I’m not talking about me.

I had this is my drafts folder and thought I had already posted it – oops. You’ll see why that’s an important fact in the next post.

Recently I’ve been working on a transaction with some clients and the process has been a little rough at times. Unfortunately, we’ve been using a special loan program that is frustrating and painfully slow at times. In the end, it will be a giant coup for my clients, but let’s just say we’ve jumped through more hoops than a circus performer to make things happen. But this isn’t about me, or them. It’s about the listing agent and his hard, diligent work through the process.

I’ve always been fond of saying “I’m not here to make friends,” in reference to relationships with other agents during a transaction. They have a job to do and a client to protect. I have the same. I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and tell someone what’s on my mind when necessary. Of course, I don’t approach the transaction with an adversarial tone and I’m all for two agents working together for a common goal – the sale of a home. I don’t want to fight or argue, but…if push comes to shove, my clients will always come first.

Some agents though are agents I’d love to work with again. In this case, Rick Shumake of Masterworks Real Estate Services, is that guy. When we ran into a delay caused by the lender, we immediately worked it out and came to an agreement for the clients, when we hit a second delay, it was the same friendly conversation with both of us looking out for our clients’ best interests. Problem solved. Quickly and efficiently.

Working with a good agent can mean the difference between success or failure when there are delays or any unexpected hiccups in a transaction (and despite all our best efforts, they do happen from time to time). No matter who you choose as your real estate agent, choose wisely. It can make all the difference to your sanity at the end of the day.

photo courtesy of stevendepolo

My clients know these well.

Being a home buyer requires quite a lot, particularly if you’re a first time home buyer. Money, patience, phone calls, showings…the list is rather long. My job as a Realtor® is to keep it all flowing smoothly and help those clients through the home buying process, but there are some things that I’ve learned by watching my clients – things you can do to make yourself a great home buyer. Although some of them may seem a little basic, they’re often forgotten and in the whirl of excitement that is home buying they can be completely overlooked. There are times when it’s best to step back and think about the small things. So here they are: 10 Ways to be a Great Home Buyer.

1. Know how to laugh, it relieves stress. – You’d be surprised what a little brevity can do in a stressful situation.
2. Be interested in the process. Learn. – Chances are you’ll buy more than one house in your lifetime. The more you learn in the process the better. There’s a lot going on, so don’t feel overwhelmed, but take the time to understand the process and you’ll enjoy it much more.
3. Take notes, keep them in a folder. – After you’ve visited a few homes they have a tendency to blur together. The more organized you are about your home search, the easier it is to make a decision when you’re ready.
4. When a underwriter asks for something, have it ready (being a mind reader helps). – During the loan process, the underwriter inevitably will ask for paperwork…don’t ask why, just get it to them. Make their job easy and your loan process will run smoothly. Frustrate them and things can get very slow.
5. Ask questions. Ask more. – Unless your favorite question is “Why did I hire you?,” most Realtors® love to answer questions. I think it’s in our nature to want to help buyers understand the home buying process. If your agent is annoyed by questions, I’d suggest you hire a new one. Same goes for lenders.
6. Save everything after you buy your house – surveys, floor plans, inspection reports, etc. – You never know when you’re going to need them. (Of course, if you’re my client, you can always call me and I can pull the file for you.)
7. Be patient. – There are quiet times in the process where it seems nothing is happening. Take a deep breath, those quiet times often means everything is going smoothly.
8. Don’t let an offer consume you. – This is easier than it sounds. If a seller turns down your offer or someone else gets the house, it can feel devastating. We’ll find a better one, it’s a strange law of nature, but it happens every time.
9. Talk to your Realtor®. Let them know how you’re feeling. – Your agent should be asking questions and learning about you, but there are times when our mind-reading skills are just not up to par. Tell us what’s going on, the more we know, the better we can help you.
10. Dream big, spend small. – Just because a lender approves you for the biggest house on the block, doesn’t mean you want to spend every nickel they’re willing to lend you. Know your limitations and spend within your comfort zone.

photo courtesy of billsoPHOTO

Finally.

I feel like it was months ago that I wrote excitedly about my new partnership with Diverse Solutions to provide San Antonio with a new real estate search function on this site. The process took a little longer than expected (the system set up has to be approved by the San Antonio Board of Realtors®. They approved it and I now have all the code necessary to bring you the best real estate search in San Antonio. Expect to begin seeing changes throughout the day as I tinker with the layout and functionality.

Today I will begin the installation and configuration process, so you’ll be able to get back to doing what you love – searching for homes in San Antonio! Of course, this will also require me going through and finding old links and mentions of the search section in order to clean them up and redirect them to the new San Antonio home search. I hope you’ll enjoy the new set up (they just released an upgrade as well and I think it looks spectacular)!

photo courtesy of Daniel Dionne

Heed this advice – it could save you a lot of money.

This question comes up time and time again in talking with clients thinking of buying a new home. One thing I notice is that many buyers of newly constructed homes are looking to save a little money as they are spending a large sum today, for a house they can live in tomorrow.

Which costs more: a stage-by-stage inspection or finding out the foundation guys didn’t let your foundation cure properly?, an electrician who had a “few too many” the night before forgot to cap a wire and it didn’t get caught by the building inspector (who inspects thousands of these exact same homes and sometimes doesn’t do much more than a quick walk-through)…sheet rock goes up and that loose wire burns your home down one night while you’re out?, or (and this happens often enough that it shocks me) while insulating the exterior walls of your home, someone “forgets” to do one of the walls.  Years later while you’re replacing the siding you realize why you electric bills were so high.

These little missteps can cost you big dollars down the road.  Even the best builders make mistakes.  Having a stage-by-stage inspection done by a qualified inspector who works for you (and not the builder) is crucial to having the best home you can have.

Builders do inspections in stages too, but remember those inspectors (although meant to be impartial) do these all day for the builder – they are on the builder’s payroll.  They are not looking for the long term business, because they already have that with the builder.  Much like a real estate agent, a good inspector wants your business today and tomorrow, so they should be doing an amazing job today, so you’ll think of them in the future when you buy another home.

Let me sum it up for everyone:

Do not rely on a builder’s inspections.  Hire an inspector and tell them you want a stage-by-stage inspection of your new home as it is being built.

If you’re a home buyer in San Antonio and are thinking about new construction, call or email me and I will be happy to give you the names of several qualified inspectors to choose from.

photo courtesy of blmurch

This article originally appeared on my ActiveRain blog, San Antonio’s Rockstar Real Estate Agent on October 4, 2009 in response to a post by Metrowest Massachusetts Realtor® Claudette Millette.

San Antonio real estate search returns.

You may recall that my San Antonio real estate search has been down for awhile after the company I had partnered with closed up shop. After a lengthy search of the various real estate search products out there, I have chosen to work with Diverse Solutions and begun the set up process. Their map-based search solution is hands down, the best real estate search available today.

I expect to have the system up and running by the end of the week. It’s a lengthy approval process in which I have to send various forms to the San Antonio Board of Realtors® for signatures and sign offs, but once that is complete, I should be up and running in no time. I hope you’ll enjoy searching the San Antonio MLS and finding your new home on this site!

photo courtesy of Las Valley 702

Alamo Ranch at your fingertips.

If you’re looking for information on 11935 Travis Path, San Antonio 78253 or the neighborhood of The Hills at Alamo Ranch, let www.11935TravisPath.com be your guide. In addition to having the most up-to-date information on this fantastic home, the site also features info on local schools, businesses, San Antonio real estate market reports for the area, maps, and neighborhood information.

This single property website is one of the many benefits I provide for my clients as a way to maximize their exposure on the internet. By providing more data than any other source, we are able to focus the potential buyers not only on the home for sale, but also the entire neighborhood experience. If you’re thinking of selling your San Antonio home, give me a call or set up an appointment today. When we will meet, we will discuss my detailed comparative market analysis showing you the value of your home, answer your real estate questions, get to know each other, and take a look at how your how will be marketed to get the best results.

Let’s start building www.YourHomeHere.com today…

Mistakes in Bexar County tax records.

In two separate cases this week, I have found mistakes made in the Bexar County Appraisal District’s records on San Antonio homes owned by my clients. Both mistakes could lead to trouble down the road for my clients if they chose to sell their homes, so I thought I worthy to mention. In Bexar County, our property tax (also know as ad valorem tax) data is available to the public via the Bexar Appraisal District website and your San Antonio real estate agent uses it to help determine many things (one of which should not be the fair market value of your home).

Case #1: Who owns the home?

In the first mistake, the homeowner is improperly listed. Bexar County Appraisal District records show that the property transferred from the seller to the buyer (my client) and back to the seller once again a few days later. The BCAD records clearly show the seller as the owner of the home.

Solution? The homeowners will have to contact the Bexar County Appraisal District and get them to correct the owner’s information. Unfortunately, data entry is not top priority on the tax man’s list. I have seen many cases of bad data entry in the appraisal district property tax information.

On a side note, BCAD recently sent someone out to this client’s home and took some measurements. Bexar County has been increasing their research on homes recently; looking for mistakes, miscalculations, and home improvements and additions. The better their data collection, the more their tax appraised valuations will be inline with the true value of the home (ie, there are some homes that haven’t been checked in so long, their taxes are way out of line with what they should be).

Case #2: That doesn’t describe my home.

In the second mistake, the home described in the Bexar County Appraisal District does not match the home’s details. The client’s home is listed with the wrong amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as being almost 1,000 square feet off the mark. As we base part of our pricing and determination of fair market value on square footage and recently sold home comparisons, this can make a huge difference. Imagine if homes in your area are selling for $80/square foot and data publicly available shows your home is 1,000 square feet less than it truly is. That’s $80,000 in value that would be missing from your home because of a data entry area.

Solution? We will use a form called a “Notice of Information From Other Sources” to show that the data is incorrect and we have supporting evidence of the correct information. We researched the problem and it looks like the builder initially entered the wrong information into the MLS and that information spread to BCAD. We will provide builder plans and other information to show that the home is indeed almost 1,000 square feet larger than the tax valuation shows it is.

Check your information on BCAD.

You should check your information and tax valuation on the Bexar County Appraisal District’s website at least once a year to be sure that the data is correct, as well as looking at any fluctuations in the tax valuation of your home. As Texas is a non-disclosure state, these fluctuations can at times seem arbitrary and flat out wrong. You have a right to protest your property taxes in San Antonio and Bexar County and it’s something a lot of homeowners don’t know (I’ll be posting about this in the near future).

photo courtesy of Corey Leopold

Realtors®, Realtors®, Everywhere.

In yesterday’s post about where to start when buying a home, I spoke about some of the bigger real estate search sites. Today’s post is about finding and choosing the Realtor® that’s right for you. Since you’ve found your way to this site, you know that it’s easy enough to find a Realtor®, as I say in the video – we’re everywhere. The key is finding the best agent that works best with you.

Related post: How to choose the Realtor® that’s right for you.

Review sites: Incredible Agents and Yelp.

Review me at: Incredible Agents (Matt Stigliano) and Yelp (Matt Stigliano).

photo courtesy of mikeporcenaluk

I know where to finish, but where do I start?

We all have our own methodology to any given task. Some are organized, some like to fly by the seat of their pants. When it comes to buying a house, a common question is “where do I start?” Thanks to the internet, there is rarely a lack of information on a given subject and real estate is no different. From lists of homes for sale to blogs (like this one) about local areas, real estate news, and the issues that affect home owners and sellers – there is a resource for just about everything. While I have seen some of my fellow agents worry about the dearth of information available (as well as misinformation, something I fight against every chance I get), I embrace it and hope my future clients will come to me armed to the teeth with knowledge and questions. This is where I thrive.

When you make the mental decision to buy a home, there are a million starting points and at times, too much of a good thing can lead to a frustrating sense of information overload. Based on my own personal experiences and talks I’ve had with clients, here are my thoughts on where to start when you’ve decided you’re ready to buy a home.

The World Wide Internet Google Web.

Everyone’s looking at houses on the internet. It’s a fact. You’re no different. Go. Look. Search. Find. Dream. At this point, your thought of buying a house is not a tangible asset, so why not experiment. Sure, you may not be able to afford that million dollar mansion, but you might discover a new area of town. You may not have a need for a horse farm, but who knows, you may have found your calling. Buying a home is both a financial decision with a future goal of appreciation and a place for you to live your dreams, whatever they may be. There’s nothing wrong with picturing where you want to be in life. You may not buy that million dollar mansion today, but you may find yourself working toward that goal in the future. I look at houses I can’t afford all the time. Each one of them brings me closer to my goals though – they create the desire within that fuels my quest to one day achieve that goal. Be a dreamer, but know that reality will dictate your purchase today.

There are many sites with which you can start your dream home search, here are my thoughts on a few of them.

REALTOR.com – A household name when it comes to searching for homes, this site typically has the most accurate and up to date information on homes for sale, but there is a downside (isn’t there always?). Listings are feed to REALTOR.com from our local boards and associations, but the site does not list all the info…unless we as Realtors® pay extra. Unfortunately (in my opinion), the National Association of Realtors® sold the website to a for-profit company years ago and their method of generating cash-flow is to take the listings that we enter in our local MLS and sell us upgrades to them on their site. While our local MLS allows for twenty-five photos, REALTOR.com will not show them all unless we pay to upgrade our listings on their site. If you’re looking for photos, video, and lots of detailed information, this may not be your best bet. We could have a very long conversation about REALTOR.com as it pertains to agents and their listings, but we’ll save that for another day.

Overall thoughts: REALTOR.com’s interface has improved over the years, but the ad-heavy pages are distracting and with emphasis being placed on homes and agents that pay for advertising, you may find yourself digging if you’re looking for less hype and more real estate.

RE/MAX of Texas – Once again, the aesthetics of the site don’t quite do it for me and the large banner ad topping the search is distracting. When conducting a general search (San Antonio, TX), the initial properties that show up in the search are commercial properties, which is great…if you’re looking for a location for your new restaurant. RE/MAX is quite comprehensive in terms of listings, but as a quick search for some ideas on new homes, I question whether that comprehensive data is a good thing or just frustrating to the user. For reasons of full disclosure, I feel it necessary to mention that I am an agent with RE/MAX Access.

Overall thoughts: I like that RE/MAX of Texas brings up a map as its default setting (I’m a visual kind of guy). RE/MAX does a good job of being comprehensive in showing commercial and rental properties, I’d rather not have them show as defaults.

Trulia – Trulia is one of the better sites as far as user interface and overall look and feel. Trulia uses ads, much like the other sites, but they’re not plastered across the top of every page and are much less intrusive. The trouble with Trulia? When conducting a general search (San Antonio, TX), the initial properties that show up are all builder’s new homes. The lack of photos and the use of generic artist renditions is frustrating, because in many cases, they represent multiple models and may not be true to form for the home listed. In addition, on new homes, in my experience, the data is often vague as the address may not be the actual home for sale, but rather the listing is used to entice you to visit the builder (if you haven’t read my posts about working direct with the builder, I suggest you read “Building A New Home In San Antonio? Consider this…“).

Trulia has also had trouble with poor data; I have seen misplaced listings, homes that have been off the market for months still listed as active, homes listed at the wrong price (a mansion for $10,000), and (sadly) bait and switch tactics using HUD Homes (where an agent listed a HUD Home that was no longer on the market, as well as used photos of one home and an address of another). It might help you to know that any agent can advertise HUD Homes and the incorrect listings I mention were not the result of an shady dealings on the part of HUD or the local broker who works with them. Trulia is quick to fix the errors and outdated listings when reported, which I do quite often when I see poor or misleading data on the site.

Overall thoughts: If Trulia could somehow control the erroneous and out-of-date information on their site and push builders and RealtyTrac (who they get foreclosure data from) to provide them with more precise data, I think Trulia could be a powerhouse in the long term. Trulia Voices is a topic for another day, but it is worth pointing out that there can be valuable information in there, if you know what to look for and how to avoid some of the pitfalls of throwing an open ended question to the Voices community.

Zillow – Zillow started with a focus on home valuations, but has moved into the listing game over time. My opinion is that Zillow can provide more value to sellers rather than buyers, but I still disagree with their valuation model, especially here in Texas. As Texas is a non-disclosure state, Zillow lacks the access to public sales data that helps fuel their valuations. Even in states that do disclose prices of real estate post-sale, I have heard from local agents that Zillow can vary wildly in accuracy.

Overall thoughts: Zillow was a favorite of mine when it first arrived on the scene, but as I worked with it (and wound up becoming a Realtor®), I found it to be too inaccurate, especially when it comes to San Antonio real estate. The trouble is, you just can’t plug numbers into an algorithm and get a home’s value. Although those statistics and numbers are the core of any comparative market analysis, the first hand knowledge of local market conditions can not be discounted.

Search and look, but remember this.

On most sites, there will be the potential for inaccurate data, out of date listings, and homes that might not be on a particular site but could be found on another. I recommend you use these sites (and any real estate search site) as a reference and not a be-all end-all. Use them to generate ideas, thoughts, and make lists of neighborhoods (and potential homes); but remember the dangers of using each – imagine falling in love with the perfect home from one of those sites, only to be told it sold months ago. Not fun. Use them to gather your thoughts and begin building your idea of the perfect home and then (you knew I would have to throw it in here) contact me and let’s talk about your next home.

In Part II, we will discuss selection of Realtors® and lenders…

photo courtesy of twid and screenshots courtesy of the respective sites and their owners

VIP: Access All Areas

As I have been going through my business preparing for the coming year (yeah, it’s actually not that far away), I have been focusing on continuing to improve the service and value I provide to San Antonio home buyers and sellers. One of my core focuses in the coming year will be a commitment to continue to help my clients long after they’ve completed their purchase or sale, something I feel I have not been as consistent at as I want to be in order to provide the “all access to San Antonio real estate” experience. Without my clients, I’m just a former-rockstar that knows a lot about real estate and has a blog. Although that’s a cool title to have, it’s not what I’m after. I intend to leave a mark on the real estate industry, particularly that of our local San Antonio market, and without my clients, I can not do this.

For my current and past clients…

One of the new features I will be debuting is a private email address for all former and current clients. This new email address will give those clients the quickest access to me when they have a question or need to speak with me about their home. By separating my email addresses, I can guarantee quick response to clients no matter what my inbox looks like (there are times when there’s a lot of email to sort through). These past and current clients will be given VIP Access (in the music industry we call it AAA – Access All Areas) to me no matter where I am and assures them that they will be taken care of immediately.

For non-clients and future clients…

This new VIP Access Email does not mean that you will be forgotten or ignored. It is just my way of thanking those that have gotten me this far in my real estate career and giving them my best, long after the transaction. You can easily join these VIPs – all you need to do is list your home with me or buy your next home with me as your agent. Don’t just hire me as your agent to get the nifty new email address though, obviously you want to hire me because you see value in what I do and that I will represent you to the fullest in your sale or purchase. Have questions? Want to get to know me? Need real estate advice and opinions? Ready to get started? Schedule an appointment with me and we’ll discuss your real estate needs, how agent-client relationships work in Texas, and what I can do to help you reach your real estate goals.

A final word of thanks.

It’s almost Thanksgiving, when everyone starts thanking everyone and I’m no different. I’d like to thank those of you that have put your trust and faith in me as your agent, as well as those that have become regular readers of this site. I’d like to thank those that commented, emailed, or called me with questions or thoughts based on something they read on the blog and I’d like to thank those that referenced my posts on their own sites or spread them around through social media and email. So thanks everyone – I appreciate all that you’ve done to help me build my real estate business in San Antonio. We’ve only just begun…stay tuned to watch and help it grow.

Clients: You will be receiving information on the new Client VIP Access Email in a few days, so watch your inbox and I’ll speak to you soon.

photo courtesy of AlishaV