Archive for July, 2007
Red Light Runners in Alpharetta and Roswell Bring in the Green
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Roswell Real Estate, Stuff I like to talk about, Stuff I like to talk about and know nothing about
This post is a little off my normal real estate related theme, but is something that affects North Fulton communities and something that affects its residents: Red Light Traffic Cameras.
The old saying goes that “Green mean go; Red means stop; and yellow means drive like hell.”
That is not the case any longer in Roswell and Alpharetta since the installation of cameras at two major intersections in Roswell and seven in Alpharetta. Believe me when I tell you that I know exactly where these nine intersections are and that I absolutely hit the breaks when the light turns yellow. I’m conditioned now.
I have no doubt in the effectiveness of the cameras preventing people from running red lights because I’ve noticed a change in my own behavior. I actually consider my actions before proceeding through a yellow light.
| Alpharetta Red Light Cameras North Point Parkway and Haynes Bridge Road
Main Street (Highway 9) and Academy Street Old Milton Parkway and North Point Parkway Old Milton Parkway and Haynes Bridge Road Old Milton Parkway and Main Street (Highway 9) West Side Parkway and Windward Parkway North Point Pkwy at Mansell Rd |
| Roswell Red Light Cameras Roswell Road (Highway 9) and Mansell Rd
Roswell Road (Highway 9) and Holcomb Bridge Rd |
When the lights were first installed I was afraid that I’d been caught a couple of times and wondered if I’d be getting a notice in the mail, but fortunately nothing arrived. However, the threat alone of a fine is enough to make me change my driving behavior. I’ve also learned that a violation is defined as crossing the “stop line” with your front tires after the light has turned red.
So why are people so upset with the cameras? House Bill 77 has been introduced in the Georgia House to do away with the cameras altogether. House Bill 590 has been introduced to reduce the maximum fine from $70 to $35.
I believe that people are upset because they see the cities making literally millions of dollars on fines from the cameras. Alpharetta has collected over a million dollars from its seven monitored intersections from July 2006 through June 2007. Roswell is on track to collect about $700,000 annually from its two monitored intersections.
Citizens feel it is sneaky, though, of their local government to use this “backhanded” way to fill their coffers. More accurately, I think that people are just very frustrated with traffic and fell they shouldn’t be fined anymore for occasionally slipping through an intersection. After all, the slow traffic is penalty enough.
To me it is a safety issue. As a realtor, I drive in Alpharetta and Roswell a LOT. I routinely see people run lights and stop signs and I’ve seen so many near misses I’ve lost count. If cameras change the driving behavior of other people like they have me, then that is a good thing and something I support.
The evidence is that is actually the case: Revenue from the cameras in Alpharetta is actually down in 2007 from 2006. That indicates fewer people running lights.
The City of Johns Creek doesn’t have any red light cameras yet, but is considering them – and frankly needs them along highway 141. Mayor Bodker says he is opposed to them if they are only revenue generators for the city.
First of all, I believe they actually reduce the worst kind of traffic accidents, but even if they don’t, what is wrong with enforcing the traffic laws and raising revenues that way? We tax “sin” in this country all the time with cigarette and alcohol taxes. Is running a red light a sin? If you T-bone and kill someone it is.
If it were possible to finance a government by fine revenues and sin taxes wouldn’t it be great to rely less on property and sales taxes? I digress…
In a recent survey of Alpharetta residents, 2,602 people responded to a question about various priorities in the area of traffic and roads. 
Installing more red light cameras was at the bottom of the list.
When asked how they would like to control litter, respondents overwhelming said enforce litter laws and impose fines. Yet when it comes to traffic, people don’t seem to want to enforce the law and impose fines.
To me, it is a lot like workplace drug testing. If you don’t have anything to hide, why would you oppose it. Now, if you don’t agree with the law itself, then that is a different problem, but the drug tests and the traffic cameras simply enforce the letter of the law. The problem is that they enforce them too well for some people.
In the end, traffic is the issue. More precisely, getting from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time with limited frustration without killing each other is the issue. My vote would be for more red light cameras and earmarking the revenue for traffic improvements: more turn lanes, longer turn lanes, intersection improvements, light timing, etc.
Ask anyone around here and traffic is the number one issue. The red light cameras just bring it to focus with the right shutter speed.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 7 Comments »
The Reading Tree Bookstore Opens in Alpharetta
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Roswell Real Estate, Stuff I like to talk about
Today, I bought my son the new Harry Potter book. I wasn’t planning on it; I figured that the new book would be hard to find and we could wait.
However, I was driving down Cumming Street near downtown Alpharetta and saw something exciting: A new, independent, bookstore. The Reading Tree has opened across from Alpharetta First Methodist Church where there was formerly a hair salon. From my perspective, that is, a male who uses 2–in-1 shampoo and hasn’t owned a blow dryer since high school, I think the world needs more book stores and fewer hair salons. I quickly turned left into the parking lot.
The Reading Tree Replaces Hobbit Hall
What I learned is that The Reading Tree is a book store targeted at kids, which is great because I have two avid young readers and a third aspiring one. The interesting part is that The Reading Tree is the outgrowth of Hobbit Hall, the former kids bookstore in Roswell that closed a year or two ago. I had always wondered what had happened to Hobbit Hall. It had been a cozy place of childhood retreat and we had even had one of our children’s birthday parties there.
It so happens that the owner of The Reading Tree, Martha Collins, became neighbors with the owner of Hobbit Hall, Kim Dickie, at the time when Kim was looking to get out of the business because she was going to have another child. Martha wanted to start a business and inquired about purchasing Hobbit Hall.
Martha told me that the challenge turned out to be that the City of Roswell was very tough to work with regarding signage; Hobbit Hall, as cute and inviting an old building that it was and located near the historic Bullock Hall, was in a poor location to find and navigate into. Once you got there, the parking was insufficient and the neighbors were never happy about all the on-street parking.
Add to that that almost all the customers were coming from Alpharetta, and Martha said Alpharetta was the logical place to open her store. She says she didn’t actually purchase Hobbit Hall after deciding to relocate to Alpharetta. The only reminder of Hobbit Hall is that some of the bookcases were reused in the new store. Hobbit Hall is merely the spiritual father of The Reading Tree.
Business Decisions Tell Story about Alpharetta / North Fulton Real Estate Market
As a realtor and market watcher, to me the interesting subplot in this story is that a single business owner can be a good barometer of demographic trends and economic tides. This entrepreneur selected Alpharetta over Roswell. I dare say that I’ve heard and read many times how the business climate in Roswell is suffering. Promises of renovations to the historic areas have not come to fruition. More business doors are closing than opening. More importantly, the customers have moved north to Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek and even Cumming. I can’t remember the last dollar I spent at a downtown Roswell business.
Don’t get me wrong, Alpharetta’s downtown in no great shakes, either. Some people question even calling it a downtown and no significant businesses are located there. I was at the Alpharetta Farmer’s Market this morning and noticed a few more closed stores on Milton Street.
However, Alpharetta has more upside, particularly if we can get the City Center projected funded and built. Plus, Alpharetta has a city government that is more united in its vision of growing and (re)developing the city.
The Reading Tree chose Alpharetta and I’m glad they did. I enjoyed my quick visit where story time was about to begin and where they are also going to host birthday parties and other children’s activities like Hobbit Hall used to. The Reading Tree stands to make a nice contribution to our city and fill a needed void in the market.
As I had come into The Reading Tree I had noticed a sign for the new Harry Potter book and the young man behind the counter was reading a copy. The book had only come out the day before and I expected it to be harder to find than an iPhone. The young man told me he had two boxes of them and I quickly snatched one. I won’t tell you how it ends! The Reading Tree has one for you – welcome them to the neighborhood when you visit.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Buyers Should Use a REALTOR Even When Buying New Construction - Part 2
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, New Construction
I wrote earlier that one good reason to use a realtor when purchasing new construction is to manage issues around the inspection and to make sure you are buying a quality home. There are other reasons, too. We’ve run into other situations recently where buyers of new construction have had trouble and a realtor can help.
Earnest Money or Builder Deposit
When you purchase a new construction home often times the builder will ask for a “construction deposit”. This is different than earnest money. Earnest money is your “skin in the game.” It is your good faith that you will close the transaction, but it is refundable if any of the contingencies on the contract (typically financing, inspection and sometimes the sale of another home) are not released. Earnest money is held by a third party in an escrow account until the transaction is close.
As an agent representing buyers, our brokerage is always the third party holding the money. If there is ever a dispute over earnest money - and this does occur more often than you would think - the broker holding the money has some discretion on how it is dispersed. In other words, the broker can evaluate the facts of the case and use her best judgment to make a dispersal. If the other side does not agree there are defined dispute resolution procedures managed by the Georgia Real Estate Commission. However, at least with us holding the earnest money, the burden is really on the other side if they want to pick a fight and take it to the Commission.
Builder Deposits are different. A deposit is a deposit and is usually for the builder to complete certain finish items on the house to your tastes. Understandably builders want to get paid for modifications and finish items they put in a house for you and they reason that if you don’t wind up buying the house that they have invested on your behalf and may have to “undo your changes” in order to make the house appeal to another buyer.
The Missing $100k Deposit
We’ve had two cases recently where there have been issues with deposits. The first, we had a $100k deposit on a house (it was a big house) AND a contingency to sell the buyer’s home. The builder took the deposit and spent it (there are some cash starved builders in this economy) and the buyer’s home didn’t sell in time. Fortunately there were reputable real estate brokerages involved on both sides and the builder’s partner took out a personal loan to repay the deposit, but this could have gotten sticky.
The Lost $10k Deposit
In another case, a buyer put down $10k as a builder deposit. The inspection report then revealed significant issues with the home to the point where the buyer did not want to close. The builder refused to refund the deposit and even threatened to sue the buyers to make them perform under the terms of the contract and buy the house. The contract stated that repairs could be made after closing.
Realtors were not involved in this transaction and the buyer wound up walking away from his $10k deposit and the builder never pursued the lawsuit as far as we know.
Beware of the contracts that you sign with the builders. They are not the standard Georgia Association of Realtors contract and they are heavily slanted in favor of the builder. If you are not going to use a realtor, at least consider having an attorney review the contract before you sign. At a minimum, read the fine print yourself.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Buy a House and Get Free Golf Membership in Laurel Springs
categories: Golf Communities
There was a house for sale on Bethany Bend for quite a while and they were offering a golf membership at The Manor as a buyer incentive. Sounds nice to a golfer like me, particularly at The Manor, but I’ve always wondered why sellers don’t just lower the price by $50k because not every potential buyer is a golfer.
Well, the house didn’t sell. Then they did lower the price and when they did they took away the golf incentive. Go figure.
Yesterday, I found another house, though, that comes with a golf membership. I wanted to bring it to your attention because it is a nice situation for people looking to downsize and who want to play golf.
Downsizing
In North Fulton there are a lot of people who moved here ten years ago to raise their kids, send them to good schools and get a bigger house. Now the kids have graduated and the house is more than they want.
However, these people are still working in the area and still have friends in the area. This clientele is used to living in well appointed homes. They don’t want to give that up; they just don’t need so much space.
Townhome Options in Alpharetta and Johns Creek
Their solution has often been to buy some of the higher end townhomes and condos typically in Alpharetta at the likes of Academy Park (John Weiland, high $400’s) or Victoria Square (Peachtree Residential, low $400’s).
If they want to be east of GA-400 and closer to Peachtree Corners and Norcross, you have a lot more from which to choose including, Myers Park, Eaton Manor, Long Pointe and the cool new “Arts and Crafts” townhomes at Johns Creek Walk. In all, there are 101 condo/townhomes for sale above $300k in Fulton County east of GA-400.
All this brings me back to my point, about which I bet you were wondering. There is another option — one with golf and a yard and perfect for someone looking to downsize.
Laurel Springs: Can it really be for downsizers?
Laurel Springs is a gated community in Forsyth County just north of Johns Creek. It is about ten years old is family oriented with great amenities and has a Jack Nicklaus Signature course as its centerpiece. Homes in Laurel Springs range up to a million dollars, with the average probably being around $700k.
There is a 4 BR / 3 BA all-brick home for sale in Laurel Springs for $500k that includes a golf membership and would be perfect for a couple looking to downsize and still wants a single family home.
The home is in perfect condition; it has two offices on the main level, two huge separate his and hers closets in the master, enough room for the kids and grandkids to come and visit, but not so much as to encourage them to stay too long!
Best of all, the home has gardens in the back stocked with tons of perennials. This home has more upgrades in the garden than most homes have in the kitchen.
And then there is the golf membership. Not only do you get to play a Laurel Springs, though, you get “cart fee only” golf at over 100 other reciprocating courses including Bear’s Best, just around the corner; Nicklaus Club at Birch River in Dahlonega; and Eagle’s Landing in Woodstock.
There is couples golf if your spouse plays and you would like to play together to socialize with other couples. The Men’s Golf Association has 18 tournaments a year so there is always something going on and there is a Women’s Golf Association, too. For the grandchildren who visit in the summer, there is a Junior’s program to help them learn the game.
I know that this house / garden / golf opportunity is just right for someone out there who wants to downsize and doesn’t really want to be in a townhouse or condo. You have another option and this is it.
That’s was good realtors are for: helping you understand all your choices and helping to find alternatives for you.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Flip This House Casting for Upcoming Season and Investor Deals in Milton / Alpharetta
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Milton Real Estate
Flip This House, the show on A&E that anyone with the slightest interest in real estate or real estate investing has surly watched, is casting for the upcoming season.
They are looking for confident, charismatic, motivated and opinionated people who “flip” residential properties for a living. They want real-estate adrenaline junkies who love the high risk, high reward nature of their jobs and who are devoted to doing a great job.
But even if you have tons of charisma and a bank account to match, you still need subject properties to give you your adrenaline rush. With that in mind, in my travels around Milton and Alpharetta, I occasionally find properties that could be good flipping material for any of you looking for your fix (or flip).
Deals for Investors in Alpharetta / Milton
The best home for flipping is in Lexington Plantation, which is off Birmingham Highway, not too far from Milton High School. This area near Doris Road is characterized by estate homes and horse pastures.
Lexington Plantation itself is only one street with about eight homes on it. 
The home in question was built in 1989. I know this is a terrible picture, but believe me when I say it is absolutely huge inside, probably about 6,000 sq ft including the basement.
As it is now, it is 6 BR / 5 BA. It is on a two acre lot at the end of a cul-de-sac and has a swimming pool (that is currently covered).This house is bank-owned and has been under contract twice already only to fall through.
The first time, the lender would not underwrite because there is no certificate of occupancy. The second time, the buyer backed out once he found that the only loan he could get was going to be at 9–10%.
The reason the bank owns the house is that apparently an investor had it and quit half way through the renovation. The house is torn down to studs in many places; electrical is roughed in; the kitchen is a room with four walls waiting for a new design. From an investor’s point of view, half the work is already done.
The “after repair value of this home could easily be $800k to one million dollars, depending on how it is finished. Repairs are going to run around $150k – $200k. The list price of the home is $444,900. You do the math. The lot itself is worth the asking price.
I’m amazed this property is still available. I actually had a client offer to purchase it for $400k 
cash and the bank refused it and took a higher priced offer that ultimately fell through – that was round two.
I’m not saying the bank did the right thing, but the reason they didn’t take our cash offer then was because they had had nineteen offers the first time it went on the market. I guess they were feeling a little saucy.
I wonder if a bank has a memory and thinks back and wishes it had taken the cash two months ago?
Regardless, it is going to take cash to do this deal this time. Even if a bank is a slow learner, they know that cash (or possibly a construction loan) is all that is going to get this deal done when the house is in the condition that it is in.
Another house I’ll mention is a stucco house in Providence Lake, a neighborhood with some homes in the high $600’s. The house definitely needs work and is subject to some neglect. It needs to have the basement finished and possibly the stucco replace.
However, it is a decent sized house in a good neighborhood. It was originally priced at $510k but has been reduced to $430k after having been on the market since February.
To be as good a deal as the first house and to have as much upside, an investor would need to get it somewhere in the $300’s.
How to Get Cast on Flip This House
If you would like to help put Milton and Alpharetta on the map for the A&E viewing audience and show the nation how we flip houses southern style, send an email to fth@813casting.com. Include your contact info, bios on you and your team, and some reasons why your team should be the next to be featured on Flip This House! Teams should consist of four or more people.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Tear Down Old Milton High School Before Building Freemanville High School
categories: Schools
As most folks are now aware, the Fulton County Board of Education announced this Spring the purchase of 117 acres of land on Freemanville Road near Wood Road, just south of the entrance to the gated section of White Columns. The intention is to build an additional high school as well as a middle school on the site.
The first reaction of the local residents is always to petition, so, here is the obligatory petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/new-school-site-opposition.html So far, there are 190 signatures. That’s not an overwhelm ground swell of opposition, in my opinion. Petitions don’t matter though, anyway. I wonder if blogs do?
Naturally people living in the area are upset – this site was the very site they all fought so hard to keep Kings Ridge Christian School from building on a few years. Ultimately the residents lost their battle in court to stop the school, but the school elected to go elsewhere anyway and found more accommodating neighbors at their new site on Bethany and Cogburn Roads. I suspect the residents of Freemanville Road would trade today the projected 750 student Kings Ridge, which has built a very eye-appealing building (some people say it looks like a ski lodge) for the 1800 student public high school.
None the less, what is done is done. The school board made the site selection and has purchased the property. This is always done with the utmost secrecy because of the impact (both positive and negative) that it can have on the surrounding property. And the school board can act with complete autonomy and impunity; no local government has to approve any zoning. Fait accompli.
I understand the rationale of why the school board makes site selections like it does. If they couldn’t be shielded from the barrage of comment and protest that they would get from every site selection process, new schools would never be built…and new schools we need without question.
When the new Milton High School opened in 2005, it did not add any capacity to the system; it simply replaced an aging, falling down, old school with a new one. By 2012, it is projected that without a new school there will be 3000 students attending Milton High School, which was built for 1850. Now that would really create traffic congestion in Crabapple, as if that would be our biggest problem. I don’t know any potential home buyers in this area who would like to move to this area to attend the touted Milton High School, only to have there child sit in a trailer in the parking lot for two of their four years. That defeats the purpose of having a state of the art school in the first place.
So, on the one had we desperately need more schools, not just high schools. But on the other hand, no one wants the school “in their backyard.” I like to eat chocolate cake and not get fat, too.
This is exactly the sort of thing people said when the new Milton was built: It was going to ruin the neighborhoods of Kensington Farms and Six Hills and create gridlock in Crabapple. Looking at the situation we have now, I’m unsympathetic to the hyperbole of the “damage” done by the blaring bands, loudspeakers and the overhead lighting at the stadium. The new school was very well done and the impact on the neighborhoods has been minimal in my observation. Traffic is not great; but people do get to where they are going and many people, me included, have changed their driving patterns to avoid Crabapple at times I know it is congested…but Crabapple traffic is a whole other blog post ;->
The Alternative
That said, and given the huge need for a new school, I’m not convinced that the new site location on Freemanville is the best alternative primarily because the school will have to be built on a septic system. Summit Hill Elementary School is the only school in the Fulton County system built with septic and it just creates more headache and requires more land for the drain fields. Summit Hill apparently even has two septic systems, one being a backup. Summit Hill is also only a 1000 student school, about half what would be at a high school.
For my money, the best alternative would be to tear down the old Milton High School in downtown Alpharetta and build a new school on that site. The school board already owns the land and the resident population is used to having a school at that location. The site is centrally located and close to major roadways.
Opponents to this strategy argue that the old school is now being use for Independence High School and Connected Academy, together which house about 200–400 students currently. Independence used to be in Roswell and Connected Academy is brand new. It is ironic to me that the old Milton High School was in too bad of shape for students to continue going there, but good enough to house two alternative schools now that the new school is built.
If I were God … let me rephrase that, if I were on the site selection committee – or even on the budget committee for the school system, I would rather tear down and rebuild on the old site than go into rural Milton and build a septic based school in enemy territory. If I were spending my own money, that is what I’d do. Then I’d find another location for Independence High School and Connected Academy even if it meant renting space in a shopping mall like Kings Ridge did for so many years.
That solves the High School location problem, but it doesn’t solve the middle school problem. Yes, we need another one of those, too. The idea has been to co-locate the schools like they did in Crabapple. If in the end only a middle school is built on Freemanville Road I could live with that. Don’t forget: Our kids do need a place to attend class. Today, as a matter of fact, I witnessed the delivery of two additional trailers to Northwestern Middle School. Crews were busy setting the foundations and leveling the trailers.
Currently the school system owns land for a new elementary school slated to open in 2009 on Birmingham Road and Wood Road. If the new elementary were co-located with a new middle school on Freemanville Road, and the new high school were built on the old site in downtown Alpharetta, I would be in favor of that. Furthermore, the City of Milton could use a library in my opinion. What about a partnership between the city and the schools to co-locate a library/media center with the middle and elementary schools? The great thing about that site is that it is centrally located to everyone living in Milton.
But what do I know? I’m just a real estate consultant with a blog…oh, and a tax payer with three children who I would prefer not attend classes in trailers. My name is on that petition.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 2 Comments »
More Information on Hawks Ridge Golf Club
categories: Golf Communities
Since I made the original post, I’ve learned some more details regarding Hawks Ridge, in Ball Ground, which is just north of Alpharetta and Milton in Cherokee County.
The club is the result of what must have been a boyhood dream come true. Two business partners and longtime childhood friends built a building products company that they eventually sold.
I’m putting meat on the bones of the story as I understand it, but these two guys, Jensen and Nixon, probably played a lot of golf together growing up and always dreamed of building the ultimate golf course. And that they did.
Hawks Ridge is a golf club, not a country club. The swim and tennis facility hasn’t even been built yet. They are waiting for 25 permanent homeowners before constructing the facility. Currently, there are 40 lots sold and 15 built and occupied. Once you purchase a lot, you have two years to build, but they have not been strictly enforcing that rule.
There are no longer any “spec homes” being built in Hawks Ridge. It is a BYOB (Bring Your Own Builder) custom estate home community. The only check point is a design review.
Golf membership does not come as part of the lot purchase. A membership is $75k; but if you own a lot it is reduced to $65k. The membership goal is 290 with an estimated 200 memberships already sold.
In their pursuit of golf perfection, Jensen and Nixon not only have one of the top 100 designs in the United States, but have also made golf the number one priority. Like Atlanta National (a Pete Dye course in Alpharetta/Milton), there are no tee times. Just show up and play. Homes don’t line both sides of each hole so that you feel like you are playing through backyards instead of fairways. Rather, the holes adjoin each other and wrap around the big lake.
Hawks Ridge is a well kept secret in these parts. There is very little marketing and publicity and it is off the beaten path. I sense the creators want it that way and they are able to achieve it because the club has no debt. The developers/owners don’t have to be in a hurry to sell out the lots…when they sell they sell. And in the mean time, they play golf. That’s the ultimate in golf.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Buyers Should Use a REALTOR Even When Buying New Construction - Part 1
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, New Construction
Now that my client has moved in, I feel like I can tell this story. You see, my client used a REALTOR and he purchased a new construction home. The reason I mention this is because I humbly suggest that had he not had a realtor he wouldn’t be living in the new home he has today. If you ask him, he would say the same thing.
I’ve have occasionally worked with clients who believe that we can only help them with resale purchases. They see the new construction offices staffed with eager sales people who are brimming with brochures and think that is all the information they need - and that they might get a better deal if they “come without an agent.”
Indeed, I had one client who was relocating to Alpharetta. We started working together but he had a house to sell in North Virginia so we didn’t actively pursue anything. After a few months we reconnected and I learned that he had bought a new construction home. He told me that he felt he was able to get a better deal on his own: he paid full price for the house but got the builder to finished the basement for him.
It worked out okay for this client, although I believe an informed agent he could have negotiated a better deal: Builders are routinely reducing purchase prices by $25k, $50k, even $100k on million dollar plus homes. I just saw where one of my favorite homes in Canterbury on the Lake sold for $1.35M. That’s $100k less than the list price.
Back to my more recent client, though. He never would have achieved his goal of purchasing in Alpharetta had we not had the good fortune of working together. The home he selected was originally built as a model home in a nice new Peachtree Residential neighborhood. We elected to get an independent inspection. I always suggest this even though the home is brand new and the builder offers a warranty. You never know what you will find. Often buyers who don’t have an agent decide not to get an inspection because they figure how much can be wrong with a brand new house.
Our inspection report came back with page after page of defects, some of them structural and potentially deal killers. I read the report, called my client and told him, “We have our work cut out for us.” I was amazed that a top-end builder could produce a product with so many flaws. Where were the building inspectors in all this? I wondered if anyone from the county was actually walking into these house to inspect during construction.
Admittedly, private home inspectors can be overly picky in some cases; but in our case the inspector was very thorough and cited the building code of all the defects, although I felt the wording of the report was a bit inflamatory. If you read the report there would be no way you would buy the house: it sounded like the roof was falling in and the foundation splitting in two.
I knew this was a good house, though, and we had negotiated a good purchase price, so we went to work on the defects. I was simply AMAZED at the way Peachtree Residential stepped up, owned the issues and resolved them above and beyond the client’s (and my) expectations. Had Peachtree not been so agressive, this deal would have fallen apart.
Peachtree rebuilt decks, repoured concrete, reran duct work, added attic access and ventilation, obtained engineering reports and analysis and extended their structural warranty, to name just a few. They had workers crawling all over that house making everything just right and we closed on time with a happy client.
I wouldn’t say that it was an easy transaction. I will say that had the buyer and the builder not had a realtor to a server as “transactional lubricant” and to communicate each party’s concerns to the other in a way that was constructive and moved both sides closer to resolution, the transaction would not have closed even will all Peachtree’s efforts. And I’ll tell you, as much hard work and stress as it was, there was a great sense of satisfaction at closing for the value added in this process.
If everything were easy, there would be no need for realtors, attorneys, sports agents and the like. Things are NOT always easy though, and competent professionals can and do add value in new construction situations. Stay tuned here for more stories from the trenches on how a realtor can keep your marshmellows out of the fire when buying a new construction home.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
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