Archive for Buyers
Appraisals, Appraised Value, and the Fair Market Value of Your Home
How many different ways are there to determine value?
The words appraisal and appraised value are thrown around a lot in real estate. You’ll hear them non-stop when you buy or sell a home. Add in fair market value (sometimes just said as market value and suddenly your faced with a swirling cloud of [...]
The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Is Winding Down
April 30th is approaching fast.
** UPDATE July 2, 2010 – Congress separated the first time home buyer tax credit and National Flood Insurance Program extensions from their original bill and passed them as H.R. 5623 and H.R. 5569 respectively. President Obama signed them into law on July 2, 2010. **
** Please note: the first [...]
Targeting Your Online Home Search
Zeroing in on the perfect home.
Most of you reading this blog who are actively thinking of buying a home, will probably search online through hundreds of homes before ever contacting an agent. The internet has completely revised the way we search for homes – even I went online before contacting an agent when I [...]
Paying More Than Asking Price For Your Home
How much is too much?
You’ve found the perfect home. It’s perfectly priced (and your agent agrees whole-heartedly). There’s one problem. There’s an offer on the table already. Welcome to the fun world of guessing what the other offer looks like. It’s an age old real estate tradition rooted in three [...]
Building A New Home In San Antonio? Consider this…
A Question I Hear A Lot
Being a Realtor® in San Antonio, I spend a lot of time looking at new homes and getting to know the different builders and neighborhoods. I enjoy this work immensely, but more often than not, I hear the same question from buyers looking to build a new home: do [...]
“No Strings Attached” Real Estate
Strings? What strings?
While reading a recent comment by a fellow Realtor® on another site, I noticed their use of the phrase “no strings attached.” Immediately, my mind shifted into consumer mode and thought, “well if they’re selling real estate with no strings attached, what are the other Realtors® doing?”
Maybe I was just being [...]
Showing Homes to a Buyer: What They Want to See.
I’ve this great house to show you…
When you’re buying a home, you will inevitably go through the process of viewing multiple homes with your agent. Every agent differs on how they like to show homes and every buyer wants to see specific things that another buyer many not. We know the basics of [...]
San Antonio First Time Home Buyer or Just Preparing Your Taxes?
Death, taxes, and keyword searches.
San Antonio is searching for info on the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and based on the keywords being used, I have to wonder…are we preparing for a new wave of first time home buyers or just seeing a run up to April 15th, with buyers getting a head start [...]
More About Dual Agency In Texas aka Intermediary
A bit of followup.
When I wrote my post about dual agency, “Dual Agency, Double Commission, and a Bad Idea For You.,” I was reacting to some of the posts I had been reading recently and wanted to give my opinions to my readers. This time, I’d like to discuss Texas’ version of dual agency [...]
Dual Agency, Double Commission, and a Bad Idea For You.
Who represents who?
In several real estate industry blogs and forums, I’ve been seeing a lot of mention of dual agency lately. Whether dressed in fancy terms, disclosed or undisclosed, there is only one reason for dual agency – double commission for the listing agent. In Texas, we call it “intermediary” and it is [...]
