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Plano Texas Real Estate Blog - Local Plano Real Estate.
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Do you know who is buying your home? Beware of Investors...
During the past several years in the Metroplex, Real Estate Investors have come in droves to purchase Real Estate and Homes in an under priced market, Our Market. Some of these investors are true investors meaning they have a portfolio of real estate that they buy and hold or let a property management company run for them. This is an investment strategy in addition to their retirement portfolio of stocks, IRA's etc.
Unfortunately, what we have seen lately are a lot of investors, who call themselves investors but are really part of a mortgage scam or a bad lease option scenario. What happens here is that they purchase a property on the market and ideally want to pay 20% less of market value, if you are desperate or getting ready to be foreclosed, they like to prey on you. They then will charge a 20% over market value to do a lease option with folks that can't qualify with a normal mortgage, and get them into a home they really can't
afford and then the home goes in foreclosure, could happen several times with the same house.
There are several neighborhoods in West Plano that have fallen victim to this trend. Watch for properties in the neighborhood, declining, ie. yard not taken care of, vacant, no activity. If someone needs help in selling their home because of job loss, etc. They should contact a realtor and try a short sale first, this can be a step that will be better for the owner, lending institution and new owner all around.
Do you know who is purchasing your home?
Watch for these signs:
1. Investor does not even look at your home
2. Writes an incomplete contract
3. Does not submit a financing addendum or pre-approval letter with contract
4. Does not perform to the contract by:
*not abiding by dates for getting earnest money deposited to title
*not closing on time
*not completing contract in a timely manner
*only use their title company
* they control the transaction
* no inspection
*very inflated appraisal
If you do not get an amendment to extend a contract, you have NO contract!
This scenario is a very stressful and unfortunate, if your price a property correctly in the first place you will not have to resort to this madness, these deals fall apart and it costs money and time for everyone involved.
Ask your realtor for help in this and make sure they are only representing you! Very Important.
If you know anyone that needs help, please let us know.
Sunday, 17 September 2006
What Do Agents Really Bring to the Table?
I hate going to the dentist. I've always had good teeth, only one cavity in my head, so why spend all that money (not to mention the dental insurance) on a service I've never really needed. As long as I brush and floss, why do I need someone with a doctor's degree to look over my teeth, clean them, whiten them, etc.?
Besides, I've pulled teeth myself -- when I was just a grade school kid, in fact. So if I can pull teeth at that age, with just a string and a doorknob, why on earth do I have to pay a professionally trained tooth puller now? As I reminisce on those days of my early tooth-pulling, I even recall getting paid for pulling my own teeth! That's right. Every morning after pulling my teeth, I had money under my pillow.
Obviously, anyone who has received quality dental care in the past sees right through the absurdity of this argument. However, when it comes to real estate agents, everyone wants them to provide their services for discounted prices – even free.
Licensed real estate professionals bring state-mandated training and knowledge to the table for buyers and sellers. In fact, agents have to get as much, or more, training than what it would take for some college degrees before being given permission by the state to represent buyers and sellers in the transaction.
By the time a transaction is over, it is chock full of legally-binding documents controlling the transaction, pulling two parties together to exchange hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete a transaction that they may be involved in only a couple of times in their life.
Both the buyer and seller must perform to the contract, and most times, they don't even know how or what they're supposed to do to perform the paragraphs they just agreed to perform.
Nearly half of the buyers are purchasing for the first time, according to the National Association of Realtors. They only think agents are there to usher them into houses and that's it. And that's because hundreds of thousands of agents make that tooth extraction look so easy.
Why should you have a real estate agent on your investing/buying/selling team when it comes to building wealth?
There's talk on Capitol Hill of how the real estate industry has a "strangle hold" on the business. It makes me want to, not so much defend, as much as bring to the forefront what licensed professionals actually bring to the table for consumers.
You've heard the term, "You get what you pay for," and that doesn't go wasted on agents as well. Many sellers would love to get through the transaction themselves, without any help from a "middle man," to save the commission dollars. It sounds like it makes sense, "Hey, why pay thousands of dollars of your money to sell a house when you can do it yourself?"
But every agent has a real estate license regulated by the state. This means they are knowledgeable about various aspects of real estate law, rules and regulations, such as:
- What rights exist for land and how they can be traded
- How title can be held and how to ensure clear title to the land
- Financing: traditional, non-traditional, owner-held, etc.
- Fair housing laws: federal, state and local
- Local limits on the sale and trade of real estate
- State disclosure laws and regulations on the trade of real estate
- Contracts and forms
Most sellers and buyers I've talked with, while having access to plenty of "information" on the internet about the sales transaction, do not have a handle on the nuances, pitfalls, and inherent dangers of legal problems they can face in the midst of this huge investment.
Written by M. Anthony Carr
August 25, 2006
Monday, 04 September 2006
These MLS Statistics are for 2nd quarter of 2006 by Zipcode for Collin County and a forecast of enviroment.
Labor Market for Collin County
In the first two months of the second quarter, 3070 jobs were added to the payrolls of Collin County. As a result of these new jobs, the average monthly unemployment rate fell from 4.1% during the first quarter to 3.9% for April and May. The strong employment climate may help to create demand for home purchases. Favorable mortgage rates should augment this trend.
| Zip Code |
Average Price |
Price Change
**** |
Total #
Homes Sold
(Quarter)
|
% Change in #
Homes Sold
****
|
Average Days
on Market |
% of Asking Price
(Sold/List
Price) |
|
75093
|
$444,500
|
-1.13%
|
259
|
-5.47%
|
41
|
97.4%
|
|
75024
|
$284,200
|
4.14%
|
136
|
-12.82%
|
37
|
98.1%
|
|
75025
|
$246,100
|
2.12%
|
329
|
17.08%
|
35
|
97.7%
|
|
75023
|
$179,700
|
5.21%
|
255
|
-1.54%
|
35
|
98.5%
|
|
75034
|
$355,200
|
7.28%
|
192
|
20.75%
|
71
|
97.2%
|
|
75035
|
$222,400
|
4.56%
|
351
|
12.86%
|
49
|
98.1%
|
|
75252
|
$317,500
|
2.78%
|
69
|
-8.00%
|
49
|
98.2%
|
|
75287
|
$453,200
|
29.12%
|
66
|
8.20%
|
54
|
97.4%
|
**** % Change of current quarter compared to the same quarter to year ago.
|
Housing Information Overload?
I Hear You!
Take a look at the monthly housing breakdown for Feb. 2013 for insight into the current real estate market. Every month new information will be posted as a trusted souce for excellent advice. Any questions about local real estate in Plano? Just ask us for expert advice.
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J.W. & Terry Smith
Common name, Uncommon service
Licensed Broker - Owner, TX Realtors®
Smith & Smith Realty
info(at)planohomesandland.com
| Real Estate Forms and Consumer Info | |
Property Tax Rates 2013
Plano 2.17%
Dallas 2.66%
Frisco 2.18%
Sales Tax 8.25%
Property Website
Just Listed! 3225 Oak Hollow, Plano, 75093 -MLS 11927773 - Hills at Prestonwood, Plano Schools, Hard to find 5 bdrm,4.1 bath, 4589 sq ft, .45 acre lot, pool & spa-Updated, Lux Spa Master Bath & Outdoor Livng Area--$629K, See more info on this property. Call or text for private showing, 214.415.9829
Should Texas Home Sale Prices be Disclosed?
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