6th November 2010

Best places for the rich and single – Sandy Springs, GA!?

I found this interesting too – I did not know Sandy Springs was the singles Mecca it is – but with the Northside hospital complex nearby and all the young interns that attracts, it makes sense! For the single gentlemen, I do know that nearby Vinings has a high population of single women homeowners – 3-4 ladies for every man!

Anyway, Money Magazine rated Sandy Springs, GA #4 out of 25 affluent US cites where singles are abundant!

Money Magazines Description of Sandy Springs:

Charming Southern gentlemen and sweet Georgia peaches in this Atlanta suburb are making the rounds at one of three major hospitals in the area or running operations at a Fortune 500 company like United Parcel Service or Newell Rubbermaid. Thanks to the natural springs the city is named for and the Chattahoochee River that flows through it, Sandy Springs offers a tranquil and peaceful setting for romance to blossom. After taking a stroll along the riverbank, head to Buckhead, Atlanta’s vibrant uptown district, for a night on the town. –H.Y.

I agree – young doctors and interns will find Sandy Springs very convenient to the major hospital complexes at Northside, St Josephs, and Emory!

A few stats:

Population: 82,674

Single: 35.6% – (that’s a high ratio of singles)

Median family income: $115,171 (That ranks in the top 25 of all 100 Best Places Cites)

Median Home Price: $380,000

Whether you’re a Grey’s Anatomy type in the medical field, rich, middle income, single or married, I can help you get a superb deal on prime Sandy Springs, GA real estate – from $200,000 to $10,000,000 – just reach out to me at 678-585-9691!
Robert

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6th November 2010

Top 100 Places to Live – Roswell, GA at #76!

Well it’s nice to have my town, Roswell, GA win a spot (#76) in Money Magazines 2010 “Top 100 Small Cities in America” the only Georgia city to rank in the top 100 Best Places to Live! As a Roswell resident for the past 4 years I can tell you it is an excellent place to live and my family loves it.

As a licensed GA real estate broker and 30 year resident of metro Atlanta, I can tell you there are other excellent places to live in North Atlanta as well, such as Marietta, East Cobb (the section of Roswell I live in) Alpharetta, Milton, Crabapple, and Johns Creek – these should have been on the list.

Money magazines description of Roswell:

Home to several plantation houses from the Civil War era, historically rich Roswell is committed to a family-friendly environment. It has some of the best public schools in the state, the lowest crime rate in the region, and a myriad of outdoor activities, making it easy to understand why families flock to this affluent Atlanta suburb. Residents love their many public events, including the monthly Alive after Five summer festival, with plenty of food, shopping, and live music. –J.S.

All true and here are a few stats to go along:

Median Family Income- $113,750 (ranked 24th highest income of the100 cities)

Median Home Price – $246,700 (the average of the 100 was $239,300)

Now as you know, Oprah Winfrey can afford to live anywhere on the planet, and I read a quote in a magazine article where she said Roswell, GA was one of the best places to live a few years ago – though I can’t recall which magazine, I agree with Oprah!

Oprah or anyone else wanting a fantastic deal on prime Roswell real estate should call me immediately at 678-585-9691!
Robert

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25th February 2009

$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit Now Available!

The following is a well written article about this important first time home buyer incentive aimed at stimulating the economy. As I have said many times before – if you know your job is secure and you have good credit, there has never been a better time to buy an Atlanta home or Atlanta investment property. Robert Whitfield

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch 2/25/09

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — First-time home buyers who purchase a home this year can now take advantage of the stimulus bill’s $8,000 tax credit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a news release on Wednesday.

Unlike the previous $7,500 credit available to this group of buyers, the credit outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does not have to be paid back — if the home remains the buyer’s “main home” for at least 36 months after the purchase date, according to the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site. First-time buyers, for the purpose of this credit, are those who have not owned a home in three years.

Buyers must purchase a home before Dec. 1 to be eligible, and the credit can be claimed on a home buyer’s 2008 or 2009 tax return. Tax returns for 2008 are due by April 15, but most taxpayers can get automatic extensions to Oct. 15 without citing a reason. (You must pay any estimated tax liability at the time the extension is filed.) Filing an amended 2008 return after you buy would also be an option for getting the credit sooner.

“For first-time home buyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, in a news release. “This important change gives qualifying home buyers cash they do not have to pay back.”

Buyers can claim 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately, according to the IRS’ Web site. The credit starts to phase out for those whose adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

The IRS has posted a revised version of the form required to claim the credit, Form 5405, on IRS.gov. Visit IRS.gov’s first-time home buyer page.

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3rd November 2008

Despite Market Mess – Mortgages Are Freely Available

WASHINGTON – Credit squeeze, credit freeze, credit system seizures: Everybody knows how severe and painful the global financial breakdown has been – with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks.

But what about mortgages and real estate? Can you still get a home loan with less than a 20 percent or 30 percent down payment? Or with a credit score below 720?
Absolutely. It would be a big stretch to label housing the sunny side of the market at the moment, but there’s a lot more light there than in most other financial sectors. Consider these facts:

• There is no shortage of money available for home mortgages, no freezing of credit to purchase or refinance a house. Why? Because the American mortgage market has been federalized – at least for the time being. More than 90 percent of new loans now are being made through FHA, the Federal Housing Administration insurance program, plus Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHA is owned by the federal government, and Fannie and Freddie are operating under federal conservatorship. All three have unfettered access to global capital markets at rock-bottom costs because their borrowings are fully guaranteed by the Treasury.

• Loan terms and credit underwriting standards have been toughened up, but you can still put down 3 percent (3.5 percent after Jan. 1) on an FHA-insured mortgage and 5 percent on certain Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan programs with private mortgage insurance. FHA’s credit standards are generous and forgiving – the agency exists to help people with less-than-spotless credit histories. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have raised their credit score requirements over the past year, but buyers and refinancers with scores in the upper 600s can still qualify for loans carrying reasonable rates and fees.

• Despite the global financial system’s quakes, mortgage rates not only remain low by historical standards, but for the week ended October 30, 2008 while 30 year fixed rates ticked up to 6.46% from 6.04% a week earlier – that is still among the lowest rates for a 30 year mortgage in the last 25 years!

• Maximum “jumbo” loan amounts through FHA, Fannie and Freddie in high-cost local markets on the West and East coasts continue to be $729,750 through December. In January, the high-cost maximum is projected to dip to approximately $625,000.

• Home prices – pushed by foreclosures and short sales – have rolled back to 2003 and 2004 levels or lower in many of the former boom markets. As a result, growing numbers of buyers are coming off the sidelines, making offers and writing contracts. The pending home sales index jumped by 7.4 percent based on purchase contracts signed in August, according to the National Association of Realtors. The heaviest increases – pointing to higher closed sales in the coming two to three months – were in California, Florida, Nevada and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Housing and mortgage leaders say consumer worries about the stock market have obscured positive developments under way in real estate, where pricing pain and downsizing have been facts of the life for the past two and a half years.

David G. Kittle, president and CEO of Principle Wholesale Lending Inc. and incoming chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, says “the mortgage market has never shut down” despite the global financial crisis. Money is “clearly available as long as you can qualify for it” with at least a modest down payment and decent credit history.

On the front lines, mortgage company owner Jeff Lipes, president of Family Choice Mortgage near Hartford, Conn., says “I don’t think consumers really know how free-flowing capital is right now in the residential mortgage market. There are no shortages, no breakdowns. People ought to be aware of that.”

Bottom line: Scary as the news has been about stocks and banks, this is not the case for mortgages. Besides shopping at large national lenders, check in with local banks and credit unions who may be originating loans for their own portfolios – not for Fannie, Freddie or FHA. Many of them are healthy, have plenty of cash to lend, and may be surprisingly competitive on terms and rates compared with the big boys.

Contact Robert Whitfield at Advantage Realtors if you need a good source for home equity lines – we have a local North Atlanta lender with more relaxed underwriting guidelines and better rates than the big national banks.

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26th September 2008

A Darkhorse Candidate Emerges!

While the two presidential candidates were taking time away from their campaigns this week to attend congressional hearings on the $700 billion dollar “bail out”, the internet and chat rooms in Atlanta have been on fire. Apparently a local Atlanta real estate Broker has been endorsed by people all over the country as a possible candidate! CNBC’s Wolf Blitzer says this is nothing short of a Phenomenon! Click the following video for this emerging story.


 
The Robert Whitfield Home Selling Team hope you enjoyed the video and the consensus is, there is very little chance of Robert being called away to Washington – at least for the near and far foreseeable future! Robert in a recent press release stated emphatically, My skill sets and intersts will keep me here in Atlanta – I am still available to assist the public with unmatched service for all their Atlanta Real Estate needs!

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