Welcome!

I am an Atlanta native and made the decision in 2007 to leave my job as an architect/urban planner to get my real estate license. This was a difficult decision but has been great since my very first day in my new career and I am really enjoying it! It is so rewarding helping people find that perfect home, and it allows me to continue to satiate my love of good architecture and great neighborhoods!

I attended Georgia Tech (GO JACKETS!!!!) which is where I met my husband. For almost a decade we lived in one of Atlanta's fabulous in-town neighborhoods in a great 1920's Craftsman bungalow with our two dogs and two cats. Following the birth of our first child, we bought a foreclosure in the west Buckhead area and fully renovated it using an FHA 203k loan, which was a fun and sometimes daunting process. And just prior to the birth of our second child, we purchased and renovated a home in downtown Historic Roswell, completing our personal tour of some of Atlanta's best neighborhoods to live in!

I decided to create this blog in order to share useful information and resources about the real estate market and home buying process, as well as hopefully bring some humor and levity to what is often a complex and intimidating process. Enjoy!!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Home Sale Prices On The Rise!

The S&P Case-Shiller Index for April, released Tuesday, showed both month-to-month and year-over-year increases in seasonally adjusted metro Atlanta home sale prices. The increase, nearly 1 percent from March, came after the index had dipped to its lowest level since November 2000. The year-over-year increase was slight, with a gain of a quarter percent over April 2009. Nationally, the 20-city Case-Shiller Index showed seasonally adjusted prices up one-half percent in April from March, while up 4 percent from April 2009.

Is this good news?

Yes! The quarter percent increase is the first positive year-over-year movement the Atlanta index has seen since September 2007. Even if the index stays flat month-to-month in May, the annual improvement will follow into next month’s data.

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Change in FANNIE MAE guidelines: Underwriting Borrowers with a Prior Foreclosure

Fannie Mae has issued Announcement SEL-2010-08, Underwriting Borrowers with a Prior Foreclosure, to modify the waiting period that must elapse before a borrower is eligible for a new mortgage loan after a foreclosure. A seven-year waiting period after a prior foreclosure will apply for all borrowers, unless the foreclosure was the result of documented extenuating circumstances, which requires a three-year waiting period with additional eligibility requirements.
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