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 […]

March 3, 2011

Old Town Spring hosts Art and Wine Festival

Is wine from Texas as good as wine from California? You be the judge at the 13th annual SpringFest Art and Wine Festival in Old Town Spring. Over 15 Texas wineries will be on hand offering their nectar from the gods for tasting. You might even discover a wine that will become your new favorite. The particulars on the 2011 Old […]

February 28, 2011

When should you put your house on the market?

If you are wanting to have your Spring Texas house sold by July, when do you put it on the market? Timing the sell of your home is nearly impossible. Sometimes a buyer is waiting for a house exactly like yours to come on the Spring Texas real estate market and within a week your house is in contract. Then […]

February 25, 2011

Pre-approval does not guarantee you a loan

One of the most misunderstood items in the home loan process has to be the pre-approval letter. The pre-approval letter is the letter your Realtor® said you needed to get before viewing Spring Texas homes for sale. So away you went and met with a loan officer and got yourself one of those pre-approval letters. You then went out […]

February 23, 2011

What are the tax advantages of owning a home?

Are you looking for ways to cut your income taxes? Do what 34.6 million taxpayers already do to cut their taxes. They own a home and deduct the interest they paid on their home mortgages. The mortgage interest deduction cuts their federal income taxes by a total of nearly $77 billion. What are the tax advantages of owning […]

February 21, 2011

Demographics of Spring Texas – 2010 Census

We are finally beginning to get our first look at the 2010 Census data as the population counts are released on a state by state basis. Below is a table identifying the ethnicity breakdown for Spring Texas and its population growth over the last 10 years.Spring Texas is a census designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of […]

February 19, 2011

Home inspections – how long do they take?

For the average 2,500 square foot home in Spring Texas, the inspections if they are all being performed by the same home inspector, will take approximately 3.5 to 4 hours to complete. The time for the individual inspections are mechanical and structural – 2 to 3 hours, wood destroying insects (WDI) – 30 minutes, and pool and […]

February 18, 2011

Klein ISD rezones elementary schools for 2011-2012 school year

To coincide with the opening of Blackshear Elementary in the fall of 2011, Klein school district recently announced the completion of their rezoning efforts. With the addition of each new school, Klein school district rezones to balance each school’s individual enrollment. The chart to the right identifies the subdivisions impacted by the rezoning of Klein ISD elementary schools. As […]

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