5 Tips for finding your new home online

The statistics show that 90% of buyers start their home search on-line. I'd argue that statistic and say that the only person NOT looking online is probably my mother. But with all the World Wide Web at your fingertips, how do you sort through all the information to narrow down your choices?  Here are 5 tips for using Remax.com's excellent search site to help you find your dream home:

When you’re ready to start your home search online, don’t let the sheer volume of listings overwhelm you. Below are some tips to help you narrow down your search results on remax.com and make it much easier to streamline the list of homes you want to visit. 

1. Be smart about pricing.

By now you’ve probably already contacted a lender to figure out exactly how much you’re preapproved to borrow for your new place – and then from there determined how much you’re actually willing to spend on a home. (What you can borrow oftentimes is higher than what you might be comfortable spending.) When you begin your search online, the absolute high-end of your budget isn’t the figure you should enter into your search criteria. 

In today’s competitive market, many buyers find themselves in the middle of a bidding war to secure their dream home. Houses can sell for several thousand dollars more than the original asking price. It might be a good idea to go into your online search knowing you could end up paying more for a home than it’s listed for online. With this in mind, set the price search filter lower than your true maximum price. This way you have some flexibility to compete and increase your offer if other buyers submit offers on your top pick. Another way remax.com helps in your search is to automatically show the newest listings at the top of your results, giving you the opportunity to get your bid in as soon as possible. 

2. Consult the map.

You’re looking at pictures of the perfect house. There’s a fenced-in yard for your dog. The garage has plenty of space to store your camping gear. Your kids will love the Jack-and-Jill style bathroom. But just as you’re about to contact the agent, you notice a deal-breaker – your commute to your new job would take twice as long as you wanted. 

Avoid the heartbreak of discovering the perfect home is in a less-than-perfect location by using the remax.com mapping functions. After you filter properties based on pricing, number of bedrooms, and other criteria you set, this function shows homes as pins on a map. You can zoom in to focus on homes within walking distance to your kids’ new school, for instance, and you’ll also get an idea of what restaurants and other amenities are nearby. Plus, you can create a My RE/MAX account to access additional features like INRIX Drive Time, which shows commute times to and from a property at various times throughout the day. 

3. Remember, photos and videos are only 2D.

Although it’s true that agents can do a great job of capturing a home’s character in photos and videos, there’s still only so much these images can convey. Maybe the neighborhood is described as “secluded,” but it’s still close enough to hear the train come through town. Or when you look closer, you’re unsure if the cabinets are maple or oak. 

These types of uncertainties are why it’s important to see a home in person before you make a decision to buy. Your real estate agent will happily schedule showings for you. But if choosing an agent isn’t something you’re ready to do right now, there is a way to see properties and start narrowing down your wants, needs and options: open houses. On remax.com, you can filter search results to see homes with an upcoming open house. The feature also posts the dates and times you can stop by to see the properties in person. 

To get an even better feel for the area, you also can view demographic data and browse a neighborhood overview. 

4. Search your top neighborhood choices.

Make a trip across almost any city and you’ll encounter several different pockets of culture and attitude. One part of town might pride itself on being the historic city center while another is all about modernism. Perhaps the reason you’re in the market for a new home is that you want to shift to the lifestyle a specific neighborhood offers. To search for a specific area on remax.com, type the name of the area you want to live in, followed by “Neighborhood” and the state you’re looking in. If the neighborhood you’re looking for is listed (many, but not all, neighborhoods will appear), you’ll see search results showing all available properties in that area. Now that’s convenience! 

5. Balance character with upkeep.

Another important search feature is the age of the property. Deciding whether or not you’re interested in purchasing an older home is a perfect example of how the wants and needs in a home differ for each buyer. You may have always wanted a home with exposed brick inside, but are you willing to pay to update the older plumbing that might come with it? Whether you’re open to taking on maintenance that may come with an older home or you’d rather avoid projects altogether and stick to brand-new homes, the “Age of Home” filter on remax.com can help you narrow down your search results. 

Just because you’re starting your search online doesn’t mean you have to go it alone! Contact me today to help me guide you in your home search – both online and off.

When your Realtor tells you to declutter - just do it

Admit it - you are just as addicted to HGTV as the rest of America. So don't pretend you don't know what is coming when I meet with you to list your home. Every buyer wants to walk into some version of Pottery Barn, and that means clearing out all of those mementos of life that you have collected over the years. I am sympathetic, it isn't easy; the way you live in your home is innately counter to the way buyers want to experience it. You drink coffee every morning - buyers want to see wide open expanses of empty counter in kitchens. You have a 2 year old - buyers want every living space to look like something out of Dwell magazine. Believe me, I understand it isn't easy. But if you want to get the most money for your house, it is important.

This is an extreme example, but see what happened to one couple who had an amazing home in an amazing location but just couldn't bear to box up the mementos from their life.

As I remind clients: you are moving. Go ahead and pack away all the "extra" that you can - it will make it that much easier come moving day because much of your belongings will already be in boxes, and in the meantime it will make your house much more show-ready. That's not to say the 50 porcelain roosters that your grandmother passed down to you aren't special, they just may not be everyone's taste so best to go ahead and bubble wrap them now.

We have the same goal as you: sell your home as quickly as possible, for the most money as possible. So in this vein, the more you can do to maximize your home's first impression, the better.

Trust us, we are the experts.

Title Insurance

Great article about the importance of owner's title insurance from the Washington Post! Here are a few key excerpts, but please read through the entire article here.

A frequent refrain we hear from our clients is “Why do I need title insurance when you have already done a title search?”  Not only does title insurance cover mistakes made during a title search, it also covers a gamut of issues that even the best title search cannot reveal.  For example, a title search cannot detect a forged document, or definitively identify a faulty legal description, or account for the indexing mistakes and tardy record-keeping at the government clerk’s office.

Title insurance claim rates are approximately 5 percent, relatively low when compared to other forms of insurance, which often invites skepticism among prospective homebuyers.

However, missing from this statistic, are the title snags we encounter that do not result in direct claims by an insured home seller. In many cases, the seller is not even aware of the behind-the-scenes curative work that has been done for the seller to convey insurable title to their buyer. 

Without an owner’s title insurance policy, the legal costs to hash out a title claim would be in the tens of thousands of dollars paid directly out of your pocket. Not to mention you could lose the money you’ve invested in your property such as your down payment and any improvements you’ve made. 

Personally I can attest to the fact that my closing attorney puts in a ton of overtime clearing titles in all but the cleanest of closings.  This hard work usually happens without my client ever knowing, and it is just another aspect of what makes my "team" so great - I can trust my closing staff to do a great job, quickly and professionally.  But there are instances when even the most diligent amount of digging does not reveal a decades-old title issue, and that is exactly what title insurance is for: to protect one of the biggest financial investments you will ever make. 

Game of Thrones is back! (certainly that deserves a blog post)

Game of Thrones is my all-time favorite series of books (PLEASE finish the books, George!) and HBO has done an amazing job bringing them to life. In honor of the newest season kicking off tonight, I offer you this amazing article!

“Game of Thrones” returns on Sunday, and we’re sure you watch it for the same reason we do. No, not the shockingly colorful violence. No, not the inescapable nudity and salacious sex scenes. Yes, like us, you love it because it’s all about real estate. After all, isn’t the whole show just one big bidding war for the castle by the sea in King’s Landing? Can’t have closing costs if everyone’s dead, amirite?

Who knows? Maybe Arya Stark is actually headed to Braavos to get her broker’s license. Maybe the White Walkers just want a sunken living room and gourmet kitchen like the rest of us. Guess we’ll have to watch all of Season 5 to find out.

In the meantime, here are some Westeros-style castles (in America!) fit for any Lannister, Stark, Bolton, Greyjoy, Targaryen … good lord, this gets confusing. And for those days when you want to give the dragons a break, we’ve included the Walk Score—the White Walk Score, that is. (Click here to view the Castles)

BREAKING NEWS: Alix Nadi Awarded Best of 2014 on Kudzu

For the second year in a row I was voted by the Kudzu Community as a Top Atlanta Realtor!  I am so honored to be chosen for this, as it is a testament to the kinds of relationships I form with clients, which extend way past closing.  

Here's the official press release:

 – January 12, 2014 – 

Alix Nadi was named a Best of 2014 winner for Atlanta Realtors on Kudzu.com, a leading source for local business information and consumer reviews.

Over 5 million local businesses competed across a wide range of categories including home, auto, health and professional services. Winners were determined based on votes from consumers in the Atlanta Kudzu community. Alix Nadi received the top honor and will be recognized with a Best of 2014 badge displayed on her Kudzu business listing.

This is the second consecutive year that Alix Nadi has earned this honor, which is a testament to the unparalleled level of service she provides her clients. She has been helping buyers and sellers in the metro Atlanta area since 2007 and is consistently one of the top agents in the city. 

"My business is entirely based on referrals, so winning this award means a lot to me," says Alix.  “I am proud that my clients and Kudzu users again voted me as one of the best Realtors in Atlanta. Winning this award from Kudzu only strengthens my commitment to my clients.”

Please visit http://www.kudzu.com/best for a full listing of the Best of 2014 winners, and learn more about Alix Nadi here.