The Elegant Augusta Real Estate Blog

Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 23rd, 2007

It’s official. Sometime on Monday, June 25th, we will redirect our DNS to the new site.

I am confident you will be impressed with my new web site. The star attraction will be the new MLS search functionality, using data pulled from the Greater Augusta Area MLS system. I will host data covering listings in 6 counties: Richmond, Columbia, Lincoln, Aiken, Edgefield, and McCormick Counties.

You will be able to search for the following types of real estate:

• Residential Real Estate
• Commercial Real Estate
• Land for sale
• Multi-family Real Estate

The key is to be able to search within those categories. So the main types of search will be through the following paths:

• Search listings by city
• Search listings by county
• Search listings by neighborhood
• Search listings by zip code
• Search listings by MLS listing #
• Find listings for sale by using Google Maps

To view an individual listings details, you will be required to register. Registration is confidential, and once you have registered you will not have to register again. The individual listings view has a lot of functionality, so I encourage you to do so. If you are curious, the detailed view looks like this:

From this view you will be able to save detailed searches or listings on my server, so you can check on them later or just save all your research in one place. The flyers print all the info you need on 1 sheet of paper, and if you want to drive by the house, feel free to find it’s location using my map tool.

To recap, you will find all this here at my website sometime late Monday or Tuesday of next week. If you are looking for a home for sale in the area, you will find that this search is one of the finest in the country. You will not be disappointed!

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Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 19th, 2007

• Fixture-An item of personal property which, through its attachment to, or association with, real estate, loses its identity as personal property and becomes real property.

Strangely enough, fixtures that are taken from the home by the seller can be one of the biggest sticking points in a real estate transaction. I was involved with one a few months ago where my home buyer really liked a wrought-iron fence gate, and was willing to walk on the deal when it was discovered the home owner was taking the gate and replacing it with a ‘normal’ one!

There are 3 tests to determine if the item is personal property, which means you will take it when you move; or if it is a fixture (real property), which means it stays with the home.

1. Annexation: The method by which the thing in question is attached. (i.e. is it attached by nails, screws, concrete, bolts, etc.?)
2. Adaptation: The item is designed for that property.
3. Intention: Did the owner (seller) intend for it to stay?

If the item is bolted in, designed for the house, and it was not intended to move, then it most certainly is a fixture. An easy example is a ceiling fan. The fan is screwed in the ceiling, it probably matches the house, and it would be a pain in the rear to remove it. This makes it a fixture.

If you are a home seller and intend to take a fixture with you, make sure all parties know that up front. Common examples are chandeliers, shelves which appear to be ‘built-ins’, door knockers, and yes, fence gates.

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Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 18th, 2007

In the age of the internet, the options for mortgage brokers to choose from are enormous. No longer are buyers relegated to using only the local bank to get a mortgage. They now have the ability to find a mortgage company while in their pajamas at home. Why then do real estate agents urge buyers to use local lenders?

Using local financing makes it easier on everyone. There is a certain level of accountability that a local lender has that an out of town or internet lender does not have. The local broker is more easily accessible to the buyer and the buyer’s agent. The mortgage broker has to contend with face to face interaction if there is a problem. The threat of lost business tends to make them less of a risk, because if they fail to look out for your best interests, then they could potentially lose your referral business and any other business that you may give them. Local mortgage brokers have to compete with other lenders in the area, and word of mouth means everything.

Out of town mortgage brokers are less inclined to care. They sometimes lack the resources, such as knowing an appraiser in the area, to complete the mortgage process on time. Many times the closing costs are higher and the money and paperwork are not always ready in time for the closing.

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Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 16th, 2007

1. Meeting new people.
2. Looking at houses in general.
3. Being in my car.
4. Not being strapped to a desk.
5. A good challenge.
6. Shaking someones hand after they have bought their new home.
7. Seeing someones eyes when they have found their new home.
8. Negotiations.
9. Looking at the newest (even old and outrageous) trends in decorations and finishes in homes.
10. Doing what I do best.

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Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 15th, 2007

The Augusta area has lots to offer for attractions. There are a ton of things to do and many of them can be done on a limited budget!

• Outdoors
  The Greenway
  The Augusta Riverwalk
  Clarks Hill Lake
  Hamilton Branch State Park
  Modoc Campground
  Redcliff Plantation
  Baker Creek State Park
  Savannah River
• Sports
  Augusta Southern Nationals Dragboat Race
  The Aiken Steeplechase Horse Race
  Masters Golf Tournament
  Nike Peach Jam Basketball Invitational
  Tons of Golf
  Augusta Greenjackets’ Baseball
  Indoor Football with the Spartans
  Lynx Augusta’s Hockey Team
  Dirt Track Racing (Modoc)
  Jackson Drag Strip
  USC Aiken sports (baseball, basketball, etc)

• Museums
  Augusta Museum of History
  Morris Museum of Art
  Natural Science Center’s Fort Discovery
  Georgia Golf Hall of Fame and Botanical Gardens
  The Cotton Exchange
  The Augusta Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill
  Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

• Events
  Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival
  Boshears Skyfest
  3 County Fairs
  Battle of Aiken Reenactment
  PeachFest (Edgefield)
  Wine & Shakespeare Festival in The Gardens
  Aiken Lobster Races
  Bell Auditorium, James Brown Arena, Riverwalk Amphitheatre
  First Friday in Downtown Augusta

• Things of general interest
  Ezekiel Harris House (2nd oldest structure in Augusta)
  Boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson
  Augusta’s Haunted Pillar
  Meadow Garden – Home of George Walton (one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia)
  Sacred Heart Cultural Center
  Confederate Monument

• Tours
  Augusta Canal Cruise
  Augusta Ghost Tour
  Ware’s Folly (also known as The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art)
  Historical Aiken Tours and Carriage Services

This is just the tip of the ice berg of things to do in the Augusta Area. Quit sitting at home and get out there and see what the area has to offer!

If you would like more information about any of the things that I have listed, please let me know.

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Caroline Ashe Your Source in Augusta, GA Real Estate June 12th, 2007

Do:
1. Improve your credit score.
2. Save money for the extras (closing costs, down payment, appliances, lawn mower).
3. Ask for advice from friends, family, and your real estate professional.
4. Know what is and is not important to you in a house.
5. Figure out what you can afford and get preapproved for a loan.

Don’t:
1. Make a large purchase before you buy (cars, boats, etc.)
2. Get overwhelmed with everything that has to be done.
3. Be too emotional if things are not going exactly how you expected.
4. Be talked out of a home inspection…even if you are buying “as is”.
5. Get into a house payment you don’t feel comfortable with – even if technically you can afford it.

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