your House Fast: 5 Must-Know Tips to Move Your Property” Here

It’s also important to note that you need to properly stage your home, even if you are living it. It is remarkable in that article that after being listed for months and not getting an offer, then staging got an offer in only 2 weeks. That alone should make you a believer in staging your property. For a little more on staging tips see our article “Insider Tips for a Rapid House Sale“.

Here is another great tip from Readers Digest:

First of all, think about what kind of person is likely to move into your house. If it’s a four-bedroom in the suburbs, it will probably appeal to families; a one-bedroom in the city might go to a young professional. “If you’re in the neighborhood, you know who the people are that are moving in,” says Sridharan. Now figure out what that kind of buyer might be looking for. For instance, that family might want to know how local schools rate on Great Schools, while a young, single person might want the Walk Score walkability rating, says Sridharan.

Read The Full Article “15 Tricks to Help Sell Your Home Faster—and for More Money” Here

That’s good advice, especially if you are trying to sell your home yourself, or “FSBO”. Wherever you list your property on the web, or in fliers, you can add in the description about how nice the local schools are, or for a single person maybe the closest bars 😉

Lastly, for everyone that prefers to watch videos over reading, here is a YouTube video that has some great tips:

Summing It Up

These are just a few tips that can help you get a buyer for your property quickly. It’s never easy selling a property and moving, but if you follow these tips it will be a little easier.

If you have a property in the Metro Atlanta area and you need to sell your house fast and don’t want to deal with all of the hassles listed above, contact us, Mandich Property Group. We buy houses fast and in any condition. You can learn more on our site, or call us at 770-756-8680 for a free, no obligation offer on your house.

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