Hank Miller Team Real Estate Blog - December, 2020

How Do Driveways Impact the Value and Appeal of a Home?

Consider the lowly and unappreciated driveway, a bland slab of concrete void of character and charm...but used all day, every day. It's typically one of the first things we see with the home, part of the critical first impression. Everything and everyone in and out of the home traverses this hard slab; the ultimate role player like an offensive line for an MVP running back or quarterback. All is good, unless something shines a light on a shortcoming. Sometimes, there hints but the scope of the problem may not be fully understood until regular use.

Driveways must be functional and compliment the home. Ideally, they will be ample in width, level to generally level and wide enough to allow easy ingress and egress to the home. They will have easy curves…

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Housing Market Review for 16 Cities North of Atlanta

Atlanta is a recognizable location, but the housing market for the many cities north of Atlanta is significantly different. From Smyrna to Woodstock to Alpharetta to Cumming to Johns Creek, they share little in common besides the Georgia connection. Below we compare housing prices between 16 cities broken into 4 regions.

2020 was a crazy year for residential real estate. Despite everything, the housing markets around north Atlanta treated sellers exceptionally well; buyers...not so much. Inventory was scare and competition fierce, multiple offers continue to be common. Many factors combined for this; mainly historically low interest rates and a global plague. In short, buyers exploited rates that make ownership more attractive than renting and the…

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We Want Your Home, How Much?

Home buyers constantly balance emotion and data; heart vs head. During times of low housing inventory, the heart can be rather convincing and the result might be a disaster. Over the last decade, public home sites and social media changed the “traditional” ways to find a home. Pocket listings – homes marketed outside of the MLS – have become much more popular and some sellers find success just informally tossing their home out there. Buyers, eager to secure a home, find them and dive right in. This is the time for the head to keep the heart in check. This is the time for an experienced buyer's agent to refocus the buyer.

Why Consider a Pocket Listing?

In most cases, buyers chasing an off market home are either enamored with it for a certain reason…

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Sloped and Cupped Floors

The floors in a home can be a great source of information about a home. Hardwoods in particular can provide "tells" of possible past and/or present issue. Sloped and cupped floors might be signs of hidden issues. Moisture, settling, and even the overall care given to the home can be revealed by the condition of the floors. Below are two videos which are great examples of what to look for, and if spotted, to investigate much further.

There are clear flashing lights to me on that home. Significant cupping and warping like that indicates moisture levels that are higher than desired. Could be a number of reasons, but that situation absolutely warrants additional investigation by flooring folks.

Deflection like that could be due to a number…

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The Covid-19 Impact on Real Estate

The Covid-19 impact on real estate is a study in contrasts when the "before" and "after" data is reviewed. Seismic shifts of day to day activities impacted every aspect of life, including residential real estate. The pandemic seems to have changed how home buyers and sellers act and what they value (for now anyway). Also clear; the pre-covid inventory shortage was further exacerbated by shut downs and fears of having people walk through homes. Fewer homes, low rates, increased competition and prices came together. A section of the 2020 national association of realtors report compared the housing market before March of 2020 with that after; some familiar trends were reinforced while new ones appeared.

Multi-Generational Homes are In

Desire for…

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What is the Most Important Thing When Buying a Home?

Everything is important when looking for a home to live in, but one thing trumps all. How well does the home fits the requirements of the buyer? This is known as "value in use"; if the home fails to meet your requirements then why purchase it? With real estate, “value in use” is different than the generic term of “value”. Terms surrounding what a home is "worth" are jumbled; price and value are often used interchangeably and may be best described as what a well informed buyer is willing to pay for a particular property that is offered for sale. This is assumed “arm’s length”; a transaction completely above board. Text books dive deeper but no need for that here.

Value in Use

Value in use is buyer specific; how does that property fit the buyer's…

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Pocket Listings - Here's My Price, Make Me Move

In a strong market, sellers may not formally list their home but take a position of “here’s my price, make me move”. These are typically called “quiet, whisper or pocket listings” and while this can be a successful play, there are things for sellers to consider. Usually there is an agreement between a seller and real estate broker that allows the broker to market the property outside of the MLS. Agent networking, social media, open houses and other ways are used to expose the home. Sometimes there is no formal agreement, just a “hey agent, if you know someone that is looking….”. That informality can be problematic, there are legal and contractual aspects to be considered. Many owners talk about a move "if they get their price", but several things need to…

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How Buyers Can Limit Problems When Building a Home

There is a serious lack of skilled labor among home builders in the Atlanta area. Quality and issues exponentially increased over the prior few years, then a pandemic came to town and flipped the tables. A voracious appetite for housing met drastic labor shortages, limited inventory, rising prices and Covid-19 delays. Builders are racing to get homes built and sold; their site agents busy working getting buyers under contract for them. Who is representing the best interests of those buyers? Not the site agent

Who is Building Your New Home?

"ABC Homes" is not building your home; your new home is being built by subcontractors that bid for the work. A lack of  skilled labor is arguably the biggest problem with new construction. Many experienced…

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Ways To Decorate Your Home For Christmas

It's time to hang your stockings and decorate your tree because Christmas is here again! I'm sharing lots of festive ways to decorate your home for the holidays, including exterior and interior decor ideas you're bound to love!  

Wreaths, Wreaths, Wreaths

Image by @the_fox_group

If the exterior of your home has lots of windows, big or small, hanging a wreath on each pane is such a classic holiday look that will never go out of style. Add pretty white lights or red ribbon to spruce them up a bit and you're good to go! It's a simple yet beautiful way to decorate the outside of your home for Christmas!

Image by Elizabeth Demos // Southern Living Mag

Don't forget to hang a pretty wreath on your front door (and even the back!) for that extra…

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How to Win a Bidding War When Buying a Home

Learning how to win a bidding war when buying a home usually comes from losing; as others win you learn. There are fundamental techniques and steps to take that will make your offer shine when multiple offers are received. Working with an experienced buyer’s agent is key; one that can dissect data, honestly guide you, write an effective offer and respond rapidly during the process. Many strong offers are lost because buyer agents fail to respond in a timely manner. In situations where "highest and best" offers are called for, remember; highest is not always best. A cash offer with no appraisal contingency and a few days of due diligence can be more appealing than a 97% FHA offer. 

Don’t Overpay

The very first step in winning is not overpaying; …

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