Archive for August, 2008
House Limbo: How Low Can You Go | Milton Pre-Foreclosure Reduced Again
categories: Buyers, Foreclosures, Milton Real Estate
MILTON - Will someone please buy this house. It is too good of a deal to be still hanging around. The bank reduced the price yesterday to $450,000. The only thing wrong with the house is a little neglect and needs interior painting.
The house next door is on the market for $650,000 and there are solid sales in this neighborhood (White Columns Colonade) around $550.
I’ll grant you it is a crazy market, but this house should have been sold a couple of times over by now at this price. This is a deal looking you square in the eye. Remember what happened at the foreclosure auction on Mayfield Road last Saturday : the house sold for higher than the last list price. This deal needs to be taken off the table before it isn’t a deal any more. At an auction - or on the courthouse steps, there is competition. Right now, you can deal with the bank one on one.
By the way, the next lowest priced home in White Columns is in White Columns Oaks on Scarlet Oak Trail. It is also a foreclosure that has been under contract that fell through.
It has a finished basement that includes a second kitchen. In total, there are SIX full bathrooms in the house, which includes two in the basement and each secondary bedroom has its own full bath. It is listed at $515,000. You might be able to get that house for $500k or less.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 3 Comments »
Mayfield Road Foreclosure Auctioned for $222,000 | Bidder Pays More Than Last Listed Price
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Foreclosures
ALPHARETTA - They say you should be scared when the men in little white coats pull up to your house in a padded van. You should be just as scared when seventy-five people with little, yellow, numbered cards are standing in your front yard and men in black pants and white shirts with ties start yelling at the card wavers and babbling in extremely long run-on sentences (like this one) that sound like, as my fifth-grader commented, bad rappers.
That was the case yesterday in Alpharetta when the 3 Bedroom - 2 Bath, two-story house at 1265 Mayfield Road was auctioned to the highest bidder. The auctioneer said before he started: "We are here to determine the ‘Highest Opinion of Value’ for this property." And that is what they did.
That opinion turned out to be $222,000 + 5% Buyer’s Premium, a fee charged by the auction company to the buyer. That makes the total $233,100.
Oh, and the house is not quite move-in ready. You’re probably going to spend $5-10k adding appliances, fixing miscellaneous things and possibly updating the baths and redoing the floors on the main level, which were all tile.
Here is the odd part, though. You could have purchased this house before the auction for probably around than $200,000. I say that because the last list price on this house was $212,900. The bank (owner) would likely have come off that number some to get the property sold and not risk the price an auction might bring. Turned out for the bank that the auction was the best route to go.
Originally the house had been listed for $340,000 in March, 2007 and was reduced to $285,000 before expiring. It was relisted in September for $249,000 and expired again . A third listing had started the price at $219,900 and reduced to $212,900 where it stood when the bank elected to auction the house.
I went to the auction because I was curious to see (1) who and how many people would show up and (2) what the house would sell for. I took two of my kids to expose them to this aspect of real estate and market economies and they had a fun time trying to understand - and later mimick - the auctioneer. While we were waiting for it to start, I had them count the cars. There were at least fifty cars, parked everwhere along the street and in the front lawn. If you assume 1.5 people per car, that’s seventy-five people. It was like the mall on the day after Thanksgiving.
The bidding started at $25,000. I was thinking the house might sell for $200k. In about five seconds, the bidding was up to $100,000 and then in about twenty more seconds it was up to $180k. Then it inched its way by $1,000 increments to $200,000.
For the next five, maybe ten minutes, three separate parties continued to bid it up. When we got to $210,000 I though surely that was the top. Why would someone pay more at auction than they could have paid on the open market earlier?
I had come to the auction with a top dollar I would pay and it was no where near $200,000. When I saw seventy-five people milling around the front yard, I knew I wouldn’t be writing any checks that day.
The lesson in this is really for investors: Auctions don’t necessarily equate to "deals." Sometimes waiting doesn’t bring more opportunity; when you see a deal you have to be prepared to make the deal.
I spoke to the auctioneer after the bidding ended and commented how strange I thought it was for the house to sell for more than list. He said that sometimes happens and could only theorize that an auction brings a certain finality to a purchasing decision plus the competition is bidding right along side you increasing the urgency. People act differently under those circumstances. He also commented that some of the bidders weren’t investors, but maybe owner occupants so they had a different "opinion of value."
To those people I say get a good realtor who can help find you a deal. To the investor I say: Why would you want to put yourself in that situation to make an investment purchase? I want to make investments when there is no other competition.
There are deals out there, it just so happens that everyone waited too long on this particular deal. The ‘Highest Opinion of Value’ was found. I can’t argue with that. Good for the bank.
[Note : Two other properties were also actioned at Mayfield Road yesterday. Both were 2 BR - 2.5 Bath townhouses - one off Abernathy Road and one off Northridge Road. 7351 Cardigan Circle sold for $57,500 and 556 Northridge Crossing sold for $55,000. They could have been deals at that price, but I've never seen the properties. There was a little bidding for each property, but not too much.]
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 1 Comment »
Birmingham Elementary Walls Start to Go Up and Septic Closed
categories: Photography, Schools
MILTON - The work at Birmingham Elementary is continuing and I’m continuing to chronicle it with my camera.
I took some more pictures, so for the latest GOTO THIS POST .
To see the entire photo gallery so far, GO HERE .
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Natural Foods Warehouse to Open at Silos in Crabapple | Crabapple Mercantile Exchange Forges Forward
categories: Announcements, Commercial Activity, Crabapple
CRABAPPLE - Finally, news has escaped out about who will occupy the old Ingles space in Crabapple at The Silos. The AJC reported this week that Natural Foods Warehouse signed a letter of intent to lease 20,000 square feet and open shop by the end of the year.
As a person who eats as healthily as I can, I’m down with a natural foods alternative in Crabapple. I would only hope that I could get a quick, healthy lunch there, but probably not.
Other commercial / retail news in Crabapple includes the continued construction of The Crabapple Mercantile Exchange along Crabapple Road in "downtown" Crabapple. I know a lot of people can’t believe that construction is ongoing with the current real estate market and the amount of existing empty retain space.
However, Crabapple Mercantile can boast some pre-leases as Scoops (Ice Cream Shop), Zest (Restaurant) and The Founders Cigar Club.
I don’t know the scoop on Zest yet; but then I don’t know the zest on Scoop, either. I just know that my wife has been claiming for years that Crabapple needs a good ice cream store. Little does Scoops know that if they have good chocolate - or even Gelato - what a good customer my wife will be. I think she has a separate account just for ice cream money.
I’m not a smoker and my idea of a cigar was a sneaked puff on a Swisher Sweet sometime during adolescence, but I do know that there are already a bunch of cigar shops up and down Highway 9. Of course there are a bunch of ice cream shops too, albeit most of them are chains, and many other restaurants as well.
Time will tell, but I hope these shops can forge a unique offering and earn a loyal clientele.
When finished, Crabapple Mercantile will consist of six building comprising about 22,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 23,000 sq. ft. of office space and four residential condominiums. At about 1,200 sq. ft. per retail store, that means about 18 shops will ultimately call Crabapple Mercantile home, which is walking distance from neighborhoods such as Crabapple Chase, Westminster, Kensington Farms and Waterside - and of course from Crabapple Crossing and Crabapple Crossroads, which are immediately adjacent.
The developer is Lodestone Development who can be found in Alpharetta and who also built the Ellard Mercantile Exchange at Ellard on Holcomb Bridge Road, if you would like to view an example of their projects (pictured to the right). If I had to choose a development style for Crabapple, that would have been it to a "t": I’ll call it "historical elegance"
If they build it, though, and they are - then we have to support it. Well, we don’t have to, but it would be nice. The ice cream better be good! Forget the cigars.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Milton House Did Not Foreclose | Their Delay is Your Opportunity
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Buyers, Foreclosures, Luxury Homes, Milton Real Estate
MILTON - I just learned that this house did NOT foreclose this month. The bank gave them one more month to sell it short. I still believe that this house has one of the best upsides of any opportunity in the area. Read what I wrote about it the other day.
I hear that they are getting a good number of showings but do NOT have an offer yet. It is listed at $475,000. You know what they say: The best policy is to be the least expensive house in a nice neighborhood. This is your chance.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Buy a House for $1 in Detroit | Cheapest House in Alpharetta is $125,000
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Buyers, Foreclosures
ALPHARETTA and DETROIT - It’s a freak show along the lines of America’s Funniest Home Videos, except it could be called America’s Most Distressed Properties. In case someone actually decides to make a show with that name, I had the idea first…you read it here!
Today, knowing that I like to track and comment on the oddities and sometimes absurdness of the real estate market, a friend sent me this article about a house in Detroit that is available for $1 - and it still took them 19 days to sell it. Talk about not being able to give a house away! Do you realize that the real estate commissions on the sale would have only been six cents ;-> Can’t work on commission in that environment.
While there are eighty foreclosure properties currently listed in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton and Johns Creek, I’m thankful we don’t have any dollar-menu houses here. And while eighty foreclosures may seem like a good bit for us, it is nothing like parts of Los Angeles where I heard on the radio this morning every one-in-thirty homes is in foreclosure .
Still, every day, I get calls and emails from people "looking for a foreclosure." Keep the calls coming and we’ll continue to lead you to where we think the best deals are.
Currently, the least expensive house in Alpharetta is a $125,000, 2-bedroom, 2-bath, vinyl home in Avensong near Windward Parkway. (See house on right.) Not a bad deal for someone looking for an alternative to an apartment close to any of the telecom corporations (Altel, Nortel, AT&T) for instance.
I’ve published the list of foreclosures in Alpharetta on this blog before, but the MLS slapped my hand for making it "public", so if you would like it, I’m happy to get it to you but you need to email me first.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 3 Comments »
Vickery Foreclosure Presents New Opportunities in Forsyth County
categories: Buyers, Commercial Activity, Foreclosures, Forsyth, Luxury Homes
CUMMING - A lot of people - mostly notably those getting foreclosed on - might think that foreclosure is the worst thing that could happen. Actually, in this case, it might be the best.
It has been a while coming, but Wachovia finally started foreclosure proceedings against Hedgewood Properties and the Vickery development on Post Road.
This has been rumored for a while now as numerous other Hedgewood properties have recently been foreclosed upon, but the foreclosure on Vickery was finally made public yesterday with the legal notice in the Forsyth News .
The legal notice goes on for page after page; I’m not patient enough to count how many separate parcels are included in the action. However, the newspaper reported that nineteen parcels were included and upwards of $44 million. At Vickery, that includes both residential and commercial parcels as far as I understand it.
So what does this mean to current residents of Vickery and to people who might like to take advantage of this foreclosure opportunity to buy into Vickery?
I actually think that this is a good thing for current Vickery residents because for the recent past the real estate market has been frozen in Vickery: People couldn’t sell and people couldn’t buy. Why? Because most of the new construction has not been completed and the bank wouldn’t lend any more to complete it. If someone whated to purchase, they be purchasing a partially completed house and have to get a construction loan to do it.
Plus, I heard that even it the developer, Hedgewood, did sell a property, the bank wouldn’t let them keep any of the profit because of arrears on the loans, so there was really no incentive for Hedgewood to strike any deals.
On the commercial site - remember, Vickery is a mixed-use community with residential, commerical and the YMCA (which is unaffected by the way) - there have apparently been tenants wanting to sign leases, but they can’t get minor build out issues handled so they have not signed leases.
It is rumored that a new lender will step in and negotiate new financing before this foreclosure reaches the steps of the courthouse. I’ll tell you what, though: If it does reach the steps, you can meet my wife there because she has always wanted to live in Vickery!
A new lender who will sprinkle some money on Vickery to get the project unstuck would be the best outcome for current and future property owners. Vickery may have been a project ahead of its time in terms of just not having the critical mass of population to support the commercial, for instance. Wachovia and Hedgewood seem to be having to pay the price for that.
But Vickery is a great product (unique architecture, community concept, open spaces, narrow streets and alleys) and not something that is readily available in this geographic market. My expectation is that other people recognize this too and that someone buys it at a discount and takes it across the finish line.
For now, the foreclosure is a difficult patch for Vickery to get through, but that is what the market looks like from the bottom, today.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 3 Comments »
Hot Foreclosure Opportunity in White Columns | You Must Act Quickly
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Buyers, Foreclosures
Everyone wants a foreclosure, so here it is. This is an outstanding opportunity in White Columns, but like all good opportunities, you need to be able to make a decision and make it fast.
The house in question is in the Colonnade section of White Columns that has the entrance off Birmingham Highway.
The highlights of the house are:
- 4 Bedrooms (including the Master) and 3 Bathrooms upstairs
- 1 Guest Bedroom and full Bathroom on the main
- 1.6 acre cul-de-sac lot
- 5,000-ish heated square feet
- 3-car garage
- Hardwood floors on entire main level
- Full, unfinished, daylight, side-entry basement
The reason this is such an immediate opportunity is that the house has been under contract three separate times to close as a short sale from the bank.
Each of those deals has fallen through for no fault of the seller or the condition of the property.
I should know because one of the buyers was mine: His wife had put it under contract when she had come to town on a house hunting trip contingent on his approval. He wound up liking something else so they backed out of this one. However, in the process they had an inspection and I know firsthand that there isn’t a single significant problem with the house. All it really needs in some painted inside and new shutters outside.
The latest buyer to pull out has left the seller in a real lurch this time. The clock is running out on the short sale opportunity. If the house is not put under contract by Tuesday, it will be sold on the steps of the County Courthouse.
The current list price of the house is $475,000. Last November, this house was listed at $650,000. There was another foreclosure in the neighborhood, that frankly I didn’t care for as much that recently sold for $525,000.
But let me put it to you this way: Here is a house that can be purchased for about $150,000 less than its ultimate, longer term value. It would be the lease expensive home in the neighborhood and with a little TLC a charming place to live. It is in the best school districts in a solid community with a good reputation where there is only upside.
Let me put it another way: at $475,000 it is hard to make a mistake with this house. I can show you homes all day long in the $400,000-$425,000 range that are small, have smaller lots, are older and not as well constructed and are not in nearly as nice of a neighborhood. For just a pittance more in monthly payment you can get this house.
I can show you the deals; It’s up to you to pull the trigger. Contact me immediately for more information because this one has a short fuse.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 2 Comments »
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