How to APPEAL The New FLOOD ZONES for Your Home

After the torrential flooding that affected several counties in Georgia a few years ago, many real estate owners can easily understand the need for revisions to the flood zones.  However, you may not agree with Sandy Springs’ finding for your home/neighborhood but did you know you have an option to appeal?

Before going into the appeal process, if you did not know the City Council is considering how to treat certain real estate properties in Sandy Springs that have been indicated by Sandy Springs engineers to be at risk of flooding.  Approximately 170 homes in Sandy Springs are located in a “gray” area that gives the City Council some choice on how those areas are rated for flood insurance purposes.  View the Sandy Springs flood map here: flood map.

Need Help with Your Mortgage?

Home-ownership for some in the past few years has gone from being the American Dream to a seemingly never-ending nightmare as the threat of losing not only their house but their home that represents their time, family, and livelihood is imminent.  Are you, or anyone you know, in this position?  Are you feeling overwhelmed by your current mortgage payments or afraid that you may lose your home?  Are you confused as to how you can get help? Well, if you are in Georgia, Rep. David Scott is sponsoring an event that may help you.

‘Tis the Season to Reassess Your Property Taxes

Whether you recently purchased a home or have been a homeowner for years in Metro Atlanta, 2011 will offer significant benefits for property taxpayers.  Due to the passage of the Georgia Senate Bill 346 earlier this year, reform is finally coming to the values assigned to our homes, which will bring hopefully much needed relief to real estate owners.  

 

Here are highlights of the new and improved revisions for Georgia real estate taxes:

• The sales price establishes Fair Market Value for the next tax year
• All relevant sales, including distressed sales,  will be included when determining Fair Market Value

Real Estate Market Update

Things are looking up in parts of Metro Atlanta’s real estate.  Whether you are selling or buying, you maybe  curious as to how things are selling in Metro Atlanta’s Sandy Springs area for different reasons of course.  As a buyer, you are interested in what type of deals you can buy while as a seller, you are hoping to see a turn around in the market so you can sell your home without taking too much of a loss.  Fortunately, I have good news for both.

Bought A Foreclosure Recently? Here’s How to Protect Yourself, Pt. 2

There are some homeowners that believe they were wrongfully foreclosed on and are now attempting to reclaim the foreclosed home.  If you recently purchased a foreclosed home and are concerned that someone may come knocking on your door in an attempt to recover the home, protect your investment today! 

As discussed in the first part of this topic, locate your closing documents and make sure you have title insurance (specifically an owner’s policy), which can be purchased after closing if you did not obtain this at closing.  In case you did not know, the owner’s policy of title insurance insures you against mistakes made in the public record, by the mortgage lender, and even by courts. Additionally, if title is being challenged, title insurance will cover the cost of defense and loss payment.  For more details on the benefits of title insurance visit http://www.homeclosing101.org/whyneed.cfm.

Bought A Foreclosure Recently? Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Undoubtedly, you have heard how banks have foreclosed on homeowners that did not deserve it and now some homeowners are fighting back.  Well, if you have purchased a foreclosure in the past few years, you may have a property that fits this description and may encounter an angry homeowner trying to reclaim the home.  If you have purchased a foreclosed property in the last three to five years, locate and check your title insurance to make sure that it will cover you if a claim on the property from the former owner were to arise.  If you are in the processing of purchasing real estate property, safeguard yourself by electing to get title insurance that has comprehensive coverage.

Metro Atlanta’s Top Scoring High Schools

Whether you are looking to relocate to the Metro Atlanta area or if you already live here but are in search for the best public school districts, here are the latest findings.  Despite the state of Georgia’s average SAT score for public, private and home schooling landing in the bottom of all the states (48th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia) with a total average of 1453, there are still Metro Atlanta public schools that exceed the state’s average and maybe a good choice for your high school-aged children.

Metro Atlanta’s top 10 schools with the highest average SAT scores are:

STOP HOME LOSS SERIES: You May Qualify For HUD’s New Interest Free Loans

The Obama administration will offer $1 billion in zero-interest loans to help homeowners who’ve lost income avoid foreclosure as part of $3 billion in additional aid targeting economically distressed areas.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to make loans of as much as $50,000 for borrowers in the hardest hit areas to make mortgage, tax and insurance payments for as long as two years through the HUD Emergency Homeowners Loan Program.  This new program will complement Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund (announced in Feb. 2010) by providing assistance to homeowners in hard hit local areas that may not be included in the hardest hit target states as listed below. Those areas are still being determined.

Best Places To Live For The Single And Wealthy

In CNNMoney’s recent poll, our beloved Sandy Springs tops yet another list.  Coming in at Number 4, Sandy Springs, GA is considered one of the best small cities to live in for affluent singles, just behind cities in California and Massachusetts.  Beyond the statistics listed at CNNMoney, Sandy Springs is home to some of Metro Atlanta’s most distinct and high-end homes, upscale restaurants and creative events.

Want to learn more about Sandy Springs?  Contact places2love@gmail.com or 404.444.5777.  Happy house hunting!

How To Get FREE MONEY After the Homebuyer Tax Credit Expires

With April 30, 2010 quickly approaching, if you are a first-time homebuyer, you maybe quickly trying to find a home that will allow you to get the federal tax credit of up to $8,000.  If so, you maybe able to stop stressing over the April 30th deadline.  Why?  Effective April 19, 2010, the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) is offering up to $7,500 to first-time homebuyers.  This is a 5-to-1 matching program so for every dollar you use towards the purchase of a new home, the FHLB will match qualified buyers 5 times that investment, up to $7500. 

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