Which Custom Houston Homes Have the Most Premium Price?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Market Analysis. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Recently, I had a client who was searching for a home ask me an interesting question. He asked if certain builders’ homes sold for higher prices than other builders’ homes.

This isn’t an easy question to answer, because many buyers who buy re-sale homes, even custom homes, have no idea who originally built the home. If the homeowner keeps the home updated and upgraded to the point where buyers form an emotional connection with it, typically those homes are all going to sell for the same price.

When you’re talking about brand-new homes, there are some builders that initially charge more than others. But really, it’s comparing apples to apples when you’re comparing custom homes. Whenever a buyer goes in, has an emotional connection, and can see great upgrades and updates in the home, it can sell for top dollar.

If you have any questions for us or are concerned with how your home will present to a buyer when you’re ready to sell, let me know. I can give you tips and hints to sell for top dollar in Houston. I look forward to hearing from you!

Are You Better Off with a Short Sale or a Foreclosure in Houston?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Market Analysis. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

A lot of people have been asking me about the differences between a short sale and a foreclosure. They are both different kinds of distressed properties, and I’ll tell you the difference today.

A foreclosure is a home that a bank owns because it was repossessed due to an owner’s inability to pay back a mortgage loan.

A short sale is a process in which a bank allows a homeowner to sell a home at less than what they owe the bank. This usually happens because of a drop in value.

I did a search this morning, and we are seeing more short sales and foreclosures because of the rise in prices in the area. I actually expect a 50-60% increase in the number of foreclosures. The market has been white-hot the past few years, and it’s simply time for it to cool down a little. No need to worry, though, our market is still very strong!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help buying or selling a home in Houston!

Are Houston Foreclosures Still a Good Deal?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Every so often, we have foreclosed homes that come onto our market, and there are always many different kinds of buyers looking to purchase them. A lot of them are wholesale buyers, looking to purchase a property, rent it out, and sell it. Then we also have the families, the everyday buyers, who are looking for a good deal and want to move into the property right away.

If you are a homebuyer looking at a foreclosure, it’s true that these homes will often be marketed at a discounted rate if they are in need of some improvements or other work. Some, if not most, of these foreclosures, wind up in a bidding process.

By the time the price gets bid up to an actual sales price, typically it’s not a good buy anymore because of all the time and effort that’s needed to make the home suitable for you to live in. However, people still flock to these properties because they are labeled as “foreclosures.” Usually, regular homes are every bit as good of a purchase. Foreclosures are essentially a mixed-bag, and you rarely know what you’re going to get.

If you have any questions about foreclosures, feel free to give me a call or send me a quick email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Changes Ahead in the Houston Lease Market

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Recently, someone asked me how the lease market will be in the near future, so I wanted to share my take on this market with you today.

In the last four or five years, many real estate investment trusts have come into the Houston area and bought rental property to lease. We also had a lot of developers come in to build apartment complexes.

Since apartment complexes take awhile to plan, construct, and open, those complexes will be coming online this year. In 2015, we will have 25,000 new apartment units in the area. These new units will put pressure on the lease market, particularly on lease values.

A lot of people will still move into the area, but it will be very competitive for landlords to get their properties leased. This will have the effect of decreasing rental rates by as much as 20% by the spring of 2016.

That being said, it's a great time to purchase rental property. Interest rates are so low right now that, even with the reduced rental market, you can still turn a positive cash flow.

If you have any questions on today's video, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What's the Secret to Flipping Homes?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Is there money to be made in flipping houses? The short answer is absolutely. However, you need follow a few rules in order to maximize your potential and make it worth it at all.

If you're going to try to flip homes, you should have your real estate license so you're not paying commissions whenever you're buying or selling a home. You also need your own rehab group; if you go out and pay retail prices for a rehab group, the chances are your profits are going to be eaten up.

The market is very competitive for homes that are perfect for flipping, so you need to make the buying, rehabbing, and selling aspects of each transaction as inexpensive as possible. You see a lot of shows on TV that make it look easy, but you have to remember that those are shows, not real life; that's just not the way real estate is really done.

There is absolutely money to be made in flipping houses, but you have to do it right! For more tips and advice, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to help!

Home Searching Online - Which Site Is Best?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

There are a few good websites out there, but which one is the best to search for a home on the Internet?

While Trulia, Realtor.com, and Zillow all feature available listings, these sites are not updated often enough. Zillow is the worst offender. They leave properties on the website four years after they have sold, which is pretty incredible.

I've recently developed a website that provides the most recent properties for sale. Simply go to DaleRoss.com. It is designed to make your home search easy. There is a drop-down menu of cities in and around the Houston metropolitan area, or you can search by price range. This site is constantly updated, and if you save a search, you will receive an alert when a home that matches your search criteria comes onto the market.

The website is DaleRoss.com. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

The Latest Trends in Houston Real Estate Market

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Today, I want to give you a late summer market update. Our sales are fantastic, and there are many buyers in the market.

The biggest difference between the market last year and this year is the number of sellers. We have about three times as many sellers today than we did in 2014. This is good news for buyers because there are more properties to choose from.

Days on market is up year over year, and the number of homes going off the market unsold is up by 70% as well. We're at the point where two out of every five homes on the market will not sell this year, which is a huge change from 2014.

As for interest rates, right now they are steady. There was a rumor that they would go up in September, but that remains to be seen. If interest rates do go up, I don't think there will be a huge impact on buying activity. However, higher interest rates will affect affordability for buyers.

If you have any questions about the Houston real estate market, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Do New Homes Need Home Inspections?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

 
A lot of people in Houston are out looking to purchase a home, and many will buy a brand-new home this year. When you're buying a brand-new home, the builder isn't necessarily going to be involved to the point where they make sure everything is done properly. Sure, they make sure the crew is instructed correctly, but I would say that about 95% of the time you will get a brand new home that has thousands of dollars worth of deficiencies before you even move in.

These deficiencies tend to show up in the same places. Sometimes there are places where eaves meet that aren't sealed, window lintels are not always installed properly, and appliance codes are always changing. 

If you're buying a brand-new home and the appliances aren't installed correctly, you are going to have to make those repairs. If you have an inspection done beforehand, you may be able to avoid paying for the repairs. Having things fixed before you move in ensures you won't have to worry about something going wrong as soon as you move in. In fact, builders often appreciate home inspections so they understand where their crews are messing up. 

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

How Much Should You Be Paying in MUD Taxes?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

In Texas, property taxes are how we fund the county, the schools, and the municipal utility districts. If you are located inside an area that supplies water to you, you will either pay a city tax or a MUD tax. The MUD taxes in particular vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and when you move from one water district to another, the taxes could vary quite a bit. 

Typically as a rule of thumb, the older the neighborhood or utility district is, the less expensive the tax rate will be. Whenever you are looking at homes in brand new neighborhoods, those property taxes will be much higher than they are in older areas.

One thing you need to make sure you do annually is protest your property taxes. If you'd like help doing this, let us know. We have had great success protesting property taxes in the past, and can offer you free, no-obligation advice and help to protest your taxes. 

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

What's the Difference Between a Mortgage Banker and a Mortgage Broker?

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

Hey everyone, thanks for joining me once again on my blog. Today I want to talk about mortgages, specifically, the difference between a mortgage broker and a mortgage banker. A lot of people have been asking me this question lately, so I thought today was an ideal time to clear the air about exactly what each of these people do. 

Simply put, a mortgage banker is someone who lends their own money, and a mortgage broker is someone who will find the best type of loan to suit your needs on the open market. In our opinion, mortgage brokers have a lot more versatility.

When you're choosing a mortgage company to finance your home, one important quality they should have is the ability to be reached on the weekends. Mortgage brokers are typically reachable on the weekends and after hours, because they are paid on a percentage basis. Mortgage bankers don't necessarily work the same way, and a lot of times are unreachable on the weekends.  Before you go out hiring the first mortgage broker you see, I invite you to interview a few possible candidates, so you have more than one offer to work with. 

There you have it, the difference between mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me via phone or email, and I will be in touch!

Why Is It Cheaper to Buy a Home Than Pay Rent?

          

Considering Buying? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're a prospective seller, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, feel free to call me at (281) 599-6575, or shoot me an email at rdr@daleross.com.

I had a customer ask me the other day about the rental rates for 2015. The market has been on a decline lately, with home rental prices dropping 20% in the last 2 years.
 
We can say that if demand continues to decline, and with the fact that we have a huge number of apartment units coming onto the market in Houston, things are bound to get weaker in the rental market. If you are thinking about leasing a home, it's still more expensive to lease than it is to purchase a home. Typically, mortgage payments can be as much as 40-50% of what your rent payment would be.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We are your best choice for all the latest real estate news and information in the Houston market.