Tag Archive for: Athens GA

Millennial First Time Home Buyers in the Greater Athens Area

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Millennials Search for Unconventional Down Payment Funds, but at What Cost?

We’ve had several questions from customers recently about unconventional down payment funds, and wanted to share this information with you to potentially help you out! Interested in looking for your first home in the greater Athens area? Submit a request for contact or give us a call today! We’d be happy to walk you through the first time home buyer process and know what to plan on throughout the process!

Information and photo via Keller Williams

By Liz Dominguez decorative image Millennials meeting with REALTOR Rising home prices are standing in the way of millennials who want to buy their first home; however, these challenges are being overcome via some unconventional methods. Millennials are getting creative and finding sources for their down payment by any means necessary. But are these methods hurting the millennial generation financially?

Borrowing from family: Sure, gifted money doesn’t sound bad. But what if the families don’t have the cash to give? Instead, buyers are asking that their parents’ home be refinanced, using the home equity as a way to fund their own home purchase.

Of course, this can be beneficial in multiple-offer situations to get a competitive edge with an all-cash offer, but borrowing from a relative can go south fast. Not being able to pay a bank back can have repercussions like lowering a credit score, but missed payments to a relative can damage familial relations. Is it worth the risk?

Crowdfunding: There are new crowdfunding platforms being introduced every year, and more of them are tapping into the real estate industry. This can be a great way to amass gifted money from friends and family, but not everyone may see it that way. Instead of crowdfunding for their honeymoon, newlyweds are asking their wedding guests to donate toward their first home.

This method can get complicated in the lending world. Buyers will need to look into gifting regulations before accepting any gifted money.

5 Hints to Help Beat the Winter “Blahs” in the Greater Athens Area

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BEAT THE WINTER “BLAHS”

(Information via Keller Williams)

Five Quick Tips to Help You Beat the Winter Blahs
Are the short days and cold weather getting you down? Here are some fun ideas to help you beat the season.

Running IconGet Outside and Play
Bundle up and get outside for some exercise, especially on sunny days. Sunlight is a natural mood-enhancer and exercise stimulates and warms the body.

Visit A Spa, Or Set One Up At Home
That bitter cold doesn’t just make people blue; it also wreaks havoc on their skin. Combat both with a pampering trip to a day spa, or set one up at home.

Paintbrush Icon Give a Room a Bright New Look
If your house is contributing to your blahs, supercharge a room or two with summery decorative elements. Throwing a fresh coat of yellow paint on the walls, or adding bunches of fresh tulips, candles or accessories from favorite vacations won’t just warm the room; it’ll warm you, too.

Add Splashes of Color to Your Wardrobe
Pep up the wardrobe, too. Add an orange scarf for healing and peaceful feelings, a lime green jacket to balance your mood, or a red blouse for energy.

Trash IconGet Rid of Clutter
Take advantage of all the time spent indoors, organize closets, clean out the refrigerator, and purge old files. Most people report that having a handle on their household clutter increases, their peace of mind and happiness.

Stay warm out there! And if you or anyone you know needs professional real estate advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

 

This Month in Real Estate January 2018

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Real Estate Trends – Interested in Your Neighborhood?

(Information via Keller Williams)

This Month in Real Estate

Monthly VideoAccording to the National Association of REALTORS®, existing home sales accelerated significantly in November, reaching their fastest rate of growth in over 10 years. In spite of ongoing inventory constraints, particularly in the starter-home segment, and a healthy, growing median home price, homes are selling rapidly as buyers scoop up available properties.

Interest Rates

AccordingMonthly Video to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed rates rose from 3.90 percent to 3.99 percent. This rate remains well below the historical average of 8.90 percent.

Home Sales

The National Association of REALTORS® reported home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of approximately 5.8 million homes during the month of November. This was an increase of 5.6 percent from October and an increase of 3.8 percent from November of last year.

Home Sales Graph

Home Prices

Home Price Graph

The median home price increased to $248,000 in November, which was up 0.8 percent from October and up 5.8 percent from November of last year. The median home price has increased by approximately $13,600 in the past year alone.

Inventory

There was a 3.4-month supply of housing inventory in November, which was a 12.8 percent decrease from October. The total number of available homes for sale has decreased by 15.0 percent compared to November of last year.

Inventory Graph

Interested in what’s happening in the greater Athens area or your neighborhood? Submit a request for contact or give us a call for a no obligation review!

Brought to you by KW Research. For additional graphs and details, please see the This Month in Real Estate PowerPoint Report.The opinions expressed in This Month in Real Estate are intended to supplement opinions on real estate expressed by local and national media, local real estate agents and other expert sources. You should not treat any opinion expressed on This Month in Real Estate as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., does not guarantee and is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of information, and provides said information without warranties of any kind. All information presented herein is intended and should be used for educational purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as investment advice. You should always conduct your own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decision. All investments involve some degree of risk. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in This Month in Real Estate.

Purchasing Real Estate in College Towns

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Thinking of moving near campus in the greater Athens area?

There is excitement in the air, as our Dawgs have advanced to the championship game! Most of us agree that living in the greater Athens area is one of the best decisions that we have made! Living in a college town often includes attractions, special events, unique small businesses and more! But did you know that your real estate values could also benefit from living in or near a college town?

According to U.S. News and World Report, there may be several benefits to living in or around a college town. Some of the benefits they mention include your home being in demand, added security, and being close to everything!

Purchasing or selling a home is many times one of the largest financial decisions that a person will make. When purchasing a home in the greater Athens area, it’s good to know that being in a community with a thriving campus atmosphere could also benefit your quality of life and home values. Interested in learning more about our local real estate market? Submit a request for contact, or simply give us a call today! We’d be happy to create a customized report just for you.

Top 10 New Years Resolutions for 2018

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Here are this year’s most popular resolutions.

(Information and photo via Keller Williams)

It’s that time of year!

If you’ve resolved to ring out the old and start the New Year with clean slate, you’re in good company.

Here are the this year’s most popular resolutions:

10. Find a new / better job
9. Volunteer / contribute more to charity
8. Learn something new
7. Exercise more
6. Spend more time with family / close friends
5. Do more new / exciting things
4. Quit smoking
3. Make smarter financial decisions
2. Lose weight / eat healthier
1. Buy a home or move

Know someone that may need help with #1? At Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates, we’d be glad to help! Submit a request for contact or give us a call to customize a home sale or purchase plan, just for you!

5 Helpful Hints for First Time Homebuyers

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Shopping for your first home in the greater Athens area

Information via Hannah Harris at Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates

 

 

 

 

Thinking of purchasing your first home, or just looking for some helpful hints in the home purchase process? Here are 5 helpful hints from Hannah at Team JWA!

  1. Get pre-qualified with a LOCAL lender. Your REALTOR may have recommendations.
  2. Ask your REALTOR to send you listings once you get your price range from your lender.
  3. Make a list of potential homes and drive by each one to check out the neighborhood. Do research.
  4. Schedule an appointment with your REALTOR to see AT MOST 5 houses. Try to keep your list as short as possible because you’ll have a hard time keeping up with which houses have which features.
  5. Pick the one that best suits your needs and ask your REALTOR to get an offer in.

Ready to learn more about your neighborhood in the greater Athens area, or what might be available to you? Submit a no obligation request for contact, or give us a call today! We’ll create a customized plan just for you.

Team JWA 2018 Dog Calendars

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2018 Dog Calendars to Benefit the Athens Area Humane Society Now Available!

The Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates 2018 dog calendars to benefit the Athens Area Humane Society are now available! The calendar was created from client and community dog submissions, featuring monthly themes! Calendars are $15 each, with proceeds benefiting the AAHS. These make fantastic gifts this holiday season! Take a look at the monthly calendar below to see if anyone you know (or your dog) is featured on the 2018 calendar!

Calendars can be purchased at our JWA office, plus Pet Supplies Plus, the Athens Area Humane Society or Mutty Paws (thank you Mutty Paws for providing your space for dog photos too!). Special thanks to Banksouth, Oconee Painting, Adams Development and Appraisal and Pet Supplies Plus for helping with this year’s calendar production! As always, if you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in the greater Athens area, we would love to answer any questions you may have! Submit a request for contact today, or simply give us a call.

Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates
1361 Jennings Mill Road B-100
Watkinsville GA 30677

Pet Supplies Plus
191 Alps Road
Athens

Athens Area Humane Society
1781 Mars Hill Road
Watkinsville

Mutty Paws
48 Greensboro Hwy
Watkinsville

 

Best Wishes This Holiday Season

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Best Wishes from the team at Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates

Sleepy Puppy Best wishes for a warm and relaxing holiday season. We are so grateful for each of our clients, and appreciate your support in 2017. We look forward to serving you and your family and friends in 2018 and beyond! Do you have special holiday traditions? We love viewing holiday lights! Here’s a blog post from Explore Georgia with 10 top holiday light displays in Georgia. How many have you seen?

We have some exciting events coming up in 2018, but there is still time in 2017 to help those in need in our community. Team JWA 2018 Dog Calendars are available for only $15 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Athens Area Humane Society! These would make fantastic stocking stuffers.

We were also happy to provide gifts to the Santa for a Senior program at the Athens Community Council on Aging, and are currently collecting pet food donations for the Meals on Wheels for Pets “Will’s Pet Pantry”. For each pound of pet food donated in December, Team JWA will match your donation pound for pound! You can drop off donations at our office, or directly at the ACCA. Learn more about how you can help at our JWA blog. Thank you, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

 

Potential Home Improvement Projects for Home Resale

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Which projects might be the best to complete when thinking about home resale?

Information via Brandon McEachern with Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates

As usual, the kitchen is the focal point on interior value.  From there, it’s the bathrooms and wood floors (instead of carpet) which boost your return.  But what folks may be missing is what I call the “big ticket items”.  Buyers are savvy when it comes to research these days.  And when they get the Seller’s Disclosure, they’re looking for these important factors:  The age of the roof, HVAC system and water heater.  So if you have a 30-year roof, and it’s 27 years old, replacing it is a tremendous selling point that may give you the edge over the competition.  The same goes for the other components I mentioned.  The good thing is that you can likely get the value back out of these upgrades.  Let’s face it: buyers will spend their budget on the purchase…and rarely have additional money set aside to replace the roof, HVAC, water heater, etc.  So check up on the ages of these systems.  If they’re near the end of their shelf-life, you may seriously want to consider replacement prior to listing.  If all of them are in great shape, then go ahead and splurge on that big kitchen renovation.

Interested in your specific home or neighborhood? Submit a request for contact today, or simply give us a call! As your local real estate agents, we know the greater Athens area market!

ACCA Santa for a Senior Success

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Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates Supports Seniors at the Athens Community Council on Aging

We had so much fun shopping for seniors at the Athens Community Council on Aging this year, and were happy to support the ACCA Santa for a Senior program! These gifts are on their way to the Athens Community Council on Aging today. They will be gift wrapped at 4pm today at the ACCA, then given to seniors in our greater Athens area community. Thanks to everyone that helped with this program!

Would you still like to help out seniors in our community via the ACCA? Join us in our Meals on Wheels for Pets food drive! For each pound of food you donate to Will’s Pet Pantry at the ACCA in December, we’ll match your donation pound for pound!