Welcome to Waycross and the surrounding area. We have offered this site to inform you about the process of buying and selling real estate. Many of you & your families will 
be relocating with your job and have been through the process & for some it will be a new experience. We hope it will be a good one. It can be a crazy time with all the demands of money, time, & decision making. Our site will show you all of the listings from the entire community including other agents listings as well. Take the time to look through the properties making a list of things you like and would like to see in your next home, business, or new land parcel. If we do not know an answer to your question we will get one for you. We look forward to the process.
Waycross & Blackshear are great communities located in our part of southeast Georgia. We are surrounded by natural beauty: the tall Georgia pines, sandy rolling bottoms around our river banks, & The Okefenokee Swamp Park, “land of the trembling earth” as named by the earliest inhabitants. A good quality of life has been preserved here. Waycross & the surrounding area is welcoming new industry & commerce as the area grows and develops. Our Chamber of Commerce actively promotes the membership and is involved in many areas of community life. Our medical complex has just become the newest member of Mayo Clinic Health System and we are very proud. Our community is a great area for baby boomers wanting to retreat to a less hectic pace & it has always been an excellent place to raise a family. We have a high school football stadium that is second to none and our Board of Education takes an active roll in the quality staff & curriculum put forth for our students.
There are other great qualities we look forward to sharing with you about Blackshear, Waycross, & the surrounding area. Please continue to look through the pages on the real estate process….and it is a process. It sometimes is not for the faint of heart and things can change at the last minute, but we will try to guide you to making the process a little smoother and not have surprises at the end. Thank you for your time & trust and we look forward to our time together.
The purchase…Getting Qualified
One of the first items we will talk about when we begin the search for your home or investment is how much are you going to spend or what price range are you considering? The seller will want to know when you make the offer that you can qualify for a loan if you aren’t paying cash. This is something you will want to be aware of as well. You do not want to get into a situation of making an offer only to find out that the payments will be more than you have budgeted or that you cannot support with your income. Being “qualified” will be based on your credit score, job history, salary, & the amount of down payment you plan on making toward the loan.
The bank or lender will often time give you a letter of “pre-approval” based on the information you submit. Many sellers especially the bank owned properties will not even entertain an offer without one. Getting with a lender will enable you to be comfortable with the homes purchase price and all that goes with it. Some lenders will want to meet you face to face while others will email you an application or talk with you over the phone. We have excellent options for you in town and will gladly supply you a list of approved lenders. Some lenders may have a fee for a pre approval – you might just want to ask. The pre approval or qualification process needs to be started before you start working with your Realtor. They need to know that you have funds to make the purchase. The entire process will not be done prior to finding a house – there will still be the inspection, the appraisal and other inspections, but this very important step is the first one to take in looking for a home. And just because you can “qualify” for 1700 per month does not mean that you want to spend 1700 per month! You need to know what will fit into your budget to leave room for travel, eating out, and all those dance & soccer lessons. After an amount is decided upon or found based on income, etc. often lenders will add an escrow to your monthly payment including taxes and insurance. It will be added up and divided by 12 to add to your monthly payment. Now you are ready to start searching for a home!
Lets Go!
In searching for a home we know now that most of you have gone on line and done your homework ahead of time. You have gone to the internet, narrowed down your likes & dislikes, and found what you would like to view in person. We can handle that for you. Most of the realtors in town belong to the mls or multiple listing service. We can show their properties as well. So if you see another property for sale in the area we can show it to you as well. It is good when making your list to send us an email or contact us ahead of time. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] if you can. Many of the homes are vacant so we can head in any time we like, however sometimes the home may already be under contract or sold. So let us call and be sure before we head out. Also many of the homes are still occupied and we will need to make an appointment for a showing. Most sellers want everything to be just so when you have the opportunity to view and they try their best to have it ready. After you find a home we start the offer process. It does not take long. You give earnest money or a deposit, make the offer, and hope it is accepted. Sometimes you will receive a counter offer and if you say yes, you have bought a home! Then we will have inspections, appraisals, and set a closing date. Many things in the contract are negotiable so it pays to have a good Realtor to help you get the best deal possible. We will do that. The home will close in as soon as 30 to 45 days generally. If there is a contingency or you have to sell a property before you can purchase then it will take longer. It is a process and one that we hope will provide what works for you & your family. Thank you.
Placing Your Property For Sale
We call it listing your property. I have always said that homes and property that are selling are the ones that are READY to be sold. That means that it is priced right and is neat 
and clean. The best chance of selling your asset is when you first place it on the market. Pictures need to be right, the property needs to be in order, and the pricing needs to be spot on. Of course pricing the home is ultimately up to you. We will bring you the most recent sold comparables (properties that have sold recently that are most similar to yours) and help to arrive at a price. It is a process that we have found will allow us to sell your property in the least amount of time on the market and for the greatest value.
After arriving at a price, next comes the paperwork. We have exclusive right to sell listing agreements that we will complete…it generally takes less than thirty minutes. We will provide you with a sellers disclosure that you will complete about the age of the roof, heating & cooling systems, & other important operating systems. This can be completed at a later time. We also discuss the age of the home and if a lead based paint exhibit needs to be completed (homes that were constructed in years prior to 1978). It also will be beneficial if you can provide monthly averages of your electric, water , & tax estimates. These are items a buyer often would like to know and if you have them up front, you can be one step ahead of the game.
Also if possible, if you have a copy of the deed or legal description it will be of assistance. There can be difficulties and extra time spent if the home or asset is not in the seller’s name when it comes to closing. All of these items handled up front or before closing will help to make things run smoothly when it comes to providing you with your check. It also helps in completing the disclosure to know which items in the home will remain and which ones you intend to take with you. It is always best , if possible, to take items out of the house before the home is listed and replaced . Because once a buyer sees the heirloom chandelier he will want it…even if it is listed on the disclosure as not to stay.
We also believe our marketing is excellent and will put the best light on your asset. The photos we take, the attention to detail, and the placement & exposure on Realtor.com is I believe unsurpassed in the area. Our presence on the web and in the community brings attention to your home. Our properties are being noticed and are being SOLD. We look forward to discussing in further details all of the ideas we will bring to the table in order to sell your home, land, or commercial asset. We look forward to working with you and making your priorities, ours.