February 17, 2009

2009 First time homebuyer tax credit – what is it, how much is it, and how to get it

Its $15,000. No its $7,500. No its $8,000. It has to be repaid. No it doesn’t. Its available to all homebuyers. No the tax credit is only for first time homebuyers. Is this a 2009 version of Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on first, What’s on second, I don’t know’s on third? All this leads to […]

February 15, 2009

What’s the useful life of a home’s components?

If you are going to be a first time Spring Texas homebuyer, you will want to know how long you can expect a home’s components to last. Because when something breaks and needs to be replaced there is no landlord to call. The financial burden is all up to you to shoulder. According to a study performed […]

February 13, 2009

Spring TX Real Estate: Market Report January 2009

If you think you are seeing fewer “For Sale” signs, you are right. In comparison to a year ago, the Spring TX Real Estate Market has seen a 30% drop in homes on the market and a 28% drop in new listings taken. Our real estate market now has the lowest level of single-family homes on the market […]

February 11, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 1: Rent vs Own?

This is the first post in a series designed to educate first time home buyers on the process of purchasing a home in Spring Texas. As a potential first time home buyer, you have probably been thinking about owning your own home for some time now. You may have already been on the real estate web sites searching for […]

February 10, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 2: Loan Pre-Approval

This is the second post in a series designed to educate first time home buyers on the process of purchasing a home in Spring Texas. Okay, you have determined that you are ready to own your own home, now what? The next step is to know your numbers. If you have always liked numbers, like […]

February 9, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 3: the Search

About 87% buyers start their home search on the Internet and for good reason too. With just a few clicks of the mouse, buyers can view listing information, watch virtual tours, pinpoint the home’s location on a map, and view multiple photos. And with numerous real estate web sites from which to choose from you just may have […]

February 9, 2009

Where have all the proofreaders and spellcheckers gone?

Does no one proofread their work anymore? And what about the spellchecker tools are they all broken? I know I am probably being a little over dramatic but I am seeing more and more listings for Spring Texas homes with errors. Including these that I directly copied from our local MLS: Physical Property Description – Public: WOW! Custom […]

February 7, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 4: Get a Buyer’s Agent

As a home buyer and especially as a first time home buyer you need someone who is looking out for your best interests and a buyer’s agent is just that someone. A buyer’s agent has a fiduciary responsibility to represent his buyer’s best interest including reasonable care, loyalty, and confidentiality. A buyer’s agent is different than a listing […]

February 7, 2009

Is it Spring yet?

Is it Spring yet? Has it arrived yet? The calendar says today is February 7th and Spring does not officially start until March 20th. So no, not Spring yet. And Phil, the famous ground hog, saw his shadow and with it is predicting six more weeks of winter. So no, not Spring yet. But the beautiful display of color […]

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