My house went up in value over the last year -- any others? (Atlanta: hardwood floors, sale)

[netdragon]

I bought a home in Smyrna near the E/W connector in November '07 and I just went through a re-appraisal and found out it went up $7,000 from its original appraisal in November ($320k -> $327k). Therefore, that put me in a good situation for the refinance I'm currently going through (4.75% interest ). Has anyone else had similar experiences in metro ATL?

[Iconographer]

Yes, mine went up by 5M in a year (also doing a refi)...however, some friends of mine doing same were shocked to see theirs drop by 30M over the same period, and this after spending 42M on a new kitchen.

[Georgia]

One thing that we all could agree on is coming.
No matter what appraisal you have had by a bank, with you county tax assessment coming, no matter which, I guarantee everyones home will double in value Kind of a mixed smiley face bag.

All in all, we have to remember that the Atlanta area overall has not taken the appraisal/value hit that many other locations in the nation has, for example Florida, the Northeast, Las Vegas, and California. Even during the boom, Atlanta's overall values increased on average of 4-7% per annum, not the double digit unrealistic amounts of other areas, mostly due to the constant glut of homes.

Even now, we are still experiencing growth of 100k per year, this too will help us recover faster than other areas.

Lastly, an FYI.
If you re-fi and you do not drop your current rate by 200 basis points please make sure your re-fi is closing cost free. If not, unless you do a cost/time valuation it may not be worth the time.

[globalnomad]

We bought our house (unincorported Decatur) in July 07 and refinanced in January 09.

We were worried that the refi appraisal would come in much lower than our previous one. Imagine our happy shock when it came in $15,000 MORE than the last one (after buying, we put in hardwood floors upstairs).

For the prior appraisal, we never saw the appraiser. He/she came by, took photos outside, and a report appeared. This time, the appraiser came inside the house, measured every room, and took interior photos as well as exterior ones.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by globalnomad

For the prior appraisal, we never saw the appraiser. He/she came by, took photos outside, and a report appeared. This time, the appraiser came inside the house, measured every room, and took interior photos as well as exterior ones.

Maybe appraisers are being more careful now that homes are at risk of not continuing to go up in value.

[cmtiger]

I think that intown is faring much better than the burbs in this economy.

[meadgrad]

I've been wondering how closer in homes have done compared to further out...we're intown, and have gained value even through the very tuff economy, but friends out in Forsyth havent fared as well, but not sure this is really the case overall.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by cmtiger

I think that intown is faring much better than the burbs in this economy.

Actually, not the case. The inner suburbs like Vinings and Smyrna are doing much better than many intown locations in Atlanta.

There are a few intown spots in Atlanta that are doing very well, mostly flanking midtown and Buckhead. The rest is suffering just like many suburbs.

Keep in mind that most of the people that work in metro Atlanta don't commute into the city so many don't have a desire to live "intown" if they work in places like the Galleria. Cobb county has 3/4 as many jobs as people, for instance, and considering that kids don't work, that means pretty close to a job for every working person in Cobb.

Cobb County in general is doing well. Even outer Cobb County cities like Kennesaw are doing well. Some areas of West Cobb around Kennesaw Mountain are shooting up big time right now.

[Divine Shadow]

be aware of the closing cost... a good rule of thumb is refinancing if the interest rate is 2% better than current.

i'm in the middle of refinancing as well, from 7.2 to 5.0. i am still renegotiation closing cost. zero closing usually means it is bundled into the mortgage. brokers can give better rates than banks, but be aware that the lender can lock the interest rates, not the brokers. if the broker says he locked the interest rate at 4.7, walk away...

i'm dealing with my bank, they are playing hardball but i still have some leverage over them. fico 820 with the sale of my home in FL, i have $300k sitting in my checking acct. i'm only refinancing $250k on an appraised $395k home.

-a|ex

[savant111]

if the broker says he locked the interest rate at 4.7, walk away...

i'm dealing with my bank, they are playing hardball but i still have some leverage over them. fico 820 with the sale of my home in FL, i have $300k sitting in my checking acct. i'm only refinancing $250k on an appraised $395k home.

-a|ex[/quote]

I work for a major bank that does Retail and Wholesale Lending, and I have worked on both sides. Brokers do lock rates with Lenders. They are originating the loan for the bank. Also, mortgage rates change like gas prices. You can play "hardball" all you want, but you are not in a position to negotiate.