Homes for around $185,000
April 29th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Continuing our look at different price ranges around Dothan.
So far we have looked at a few homes priced around $90,000 and some priced at around $135,000. We’re up to $185,000, and there are some nice ones.
We’ve got a nice home outside of Headland sitting on almost two acres. It’s only a couple of years old and is listed for $185,500.
Here’s another one in the country, this one is just outside of Cottonwood. 2200 square feet, all hardwood and tile floors, and offered for $184,762.
Several new construction homes are listed in this price range. Try one on the golf course, one on a former golf course, and one in Midland City.
As always, we would be happy to email you more information on any property you find on our website. Let us know how we can help!
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Down payment gift programs are here to stay
April 25th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Real Estate News
By: Ann Bourland
Lending Edge Mortgage
http://www.lendingedge.net
From an email I received a couple of days ago-
Judge Lawrence K. Karlton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California upheld Nehemiah’s motion for summary judgment and invalidated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule to ban private down payment assistance as proposed in the “Standards for Mortgagor’s Investment in Mortgaged Property” regulation published October 1, 2007.
To be clear, this rule cannot be enforced by HUD and is no longer a threat to private down payment assistance programs.
We are thrilled with the Court’s decision to support low-to-moderate income families across the country by ruling against HUD’s attempt to ban private down payment assistance,” said Scott Syphax, President and CEO of Nehemiah Corporation of America. This is a major and conclusive judgment, leaving no uncertainty that down payment assistance is a life line to the families that Nehemiah serves. It is heartening to see that the Court’s arguments echo our sentiments and concerns. This decision preserves access and supports the use of sensible and reasonable approaches to homeownership for millions of working class families. It is a privilege to continue providing a helping hand to America’s underserved families by building both safer communities and financial strength through homeownership. As we have said before, we look forward to working with HUD to support deserving families across the country.”
What does this mean for Dothan home buyers? It means no down payment options are still available. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to discuss your choices with you.
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Contact Ann Bourland or Kim Kennedy at Lending Edge Mortgage at (334) 836-0963 or by email at aborland(at)edgeloans(dot)com
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Homes for around $135,000
April 23rd, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Continuing our look at different price ranges around Dothan.
On Monday, we looked at a few homes priced around $90,000. Here is a link to homes for sale in the Dothan MLS priced at around $135,000.
We have a foreclosed 3BR/2BA home zone for Rehobeth schools listed for $134,900. It needs a little work, but would make a great home.
There are a couple of new construction homes listed in the Kinsey area. Both 3BR/2BA and listed for $135,000. Ready to move in!
How about an old farmhouse in the country? Check out this 3BR/1BA built around 1900, just outside of Headland.
As always, we would be happy to email you more information on any property you find on our website. Let us know how we can help!
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Wrapping up Open House month with a full weekend!
April 22nd, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, CENTURY 21 Homes for Sale, Dothan Area events
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
You have likely seen the ads on TV touting April as CENTURY 21 National Open House month. We at CENTURY 21 Key Realty are participating by having a huge open house weekend this Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th.
CLICK HERE for details on the homes that will be open this Sunday. You can also see a slideshow over to your right. Click on the home you are interested in for details.
All homes will be open from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday! Stop by and say HI!
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What will $90,000 get you?
April 21st, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Relocating to Dothan
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
I have been meaning to do this for some time now. Those of you who are not in the market right now, or those that might be considering a move to the Dothan area, likely will have an interest in a good overview of what your money will buy you in the Dothan real estate market.
The first price we are looking at is $90,000. Here is a link to homes for sale in the Dothan MLS priced at around $90,000. Right now there are less than 20 homes.
We have a nice 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath listed on Normandale in southwest Dothan. The backyard is large and the home has some nice updates, including new flooring. All for $89,104
Looking for something outside of Dothan? How about this 3BR/2BA south of Rehobeth. It’s been reduced to $88,000.
Here is a fairly new home in Midland City. This 3BR/2BA was built in 2006. An even $90,000 will get you in this one.
As always, we would be happy to email you more information on any property you find on our website. Let us know how we can help!
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REALTORS and Lawyers - Peas in a Pod?
April 18th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, General Commentary, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
The Notorious ROB has an excellent post making some comparisons between lawyers and REALTORS. If you have ever had a bad experience with a real estate “professional”, take a few minutes to read his post. You may walk away with a better understanding of why there can be such a huge discrepancy when it comes to the quality of real estate agents.
One quote particularly interests me:
Neither the legal industry nor the real estate industry will change towards a regulated system of limiting the number of people who can claim to be an attorney or a realtor. There’s too much money being made by ambulance chasers on the one hand and the sleazy, know-nothing agents on the other.
But in that environment, an opportunity does exist for the elite firms to separate themselves. (emphasis mine)
I hope that no one reading this has had a bad experience with a REALTOR here at CENTURY 21 Key Realty. If you have, I would like to apologize. I would also like you to know that we strive everyday to separate ourselves from the pack. Yes, it may be a little cheesy, but we would like to be the “Gold Standard” for real estate service in the Dothan area market. That is what we shoot for. We may not always make it, but I can promise you it won’t be from lack of effort.
Regardless, please know this; We do require a higher level of education and training in our office, so anyone you talk with on The Key Team will likely have at least some more real estate know-how than the average agent around town. Every REALTOR here cares about their perception in the marketplace, and I think it shows.
I really didn’t intend for this post to be a commercial for our office. It probably comes across that way, and that is alright. I just wanted you to know that if you have a real estate need in the Dothan area, we are here to help. And I promise will be do the job to the best of our ability.
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Dothan real estate market - April Sales report
April 15th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Both homes sold and pending sales were up in March, a good sign that the Dothan real estate market is still healthy. New pending sales were up almost 25% over March, 2007 and last month. There were over 100 homes sold in February and March which is the first time that has happened in two consecutive months since last summer.
Pending home sales are at their highest level in several months. In fact, there are more pending sales right now than at any time since April, 2007. This a good measure of activity to come in the next 30 to 60 days.
The number of homes sold is closely following totals from last year, which is another good sign that the Dothan housing market is in good shape. As you can see just to your right, mortgage rates are below 6% and the Dothan area economy is in good shape.
I’ll have a more detailed trends analysis in the coming days, so watch for that, and a report on inventory will be posted next week.
If you are reading this and wondering if it is a good time to buy or sell a home in Dothan, then we need to talk. Pick up the phone and call me at the office, 334–793–6990, or on my cell, 334–596–0808. I’m not going to give you a hard sell or anything like that, we will just talk about your situation and try to figure out what is best for you right now. Sound fair?
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Days on market redux and the listing agent show
April 7th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Real Estate News, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
A couple of things that are on my mind as we start the week.
Jim Duncan had lunch with Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of The National Association of REALTORS, one day last week. Dr. Yun had some interesting comments on a lot of things, including the days on market statistic. Take a quick read of Jim’s post, paying particular attention to the part on this subject.
Jim and I agree on the irrelevance of days on market as a statistic, although for different reasons. Withdrawing and re-listing a property (Jim’s beef) to reset days on market to zero skews the data. I have been guilty of doing this, as have most REALTORS, reasoning that sometimes a listing needs a fresh start. Yes, that is gaming the system and shouldn’t be allowed. However, if you read my earlier post on this subject, I have come to feel that days on market should not be relevant to a buyer anyway, regardless of whether it is accurate or not.
Dr. Yun gives the impression he isn’t too keen on using DOM as a meaningful measure either.
Phil Hoover is another real estate blogger that I like. Phil blogs about the Boise, Idaho real estate market and posted this gem last week about listing agents auditioning for sellers.
Phil couldn’t be more right. Too many sellers think they are hiring the best agent when they hire one that will tell them what they want to hear. Look, you need to know exactly what is going on in the market if you want to have any chance at a sale. Are they telling you the real estate market in Dothan is down over 24% so far this year compared to last? Are they telling you what you need to do to get your home sold when competition for buyers’ attention is tougher than it has been in years? If they are, then you’ve likely snagged a good one. If they aren’t, you might want to look elsewhere.
Ok, now on with the week!
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Searching for homes - So easy a…well, you know
March 17th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information, New construction homes in Dothan
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Dothan Home Search is proud to give you the latest weapon for finding your dream home. We have made it much easier to search for homes here, so take a look at our new home search tool by clicking on ?MLS Search? above or ?Search the MLS? over on your right, or do a ?Quick Home Search? by selecting a city and a price range in the middle column, just to your right on the screen.
Right away you?ll see a map of Dothan with up to 25 homes for sale in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range (default range), or whatever price range you have chosen. You can pan on the map and the listings populate automatically. You can change the price range or search for a specific number of bedrooms or bathrooms by changing that criteria at the bottom. Click on a marker to see more details on an individual property.
A couple of things to keep in mind. Map placement is completely dependent on Google translating the address to a Latitude/Longitude number. Homes in newer subdivisions, or listings where the agent enters some wrong information, may not show up in the right place on the map. Also, the information is updated daily, so check back often.
I mentioned in the first sentence above that we are giving you this information. I say give because we do not require any registration to use our property search. The only reason you might want to register is to save your searches or information on a specific property. Even then, I promise we don?t spam you and will keep your contact information confidential.
We are certainly interested in your feedback on this new tool, so let us know what you think by commenting below!
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Days on market is irrelevant
March 3rd, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Buyers like to use a high number of days on market as a tool to eliminate a home from consideration, or as reasoning for a low ball offer. There has been some discussion around the web recently (here and here) about listing agents withdrawing a home from the MLS and immediately re-entering it to make it look like a new listing. I myself have been guilty of doing that in the past. However the time has come for us to educate buyers as to why days on the market is an irrelevant statistic. Let me begin by dispelling two myths.
“This home has been on the market for a long time. It has to be overpriced.”
At what point in time does it become overpriced? Sixty days? 120? If you are looking at two very similar houses, priced exactly the same, with the only difference being one has been on the market a week and the other for six months, are they both overpriced, or just the one that has been on the market longer? My point is that if it is overpriced, it is overpriced on day one of the listing. If you as a buyer are working with a competent real estate professional, they should be able to show you, even on day one, an analysis with a reasonable determination as to the market value of a property. If you are not working with an agent, then an appraisal can show you. Unless you are in a market with rapidly falling prices, the determined value will be the same, no matter how long the house has been on the market.
“This home has been on the market a long time. The seller must not be motivated to sell.”
Circumstances are different for every seller, and there are multiple reasons why a home that has been on the market for any length of time is still there. Fairly common in today’s market is a situation where a seller doesn’t have any leeway in their price and is selling at near what they paid. Another reason is they may have selected a poor listing agent. Take for example a listing that has been on the market for 150 days. There is no way to determine, just by looking at days on the market, whether a home is still on the market because the seller has refused to budge on their price because they don’t have to sell (read not motivated), or whether they are desperate to move but can’t negotiate on price because they owe more than they can sell it for.
What’s the lesson for buyers? Don’t judge a home by the number of days it has been on the market. Focus instead on price, location, and desirable amenities. Days on market can be a useful number for a seller to determine what a realistic time to sell will be, but it is of little or no value to a buyer.
EDIT: I inadvertently left out another post discussing this topic on Jim Duncan’s blog. An callous and unintentional oversight on my part.