Buyers & Mortgages, Dallas TX

One of the challenges Home Buyers are having with financing may be their own understanding or lack thereof about Mortgages.

In a recent survey done by research firm "Ipsos" for Zillow, a surprising number of incorrect answers to true or false questions were given by prospective buyers.

Over 3/4 didn't realize how the mortgage rate was determined for a borrower thinking that annual income was the most important factor. In addition to annual income, other considerations lenders evaluate are Credit Scores, Debt-to-Income and Loan-to-Value ratios.

A variety of myths seem to have influenced some of the common answers such as ... Interest Rates are set and released once a day; FHA Loans are for first-time buyers only; Prequalification commits the lender; Lender fees are not negotiable and Adjustable rate mortgages always go up.

Buyers' misunderstanding of actual mortgage practices may give some insight into why more buyers aren't taking advantage of the greatly reduced prices and incredibly low mortgage rates.

While getting solid information about mortgages and being pre-approved from a lender are very important, it is only one step in the home buying process. Success in buying a home in today's unique market should begin with a real estate professional that will coordinate all of the different parts of the transaction including mortgage, title, insurance and inspections. If you are interested in Buying a Home or know someone who is, I'd love to work with you!

Make your TEXAS House Energy Efficient

Raise your hands if you want to save some money. 

      

Duh, who doesn't! 

By making some changes in your house and in your habbits, you could save 30-40% on your energy bills. Here are some ways to do just that ...

 

As much as half of the energy used in our homes go to Heating and Cooling. By doing 2 simple & inexpensive things to our home's heating & air conditioning (HVAC) systems, we can have a big effect on our utility bills.

1-

 Check your filter every month, especially during winter & summer, if the filter looks dirty, change it. It's recommended to change your air filters at least every 3 months because a dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to warm or cool your house, thus wasting energy and $$$. 

2-

 Have your HVAC units checked by a professional twice a year (best done in Spring & Fall) ... to make sure all parts are in working condition & ready to go for Summer and Winter! Other ways to make our Heating and Cooling more Energy Efficient are to:

• Install Radiant Barriers, which can lower cooling costs between 5%–10%! It's usually in attics (on the walls & floor insulation) as well as around water heaters, pipes, & inside of garage doors. Basically, the Radiant Barrier "reflects" the heat to reduce summer heat gain inside the house, which helps lower cooling costs. Here's a great site for more info on Radiant Barriers & how it can be installed    http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11680 

• Replacing your windows with Energy Star Windows would be the best, but a great inexpensive alternative would be to Install Solar Screens on your windows, or at least the ones that get most of the afternoon sun. Solar Screens are the most effective window treatments that you can apply to your home for lowering energy bills. They essentially reflect the direct sun rays off the screen, create an extra area of shade between the window screen & window pane, and also absorb some of the heat in the screen material itself ... all while still allowing you to have a view out of your window. If you're in the Dallas/Ft Worth area or in Houston, I highly recommend Lone Star Solar Screens!!!

• Install a Programmable Thermostat & Use it Properly. Keep the temperature set at its "energy savings" set-points for long periods of time (~8-10 hrs). It's suggested that during the day, when no one is at home, set the temp back 8° F of what you'd like it to be when you get home in winter & set it 7° F up in summer. For the night, at bedtime, set the temp back 8° F in winter and set it up 4° F in summer. Here's a quick & informative video about Programable Thermostats  https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=vid_gallery.showGenYTVideo

• Apply Caulk and Weather-Strip around windows and doorframes that leak air.

Now that we talked about ways to lower your energy usage for Heating & Air Conditioning, the next biggest energy theives are the Appliances. Best thing to do here is replace them as needed with Energy Star Appliances. I recommend starting with the Water Heater. Speaking of water, if you install Energy Efficient Shower Heads you can save ~10,000 gallons of water a year! In addition, if you attach Low-Flow Aerators to your sink faucets, you can save ~4,000 gallons of water a year!

And last but not least, here are some super easy & inexpensive ways to save $$$ and make your house more energy efficient:

• Switch your Light Bulbs to those squigly "compact fluorescent light bulbs" (CFL). They now make them with a "cover" so you don't see the weird squigly bulb.
• Plug all major Electronics into a Power Strip & when you are done using the electronic, turn off the power strip. This is a great electricity saver especially for TV's & Computers.
• Unplug any Power Chargers/Adapters (like what you use for your cell phone) when the equipment is disconnected from the charger or when it's fully charged.

I hope you're able to implement some, if not all, of these suggestions to significantly reduce your home's energy useage, especially in the hot Texas summers, save lots of ca$h...all while doing a little more to help our world! REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE

To Buy a House ... OR ... Wait???

Uncertainty as to whether home prices in the Lake Ray Hubbard area will continue to fall has to be one of the most common causes buyers procrastinate. Price isn't the only factor to consider, Mortgage Interest Rates have as much effect on housing costs as price. 

A small increase in mortgage interest rates can offset a significant drop in home prices. If the price of the home were to come down by 5% but the interest rates were to go up by .5%, the payments might be close to the same. Here's something to think about ... 

• Let's say the price of $175,000 home went down 5%, making it $166,250, but the interest rate went from 4.75% to 5.25%. The payments would actually be $4.98 more at the cheaper home price.  
•  If while you were waiting for the home to decrease 5% and the interest rate increased by 1%, the monthly payments would actually be $55.30 more per month! 
•  Worse yet, especially in today's market, there is always the possiblility that the price of the home doesn't go down. However, the interest rates have steadily been increasing. If while waiting for the price to drop on this $175,000 house but it doesn't drop but the rates go up by 1%, the payments would be $104.58 more per month!

As a REALTOR in the Lake Ray Hubbard area, I can provide solid information that will help you make better buying decisions.  A home is an investment in your family and your future.  You owe it to yourself to check out the real numbers in your market because every market is different. Let me know how I can serve you or your referrals to better ... because NOW really is a GREAT time to BUY!

Sellers & Incentives to Buy

This is no doubt one of the Best Buyer Markets Ever! However, many sellers are not really doing much to encourage those wanting to buy to act now and buy their house.

According to the latest National Association of Realtors, "Home Buyers and Sellers Profile", 56% of sellers are not offering any incentives at all; only 25% offer a Home Warranty which is valuable but at an average cost of about $500, it probably doesn't do much to make the difference in the decision to buy or not. On the contrary, Builders selling newly built homes, offer a variety of incentives, like Upgrades, Seller-Paid Closing Costs, Interest Rate Buy Downs, Appliances or even Big Screen TVs.   

With the tougher mortgage conditions that exist today, buyers are looking for their best opportunity and will more likely than not, select the home with the most attractive incentives ... errrrr, Terms.

Whether selling or buying, today's complex real estate market requires a professional who can structure a transaction to benefit all parties involved and meet their needs. Let me know how I can serve you or your referrals to better understand the tax advantages, financing aleternatives & investent aspects of home ownership ... because NOW really is a GREAT time to BUY!

Easter Fun In Rowlett / Lake Ray Hubbard

Looking for some Easter fun around the Lake Ray Hubbard area? Well look no further, the Rowlett City Library (4000 Main St) is hosting their annual SPRING FEST &EGGSTRAORDINARY EGG HUNT this Saturday, April 16th!

  This is a Fabulously Fun Family FREE event! Be sure to bring your camera to take a picture with Easter Bunny & Dewey Duck. Then grab your basket and hippity-hop on over to hunt for20,000 filled Easter Eggs from 10:00a-12:00!

Finished hunting eggs? While outside, enjoy face painting, bounce houses & music to hippity-hop to. You can also hop into the Library and make Easter crafts, play the “Bunny Ears” ring toss game, & receive bunny teeth whistles, Peeps and more! 

Foreclosures in Lake Ray Hubbard Area - 2011

Foreclosures-Foreclosures-Foreclosures ... the housing market has been greatly affected by them for the past 3 years. However, with the controversey of foreclosure paperwork being a "rubber stamped" process at the end of last year and with it still being tweaked, the number of foreclosures on a national scale has continued to decrease. According to RealtyTrac's latest report, February saw a 27% decrease from February 2010. As of the end of February, RealtyTrac has Texas ranked as #23 with a total of 11,562 houses that are in the foreclosure process. 

So what does that mean for us in the Lake Ray Hubbard area? Like the national outlook, foreclosures are still affecting our Housing Market and the prices. See below to get a peak of the Foreclosures in your City.

GARLAND

2011 ... 112 Foreclosures are Currently on Market, 88 Pending Sale, & 91 Sold (Average Sale Price / SqFt $43.88) out of the 151 Total Sales (Average Sale Price / SqFt $66.49) 

ROWLETT & SACHSE

2011 ... 48 Foreclosures are Currently on Market, 55 Pending Sale, & 49 Sold (Average Sale Price / SqFt $55.97) out of 140 Total Sales (Average Sale Price / SqFt $71.91)

ROCKWALL

2011 ... 19 Foreclosures are Currently on Market, 17 Pending Sale, & 11 Sold (Average Sale Price / SqFt $54.76 ) out of 72 Total Sales (Average Sale Price / SqFt $83.96)

If you'd like to receive foreclosure information on a specific neighborhood let me know & I'll gladly share it with you. 

Lake Ray Hubbard Area - Market Report - Feb '11

Lake Ray Hubbard Real Estate Market Statistics for the snow ladden month of February are in and unfortunetly, the Market wasn't kind. Below are how the different cities fared compared to February 2010 ... But before you think of Doom & Gloom, you should know that despite the high number of foreclosures on the market, the average & median price of homes continue to increase in 2011! With that being said, it's important to remember that Pricing your House correctly from the get go is very important. If you price it higher than what it really should be at, you risk having it sit on the market for a long period of time, which unevidably leads to a lower sales price. 

GARLAND

Unfortunetly for the City of Garland, the Real Estate market really felt the effect of the cold weather! The number of New Listings dropped significantly from last year with only 218 compared to the 302 that were listed last year. Then number of reported closed sales were also significantly down by 25.4%! With that being said, it makes sense that houses were on the market for 122 Days until a sale. A big culprit for this could be the weather and less people out looking to buy, but I think the real issue was that homes weren't price properly. As a matter of fact, Sellers Received an estonashing 89.1% from their Original List Price!

ROWLETT & SACHSE

Rowlett saw fewer "For Sale" signs in yards during February as the number of new listings were down by ~20% with only 94 houses going on the market compared to the 118 that went up in 2010.  Though houses were on the market an average of 96 days, 18% longer than last year, the number of reported closed sales were slightly up by 2%. Rowlett Sellers received ~91% of their Original List Price.

ROCKWALL

Like Garland, Rockwall experienced a very cold Real Estate market as well. There were 164 New Listings compared to 202 that were listed last year. Though houses were on the market for a crazy 158 days, which was a 48% increase from 2010, the number of reported closed sales rose by 6.5% ... BUT ... Sellers Received an estonashing 89.7% from their Original List Price!

Housing prices are and will continue to INCREASE as the beautiful Spring & Summer months approach. If you're thinking of selling your house and want it SOLD, remember that you need to get it right the 1st time with the Listing Price and it's Presentation. I'd love to work with you to create a plan to help you achieve your housing goals. Give me a call/email to set up an appointment.