28 articles on georgia real estate from Mortgage in Georgia.
An escrow shortage letter usually means your county tax bill or insurance premium went up. Here is how to read it, choose between a lump sum and 12 payments, and spot errors worth disputing.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 1, 2026
Atlanta has swung toward buyers. August 2026 data shows Macon and Augusta following closely, Savannah and Columbus mixed, and Athens still the most competitive of Georgia's mid-size metros.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 26, 2026
Builders are leaning hard on financing incentives this fall, and some metro Atlanta offers carry an adjustable rate near 4 percent. We walk the reset math, the Georgia cost of refinancing out, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 23, 2026
Builders are advertising rates near 4% while the market sits near 7%. Here is how a Georgia buyer can compare a builder rate buydown vs price reduction using a $400,000 new build, lender concession caps, closing taxes and property tax.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 19, 2026
A financed Georgia purchase is a chain of deadlines that starts on the Binding Agreement Date. Here is each step from contract to recording, the buyer's job at every stage, and where Georgia closings usually slip.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 14, 2026
At Freddie Mac's 6.76% average, a median-listed home runs about $3,150 a month in Savannah, $3,260 in Athens and $1,770 in Macon once taxes and insurance are counted.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 11, 2026
The Georgia PSC froze Georgia Power's base rates through at least 2028 — but fuel and storm costs ride in separate dockets, and the data-center buildout approved in December 2025 carries a cost estimate measured in decades. Here's why none of that touches your debt-to-income ratio, and how to price it yourself before you go under contract.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 31, 2026
Jurisdictions covering roughly 83% of Georgia's population opted out of the homestead assessment cap voters approved in 2024. SB 33 makes the cap mandatory — starting in tax year 2027. That makes your 2026 assessment the number the cap will compound from, and this year's appeal deadline the one that matters.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 25, 2026
Metro Atlanta buyers picked up real leverage this summer, but not from an inventory flood — active listings are up less than 2% year over year. What changed is the competition: units under contract fell more than 30%. Here's what that's worth at the closing table, and why $10,000 off the price is the weakest form of $10,000.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 21, 2026
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act bars large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes starting January 7, 2027. It does not force them to sell the ones they already own — and in metro Atlanta, the exemptions may matter more than the cap.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 20, 2026
As of August 3, 2026, Fannie Mae's Limited Review and Freddie Mac's Streamlined Review are gone. Conventional financing on most Atlanta condo buildings over 10 units now requires a Full Review of the HOA's budget, reserves, delinquencies, litigation and repairs — and a bigger down payment no longer buys a faster path. Here is what the review checks, the January 2027 reserve deadline that matters even more, and the Georgia statute that gives buyers a five-business-day lever.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 11, 2026
Georgia's redesigned Annual Notice of Assessment looks nothing like last year's, and it starts a hard 45-day appeal clock from the day it was mailed. Here is how the new SB 566 format works, why a higher assessed value quietly raises your monthly mortgage payment through escrow, and where metro Atlanta's staggered deadlines stand right now.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jul 22, 2026
A $7.6B Hyundai EV plant west of Savannah is pulling thousands of jobs — and homebuyers — into Bryan, Bulloch and Effingham counties. Here is what the payroll is doing to prices, and how relocating workers should think about USDA loans, appraisal gaps, and stress-testing a payment against a multi-year hiring ramp.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jul 13, 2026
Many metro-Atlanta homeowners assume HB 581's 'Save Our Homes' cap is limiting their 2026 taxable value. In most large jurisdictions it isn't — they opted out. Here's who is actually protected in 2026, how an uncapped reassessment reaches your monthly escrow payment, and what SB 33 (the HOME Act) changes starting in 2027.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jul 12, 2026
With FIFA World Cup matches coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in June and July 2026, Atlanta short-term-rental rates have spiked into the hundreds — even thousands — of dollars a night. Before you list your home, understand the two rules most hosts miss: the City of Atlanta STR ordinance and your mortgage's owner-occupancy clause.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jul 3, 2026
Georgia gives you 45 days from your assessment notice's print date — not the day you opened it — to appeal. Here's how the math works, what evidence wins, and how HB 581 changed the three-year freeze for 2025.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jun 23, 2026
A non-public Fannie Mae list of ineligible condo projects is killing conventional financing in Inman Park, Midtown, and Buckhead towers — often days before closing. Here is how the list works, why intown Atlanta is overexposed, and what buyers and HOA boards can do about it.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jun 7, 2026
Headline metro inventory is back to pre-pandemic levels, but the $325K-$475K band where mortgage-qualified Georgia buyers actually shop is still tight. Here is what the FMLS data shows, county by county, and how to think about leverage right now.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jun 6, 2026
Metro Atlanta list prices have rebounded faster than the closed-sale comps appraisers rely on, leaving spring buyers staring at appraisals $15K–$25K under contract. Here is how the comp window creates the gap, what the Reconsideration of Value process can actually fix, and the GAR contract language that decides whether earnest money survives.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jun 4, 2026
The federal ban on mortgage trigger leads took effect in March 2026, and Georgia added its own layer in 2025. Georgia borrowers are still getting flooded with calls — here's why, and the free one-step fix.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Jun 2, 2026
Metro Atlanta's 2026 Annual Notices of Assessment are landing now, and the date printed inside — not the day you opened it — starts a 45-day appeal clock that decides what your servicer collects for the next 12 months.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 27, 2026
Redfin's latest reading puts the income needed to afford the typical U.S. home at $111,252 — down 4% year over year and well off the mid-2025 peak. Here's how Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, and Hall County stack up against the national math.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 26, 2026
U.S. inventory growth has collapsed from +33% YoY in 2025 to +0.89% in mid-May 2026, and Redfin's daily-average 30-year rate just hit a 10-month high at 6.75%. Here's what the combined squeeze means for Atlanta and Georgia buyers — and the metros where leverage still exists.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 25, 2026
A federal judge approved a $110M Wells Fargo settlement on May 15, 2026, creating a $100M Borrower Assistance Fund. Metro Atlanta is on the eligibility list — Savannah is not. Here's what Georgia buyers should verify before applying.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 22, 2026
Airbnb is pitching Atlanta-metro owners on World Cup income. Before you list, three pieces of fine print rarely make the pitch: your mortgage's owner-occupancy covenant, your homeowners policy's short-term-rental exclusion, and Atlanta's short-term-rental license rules.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 18, 2026
Eileen Reimer of Atlanta won the 2026 HGTV Dream Home on May 7. The prize is a $2.45M lakeside house — in North Carolina. Here is what the federal and Georgia tax bill, the carrying costs, and a retiree's real mortgage options actually look like.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 13, 2026
A dollar in 1990 buys what $2.53 buys today. If your Georgia home hasn't at least 2.53x'd in nominal price since then, you've lost real purchasing power — even if the closing statement looks like a windfall.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 13, 2026
Twelve months after Hurricane Helene tore through South Georgia, disaster forbearance plans are expiring and servicers are calling. Here is the FHA, VA, USDA, and Fannie/Freddie playbook borrowers in Wayne, Pierce, and Coffee counties should know before they pick up the phone.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · May 7, 2026
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