August 15, 2010

Is your Real Estate Agent pushy?

Here’s a fun YouTube video on pushy real estate agents. Rick and I are not pushy real estate agents. As buyers agents, we will show you any house on the Spring Texas real estate market you would like to view. We work hard to help you find and purchase the right house for your lifestyle and your finances. A thank […]

August 13, 2010

how to reduce spring texas property taxes

Will paying cash get you a discount on real estate?

The majority of the time if you pay cash for Spring Texas real estate you will get a discount. The real question is not will you get a discount but how big of a discount. The answer depends on how big of an advantage cash is to the seller. The biggest discounts for cash will be on […]

August 11, 2010

Accepting property in its present condition doesn’t mean you can’t ask for repairs

In section 7 of our Spring Texas real estate contract the touchy subject of property condition is addressed. Buyers, sellers, and Realtors seem to generally understand the majority of the items in this section. That is until they reach 7.D. ACCEPTANCE OF PROPERTY CONDITION which is where confusion takes over. In section 7.D., Spring Texas home buyers have to either check […]

August 7, 2010

Monthly payments on FHA loans increase on October 4th

Earlier this year, the FHA increased the upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75% of the loan value to 2.25%. Now the FHA has decided to reduce the upfront mortgage insurance premium from 2.25% to 1% and increase the annual premium from 0.55% to 0.9% on loan to value (LTV) ratios greater than 95%. What does […]

July 24, 2010

Do you know if your house is for sale?

About 10 years ago it was easy to know if your house was for sale. And if you weren’t 100% sure all you had to do was take a quick look oute the window. If you saw a real estate “for sale” sign in your yard, your house was for sale. But fast forward to today and it’s […]

July 10, 2010

Home size declines; buyers demand for 1 story homes increase

The National Association of Home Builders announced that builders are listening to buyers preferences and constructing smaller homes. After nearly 30 years of increases, the size of new single-family homes built experiences its first decrease. The nationwide average of 2,438 sqft for homes built in 2009 is about a 100 feet smaller than the homes built in 2007. […]

June 30, 2010

Is now a good time to refinance?

With the interest rates for 30-year home mortgages at 50 year lows, NOW may be not only a good time but a great time to refinance. What’s in store for mortgage interest rates? According to the Mortgage Bankers Association you should expect interest rates to steadily rise. But does low interest rates and a predicted rise in interest rates automatically mean you should refinance your Spring […]

June 21, 2010

Stop! Don’t buy that fridge for your new house …. YET

Okay, I admit the title for this post is a little bit dramatic. But I needed to get your attention to let you know of a change in the mortgage industry. As a Spring Texas Realtor, I do not even attempt to stay on top of the ever changing mortgage industry. Instead, I rely upon the expertise […]

June 17, 2010

Mortgage Rates to slowly increase

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) economists have revised their mortgage interest rates projections and are now predicting a slower than anticipated increase. The interest rate for 30-year mortgages are still projected to be in the high 6% range by fourth quarter of 2012. The revision is in how quickly the 30-year mortgage interest rates will rise from their […]

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