Homestead Exemption

Feb 12, 2020 12:02 pm
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What is it?  How and when do I file? 

We have the answers for you.

If you purchased real estate property in 2019 and occupied it as your primary residence on January 1, 2020, you are potentially eligible to file for a homestead exemption. 

What is Homestead Exemption? 
Homestead exemption is a discount on your real estate property tax bill for an owner-occupied principal place of residence.

Am I Eligible? 
If the property is your principal place of residence as of January 1, 2020, and you purchased last year (or any year prior), you are likely eligible to file for a homestead exemption with your county’s tax assessor’s office.

How much will it save me?
Savings vary depending upon where the property is located, but if you are eligible, you don’t want to miss the deadline for filing!  A Savings on your tax bill is a good thing!

The deadline for filing is April 1st of this year for all counties in Georgia.

The best place to get information regarding filing instructions is from your county tax assessor’s office. If you are in a city, you may have to also file with the city (i.e. Cumming, Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, etc).

Below are some of the websites for tax assessor’s offices for this area –

Fulton County –

Click to access 2018-Guide-To-Homestead-Exemptions.pdf

Cherokee County –

https://www.cobbtax.org/property/exemptioninformationhttps://www.cherokeega.com/tax-assessors-office/homestead-exemptions/

Forsyth County –

https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Board-of-Assessors/Homestead-Exemption

If your tax assessor’s website is not shown in the list above, a google search for your county’s tax assessor should quickly locate the necessary information for filing directions.

Congratulations again on your purchase and please let The Dinsmore Real Estate know if you have any questions about homestead exemption filings.

 

 

There’s More than One Way to Sell a Home

Jan 31, 2020 9:15 am
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When it comes to selling your home, it’s a big undertaking.  Unless you’ve maintained your home in pristine condition, it make take a few months to get it to the point you can list and show it.  And what about those repairs that need to be done?  And do you invest in doing those upgrades or not?  Which upgrades will bring you your best ROI?  Just so much to take into consideration.

What if there was a way to get an idea of what your home value would be in it’s ‘as is’ condition?  Well, you may be thinking, I can just look at the other homes in my neighborhood.  Or call a Realtor who can give you an assessment.  Yes, those are viable options, but what if there was a way to present your property to multiple sources and receive multiple offers without the guess work?  What if I told you, there is a way?

I am now iRep certified.  Which means I can assess your property and put together a presentation to all those companies who advertise to give you cash offers on your home.  But you’re probably thinking, well can’t I just do that myself?  Yes, you could, but by using my services and expertise, I can help get you the best offer.

Typically, what happens when you go directly to one of these companies, they do no prior assessment of your property.  They just look at the basic information and what has sold around you and send you an offer.  If you want to proceed, then they send someone out to inspect your property and then give you the real offer, which is much lower than what they initially offered.  Why, because they see all the things that needs to be repaired, replaced, upgraded, etc. and lower their offer.  When you use my services, I provide the assessment to the company upfront which includes any repairs, etc. that need to be done.  You then get an offer of the true value of your property because they know upfront the condition of the property.  Plus, since I am representing you, you won’t be bombarded with emails and phone calls should you decide this is not the route you want to pursue.

Using my iRep services can help the home selling process in a couple of different ways.  First, if you’re thinking about selling and want to get a really good idea of what your home will bring, this is a good option.  Second, after receiving your offer, you can decide if you want to go through the listing and showing of the traditional route.  Perhaps you have small children, animals, or elderly parents that going the traditional route would be very disruptive to your home life.  Perhaps the difference between getting a cash offer and what it would take to get your home ready to list and show is not in your time constraints.  Perhaps you have a reason that you need to sell and move quickly.  All of these are very valid reasons to consider using the iRep process.

To learn more about the iRep process give me a call and we can discuss what is best for you and/or see our webpage at https://www.dinsmoreteam.com/irep/ for more information.

Home Sales for the Past Year

Jan 24, 2020 3:49 pm
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Happy New Year!  It’s still January so I can still say that.

The real estate market continues to be great!

Housing Indicators are in for 2019, and it was another great year for Georgia’s housing market! With a strong economy and low mortgage rates, buyer activity has been strong. However, inventory levels are still below historical norms, and prices continue to rise.

A few quick facts are listed below – all indicators are year over year for existing single-family homes.

• Median Sales Price: 6% increase to $228,000
• Pending Sales: 6.7% increase to 145,087
• Closed Sales: 4.9% increase to 142,915
• New Listings: 6.4% increase to 201,215
• Average Sales Price: 4% increase to $272,207
• Days on Market: 5% decrease to 55 days
• Months Supply of Inventory: 10.8% decrease to 3.3 months

If you are thinking about buying or selling, now is a good time.  Mortgage rates are still low and prices will continue to go up. Give us a call, we are here to help.

Marie Dinsmore

The Dinsmore Real Estate Team

770-712-7789

How to Buy a Home This Year!

Oct 18, 2019 5:56 pm
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Here’s what home buyers and those who dream of owning a home need to know. Inventory’s still tight, but there are great houses waiting to be bought and loved.

Consider a fixer-upper. Instead of looking at houses above your budget, look at fixer-uppers priced below your budget and invest the rest upgrading it. You’ll end up with a home full of your own design choices, and just think of the eventual return on investment. Just be sure to buy smart: avoid fixer-uppers with red-flag issues like a crumbling foundation.

Look at old listings. Old doesn’t always mean a listing has issues—it can also mean the house was priced too high from the start. Some sellers drag their feet before lowering the price, and the house just hangs out on the market. When buyers search only for new listings, they can miss great properties with price adjustments.

Get a sneak peek. Ask your agent about “coming soon” listings for homes waiting to hit the market. Often, real estate agents have the inside scoop on homes two to four weeks before they’re listed.

Don’t let the tight market and interest rates slow down your home buying momentum. There are great homes out there, whether they’re in a hot up and coming neighborhood or your own neighborhood. For you, this year or in the New Year may just mean a new home. You can start looking for it today!

Should your real estate agent be a real estate professional?

Aug 26, 2019 10:51 am
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A seemingly logical question might be, aren’t all real estate licensees professionals? One would hope so, but how does one distinguish this? A dictionary definition would likely say that professionals of any stripe are those that make a living in a particular trade. In that sense, any licensee actually working in the trade could be considered a professional. But can you afford to leave it at that?

By a more critical standard, real estate professionals are those that truly commit themselves to their trade. Not only do they strive to make a living out of the trade, they spend extra effort assuring competency in the work they do. They find themselves among a fellowship of like-minded people who take exceptional pride in their work. And there are plenty of statistics available that indicate that REALTORS© are far more productive, better servants.

So for a consumer to determine if their prospective agent is a professional, they might begin by asking if the agent is a REALTOR©. REALTORS© are licensed tradesmen that have committed to serve and be bound under a professional code of ethics. Licensees that do not choose to be REALTORS©, choose not to be bound by those high ideals—although surely there are some among the uninitiated that philosophically subscribe to the professional standards of the REALTOR©, they just don’t want to officially commit, for some reason.

Maybe that’s the question to ask. Why is a licensee not a REALTOR©? It’s a fair question, and one that consumers might want to ask, because if consumers become unhappy with the licensee’s work, they have a singular, logical recourse for remedy—through the judicial process, ideally via the office of the state’s real estate commissioner. On the other hand, REALTORS© have a formalized process for addressing grievances though state associations and local boards. At the associations and boards, a consumer may choose to mediate or arbitrate the matter. In such cases, a panel of REALTOR© professionals may be appointed to judge the behavior of the REALTOR© in question, and decide whether that person should be allowed to continue serving in the brotherhood. Then, if the consumer remains unsatisfied that sufficient atonement has been achieved, there is always the court system to fall back on.

Finally, please don’t forget to thank a REALTOR©, if you know one, because REALTORS© are your advocate in government. The fellowship they comprise represents the most influential voice in the entire country committed to protecting individual property rights for homeowners—from the White House all the way down to the local municipality. REALTORS© are the consummate professional.

Just remember that not all real estate licensees are REALTORS©, and there is a difference. So ask the question. Are you a REALTOR? And if you suspect a devious answer, asks to see a membership card. There really is such a thing.

The Actual Wage Needed To Rent In Forsyth County

Jul 11, 2019 12:46 pm
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The National Low Income Housing Coalition published its annual “Out of Reach” report, finding that rental housing needs are worsening.

There is no state in which the typical minimum-wage worker charting a 40-hour week can afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment. Furthermore, that same worker couldn’t afford a one-bedroom rental in 99 percent of counties in the United States. That is according to an annual report published recently by researchers at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which looked at rental costs in counties and metro areas nationwide.

The hourly wage necessary to afford a two-bedroom rental at fair market rent is $21.27, more than the $18.42 needed to rent in the state overall and less than the national wage of $22.96 in the Forsyth County area.

There is no better time to buy a new home than now. Call Marie at the Dinsmore Team @ 770-712-7789.