Home Seller Information
BTSAs … money spent wisely or foolishly?
March 13th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
Separately the letters B, T, S, and A, don’t mean much but put them together and they become BTSA which means EXTRA money to a buyer’s agent. A BTSA is a Bonus To the Selling Agent. It is money the sellers have agreed to pay, in addition to a commission, to the buyer’s agent.
Its no secret that Spring Texas Realtors love BTSAs. After all can you really blame us? We all love more money. Right?
But the real question is not whether realtors love more money because we already know the answer to that question. The question for Spring Texas home sellers needs to be ”Is money spent on a BTSA, money spent wisely or foolishly?”
BTSAs …… money spent wisely:
If you can’t remember when the last time your home was shown consider offering a BTSA. Even though your home may not be an exact match for an agent’s buyers, the extra incentive may get the agent to show your home.
But before you spend the money on the BTSA do a thorough review of your home’s listing. Is your home in top condition? Are the photographs of your home of a professional quality? Is your home priced below or at least comparable to the competition? Is your home extensively marketed on the Internet? The answer to any of these questions may be the reason you are not receiving any showings and your money would be spent more wisely on fixing these problems instead of paying more money to the buyer’s agent.
BTSAS …… money spent foolishly:
In every other possible scenario the money you spend as a Spring Texas home seller on a BTSA is money spent foolishly. I hope not all home sellers are reading this because I do love it when you pay me extra money. But the point is you don’t have to. If your house meets my clients needs I am going to show it to them irregardless of whether you offer a BTSA.
If your house is over-priced, in bad condition, has an undesirable floor plan, or is in a bad location, and the reason you are offering a BTSA is to entice agents to ignore the bad and only point out the good about your house, it won’t happen. A buyer’s agent is required to hold her clients interest above her own and pointing out only the good and ignoring the bad is not watching for her clients best interests.
Bottom line … you can get more bang for your buck by fixing the reason your house is not selling instead of trying to bribe the buyer’s agent with a BTSA.
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What do buyers want in a Spring Texas home?
February 24th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
Each year a real estate magazine or a home magazine will publish a new list on what buyers want in a home. If you are thinking about remodeling or getting ready to put your home on the Spring Texas real estate market, then reviewing a list on what today’s buyers want is a great way to make sure your decisions will appeal to buyers.
The thing is real estate is local. What buyers want in a home in Miami Beach Florida is not what buyers want in a home in Spring Texas. The best way to find out what Spring Texas home buyers want is to ask a Spring Texas Realtor.
What are Spring Texas home buyers telling me they want in a home?
Granite kitchen counter tops- Granite has become so popular and ubiquitous that home buyers expect it. Buyers will do a give on the square footage of a home just to get their granite. What about solid surface counter tops? They may be easier to care for and some may even look like granite but buyers still want granite.
Wood and / or tile flooring - Buyers prefer the look of wood and tile flooring. This coupled with a larger percentage of buyers being pet owners (dog, cat, or both), they want a flooring that is durable and easy to keep clean.
Stainless Steel appliances - It is still buyers preferred type of appliances. What about black and white appliances? Spring Texas home buyers will consider black appliances but they would prefer NOT to have white appliances.
Brushed nickle fixtures – They have been the favorite for at least the last six years with oil rubbed bronze beginning to grow in popularity.
Dark cabinets - Buyers don’t have a strong preference on the type of wood be it maple, cherry, or oak the cabinets are made from but they do prefer a dark stain.
Designer paint colors- Buyers love the light tans, beiges, greens, browns, and blues.
Large closets and lots of storage - Buyers have stuff and they want places to store their stuff.
Spacious master bathroom with a “spa” feeling – A master bathroom spacious enough for two people to get ready in the morning without having to dancing around each other. Long counter tops with separate vanities or two bowls. A garden or jacuzzi bath tub and a separate shower with nice tile work.
Home office / Study – Even with all the wireless applications available to buyers, they still prefer to have a dedicated place to work. A place for a desk, printer, and filing cabinet to organize paperwork.
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Spring selling season arrives early
February 10th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
If the value of your house is $200,000 or less, the time to put your house on the Spring Texas real estate market is now. Why now? Because with the first time home buyers tax credit set to expire at the end of April, the spring selling season has arrived early.
The traffic to our real estate blogsite has been steadily growing over the last couple of months as first time home buyers have been casually searching homes for sale in Spring Texas. With the tax credit deadline less than 50 days away those casual lookers are turning into serious buyers.
If your desire is get the most money possible for your home and why wouldn’t it be, you need to put your house on the market right away. The highest demand for Spring Texas homes priced at $200,000 or less will be between now and the end of April. Put your house on the market now and cash in on the high demand created by first time home buyers.
Read also:
- Where are all the buyers?
- How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
- Top 30 things to do before putting your house on the Spring Texas real estate market
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Who decides the closing date?
February 8th, 2010 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
Who decides the closing date? Do the buyers? Do the sellers? Do the real estate agents? Does the loan officer?
In a residential real estate transaction there are many terms that will need to be negotiated between you and the sellers and the closing date is one of them.
As a buyer, you are probably ready to move-in to your new Spring Texas house tomorrow. As the sellers can’t seem to get their stuff, out of what you are already calling your house, soon enough.
As a seller, moving out tomorrow would be impossible because over the years you have lived in your home you have collected stuff. Not just a little stuff but a lot of stuff. All of it needing to be packed. Packing which certainly can not be done in just one day.
As a buyer, its impossible to try to predict what date the sellers would prefer to close on. Instead its just best to worry about what date fits your schedule. Later you can determine a date that will work for both yours and the sellers schedules.
Where to begin? To decide upon a date to close on, you need to ask yourself a series of questions:
- How long will it take your lender to process your loan? 30 days? 45 days?
- Do you have any upcoming trips that will have you out of town on certain days?
- Do you have to be out of your apartment or the place you are currently living by a certain date?
- Are you trying to bring the bare minimum amount of money to the closing table? If the answer is “Yes”, then you will want to close towards the end of the month to reduce the quantity of days you are charged interest on your home loan.
- In Spring Texas, closings take place at title companies. Closings only occur Monday – Friday. As the title companies are NOT open on Saturdays and Sundays nor on Holidays. So those days are out.
- When are you wanting to move in? If you are wanting to move in over the weekend, then ask for a closing date that falls on a Friday.
Review your answers to these questions and decide what date works best for your schedule then let the negotiations begin. Typically negotiating the closing date is fairly easy, especially if the sellers are truly wanting to sell their Spring Texas home. But there are other times when deciding upon a closing date turns out to be the most difficult term for buyers and sellers to reach an agreement on.
Read also:
- What is a sellers leaseback and should you get one?
- What stays and what goes with a Spring Texas house?
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Top 10 worst real estate advertising phrases
February 1st, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
Not all real estate advertising phrases do what they are intended to do which is to attract buyers. Realtors have been using some advertising phrases way beyond their expiration date and just need to throw them out. Here’s my list of the advertising phrases I would like to never see again on another real estate listing.
Top 10 list of the worst real estate advertising phrases found in the Spring Texas MLS
10. Opportunity of a lifetime
9. Must see to appreciate
8. Motivated Sellers, bring all offers
7. You can’t go wrong at this price
6. Home will sell itself
5. This home will take your breath away
4. This house is to die for
3. Hurry, this one won’t last long
2. Honey, stop the car
1. A real cream puff
If your real estate listing contains one of these advertising phrases it could be the reason behind your house not selling.
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It starts at the curb
January 30th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
When was the last time you drove slowly by your house and took a really good look at it from the curb? I would probably guess its been a while. The last time may even have been when you were considering buying it.
Before you put your house on the Spring Texas real estate market you should go and stand at the curb and take a good long look at your house. What message will your house be sending to potential buyers?
Does your house say “Welcome! My owners love me. They have maintained and cared for me. They have kept me clean and painted and updated my appearance.”
or
Does your house say “My owners are too busy to take care of me. I know they wanted to take care of me but they could just never find the time.”
Whether you are going for a job interview, on a first date, or selling your home first impressions count. Give your house curb appeal and you will have buyers falling in love with it at the curb.
Read also:
- Top 30 things to do before putting your home on the Spring Texas real estate market
- How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
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Where are the buyers?
January 18th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
You have probably heard of the saying “Fish where the fish are”. 
It means that the best way to catch a fish is to fish where the fish are. Sounds logical. The same principle applies to Spring Texas real estate . If you want to sell your home you need to have your home’s listing where the buyers are.
Where are all the buyers? They are on the Internet. In 2003, 71% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes. Now fast forward six years and 90% of home buyers are using the Internet in their search for homes.
If your Spring Texas Realtor® places your listing on the HAR.com and Realtor.com websites is that enough? In my opinion, the answer is ”No, that is only the very beginning because buyers are not using just one website to search for homes. They are searching on numerous real estate websites.”
Before you list your Spring Texas house for sale, you need to ask your Realtor® what his or hers Internet marketing strategy is for your home. Does their marketing strategy include placing your listing on Craigslist , OLX, Viewr, Vast, Hotpads, Google , Yahoo, YouTube , and Facebook? Or maybe you need to ask if your Realtor® has even heard of these websites?
Next question is how is your Realtor® going to make your house stand out from the other houses on these websites? Finally, ask your Realtor® what his or hers marketing strategy is for mobile applications? On the weekends, some of these real estate websites report 20% of their traffic originates from buyers phones.
Real estate marketing is changing has CHANGED. If you want to sell your house for the most money you need to hire a Spring Texas Realtor® who knows how to “fish where the fish are”.
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8 ways for homeowners to save money
January 8th, 2010 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
Did the holidays drain your bank account? If so, here are some tips to help you save money on the costs of homeownership this year.
1. Claim all your real estate tax exemptions - one of the easiest ways to reduce the taxes on your Spring Texas home is to claim the homestead exemption offered by the state. Go to the Harris County or Montgomery County appraisal district websites to see what exemptions are currently being applied to your account and to determine if you are eligible for any additional exemptions such as the over 65 or disability exemption.
2. Check the settings on your programmable thermostat - Adjust the heat settings to lower temperatures while you are at work and at night. Turning your thermostat down 10° – 15° for 8 hours will reduce your heating bill by 5% to 15% a year.
3. Shop your kilowatt hour rate – In Texas, electricity is deregulated giving you more than one choice of provider. Go to Powertochoose.org to compare the rates of the electrcity providers that service your area. Last summer I changed our electric provider and reduce our rate by 30%.
4. Install insulation or a radiant roof barrier - If your home is more than 5 years old there is a good chance it was not built with a radiant roof barrier. Installing a radiant barrier which can be done in existing homes will lower the temperatures in your attic and lower your cooling bill by 5% to 15%.
5. Eliminate unnecessary water usage - Last summer, the cost of water in Spring Texas increased and it increased again on January 1, 2010, and it is going to increase again by the end of March. Our days of cheap water are gone and its time to get serious about conserving water. By setting your sprinkler systems to water during the early morning hours or late evenings you will be increase the effectiveness of your watering and be able to reduce your watering times.
6. Review your homeowner’s insurance policy – Call your insurance agent and review your homeowners insurance coverage and deductibles. Next call 2 or 3 other insurance agents to get quotes for comparable levels of coverage. The rates for homeowners insurance varies greatly from company to company. You may be surprised how much you can save by changing the homeowner’s insurance companies.
7. Replace older inefficient appliances – If you have an old refrigerator or a washer and dryer that you have been meaning to replace this could be the year for you to do it. Due to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Program, you will get an additional incentive / rebate ranging from $45 to $1,600 for replacing old appliances with qualified energy efficient appliances. Not all of the details of the program have been released but the rebate is only available for purchases made from April 16 to April 25, 2010.
8. Unplug and turn off - When you leave a room turn off the lights and the television. My Dad instilled this money saving practice into us when we were very young. As I don’t think nothing made my Dad as mad as coming into an empty room and seeing the lights and television on. In addition to turning off the lights and television, you should turn off the home computers and printers when not in use.
Unplug the toaster oven, coffee maker, toaster, electric can opener, and clock in the spare bedroom. All of these still use electricity even when they are not in use.
If you have a great way to save money on the costs of homeownership, please share it with us by adding it in the comments section.
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New Year … New sellers disclosure
December 30th, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
A new year brings lots of things. New resolutions, new opportunities, new laws, and this year a new seller’s disclosure from the Texas Association of Realtors. Well …. maybe not quite new but changed.
Effective on the first day of 2010, changes to TAR-1406 (the Seller’s Disclosure Notice) will be made to ….
- Section 5 – Are you (Seller) aware of any of the following: Any lawsuits or other legal proceedings directly or indirectly affecting the Property – Additional clarifying language will be added to further define legal proceedings as divorce, bankruptcy, or foreclosure.
- Additional Notices to Buyer: (4) The following providers currently provide service to the property: Electric, Sewer, Water, Cable, Trash, Natural Gas, Local Phone, and Propane - Additional lines will be added for the sellers to provide the telephone number in addition to the name of the service providers.
Neither one of these changes are major but they should both help Spring Texas real estate transactions go a little smoother. I know buyers will be grateful to have the phone numbers of the utility providers. As sometimes setting up the utilities turns out to be the most frustrating and difficult part of the entire move.
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A new business model
December 28th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information
Its almost the end of December and I am doing what I usually do this time of year. I am finishing up on my business plan for the coming year. I start by reviewing my expenses, analyzing the source of my business, and the calculating the ROI. I also analysis ROT (Return on Time) since I do a lot of Social Media Marketing .
After analyzing where I have been, I spend time thinking about where I want to go. This year I have been thinking about how I can implement a model similar to CenterPoint Energy’s business model for their smart meter.
It was in February of 2009 that I first learned of CenterPoint Energy’s smart meter. I was reviewing my electricity bill like I do every month and noticed a new line item charge called “Transmission Distribution Service Provider Surcharge.” The charge was for $3.24. It turned out to be a monthly fee to pay CenterPoint Energy for the cost to install a smart meter at my house.
According to Centerpoint Energy, the smart meter along with an in-home monitor will allow me to monitor my usage and better manage my electricity costs. The cost of the in-home monitor is an unknown at this time as they are not widely available but when they are available it will be at a cost affordable to most consumers. What exactly is a cost affordable to most consumers? I don’t know that is just what it says on the CenterPoint Energy web site.
Based upon CenterPoint Energy’s deployment schedule, the smart meter is projected to be installed at my house in Spring Texas by June 2012. Over 3 years after the date they initially started billing me for the meter. Wimpy wouldn’t like CenterPoint’s billing arrangement. Wimpy would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
The technology itself is promising and it would probably get me to change my electricity habits. Especially if I knew how much it was costing me to stand with the refrigerator door wide open as I wait for the answer to come to me of “What I should make for dinner?”
But it’s the business model that intrigues even more than the technology. How can I implement a similiar model into my real estate business that allows me to bill and get paid for my services before I provide them?
How about …… I send every household in my market area a monthly bill for a portion of what my fee will be when I eventually sell their house. This would be months or even years before I even place the “For Sale” sign in the yard. I would really be doing the sellers a favor. Instead of a large fee when their house is sold, it’s a small fee paid over many, many months.
Wild thought. I would never get away with it. I just better go back to finishing up my business plan instead of dreaming.
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