March 25, 2011

Houston – best shopping city in the U.S.

Houston has been making it onto quite a few lists recently including “Top 10 Budget Travel Destinations for 2011“, “2 Houston Hotels on Travel & Leisure’s list of the 500 World’s Best Hotels“, #2 Best City for Young Adults, and now the “#1 Best Shopping City in the U.S.” according to Forbes. Forbes compiled their […]

March 23, 2011

Spring Texas Real Estate: Market Report February 2011

What’s going on with the Spring Texas Real Estate Market? It can be summed up by saying “What one month giveth, the next month taketh away”. February home sales were down by 16% over the previous year. The decrease in home sales was enough to wipe out January’s increase resulting in a YTD decrease in home sales of 7%. Comparing month […]

March 21, 2011

Mercer’s 2011 March Mart scheduled for March 25 and 26

On March 25 and 26, the grounds of the Mercer Botanical Gardens will be filled with gardeners loading their squeaky red wagons with the 1,200 species of plants available for sale. In its 37th year, Mercer’s March Mart is one of the largest plant sales in the state of Texas with attendance numbers totaling over 4,000. The annual plant […]

March 19, 2011

Is a part-time Realtor the best person to represent you?

Recently while at a family gathering, you told an aunt you and your husband were thinking about buying a house in Spring Texas. Your aunt’s response was “You need to call your cousin, Joe. He’s a Realtor®”. Cousin Joe’s a Realtor? When did this happen? Last you heard he was working at Home Depot. Your aunt’s response was “Yes, Joe does still […]

March 15, 2011

Best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day when everyone gets to be from Ireland and wear “Kiss Me. I’m Irish” buttons. So where’s the best place in the Spring Texas area to drink green beer and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Our choice is the Goose’s Acre on the Woodlands Waterway. The Goose’s Acre Irish Pub was originally located on […]

March 11, 2011

How many excuses does a lender have for not closing on time?

When you are buying or selling a Spring Texas house, your life evolves around the closing date. For weeks you have been coordinating schedules. You set a date for the movers. You lined up a babysitter for the kids. You scheduled time off from work. You called the utility companies to establish service. You are ready to go. You are just […]

March 9, 2011

Credit Do’s and Don’ts

Did you know your lender is required to pull your credit score right before closing? That’s right and a drop in your credit score could stop you from getting full loan approval. And without full loan approval you will not be closing and you will not be moving into that fabulous house in Spring Texas. […]

March 7, 2011

FHA change hikes monthly mortgage payments

It was just last October 8th when the FHA increased the monthly mortgage insurance premium from 0.55% to 0.9% and now on April 18th, 2011, the FHA is hiking the premium again. This time the mortgage insurance premium will increase to 1.15% for 30 year loans with a Loan to Value (LTV) ratio of greater than 95%. How […]

March 4, 2011

What’s IN and what’s OUT with Spring Texas home buyers

Are you thinking about putting your house on the Spring Texas real estate market this summer? If so, will your house appeal to the tastes of the 1980s or the 2011 home buyers? Here’s our list of what’s IN and what’s OUT with Spring Texas home buyers. What’s OUT: Wallpaper – Buyers HATE wallpaper and it will […]

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