Moving to Atlanta - Emory

[IntownHomes247]

Now is a GREAT time to buy. Interest rates are low, inventory is high, prices are reasonable, and many sellers are willing to make a lot of concessions. Renting is just throwing money away. Even though you can't expect prices to shoot up at the rate they were during the boom, the chances are excellent that you will at least maintain your investment if you stay here 2 years. So, say you spend $350k on a house that sells 2 years later for exactly the same price (although I'd expect it to sell for more). Even if you pay $21k in commission to sell it, $21k divided by 24 months is just $875/mo. You'd not only pay more than that in rent but with an apartment you don't have tax advantages of home ownership and you don't have the possibility of a return on the money you spend. The chances are very good that, if you buy wisely, and, if necessary, make thoughtful improvements to your home you will actually make money if you stay in it at least 2 years.

Look for single family homes that need minor cosmetic improvements and houses that have been on the market for an extended period (meaning the seller may be willing to make significant concessions to get it sold). After you buy, don't do anything too idiosyncratic to the house. Pay attention to what sells quickly in your neighborhood and get ideas from those homes about what's popular. Even if you do decide to move in 2 years you can make money investing in a house (not a condo!) where you can't with an apartment.

And an FYI, most of the major intown neighborhoods have a YahooGroup. The East Lake YahooGroup is especially active and, in particular, is very good about reporting criminal activities in the area. You might want to subscribe to get a feel for the area and ask residents their opinions before you make an offer on a house:

ELNCA : E-Mail List for the East Lake Neighbors Community Association of Atlanta, Georgia

Oakhurst also has a list_serv. You can join from the front page of their web site:

Oakhurst Neighborhood Association

BTW, BHS119, atlanta-midtown.com is one of my web sites. I'm glad you like it!

[irvm]

Originally Posted by IntownHomes247

Now is a GREAT time to buy. Interest rates are low, inventory is high, prices are reasonable, and many sellers are willing to make a lot of concessions.

Unless next year inventory is even higher, prices are lower, and sellers are desperate.

If you think it can't happen - I know a gentleman who bought a million dollar home in the nicest city in the US for $6,000 (that's right, six thousand bucks) in back taxes.
Of course, that was a long time ago, when I was a kid, but who's going to guarantee it can't happen again?

[IntownHomes247]

You'll never know when the bottom of the market is coming until you've hit it and are on the way back up, but real estate is historically one of the safest investments you can make so if this young woman is planning to be here for at least a couple of years, she's wise to plan on buying rather than renting. Atlanta's market is much better than many parts of the country and many neighborhoods are still seeing price gains over last year. Many analysts agree that Atlanta is an excellent place to buy:

How to play the real estate bounce-back - Atlanta (4) - Business 2.0

The important thing is to buy the house wisely and own the house wisely while you have it to ensure that it will hold and hopefully increase its value over the short term since the odds are exceptionally good that it will increase significantly in value if you are able to stay in it longer than 2 years. This is particularly true in the intown neighborhoods because land is a limited resource and more and more people want to live close in.

[unsettledITP]

How much would the annual property taxes be for a $300k home (total including city and county)? Thanks!

[builderartisan]

I live in East Lake and have been building there for five years. It's an urban neighborhood (and has some of the problems that go with it), but overall I feel safe. I live here with my wife and two kids. 300-350 gets you a reasonably nice semi-renovated home. FYI the range of my new homes is 650-750. If you need an agent with local knowledge let me know.