dothanhomesearch.com

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

We like to have some fun around here about mid week, so here is this week’s addition to Hump Day.

Here is one of the many historic markers in and around the Dothan area. This one is located next to the Wiregrass Museum of Art, on Museum Street, just behind the Dothan Civic Center.

Most of the historic markers you see around the Dothan area are erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission.

Side 1 reads as follows

Near the location of Poplar Head Park (200 feet west of this marker) was once a large spring surrounded by poplar trees. Two well-beaten trails crossed near the spring and the area was often used as a camping and resting place for Native Americans and early settlers. In the early 1800’s William Cawthon, from Georgia, built a corral for his cattle near the spring and the area first became known as “Cawthon’s Cowpen.” Later, several families built log cabins nearby and dubbed the little settlement “Poplar Head” due to poplar trees and spring.

Side 2 reads:

In 1858, the tiny Poplar Head Community requested a post office. Since there was a town called Poplar Spring in the state, the postal authorities arbitrarily assigned the name Dothan to the new post office to prevent misdirected mail. Early maps and documents show the town name was spelled two different ways: Dothen or Dothan. The city fathers finally settled on the spelling to coincide with the Bible passage “For I heard them say ‘Let us go down to Dothan’ ” (Genesis 37:17) when the town was officially incorporated on November 10, 1885.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Houston County now has its property tax information online for the public to access. This is a trend that is taking place all over the country, and I for one am happy to see that Houston County has followed suit. The information is available through the Revenue Commissioners office. You can also take a look at the property tax millage rates here.

You can access the property tax information through houstoncounty.org, or by clicking HERE. Click on the ‘Search Property Records and Maps’ link to search.

Geneva County records are also available online, although in my opinion the website is somewhat cumbersome to use. Take a look at http://www.emapsplus.com/ALGeneva/maps/

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

mobile.century21.com

Visitors can search for properties, agents, and offices, as well as utilize interactive financial tools such as a mortgage calculator, at their convenience via their PDAs, cell phones and other handheld devices with Internet access capability. Buyers driving through a neighborhood can access information on a CENTURY 21 listing immediate using their web-enabled device. Sellers enjoy this benefit as well by knowing that information on their home is available almost immediately 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to interested buyers.

Try it out on your phone or PDA today and let us know what you think!

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Living in southeast Alabama, just minutes from the home of the tomato, makes me somewhat of an authority on the subject.

There is another authority on subjects related to real estate, and these folks just happen to be called the Tomatoes, because they are clients of the Real Estate Tomato.

This is a group of real estate and mortgage professionals whose goal is to give their knowledge of their respective markets to the readers of their blogs. Each week, I am going to post in this space a few select posts from these fellow tomatoes. My hope is that this information will be relevant and valuable to the readers of dothanhomesearch.com.

Here are the best from this week. Enjoy!

Rob over at 3 pounds of Real Estate talks about why buyers should get a home warranty. Although these plans are a little more expensive here in Alabama, they are well worth the money.

Sondra exercises her ColumbusRealEstateVoice to sound off on different financing options available to first time home buyers. Marc at LendingClarity hit on this same subject last week.

Cindy at VARealEstateTalk helps out first-time home buyers as well with her post on the 49 page addendum. Should be required reading for all buyers, and real estate agents as well.

Roberta at LuxuryHomeDigest gives a first-person and on-going account of the Southern California fires. We are all praying for you folks!

Kevin over at LiveinAlpharetta ponders the question of historical significance of older homes. The Garden District and Houston Heights areas in Dothan come to mind, and other Wiregrass towns such as Columbia and Eufaula deal with this issue as well.

Carnival of Real Estate entrant Denny Oh at SanDiegoh describes the difference between a house and a home. A very good piece of writing.

Doug Trudeau covers the Tuscon real estate scene at TucsonRealEstateBlogs, and shares why buyers should not wait to buy. Now is the time people!

Karl over in PensacolaRealEstateNews talks about the importance of pictures of a listing. Speaking of pictures, Athol at ReAgentinCT does a feature on the bad MLS photo of the day. I am always amazed at how inept some agents are, but it makes for good laughs on a Friday.

And finally, Bob over at RaleighRealEstateTalk does a good job of letting renters know they are wasting their money.

Another week of great writing Tomatoes!

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By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

CENTURY 21 Key Realty is sponsoring a Home Buyers Seminar on Tuesday, November 13th, 6:30 pm at the Westgate Community Center. Home sellers are welcome as well!

Free information on buying or selling a home from the experts. Representatives from select mortgage companies, home inspectors, and pest control companies will be on hand to answer your questions. Several door prizes will be given away and there is no obligation! Bring a friend! Register early for the best chance at a door prize!

Sponsors include-

Mortgage America
The Mortgage Shop
Wachovia Bank
Terminix
Southern Home Inspections

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By: Keshia Nix
REALTOR Associate

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

We as real estate agents get asked a lot of questions. Answering those questions is one part of this business that I love the most. There are questions that are asked more often than others, and here are arguably the five we are ask most often.

How much home can I afford?

Generally speaking you can probably qualify to purchase a home with a value of two or three times your annual household income. However, the amount that you can borrow will also depend on your employment history, credit history, current savings and debts, and the amount of down payment you are able to make. You may also be able to take advantage of special financing options. You never want to purchase a home that will have payment that you can not afford.

How do I find a good agent to work with?

One sure way to find a good real estate agent is to ask friends, family, or a neighbor that has purchased a home recently. Get them to tell you what they liked best about their experience, and what they didn’t like. If they were satisfied and recommend the agent they used, you should interview that agent to see what they have to offer. Another excellent way to find a good real estate agent is to go with a company or brand name you can trust and that has been around for years. Many companies, especially the top brands, send their agents through weeks of rigourous industry related training. CENTURY 21 offers a Buyer Service Pledge to guarantee their services. You must keep in mind that just like in any profession there are good and bad agents out there and that experienced agents are not necessarily better than new agents.

What is the best time to buy?

I don’t know how there could be a better time to buy a home in Dothan than right now! The number of homes on the market is near an all-time high, meaning there are plenty of homes in every price range for you to choose from. Mortgage rates are still very low historically, with rates around Dothan running around 6.25% to 6.5%. The Dothan economy is still strong and vibrant, and unemployment remains below the state and national averages. And despite what you are hearing from the national media, lenders are still letting folks borrow money to buy a home.

What if I have credit issues?

The very first thing you should do is to talk with a good mortgage lender and let them point you in the right direction. If you need a recommendation, send me an email. Should you feel your credit is too bad and you would rather work on cleaning it up yourself before talking with a lender, then there are a few things you can do. First, take inventory of your credit report and work on eliminating the negatives. Any dings on your report that are not true should be reported to the credit bureaus immediately. Pay all your bills on time and work toward paying them off as soon as possible. One thing NOT to do…work with a credit repair service. You can do everything yourself that they do for you, and it won’t cost you anything but a little time.

How much cash will I need to purchase a home?

The amount of cash that is necessary depends mostly on the type of mortgage you choose, but there are also a few other costs involved. Generally speaking though you will need money for your earnest money deposit, a home inspection, an appraisal and credit report from your lender, some prepaid items such as homeowner’s insurance and prepaid interest, and your down payment. Closing costs may also be required depending on the sales contract negotiated with the seller. Have a question that I didn’t cover here? Leave a comment below or send me an email and I will try to answer it.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

We discussed last week the correlation between the number of homes on the market and the number of homes that have sold. Called absorption rate, this calculated figure gives us a gauge as to where the market might be heading.

This week, we are talking about something a little more simplistic, days on the market. Everyone wants to know how quick their property is going to sell, and the information below will hopefully give you an idea. For the Dothan real estate market as a whole, the average number of days on the market for the 3^rd quarter was 114 days, up from 99 days in the 3^rd quarter of 2006.

In the first table, you can see how days on the market has changed in specific areas when comparing the 3^rd quarter of 2006 to the 3^rd quarter of 2007.

Days on Market by area - 3rd Qtr, 2007

As you can see, the time it takes to sell a home is up, sometimes significantly, in almost all areas. The most noticeable increase is Headland, which is up almost two months, and Houston County outside of Dothan, where the average home is staying on the market three weeks longer this year compared to last.

The next table shows how days on the market has changed in different price ranges.

Days on Market by price - 3rd Qtr, 2007

This is somewhat of a sliding scale. In the lower price ranges, the difference is minimal. As the price goes up, so does the increase in market time. In the over $300,000 price range, the market time is now up to a full six months.

If you have a specific area or price range you would like me to analyze and report on, just drop me an email or leave a comment below.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

As more and more listings hit the market, there are a number of extra things we as listing agents need to do to give our listings a competitive edge. In addition to helping our seller by getting their home sold quicker, the added benefit of doing these things is that they make us more professional and will likely increase our referrals from a happy client.

Here is a list of five inexpensive, or even free, enhancements to our seller service model.

Set a communication schedule

At the time of listing, let the seller know when and how you will contact them with market updates, showing feedback, etc., whether by phone, email, or even in person. One of the top complaints from sellers is that they never hear from their agent. Setting the schedule and letting the seller know at the time of listing lets them  know that they can expect to hear from you on a regular basis.

Email regular market updates

In addition to the regularly scheduled updates mentioned above, email new listings, pending sales, and sold comparables to your seller on a daily basis. The market is in a state of flux, and you will need them to be aware of this information when you approach them for a price reduction or to rehash why they need to work on their curb appeal.

Discuss possible buyer financing options

In our market, there are a lot of FHA buyers and they typically ask the seller for closing costs, a home warranty, and many times pre-paids. Covering your market nuances with the seller at the time of listing softens the blow and hopefully makes them more receptive when that offer does come in.

Take better pictures

My hope is that someday this one will go without saying, but unfortunately, we aren’t there yet. Every survey or poll of buyers that use the Internet to search for homes tells us that pictures are the most important information they look for. You just can’t have too many pictures of a property. Max out your MLS photo allotment and upload as many pictures are you are allowed to every website where you post listings. And above all, take good quality pictures of relevant features.

Verify Internet links and send to seller

Find the listing on each and every website where it is advertised, copy the link, and email it to the seller. Doing so shows them that you not only advertise their property all over the Internet, but you are on top of the content.

Doing all of the above will certainly improve your standing in the eye of the seller, and under promising and over delivering will earn you rave reviews and repeat referral business for years to come.

Have something to add? Leave us a comment below.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

CENTURY 21 Key Realty is now advertising several of our listings on Wiregrass Parade of Homes. The show airs on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am on FOX 34.

Wiregrass Parade of Homes is an alternative to the real estate shows that are typical of the Dothan market. On this show, the house is the center of attention, not the agent.

If you can’t watch the show on Sunday mornings, you can watch the current show online anytime at their website, www.wiregrassparadeofhomes.com.

To see the listings we are advertising, look for the ‘Listings with Video’ section in our middle menu column, just below the ‘Categories’ section.

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By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

Beautiful home with a fenced yard for the kids! (Aprox. .88 acre) Open floor plan with formal dining room. Master has private exit to patio and huge bath with seperate shower/jacuzzi. The garage has a storage room. Take time to enjoy the community lake and bring your fishing pole.

Property stats - 411 Drake

Bedrooms	Baths	Sq Ft	Year Built	MLS #	List Price
3	2	1772	1999	0126220	$194,411

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