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It can happen when you least expect it: an opportunity unexpectedly opens up – and you suddenly realize that the time to become a homeowner is here! It may happen when the landlord of the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area home you have been renting suddenly decides it’s time to sell. Or, during a search for a rental, you happen upon a new Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area listing that’s such a bargain you’d be crazy not to snap it up!

For Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area first-time buyers, unexpected opportunities like these may be the first time they seriously entertain home ownership. If that’s the case, they may well be disappointed.

The fact is, the time for first-time buyers to st...

When you search through the latest listings of Columbus, GA – Phenix City, AL area homes, you first find those that fit your top-line needs. Then you winnow down that list. Some of the candidates will seem more appealing than others; and some will seem to be over- or underpriced.

Before making a final judgment on which homes bear a closer look, the most successful homebuyers also factor in qualities that may not be at the top of their own personal priorities list, yet which make a difference to the majority of homebuyers. In other words, they keep in mind the most important qualities that add value in market terms – that add investment value to homes that are principally your personal re...

Of all the things first time homebuyers in our Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area are told, some that turn out to be pretty important are too often overlooked. Here are four items first time homebuyers will find useful to know:

4.         Remodeling costs more than you think

You’ve found a fixer: your energy is to be applauded. But before you write that offer, if you are one of our Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area first-time homebuyers, be certain to have penciled out the bottom line cost of bringing the home up to the standard you require to be move-in ready. You may well be able to live with some items that you will fix over time, but in all areas, budget 20% more than your estimate.&...

First time homebuyers in the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area are told a lot of things —

Keeping control of your kitchen is one of the most basic actions you can take to help your real estate agent sell your home. The execution can be simple when it’s approached systematically. 

Especially during the winter months, kitchen control can seem an all but unmanageable task. Days are shorter; kids or pets may be cooped up inside; and everyone tracks winter through the kitchen all day long.  To help you keep your kitchen looking great (and your Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area real estate agent beaming), some simple preparation is needed. That, plus sticking to a simple routine, will turn the impossible into a ‘done deal.’

Put appliances and gadgets away as soon as you use them...

Buyers’ agent, sellers’ agent – what does it mean? In every Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area real estate transaction, the differences are easy to understand, right? Not quite. A potential linguistic trapdoor can lie right around the corner. 

            For openers, that sellers' agent may also be called the “listing agent” – both mean the same thing. The trapdoor is a further complication that comes into play once a contract is in place -- after which the buyer’s agent may also properly be called the “selling” agent!

            The potential confusion between seller’s agent and selling agent doesn’t usually have much practical significance: after all, by then, everyone should know th...

In our Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area market “Bank-Owned Homes” are usually described as “Foreclosures”. Even though the terms are used interchangeably here and in other places, there is a difference. The difference between a “Foreclosure” and a “Bank-Owned Home” may be technical, but important to understand.  Foreclosures are properties that are auctioned off in a court process. A bank-owned home, on the other hand, is one that has reverted to the mortgage issuer: a bank.

A foreclosure can change hands with the bang of the auctioneer’s gavel: it’s a cash-in-hand situation, carrying all of the excitement (and risk) of any auction.

With a bank-owned home, the ‘owned’ is attached by hy...

When you plan on getting a mortgage in the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area anytime this year, you’re fairly certain to run into something known as the GFE. It’s the acronym for ‘Good Faith Estimate’-- and despite the reassuring name, the federal government decided they had better make it mandatory. 

The GFE has a new format dictated by the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act which requires lenders to provide an estimate of the charges and fees due at closing. Lenders have three days to make it available.

The GFE looks like a bill. It features a list of fees and charges denoted by three-digit codes. It is grouped into sections to make it more readable, and although at first g...

Homeowners who are puzzling over whether to add their property to the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area home listings this winter (rather than hold back until spring) have more than just timing to factor into their decision. How their offering will stack up alongside the other home listings is a prime consideration.

The residential market has made good progress this year – and a strong majority of pundits expect more of the same for 2013. I deal with the home-buying public all the time, and so get an inside look and listen to what features and qualities wind up having the greatest impact on their buying decisions. Another way is to survey home listings across the nation to track buying t...

One of the effects of the steady national rise in home prices is a shift in attitude by previously cautious consumers. It’s only natural to find more people focused on buying homes in the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area while it is still relatively inexpensive to do so.

Homeowners who are listing their own Columbus, GA area properties this year are well advised to be mindful of those and other considerations bound to be motivating prospective customers. Buying homes – especially homes in a faraway locale – gives rise to many concerns. Positioning the way a home is marketed to anticipate those concerns can mean a sale to an out-of-town buyer on a Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area home-h...

For bargain-hunters looking over 2013’s first listings of foreclosed homes for sale in the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area, the opportunities speak for themselves. Throughout 2012, the size of that selection of Columbus, GA area foreclosure varies. But no matter how large that increase or decrease turns out to be in 2013, in addition to representing a unique opportunity to potential buyers, each one also posed a substantial decision for the departing homeowner.

The question each homeowner faced was whether to attempt to short sell or to allow their property to be foreclosed upon. Choosing the most positive outcome means shedding the negative repercussions as rapidly as possible – clear...

3284 SCHATULGA ROAD is a commercial plot of land for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

112 BASCOM COURT is a commercial plot of land for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

When you want to sell your house, you want it to bring in top dollar. That means you want to find a Realtor® in the Columbus GA area who has the characteristics of a top performer. He or she may or may not have last month's highest sales volume, may or may not have page after page of onscreen MLS listings. However, there are characteristics you can look for that are bound to point to the best candidate to represent your home in your neighborhood.

1) Understanding You: the Client

I agree with Realtor Magazine:

"One of the strongest ways to increase likability and foster a connection is to demonstrate that [the Realtor] understands someone else's needs, and is happy to help fulfill them....

104 BASCOM COURT is a plot of land for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

This Columbus GA Condo/Loft for Sale at 1201 MARINA COVE is in the Marina Cove building. 

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

101 BASCOM COURT is a Commercial Real Estate Property for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

0 HIGHWAY 116 is a plot of land for sale in Pine Mountain Valley GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

5603 LUNA DRIVE is a Commercial Real Estate Property for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!

7646 SCHOMBURG ROAD is a Commercial Real Estate Property for sale in Columbus GA.

Call Carey Scott at 706-442-1084 or click here for Expert Buyer Representation!