Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide Archives

National Fire Prevention Week -October 7-13, 2012

October 5, 2012 by Thom Abbott

You know, things just have a funny way of happening.

Just yesterday, I was on the 21st floor of Twelve Atlantic Station with my first-time home (condo) buyer doing the inspection on the condo she is buying. And while we were talking, the subject of water and fire came up.

Water because the home inspector was showing her where the main water shut off was if there was ever an emergency in her condo regarding water. If you don’t live in a high, or mid-rise condominium, the two biggest problem causes are water and fire.

So then this morning, I see that next week is National Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13 to be exact. And it got me thinking about all the high-rise buildings in Atlanta. Of course there are the office buildings, but let’s focus on the residential condominium buildings. And fire safety.

Most of today’s newer condominium towers have pretty advanced life safety systems. But the are not fool proof, and still require human intervention. If an alarm DOES sound, it’s still up the the building’s Concierge or security officer to determine if it’s a false alarm or a real emergency. As I have been told in many buildings, the alarms will sound on the floor above, and below where the actual alarm has been triggered. If not silenced within a certain amount of time (based on there NOT being an emergency) the alarm will then sound in the entire building. Now, I’m not a fireman, or fire marshal, so my understanding of this process should not be taken as the gospel truth!!!

But let’s just think about this for one minute. Heaven forbid, there IS a fire in your building? Do you have an escape plan? Have you really paid attention to where the stairs are located on your floor? You do know the elevators immediately return to the lobby, open and are not operational until a “fire key” is used to turn them back on? Do you know where the stairwell exits out of your building? Maybe National Fire Prevention Week would be a good time to make your plan.

Are you aware that the doors to stairwells in high rises LOCK behind you when you enter the stairwell? (Or at least from a security standpoint most of them do?) There are suppose to be select floors whereby you can get OUT of the stairwell and back into a hallway if the exit via a stairwell is blocked.

Do you have a fire extinguisher in your condo?

Here’s a Saturday or Sunday morning exercise for you. Take the stairs from your condo to the street. Yeah, I don’t care if you are on the 28th or 36th floor. Take the stairs. Find out about locked doors. Find out about points of access back into the building if you needed to.

You know what? I’m having some knee problems, so a stairwell trip would be a real challenge for me, but I think I may just try it myself.

I’ll report back to you about what I found. And if you DO take this challenge, let me know by posting a comment here.

For MORE Information about fire safety and prevention, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s website.

Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide — Walk and Closing Day

August 6, 2012 by Thom Abbott

This is it! After searching, and negotiations, the day has come to complete your walk through and close on your new home or condo!

The Final Walk Through

Depending on when the Sellers move out of your new home or condo (it might also be vacant) you will want to do a Final Walk Through. Why? It may have been weeks, or even months since you were inside of the home or condo you are purchasing! If it was occupied by the Sellers, you want to make sure they did not damage anything after your home inspection or during their move out!

If you had repairs done as part of your Home Inspection, we will have looked at these prior to today to make sure they were done as agreed upon.

Closing Day!

This is our D-Day! We will meet at the closing attorney’s office and you and I, along with the Seller and the Seller’s Agent will sign all the documents necessary for you to become the new owner! As the Buyer, if you are obtaining financing, you will have the most things to sign at the closing table. If you are a first-time buyer, I try to get you a copy of the closing documents so you can review them in advance. They are lengthy, and often times, the closing attorney does not want to review them with you. Your closing documents are a result of your “loan package” coming from your lender or mortgage broker to the closing attorney. It your lender has delayed getting everything done, it may not be possible to get a copy to you in advance of the closing.

The HUD-1 or Closing Statement

Required by law, the HUD-1 is a recap of all the monies and expenses that are part of your closing.

The HUD-1 will detail all of your expenses with regard to purchasing the home or condo. It will also show credits to you from the Seller, such as if they agreed to buy you a home warranty, or pay money towards your closing costs.

Funds Needed For Closing

Once the HUD-1 has been completed you will know the exact amount of money you have to bring to closing. You probably already had a good idea of the amount from your lender. But it can always change. In the state of Georgia, any closing funds over $5,000 have to be wired to the closing attorney. They cannot be brought, even in certified funds.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section 44-14-13, funds for closing must be remitted as follows:
$1.00 – $1,000.00 = a personal check is fine (GWM policy)
$1,001.00 – $5,000.00 = wire or certified check (no personal checks allowed)
$5,000.01+ = WIRE ONLY (as required by the statute

The actual closing should not take more than an hour, but there are times when funds have not reached the closing attorney and checks to the Seller (hopefully they are making some money on the sale) and the agents for their marketing fees cannot be issued until the funds are in the closing attorney’s account.

CONGRATULATIONS on the purchase of your new Intown Atlanta home or condominium! I hope you enjoy many years in your new home!

Looking for a particular article in our Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyer’s Guide? Here’s the entire series!

Finding the Right Agent

Your Lender, Your Loan, Don’t Lie

Desire vs. Require

Let’s Go Shopping — Looking For Your New Home

Making The Offer (The Contract)

Contingencies In The Contract

Inspections, Oh My!

Walk and Close, Oh Happy Day!

Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide — The Inspection

August 5, 2012 by Thom Abbott

When you purchase Intown Atlanta Real Estate, an important part of the process is getting a home inspection by a licensed home inspector. In this part of our Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide, we look at the Inspection process.

What Is A Home Inspection?

Once you have negotiated a contract on your home or condo, it’s a pretty good idea to check under the hood! You know, like when you buy a used car, you want to take it to your OWN mechanic and tell you what, if anything is wrong with it. The same is true for a home or condo. We walked through the home as we were shopping, but we didn’t really get a chance to look under the hood. That is where the home inspector comes in.

You can choose your own, or consult our Team Page to get potential inspectors. You will want to be sure they are licensed and ASHI certified. (American Society of Home Inspectors) There are many, many home inspectors available to you in the Intown Atlanta real estate market. Some offer additional services such as a recall notification service and a warranty on their actual inspection!

What Is Covered In A Home Inspection?

A home inspection will vary greatly in a single family home from that of a condo. Why? Well in a condo, you don’t have to inspection items like the foundation, the roof or the exterior of the building. Those are items that are not specifically your responsibility when living in a condo and are taken care of by the home owners association. (HOA). But, your inspector can check items like:

Electrical – Inspection of the electrical panel, outlets and such to see that they are operational and up to building code.
HVAC — The home inspector will test the overall operation of the system. There are standards regarding the air temperature that the system should blow, both hot and cold. Most home inspectors are NOT licensed HVAC contractors, so if an issue is identified by the home inspector, it might require an additional inspection.
Plumbing — This inspection will check the operation of faucets, toilets, hot water heater and check for visible leaks. In a condo, the inspector does not have access inside the walls and can only look at what he has access to. However, in a home, there may be a basement area where additional pipes are exposed that can be inspected. It is still possible to find homes in the Atlanta area that are on a septic tank. In other words, the have their own system on the property and are not connected to a public sewer. This can be tricky and a buyer should be prepared for additional inspections (and costs) to make sure the septic system is functioning properly. This can be a very costly repair!
Appliances — Again, by the home inspector checking the stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, etc., you can identify current or potential problems that may exist with these items.

What Happens After The Inspection?

Once the home inspector has completed his inspection, he will provide both you (Buyer) and your agent (ME!) a copy of the report. We review the report and look at all of the items identified by the inspection that may need repair/replacement. I’ll review this list with you and together we will decide and rank in order of importance (and possibily cost) what we would like replaced/repaired by the Seller. This is all done with an amendment to your Purchase and Sale Agreement, called the Amendment To Address Concerns With Property.

You may have heard from many people that the home inspector is the “deal killer!” While I would call that a bit harsh, it can be a point in the real estate purchase process where challenges come up. A Seller may not be willing to fix/repair any of the items we have requested. Or they may only want to addess part of the items. It’s a negotiation process indeed! Do they always move forward. Yes and No! It all depends on the willingness of BOTH the Buyer and the Seller to come to a mutual agreement. Sometimes that agreement may not be the actual repair or replacement of the items listed, but an agreed upon reduction to the contract sales price, or a price reduction in lieu of repairs.

I’m always confident that we will find the mutual ground needed to keep moving forward. But not always. If that happens, we will have structured your Purchase and Sale Agreement to give you the ability to terminate.

And we’ll go find you another perfect home!

Our next column will cover the final walk-through and …..yes…..Closing!

NOTE: You should also know about Home Warranties! What Is a Home Warranty?

Looking for a particular article in our Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyer’s Guide? Here’s the entire series!