There were 502 Huntsville AL foreclosure homes for sale in December 2011 and one in every 2,209 housing units received a foreclosure filing. The average sales price of a Huntsville home was $170,213 and the average foreclosure sales price was $106,083, a $64,130  savings, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Activity and 30 Year Interest Rate

Huntsville interest rates averaged 3.96% in December while the number of foreclosed homes decreased from 51 to 43.

Foreclosure activity is based on the total number of properties that receive foreclosure filings – default notice, foreclosure auction notice or bank repossession – each month. Interest rate is based on the average 30-year fixed rate from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

Huntsville AL foreclosure activity in December was 0.12% below national statistics, 0.01% below state figures and 0.02% below Madison County statistics.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Activity by Month

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Huntsville Real Estate For Sale: 128 Cedar Run Lane Huntsville, Al 35811

MLS#994060

Sprawling full brick home on a majestic mountain view lot! Just a short drive from Huntsville and you are in paradise! Featuring 4 bedrooms and a 24 x 21 recreation room there is something for the whole family in this home. The hardwood flooring throughout the main living areas is ideal for family and furry friends. An exciting great room with a gas fireplace offers super entertaining space. This designer kitchen is sure to please the cook in your family. Boasting gorgeous cabinets and counter space galore, stainless steel appliances plus a kitchen island, cooking is sure to be a pleasure. Relax mom and dad, this master suite is guaranteed to offer all the special conveniences you deserve at days end.  A teens dream come true bonus room with vaulted ceilings, two closets and sunny views is perfect for stashing the party goers. Rain or shine outdoor entertaining will be comforted under the covered patio. Everyone will have room to spread out in this amazing home.  Call today for your private tour.

Having lived in the Huntsville AL area for most of his life, Mike Manosky understands exactly what makes this community special.  In fact, those who know him well will tell you he carries the same traditional values and focus on the future as Huntsville.

Mike brings with him a keen eye for the details of buying or selling a Huntsville AL home and seemingly boundless determination and energy, which is why his clients benefit from his unique brand of real estate service. Rooted in Tradition, Focused on the Future – Mike Manosky will help make the most of your Huntsville AL real estate experience. Give him a call today, 256-508-0211 Direct or 800-803-0053 Toll Free, and discover the difference he can make during your family’s move.

Whether you’re looking to update your Huntsville AL home before selling or you want to remodel a new place before moving in, it’s imperative that you have a good relationship with your contractor. Unless you’re planning to do the renovation work yourself, you’ll be relying on the knowledge, competence and trustworthiness of someone you might barely know.

While you want to stay on good terms with the person renovating your Huntsville AL home, there are a few formal guidelines that you should follow to ensure your projects are completed on time and on budget.

5 tips for working with a contractor:

1. Keep in constant communication – Try to touch base with your contractor every day. Exchange cell phone numbers, set up a daily appointment or send periodic emails. This allows your contractor to keep you up to date on changes or issues, and it allows you to voice questions and concerns.
2. Know what you want – Decide the type of materials (such as hardware, tile or wood) you’re going to use before you bring in a contractor to give you a bid. Without all of the information, he or she could vastly under or over estimate the renovation cost and budget.
3. Sign off on all project changes – Put in your renovation contract that you want to be informed of all unforeseen changes to the project. This ensures that you stay in the loop and allows you to manage the total cost of your renovation.
4. Accommodate and be helpful – You and your contractor will be happier if you make his or her workers’ lives easier by designating a bathroom for them to use or providing them with something cold to drink on a hot day. You’ll help motivate and boost morale!
5. Make sure you only pay for work completed– Never pay the full amount up front.  Instead, set up a pay-as-the-project-is-completed schedule. Depending on the size of the renovation, decide on how much you’ll pay after certain points of completion. This ensures work for the money. (more…)

Huntsville Real Estate For Sale: 242 Brier Ridge Court Madison, Al 35757

MLS#758871

Nestled on a private cul-de-sac lot this gem is sure to please. A lovely formal dining room combined with an elegant formal living room is ideal for entertaining. Imagine all the delicious meals you can create in this gourmet kitchen. Flourishing with an abundance cabinet and counter space, a smooth-top range, a center island plus a huge pantry, cooking is sure to be a pleasure. An impressive family room with soaring ceilings, skylights and patio access is just waiting for family fun. A luxurious master retreat provides a soothing oasis of special conveniences and comforts at day’s end with a trey ceiling, two walk-in closets and sunny views. The pampering master bathroom features a garden tub, separate shower and dual raised vanities. The additional three bedrooms are generously sized and there are two additional full bathrooms.  Bring all your toys as the two car garage plus a detached storage building is ready for stocking. Mosey out on the patio or relax in the screened porch. The private backyard is ideal for grilling and chilling. This the perfect place to call home. Call today for your personal tour.

Having lived in the Huntsville AL area for most of his life, Mike Manosky understands exactly what makes this community special.  In fact, those who know him well will tell you he carries the same traditional values and focus on the future as Huntsville.

Mike brings with him a keen eye for the details of buying or selling a Huntsville AL home and seemingly boundless determination and energy, which is why his clients benefit from his unique brand of real estate service. Rooted in Tradition, Focused on the Future – Mike Manosky will help make the most of your Huntsville AL real estate experience. Give him a call today, 256-508-0211 Direct or 800-803-0053 Toll Free, and discover the difference he can make during your family’s move.

This article from the Alabama Center for Real Estate reports on an optimistic 2012:

The Alabama real estate community is more optimistic as the industry transitions into the 1st quarter of 2012 according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Alabama Real Estate Confidence Index (ARECI).

The survey projects expectations for the 1st quarter of 2012. The scale ranges from 0-100 with 0 being much worse, 100 being much better, and 50 indicating no change expected.

The outlook for sales (yellow) for the 1st quarter is back up into the expected expansion area at 56, a full ten point improvement from last quarter. This is approximately even with the score for the last two years at this time, it appears that there is some seasonality built into the expectations.

The national score at 48, up from 38 last quarter, indicates that respondents are fairly neutral on the overall economic picture. The participants moved to positive sentiment on the statewide conditions at 54 up 9 points from last quarter. The statewide overall score declined (see green line above). Sales expectations are more positive at 56 again up 10 points from last quarter. Inventory, price and credit indications are all below the 50 mark, indicating continued pressure on these metrics, but markedly improved from last quarter. Sellers are likely to be frustrated by competition and pricing, and buyers will continue to have challenges getting financing.

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Selling a Huntsville AL home for sale by owner takes a lot of time, energy and expertise.  You need to know how to set a fair market value for your home, promote your home to pull qualified buyers and negotiate the final terms and sales price.

One of the most important skills you need to learn in order to find qualified buyers for your Huntsville AL home for sale by owner is how to sort out the lookers from the serious buyers.

Lookers are people who aren’t serious about buying a home.  At the least, they waste your time and energy.  At the worst, lookers could be a security problem.  They could be checking out your home to determine if you have valuables worth stealing.

Serious buyers are people who are interested in buying a home within 30 to 90 days and are pre-approved for a mortgage.  Spend your time and energy on these individuals.

So, how do you identify qualified buyers?  Before scheduling a time to show your Huntsville AL home for sale by owner to potential buyers, ask them these four questions:

1. Are you pre-approved for a mortgage?  If they’re pre-approved for a mortgage, they’re serious about buying a home.  If buyers aren’t pre-approved, suggest they contact a mortgage specialist and get back in touch with you when they have their pre-approval letter.  Mortgage specialists check the buyer’s credit score, income and debt ratios. They also verify that the buyer has enough money for down payment and closing costs.
2. How much are you pre-approved for?  Make sure they’ve been approved for a big enough loan to be able to afford your home.  If your home is valued at $500,000 and they’re only pre-approved for $150,000, they cannot afford your home unless they can pay the difference in cash.  If the buyer is purchasing your home with cash, or using cash for a large down payment, ask the buyer for a bank statement to verify his or her funds.
3. Do you have your pre-approval letter?  Verify that they are pre-approved for the amount they say they are.  Ask the buyers to email or fax their pre-approval letter to you or bring it with them when they tour your home.
4. What’s your possession deadline?  Your move-out timeframe needs to be close to the buyer’s move-in deadline.  How close?  Close enough to negotiate the difference.  If they don’t want to take possession of your home for six months, and you need to sell immediately, they’re not a serious buyer for your home.

To successfully sell your home, you need to know if a potential buyer is qualified to buy your home.  The sooner you know this, the less time you’ll waste chasing after lookers and unqualified buyers.

Tired of going it alone?  If you’d rather have an experienced real estate agent handle everything for you from finding qualified buyers to negotiating the sales contract, give me a call today at 256-508-0211 Direct or 800-803-0053 Toll Free or email me at mike@movetohuntsville.com.

Having lived in the Huntsville AL area for most of his life, Mike Manosky understands exactly what makes this community special.  In fact, those who know him well will tell you he carries the same traditional values and focus on the future as Huntsville.

Mike brings with him a keen eye for the details of buying or selling a Huntsville AL home and seemingly boundless determination and energy, which is why his clients benefit from his unique brand of real estate service. Rooted in Tradition, Focused on the Future – Mike Manosky will help make the most of your Huntsville AL real estate experience. Give him a call today, 256-508-0211 Direct or 800-803-0053 Toll Free, and discover the difference he can make during your family’s move.

With years of experience in art and art marketing, three Alabama artists, Charles Smith, David Simmons and Kurtis Thomas observed a need for a new approach to reaching art patrons and encouraging new art patrons.  In this fast-paced world they realize the difficulty of scheduling an evening to attend a gallery opening, so they are going to bring the art directly to you, right in your home or office, in real-time, with real interaction with each artist through e-mail, live-chat, or by phone during the live web-cast; a fully integrated live experience including a printed prospectus of the show.  Please join them in this ground-breaking event at ArtStreamLive.com. They also welcome your praises, suggestions, and criticisms, to help make your experience  more enjoyable.

Having lived in the Huntsville AL area for most of his life, Mike Manosky understands exactly what makes this community special.  In fact, those who know him well will tell you he carries the same traditional values and focus on the future as Huntsville.

Mike brings with him a keen eye for the details of buying or selling a Huntsville AL home and seemingly boundless determination and energy, which is why his clients benefit from his unique brand of real estate service. Rooted in Tradition, Focused on the Future – Mike Manosky will help make the most of your Huntsville AL real estate experience. Give him a call today, 256-508-0211 Direct or 800-803-0053 Toll Free, and discover the difference he can make during your family’s move.

There are a few misconceptions about how to set the sales price for your Huntsville AL real estate.  Here are five common pricing myths and the reality behind them.

Myth #1:  It’s OK to test a high price on your Huntsville AL real estate just to see if anyone will buy it at that price. 

If you’re serious about selling your home, don’t play games.  In this buyer’s market you have a very small window of opportunity to pull in serious buyers when your home first enters the market.  If you play games, like over pricing your home just to test the market, buyers will stay away in droves.

Myth #2:  You should price your Huntsville AL real estate higher than the market value to allow for room to negotiate.

Truth:  No matter what your reasoning or rationale, overpricing your home is never a good idea.  When your home is overpriced, very few potential buyers inquire about it or visit it.  If no one wants to buy your home, you won’t have anyone to negotiate with.

Myth #3:  The appraisal value of your home has no impact on the sales price of your home.

Truth:  Lenders consider the value of your home to be the price for which the home is appraised.  For example, if you and your buyer have agreed on a sales price of $300,000, but the appraisal comes in at $280,000, the lender considers the value of the home to be $280,000, not $300,000.   When this occurs, buyers will want to renegotiate the sales price of the home to match the appraisal price.

Myth #4:  Real estate agents want to price homes high because they’ll make a higher commission. 

Truth:  If you’ve done the work needed to find a great real estate agent, you should trust him or her to price your home correctly.  Because of their experience, real estate agents understand more than anyone else the importance of properly pricing your home.  If they’ve incorrectly priced your home, it won’t sell, and the agents earn nothing.

Myth #5:  Real estate agents want to price homes low because they’ll sell faster and easier without the agents having to do any work.

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There were 539 Huntsville AL foreclosure homes for sale in November 2011 and one in every 1,862 housing units received a foreclosure filing. The average sales price of a Huntsville home was $141,261 and the average foreclosure sales price was $101,102, a $40,159  savings, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Activity and 30 Year Interest Rate

Huntsville interest rates averaged 3.99% in November while the number of foreclosed homes decreased from 87 to 51.

Foreclosure activity is based on the total number of properties that receive foreclosure filings – default notice, foreclosure auction notice or bank repossession – each month. Interest rate is based on the average 30-year fixed rate from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

Huntsville AL foreclosure activity in November was 0.12% below national statistics, 0.02% below state figures and 0.02% below Madison County statistics.

Huntsville AL Foreclosure Activity by Month
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The fact is that not all Huntsville AL real estate agents are created equal.   There are important differences you need to consider before choosing an agent to help you buy a home

Here are some fictional beliefs people have about Huntsville AL real estate agents and the facts behind them.

1. Fiction:  Any agent you contact about a property is now your buyer’s agent and is looking out for your best interests.
   Fact:  When you call the agent whose name is on the For Sale sign in the front yard of the home, you’re calling the seller’s agent.  That agent is looking out for the home seller’s best interest, not yours.   Hire a buyer’s agent and ask him or her to show you homes you’re interested in seeing.
2. Fiction:  When you hire a buyer’s agent, you have to pay their commission.
   Fact:  In most cases, the seller pays the commission for both the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.  In a typical listing agreement, the seller agrees to pay a set percentage of the sales price and this amount is divided between the two real estate agents involved in the sale.
3. Fiction:  Huntsville AL real estate agents won’t show you a FSBO (for sale by owner).
   Fact:  If you find a FSBO you’d like to see, ask your agent to show it to you.  Your agent will contact the property owner and negotiate commission and paperwork, such as “permission to show” or “one-time show” agreements.  If the seller is unwilling to pay commission, you may decide you don’t want to see the home, or you can choose to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission.  You then get the same service from your agent as if he or she was showing you a typical home for sale.
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