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Increase showings on your house by doing this one thing
May 12th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
On a recent Saturday, I had scheduled showings to view 8 homes in Spring Texas. There was one home in particular my buyers were extremely anxious to view. The home was within their budget, it had been recently updated, it had a good size backyard, and it was on a greenbelt. This Spring Texas home checked all the boxes on their list of criteria.
On our way to the front door, we chatted about all how wonderful the neighborhood was and how convenient it is to I-45. I accessed the box with my Supra Key and grabbed the key to the front door. For the next 15 minutes I tried to open the front door. I tired the top lock. I tried the bottom lock. I turned it to the right. I turned it to the left. I put the key all the way in. I put the key 7/8 of the way in. I jiggled the key.
No luck. The key was not going to open the door. In one last attempt to gain access to the house, I went around to the back of the house looking for another door that the key just might work in. No such luck. The back door was a sliding patio door.
I returned to the front of the house where my buyers were peeking in the window. I told them we could reschedule the showing for another day and hopefully by then the sellers will have the key working. Their response was “No, let’s just move on”.
What one thing can you do to increase showings on your Spring Texas house? Get a key that easily unlocks your front door.
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Plan for the end in the beginning
May 9th, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
What do curtains, shelves, fireplace screens, television brackets, and garage hooks all have in common? They are all items that at one point in time in my career as a Spring Texas Realtor I had to request / beg buyers to allow sellers to take with them.
In real estate all items are negotiable which includes curtains, shelves, fireplace screens, television brackets, and garage hooks. It’s the timing of the negotiations that dictates whether the negotiations will go smoothly or will be a challenge.
Negotiating items to be retained by the sellers goes smoothly before the house is in contract. Negotiating items after the house is in contract now that’s challenging.
Before you put your house on the Spring Texas real estate market, you need to plan for the end otherwise known as closing day. To do this slowly walk from room to room in your house and make a list of all items that would be considered permanently installed, built-in, or a related accessory that you want to retain possession of after closing day.
Provide your list to your Realtor so the items may be identified as exclusions in your listing. Better yet, remove all items you want excluded from the sale of your Spring Texas house before you even put it on the market.
Read also:
- What stays and what goes when you buy a Spring Texas house
- Who repairs the nail holes? Sellers or Buyers?
- What is a sellers temporary lease back and do you need one?
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Houston on list of fastest growing cities in America
May 6th, 2012 categories: Discover Spring Texas
Where are the fasterst growing cities in America? According to Forbes.com, four (Austin, Dallas-Ft.Worth, Houston, and San Antonio) of the ten fastest growing cities in America are in the beautiful state of Texas. Why Texas? Low taxes and inexpensive real estate attract businesses and along with those businesses come jobs.
Powered by health care and energy, Houston captured the number 4 spot on the list of the fastest growing cities in America. Houston’s population is projected to continue growing as Moody’s estimates another 484,000 people will call themselves “Houstonians” by 2016.
Located approximately 25 miles north of downtown Houston and often referred to as Northwest Houston, Spring Texas is poised to benefit from future growth. Due to its manageable commute, many residents of Spring Texas work in the Medical Center and in downtown Houston. In the last ten years (2010 U.S. Census), Spring Texas experienced a 49% growth in population to over 54,000 residents.
Did you know Houston has more residents than 32 states? Want to learn more about Houston? Watch the Texaplex Video to Discover Houston Texas.
If you are ready to call Northwest Houston, Spring or the Woodlands Texas “Home”, give us a call at 281.804.8626. We are Realtors who specialize in Northwest Houston.
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Mortgage rates hit new record lows
May 3rd, 2012 categories: Home Buyer Information
Freddie Mac has announced mortgage rates have hit new record lows with the average 30-year mortgage rate being 3.84%. No, that’s not a typo. It is 3.84%.
But with the 3.84% being an average rate, it makes you wonder if any home buyer / borrower is ever able to get the low average rate? The answer is YES!
I’m currently representing a buyer on the purchase of a new construction home in the Woodlands and the terms of their mortgage are 0.8% origination fee with a 30-year fixed interest rate of 3.8%. These are FABULOUS interest rates which makes for a great time to either refinance or buy a Spring Texas home.
If you can get pre-approved for a home loan but don’t want to deplete your entire savings, you do have options. You can negotiate with the sellers to pay some or all of your closing costs and prepaids reducing your out of pocket expenses. If you need help with the down payment, you can ask your parents for the money.
Purchasing a Spring Texas home can still be within your reach. Rumors of 20% down payment requirements are just that rumors. They are NOT true. Behind a VA loan which has a 0% down payment, a FHA loan has the next smallest minimum down payment requirement of 3.5%.
If you are ready to take advantage of these ridiculously low interest rates, call us at 281.300.3141 or 281.804.8626. We are ready to help you find the ideal place for you and your family to call “Home” in Spring Texas or the Woodlands.
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Crime Reports for Spring Texas
April 25th, 2012 categories: Discover Spring Texas, Home Buyer Information
When working with buyers relocating to the Spring Texas area, I am typically asked ”What’s the crime like in Spring Texas?” That’s a loaded question because the National Association of Realtors code of ethics prohibits Realtors which includes me from directly answering the question.
What I am permitted to do is to provide a source where you can check out the crime rates yourself. You can then form your own opinion about the crime in the Spring Texas area.
The best source I have found for information on crime is www.crimereports.com. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is the source of information and the site is extremely user friendly. Type in an address and the crime reports are quickly generated. The date range is defaulted to the last 14 days but you can change it to show you the last 30 days or you can select a custom date range.
You can also specify the type of crime report / incident you would like to view such as breaking & entering, robbery, theft of vehicle, family offense, or missing person. In addition, you have the ability to overlay the location of registered sex offenders.
And yes, there is an APP for it too. You can download CrimeReports for the iPhone from the iTunes App Store.
When you are ready to go view homes for sale in Spring Texas, give us a call at 281.804.8626 or 281.300.3141.
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Prudential Gary Greene stands alone in the Top 100
April 23rd, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
Prudential Gary Greene Realtors is the only HOUSTON based brokerage to break into the Top 100 on RisMedia’s list of Top Brokers in the Nation. In 2011, Prudential Gary Greene completed 6,509 real estate transactions with a sales volume of $1,576.526,862 ranking 55 and 53, respectively.
Thank you to all the buyers and sellers our brokerage had the opportunity and the pleasure to service in 2011. When you are ready to sell your Spring Texas house, give us a call at 281.804.8626.
List with the local leader.
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Bugs, Beer, Bands – Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival 2012
April 19th, 2012 categories: Events and Activities
It wouldn’t be spring time without the annual and popular Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival that now extends over 2 weekends.
Enjoy your fill of over 25 tons of delectable crawfish, listen to live rock, zydeco, country, blues and bluegrass music as it is performed on 3 stages, and party with 150,000 of what will soon become your closest friends. The weather is forecasted to be near perfect so get out and enjoy some bugs, beer, bands and a whole lot of fun at the 26th annual Crawfish Festival at Old Town Spring Texas
Here’s the need to know details on the 2012 Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival:
When: April 20 – 22 and April 27 – 29
Hours: Fridays – 6 pm to midnight, Saturdays – noon to midnight, and Sundays – noon to 6 pm
Where: Preservation Park in Old Town Spring located at 130 Spring School Rd Spring TX, 77373
How Much?
Tickets: $12 at the gate and free to kids 12 and under when accompanied by an adult. You can save a little green by purchasing your tickets online for $8 but there is a $1.50 service fee.
Parking: $7 – bring cash because they don’t accept credit cards for the parking.
Crawfish: $16 for 3lb platter and $25 for 5lb bucket (both include corn and potato)
More details on Old Town Spring’s Crawfish Festival including the music line up are available at www.texascrawfishfestival.com.
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Spring Texas Real Estate Market Report – March 2012
April 15th, 2012 categories: Spring Texas Real Estate Market Reports
What’s going on in the Spring Texas Real Estate Market? Single family home sales are on a roll recording yet another monthly increase. Average and median home prices are pushing upward. Active listings remain below 1,000. Increase in sales and a decrease in active listings push months of inventory lower. Days on Market dips to 73.
Months of Inventory – Months of inventory 29% lower month over year. The decrease in active listings coupled with an increase in home sales as pushed the months of inventory down to 5.3 months. If you are thinking about selling your Spring Texas house, now is GOOD time. Buyers are out and good listings are in demand.
Home prices – Increase in demand and decrease in supply of active listings is pushing home prices skyward.
Days on Market (DOM) – Measured from the date a house is put on the market until the date it goes under contract. DOM experienced a 29% decrease for month over year. DOM helps to answer the question of “How long will it take before my house sells?” and for the month of March the answer is 73 days. Although the DOM for every Spring Texas subdivision is different, the average does give you some idea as to how long you will be inconvenienced with showings.
Mortgage Interest Rates – Rates on 30-year loan are bouncing around in the high 3% to low 4% range. FHA loans became a little more expensive on April 9th as the up-front mortgage insurance premium increased from 1% to 1.75% and the monthly mortgage insurance premium increased by .1%.
Leases continue to be in demand. Rental of single family homes have experienced a 14% YTD increase over last year. Days on Market for single family rentals is 53 days. If you see a home you want to rent, you need to move quickly because it will not be around for long.
What’s ahead for the Spring Texas real estate market? Check out our real estate predictions for 2012.
The data represented is from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the Houston Association of Realtors MLS for single family existing homes in Area 13. Area 13 covers a large geographic area stretching from I45 to Hwy 249 to Beltway 8 to Spring Cypress.
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96% of people believe now is a good time to purchase a home
April 11th, 2012 categories: Home Buyer Information
The American Dream of owning a home is still alive. According to a recent national survey conducted by Prudential Real Estate, the majority of people still believe real estate is a GOOD investment.
A couple of key findings from Prudential Real Estate’s recent survey are:
- With interest rates at historical lows, 96% of people believe now is a good time to purchase home
- 70% of respondents believe their property values will increase over the next two years
- 63% believe that real estate is a good investment
The Spring Texas real estate market is reaping the benefits of the increase in consumer sentiment as YTD sales through March of single family homes are up 18%.
What’s your thoughts? Do you believe that real estate is a good investment?
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Do you have to repay the $8,000 home buyers tax credit?
April 1st, 2012 categories: Home Seller Information
Two years ago you bought a Spring Texas home. In return for buying a home, our government gave you an $8,000 tax credit. It was a sweet deal!!
Today you just found out your employer is moving its corporate office. Your 10 minute drive to work will turn into 50 minutes. You want to sell your Spring Texas home and move because a 50 minute commute to work will drive you insane. The only thing holding you back from listing your house is you would have to repay the $8,000 tax credit since you haven’t lived in the home for 36 months.
If you sold the home, you have to repay the entire $8,000 tax credit if:
1. the home ceased to be your primary residence within 36 months after the date you purchased it
AND
2. you sold the home for a gain of $8,000 or more. The sale must be made to a person unrelated to you.
To calculate the loss or gain on the sale of your house:
1. Calculate Net Sales Price. Sales Price – commissions / Realtor fees – advertising expenses – legal expenses = Net Sales Price
2. Calculate Adjusted Basis. Purchase Price + legal fees + recording fees + survey fees + owners title insurance, if paid by you + cost of additions or improvements = Adjusted Basis of home
Loss or Gain on the sale of your house = Net Sales Price – Adjusted Basis of home
If your gain was less than or equal to $8,000, you would owe the IRS the entire amount of the gain. If the gain was more than $8,000, you would owe the IRS $8,000.
If you sold your Spring Texas house for a loss, you would NOT have to repay any of the $8,000 tax credit.
I admit it’s a tad bit complicated. It wouldn’t be an IRS rule if it wasn’t. Contact your tax accountant and seek guidance as you may be able to move without having to repay the $8,000 tax credit.
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