A Blog For Savannah Ga Real Estate

Savannah has a diverse economy -- manufacturing, import/export port, all the retail warehousing that feeds off the port, fishing industry, military bases,  and tourism. This means that Savannah is not dependent on any one industry.

Plus, home prices in Savannah didn't rise as high as the northeast and the west, so homes in Savannah, Ga and the surrounding area are relatively low for a city that has so much to offer and is also on the coast.

After the cold winters in the northeast, Savannah looks more appealing. When the economy recovers, baby-boomers will likely consider Savannah a prime destination to start a new life in retirement.

Deepwater properties in Savannah are scarce -- just about every possible area for residential is developed. The good news right is that prices for homes on deepwater lots have fallen and there are some good buys right now.

Tybee Island is where the beach is located, but most of the waterfront properties with docks are on the rivers going out to the ocean and are located on the other islands around Savannah -- Wilmington Island, Whitemarsh Island, Talahi Island, Skidaway Island, Dutch Island, and so forth. These islands are close to downtown Savannah -- some closer than others, but none over 30 minutes.

As a buyer agent, I've worked with a lot of buyers looking for deepwater properties with a dock and with enough permanent water depth for a good size boat. Many of the properties advertised as "deepwater" are actually on tidal creeks which go up and down with the tides, so this can be misleading because it's only "deep" for a few hours at a time.

As a buyer agent, I gather information from the buyer to determine exactly what type of property is needed for boating needs before taking them out to look, because all deepwater properties aren't equal. So if your searching the internet and see a property advertised as "deepwater" and it's a few hundred thousand dollars less than the others you see, it's probably because the house is on a tidal creek, or the dock is a community dock.

Richard Vetstein at the Massachusetts real estate law blog, posted these ten questions on Active Rain.

Many Savannah real estate home buyers are looking for a condo -- it pays to have information before starting the search:

Here are the 10 questions buyers should ask when deciding to purchase a condominium unit:

1. What is the monthly condominium fee and what does it pay for? The monthly condominium fee can range quite dramatically from condominium to condominium. The fee is a by-product of the number of units, the annual expenses to maintain the common area, whether the condo is professionally managed or self-managed, the age and condition of the project, and other variables such as litigation. For budgeting and financing you need to know the monthly fee and exactly what you are getting for it.
2. What are the condominium rules & regulations? Condominium rules can prohibit pets, your ability to rent out the unit, and perform renovations. Make sure you carefully review the rules and regulations before buying.  Needless to say, the buyer's attorney should review and approval all condominium documents, including the master deed, declaration of trust/by-laws, covenants, unit deed and floor plans to ensure compliance with state condominium laws as well as Fannie Mae and FHA guidelines, as necessary.
3. How much money is in the capital reserve account and how much is funded annually? The capital reserve fund is like an insurance policy for the inevitable capital repairs every building requires. As a general rule, the fund should contain at least 10% of the annual revenue budget, and in the case of older projects, even more. If the capital reserve account is poorly funded, there is a higher risk of a special assessment.  Get a copy of the last 2 years budget, the current reserve account funding level and any capital reserve study.
4. Are there any contemplated or pending special assessments? Special assessments are one time fees for capital improvements payable by every unit owner. Some special assessments can run in the thousands, others like the Boston Harbor Towers $75 Million renovation project, in the millions. You need to be aware if you are buying a special assessment along with your unit.  It's a good idea to ask for the last 2 years of condominium meeting minutes to check what's been going on with the condomininium.
5. Is there a professional management company or is the association self-managed? A professional management company, while an added cost, can add great value to a condominium with well run governance and management of common areas.
6. Is the condominium involved in any pending legal actions? Legal disputes between owners, with developers or with the association can signal trouble and a poorly run organization. Legal action equals attorneys’ fees which are payable out of the condominium budget and could result in a special assessment.  In most states, you can run a search of the condominium association in the court database to check if they've been involved in recent lawsuits.
7. How many units are owner occupied? A large percentage of renters can create unwanted noise and neighbor issues. It can also raise re-sale and financing  issues with the new Fannie Mae and FHA condominium regulations which limit owner-occupancy rates. If your buyer is using conventional financing, check if it is a Fannie Mae approved condo. If FHA financing, check if it's an FHA approved condo. (Thanks Lou Corcoran for the links) 
8. What is the condominium fee delinquency rate? Again, a signal of financial trouble, and Fannie Mae and FHA want to see the rate at 15% or less.
9. Do unit owners have exclusive easements or right to use certain common areas such as porches, decks, storage spaces and parking spaces? Condominiums differ as to how they structure the “ownership” of certain amenities such as roof decks, porches, storage spaces and parking spaces. Sometimes, they are truly “deeded” with the unit, so the unit owner has sole responsibility for maintenance and repairs. Sometimes, they are common areas in which the unit owner has the exclusive right to use, but the maintenance and repair is left with the association.  Review the Master Deed and Unit Deed on this one.
10. What Does The Master Insurance Policy Cover? The condominium should have up to $1M or more in coverage under their master condominium policy. For buyer's own protection, they should always buy an individual HO-6 policy covering the interior and contents of the unit, because the master policy and condo by-laws may not cover all damage to their personal possessions and interior damage in case of a roof leak, water pipe burst or other problem arising from a common area element. Ask for a copy of the master insurance policy and don't forget to check the fine print of the by-laws.  Sometimes, there's language that would hurt a unit owner in case of a common area casualty.  Condominiums over 20 units should also have fidelity insurance to protect against embezzlement.

After a long period of contemplation about my future in real estate, I've decided to return to my roots -- Exclusive Buyer Agency. In 1996 I started my real estate career as an exclusive buyer agent with a company called The Buyer Agent of Savannah, and this company provided exclusive buyer agent services -- we didn't have any listings. When I started my own company in Savannah, I decided I would offer buyer agent services but also list properties for sellers.

I have discovered that my real love lies with buyer agency, so, in order to remove all conflicts of interest, I will offer only buyer agency. I will be the only company I know of in Savannah, Ga that offers exclusive buyer agent services. I will be concentrating mainly on the information aspect of real estate transactions for first time buyers and out-of-town buyers who need good, objective information in order to make informed buying decisions.

I've always believed that buyers need representation and that exclusive buyer agents are the way to go. My experimentation with listings was valuable, but I will now concentrate full-time on buyer agency, consultation, investments and information processing necessary to navigate a sometimes confusing real estate market.

Good representation and good information, and having an agent who will represent you through the whole buying experience, is more valuable now than ever.

I will follow this post, over the next few days, with a series of posts decribing, in full, what exclusive buyer agency entails.

I've had several inquireies lately regarding lease purchase arrangements. There is sometimes some confusion between a lease purchase and an option to buy. An option to buy basically means you have the first option to buy the property at the end of the lease period, but you aren't obligated to buy -- a lease purchase, though, is an contractual agreement to buy the home at the end of the lease period, which can be any amount of time agreed to by both parties.

A lease purchase ususally requires the buyer to make a down payment which would not be returned if the buyer fails to go through with the purchase. The value of a lease purchase is to secure a home you want but are not quite ready to buy. It's a good way to secure the home and fix any credit problems that might prohibit you from buying right away.

Most buyers think that a lease purchase is set up automatically where part of lease amount paid each month goes toward the purchase of the house, but this is not always the case and it has to be negotiated. Putting together a lease purchase agreement can be tricky for both the buyer and seller. It pays to make sure you have a comprehensive contract that spells out the agreement in a way where there is no misunderstanding. You don't want to get into an agreement where you think you have a way out if you change your mind, only to find out that you can't back out without losing quite a bit of money.

Remember, a lease purchase contract is a contract to buy.