I personally created a unique solar
powered heavy duty cast aluminum light post yard sign to make your home
stand apart from the competition
10 Questions to Test
Your Real Estate IQ
1. Who is required to hold the
earnest money?
A. Georgia law requires that the closing attorney holds the
earnest money which then gets credited to the buyer at closing.
B. It's negotiable.
C. The listing
agent's broker.
D. The buyer's
agent.
The explanation for who holds the
earnest money
2. What
Constitutional right(s) do you need to waive in order to get a
mortgage in Georgia?
A. None. Constitutional rights are protected and can't be
waived.
B. 4th Amendment.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated.
C. 5th and 14th
Amendments. No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty,
or property, without due process of law.
D. 8th Amendment
which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
The explanation for waiving
Constitutional rights
3. Is it
illegal to make offers on two different homes at the same time?
A. Yes. That would be committing fraud.
B. No. But you need
to be careful about not getting stuck having to buy two homes.
C. No. But it's
immoral and only non-serious buyers would want to do that.
D. Yes. The penalty
is up to 6 months in jail and a $1000 fine
The explanation for more than one offer
4. If a buyer
loses their job a week before closing, and they are past all
contingency time frames, what will the buyer be on the hook for?
A. At most, Buyer
will lose earnest money which will go to the seller as
liquidated damages.
B. Losing a job is
an unforeseen event out of the control of the Buyer, therefore,
Buyer is able to default on the contract and get their earnest
money back in full.
C. Buyer not only
loses their earnest money but can be liable for the commissions
that both agents would have earned if not for the Buyer's
default.
D. Damages will be
decided by an Arbitration Court by a process described in the
Purchase and Sale Agreement.
The explanation for possible loss
for defaulting on contract
5. Can a
seller continue to show their home to other buyers even though it is
under contract?
A. Yes. It's a
free country.
B. No. The Purchase
and Sale Agreement states that all showings must cease starting
upon the Binding Agreement Date.
C. Yes. They can
even accept a better offer and terminate any existing contract.
D. No. It's not only
unethical, it's illegal.
The explanation for can they keep
showing?
6.
What does it mean when the remarks for a home contain "AS-IS" or "No
Disclosure".
A. There's all kinds
of problems that the seller doesn't want you to know about.
B. You can't ask the
seller for any repairs.
C. It's a phrase
that conveys that the seller doesn't want to fix anything.
You can still inspect and ask for repairs but don't expect any
concessions.
D. It is illegal for
a seller not to give a buyer a Property Disclosure.
The explanation for "as-is" and
"no disclosure"
7. Can
you get a mortgage if the appraisal doesn't come in at full purchase
price?
A. No. It must
appraise for at least the purchase price for the mortgage to be
approved.
B. Yes, if the
seller makes up the shortfall.
C. Yes, but the
buyer has to be willing and able to make up the shortfall.
D. It depends on the
mortgage lender.
The explanation for a low
appraisal
8. Why
would someone get a survey before buying a home?
A. To make sure they
know where the boundaries are so they know where they can
install a fence.
B. To know where any
easements or encroachments are.
C. To know where any
stream buffers are in case you want to build an addition.
D. All of the above.
The explanation for surveys
9. Does
a new home builder usually have the right to cancel the contract any
time prior to closing as long as they return the earnest money?
A. No. Who in their
right mind
would agree to such a contract?
B. Yes. Most builder
contracts have a "right to cancel" clause which allows them to
cancel unilaterally in their sole discretion.
C. No. That goes
against standard contract law in Georgia.
D. None of the above.
The explanation for can the
builder cancel the contract
10. How
do I like my coffee?
A. Two lumps of
sugar with a splash of cream.
B. Black
C. Lots of whole
milk because plain coffee is awful.
How an Extra Point on Your FICO Score Can Save You ThousandsFannie Mae requires extra points
to be charged depending on your credit score. One less
FICO point can put you in the next credit bracket and cost you
thousands of dollars in extra mortgage fees. First you
need to know your real FICO score and then you can do some
adjustments in order to maximize your score and minimize your
mortgage fees.
Where to Get Your Real FICO Score, not a Free Fake FICO ScoreThere are plenty of advertisements
selling free credit reports. But most of them aren't the
real FICO Scores that lenders base decisions on. The good
thing is that there is a way to actually get your real FICO
score for free if you have the right credit cards.
Be aware that the
standard Realtor contract is in favor of the agent, not you.What if something happens, such as
a job transfer, and you can't complete the purchase of a
$500,000 home? You'll not only lose your earnest money when you
default on the contract, you'll be on the hook for a $30,000
commission on a home you didn't buy. We'll show you some special
stipulations you might want to include in your offer in order to
protect yourself from a worse case scenario.
Submit
simultaneous offers and let sellers compete. The ultimate position for a buyer to be in is to have two great
homes to choose from. Then they can feel good about walking away
from one if they don't get their terms accepted.
In a fast moving market, we have had success in submitting
simultaneous offers and letting sellers compete. Investors do it
every day but for some reason most agents are very reluctant to
do this. Success in negotiations is all about positioning and
having options.
Are Home Warranties Worth It or Are They a Scam?I've personally have had bad experiences with
them but my mother-in-law raves about them because she has great
success when things have broken down for her. I've done the
research and I'll let you decide. Do you feel lucky? Do you
like dealing with insurance companies or do you just want to get
something fixed when it breaks down?
Beware of the Agent With All of the Signs.Have you ever driven through a neighborhood
and just about all of the homes for sale are listed by one
agent. You might think that that's the agent you want to
use to buy a home since they seem to be the neighborhood expert.
Use them for information but make sure you understand their
motivations and conflicts of interest before you use them to
represent you as your buyer's agent.
How Accurate Are Zestimates?One would think that since Zillow states
their Zestimates down to the dollar that it must be pretty
accurate. Think again. I did an analysis of recent
home sales with their Zestimates to see how far off the numbers
were. They aren't much to base financial decisions on.
Our Clients Say the
Nicest Things!
Click the Zillow button above and go read
all of my 5 star reviews
Here are a few:
Kostadin Doukov
Tim is an agent who has a
thorough understanding of the Atlanta market. He is up-front and
honest and gives the most realistic advice, rather than the one the
buyer or seller wants to hear.
Tim was our agent when we
purchased our home in 2008. He was extremely organized (we could go
though multiple properties in a thoughtful manner) and pointed out
things that may be of interest to us or could cause problems. As a
buyers agent, he was there to protect us and we felt that we had the
right person on our side at all times.
We sold our house and Tim was our
selling agent in 2015. Selling a house is a significantly more
stressful experience than buying one. We contacted Tim several
months before we wanted to put the house on the market. Tim
performed an initial analysis of the sale and was extremely diligent
in pointing to us the things we should improve, the items that are
not of great significance, the best time to put the house on the
market, the marketing strategy, suggested price, etc. We were
selling through a relocation company and Tim was great in following
all of the relocation company rules without putting too much burden
on us. I felt at ease discussing with Tim any part of the sale and
knew that he would have a point of view and a direction to guide me
to. He was great in telling me when my thought process or analysis
was not realistic and could delay the sale of the house.
At the end it was a marvelous
experience and I would recommend Tim to everyone looking to buy or
sell in Atlanta
Rosemary
and Stephen Wachtel:
We recently
purchased a home and one of the best decisions we made was choosing
Tim Maitski as our agent. He was very knowledgeable about the
market, accommodated our schedule, and had great suggestions
throughout the entire process. We appreciated how hard he worked to
negotiate the best possible deal for us. On top of all these great
things, he provided a generous rebate that most other agents
wouldn't even consider. We HIGHLY recommend him !
Jeannie
Blom MD, Physician/Medical Director:
I'm a physician and
Medical Director and I had the privilege of obtaining Tim Maitski as
my buyers agent. Tim worked with me for 5 months making sure I got
my dream home at a dream price. We consider Tim family. His honesty
and integrity are legendary. The level of service he provides is
beyond compare. Tim is the Clark Howard of real estate and I would
not do business with anyone else. Tim's advocacy skills exceed top
attorneys. He truly has your best interest at heart at all times.
Once you work with Tim, no one else will ever suffice. Like the
iconic lyrics of Tina Turner, he is "Simply the Best".
Ned Mulligan, Head Chaplain at
Holy Innocents' Episcopal School
We moved from Rhode Island and we
had four days to buy a home. We saw 22 homes in a day, made two
offers, and had a contract on the home we bought two days later. He
is the best, most professional, and thoughtful realtor with whom I
have ever worked and I have owned quite a few homes.
Art Linton, Study Abroad
Advisor Emory University
Tim Maitski was a pleasure to
work with in helping my wife and I find our first home. Tim knew the
market inside and out and was easy to work with, flexible,
knowledgeable and a straight shooter who tells it like it is. He is
very confident and low pressure on clients. Trustworthy,
consistently very reliable and a great guy too! He is very
experienced as a real estate agent and I give him my highest
recommendations. If you are looking for a home in Atlanta, Tim is
your man!
This offer has nothing to do with any other
agent at Atlanta Communities other than Tim Maitski.
Each agent is an independent contractor who can choose to do
business as they so desire.
Our market area is in the
north metro Atlanta area.
We service Cobb County,
north Fulton County, Dekalb
County, Forsyth County and
Gwinnett County. We
are very familiar with Sandy
Springs, Dunwoody, Marietta,
Roswell, Alpharetta,
Buckhead, and Midtown.
We have sold homes inside
the perimeter and outside
the perimeter. We
can't know everything so for
clients who want to look for
property in Peachtree City,
Newnan, Stone Mountain,
Douglasville, Macon and
areas further out we will
gladly recommend a good
agent who specializes in
those areas.
We help buyers negotiate
with builders for
residential new construction
houses. New houses in
Atlanta are hot right now.
We can represent you in the
purchase of your new house
built by any of the
following builders: Torrey
Homes, MDC Homes, Centex
Homes, Pulte Homes, Morrison
Homes, Ryland Homes, John
Wieland Homes, Winmark
Homes, Meridian Homes, John
Willis Homes, Benchmark
Homes and many more home
builders.
We can help clients find
short term apartments for
rent but normally we don't
work with clients who are
just looking for rentals.
We do help clients find
Atlanta condos. We can
also help you purchase HUD
homes in Atlanta. We
are an authorized agent with
them and have the HUD key to
get into HUD homes. We
have access to foreclosure
homes that banks want to
sell.
We love showing executive
homes and luxury homes. We
always like to know how
people find our site.
Send us an email and tell us
which search term you used.
Some terms that we might be
found by are realty Atlanta,
Ga homes, Atlanta realty,
condos Atlanta, Atlanta
realestate, Atlanta
property, houses Atlanta,
Atlanta realtors, Ga houses,
or realtors Atlanta.
Maybe you found us by typing
in Atlanta MLS listings, or
Atlanta MLS search, or MLS
Atlanta GA. Hopefully we
don't come up under nursing
homes or funeral homes.
It is always amazing to me
how the Internet can allow
total strangers to find each
other and build new business
relationships. It
truly is becoming a small,
interconnected world.