Wayne Long's Blog: All Categories

Collaboration between opposing Realtors may seem like a bad thing but it really is not.   My job as a professional REALTOR is to protect your interests and help you make the best decision possible when buying or selling your home.   What made me think about this is that our broker sends out a survey to all the other REALTORS we work with and asks about the job we preformed from their perspective.  Here are the questions our broker asks with this response key  VS- Very Satisfied, S- Satisfied, N - Neutral, D - Dissatisfied, VD - Very Dissatisfied.

1) Timeliness of response

2) Returned Phone Calls

3) Timeliness of Offers

4)Appointments kept and started on time

5) Forms completed fully and correctly

6) Agent availability for follow up questions

7)…

At our annual Board of Realtors awards meeting I learned that Billy Brescia is the oldest active Realtor in the U.S.  according to NAR records.     He is truly an amazing man as he is very active in Real Estate and our Board of Realtors right now.  Let me give you some facts. 

1) Billy is 91 years old

2) He was licensed in 1947 (61 years ago)

3) GAR Director for Life

4) Past Golden Rule award winner

5) Extemely Active in GARPAC

6) Active Board member on the local and State level

7) Past Realtor of the Year

On top of all that - he is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet.  Occasionally you meet people that you would like to model your life after - he is one of those people. 

If you want an experienced REALTOR - this is your man!  Read Full Post

Where do we start?

1) Do I just start riding around looking for signs?

2) Is my credit good enough to get a loan?

3) What if something is wrong with the home I pick? 

4) Do I have to pay a Realtor to find me a home? 

5) All of these are good questions and we will try to answer some here and hopefully alleviate any fears you may have! 

Contact a Realtor! 

You knew I was going to say that because I am a Realtor.   :)  There are good reasons to make this your first stop.   First, the seller pays the commission on both sides as a rule.   The seller has a professional Realtor working for them so it makes sense that you have a professional working to negotiate for your best interests and the best part is the seller is paying for it!  Because a…

Whether you are a buyer or seller you may wonder what the process is and how you are protected once a home is "under contract" or as they some say "in escrow".   Lets look at the process in Georgia. 

1) All parties have agreed on a contract and the buyer has put earnest money into escrow (typically held in a Real Estate Brokerage account to protect the money for all parties until closing) . 

2) Buyer will begin thorough evaluation of credit.  You were probably pre-approved but now you will be required to document your credit worthiness which will probably include:

• Verification of employment
• Verification of funds to close (downpayment and your portion of closing costs).
• Verification of debts
• Verification of assets
• May need tax…

When I was in college mortgage rates went to their all time high of 18%.   That is what kept me out of Real Estate initially.  My father was a Real Estate Broker and I saw what a really tough market looked like and I didn't want to be involved.    This perspective gives me a truly different take on the market we are in now. 

What I see is opportunity for buyers!  

The old saying of buy low and sell high!  What makes a great time to buy property.  Let me think....
1) When you can buy at a discount.
2) When sellers will pay your closing costs so that you don't have to come out of pocket.
3) When you can finance at a great interest rate (5.75% 30 yr. fixed)
4) When you have a lot of inventory to choose from

Wow!  I think that time could be… Read Full Post

   Phenix City officials have anounced that HUD has approved the purchase of the land along the Phenix City Riverfront known as the Triangle Properties.    This is the major hurdle that has been holding up construction of the new Business School for Troy State University.   This new Business School coupled with the building of the Phenixian High Rise Condominiums by Ronnie Gilley Properties will be a major step in revitalizing the downtown area of Phenix City.   

    Phenix City is trying to do much the same thing Columbus has done across the River by moving the art and music departments of Columbus State University downtown.    Both sides of the river seem to be on a major… Read Full Post

Fort Mitchell is the Alabama side of Fort Benning.   The "West Gate" has become a popular place for newcomers to Fort Benning to buy homes because of their comparably lower prices than the homes in Columbus.   Homes in Fort Mitchell will range from $100,000 to just over $200,000.   

Recently I went down for an open house at a new subdivision called the "Villages at Westgate".  You can buy a lot of home their for $200,000 dollars.    The first model is a 3000 sq. ft. / 5 bedroom 2 story home that is priced at only $202,000.   These are a great buy in my opinion especially for the military because they are only about 5 minutes from the westgate and only about 15 minutes out of Phenix City and Columbus.   It is in a very rural setting so you would need to…

Cataula Ga is growing leaps and bounds in the southern part of Harris Co. just on the north side of Columbus.   It is only about 15 minutes back into Columbus and serves as a more rural bedroom community for Columbus.    You can have your small town feel and still only be minutes from the amenities Columbus has to offer.  

Home prices in Cataula range all the way from $100,000 to $800,000 as of this writing.  Please feel free to use our advanced "Find a Home" system to locate your next home in Cataula GA.   Also use the Great School system to check out schools in Harris Co.    Cataula is a great place to live!