Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Received my Georgia Power bill and, for once, I read the insert; part of which had a sub-headline of “Take Advantage of Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program”.
Wish I had read this four months ago! Did you know you could receive:
Up to a $100 rebate for installing a programmable thermostat? (Got new thermostats last fall!)
Up to a $300 rebate when you properly insulate your attic?
Up to a $400 rebate if you have your home professionally sealed with caulk, spray foam or weather stripping?
You can learn more about these programs at georgiapower.com/homeimprovements
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Intown Living
Good News Regarding Real Estate
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Economists aren’t always right, but on this at least they agree: A new Wall Street Journal survey of forecasters found 44 believe the housing market has reached its bottom; only three don’t!
Housing is still far from healthy despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to resuscitate it by helping to push mortgage rates to extraordinary lows: 3.62% for a 30-year loan, according to Freddie Mac’s latest survey. Single-family housing starts, though up, remain 60% below the 2002 pre-bubble pace. Americans’ equity in homes is $2 trillion, or 25%, less than it was in 2002 and half what it was at the peak. More than one in every four mortgage borrowers still has a loan bigger than the value of the house, though rising home prices are reducing that fraction slowly.
Still, the upturn in housing is a milestone, a particularly welcome one amid a distressing dearth of jobs. For some time, housing has been one of the biggest causes of economic weakness. It has now—barely—moved to the plus side. “A little tail wind is a lot better than a headwind,” says economist Chip Case, the “Case” in Case-Shiller.
In our case, Fourteen West has experienced a significant ‘up-tick’ in business! Through June 30th, we have helped 39+% more families buy a new home when compared to the same period in 2011! Our listing inventory has also risen 32% above last year!
Thank you to all who have come to trust and appreciate our attention to YOU, and the prompt, professional, yet personalize service we provide.
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Intown Atlanta Real Estate News
The Economics of Buying Rental Properties
Monday, July 02, 2012
So you want to become the next titan of real estate and own a lot of rental properties! Afterall, prices and interest rates are down and you’ve heard from your buddy’s second cousin that he is making a killing with the high rent rates tenants are paying today! So how do you go about buying these mecas of prosperity, and where?
Cutting to the chase - work with an agent who actually understands what an investment property should do FOR the investor (not TO the investor)! The simple answer to the question - Is it possible to find a good investment in Atlanta? is “yes,” but it’s not that easy to find a property that can provide enough rental income to cover all carrying costs while also being easy to convert into the owner occupied market once the housing market has recovered.
Here is ‘Consideration Number 1” that affects the risk in making such an investment:
Rent to Value Ratio (Rental Yield)
The ratio of rent to value can be a valuable guide and a requisite part of a thorough investigation of an investment opportunity. The thought behind this ratio (12 months of rent/home price), called “rental yield,” is that it is akin to the earnings-to-price ratio in the stock market: higher earnings, all else equal, are associated with more profitable investments and are less reliant upon future growth in the stock price to generate expected returns.
The same notion applies to the rental yield: higher rents make it less important for the property to appreciate in value in order to meet a certain expected return target set by the investor. However, rental yield alone, like the classic earnings-to-price ratio, is not a guarantee for a successful investment. It is necessary to look carefully “under the hood” at other considerations. Things such as anticipated repairs/improvements, vacancies, unanticipated repairs, etc must be factored into the decision! This is where many fail! Studying these likelihoods makes clear that there is no single rental yield that should guide all investment decisions.
For help in building a successful porfolio of properties, talk to your Fourteen West, REALTORS’ Associate who is experienced with helping good people find good investments!
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Tips for Buyers
Reusable Grocery Bags
Monday, June 18, 2012
Seems like more and more of us are departing from plastic grocery bags and are using cloth bags to cart our groceries from store-to-car and car-to-kitchen. And while these cloth bags are friendlier to the enviornment than plastic and heavy paper bags, we do need to be careful with how we handle these cloth bags to make sure we do not constantly transfer bacteria to/from our food!
Three simple ‘safety tips’ to help you and your family stay healthy:
1) Use your cloth grocery bag(s) only to transport groceries.
2) Produce and raw meat carry the most bacteria, so always transport them in there own, separate bag(s).
3) Once you arrive home and unpack your groceries, air out your bag(s)...and wash them on a regular basis!
Enjoy the summer safely!
- Scott Askew
Posted in: Intown Living
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