February 3, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 7: the Home Inspection

You have your first home under contract and you are in the option period, it is now time to get the home inspected. Even though you have 7 to 10 days depending upon the length of your Option Period to get your Spring Texas home inspected, you want to schedule them as soon as possible. Scheduling the home inspections as […]

February 3, 2009

What are the tax benefits of owning a home?

When discussing the financial benefits of owning a Spring Texas home, the majority of people understand the concept of building equity. And why building equity in a home is a smarter financial decision than paying rent. Possibly the building equity concept is understood because the majority of people have prior experience building equity in their cars. In addition […]

February 1, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 8: Insurance

Unless you are paying cash for the home, your mortgage lender is going to require the home be insured. The cost to insure your Spring Texas home varies from insurance company to insurance company. Sometimes the difference between the insurance companies rates are so significant that you wonder just what it is you are missing. In order to get […]

January 30, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 9: Survey and Appraisal

Survey – shows if the home is within the property borders, whether there are any encroachments on the property by its neighbors, and the location of any easements. Your Spring Texas real estate contract specifies whether you as the buyer of the home or the sellers will pay for the survey. The survey which costs around $500 – $600 […]

January 27, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 10: deed restrictions and title commitment

We are nearing the end of the series but we are not quite there yet as we have a couple more important steps to discuss on the way to home ownership. Deed Restrictions: There are very few Spring Texas neighborhoods that do not have deed restrictions. There is a high probability the subdivision you are purchasing a […]

January 27, 2009

5 Real Estate Myths

Thank you AgentGenuis for sharing this video segment on the 5 Biggest Real Estate Myths that was aired on the Today Show. Ordinarily, I am not a fan of the Real Estate segments on the national broadcast stations because they present a national picture of the real estate market. And our local Spring Texas real […]

January 27, 2009

Buying your first home – Step 11: Home Warranty

We only have a few more steps to go before we get to the much anticipated closing day. What is a home warranty? Not to be confused with home owners insurance, a home warranty sometimes referred to as a residential service contract provides a level of protection for the internal systems of your home. The typical period […]

January 24, 2009

what do you do on closing day of a home in spring texas

Buying your first home – Step 12: final walk

We are counting down the final remaining days before what will become one of the most anticipated and cherished days of your life (Closing Day). We are not done yet though because there are still things that need to be done before you can close on your first Spring Texas home. Final Loan Conditions: In the last week before closing […]

January 23, 2009

How to get the first time homebuyer tax credit

Its that time of year … again. The time of year most of us dread because it means hunting down receipts and gathering forms so we can prepare our income taxes. But if you were a first time homebuyer and purchased a Spring Texas home after April 9, 2008, you may be having a little […]

Home Buying Tips