Coldwell Banker Has a Newly Designed Website!

Coldwell Banker has redesigned their website and we love it! What inspired the change? Michael Fischer, the chief marketing officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC advised "“For the new ColdwellBanker.com we looked at search functionality across various websites including, retail and music, and continuously asked ourselves, ‘Why not in real estate?" They have added some really great features that make it easier to search for your dream home. Here's a quick list of some of the top changes:

• You may notice upon first arrival to the newly designed site that it picks up on your current location. For example, it knew that I am located in McDonough, GA (looks like Mr. Coldwell and Mr. Banker might be real estate experts and stalkers).

• They've added a new search feature called Coldwell Banker BlueScape Search. This is a new innovative and creative way to find your perfect home. The consumer rates a series of images "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" and the site will automatically pull properties that you may be interested in. You can then refine the search by the area, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Check it out! It's pretty awesome.
• Keyword Searches! How many times do you go to a website to search for homes that only allow you to put in the basic information: number of bedrooms/bathrooms, price range, location, etc? If you know you want a home with a swimming pool, why weed through hundreds of properties that don't have one? The keyword search allows you to narrow down the search results based on the keywords you select.
• After viewing several properties and selecting your favorites as being "preferred", the new site will feature additional homes that have similar characteristics of your preferred properties through the "You May Also Like" feature.
• The Coldwell Banker Home File - an e-folder in which consumers save, share, and organize their favorite properties, videos, articles, etc.

These are just a few of the changes, check it out yourself by visiting http://www.coldwellbanker.com/.

Congrats Union Grove, Eagles Landing, McIntosh & Starr's Mill High Schools!!

Four of our "Southern Crescent" high schools made Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools: The List"! There are approximately 1600 high schools that made the list. While that may seem like a large number, it's really only about 6% of public schools across America. Congratulations to the following schools:

#705, Union Grove High School (McDonough, GA)

Interesting Facts: For the past four years, Union Grove has been in Newsweek's top 5% of American High Schools. They recently received the Gold Award for having at least 97% of students meeting or exceeding standards as measured by state assessments. There were only 15 schools in the entire state to receive this.

#956, Eagles Landing High School (McDonough, GA)

Interesting Facts: Won the Governor's Cup for having the highest increase in SAT/ACT scores for the region. Their SAT's and ACT's are both above the national average. Their graduation rate has also improved - from 70% to 87.8% over the past 3 years.

#1051, McIntosh High School (Peachtree City, GA)

Interesting Facts: McIntosh has been recognized several times as a school of excellence. They were named a Georgia School of Excellence in 2000 & 2008. In 2007 they were named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

#1120, Starr's Mill High School (Fayetteville, GA)

Interesting Facts: Starr's Mill High was named a 2005 Georgia School of Excellence, one of only 3 schools in GA to be given the title that year. They offer more advanced placement (AP) classes than any other high school in Fayette County.

To view the entire Newsweek article and list, visit http://www.newsweek.com/

If you're thinking of moving to the area and want information on the local schools, you may find the following links to be helpful:

Georgia Department of Education: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/

Clayton County Schools: http://www.clayton.k12.ga.us/

Fayette County Schools: http://www.fcboe.com/

Henry County Schools: http://www.henry.k12.ga.us/

Zillow Zestimates = ZestiWRONG

When Melissa and I go on listing appointments we review detailed comparative market analysis (CMAs) with the seller as well as expansive market data and in the end, share our opinion of value and/or suggested list price for the current market. We’re definitely not the average agent who walks in with the just a listing agreement in one hand and a pen in the other. We would never expect someone to take our numbers seriously if we didn’t backup our opinions with supporting evidence and facts. After we review the data, we say something like: “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, if we were to list your home today, we would list it for….. (if it sounds like something off of an HGTV show, it’s because it is and we even put a 45 second delay in there too)... $175,000.” Occassionally, and what seems to be more and more these days, the seller will respond with something like “but Zillow.com says my home is Zestimated at $225,000?!” For those of you who don’t know, Zillow.com is the second most visited real estate website after Realtor.com and so therefore, more and more folks are visiting it these days and trusting every piece of information they find on it as if it were the real estate Bible. Browsers can search for homes on this site as well as inquire about their home value which Zillow refers to as “Zestimates”. Unfortunately, Zillow’s numbers are so wrong and they should be shot for giving seller’s false hope in this market! Imagine if you visited the site and thought your home was worth $25-75k more than what the market would support? So you may be wondering what makes us think that our opinion of value is any better than Zillows. For one, we’re good at what we do. Reallllly good at what we do. But most importantly, Zillow.com will tell you themselves how bad they are. It’s on their website, in the small print. Visit their site and scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Zestimate Values & Accuracy”. Then click on “States/Counties” and click on the Peach State. Review the chart and take note of the median margin of error (last column on the chart). Here are some examples: Clayton County’s “Zestimates” are off by 78.2%, Henry County’s by 28.8%, Fayette County 10.8%, Fulton 21.8%, Coweta 16.3%, Rockdale 29.2%.


We wish that Zillow’s Zestimates were more accurate, because if they were, home values would be higher and that would be a good sign, but unfortunately, the Zestimates are Zesti-WRONG. So before you pull up Zillow.com to determine your home’s value, please talk with a local Realtor who knows the area and can provide accurate information. And when we said “local Realtor” we were talking about us. :) Give us a call or send us an email and we’ll be happy to help you determine the fair market value of your home. Even if you’re not in the market to sell and are just curious – we’re here to help. There is one thing that we’ll admit to – while we might have better numbers and more knowledge of the local market than Zillow does, they have something we don’t … a cool name for the home values that they provide – the “Zestimate”. Perhaps we should come up with one! So should you hear a friend, relative, co-worker, etc. talk about their “zestimate”, kindly tell them the news and refer them to us!

ATTENTION WANNABE HOMEOWNERS!!!

HURRY, HURRY, HURRY!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TAX CREDIT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

You only have until April 30th to be under contract to buy a home in order to be eligible for the tax credit! Not only do you need to be under contract by April 30th, but you must close by June 30th in order to receive the credit.

That means just a few weeks left to get approved for a loan, shop for a home, find the right one, write the contract, get the contract accepted, have home inspections, and get to the closing table.

AHHH! So much to do and so little time!

Don't miss this opportunity to have up to $8000 extra in you pockets.....and remember, this isn't just a first time home buyer credit either. If you've owned a home for the last five years you too can be eligible for up to $6,500 when you purchase a home.

See our post from 11/7/09 for the full details of the tax credits.

Real Estate Statistics - Clayton County, Fayette County & Henry County

Tax Credit Extended with New Features!

Congress just passed an expanded version of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire on November 30.

Although the tax credit remains at $8,000 for home buyers that have not owned a primary residence in the last three years, it has been expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for home buyers that have lived in their current primary residence for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight years. Under the old rules, move-up home buyers did not qualify.” Consider these three examples:

Example 1: Jane purchased a home in 2002, lived there for 5 years as her primary home, moved out in 2007, and turned that home into a rental property. If Jane decides to buy a new primary residence today, she would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that she lived in the same residence as her primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 2: Harry purchased a home in 2004, and lived there for the past 5 years as his primary home. If Harry decides to buy a new primary residence today, he would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that he lived in the same residence as his primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Example 3: Nicole purchased a home in 2006, and lived there for the past 3 years as her primary home. If Nicole decides to buy a new primary residence today, she would not qualify for the $6,500 tax credit based on the fact that she did not live in the same residence as her primary home for at least five consecutive years out of the past eight.

The tax credit applies to homes purchased for less than $800,000 before May 1, 2010. “If you sign a binding contract to purchase a home before May 1st, you would need to close on the transaction before July 1, 2010,” Nicholas said. “It works kind of like a gift certificate that can be redeemed for cash. You simply file a form with the IRS right after you buy your home, and the IRS will send you a check for the full amount of your credit.”

The income limitation for single tax payers went up from $75,000 under the old rules to $125,000 under the new rules. For married tax payers, the income limitation went up from $150,000 to $225,000.

There are many creative ways of structuring your home purchase transaction in ways that maximize the benefits of the credit. Here are a few examples:

• The credit applies to 1-4 unit homes as long as you live in one of the units as your primary residence – you could live in one unit and rent out the others

• If two unmarried individuals buy a home, and only one of the individuals qualifies for the credit based on their income or past home ownership status, the individual who qualifies for the credit can claim the full credit. (Note: In the case of married couples, both spouses must qualify for the credit.)

• The credit applies even if you have co-signers on your mortgage loan

Free Reports & Home Searches!

Have you visited our website lately? Just think, you can do so at your leisure without even having to talk to us (darn pesky real estate agents).

Just click the link ---> www.StephensandStephens.net
and click on "Your Organizer."

If you would like to receive listings directly to your email that match your home buying needs, set up a personal organizer. You'll be asked to provide your email address, set up a user name & password, and answer a few questions about your home search and from there you'll be able to search hundreds of listings that meet your needs. Going forward, our website will search the MLS every morning at approx 4:00am for any new listings that meet your needs and e-mail them directly to your organizer so they'll be there during your morning e-mail check. Check it out!

Also, don't miss out on our free report for buyers, sellers, and financing information. By creating an organizer, you can request these reports. They are packed with great information!

IF YOU'RE ON THE FENCE ABOUT BUYING (OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS) THEN GET OFF AND HURRY......WE MEAN RUN.....RUN FAST.....NO, WE MEAN REALLY REALLY FAST!

AND BUY A HOME BEFORE DECEMBER 1ST, 2009 IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE TAX CREDIT!

Remember, you can earn up to $8,000 in tax credits on your tax return! This is huge! Visit www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com for full details!