My New Blog

Just when the pundits were writing the obituary for the real estate business, things are picking up. Not much, but some. 2007 was a bad year for this business, due in large part to unethical practices in the home mortgage business. The vast majority of mortgage lenders are honest business people. However, a few bad eggs can cause a major stink. A lot of home buyers got loans they shouldn't have got, and consequently got stretched too thin. Foreclosures mushroomed.

That way of doing business helps no one, least of all the homebuyer who loses his or her home when mortgage payments exceed one's ability to pay. To be fair, buyers who bite off more than they can chew are as much to blame as the mortgage lenders who enable them. How is anyone helped when people lose their homes?

Well, hopefully we learned a lesson from our mortgage overindulgence, and we'll gradually get back to a sensible and healthy real estate industry. For a while, we're going to have a large inventory of properties on the market for sale and a scarcity of buyers who can get financing to buy them. 

This means, if you're a seller you should price your property to sell or expect to keep it a long time. If you're a buyer you need to have your credit in reasonably good shape as well as the other criteria lenders will insist upon before they assume a risk for you. 

Another bit of advice for you buyers: Your first step should be to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan. Do that before you start looking at property. Pre-approval helps you know your price range, and it assures sellers you can get the money to buy their home or land. It saves time and frustration for all involved. 

And please work with local lenders. They appreciate your business, and they will see you around town. Avoid remote mortgage companies you never heard of and mortgage employees you'll never meet face to face.  

OK, before I start sounding too negative, I want to thank my clients and customers for helping me get 2008 off to a good start. I hope I live up to your expectations. By the way, do you know the difference between a client and a customer in the real estate business? It is an important difference, and one you should know about if you are thinking about buying or selling real estate. 

You can ask me about clients, customers or anything else associated with the real estate business, and I'll either answer your question right away or get the answer and call you back. Every successful relationship begins with communication. Call me any time.

It's no news to most everyone that the national real estate market is -- shall we say -- experiencing a correction. In other words, it's not doing very well. Nationally, home prices are falling and mortgage money is not as easily obtainable as it was a year ago. After several years of excesses and bad judgment in the home mortgage loan business, we're now paying for our national mortgage money binge. 

Our area of Georgia has not gone unscathed, but things aren't nearly as bad here as in some parts of the country. 

We might as well get used to a market that has an abundance of properties for sale and not enough buyers -- qualified buyers -- to absorb the inventory. While this condition exists, sellers need to be realistic about pricing their properties to sell. First, you've got to find somebody who wants what you have for sale, and second you've got to make sure that buyer is financially able to buy your property.

Your Realtor can be a big help in this regard -- hint, hint.

Buyers need to have their credit in good shape, sufficient income, and their monthly expenses under control if they hope to qualify for a loan. They need to be honest with themselves as well as their lenders about their financial ability. In recent years, too many buyers got loans they couldn't carry long term, and now their homes are in foreclosure.

OK, now I'll get down off my soapbox. I'm listening to an album by Andrea Bocelli, and right now he's singing a duet with Celine Deon, "The Prayer." I'm going to wear this particular CD out listening to it, but I can't get enough.

Have you looked at the individual websites for two of my listings? Take a look: http://www.343westwooddrive.com and http://www.236buchananrd.com. Hope you like them. My listed properties get their own websites with links to my four real estate websites. I like to show my listings off in their best light.

Did you know I advertise FSBO -- For Sale By Owner -- properties on my websites free of charge or obligation? You can see them on http://www.clientrealty.net and http://www.michaeldixonrealty.com.

It's fun to do things a little differently. My real estate business is Internet based, not based in a building. Thus I avoid lots of operating costs, and my clients benefit from my lean, low overhead operation. Call me if you'd like to know more about my full-service, very affordable real estate brokerage. 

This is where we are. This is real estate today.