What is your home Worth?

Are you considering selling your home? The very thought can be overwhelming. How much would it sell for? What would your list price be? Can I make money off the sale, or have to bring cash to closing? A swirl of concerns and questions can leave you in a tizzy of frustration, that could lead to you doing exactly what you don't want to do. Stay put.

Well, let's see if we can't work past that first initial, though sometimes debilitating step. Whether you're listing your home with a Realtor or selling your home on your own, it's nice to know where to start, and that starting place for you, just might be a number, your home's value according to the current market.

The Charlotte Mabry Team is pleased to introduce a new tool on our website. This handy website will direct you to all you need to know to start your home selling process.Click here to get started.

Once you have your free home evaluation under your belt, you'll have a snap shot of your homes value in the current market, based on current listings and sales in your area.

Needing more information? Call the professionals. We do this everyday, and would be happy to help you with your home sale.

Why The Charlotte Mabry Team?

Why should you use the Charlotte Mabry Team to sell your home? That's exactly what Charlotte and Kevin Blair with Brand Mortgage sat down to talk about this morning. Take a look at their conversation and see if you agree.

The Charlotte Mabry Team is the best choice when it comes to choosing a Listing Agent. Even if you're selling your home, By Owner, we'd love to be of service to you.

Buying a home? Our Buyer's Specialists can assist you with that. That's right, our team has it all. Not only do we have listing partners that specialize in the listing of your property, buyer's specialist who work exclusively with buyers, in addition we have three full time staff members.

A Listing Manager that turns your listing contract into a marketable listing, from data entry, information flyers, to getting the lockbox on your door and the sign in your yard. Once under contract, our Closing Manager assists with getting your home all the way to the closing table. Finally, the Charlotte Mabry team employs a Marketing Manager that implements all of the tools available from publication to social media to help market all things listings, closings and of course, the Charlotte Mabry Team.

If you would like more information regarding the Charlotte Mabry Team, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this video.

Property Survey Vs. Mortgage Loan Survey; Buyers Need to Know What They Are Buying

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Can you imagine the buyer that bought their new home, lived happily in it for a while and then when they went to obtain a building permit to build a shed on the property they learned half their home sat on another’s property? Believe it or not, things like this do happen. And they happen because buyers are often not officially aware of exactly what they are getting when they sign on the dotted line.

A plat map, the area map usually designed when the subdivision is being planned by the developer and approved by municipalities, often are done roughly until actual parcel distribution begins. And when you factor in years of parcel splits and other changes made through time, things can change drastically from what might have appears on the original plat map.

To confirm property lines, buyers have the option to obtain a property survey. Now, there are two types of surveys; one more of an informal “mortgage report”, referenced on most real estate purchase agreement contracts and the other is the full-blown survey, also referenced on most purchase agreements. A reputable engineering firm that accurately measures and marks the property with stakes to demarcate the exact property lines conducts the formal survey. In cases where parcel have been divided, a new legal description is provided and recorded with the municipality, assuming the split was approved. A detailed map of the area is provided, with indications of easements, water and road frontage and precise measurements of lot lines.

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Prior to purchasing a property, it might be a good idea to consider having a survey conducted on the parcel to confirm what you believe you are purchasing. Today, most buyers do not have it done since it can cost anywhere from $250 to $1000 or more depending on the type of survey and other factors concerning the property.

If you would like more information on this topic, or if you think you might benefit from some customized advice according to your own purchase, contact us today. We are glad to be of

How Important Is Square Footage When You Are Buying a Home?

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There are some standard questions that nearly every buyer asks when looking at a home they might want to purchase. Questions about the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage, size of yard and of course kitchen style are all common things buyers are concerned with.

But square footage, rather the actual living space within a home, is also a concern for people. If you think about it, some homes are laid out so well with excellent floor plans that maximize the use of space – that square footage is hardly even a factor. In the same way, other homes might have so much space but the floor plan shortchanges the actual usage of that area.

Square Footage and Home Value

So how do you know whether you should let how big or small a house is impact your decision? One aspect to consider is how square footage can affect the value of your home. Particularly from the standpoint of an appraisal, additional living space generally adds to the value.

Depending on which MLS you are searching on, you may even see “tax square footage” which is a measurement of sorts based on the tax records for a property. Now the misleading thing about these measurements is that they are often inaccurate in terms of actual living space. This is because they usually include spaces such as the garage, exterior areas like decks and porches and other structures on the property.

One way to confirm the actual living space is to obtain your own measurements. Keep in mind you would measure a home yourself if you really want to confirm the exact square footage rather than rely on anyone else’s measurements. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are multiple ways to calculate square footage; there is the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) plus also how you might expect a home to be measured by an appraiser. Here is a great article that shows the ANSI method of calculation.

If you would like a copy of our special report that shares exactly how an appraiser measures your home, call or email us and we will be glad to get a copy of it over to you! 

As always, we look forward to serving your every real estate need and providing the highest quality service that our clients have come to know and love! Thanks for visiting our blog!

The Future of Moving Is Here; The Latest Trend for Moving and Storage Comes in PODS

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Whether you have decided to sell your home, downsize to a condo, move to another location – or buy the home of your dreams, one thing is certain. After all is said and done there is a major move involved and most people find it a taxing experience.

Between sorting, purging, packing, moving, lifting and everything in between – moving can be a harrowing experience for most people. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with today’s convenience minded world there are a lot of great tools out there to help make the moving process as smooth as possible.

Just spend a few minutes on the Internet and you’ll find a plethora of useful online resources ranging from tips, tricks, checklists, moving guides with estimators,calculators and more. But my personal favorite is the relatively new concept of Pods.

Pods are these great little stationary yet mobile “boxes” to store your items. All you do is call and they deliver the empty storage unit that looks somewhat like an empty boxcar. This storage unit sits on your driveway (or anywhere else on your property that you like) and you then have the freedom and flexibility to fill it and organize within it as much as you like.

The beauty of this arrangement is that when you are ready, you can then request that it be moved to a climate controlled storage facility or directly to your new home. The reason pods are a good idea is because they allow you to take as much time as you need to organize and sort and then pack and move your stuff, unlike traditional moving vans and trucks that are rented out for a very short period of time.

The price will depend on the number of trips back and forth, size of your pod and also how far you will need to travel with it.

From the perspective of a real estate agent, however, I strongly urge you to consider discussing moving times in advance. The issue of occupancy at closing can come up since in some states things have changed recently where they used to have a period of time after closing where the seller could stay on and move out of the home. But now, the majority of states employ the standard practice of occupancy at closing. That does not mean that you cannot negotiate extra time but it just means that you would need to build that into your contract at the time you are negotiating your transaction.
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As always, we look forward to helping you with this and other aspects of your real estate endeavors. Whether you are buying, selling or investing in a property – we will help make your real estate goals become a reality!

Handling Estates and Trusts; How to Get Started

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We often get asked questions about estates and trusts since it’s largely unchartered territory for most people until they are entrusted with a property from a loved one. Particularly since we are within such close proximity of both the Tennessee and Georgia borders, we often face the question of whether or not we are entirely accurate. This is because each state has different rules regarding these types of real estate transactions.

That’s why we believe it is essential to meet and speak with someone in the legal profession that specializes in trusts and estates. If you have inherited a property and want to know what needs to be done to sell the home, you probably have other questions too such as “Do I have a right to sell the property?” and “When can I sell the property?” or “Who will sign the documents?”

In our many years of service, we have developed an extensive network of local partners, professionals, contractors, vendors and suppliers. Of course we can get you in touch with an attorney that you need to speak with about the property, before you make any decisions.

As always, please feel free to contact us via email at charlotte@charlottemabryteam.com or on our team number at 423 593 5588. We look forward to helping you with this, and any other of your real estate endeavors.

Thanks and Happy New Year!