There are several myths that have long circulated when it comes to buying and selling Metro Atlanta houses. We decided to try and bust those myths in this article.
What Everyone Misses When Buying and Selling Metro Atlanta Houses
The most important rule in real estate is location, location, location. Not true! The most important rule in real estate should be future location, future location, future location. Home buyers eager to maximize their returns need to look 10 or 20 years down the road to assess what will happen to the neighborhood, not what it is today.
Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood. Wrong! The house will always be the worst house in the neighborhood, and buyers in a great neighborhood are likely to look past your ugly duckling when you go to sell. Price gains on these "worst houses" actually under-perform their surrounding neighborhood rather than being carried along with them. Instead, a shopper should buy the worst house in the hottest neighborhood — and to do so within the first five years of the neighborhood getting hot.
When it comes to buying and selling Metro Atlanta houses, remodeling the kitchen, with a lot of fancy upgrades, is one of the smartest moves you can make to boost your home's value. WRONG! Kitchen renovations, at any level, offer among the lowest return on investment of the home improvements you can make. Instead, a modest bathroom makeover might have the biggest impact on your home's value.
When selling Metro Atlanta houses, list early in the year to catch the spring home-buying rush. Wrong again. With more home buyers starting their search online, it's better to list in late March, generally speaking, so your listing is near the top of search results. The "New rule of Thumb" for maximum results: Don't list your house for sale before March Madness or after the Masters.
The mortgage interest deduction is essential to the health of the nation's real estate market. Not so fast. Some are calling the mortgage interest deduction ill-conceived public policy. The federal government is essentially spending $100 billion in the form of lost tax revenue annually to help Americans living in homes that cost about $865,000. It's especially ironic that the (mortgage interest deduction) is consistently sold to the American people as a populist policy to help the little guy. In reality, it's the exact opposite.
Home ownership is the foundation of the American Dream. Not any more, or so it seems. An analysis of data indicates public policy designed to boost homeownership among low-income buyers has the opposite effect of lifting people out of poverty. That's in large part because of less affluent neighborhoods, where many of these new home owners can afford to buy, experience lower appreciation and higher price volatility than more affluent neighborhoods.
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