In the recent downturn of the economy, many homes nationwide as well as homes in Thomasville have taken a dive in value. As a result, they may not be the nest eggs that potential retirees were hoping for. Now, retirees need to know their options and what to do with their homes in Thomasville.

If you find yourself in this predicament and aren’t sure what to do, speak with your financial expert and review the following options for your financial future so that you can retire on time — and enjoy it!

• Wait it out. Most retirees want to try this tactic and are hoping that the housing market will rebound. However, if your property’s upkeep costs, such as taxes, insurance and utilities, continue to rise, you might need to consider other options.

• Pay down the mortgage. If you have the extra dough, start investing in your property by paying off your mortgage faster. You’ll build more equity and soon see that extra money each month going straight into savings. To come up with some extra money to pay down your mortgage, you could refinance to take advantage of lower interest rates, or cut back on consumer spending. Whatever your plan, just know that most financial experts agree that you should not stop contributing to your retirement fund or take money out of your retirement investment accounts to be mortgage free.

• Sell and downsize. If you’re still living in the home in which you raised your children, chances are it’s probably too large for your retirement life. Consider selling and downsizing, especially if you have a good amount of equity built up in your current property. You could have your newer, smaller and cheaper home paid off quickly, and could start contributing more to your retirement fund.

Whatever your current financial situation as you approach retirement, consider all of the options. Retirement is for relaxation — which is hard to do when you’re stressed about monthly finances.

If you’re weighing your retirement options and want to see at what price point homes in Thomasville are currently selling, call First Thomasville Realty at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com .

You know that you can lend money to your child to help him or her buy Thomasville real estate. But you’d like to explore some other financial arrangements to determine which option is the most advantageous for you and your child.

Here are four additional ways to help your child buy Thomasville real estate:

1. Give the down payment as a gift.

Before deciding whether to make the money a gift or a loan, consider what moral message you may be sending. You don’t want your child to develop a sense of entitlement and take for granted that he or she can come to you any time money is needed.

If you decide you do want to give part or all of the down payment as a gift, consult with your financial adviser to determine the amount you can give away without incurring tax liabilities.

2. Co-sign the bank loan.

This could be all the help your child needs to get a mortgage. It might make sense if he or she is close to graduating from college and already has a job lined up or has solid but irregular income that would disqualify her or him from getting loan approval.

However, there are big risks associated with co-signing a loan. You're responsible if your child fails to keep up payments, which means the bank will come after you for the money. If your child is late with a payment, it impacts your credit score. If you want to get another loan for a home or some other big expenditure, you may find the co-signed loan uses up your borrowing ability.

Before co-signing a loan, get legal and financial advice. Also, if your child is married, be sure to have his or her spouse sign the loan and any other written documents that provide the terms of your agreement.

3. Set up a shared-equity arrangement.

In this arrangement, everything is open to negotiation. Typically, a written contract spells out that the child (as the homeowner) is responsible for mortgage payments and gets the tax deduction that comes with it, and you (as the investor) are responsible for providing the down payment.

Some of the conditions you’ll want to agree on before finalizing the agreement are: (1) who pays the property taxes, (2) whether or not your name will be on the loan and (3) when the investment will be paid back, through either selling or refinancing the Thomasville real estate.


Because of the flexibility inherent in this type of arrangement, it’s crucial to involve your lawyer and have a document drawn up that spells out everything in detail.

4. Set up a lease-to-own agreement.

Basically, you buy an investment property and rent it to your child. You can set the terms of the agreement, but here’s how lease-to-own arrangements typically work:

The renter is buying the right to purchase the house later at a given price. There’s often a large upfront option fee of 1% to 3% of the home’s purchase price. Or, the option fee can be added to the monthly rent. Usually, some or all of the option fee is credited as a down payment on the purchase of the house.

During the rental period, you still own the home and are legally responsible for it, but your child maintains the property as his or her own. Be sure to have a legally-reviewed contract signed by all parties involved.

If you’re interested in purchasing Thomasville real estate for your adult child or as an investment, First Thomasville Realty can help. Give us a call today at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com for more information.

With home prices nearing their bottom, now might be a great time to buy Thomasville real estate as income property. Many more people will be looking to rent now that pre-approved mortgages are harder to come by. But, before you become a landlord, you’ll want to make sure your potential rental property won’t remain vacant for long.

6 tips to help you evaluate your Thomasville real estate investment:

1. Determine if your area has a strong rental market. See what kind of homes are for rent and track how long they remain vacant. If the same properties are listed week after week, it might not be the best area to purchase a rental.

2. Get a feel for the stability of the population. It's good to find a rental property in a transient community because residents are less likely to purchase their own homes, and more likely to rent, if they know they're only going to be there for a couple years. In particular, look for areas with military installations or colleges nearby.

3. Keep an eye on Craigslist and the local Classifieds. Track how many rentals are available at any given time, and get an idea of the size of houses most commonly listed. You won’t want to be trying to rent a 1-bedroom house in a neighborhood that is full of young families.

4. Make sure your potential rental property is located in a good school district. Potential renters with children could be turned off by the quality of the local schools if they have a poor reputation.

5. Check around with local property management companies. They’ll often have the best information about what sort of properties are the easiest to rent out. You can also check their websites to see the properties they have available.

6. Find a house that’s in good shape. Would you live there? If not, either move on to a different property or immediately fix it up.

Owning a rental home can be a great investment. Do your homework, and purchase a home people will be clamoring to rent — not one that continues to sit vacant.

If you have questions about purchasing Thomasville real estate as income property, please call First Thomasville Realty at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com for more information.

In honor of Labor Day, you may have a few DIY renovation projects planned for your Thomasville home. Instead of plunging right into costly home renovations, you might want to take the long weekend to consider the following tips to gain insight before getting down to work.

• Talk to your parents. Give your elders a call to see what they think about your renovation plans. Those of the older generation have usually lived in many houses and did a lot more fixing up than most property owners do today.

• Consult a professional. Talk with a professional who specializes in the type of renovation that you’re planning, such as a carpenter, plumber or electrician. They might charge you for an hour of their time, but you’ll gain valuable insight and maybe even tips on which building materials to use and where you should purchase them.

• Plan for a permit. Check with your city or township before you do any major renovations or make additions to your Thomasville home. You’ll want to get a permit if one’s needed; otherwise you might be required to undo your hard work and the repercussions could be severe when you eventually try to sell. They’re not out to get you — they just want to ensure everything is up to code with the latest safety and security standards.

• Seek advice from a real estate agent. Before you invest any money in your property, ask a real estate agent to come over and give you advice on which renovations get the best return. Also, the real estate agent will be able to provide you with tips on trends, buyer’s wants and new features you might not have heard about.

Don’t rush right into the renovation. Do your research, make plans and talk to experts who’ve had years of experience. You’ll learn from their mistakes and avoid making building blunders of your own.

If you need help deciding how to renovate your Thomasville home, call First Thomasville Realty at 229-226-6515 or email me at info@FTRealty.com for more information.

If you’re looking to purchase a new home, then you have a list of priorities. When looking at Thomasville homes for sale, families with young children consider proximity to schools and quality of school districts as two of the top concerns on their home buying checklist.

With “back to school” on the brain, your top priority when looking at Thomasville homes for sale might be how close a home is to schools. Before you purchase property near a school, take the following considerations into account.

• Top-notch education – If the local school is the best in the surrounding area, then your property value could increase. Houses in your neighborhood will be in high demand because families will want to ensure their children are included in that district.
• Around the block – Living near a school could be beneficial if you have younger children you can walk with. Additionally, your proximity will allow you to react quickly if school closes early or your child gets sick.
• Noise alert - With cars whizzing by and children walking past, you might have to deal with daily commotion and traffic. Depending on how close you live to the school, you could also be subject to noise from recess, after-school practice and Friday night football games.
• School view – Living directly across from a school could actually decrease the value of your home and increase the litter. A view of a high school isn’t as good as a view of a quaint, tree-lined street; and the constant foot and car traffic could mean more mess in your yard.
• Neighborhood watch – Do your research. Some neighborhoods surrounding schools may have better relationships with the school. If your neighborhood association meets monthly with a school, you’ll be able to voice any concerns you might have.

While there are many pros and cons to living near schools, you need to decide what is best for your family.

Whether you’re interested in Thomasville homes for sale near or far away from schools, First Thomasville Realty can help you find a home that fits your priorities. Call us today at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com .

There are a few mistakes that many first-time home buyers make. Here are three of the most common mistakes and how you can avoid them when purchasing your first Thomasville home.

Mistake #1: Assuming your credit is good.
The information in your credit report determines whether you can get a loan — and how much interest you will have to pay – so it pays to be certain your credit reports are accurate.

Check your credit reports for free from all three credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to make sure everything is correct. If you find errors, contact both the credit reporting company and the information provider (the person, company or organization that provided information about you to a credit reporting company) involved in the errors and ask them to fix the credit report errors.

Mistake #2: Getting pre-qualified, not pre-approved, for a loan.
It's far better to be pre-approved for a loan than to be pre-qualified. Here’s why…

With pre-qualification, your lender does a preliminary evaluation of your ability to pay for a home and gives an estimate of the mortgage amount they’ll give you. The lender does not verify the information you provide.

With pre-approval, your lender verifies your income, assets, debts and credit history. They provide you with written confirmation of the mortgage amount for which you’re approved. That written confirmation demonstrates to the seller that you are committed to buying; this can give you an advantage over other buyers.

Mistake #3: Allowing emotions to influence your decisions.
Buying a home is an investment. It needs to be treated as any other investment. You don't buy stocks because they are pretty and you shouldn't pick your Thomasville home that way either. Make sure the home you buy fits your needs and allows you room to grow over the next few years. As with any sound investment, time is the key to a good return.

If you are a first-time home buyer, we would be happy to help you find (and get the best price for) your first Thomasville home. Give First Thomasville Realty a call today at 229-226-6515 or email me at info@FTRealty.com .

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the estimated Thomasville real estate values provided by online sources (such as Zillow or Trulia), so we thought we’d answer a few of the most frequently asked questions here today.

Why is the price you think my home can sell for different than the estimated home values provided by online real estate sources?

Because computer programs set those prices. Here’s how it works in general. A computer pulls the description of your Thomasville real estate from public records. Using that extremely basic information, such as square footage and number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the computer comes up with a price for your home.

Computer programs cannot personally visit your home and other homes in your neighborhood to see the differences and similarities. For example, they cannot see that your home has recently been painted and renovated.

Are there any circumstances in which those computer generated values are at least fairly accurate?

The estimated home values could be in the ballpark if all the following are true:

• Your home is in a subdivision in which homes are very similar;
• Several homes just like yours have sold recently;
• Homes are not being sold as short sales or going into foreclosure;
• Your home is newer and has not had a major renovation or addition that is not in the public records.

While it’s fun to go online to see what your neighbor’s home sold for, don’t use that information as the final word on what your home could sell for in today’s market.

If you’d like a free, in-person, professional analysis of what your home in the Thomasville real estate market could sell for, give First Thomasville Realty a call today at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com . No obligation, just information.

Exciting News - Due to unprecedented popular demand, Steven Clawson’s Welcome Home Concert is moving to the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium. Please spread the word and help us sell out this great evening of music with one of Thomasville’s favorite sons and one of Troupe’s outstanding alumni – Friday, Aug. 19th, 7:30 p.m. Call the Thomasville Visitors Center at 229-228-7977 to get tickets today!

Yes, it’s still a buyer’s market, and there doesn’t appear to be a change coming any time soon. What makes this a buyers’ market? There are more homes for sale than people who want to buy them. That means it takes longer for homes to sell, and buyers can be pickier.

If you want or need to sell your Thomasville home, here are four tips to help you do that in today’s real estate market:

1. Be choosy about the real estate agent you hire. Interview at least three agents. Ask questions about how they’d market your Thomasville home. You want someone who markets aggressively and uses both online and offline marketing techniques. Find out how many homes they’ve sold in your neighborhood within the last six months. You want an agent who has recently sold homes in your area - not just listed them, but actually taken them all the way through to closing.

2. Implement the advice you get from your agent. Find out what you should do to prepare you home for sale by asking, “What changes should I make to my home?” Then do what your agent recommends before putting your home on the market. What might seem unimportant to you can mean the difference between selling your home quickly and having it sit on the market for months. Today’s buyers can afford to be picky, so they consider even minor home maintenance issues a sign of neglect and a reason not to buy your home.

3. Price it right. You’ve taken the time to hire a knowledgeable agent. Now, take his or her advice, especially when it comes to pricing. They have the tools and up-to-date information needed to find out what homes similar to yours have sold for recently and how much you can get for yours.

4. Be willing to negotiate. If you’re unwilling to make concessions, buyers are willing to walk away. Remember, with the large number of homes for sale, buyers have many other options.

Yes, it’s more challenging to sell your home in a buyer’s market. But it is definitely possible, if you are proactive.

If you’re ready to work with agents who have a proven marketing plan that gets Thomasville homes sold faster and for the most money possible, give First Thomasville Realty a call today at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com .

In order to get the most buyers through your front door, you’ll need to do more than just stick a sign in the front yard. An aggressive and thoughtful marketing campaign can make the difference between a quick sale and your house continuing to sit on the market with little activity.

Utilize the long Fourth of July weekend to take the time to thoroughly market your Thomasville home for sale by owner (FSBO).

1. Take a lot of good photographs. You have to expect that buyers will look at your property online before they decide to take the time to visit it in person. Make sure you have a lot of photographs online and that they do your house justice. Take pictures from multiple angles in each room and choose the best ones. Also, if you have a great yard, make sure you show it off.

2. Make the most of your signage. Ensure your phone number is clearly visible. Also, check with your homeowners association and neighbors that live at busy intersections to find out if you can put a sign with an arrow pointing toward your house.

3. Put ads on every website you can. Most buyers start their search on the Internet, so make sure your Thomasville home for sale by owner has a strong online presence.

4. Don’t forget about print ads. Many buyers still look at newspaper Classifieds, so make sure your house appears there. You can often place large ads in smaller publications for relatively little money.

5. Host open houses. Not every location is especially suitable, but try it a couple of times and see how many people turn out. If you’re getting good foot traffic, keep it up.

If you need help marketing your Thomasville home for sale by owner, please call us at 229-226-6515 or email First Thomasville Realty at info@FTRealty.com for more information. And, have a fun and safe Fourth of July weekend!

If you’re considering selling your home, you probably already know most of the questions you should ask Thomasville real estate agents you’re thinking of hiring, such as:

• How long have you been a Thomasville real estate agent? • Are you a full-time REALTOR®? • Do you specialize in my neighborhood? • How would you market my home?

Unfortunately, most sellers forget one of the most important questions to ask Thomasville real estate agents: How many of the homes you listed in the last 12 months actually sold?

The answer to this question gets to the heart of whether the agents are good at selling real estate. They’ll have very few sold homes in comparison to the number of homes they listed, if they:

• Over-price homes • Under-market homes • Don’t know how to negotiate • Aren’t good at (or simply don’t do) the multitude of tasks knowledgeable real estate agents perform to get homes sold

If you discover that an agent has a higher percentage of listings that are withdrawn or expired and not renewed than other agents in the same area, keep looking.

Searching for agents who get homes sold? Congratulations, you’ve just found an office full of them! We’d be honored if you’d give us a chance to interview for the job of selling your home. Please call First Thomasville Realty at 229-226-6515 or email us at info@FTRealty.com to schedule an interview.

So, you’ve decided that you want to take on a home improvement project. You’ll save money, increase the value of your Thomasville real estate and experience the great feeling of doing it yourself.

But have you considered what it’s going to be like afterwards, when it’s time for the clean up? Construction dust hangs in the air, finds its way into every nook and cranny of your Thomasville real estate and seems to last for an eternity.

You try vacuuming up the dust, but find you can’t seem to get rid of it all. Here are the steps

I’ve found that work best for removing that fine dust:

1. Sweep the walls with a clean broom to remove the dust. Use a paint brush to get the dust out of all the corners. Let the dust settle for an hour or two.

2. Vacuum the floors. Do not start by sweeping them with a broom. No matter what type of floors you have, even if they’re wood or tile, use a vacuum. A shop vac with a brush attachment and a HEPA filter works best. (The fine construction dust could damage a typical household vacuum.) Vacuum slowly to avoid stirring up the dust.

3. Mop the floors. Add 1 cup of vinegar to a bucket of water. Mop thoroughly, rinsing your mop frequently.

4. Examine your walls the following day. If you see dust, sweep them again. Then wipe down the entire surface with a wet cloth or sponge. Rinse your wet cloth or sponge frequently. NOTE: If your project included new drywall, do not use anything wet on the drywall. The topping compound used over the drywall seams and nail heads is very lightweight material that is feather sanded to perfection. Wiping it with a damp sponge could damage it.

5. Repeat. If your floors look dull, or if you can see construction dust on them, vacuum and mop them again as outlined in 2 and 3 above.

If you’re going to paint, wait until the majority of the dust has been removed before you start. You don’t have to remove every speck of dust from your walls before painting, but you don’t want to paint over a lot of dust. Clean walls make painting easier and the results better.

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