Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Home Equity is back in the great state of Texas. In Texas, 87% of homeowners have equity in their home, but only 37% know it. I spend a lot of my time talking with sellers helping them understand that they do have equity in their home. Why is having equity in your home a good thing? It’s important for several reasons. With only 37% of the people knowing about this home equity, the rest are missing out on a strong financial pillar they could use for them and their family. They can take out a home equity loan and use it in three major ways: Pay for college. Update your home. Kitchens always need updating. Ditto for bathrooms, bedrooms, fences, back patios, etc. “ Your home equity can help you pay for updates or moving into a bigger house. ” Move into a larger home. I’m currently working with two sellers who are going to take their equity and parlay it into their next property because the sizes of their respective families have changed. With interest rates holding steady below 4%, they’re able to take that equity and make it work for them by moving into a bigger house and moving into an area they want to be in. If you have any questions about your equity, please contact me at (214) 801-1393. I’d be happy to sit down with you and go through all of these scenarios in detail and show you how home equity can work for you. Remember, who you work with matters.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Before we talk about the brokerage services form, please note that this and all other real estate forms are available at trec.texas.gov. I would recommend researching this website before talking to an agent so you understand the difference between the IBS (information about brokerage services), the listing agreement (what you would use when listing a property), and the buyer’s representation agreement (what you use when you’re looking to have an agent help you purchase a home). Now, on to the brokerage services form. The main stipulations of this form include: The separate responsibilities between a broker and an agent. Namely, the broker is the one who holds your listing, while the agent is the one who represents you throughout the transaction. The requirement that all parties be treated “fairly and honestly.” The concept of an intermediary, or when the agent represents both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. How transactions should be handled and what information the agent should be communicating with you. If you’re working with an agent to purchase a home, that agent’s responsibilities are to share with you any material facts they specifically know about the home. “ The brokerage services form states the duties of an agent required by law. ” The minimum duties by law that the agent is responsible to their client for. Above treating everybody fairly and honestly, they want to put their clients’ interests above their own. It’s important that they communicate that information to you so you’re aware of everything that’s happening in that particular property. They want to answer all of the client’s questions and present any offer to you and explain the ramifications of what’s listed in the offer so you have a full knowledge of what’s going on and can make a good decision. Disputes. It’s important to have everything in writing both from an agent’s perspective and from a buyer-seller perspective so everybody’s aware of what’s expected and everything’s in writing. This helps prevent any miscommunication during the transaction and also makes for a less stressful transaction. I hope you found this conversation useful. Remember, trec.texas.gov is a good place to go for some good resources. If you have any further questions, feel free to call or send me an emai!l

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report One of the topics we get asked the most questions about by Northern Texas homeowners is the CMA. A CMA, or comparative market analysis, is used to get a valuation for a home you are thinking about selling. It comes up with the value by comparing it to similar homes that have recently sold in the immediate area. When we do CMA’s for our clients, we take the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, living spaces, amenities, and any additional features into account. We then go out in the marketplace to look for similar homes that have sold within the last six months to come up with an accurate valuation for your home. This valuation is important because it lets you know the price of your home going forward. “ A good Realtor can explain the ins and outs of your CMA. ” Many times agents will simply do a general market evaluation using recent tax data. Tax valuations tend to be a lot lower than your home’s true value (the value that you can actually sell for). It’s important for you to hire a dedicated Realtor who can help explain the ins and outs of your home's value, and find the best comparables for pricing. If you have any questions or you’re thinking about buying or selling in Northern Texas, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be happy to hear from you.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report I wanted to take a minute to speak about the importance of professional photos and videos when marketing your home. It’s important for several reasons.  There’s a difference between professional photos and standard photos; pictures shot by a pro bring out so many more interesting characteristics and show the buyer much more value. Potential buyers will place the value of the home on the photos they see. “ Pictures shot by a Pro bring out so many more interesting characteristics. ” With more than 90% of buyers starting their search online first, you want to be sure you have professional photos and videos in your listing. Additionally, professional photographers have an eye for what buyers are looking for. Whether they’re shooting a living room, game room, or backyard patio, they know how to frame photos to get the most out of the shot and out of that room to display the value to the buyer. If we can communicate the value and get them in the house, then they’ll see that the house really does have the value that we communicated to them online.  I hope you enjoyed this topic. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Remember, who you work with matters.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Northern Texas, you might be surprised to know how big of a role location plays in determining a home’s value. Here are four ways that having a good location can boost a home’s value: 1. Schools. Families seek out neighborhoods close to schools for obvious reasons. Living near elementary schools is especially ideal to parents who want to walk their children to school. From a value standpoint, a location close to a well-performing school is a good decision for a buyer. Living near these schools can increase a home’s value more than $200,000, according to CNN Money. 2. Being close to areas of convenience. This is also known as the “Starbucks Effect,” based on a study that showed living near a Starbucks between 1997 and 2013 saw homes appreciate by 95% vs. 65% for the rest of the country. Living next to grocery stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s increases a home’s value as well. “ Buyers are attracted to homes in a quiet location. ” 3. Being close to freeways. Having a location close to a major freeway can be a huge value to home buyers who want to cut down on their commute. If the home is closer to a freeway, that equals a shorter commute. 4. A quiet location. Houses that back up to things like nature preserves, hiking trails, or a creek offer a serene setting. Many buyers are attracted to these homes. Houses on golf courses have the same effect. We hope this information has been both beneficial and educational for you. If you have any questions for us or suggestions for future video topics you’d like to learn about, we would love to hear from you!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report What's the difference between Realtors, real estate agents, and brokers. A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent that belongs to the National Association of Realtors. It’s one of the largest trade groups in the entire country. They’re held to a higher set of standards and adhere to a code of ethics. Not all real estate agent are Realtors,  but most are. When hiring an agent, ask if they’re a licensed real estate agent. Some Realtors can also be brokers. Unfortunately, people misuse these terms all the time. There is a huge difference between being an agent and being a broker. Brokers typically manage the office and take care of daily operations; they might even own the entire business. Agents work underneath brokers as sales people. If you’re looking to buy or selling a Northern Texas home, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have real estate!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report  How should you prepare your Northern Texas home for a spring sale? Here are five things you need to do: Staging the home. Staging is important. First, examine the outside of the house. Make sure the grass is mowed and the shutters are in good shape. When buyers drive by your home, they should feel compelled to see the inside. To prepare the inside of your house, reduce clutter and depersonalize. Remove oversized furniture and personal photos. Staging the home helps them see it in the best light. Take professional photos.  Pictures are worth 1,000 words in real estate. 98% of buyers begin their home search online and we need quality pictures to attract them. Hire a professional photographer. They have the right equipment and the right eye to help your home stand out online. Studies show listings with professional pictures attract significantly more buyers compared to those without them. Look at absorption rates.  We compare your home to previously sold properties and others available on the market. This analysis indicates how long it will take to sell your property. Many sellers need to move into their new home within 60 to 90 days, so we can ensure you move on time as well. Consider competition.  Measure your house against what’s coming on the market and what’s currently on the market. We need to see how your property stacks up against the competition. Keeping track of comparable listings also helps us get the best price for your property.   Explore exposure.  We expose your home to the largest pool of buyers possible by using several different marketing strategies. We put our sign in the yard and list the property on the MLS, but we also add the property to our website and several others. We also have an incredibly strong social media campaign to attract as many buyers as possible. If you have any questions about today’s video, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Many buyers have been asking how long it takes to close on a home loan. Before we can answer that question, we need to dive into how the loan process works. What type of loan is the buyer getting? Are you getting a VA, a USDA, an FHA, or a conventional loan? There are a lot of different programs out there, and the length of time it takes to close on a loan varies depending on which you pursue. Who is the lender, and are they local? You want to have a local lender so that you can physically meet with your loan officer, deliver paperwork, and get immediate responses to questions you might have. There are many documents you’ll need to share with your loan officer. Doing it in person is the most secure and the easiest way to do that.   What is the lender’s track record? Most lenders will be rated, so make sure you don’t hire someone with a weak track record. We recommend hiring someone who was referred to you, or sitting down with your real estate advisor and having them recommend a few. That way, you can interview a few loan officers and select the one you’re most comfortable with. What is the turnaround time for the loan? A good lender will be able to give you an estimated time,  from the time they get all the paperwork, get the file complete, and turn it over to underwriting, to the time it will take to close. Most lenders have a timeframe for each loan, so they generally know how long it is going to take. What is the turnaround time for the appraisal? All lenders have to use an outside vendor to do appraisals, and you want to have an estimated time to know how long that appraisal is going to take. What can you do to help the process go smoothly? Whenever a lender reaches out to you for additional documentation, it’s important that you respond quickly. When they ask for more information during the process, it’s probably because the underwriter has requested it. The sooner you get information to your lender, the faster and smoother the process will go. If you have any questions about this topic, or if you have real estate questions of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to be your Northern Texas real estate resource, so we would love to hear from you!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Today we are answering one of the questions we get asked all the time by home sellers. The question is, “Should I be present when my home is being shown by an agent?” The short answer to this question is no, you shouldn’t. When you’re showing your home to a potential buyer, you want them to feel as comfortable as possible. If you’re there during the showing, it creates what we call “showing resistance.” This results in buyers being uncomfortable in the property, and not asking any questions or making any comments because they don’t want to insult your home. If you are there while buyers are viewing your home and they do make a comment, you’re going to have a tendency to want to argue or combat the comment. That’s not going to do you any good because all it’s going to do is drive away buyers and lose offers. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to hear from you!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report Is buying a home better than investing in a 401(k)? Today, we’ll go over some of the pros and cons of  purchasing a home of your own compared to investing in a 401(k). Pros Your housing costs will be locked in. Other things in your budget will fluctuate month to month, but this will be consistent in your budget. Owning a home is great for savings. Owning a home helps you create a budget and stick to it on a monthly basis. Great tax advantages. As long as you own the home, you will get those tax advantages. Cons You will tie up some assets. Maybe you don’t want to concentrate all those assets in one place. You will have monthly or yearly expenses to pay for. Take things like lawn maintenance and repairs into consideration. Maybe you’re not prepared for those yet. Your stress can get in the way. Buying a home can be an extremely stressful process. These are just some of the pros and cons you should consider if you’re thinking about contributing to a 401(k) versus buying a house. Ultimately, it depends on your individual situation. Some buyers opt to go $10,000 or $15,000 below budget when they buy a home so they can still contribute to a 401(k).  If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!