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I like a home in a large subdivision in East Cobb. When I asked for comps to know if the home is priced right I received three comps. These comps were for homes sold in the last six months. All I got was the number of bedrooms, price sold, and date it closed.
All of the three homes sold for more then what this house is currently priced...however, I don't have square footage, or if those homes were totoally remodeled or had a new roof, hvac, etc. I don't even know what those homes looked like outside, much less inside.
Is this how homes are comped in Georgia? How do I know if a house is priced right?
I like a home in a large subdivision in East Cobb. When I asked for comps to know if the home is priced right I received three comps. These comps were for homes sold in the last six months. All I got was the number of bedrooms, price sold, and date it closed.
All of the three homes sold for more then what this house is currently priced...however, I don't have square footage, or if those homes were totoally remodeled or had a new roof, hvac, etc. I don't even know what those homes looked like outside, much less inside.
Is this how homes are comped in Georgia? How do I know if a house is priced right?
Thanks
We don't quote square footage in Georgia (or at least Atlanta). If memory serves me well, I believe an agent misquoted the square footage of a property and was sued and thus we just don't do it anymore.
Even if we did quote square footage, items such as "totally remodeled" is subjective. Someone might have a new hot water heater less than a year old bit how do you compare a 20 gallon model tank versus a 50 gallon tank versus a tankless? It is very hard to compare apples with apples in the case of homes.
If you have ever reviewed a full appraisal, you will see that the appraiser will take into account the condition of the subject property versus the comps. And of course, this is all subjective too.
Ask your real estate agent that pulled the comps for you to send you the actual listing that they used as a comp. The listing should have photos to at least give you a visual clue on what the inside looks like in terms of condition. The listing should also show you how long the house was on the market, percentage that it sold for versus listed price, what the Seller paid for in closing costs and when the house actually closed.
Were there no sales younger than 6 months? I would ask for all the sales in the last 6 months with the same number of bedrooms and baths. Perhaps the agent was being selective in the comps that were provided to you and you are unable to see a clear picture.
You can also search the tax records for the square footage on a property too. But also know that the county doesn't always get the square footage correct either.
Your agent call also pull all solds in the subdivision. You could see each and every home that was sold in say the last year, number of bedrooms, baths, what the list price was, sold price and closing costs paid by Seller and then you can see what the average sale was.
If you are concerned that the house will not appraise for the contract price - just request that the agent put in a appraisal contingency.
We don't quote square footage in Georgia (or at least Atlanta). If memory serves me well, I believe an agent misquoted the square footage of a property and was sued and thus we just don't do it anymore.
Even if we did quote square footage, items such as "totally remodeled" is subjective. Someone might have a new hot water heater less than a year old bit how do you compare a 20 gallon model tank versus a 50 gallon tank versus a tankless? It is very hard to compare apples with apples in the case of homes.
If you have ever reviewed a full appraisal, you will see that the appraiser will take into account the condition of the subject property versus the comps. And of course, this is all subjective too.
Ask your real estate agent that pulled the comps for you to send you the actual listing that they used as a comp. The listing should have photos to at least give you a visual clue on what the inside looks like in terms of condition. The listing should also show you how long the house was on the market, percentage that it sold for versus listed price, what the Seller paid for in closing costs and when the house actually closed.
Were there no sales younger than 6 months? I would ask for all the sales in the last 6 months with the same number of bedrooms and baths. Perhaps the agent was being selective in the comps that were provided to you and you are unable to see a clear picture.
You can also search the tax records for the square footage on a property too. But also know that the county doesn't always get the square footage correct either.
Your agent call also pull all solds in the subdivision. You could see each and every home that was sold in say the last year, number of bedrooms, baths, what the list price was, sold price and closing costs paid by Seller and then you can see what the average sale was.
If you are concerned that the house will not appraise for the contract price - just request that the agent put in a appraisal contingency.
Good luck.
Generally speaking, let's say there is an appraisal contingency.
Does the seller, buyer, or lender hire an appraiser? Can one of the three hire an independent appraiser if they feel it's off the mark? I would think appraisals are subject at best --given overinflated home prices over the years. In addition, this could skew comps as well, correct?
Also, if the appraisal comes out lower than the sale price, can the buyer walk if the seller won't budge on the price?
What about the earnest money? Is that refunded or lost?
We don't quote square footage in Georgia (or at least Atlanta). If memory serves me well, I believe an agent misquoted the square footage of a property and was sued and thus we just don't do it anymore.
This is what my agent told me when we listed our house, and I find it amazing. All of the houses in our subdivision are 3 br/ 2 1/2 baths, but the square footage varies dramatically. No one can tell that from the MLS listings, and it makes pulling comps really difficult, I think. We've had four identical houses for sale in our sub for a couple of months, plus one that was the smallest floorplan (and $20k cheaper than any of the others). However, from comparing the listings on the MLS, you'd have a hard time telling why the one was so much cheaper. Thankfully, that one just sold, so maybe traffic will pick up to the others now!
When we were looking at houses in NC, we could search based on sq footage, and it was so much easier. Thanks, litigious America, for taking that away in Atlanta!
We don't quote square footage in Georgia (or at least Atlanta). If memory serves me well, I believe an agent misquoted the square footage of a property and was sued and thus we just don't do it anymore.
Even if we did quote square footage, items such as "totally remodeled" is subjective. Someone might have a new hot water heater less than a year old bit how do you compare a 20 gallon model tank versus a 50 gallon tank versus a tankless? It is very hard to compare apples with apples in the case of homes.
If you have ever reviewed a full appraisal, you will see that the appraiser will take into account the condition of the subject property versus the comps. And of course, this is all subjective too.
Ask your real estate agent that pulled the comps for you to send you the actual listing that they used as a comp. The listing should have photos to at least give you a visual clue on what the inside looks like in terms of condition. The listing should also show you how long the house was on the market, percentage that it sold for versus listed price, what the Seller paid for in closing costs and when the house actually closed.
Were there no sales younger than 6 months? I would ask for all the sales in the last 6 months with the same number of bedrooms and baths. Perhaps the agent was being selective in the comps that were provided to you and you are unable to see a clear picture.
You can also search the tax records for the square footage on a property too. But also know that the county doesn't always get the square footage correct either.
Your agent call also pull all solds in the subdivision. You could see each and every home that was sold in say the last year, number of bedrooms, baths, what the list price was, sold price and closing costs paid by Seller and then you can see what the average sale was.
If you are concerned that the house will not appraise for the contract price - just request that the agent put in a appraisal contingency.
Good luck.
Thank you so much!! That was really helpful...I am not sure this is "the" house anymore...but when I do find "the" house, I will have him do what you suggested.
It is too bad about the square footage...it really makes things difficult when everyone else in the country uses square footage. I feel totally misinformed because I am not familiar with the subdivision. In my subdivision I know what is a good deal, etc.
Moderator cut: real estate agent advertising and or soliciting is not allowed in these forums and when I list a property, I will do the basic computer comps you guys detailed. Then, the owner (seller) and I will actually go into several listed properties in the neighborhood that the owner thinks are very comparable to theirs.
We'll analyze the solds, pendings, expired and the information from going into the houses, and the current market price will become quite evident.
Then we talk about how fast the owner wants the property sold and the effect that price has on this.
Easy to do, but takes some real time and effort.
Rob
Last edited by da jammer; 05-25-2008 at 08:26 PM..
We don't quote square footage in Georgia (or at least Atlanta). If memory serves me well, I believe an agent misquoted the square footage of a property and was sued and thus we just don't do it anymore.
I don't get that. When we moved here I was perplexed by this as well. Up north you always had the square footage listed. One of the ways you review the comps is by looking at the price per square foot (especially newer homes). Our realtor here in GA told us the same story about the law suit. Couldn't you just post the square footage info as "quoted by the owner"? This was done quite frequently up north. Wouldn't that release the agent from liability?
I don't get that. When we moved here I was perplexed by this as well. Up north you always had the square footage listed. One of the ways you review the comps is by looking at the price per square foot (especially newer homes). Our realtor here in GA told us the same story about the law suit. Couldn't you just post the square footage info as "quoted by the owner"? This was done quite frequently up north. Wouldn't that release the agent from liability?
You would think...the only way I can figure around this is by pulling the tax records.
MiriL stated - thank you litigious America for taking the square footage thing away from Atlanta. Honestly, real estate agents are not going to test the waters on what might release agents or owners from liability in terms of stating square footage. We are not attorneys and nor do we practice law. We are granted special permission to utilize contracts that are legally binding within our profession.
You would be amazed at what people will threaten to sue you over. The sale of a home is a very emotional process and if you anger one person in the process, whether it makes sense/cents or not, they will sue you. Heck, I was threatened with a lawsuit over a posting of my personal opinion on this website!
If someone asks me the square footage of a property, I will pull the tax records for them and let them know what the records state and give my disclaimer too.
In terms of the questions asked about the appraisal contingency:
1. An appraisal is generally ordered by the financial institution that will be funding the new loan. They want to know that the property is indeed worth what the sales/contract price stated in the contract. Not only for protecting their own stake in the transaction but in terms of reducing mortgage fraud too. The new Georgia Association of Realtors sales contract treats all sales as cash deals. In other words, obviously the Seller will receive all cash at closing whether it is from the Buyer via funds from a bank and/or personal funds. So, now all residential transactions are like commercial deals where the Buyer states how long of a time period to complete ALL their due diligence. That period may include inspections, securing financing and or calling in an expert like a structural engineer.
2. If the property does not appraise for the contracted price, the Buyer does have the option to purchase the property. If the Buyer's agent does not put in the appraisal contingency that the Buyer does not have to purchase the property if it does not appraise for the contracted price - guess what? The special stipulation/clause was kind of worthless. But not in all cases does a Buyer want to back out of a deal that does not appraise for the contracted sales price. And yes - the Buyer can also go back to the Seller and see if the Seller will sell it for the lower appraised price.
3. So let's say that the Buyer's Agent did put in that the property must appraise for the contracted price and the Buyer has the option to back out of the deal if the appraisal price is not met - then yes the Buyer should be entitled to the earnest money in full because a provision was not met in the contract and thus makes the contract null and void.
As you can see in this thread - depending on square footage as comps is both a negative and a positive. There are obviously so many more nuances in comparing square footage of one house to another. It is very unfortunate that the square footage "tool" is not applicable in Atlanta.
FMLS reports (when properly input by the listing agent) link automatically to the tax record for that property so an agent pulling up the report can quickly get details on what the tax assessor's records show for the square footage. Unfortunately, the tax assessor's records are very, very, frequently wrong. Also, this report doesn't pull up on a "buyer's report" which is the public report that consumers can see. However, you can go to the tax assessor's web site and find the information for yourself. Just don't rely on it. It will very likely be incorrect.
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When we moved here I was perplexed by this as well. Up north you always had the square footage listed. One of the ways you review the comps is by looking at the price per square foot (especially newer homes). Our realtor here in GA told us the same story about the law suit. Couldn't you just post the square footage info as "quoted by the owner"? This was done quite frequently up north. Wouldn't that release the agent from liability?
