Georgia Real Estate Report July 2012 by John Adams

HARP 3 May Provide Refi Help For Non-GSE Mortgages Page 14

Volume 12

No. 2

GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

Today’s Reverse Mortgage A New Financial Tool

GRER

Less Government, Lower Taxes, More Freedom

Page 3

$2.00

July 2012

GA Spends $99 million in Foreclosure Atlanta Real Estate Recovery Hurt By Anemic Economy And Endless Flood Of Foreclosure Homes Funds on Rural Development By Guest Columnist KATE LITTLE, president of the Georgia State Trade Association of Nonprofit Developers

n February of this year, the federal government and 49 of the 50 state attorneys general announced that they had reached a settlement regarding foreclosure fraud with the nation’s five major financial institutions: Ally Bank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo. Known as the National Mortgage Settlement or NMS, the agreement calls for the big banks to provide an estimated “$25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government.” According to language in the settlement, the direct payments to states should “fund housing

counselors, provide legal aid, and other similar purposes determined by state attorneys general.” However, NMS does not contain any enforcement mechanisms, allowing some states the leeway to use the money for things entirely unrelated to housing and the foreclosure crisis. Georgia’s share of the settlement totaled nearly $99.4 million. According to Georgia’s Attorney General Sam Olens, the state’s Constitution requires such funds to be deposited in the general fund with the General Assembly responsible for determining how to allocate the See Foreclosure Funds page 12

Four Smart Moves for Right Now Your Credit Score Can Be Improved Sooner Than You Might Think

By John Adams

f you are a homeowner, you’re probably wondering about the economy and when the housing market is going to begin a solid recovery. Most Americans believe that housing will recover sooner or later, but in the meantime, what can you do to better your own economy right where you are? As an owner of real estate, you have certain responsibilities year round, some are obvious, like mowing the lawn. Others will benefit you in the long run, but can be easy to postpone or

overlook altogether. That’s what we are talking about today. 1. TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR CREDIT NOW A huge number of Americans have taken a hit to their credit in the past several years. Now is a great time to face the music, see how much damage has been done, then start repairing it. If your score is above 780, you have the JOHN ADAMS seal of approval. Below 720, you need some work. Below 620, you need a lot of work. Get started at See Credit Score page 11

By John Adams

ccording to the latest S&P CaseShiller numbers, housing prices in the 20 largest metro areas fell by 3.5 percent from February 2011 to February 2012. In the broad metro Atlanta region, however, the year-to-year price decline was 17.3 percent, posting the largest fall in the nation. The decline was twice that of Las Vegas, the second worst-performing metro region in the country. For most of this year, the Atlanta housing market has consistently showed weakening results in home prices and foreclosure reports, while similar national markets have begun to show

signs of stabilizing, if not rising, toward a full recovery. Georgia now holds the dubious honor of having the highest foreclosure rate in the country. It recently jumped ahead of more famously devastated states like Nevada and Florida. But the Atlanta mystery may not be so much about its decline, only the timing of it, according to local economists quoted in The Housing Wire: “So much of the local economy involved construction. But if you look See Endless Flood page 14

How To Beat A Low Appraisal When You Need A Higher Value Homework and Preparation Key To Success in Valuation

By John Adams

n today’s slow real estate market, one of the biggest challenges facing your sale is the appraisal. Almost every buyer needs a loan in order to buy, and the lender won’t approve the loan if the property appraises for even one penny less than full contract price. In the Atlanta area, the flood of foreclosure sales has made estimating values very difficult, and as a result, low appraisals are the number one cause of unsuccessful contracts. An appraisal is an OPINION, not a FACT! Opinions can be influenced. BEFORE THE APPRAISAL IS ORDERED: 1. Have a JUSTIFIABLE TARGET VALUE in hand before you start. That

means you need to find 3 or 4 comparable sales from the past 6 to 12 months. Your See Low Appraisal page 12

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What Do Home Buyers Want In A House Today? By John Adams

egardless of what you hear in the media, there are some buyers in today’s real estate market, and they are not just investors. Believe it or not, some 4.6 million existing homes were resold during 2011, and we will probably exceed that this year, according to economists. So what is it that makes a prospective buyer ready to sign on the dotted line? What are buyers looking for in today’s market? In the last couple months, I conducted an informal and unscientific poll of agents across the metro Atlanta area, and the results are below. Buyers want: 1. A House That Is In Move-In Condition Buyers in today’s market are picky - and they have every right to be just that. Because there are so many homes for sale, and because there are so few buyers, purchasers can pick the cream of the crop . So for starters, buyers today don’t want a PROJECT. The house needs to be in excellent condition, remodeled and already updated. The top finished projects buyers want to see are, as always, kitchen and bath make-overs, but buyers today want to move right in and settle down - NOT spend six months and a lot of money on contractors. 2. A House That Is Less SPACIOUS In recent years, there has been a trend toward homes that are bigger and bigger, but we are seeing that change now. Today’s buyer wants a home with smart spaces, not just LOTS of spaces. As a result, we are seeing a focus on a home offices instead of a formal living room, and luxuries like home theaters and man caves are less of a hot button than in years past. Part of the reason for our current real estate crisis is the fact that builders find larger houses more profitable, and this led to a huge oversupply of new homes over 3000 square feet that still have not all been sold. Builders simply oversupplied the market. 3. A House That Is BRIGHT and CHEERFUL This is an oldie but a goodie. As in years past, bringing the outdoors to the indoors is a popular feature, and the preferred way to do it is with LOTS of LIGHT & WINDOWS. While this trend isn’t a new one, the NEW products available are REMARKABLE. I was recently at the Home Builders Show and GLASS was all

the rage. It has to be very well insulated and make you feel like you are walking in the park, but buyers want it! 4. A House With EXTRA STORAGE SPACE While this may seem contradictory to the trend toward less square footage, there is more here than meets the eye. Builders have figured out they can make buyers happy by offering inexpensive unfinished space for people to store all the stuff they have accumulated over the years. So an UNFINISHED BASEMENT or a BONUS ROOM in the attic is a big hit, and keeps buyers from having to rent one of those public storage spaces, which can cost a hundred bucks a month! 5. A House That Is Green No, not the color, but the movement. For years, buyers have been slow to embrace the GREEN REVOLUTION, but it’s finally become trendy to have a solar panel on the roof or a geothermal pump beside the house. Tankless water heaters are also gaining popularity as a buyer “want.” It’s not so much about saving the planet as it is about saving face in the neighborhood. Yes, there are benefits of energy efficiency, but builders are finding that almost all elements of new construction are moving toward giving the consumer more energy bang for the buck, and is seems clear that saving energy is the wave of the future, at least in real estate. Even though this last is based on anecdotal evidence, I believe it to be an accurate reflection of buyer preferences. The five features mentioned here all appeared in almost every top ten list I collected. If you think I may have overlooked a feature that’s also important to buyers, drop me an e-mail and tell me about it.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

Today’s Reverse Mortgage A New Financial Tool

Tired of Losing Money In The Stock Market?

Rates & Fees Much More Competitive Than In Years Past

By John Adams

any senior Americans find themselves in the awkward position of having lots of equity in their home, unable to qualify for a refinance loan, and wishing they had a way to get some cash out of their house. Several years ago, the concept of a REVERSE MORTGAGE was introduced, but they were very expensive and hard to understand. Today, FHA has created program that meets many senior needs at a reasonable price point. Here are the details: Q: John, what’s a REVERSE MORTGAGE all about? The FHA’s “reverse mortgage” program allows senior homeowners to withdraw some of the equity in home. For seniors with substantial equity, it can be a lifesaver. It has high start-up costs, but if you are in good health and can use the funds, it can be a great way of tapping into your equity and staying in your home. It’s actually called the HOME EQUITY CONVERSION PROGRAM, and it’s a safe plan that can give older Americans greater financial security. Many seniors use it to supplement Social Security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements and pay for any other expenses. I have put a free booklet, “Use Your Home to Stay at Home,” on my website at MONEY99.com. Q: So, what exactly is a reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that lets you convert a portion of the equity in your home into cash. The equity that you built up over years of making mortgage payments can be paid to you. HERE’s the KEY: Unlike a traditional mortgage, REVERSE MORTGAGE borrowers do not have to repay the loan until they no longer use the home as their principal residence. As long as you remain in your home, you never need to make any payments on the money you borrow. Q. Can I qualify for FHA’s HECM reverse mortgage? To be eligible, you must be a homeowner 62 years of age or older, own your home outright, or have a low mortgage balance that can be paid off at closing with proceeds from the reverse loan, and you must live in the home. Q: What types of homes are eligible? To be eligible for the FHA HECM, your home must be a single family home or a 2-4

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unit home with one unit occupied by the borrower. HUD-approved condominiums and manufactured homes that meet FHA requirements are also eligible. Q. Why is this different from a HOME EQUITY LOAN? With a home equity line of credit, borrowers must have adequate income and credit to qualify for the loan, and they make monthly payments on the principal and interest. A reverse mortgage is different, because it pays you – there are no monthly principal and interest payments. You are still required to pay real estate taxes, utilities, and insurance premiums. Q: What happens if we move or sell the house? When the home is sold or no longer used as your residence, the cash, interest, and other finance charges must be repaid. All proceeds beyond the amount owed belong to your spouse or your estate. This means any remaining equity can be transferred to heirs. No debt is passed along to the estate or heirs. Q: How much money can I get from my home? The amount you may borrower will depend on: ● Your age ● The value of your home ● The current interest rate ● How much, if anything, you currently OWE on your house ● How you choose to take payments Q: How do I receive my payments? You can select from : ● A stream of monthly payments. ● A Line of Credit - you get a checkbook and a line of credit. ● A LUMP SUM of cash, or a combination of any of the three options. Q: If I want to know more, what can I do? Go to MONEY99.com. I have put a free booklet, “Use Your Home to Stay at Home,” on my website at MONEY99.com.

July 2012

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THE GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

ATLANTA NEEDS SCOUTING..... ...SCOUTING NEEDS ATLANTA

Bank Of America Tests Alternative To Foreclosure Creative Solution Not Yet In Atlanta Area

By John Adams

Help the 30,000 Scouts in Metro Atlanta.

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ou owe a lot more on your home loan than your house is currently worth. You’ve applied for all the modifications and refinance programs, but nothing has worked so far. The bank is threatening to foreclose, and you have drained your savings trying to stay current. You are at the end of your rope, and you are seriously considering just walking away. Then your lender calls and offers you an opportunity to rent the house instead of owning it, and be relieved completely of the mortgage debt. Sound too good to be true? Thats the new program being tested by Bank of America on a very limited basis right now. In a nutshell, borrowers sign a DEED IN LIEU of foreclosure, transferring ownership of the house to the lender. In exchange, the lender forgives the entire mortgage obligation. Then the former owner has the opportunity to rent their own home back from the bank for up to three years. This scenario is a mutually advantageous solution to a challenging problem because everyone potentially emerges a winner: * The bank wins because the high costs of foreclosure and litigation are avoided in a quick and easy transaction that draws no objections from anyone. * The bank also avoids the staggering costs of owning a vacant house in a declining area that will likely sit empty for months and months before being sold for pennies on the dollar. * The bank also wins because it converts a past-due loan into a performing asset (an occupied rental property) with a renter in place who already knows how to take care of the property. It also avoids a foreclosure and a resulting non-performing asset (a vacant house) * The borrower wins because he is relieved of an underwater loan situation, and no longer has to make sky high monthly payments. * In addition, the borrower dodges a credit disaster, and gets to continue living in what used to be his own house. It’s called the “MORTGAGE TO LEASE” program, and its being tested right now on about 1000 borrowers in Arizona, Nevada and New York. Bank

of America deserves credit for thinking outside the banking box, something that bankers find particularly difficult to do. It’s important to note that you can’t apply for this program. It’s only a pilot program so far. There are no plans to offer the program in Georgia at this time. In addition, the program is being offered only to borrowers whose loans are owned and held by Bank of America. On these so-called “portfolio loans,” the lending institution has much greater latitude on innovative solutions such as renting the house back to the borrower. There is also the little matter of the FDIC, which regulates banking activities with an iron fist. Under current FDIC rules and regulations, banks are forbidden from engaging in non-banking real estate activities (such as renting out bank-

owned homes.) A creative program such as the Mortgage to Lease plan would be sure to raise federal eyebrows at the agency. Even so, the fact that a program like this is even being considered represents a major step forward for the banking community and the housing crisis. Think of the thousands of homeowners across America who have lost their homes to foreclosure over the past four years. In many cases, both the lenders and the former owners would have been better off to use a deed in lieu of foreclosure and rent the house back to the former borrower. In addition, many neighborhoods would have benefitted from more stable prices as potentially vacant homes might have remained occupied. Bank of America deserves a pat on the back for implementing this pilot program. It’s smart and it’s creative - two qualities I rarely associate with megabanks.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

When & How to Sell Your Home Yourself

Three Factors Impact Ability To Sell

By John Adams

HOW DO YOU HOLD TITLE TO YOUR REAL ESTATE? “The Real Estate LLC in Georgia for 2012”

f you’ve been trying to sell your home without a REALTOR, you already know that this is one of the most challenging real estate markets we have seen in years. First, you are fighting a serious excess inventory of new homes. Builders simply overbuilt, and we are many months away from a complete absorption of those homes. In addition, many builders have expensive construction loans that should have been paid off long ago, and are highly motivated to make a sale, even if they have to lose money. Next, there is a shortage of ready, willing and able buyers in today’s marketplace. I guess a lot of people are simply nervous about the economic future, and when someone is nervous, they tend to postpone major purchases. A house is certainly a major purchase. The truth is that a lot of prospective buyers are sitting on the fence waiting to see what will happen. To make matters worse, there is a flood of houses for sale being added to the market by banks and lenders who have foreclosed against borrowers who should never have purchased in the first place. Some of these were fraudulent loans, but most were bad lending decisions. Many of these loans were made to borrowers with questionable credit and unstable incomes. Add that to an adjustable rate loan with little or no down payment and it spells foreclosure as often as not. And these distressed home sales are poisoning the resale environment. Finally, hovering over everything, there is an air of uncertainty about our future. Perhaps fueled by the debt crisis, and certainly stirred by the specter of falling real estate prices, this lack of consumer confidence is driven home every time we fill up our gas tanks. All these things (and more) have ganged up to make this a challenging summer for the sale of your house, especially if you have decided to go FOR SALE BY OWNER. Even so, it is likely that right around five million existing homes will be resold during this calendar year. And if five million other people can find a way to sell their house, surely you can as well. Here are three key areas to address in your house to make sure you are giving it every chance for an acceptable offer: CONDITION: In the world of real estate, there are two markets: retail and wholesale. In order to achieve retail price, the house must be in excellent condition. Anything below “excellent” will drop your home into the

wholesale pricing category, and your dollars drop significantly. So don’t even try to sell today unless your home is in excellent condition. Buyers today are not willing to take on a renovation project. There is so much inventory on the market that they simply don’t have to do it. Instead, they look to buy a house that they can move into right away. I consider this advice so important that I would make this statement: If you are unable to put your home into excellent condition prior to selling, you might be better off postponing your sale or leasing your home until you can find a better selling market. MARKETING: I know what you are thinking. You are sort of hoping that, because the market is so tight and because of the internet and everything, you can just put a sign in the yard and your house will sell without an agent, right? The reality is that, today more than ever, you may need some professional marketing assistance to get your home sold. And the internet is not the one-stop solution to all real estate problems that some thought it might become. The truth is that buyers are looking in a variety of places for your home, and yes, the internet is one of those places. But the sign in the yard and the flier at the school may prove just as effective as anything else when it comes to getting buyer attention. If information about the features and benefits of your particular house is not reaching the prospects you hope to attract, then whatever you are doing is ineffective, and you will very likely need some marketing help. Failing to obtain it is usually penny-wise and pound foolish. PRICING: The price you ask for your home is critically important. In today’s real estate market, there are huge numbers of “so-called” sellers who are simply testing the waters. Today that approach almost guarantees an expired listing. Instead, buyers today are engaged in an exercise of comparison shopping. No one cares what it may have been worth then. Let’s determine what it’s worth today. And the only way to do that is to look at comparable homes which have sold recently. Condition, marketing and price. These three factors, more than anything else, will impact your ability to sell your home, whether you choose to do it yourself or hire a real estate professional.

July 2012

by John Adams

Stop Begging for a Lawsuit - Get Your Name Off Courthouse Records. It’s the question you always hear at the closing table. The lawyer says:“How do you wish to take title?” What he really means is “Exactly how do you want your name to appear in the county records so that everyone in the world knows exactly what you own in this county?” Take a moment right now - stop and think about how you hold title to your real estate. Is your name and address showing as the owner of the property? I’ll bet that it is. If you are like the vast majority of owners of single family homes in Georgia, you simply gave the attorney your full name and home address. That way, you figure, you can get the tax bill mailed to you in a timely manner so you don’t forget to pay on time. Well, let’s stop and think for just a second. 1. The county already provides an annual estimate of the fair market value of each property titled in your name, and that is public information. 2. Calculating the current loan balance would take about three minutes per property if you know the original loan balance and interest rate, information that is recorded in the public records above your name on the security deed. 3. Subtracting the loan balance from the tax value on each property would give me the equity you have in every property you own, then I would have a really good idea of how much I could get out of you, if I had a reason to do so. 4. If you have several houses, all titled in your name, it becomes quite easy to add up the dollars available in a lawsuit. 5. And if I were your rental tenant, I might become tempted to find a legitimate reason to go after you for all you are worth, which I happen to have calculated accurately BEFORE I slipped on your front porch and took a fall. 6. Once I file that lawsuit against you, each and every property titled in your name is frozen until the lawsuit is finalized. Yes, that includes the house you live in. You can’t sell and you can’t refinance, and you can’t even qualify to get a new loan. All because you had all the property in your name. 7. If you think one of your tenants hasn’t already thought about this you are very probably wrong. In any case, do you want to take that chance? 8. The lawsuit will likely go on for years, as your insurance company drags their feet hoping for some kind of settlement. If the jury is sympathetic to your tenant, the judgement could easily exceed the million-dollar limit your policy has on liability. 9. If the judgement against you exceeds your insurance limit, you are personally responsible for the remainder. Everything you own, all your houses, cars, bank accounts, even your retirement dollars are at risk to pay this judgement off. 10. And this is all because you put ownership of each house into your own name. Guess what, you made a serious mistake, and after the lawsuit is filed, it is too late to correct. However, if the lawsuit has not yet been filed, you can take action now to solve the problem. It’s easy, it’s fast, and it is extremely effective at stopping a judgement from spreading. But you have to take the action before the accident occurs. If you want to learn the entire story and review all the forms and documents, you can order the entire package for only $99 with my iron-clad, money-back guarantee. Finally, you’ll be able to sleep at night not having to worry about who is getting ready to steal from you everything you have earned for your family. Only $99, which includes the manual and 3 hours of audio CDs. This package is unconditionally guaranteed to be right for you or I will gladly refund your purchase price with no questions asked. Fair enough?

TO ORDER, go to www.Money99.com or call 404-373-6000

THE GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

Announcing the updated 2012 EDITION of the LANDLORDS SURVIVAL GUIDE for GEORGIA John Adams’ Landlording Power Pack is your comprehensive guide to highly effective residential landlording. John knows it works because he has followed it himself for over two decades. The Power Pack includes the ALL NEW book and instructions on downloading all the forms (in both PDF and rich text format) you’ll need. The Landlord’s Survival Guide for Georgia (2012 edition) also includes a complete copy of the Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook as well as John’s own Killer Lease. This lease is designed to protect you and your property from deadbeat tenants by making sure you have all the protections that Georgia law allows. The Killer Lease offers you much more in the way of protection than any other lease, including the GAR lease. The book contains answers to hundreds of questions and issues that will come up from time to time, and includes a complete reproduction of the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Law along with John’s insightful commentary. This program will save you and make you money month after month. While this book was written based on the Georgia law, its ideas and strategies would be helpful in any residential anywhere. John shares with you his time-tested strategies and techniques to help assure that your Real Estate investment provides you more profit and less hassle. The Lease alone will save you more than the cost of the package on the very first house you rent and John’s strategies will keep on saving you money MONTH AFTER MONTH! The package also includes a 3-CD audio set of a recent Landlord Survival Training seminar, in which John explains some of the more complex parts of the book and expands on hot-spot issues. Most landlords agree that adopting the JOHN ADAMS system saves them on average one month’s rent per property per year.

Some Of The Topics Included: • The Business Of Being A Landlord • How To Hold Title • Steps To Minimize Vacancy • Steps To Minimize Turnover • How To Advertise & Find the Best Tenants • How To Handle Applications

& Credit Reports • Do You Need A License • How To Receive & Deposit Your Rent • How To Handle Tenant Communications

What Repairs & Improvements To Make Providing Safety & Security How To Avoid Legal Problems What Does Georgia Law Say How To Handle Security Deposit Money How To Cope With Service & Repairs Lead-Based Paint Safety Compliance Dealing With Problem Tenants Eviction, Dispossessory, & Writ of • Possession and many more vital topics • • • • • • • • •

How To Buy Bank Owned Homes By John Adams

epending on who you talk to, bank owned homes today represent between a third and half of the real estate market in metro Atlanta. Buying a bank owned home at a discounted price can get you a great deal. But there can be pitfalls along the way. So here are some points to keep in mind: * The Banks are DROWNING in Real Estate. They have literally never faced a flood of bank owned homes like this before, and they have neither the infrastructure nor the manpower to pull off such a massive job. As a result, * Bank owned homes tend to quickly fall into disrepair. The first thing to be stolen is the air conditioning compressor, followed by the appliances and the copper wiring in the walls. Empty houses attract vagrants and criminals, and things often go from bad to worse. Believe it or not, I have actually seen vandalized homes where all of the used toilets were stolen. * Banks are often so disorganized, that even they don’t know they have a house for sale. It can be months between foreclosure and any organized attempt at sale, and even then, the bank often has a completely unrealistic idea of what the house is worth in its present condition. Alternatively, it may be placed with a property disposition manager in New York or California who only exposure to the house is a photo on a computer screen. To Make Matters Even Worse: * The banks will NOT finance their own homes if they need even cosmetic repairs (and they all do). This is an insanely self-defeating policy, but this is the way banks and lenders operate. So why even consider a bank owned

home? 1. The Banks Must Sell. And almost nobody wants to buy “the worst house in a slipping neighborhood.” So, you can possibly get a GREAT deal. 2. The fact that the bank has neglected the house over a period of months has contributed to its rapid and dramatic decline in value. 3. The FHA 203k loan is perfect for this situation, provided you are willing to live in the house as your principal residence for at least a year or so. First ,the property is appraised AS IS and also appraised based on its AFTER REPAIR VALUE. Then, if the numbers work, FHA loans you the money to buy the house, fix it up, and wraps the whole thing into a 30 year fixed rate loan at a great interest rate. 4. The best part is that you can make some improvements based on your own wishes. You can select your own colors, floor coverings, kitchen design, and even add things like a deck or a fenced yard. 5. You’ll need an experienced contractor and you’ve got to have decent credit, but the FHA 203k loan can be the solution to buying a bank owned home. Your down payment can be as little as 3 percent of the purchase price. For more information on the FHA 203k loan, call JIM DUFFY at 1-800-MY LOANS.

“I guarantee that this is the best package ever assembled on landlording, or I’ll give you your money back.” -- John Adams $129 includes the book and 3 hours of audio CDs. This package is unconditionally guaranteed to be right for you or I will gladly refund your purchase price with no questions asked. Fair enough? TO ORDER, go to www.Money99.com or call 404-373-6000

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

Time Management Tips: The Only Thing We Can Never Replace is Our Time from RIS MEDIA

ime management is a struggle the majority of people face. As a real estate professional, you juggle multiple tasks, phone calls, emails and other to-do’s on a daily basis. Making the most of your time and avoiding time-wasting activities is critical. Recent studies have shown that the average person wastes anywhere from 2-4 hours per day checking email, chatting with co-workers, surfing the web and commenting on their favorite social sites. With stats like that, it’s a wonder we accomplish anything! Imagine how productive we might be if our time, tasks and day were better organized. The challenge is implementing systems and tools that simplify your life without adding an additional layer to the process. Below we explore a few quick and easy ways to get organized and better manage your day! 1. Keep a Time Log Whether you feel efficient or not, taking the time to track your average day can be eye opening. Keeping a detailed log of your daily activities for a 3-5 day period can offer enormous insight into the time wasters and low priority tasks stealing time from your day How to Use a Time Log: • Write down every activity and time spent on it whether it’s responding to an email or talking with a co-worker. • After several days of monitoring your daily activities, analyze each of them. Determine where you wasted time or could have delegated a certain task. • Minimize the amount of time you spend jumping from one activity to the next. If you’re not familiar with David Allen’s 2 Minute Rule, take a moment to understand the power behind this simple action and the impact it can have on your productivity. You can find it on Google. 2. Create To-Do Lists A to-do list is a must to keep you focused and on top of those important tasks. It’s essential that you start your day with a fresh perspective and clean sheet of paper. Whether it’s a yellow

legal pad, your smart phone or an oldfashioned organizer; get it out of your head and into a system that works for you. Subscribing to the theory that “it doesn’t exist if it isn’t written down” gives you power over your to-do list. Creating a list is a mental exercise that eliminates the stress associated with feeling as if you’ve forgotten something. It also forces your brain to release that task. We can only retain so much information at any given time. Having a consistent place to capture important information will increase your productivity and make it far less likely that you miss an important meeting or phone call. 3. Embrace Technology Time management tools have the ability to improve your productivity by syncing between Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar, Google Documents, both in the cloud and on your Android smart phone. Even the Iphone offers some of these features. Below are a few of our favorite techie time management options that are surprisingly easy! Teamly Teamly can assist you or your team stay organized and concentrated on your most important tasks. Teamly not only allows you to set to-do’s for your appointments, dates and tasks, you can also track the status of each one and monitor your teams progress. Basecamp Keep your projects organized and everyone on your team on the same page. Discuss project details and keep your files all in one place. Basecamp’s calendar feature helps coordinate everyone’s schedules. Remember The Milk Never forget the milk or anything else with this simple but powerful app. Are you a Gmail user? Now you can manage your Remember The Milk tasks alongside your emails. Available as a gadget (with Gmail Labs) or browser add-on for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome (connect your tasks with your

July 2012

mail, contacts, and events in Gmail). GOOGLE APPS Google offers a full suite of business apps for individuals and small business teams (up to ten users) at no cost whatsoever. The service gets better every day, and you never have to pay for an “upgrade” from Microsoft ever

again. If you can dump WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT and other standard productivity products and replace them for free, it’s worth a small learning curve. Check it out! What did we miss in the above list? Share your best time management tip!

Like investing in property, advertising in the Georgia Real Estate Report makes more than good sense. Reach 30000 investors, owners, buyers & sellers and REALTORS with every monthly issue. Call John Adams for a rate sheet and discuss the possibilities.

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Five Steps To Credit Score Fitness By John Adams

hether you are buying a house or not, you are affected by your credit score. More so than ever before, your credit score determines the rate you will pay for your home mortgage loan. In Atlanta, lenders say most borrowers seeking thirty year financing will pay one-eighth percent less on their interest rate if their credit score tops 720.

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While that seems a small difference, it adds up to more than four thousand dollars over the life of the loan. In addition, if your score is below 620, it may be difficult to obtain home financing at any rate. To help boost your credit score, follow these five tips: 1. Pay your monthly bills on a timely basis. I know this sounds very basic, but paying “on time” is vitally important to credit grantors. They believe how you have paid in the past is a strong indicator of how you will pay in the future. Your payment history makes up about 35 percent of your credit score, and it comes directly from information on your credit report, so pay your bills

early and check to make sure none are late - ever. 2. Keep accounts open to build longevity. Closing one account and opening another looks to creditors like you are churning your credit, and it alarms them. Instead, keep unused accounts open by using them at least occasionally. The length of your credit history accounts for about 15 percent of your score, so strive for long-term relationships with quality merchants and institutions. 3. Don’t overuse your revolving credit. In fact, it’s best to keep your credit card balances below 25 percent of your limit at all times, even if you pay it off in full every month. Carrying a balance above 50 percent of your limit indicates to creditors that you may be living off your credit card during a difficult financial time. Keep your utilization percentage low and ask for increased limits if you need to. This factor makes up 30 percent of your credit score. 4. Take it easy on new credit requests. Each application you make generates a credit inquiry, and too many inquiries signals the bureau that your circumstances may have taken a turn for the worse. This factor makes up about 10 percent of your score. 5. Try to keep a healthy mix of credit types. A mix of active credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, and mortgages would indicate a prudent use of credit in your financial life. Overuse in any one area could indicate a credit dependence. This area accounts for the final 10 percent of your score. Remember that your credit score only looks at information contained in your credit report. That’s why it is so important to make sure your information is accurate. For more information, visit Money99.com.

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T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

JIM DUFFY

Staging: Giving Your Home A Facelift

It’s A Lot Cheaper Than Reconstructive Surgery

By John Adams

ne of the hottest trends in real estate sales today is called STAGING. It’s a new name for an old technique of decorating the house for the sale rather than for the taste of the current owner. And in Atlanta, it’s all the rage! Simply put, staging is doing largely cosmetic work on your home to make it look it’s best before you put your house on the market. It can best be described as giving your home a quick face-lift to help potential buyers imagine themselves living there. This is in contrast to major

reconstructive surgery that some homes actually need. Here are some staging tips to help you make your home stand out from the crowd: * Get rid of the clutter. Over time, most of us gather a little too much furniture, and then are reluctant to let it go. Or we end up with too many small appliances on the kitchen countertop. Or our closets begin to overflow with clothes and shoes from every season under the sun. Whatever the case, get rid of them. All of them. Strip your house down to just the bare bones of furniture and See Reconstructive Surgery page 10

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July 2012

THE GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

Group Sees Future Gains By Investing In Real Estate

“Get Rich Slow” Strategy Requires Education & Discipline

By John Adams

recently visited a meeting of the nonprofit Georgia Real Estate Investors Association and was pleased to see several hundred folks from all walks of life with one thing in common: each is convinced that there is money to be made in today’s depressing real estate market, and they intend to participate. These are not primarily real estate professionals, although there are plenty of those in the group. More so than most, agents and brokers see the bargains on a daily basis and either help their buyers purchase them or buy for their own account. No, the majority of these investors are folks with a regular job, folks who work 9 to 5 during the day, then manage their real estate at night and on weekends. There are doctors and lawyers, plumbers and painters. And the good news is this: There is plenty of opportunity to go around. Fueled by a flood of foreclosure auctions that feature mostly upsidedown loans, lenders take back far more houses than they sell these

days. These bank-owned homes are a serious problem for lenders, who are not equipped to manage, renovate or sell them. So, in many cases, they sit empty for months while the property deteriorates. Often, thieves know the house is empty and steal copper plumbing and air conditioning components just for the salvage value. This makes the house almost unsellable on the retail market. But it makes them all the more attractive

Reconstructive Surgery clothing. The goal is for your house to look roomy, not lived in. * Fresh paint is cheap. Painting is the least expensive way to get the maximum impact, from both a visual and an olfactory standpoint. It’s simple and quick, and helps your home avoid looking boring or dated. Visit paint stores for trendy (but safe) color combinations. Choose light, popular colors, such as citrus yellows and light greens and lilacs, and stay away from dark or sharp tones like brown or red. And make sure the paint has a strong odor. I’m not kidding. Avoid any paint that says “low odor.” One of the real benefits of painting is the fact that your house now smells like it was just painted. Regardless of how much people complain about paint odor, it shouts “I am clean” to the brain. * Update your lighting. This is another inexpensive way to make your home look more modern. Bright brass is now out, and polished nickel is in. Visit several new construction model homes for ideas. And use the highest safe wattage for

to the savvy investor with money to spend. Relatively new homes in nice starter neighborhoods can be had for as little as $40,000. After a total renovation costing perhaps $25,000, the house feels and looks new, and can be rented to a renterpurchaser who hopes to own the home by building good credit. The investor refinances based on the new appraised value, maybe around $100,000, and collects rent with

a positive cash flow every month. In a year or two, the renter may buy the house, finalizing a profitable transaction for the investor and helping to stabilize the neighborhood through renovation. This is just one strategy employed by today’s investors, and active buyers tell me there’s plenty to go around. The group meets monthly to listen and learn, with veteran investors sharing freely of their experience. Their philosophy is summed up by Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams Realty. His saying is “Anyone can do it, but not everyone will.” Members of this group see opportunity in the Atlanta market today. They believe the economy will recover, and that Atlanta has a bright future. They believe there will be increased demand for housing, and they want to help meet that demand as it occurs. Time will tell. John Adams is an author, broadcaster and investor. He answers real estate questions on radio station WGKA (920am) every Saturday at noon. For more real estate information or to make a comment, visit www.money99.com.

continued from page 9

Room before

each fixture. It makes your home look “bright and cheerful.” * Neutralize your Home. Remove any decoration in your home that is strictly of a personal nature. A signed photo of you shaking hands with Elvis may be your most prized possession, but it may offend a classical music enthusiast whose first impression of your home may now be negative. Stick to completely neutral decorations. * Set the Mood with Accessories. Again, visit subdivision and condominium model homes for ideas from Atlanta’s best decorators. These doo-dads, from large framed mirrors to small statues of Michangelo’s David,

and always floating around furniture stores and specialty shops like Pier 1 and Tuesday Morning. * Focus on Kitchen & Bath. So far, we haven’t spent much money. But here is where the purse strings should fall away. In my experience, kitchens sell houses. The new buzzword in real estate is creating a kitchen that “pops.” That means it makes a strong and positive first impression. And that certainly means a kitchen and bath that is scrubbed until it sparkles, and may mean new granite counters and fine cabinets. Yes, this can run into the thousands of dollars, but yes, it may sell your house for that much more. Let go of your home, emotionally speaking! I’ve had sellers complain that if they followed all my staging suggestions, they wouldn’t be able to live there at all. And that’s exactly the point! We are trying to stage the house to sell, not to be lived in! The bottom line is this: for much less

than the cost of a major renovation, you can make your home very attractive to buyers, but you’ll need to “move out” emotionally and look at your house in a new light. In a tough selling market like this,

Room after

staging can mean the difference between an expired listing and a successful sale. For more home selling suggestions, visit Money99.com. John Adams is an author, broadcaster and investor. He answers real estate questions submitted through his website and in this column. For more real estate information or to make a comment, visit www.money99. com.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

Credit Scores

continued from front page

AnnualCredit Report.com and go from there. You can get a free look at your credit score at CreditKarma.com . Also, go to MyFico.com to learn more about what factors go to make up your score. You may be surprised. 2. CONSOLIDATE DEBTS NOW Our nation is almost sixteen trillion dollars in debt, and most of us are personally in debt as well. Find out which of your debts is tax deductible and which are not, then consolidate all the non-deductible debt into a homeequity line of credit. Yes, you are potentially putting your house at risk, but the savings can be dramatic. Non-deductible debt is usually considered “personal” as opposed to real estate related, so think about car loans, credit card debt, and many student loans. In many cases, you can pay off non-deductible high interest rate loans with deductible low rate home equity lines of credit, and save a bundle, often with no out of pocket costs at all. Also, talk to your accountant before you do this, because not all real estate secured debt is automatically taxdeductible. The rules can be tricky, but it’s worth the hassle to maximize your deductions and minimize your interest expense. 3. REFINANCE to a LOWER INTEREST RATE NOW

Everyone watching this broadcast should run, not walk to the nearest reputable mortgage lender and refinance this morning. Rates are so low now that I predict we will never again see rates this low. And if you are able to stomach the payments, now is a GREAT time to lock in a new 15 year loan. Also, if your goal is to own the house free and clear, look at a 7/23 ARM or a 10/1 ARM. If you plan to stay in your house for more than a year, you OWE it to yourself and your family to run the numbers and see what you can save. These rates are stunning. Call Jim Duffy at 1-800-MYLOANS for a rock bottom rate quote today. 4. PROTEST YOUR PROPERTY TAX NOW In most Georgia counties, you’ve missed your chance to save a bundle on your property taxes unless you’ve already filed a protest. But if you already have an appeal in progress, now is the time to pursue it aggressively. Because values have fallen so low, if you protest, you will probably see your assessment lowered. If you missed the deadline for 2012, you will have to wait until next January, and you’ll be paying more than your fair share in the meantime. Whatever you do, DON’T WAIT ON THESE SMART MOVES!

GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

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The following pricing on a minimum of 6 insertions in a 12 month period. No placement guarantee. Black & White Rates: Full Page = $995 Half = $795 Quarter = $595 Eighth = $395. For full color, add 50%. Call 404-373-6000 for placement fees. Real Estate Investor Groups: THE GRER is happy to publish news about your upcoming events, provided space permits. We can not offer you free advertising, but we do try extra hard to work with and support groups who help us distribute our publication to their members at all their meetings and sub-groups. Call 404-373-6000 for details on how we can work together. The Georgia Real Estate Report - 404-373-6000 - John Adams, Publisher

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Foreclosure Funds continued from front page money. Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly decided in the waning days of the 2012 session to divide the money between the Regional Economic Business Assistance (REBA) and the OneGeorgia Authority. That means that none of the funds will go to address foreclosures, even though Georgia has consistently ranked in the top five of states across the country with the highest rates of foreclosure. In fact, Georgia topped the nation in the rate of foreclosures for May of this year. Unfortunately for many homeowners facing foreclosure and for communities struggling with how to deal with the proliferation of vacant and abandoned properties, they cannot turn to the state to use these funds on their behalf. According to a Feb. 20th article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, RealtyTrac has compiled data revealing that about one in 328 homes in Georgia received a foreclosure notice in January. That same article also recommended that struggling homeowners contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency for help. What the article did not is that many HUD-approved housing counseling agencies are themselves struggling to maintain services and that money from the settlement could help them continue and expand their services. Several counties in the metro Atlanta area have experienced high rates of foreclosure and contribute to Georgia’s national ranking: Gwinnett leads the pack accompanied by Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton. The housing market played a big part in the metro area’s booming economy

and so the drag on the market caused by foreclosures has continued to stymie recovery. In announcing his plans for allocating the NMS funds, Gov. Deal said that the money would be better in supporting jobs to impact the economy, rather than addressing the foreclosure crisis. However, since the metro area also has been recognized as the economic engine for the state, one could reasonably assume that some of the settlement dollars would make their way here and have an indirect impact on the number of foreclosures. But then, one would be wrong. Both REBA and the OneGeorgia Authority will use the funds to attract jobs to rural Georgia. The metro Atlanta area will not benefit from this infusion of dollars into the state, even though the amount of funds the state received was calculated in part on the number of foreclosures in here. According to the REBA website, “REBA is an incentive program that

Gov. Nathan Deal

authority must be the applicant for a REBA application and the application must be supported by a recommendation letter from a state agency, typically

Several counties in the metro Atlanta area have experienced high rates of foreclosure and contribute to Georgia’s national ranking: Gwinnett leads the pack accompanied by Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton. is used to help ‘close the deal’ when companies are considering Georgia and another state or country for their location or expansion. REBA funds may be used to finance various fixed-asset needs of a company including infrastructure, real estate acquisition, construction, or machinery and equipment. A local development

the Georgia Department of Economic Development.” According to the One Georgia Authority website, “The goal of the One Georgia Authority is to offer financial partnerships with rural communities to create strong economies in all business sectors, allowing new and existing industries, both large and small, to

flourish. OneGeorgia is bridging Georgia’s economic divide by ensuring balanced growth across the state helping to guarantee that all Georgians have access to economic opportunities in their own communities.” As Andy Schneggenburger, executive director of Atlanta Housing Association of Neighborhood-based Developers noted: “There you have it – both programs very specifically target rural areas, and clearly do not return their investments to the communities most heavily impacted by the foreclosure crisis.” To combat the continuing foreclosure crisis, Georgia needed all of the $99 million spent on helping troubled borrowers stay in their homes and helping neighborhoods and communities to reclaim vacant and abandoned foreclosed properties. Cities and counties concerned about stopping the encroachment of blight, the creation of public safety hazards, and falling property values could have used these funds to make a difference. Acquisition and rehabilitation of foreclosed properties does create jobs and would have put these properties back on the tax rolls to benefit the bottom line of local governments. The allocation of NMS funds to rural Georgia for “job creation” represents a missed opportunity to help Georgia citizens in both urban and rural areas keep living their American Dream.

Kate Little is the president of the Georgia State Trade Association of Nonprofit Developers (GSTAND), a statewide membership organization of nonprofit affordable housing developers based in Atlanta. This guest column first appeared in The Saporta Report, and is used with permission of the author.

Low Appraisal continued from front page real estate agent is a great source of sold information, and can assist you in comparing data as well. 2. MEET THE APPRAISER when they come to the property. Don’t allow them to tour the house when you are not there. This allows you to share your information with them. They will head on to the property without your knowledge, then tell you later they have already seen it. Prevent that from happening by removing any MLS lockbox (yes, they have keys) and requiring the lender demand an

appointment only to view the interior. Be proactive: find out when the appraisal is assigned and call the appraiser the same day. 3. GIVE THEM YOUR COMPS & IMPROVEMENTS in written form. Get a real estate agent to help you prepare a written comparable sale analysis. Then use it. By the way, don’t forget to be nice to this real estate agent whose time you have consumed in vast quantities. How about a couple of tickets to the Braves game or a gift card for a thousand bucks? Just a thought!

AFTER THE APPRAISAL COMES BACK LOW: 1. CHECK FOR MISTAKES in square footage, BR/Bath count, upgrades, lot size. Mistakes like these are very common, and a reasonable basis to request a new appraisal valuation. 2. EVALUATE THE APPRAISERS COMPARABLE SALES. If the appraiser chooses inappropriate comparables, your appraisal will be off base. Instead, do their work for them. 3. ASK THE APPRAISER TO RECONSIDER based on data errors

or comparable sales. Demand GEOGRAPHIC competency. If the appraiser does not have prior experience in YOUR neighborhood, let the lender know that this appraiser is a nice guy, but not competent to work in your neighborhood. 4. REQUEST A NEW APPRAISAL - It may cost as much as $400, and you may have to pay for it, but its really your last resort. Don’t be too surprised if it comes back close to where the last one did. If so, you’ll need to wait for the economy to recover.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

The All New Real Estate Academy

ANNOUNCING A BRAND NEW JOHN ADAMS REAL ESTATE SEMINAR

John Adams

If you are a veteran real estate investor, or just getting started, or even if you want to add property management to your professional skill set, you need to know these Investor Strategies & Secrets, guaranteed to boost your cash flow month after month and build net worth in the years ahead.

THE REAL ESTATE ACADEMY July 28, 2012

8:00 - 8:25 8:25 - 8:55 9:00 - 9:45 10:00 - 10:45 11:00 - 11:45 12:00 - 12:30 12:30 - 1:00 1:00 - 1:45 2:00 - 2:45 3:00 - 3:45 4:00 - 4:45 5:00 - 5:45

Introduction - Your Plan for Financial Freedom in Real Estate Conventional & Creative Financing for Investors How To Make Money In This Market a. The Long Term Hold Strategy b. Find, Fix-up & Sell Quickly Identifying Bargain Properties in this Market a. HUD Auctions b. Bank Resales & Other sources Short Sales & Owner Financing LUNCH (Hard Money Presentation) Real Estate Contract Overview Land Trusts, Corporations, Asset Protection The Real Estate IRA and Aggressive Tax Avoidance Performing A CMA & Estimating Repairs How COMPUTERS Bring All Your Data Together Your Call To Action - Now You Know!

Last time I checked, there were 310 million people living in this country, and most of them prefer to live indoors. That means they have to have a place to live. And that means you and I can take advantage of this recession to make money. But today, the times have changed. Property values have changed. Opportunities have changed. This is a challenging time for many Americans financially. And if you plan to make money in this market, you need to know which strategies to use and which to avoid. That’s why I have put together my all new Real Estate Academy, and I want to invite you to attend. This is not a slimmed down Institute, but instead is a new program designed to bring you up to speed on how we make money in this market in this economy. My faculty of six professional instructors is the finest gathering of real estate investors anywhere. Each is an expert in his or her own field, and each continues to achieve successful investment results today. Look at the course outline to get a specific list of the topics to be covered. I know that ten hours in one day is a lot, but that’s the time we need to cover the material you want. And here’s the best part: The entire Real Estate Academy is completed in one day and it’s only $495 for one person or $795 for any couple. And of course, your satisfaction is guaranteed. If, by noon on Saturday, you decide the course is not right for you, simply turn in your materials and get a complete refund. No questions asked. Here is my problem: The Atlanta Realtor Center in Sandy Springs can seat only 20 students, and I am unable to expand the seating. I want this to be a small group so all your questions can be answered. But this program will sell out fast. You will meet my attorney, my lender, my investing partners, my accountant, and my computer guru. And each of them will be available to you for questions and further conversations. If you have been to my Investors Institute, you will find the ACADEMY a very different experience. We focus on multiple core modules and case studies, and you will come away with a specific plan of action for making money in this market. Whether you are a veteran investor or just getting started, whether you want to be hands-on or hands-off, this one day program is for you! Each module is taught by me with an acknowledged industry expert, one who will bring us up to date on everything that is happening in their line if work. You simply can not find this type of current real-world education anywhere else.

SATURDAY

Bonus for Attendees

July 28, 2012

Full Day “Repo Tour of Homes”

8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.

ATLANTA REALTOR CENTER

5784 Lake Forrest Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30328 near 285 at ROSWELL ROAD

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Dear Investor,

We’ll visit at least 10 repo houses

Saturday, August 4, 2012 Created specifically as an additional learning experience for graduates of my Real Estate Academy, my students will be able to attend the full day tour of homes for FREE. It is a perfect follow-up for the class on Saturday, and includes transportation and lunch, as well as a viewing of at least 10 distressed pre-selected homes that are currently on the market at distressed prices. Experts will guide you thru each house and discuss the pros and the cons, giving you an inside look at how the pros do it every day. This tour alone is worth your academy investment.

Investors, Landlords, Renovators, Realtors, Brokers, and anyone who is tired of getting mediocre results in their self-directed IRA or Roth. This program will show you how to dramatically boost your cash on cash returns in a short period of time. Hey, if we are going to have a recession, you might as well profit from it.

I AM AN INSTITUTE GRAD.

DO I NEED TO ATTEND THIS SEMINAR? Absolutely. While some of the concepts will remind you of your Institute experience, this is an all new and updated program designed to take advantage of the current economic recession. Our leaders in Washington have created this wreck, and there is a silver lining. My suspicion is that this opportunity will last for maybe the next 12 months, but eventually this thing will be over. But for right now, this is what works for me.

WHAT DO I GET WHEN I ATTEND?

A complete manual covering all the modules presented, and access to all faculty members during and after the program. And the most upto- date real estate investment program available anywhere. It’s ten hours of non-stop education you don’t want to miss. There is free coffee, cokes and snacks, a simple lunch is included (because we will teach right thru lunch). Agents get 7 hours of continuing education. And the entire course is guaranteed to be right for you. If, by lunchtime, you feel that this isn’t what you expected, just turn in your materials and get a complete refund.

WHAT IF I HAVE A CONFLICT THAT DATE? I can’t imagine what you could possibly have scheduled that is this important. Even if this is your wedding day, I recommend that you postpone it - your future spouse will thank you later. If you have any questions about this program, call me personally at 404-373-6000. I will answer your questions and sign you up on the spot. But seating is limited by the small size of the Atlanta Realtor Center in Sandy Springs, so don’t put this off. Take action now!

ADVANCE TICKETS $

495 per person or $795 per couple MAXIMUM of 20 Students for this event. • Above Discounts when paid in Advance Only • Satisfaction Guaranteed

Visit money99.com or call today

This course has been approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission for Seven Hours of Real Estate Continuing Education Credit

HARP 3 May Provide Refi Help For Non-GSE Mortgages By John Adams We have all heard about the current HARP Phase Two loan refinance program for upside down borrowers who have paid their mortgages on time and previously been unable to refinance. That program is great, but it is available to borrowers only if their loan is owned or serviced through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and FHA has it’s own streamline refinance version. Enter the possible (I repeat POSSIBLE) Harp Phase Three program, designed for those whose mortgages are NOT held by Fannie or Freddie. HARP 3.0 is not yet passed (or even introduced), but momentum for some version of a HARP 3 program is growing. SInce the day it was announced that HARP 2 would be limited to borrowers under FNMA or FHMLC, there has been talk of extending the program to all borrowers. HARP 3.0 would target homeowners whose mortgages are specifically not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This is important because, although the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac-FHA

triumvirate currently controls more than 90% of today’s new mortgage originations, that wasn’t the case from 20012007. During that period, non-GSE lending was a major part of the U.S. housing market. The most common investor loan made during that period was the “statedincome” loan, often called an ALT-A loan. Remember the STATED INCOME loan? You just tell them what your income is, and they rely on your credit score and tax returns to make a loan decision. It is still known in the mortgage industry as an ALT-A loan. An “Alt-A” loan is one that is made to someone with good credit, but who doesn’t meet the other requirements in connection with income documentation, down-payment or employment. Typically these loans required either reduced documentation

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Call

770.989.8820 14

or no documentation for either employment, income, assets or some combination thereof. For example, Alt-A mortgages accounted for 27.5% of mortgage originations in 2005. Today, each of these homeowners or investors is locked out of HARP. HARP 3.0 would allow these Alt-A borrowers to (possibly) refinance their home loans. In addition, there were lots of “A Paper” mortgages that went to subprime investors last decade because, at the time, the sub-prime market offered lower mortgage rates than the conforming market did. Ludicrous, but true. Conforming, 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates were 5.50 percent in mid-2005. By contrast, sub-prime 30-year fixed rates were just 5.25%. Which would you have taken? And, lastly, HARP 3.0 would help homeowners with jumbo mortgages that, in today’s market, would not be

jumbo mortgages. Last decade, before conforming loan limits were raised to $625,500 in “highcost areas” throughout California, Virginia, Maryland, and New York, for example, homeowners who bought or refinanced were relegated to nonconforming loan products -- loans that met typical underwriting guidelines but that were too big for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to purchase. After home values fell, although their mortgages met Fannie Mae loan standards; and, although their mortgages were within Fannie Mae loan limits, these homeowners were unable to use HARP 2.0 because their mortgages weren’t backed by the government. They were held by a bank, such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America. With HARP 3.0, these “high-cost”, jumbo homeowners would get the chance to refinance. Once again, talk of the HARP Phase Three program is just that - talk. But this is exactly how many programs get started, with discussion from the groups that will be affected.

Endless Flood continued from front page at the latest data, you do see some job growth, there are fewer bank failures. I hope it comes back. But Atlanta will lag behind other cities during the recovery,” said Roger Tutterow, an economist at Mercer University in Atlanta. Meanwhile, first quarter GDP (gross domestic product) rose at a 1.9 percent annual rate, with motor vehicle output accounting for more than half the gain, the Commerce Department said. The growth pace, which was unchanged from a prior reading, marked a sharp step down from the fourth quarter’s 3 percent advance. Auto production contributed 1.16 percentage points to GDP growth, reflecting pent-up demand that has since waned. Excluding autos, GDP grew at only a 0.7 percent rate. “Given that domestic growth is being generated by the autos sector, as we go into the second quarter, a pretty soft outcome looks likely,” said Jeremy Lawson, a senior economist at BNP Paribas in New York. A separate report from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits edged down last month, but remained in a range that indicated the

job market was still struggling to gain traction. Most economists estimate secondquarter growth will be around 2 percent, but they say risks are stacked to the downside, given the debt troubles in Europe and an unclear fiscal policy path at home, both of which are sapping business and consumer confidence. The recent ObamaCare decision by the Supreme Court is another slap in the face of the economy, because it discourages small businesses from hiring, due to uncertainty over health costs for current and future employees. To bring the situation into stark focus, the local Chamber of Commerce now says metro Atlanta is only expected to recover about 19 percent of the jobs it lost during the recession by this year’s end, the chamber said, far behind many of its regional and national rivals. And the region has lost almost as many jobs as it created since 2000, growing only about 50,000 jobs during the decade. It’s a far cry from the booming 1990s, when Atlanta added 70,000 jobs to 80,000 jobs a year. The region is still struggling with unemployment around 8.6 percent and falling residential real estate prices.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012

R eal E state B usiness D irectory The Real Estate vendors on this page have been recommended by readers of the Georgia Real Estate Report, but are not endorsed by this publication or by John Adams. If you contact any of these vendors, please mention you saw them in the Georgia Real Estate Report.

Dunwoody Tax & Accounting Group

Carpet Cheap Flooring Steals & Deals

Jeff Thompson Appraisals

Soteria Services, Inc.

http://www.kddcpa.com/

http://www.carpetcheapusa.com/

http://www.jtappraiser.com/

http://www.soteriatax.com/

404-375-1566

404-684-2700

678-403-1963

678-799-7861

Angel Oak

Universal Refinish, LLC

R.S. Mechanical Services HVAC

American Family Insurance

Home, Auto, Life, More

http://www.angeloakcapital.com

http://www.universalrefinish.com/

http://www.rsmechanicalatlanta.com/index.html

Full Service Insurance Services

404-844-5521

770-630-5132

678-305â&#x20AC;&#x201C;0255

770-250-1910

Barnard Agency Inc - Allstate

Southern Fidelity Associates, LLC

Harlan & Associates, LLC

Georgia Roof Inspections

http://www.allstateagencies.com/DeanBarnard/Welcome

sfallct@gmail.com

http://www.harlan-law.com/

http://www.georgiaroofinspections.com/

678-455-8606

770-500-2319

770-817-1012

404-246-0104

Advanta IRA Administration, LLC

TriPoint Funding, LLC

ABC Painting & Home Improvement

Allgood Pest Solutions

http://www.advantairagroup.com/

http://tripointfunding.com//

(No Info for website)

allgoodpestsolutions.com

800-416-8736

678-382-1224

404-964-3266

770-339-4500

Your Intown Home

A direct hard money lender

Platinum Resource Group, LLC

Property Management

Paces Funding

Real Estate

Home Buyers of Georgia

Creative problem solving experience

http://www.yourintownhome.com/

http://pacesfunding.com/

http://www.prgnexus.com/

http://www.ibuyga.com/

404-855-1430

404-814-1644

404-453-9066

404-377-1718

Atlanta Carpet Services, Inc.

Real Estate Works 4 U

Networth Realty of Atlanta, LLC

Garmon Home Inspection Services, Inc

Tax & Accounting

Appraisals

Carpet & Flooring

Lending Services

Contractors

Insurance

Lending Services

Consulting

Tax & Accounting

Roofing

Legal Services

Pest Control

Painting Services

Providing carpet, wood, vinyl, and tile

Property Tax Appeal Services

A residential wholesale brokerage

http://www.acscarpet.com/

http://www.lowerpropertytax.org/

http://www.networthrealtyusa.com/

http://www.garmonhomeinspection.com/

770-322-7373

678-971-3118

678-321-6061

770-368-8151

Atlanta Capital Funding

Goldmine Properties

SafeGuard Communities

DNA Home Solution

professional home inspections

Real Estate

Turn key real estate deals

residential or commercial renovation

http://atlantacapitalfunding.com/

http://www.bestbuyhomesllc.com/

http://www.safeguardcommunities.com/

http://www.dnahomesolution.com/

404-794-5322

770-338-2994

404-969-1223

404-557-8885

privately funded hard money lender

Real Estate Service Directory Rates:

1x = $250, 3x = 200/mo, 6x = 150/mo, 12x = $99/mo, fully paid in advance. Wording or Layout Changes are $50 each. Wording is space limited. No placement guarantee. Black & White Only in PRINT edition. Call 404-373-6000 for details. July 2012

THE GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT

Stop Working For Real Estate - Make Your Real Estate Work For You!

Re-Energize Your Investments By Attending The

REAL ESTATE

REBOOT

T he M arket H as F undamentally C hanged

Our economy has been turned upside down, and we are all having to adapt. Just as you and I are getting used to the new realities of today’s ZERO INFLATION ECONOMY, so too must our real estate investments. Yes, you may have lost equity on your balance sheet, but if you can hang on, I can show you how to get it back! • Banks and Lenders are flush with REO properties, forcing them to negotiate in ways they have never done before. • More defaulted homes are on the way, as the Wall Street Journal estimates there are another two million sub-prime ARMs resetting over the next 24 months. • The exploding inventory of post-foreclosure properties combined with the super weak buyer’s market has brought the lenders and sellers to their financial knees. You can now buy bank owned homes for fifty cents on the dollar. • This seminar will teach you how to target the right opportunities and leave the overpriced garbage to the listing agents and their inventory. As Warren Buffet says, when things look grim, that’s when you get your best bargains.

• Learn how to buy the right property when everyone else is sitting on the sidelines waiting for the media to tell us that the market has improved. The media is focused on Wall Street, not Main Street. • Learn what portions of the current market are terrific opportunities and which parts are best left alone (because they have further to fall). • Learn how to step into a plan of wealth creation that will accelerate your next million dollars of net worth, regardless of where you are today. My program requires only 5 to 7 hours per week. • Learn how to be a Sub-Prime market winner while all the other investors you know are sitting on their rear ends hoping this market will end. When the recovery arrives, this opportunity will be gone.

R eal E state R eboot S eminar T opics :

Your government is spending $750 BILLION of your dollars bailing out the banks and insurance companies, not to mention the auto makers. NOW is your chance to get your share of this massive government giveaway. After all it’s your money.”

I’ve been giving solid real estate advice to thousands of investors for the last twenty years, and those who took my advice are now glad they did. But now things have changed. Unemployment is up and home prices are down, and the mortgage meltdown threatens the very economy our nation is built upon. How will you respond to the current situation? Your answer will likely determine your financial future, so don’t answer lightly. My advice is to invest 69 bucks and meet with me at this brand new seminar and learn how you can profit from the Real Estate Reboot Bonanza!!

In one power-packed day, John will lead you through six important topics that will turbo-charge your current investments and show you how to safely build net worth while adding current income to your pocket. Come ready to learn: • 1. The Opportunity In Today’s Market is in DISTRESSED PROPERTIES. But you have to know the fundamentals of how to find them and how to purchase them. John reviews the economy and its impact on your investment decisions, giving you specific advice on where to look and what to be looking for. Atlanta is not one big market - it’s a series of hundreds of minimarkets. Learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly! • 2. Get Paid for Adding Value. Your key in any market is learning how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, and John Adams is a MASTER of the REHAB. But times have changed and the rental market has changed along with it. What worked ten years ago doesn’t work today. Learn John’s current mastermind strategies to maximize your efforts and attract the best tenants. • 3. The Rent-2-Own Program has finally been perfected by John Adams on his own rental properties. It is a perfect fit for today’s challenging

economy. You’ll attract a better grade of tenants at a higher rent with fewer landlord problems and almost no repair hassles once you master the principles of John’s Rent-2-Own plan. • 4. How You Hold Title To Your Real Estate can determine whether or not you ever build sustainable net worth. Let John show you his hybrid LLC and how it can provide Rock Solid Asset Protection and Complete Personal Privacy. Get your name OFF the public records easily and inexpensively. • 5. The MASTER TAX PLAN for Real Estate Investors will open your eyes to the biggest financial drain in your life and how you can plug it permanently. The greatest expenditure you and your family will ever face is taxes, and John’s CPA will give new meaning to the phrase “all the deductions the law allows.” Easily save $1000 in taxes this year alone - guaranteed. • 6. Google Tools for Real Estate Investors are changing the way we gather, maintain and pro-

cess all your information. John shows you how he organizes his office online and in the cloud with free e-mail, calendar, contacts, websites, images, videos, maps, word processing, storage, phone and voice mail. All free from your friends at Google. Unify Your Life! Any one of these modules can provide significant help with your real estate investments. All six together will change your life for the better.

Atlanta Metro: One Day Only!

Saturday July 21, 2012 9:00 a.m til 3:30 p.m. Crowne Plaza Atlanta Galleria 6345 Powers Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30339. Take 285 to Exit 22 Northside Drive. Hotel is just inside 285 on Powers Ferry Road.

This 3 bedroom 2 bath bank-owned home in an excellent neighborhood was recently purchased by one of John’s students for a total price of $20,001.00.

ADVANCE TICKETS

Only $

$100 per person registration on day of seminar Above discounts when paid in advance only • Satisfaction Guaranteed

TO REGISTER VISIT

money99.com or call 404-373-6000

This course has been approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission for 6 hours of continuing education credit. If you are unable to attend this seminar in person, you can purchase the live seminar on CDs for $99 + Tax & $10 for shipping and handling.

T H E G E O R G I A R E A L E S T A T E R E P O R T

July 2012