The housing market’s continuing funk — by some measures getting worse, not better — has metro Atlantans using a grab-bag of creative strategies to buy, sell or just tread water so they can make a career move.
For instance:
• Renting out a property has become the end-run around the market’s chokehold on mobility. More homeowners are turning to real estate agents to keep an eye on their homes, not sell them. Homeowners typically rent out their homes so they can buy or rent somewhere else. This has created a new line of property management work for the real estate industry.
• Home-staging has increased in popularity as a tool — and a necessity — for selling homes now that a yard sign and a quick sweep of the front steps won’t get the job done. Today, clearing clutter and redecorating in neutral hues and designs is key to finding potential buyers.
• Consumers and real estate professionals alike are embracing all sorts of technology. Virtual home tours are de rigueur. A twist on barcodes called QR lets people check out a home on a cellphone or other mobile device. Multiple listing services are not only helping consumers find homes but financial help as well.
• With stricter mortgage requirements in place, little-known federal and local programs are emerging as rich uncles for would-be home buyers, and not just for those with low income or first-time home buyers.
“It’s like trying to find buried treasure,” said Rob Chrane, president and founder of Workforce Resources, a 3-year-old Atlanta company that connects people with hard-to-find financial resources.
In metro Atlanta two to three dozen home-buying assistance programs are available, Chrane said. Real estate agents use down-payment assistance programs to market homes. A first-time homebuyer in metro Atlanta could be eligible for help on a home worth up to $300,000. And if you are interested in buying property built with tax breaks, there are deals too.
David Stevenson bought a move-in-ready, three-bedroom, two-bath 1,400-square-foot home in Rex for $55,000 under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, set up in 2009 to help communities deal with foreclosures.
Stevenson used the $5,000 he got through the program to pay his closing costs.
The program targets educators, medical personnel, police officers, fire fighters and military families and requires at least a $500 down-payment, good credit and other criteria. (Information: hudnsphelp.info)
“I’ve been so happy. I’ve been telling all my friends about the program and how great it is,” said Stevenson, 51, a quality assurance technician for QuikTrip Kitchens who stumbled upon the NSP program while house-hunting.
To date, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in Clayton has acquired 130 foreclosed homes using the $9.7 million it got from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development program. Sixty-eight of those homes, mostly in stable neighborhoods, have been sold. More than dozen others are under contract as of early June.
“NSP is the best deal you have going right now,” said David Barton of Academy Properties in McDonough. “They’re usually the best-priced, best-looking homes on the market. They’ve got warranties on the home. They’ve already been appraised and every county got a certain portion of funds determined by the amount of foreclosures.”
Maricarmen Smith-Martinez saved money when she moved from Tucker into her $119,000, 13th floor, 742-square-foot condo in downtown Atlanta’s Twelve Centennial Park. The original price was $155,000, but $36,000 of her mortgage was covered by a “tax allocation district” perk because her building was built using tax credits. Those tax credits come with strings attached, however. She can’t move, sell or rent it out for a while. The 28-year-old first- time buyer was willing to take the risk.
“I am glad I purchased,” she said. “I love my home.”
Still, the difficult market makes a sale impossible for some homeowners.
John and Katherin DeLeon turned to Sandra McCrary to manage their Henry County home when they got orders to move to Fort Bragg, N.C. last year because of the closing of Atlanta’s Fort McPherson.
They thought about trying to sell but decided against that when a foreclosure popped up in their neighborhood.
The DeLeons had a couple renting the home within two weeks of signing on with McCrary, managing broker with ReMax Advantage in Henry.
“She found exactly what I was looking for: an elderly couple who like to do yard work and were handy around the house,” Katherine DeLeon said.
McCrary spends most of her time managing properties in Clayton and Henry counties, hard hit by foreclosures and savage value declines.
“I’m tired of telling people how much their houses are not worth,” she said.
For homeowners intent on selling, staging is a popular strategy.
Colleen Cardone recently snared a buyer for her Roswell home four months after it went on the market. She feels the free home staging service offered by the broker, the Katz Crew in Alpharetta, gave her the edge.
“Staging has made the house better and more appealing to potential buyers,” she said. Her house is under contract.
“The use of home staging has doubled in the last year and so has the number of people getting trained to become professional home stagers,” said Barb Schwartz, founder of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals in Brentwood, Calif. She said membership has doubled in the past two years.
