Top 9 things home buyers have in common with Santa Claus
December 22nd, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information | views
Since I am in a holiday mood, I was looking for a fun way to combine real estate and the holidays. My idea …. create a Top 9 list of things Spring Texas homebuyers have in common with Santa Claus. I was hoping to come up with a Top 10 list but try as I might I could only come up with a Top 9 list. Just like David Letterman’s Top 10 Lists some of the items on the list are funnier than others. So if you have to force a laugh on a couple of the items I understand.
Top 9 things Spring Texas home buyers have in common with Santa Claus:
9. In Dreams. Sellers dream about finding a buyer for their house. Girls and boys dream about Santa Claus and his sack of toys.
8. Tempted by Treats. Sellers tempt home buyers to purchase their house by offering to pay closing costs or including flat screen televisions. Girls and boys put out cookies and milk to tempt Santa into leaving them more toys.
7. Jolly. Home buyers are happy about purchasing a home and the big guy, well they don’t call him “Jolly Old St. Nick” for nothing.
6. Gift list. My home buyer clients and Santa Claus both have my name at the top of their gift list.
5. Helpers. Real Estate Agents, Loan Officers, Home Inspectors, Surveyors, Appraisers, and Escrow Officers work together to help buyers find, purchase, and close on a home. Santa has many many elves helping him.
4. Budgets. The monthly mortgage payment has to fit within the home buyers budget. Santa has a defined budget he has to stay within. Wait a minute … Santa doesn’t buy the toys because the elves make them. So there is no budget. Okay, maybe only home buyers have budgets.
3. Schedules. Home buyers have numerous tasks to complete by specified dates to meet their scheduled closing date. Santa has a schedule he needs to keep if he is going to get all those toys delivered in one night.
2. Lists. Home buyers make lists of the wants and needs they have for a home. Not as exciting as Santa’s list of the nice and naughty but they are lists just the same.
1. Changes. After further consideration, home buyers often change the needs and wants on their list. Santa changes his mind too. Its when Santa checked his list twice that he remembered Bobby had put gum in Suzie’s hair and Bobby was quickly moved from the nice to the naughty list.
If you didn’t get a chuckle out of at least one item on the list, then please accept my apologies. My husband does say I am not as funny as I think I am.
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The Devil is in the Details
December 19th, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information | views
Have you ever heard the saying “the Devil is in the Details”? If not, loosely translated it means the difficult part is in all the small details. I don’t know who originated the phrase but it could have been by a Spring Texas Realtor right after she figured out there are 12 time specific tasks in our real estate contract and its addendums that need to be managed.
If the tasks are not managed and they do not get completed within the time specified there are repercussions that have to be paid. These repercussions can include financial penalties or they could cost you losing the house to another buyer or could get you sued by the other party due to contract default. Saying “I’m sorry. I was late” may work with your spouse but not with the other party in the real estate contract.
The most important date in our Spring Texas real estate contract is the effective date. Located on page 7, the effective date is the executed date of the contract. Although some of the tasks to be completed are date specific, the majority of the tasks are to completed within X days after the effective date.
To correctly determine the specific date a task in the contract is to be completed by is not difficult once you know two things. One … all days are calendar days not business days. Two … the first day begins the day after the effective date. For instance, if the effective date of your real estate contract is December 19th, 2009 and you the sellers have agreed to a 10 days termination option, your option period would end at midnight on December 29th, 2009.
If you forget the date your termination option ends or you miscalculate the date, you are plain out of luck because unlike your spouse, the sellers will not graciously forgive your mistake. The Devil …. is in the Details.
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Are fireplaces on their way out?
December 17th, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information | views
Recently I have seen new inventory homes built by Perry and Beazer that were missing a fireplace. I say missing but to Perry and Beazer the fireplaces were not missing. Because for something to be missing it would have been intended to be there in the first place … Right?
Both the Perry and Beazer sales representatives said buyers are not choosing the fireplace as an option when they build from dirt. It’s based upon this lack of buyer demand that they have made the decision to not build their inventory homes with fireplaces. I don’t know if Perry and Beazer are building inventory homes without fireplaces in all of the subdivisions they build in or just the ones I was showing homes in recently.
In Spring Texas our temperatures are mild year round and as such our fireplaces function more as decorations than they do as heat sources. So I can certainly understand a builder’s decision to either replace the expense of a fireplace with the expense of granite kitchen countertops or to eliminate the expense entirely and offer their product at a lower price.
Are we going to see more builders follow Perry and Beazer and build their inventory homes without fireplaces? In the lower price ranges, I think we will see more Spring Texas homes being built without fireplaces. Based upon the opinions of the buyers I have worked with over the last 12 months, fireplaces have become a “nice to have” feature and not a “must have” feature.
What are the features I am hearing buyers say are their “must haves”? Granite kitchen counter tops, tile floors, and stainless steel appliances or some are willing to settle for black appliances.
What does all this mean if you are thinking about selling your Spring Texas home in the near future? Buyers drive the market. The best way to get your house sold is to give the buyers what they want by having your home features match the features on the “must have” lists of buyers.
Fireplaces may be considered impractical in Spring Texas but I enjoy decorating mine for the holidays.
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Spring TX Real Estate: Market Report November 2009
December 15th, 2009 categories: Spring Texas Real Estate Market Reports | views
How’s the Spring TX real estate market? Are the YTD numbers still down compared to 2008? Is the market getting any better?
The Spring TX real estate market is still down compared to 2008 but in comparison to the first of the year the numbers are showing some significant improvement.
November 2009 YTD:
- Sales are 2,090 – down 11.6%
- Pending Sales are 985 – down 16.5%
- Active Listings are 804 – down 21.1%
- Months of inventory is 5.7 – down a full month or 15%
In comparison to the February YTD sales being down 29.8%, our November number of sales down 11.6% is an extreme improvement. A similar improvement is seen in the pending sales as the February YTD pending sales were down 33.5% while the November pending sales were only down 16.5%.
The good news continues with 21.1% less homes on the market this year than last year. Less homes on the market coupled with decent sales has reduced the months of inventory to 5.7 months and a return to a more balanced market between buyers and sellers.
The bad news is not all price points in the single family resale market are experiencing a return to a more balanced market. There are plenty of homes for sale at the $400,000+ price point with the months of inventory ranging from 9.6 to 22 months.
The extension and expansion of the home buyers tax credit coupled with low mortgage interest rates should continue to help the Spring Texas real estate market improve in 2010. Home sales in the $400,000+ price range will continue to struggle until the economy improves, unemployment declines, and consumer sentiment strengthens.
For more numbers, check out the Real Estate Market Reports category.
The data represented is from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the Houston Association of Realtors MLS for single family existing homes in Area 13. Area 13 covers the geographic boundaries of East – I45 to West – Hwy 249 to South – Beltway 8 to North – Spring Cypress. A good portion of the houses in MLS area 13 have a Spring TX mailing address
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Where are the best places to view Christmas lights in Northwest Houston?
December 12th, 2009 categories: Events and Activities | views
Our pick for the best place to view Christmas Lights in Northwest Houston is without a doubt the Prestonwood Forest subdivision. Known as the “Christmas Lights Neighborhood”, its continuation of a 31+ year tradition has become legendary.
Local newspapers and television stations, Southern Living , FOX News, and the Travel Channel have all written stories about or done programs on the Christmas lights adorning the homes in Prestonwood Forest.
Just about every home in the Prestonwood Forest subdivision of 750 homes gets involved in the Nite of Lites event. With almost every block in the subdivision choosing a different holiday theme. One of the themes is based on “The Night Before Christmas” in which each home on the block displays a page of the story.
The subdivision hands out awards for “Best House”, “Best Block”, “Runner-up Block”, “Best Mailbox”, “Best Door”, and “Best Lamp Post”
Estimations are around 15,000 people drive through Prestonwood Forest and view the Christmas decorations and lights display during the Nite of Lites event.
The 2009 Nite of Lites begins on December 12th and continues through January 3rd. The homes lights are on Monday – Friday 6 pm to 10 pm and Saturday – Sunday 6 pm to 11 pm.
The Prestonwood Forest subdivision is located South of Cypresswood about 2 miles East of HWY 249. If you need better directions, just click on the map.
The residents of Prestonwood Forest take their Nite of Lites event serious. So serious ….. that included in the sale of their homes are the Christmas decorations.
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Year end tax planning
December 10th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information | views
Although the end of 2009 is fast approaching there is still time for you to do some year end tax planning and save yourself some money. With all the press the homebuyers tax credit has received over the last year you may not have heard of the tax credits available for the installation of energy efficient products.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act provides tax credits of 30% of the cost up to $1,500 for windows and doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, water heaters (non-solar) and Biomass stoves. Before you run out and have all of the single pane windows on your Spring Texas house replaced, you will want to read the fine print on what products are considered “qualifying products”. You did expect there to be some fine print … didn’t you?
For more details on the tax credit and the qualifying products visit the Energy Star website.
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How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
December 8th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information | views
Spring Texas home sellers I am going to let you in on a little secret of how to increase your list price and attract more buyers. I know it sounds a little crazy but give me a chance to explain.
Pretend you are a buyer and go to any real estate website (Realtor.com, Trulia.com, HAR.com or JillWente.com) and search houses for sale in Spring Texas. Now further define your home serach by defining pricing parameters. Did you notice the options you were given for selecting the minimum and maximum prices for your home search?
The real estate websites either gave you defined pricing increments of $5,000 or $25,000 or you were able to input your own price range. Let’s say you are searching for homes priced between $135,000 to $150,000 and your husband is searching for homes priced between $120,000 to $135,000.
Put your seller hat back on now. As a seller you want to sell your house for the most money possible. The more exposure to home buyers your house receives the more demand it will create and the sooner it will be sold.
How should you price your home? The data of comparable homes support a list price for your house of $135,000. But $135,000 is a round number and real estate agents for years have told you to price it at $134,900 because it sounds cheaper.
In our scenario above of the husband and wife both searching on their own in different price ranges only the husband will see your home if you price it at $134,900. What if the husband does not like your home? At $134,900 it will not show up in the wife’s search for Spring Texas houses and maybe she would love your home.
With 87% of buyers using the Internet to search for homes, you need to make the Internet work for you and not against you. It starts with knowing how to price your home to get the most exposure from potential buyers.
What about thee old physiological pricing game of $134,900 sounds less than $135,000? It does not work today. Buyers are smart. They are not going to choose a $134,900 house over a $135,000 because it is a $100 cheaper. That pricing game only works for Walmart. You are not Walmart and you are not trying to get a buyer to make an impulse purchase of a package of tube socks for $9.99. You are selling a house. A place where someone is going to live and raise their family.
Increase your list price by the $100. You will attract more buyers and get your Spring Texas house sold sooner.
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Where to get great oysters on the half shell
December 6th, 2009 categories: Dining and Entertainment | views
Oysters on the half shell … it seems either people love them or think they are slimy inedible objects. I am one of those people who love, love, love oysters on the half shell.
Finding reasonably priced and good oysters on the half shell in Spring Texas is not quite as difficult as finding a pearl in an oyster but its close.
My search for good oysters on the half shell has ended with my recent discovery at Pappadeaux. On the criteria of taste, size, and price, they receive all “10″s from me.
The oysters are the right combination of silkiness and grittiness and are accompanied by the traditional cocktail sauce and a ponzu sauce. Their size vary from small to large. The Texas gulf oysters are currently on Pappadeaux’s menu at a can’t be beat price of $3.95 a dozen. A great price especially for the quality of the oysters.
Pappadeaux’s has two locations within 12 miles of my house in Spring Texas. Because of its upscale atmosphere my favorite of the two location is the Woodlands location at 18165 I45 Shenandoah TX 77385.
Just before I slurped them down, I took a photo of one of the two dozen oysters I enjoyed on our recent visit to Pappadeaux’s. The photo was taken with my iPhone so the the picture does not do the oysters justice.
Great oysters on the half shell at Pappadeaux is another reason to live in Spring Texas.
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Due to the new FTC regulations requiring bloggers to disclose any freebies or payments they receive for reviewing products I include the following:
Disclosure: Pappadeaux’s has not paid me to write this post about their oysters nor have they promised me any free oysters. Bummer!
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Breaking Records
December 4th, 2009 categories: Discover Spring Texas | views
On average it only snows in Spring Texas every 4 years that means anytime we do get snow it is a BIG deal. Even an outside chance of snow becomes front page news in the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
Today our weatherman’s predictions of snow came true and with it a record was broken. December 4th, 2009 will now be recorded as the earliest date on which snowfall occurred in Spring Texas.
All afternoon we were treated to a beautiful scene of snowfall. At times it was just a few flurries dancing around in the wind and at other times it was so heavy that it reminded me of the many winters I lived through in Illinois.
This evening the snowfall has stopped. The streets and sidewalks are wet but other than a few remaining snow flakes there is no accumulation. There is not enough snow to build a fort or have a snow ball fight nor is there enough snow to make a snowman or a snow angel and for many people in Spring Texas I am sure it is a disappointment. But not for me. I experienced too many cold and blistery winters growing up in the Midwest and I don’t want to experience any more.
Tomorrow the weather forecast is for a high of 51 degrees, sunshine, and no snow. Now that’s the kind of winter I like and if it nevers snows again in Spring Texas that will be just fine with me.
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The inquiring minds of buyers
December 3rd, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information | views
Spring Texas home buyers have lots of questions about houses and I suppose that is a good thing. There are numerous things about a house buyers should want to know because the answers impact the market value of the house. Questions such as “How old is the home’s water heater, roof, and HVAC system?” A home that has had its main components recently replaced is worth more than a home whose components are at the end of their useful life.
There are some questions that buyers ask which have no impact on the value of the house. Questions such as “Why are the sellers selling?”, “Where are the sellers moving to?”, and “What did the sellers pay for the house?”. Buyers don’t need to know the answer to these questions to determine the market value of the house. Comps are what buyers need to be evaluating and studying to determine the home’s market value.
But buyers get hung up on these questions especially the question of “What did the sellers pay for the house?”. What the sellers paid for the house last year or ten years ago does not matter. The comps are what matter.
Sellers on the other hand are just not as curious about buyers. Sellers don’t ask “Why are the buyers buying?” or “Where are the buyers moving from?”. All the sellers want to know is “Are the buyers pre-approved for a loan and do they have the financial ability to buy our house?”.
Read also:
- Top 10 mistakes homebuyers make
- What a sellers disclosure does not tell you
- The accuracy of your Spring Texas home’s Zestimate
- Spring TX real estate – How much did that house sell for?
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