Houston Real Estate Podcast with Dale Ross

Is the Houston Market Starting to Balance Out?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Fri, 26 May 2017 12:55:00 -0700

The Katy real estate market has come alive! There is good news for both buyers and sellers, and I’m happy to report that we are in a balanced market.

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Real estate in the Katy area has come alive since the middle of January, and there is a lot of good news for buyers and sellers alike.

Interest rates have gone up about four or five times since the beginning of the year and are expected to continue to rise. While that’s not so great for buyers, the good news is that interest rates are still below 5%.

The number of home sellers continues to decline, and there is less pressure from other sellers in the market. We still have about three to four buyers for every seller on the market, so there is still pressure on home prices. You have to be competitive when you put your home out there on the market or it’s just not going to sell.

Some houses are getting multiple offers & selling above list price.

We are seeing some fluctuation in home prices. It’s getting to the point that whenever a seller puts a home on the market at a price point that the buyer agrees upon, we’re seeing multiple offers again. In some cases, homes are selling above list price, which is great since they were selling below list price for the last five or six months.

Ultimately, we have a balanced market right now. We are extremely excited about what’s happening in 2017, so if you have any questions about navigating our real estate market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Do You Need a Survey When Buying a New Property?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 08:43:00 -0700

Do you need a survey when buying a property? I’ll go over the answer today.

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Recently, a client of mine asked, “Do I need a survey when I’m buying a property?”

Need is a strong word, but I highly recommend getting a survey. In today’s market, you’re actually able to obtain a past survey from a seller. The seller has to sign a T-47 affidavit, which states that nothing has changed or been added since the last survey. Unfortunately, sometimes a change or addition can slip the seller’s mind, like replacing a fence. In my opinion, it’s always best to get a new survey done with every new transaction.

A survey is not required unless you’re obtaining a mortgage to purchase a property. If you pay cash, a survey is not required, but the boundaries of the property are still mentioned in the title commitment. The survey must coincide with the boundaries mentioned in the title commitment, so whether you are getting a mortgage or paying with cash, getting a survey done will make things go much smoother.

When a surveyor goes out to measure a lot, they make sure the building lot has not been encroached, the fence is on the property lines, and they make sure that any additions such as a pool or covered patio are not encroached on the easements.

Always get a new survey to make sure you don’t run into any issues down the road.

Although many agents recommend using an old survey, I’m not one of them. Always get a new survey to make sure you don’t run into any issues down the road.

If you have any questions about this topic or if you’re curious about a different real estate topic, feel free to reach out. If I choose your question to answer in a video, I’ll send you a gift card to Fleming's Steak House!

As always, if you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Is a Contingency Purchase Agreement a Good Idea for a Seller to Consider?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:18:00 -0700

If you’re a home seller, accepting a contingency purchase means you have to take certain things into consideration you otherwise wouldn’t have with a normal offer.

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Today I want to cover the basics of a contingency purchase and how it differs from a regular purchase if you’re a home seller.

A contingency purchase is when a buyer for your home has a home they have to sell before they can close on your home. There are both good contingency purchases and bad contingency purchases, but I would never recommend that you accept a contingency purchase as long as your buyer’s home is not on the market. If their home is on the market, I usually investigate the buyer of the home they’re selling and their qualifications and advise my client on how to proceed from there.

After you accept a contingency purchase, you have the right to accept other offers, but that typically doesn’t happen very much. Buyers tend to shy away from homes if they’re already under some kind of contingency agreement. By accepting a contingency purchase, you’re basically taking your home off the market.

By accepting a contingency purchase, you’re taking your home off the market somewhat.

If you’re considering accepting a contingency purchase, there are many different aspects you must weigh. If you find yourself in this situation or you have any other real estate questions you’d like to see me discuss in a future video, please don’t hesitate to call me or send me an email. If I use your question, you will receive a gift card to Fleming’s Steakhouse.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Some Exciting Developments in the Real Estate World

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Mon, 6 Mar 2017 09:13:00 -0800

I’ve got two exciting announcements to share today. Here’s the big news.

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I’ve got a few exciting pieces of news to share with you today.

First, I have partnered with a vendor who will allow you to make upgrades and updates to your home before selling and you won’t have to pay until after closing. Let’s say you want to replace the paint in a room, the flooring in another, or do a complete remodel of a bathroom. With this program, our vendor will let you defer paying for those repairs (which will increase your home’s sale price) until the home is sold. It’s a very exciting program.

The next thing I want to talk about is a new product that is coming out to replace heavy, expensive granite and marble. It’s pretty incredible.

This product is man-made out of organic materials. It’s recyclable and doesn’t need to be re-sealed because it’s not porous. You never have to polish it either and two men can carry a slab of it easily. It’s harder than granite, won’t ever chip, and it’s basically heat proof.

This new synthetic porcelain is better than granite in every way.

This product is being manufactured in Europe right now and I imagine it will make its way here soon. It’s actually a synthetic porcelain, but it can be made to look like several different types of marble. The only difference, besides all the reasons we mentioned above, is that this product is much more inexpensive and much more effective.

If you have any questions for me about either of these topics or anything else relating to real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

How Can This New Pilot Program Benefit You?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 09:01:00 -0800

Tired of always having to physically go to the title company to sign the paperwork when buying a new home? This pilot program might interest you.

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I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been invited to be a part of a new national pilot program. What is this new program? How does it work?

Instead of you having to physically sign paperwork at the title company to purchase your home or have a power of attorney sign for you, this program allows you to sign via the Internet. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection and a computer and you can sign from anywhere in the world whenever you purchase a home.

Now all you need is a Wi-Fi connection to sign for a home.

This program is just getting off the ground, but I’m very excited about it and I’m privileged to be a part of it. I’d love nothing more than to tell you more about it, so if you have any questions about this program, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. I look forward to speaking with you!

Have You Heard About HECM?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 10:20:00 -0800

I’m so excited to tell you all about a new purchase program called the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage!

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I just learned about a new program called the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), and I’m excited to share the details with you today.

HECM is a purchase program that enables those of retirement age, 62 or older, an incredible opportunity to purchase a very nice home and never have to make a mortgage payment.

Let’s say you’re 68 years old and selling your home to move to a different one, and now that your home sold, the different home you want to purchase costs $175,000. That would require an $84,836 premium to close. With HECM, you could purchase that $175,000 home with just $84,836 and never have to make another mortgage payment.

This is the best program for the retirement age group I have seen to date.

As another example, if you were 78 years old and wanted to purchase a $400,000 house, it would require just $159,013 and you would never have to make a monthly mortgage payment.

There are no income requirements for this program, and it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen for people of this age group in all my years of experience.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me with a phone call or a quick email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Should You Have Representation When Purchasing a Brand-New Home?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:35:00 -0800

When buying a brand new home, it’s best to hire a Realtor to represent you. Here’s why.

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It’s always best to have a Realtor represent you when selling a home, but what about when buying one? There a few reasons why you want a Realtor representing you while looking to purchase a home.

First, here are a few facts on what you are getting into when buying a brand new home.

Whenever you buy a brand new home, the salesperson is not a licensed Realtor, so they are not obligated to abide by any laws or code of ethics that Realtors have to. New home sales agents are representing the seller and the seller only.

The builder of the new home might also have a stake in the mortgage company that you get referred to, and the builder might also own a piece of the title company you go through.

So, throughout the entire transaction, the builder has total representation in every aspect of that transaction.

Now, when you have a Realtor representing you, the first thing they are going to do is get the builder to disclose all the information so you have that going forward. For example, there may be things that will end up costing you money down the road that may make you want to back away from that property.

If you’re looking to buy a home, hire a Realtor to represent you.

A Realtor is also going to know things that are negotiable in a contract. There are things the builder would try to put all on you and see what they could get away with if you lacked representation.

If you are not aware of some of the expenses that come with this kind of transaction, you would be the one paying them. That’s why it’s so important to have a Realtor representing your transaction, not to mention they can usually get you a better price. A Realtor will know the builders, and will know that some of them negotiate better than others.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when buying a brand new home, the builder’s attorneys write the contract, so the contract is tilted in the buyer's favor. Having representation will help to rework the contract to be more in your favor.

If you have any questions about buying a new home or a resale home, please give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help!

Do You Need to Correct Code Violations?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 09:48:00 -0800

If you’re selling a home, a home inspection might turn up some code violations. I’m here to tell you how to handle that situation.

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When a buyer gets a home inspection done, is a seller required to fix code violations? Recently, a buyer did an inspection on one of the homes that we sold, and my seller asked me that question. The answer is no.

A code violation is basically a safety update regarding your plumbing, electrical work, installation of appliances, etc. that have been updated since the home was built or since the last code update.

You don’t have to automatically correct code violations unless you have agreed to do so for the purchaser. Some code violations are more important than others, but most buyers will want electrical issues taken care of especially.

Some code violations are more important than others.

If an inspection is done and that report is presented to you, if the sale falls through, for the next four years you are required to provide any potential buyers with a copy of that report. That’s why it’s best to always disclose everything you know about the property, as it will show up in the inspection report.

If you decide to correct the code violations, but for some reason the transaction doesn’t go through, keep your receipts and make notes on the inspection report to show what you have corrected.

If you have any further questions about inspections or repair issues, please feel free to reach out to me with a phone call or by shooting me an email. As always, please keep sending me your questions. If I use your question for my video blog, I will send you a $50 gift card!

How Can You Successfully Sell a House in the Winter?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 6 Dec 2016 08:16:00 -0800

Thinking about selling your house this winter? There are a few extra steps you need to take to get the most out of your sale this time of year that I wanted to share with you.

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Since winter is nearly here, it’s important to remember that the winter market in Houston is still very good—it always has been and it always will be. In fact, December is often the second-highest closing month of the year in real estate here. Why?

People want to buy a home and be living in it by January 1st to take advantage of the homestead exemption. If you buy a house any later, you may not realize the tax exemptions for that particular year.

Another important thing to consider is your landscaping, especially since we have a lot of grasses here that tend to go dormant in the winter. There are several ways to work around grass turning brown.

For starters, you could just leave it as is because you’ll be on even footing with just about everyone else on the market right now. Another option is to buy winter grass or rye grass, which is very inexpensive. It’s a grass you can seed now that’s very hearty throughout the winter months. When the heat comes, it dies off, so you don’t have to worry about it coming back ever again. You can pick it up at Lowe’s or Walmart.

Homes are sold first on emotion.

If we have a hard freeze and your landscaping isn’t protected, it’s bad news. If you’re thinking about selling in the winter, I recommend that you watch your plants very closely. If they die or get freezer burn, replace them with something that won’t freeze as easily. It may be easier to cover your plants initially to prevent this.

On cold days, make sure your thermostat is set at 72 degrees. This is just a little bit warmer than the outside most of the time, and people tend to like walking into a home with a warm feeling. If you have a fireplace, lighting a fire is a great way to add a homey feel, too.

Remember, homes are sold first on emotion, and second by logic. That first emotional step is the most important step. If you have any other questions about selling your home in the winter, give me a call or send me an email soon. I look forward to hearing from you!

Why Am I Paying a Property Tax Certificate?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 10:19:00 -0800

What is a property tax certificate and why do you pay it every time you sell a home? Today we're discussing the finer points of why a title company orders this certificate.

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A customer recently asked me about property tax certificates and why you have to pay them every time you sell a home. It's a great question, as not many people know exactly what a property tax certificate is.

Basically, whenever you sell your home, the title company will prorate taxes from the beginning of the year up through the closing date, and as a seller, you're responsible for those property taxes. The buyer, then, is responsible for taxes moving forward. The title company will actually hire a property taxes certificate company, who will then determine exactly what the property taxes were for the previous year and certify the number. This gives the title company a hard number to use for prorating the taxes.

The certificate ensures you've paid property taxes up to the point of sale.

At the end of the year, the taxes could have increased or decreased. If they increased, the seller may actually owe the buyer a little more money for the time frame in which they owned the home. On the other hand, if the property taxes decreased, then the buyer may owe the seller some money based on the tax amount. The property tax amount for a house is set every year on January 1st.

I hope this clears up any confusion you have about property tax certificates. If you have any more questions about this topic or there's another topic you're interested in learning more about, give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to answer any questions you have!

What’s Happening in the South Katy Market?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 10:50:00 -0700

What’s happening in the South Katy real estate market? I’ll go over all of the details today.

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Today I’m here with a snapshot of what’s going on in the South Katy area.

As of right now, there are 1,286 properties for sale and 342 of those are under contract. On a monthly basis, we’ve had anywhere from four to nine sellers for every buyer on the market; right now, we have four or five sellers for every buyer on the market.

There is a decent number of buyers out there, but since there are so many sellers, home prices are being forced downward. Homes that are priced properly and marketed correctly should still sell between 14 and 21 days, though.

As for the rental market, there are 641 properties for lease; out of those, only 51 homes are currently under contract. We are approaching the point where there are 13 rental homes for every tenant in the market.

A lot of people are hoping to lease their properties right now so that they can wait and sell them when the market improves. Unfortunately, with these numbers, I think that lease prices will fall pretty dramatically. In fact, they may drop as much as 35% over the next year. Part of that is because of the 1,100 empty apartment units in the same area; new apartments are popping up all over the place.

The 77450 zip code is the healthiest market in Katy.

The good news is that interest rates are at historic lows, which is great for home buyers. We have never seen so many mortgage rates this low. As a result, a lot of people are moving out of apartments and buying homes, which further hurts the rental market. The people who came to the area during the petroleum bubble just aren’t there in big numbers anymore.

If you are in the 77450 zip code, that is a great area to be in. It’s just about built out, so there isn’t a lot of new construction in that area. The people in the petroleum industry who had bought property further out are now selling to move closer in; a lot of them are ending up in the 77450 zip code. In fact, this zip code has the healthiest market in Katy.

As many of you know, Westpark Tollway is still under construction, so the amount of traffic in Katy is crazy right now. That indicates that we still have a very robust economy here in Katy. There are also a lot of new companies like Dick’s Sporting Goods coming into the area, which shows that Katy is still growing.

If you have any further questions about what’s happening in our market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How to Market a Vacant Home

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 10:37:00 -0700

We're seeing a lot of vacant homes for sale in our market since things have slowed down. Is it OK to showcase your home on the market with photos of it without furniture, though?

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In our market, homes are selling a little bit slower, causing many homes to go vacant before they sell. For this reason, I recently had a customer ask whether a home that's for sale will show better furnished or unfurnished.

The most important thing is that the photographs used to showcase your home are taken while the home is furnished. Whenever your home is displayed online with photos, if it doesn't show furniture, it doesn't show scale.

If you look on the MLS, you'll see a lot of listings that don't have professionally-shot photos. The listing agent will go in and take a picture of an empty room, and really, all you see is the corner of an empty room. Sometimes, even when homes are furnished, you'll still get bad photos if you don't use a professional photographer.

Furniture in your photos will help show scale.

In our case, we want rooms to be furnished when the pictures are taken for scale, but also for the sales brochures that we produce for each home.

Another step that I personally take (that I don't think most agents do yet) is virtual staging. If you've already moved out of your home, I have the photographs staged virtually with furniture that will show the scale of the room, even though there's not actually furniture in the room. This allows the home to show better online and in our sales brochures.

Showing a home in-person without furniture is not a big deal, but taking photos of a home without furniture is a big deal.

If you have any questions about staging or photographing a home, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you out.

Open House or Market Launch? You Decide.

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 14:23:00 -0700

Open houses aren’t what they used to be. Our team, though, has created a system that results in hosting the perfect open house.

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Do open houses even work anymore?

That’s not an easy question to answer. With the abundance of homes we have in this market, open houses are a dime a dozen. The other thing to consider is that the way most agents conduct open houses doesn’t really work anymore.

We, on the other hand, have developed a system called ‘market launch.’ Our market launch is similar to an open house in that the end result is the open house. However, we do many things in advance to make the open house an event and create an abundance of interest in your home before it ever goes onto the market.

How successful are our market launches? We’ve had as many as 52 people at an open house before, and we ended up getting 20 offers for that particular home.

We’re still generating multiple offers on some of our listings using this program, so whenever you get ready to sell your home and your agent says that they do open houses, have them explain to you what their open house process is really like. If it’s just an everyday open house, call us and we’ll compare it to our market launch. We’ll show you how we can bring lots of buyers to your home as soon as it comes on the market and get it sold for the highest price.

It’ll be our little secret.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me or give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Are Your Home’s Chances of Selling in This Market?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 09:45:00 -0700

What are the chances of your home selling in this market? Right now, the reason so many homes are not selling is that there are, on average, six or seven sellers for every buyer. In order for your home to sell, then, it has to be perfectly positioned in every way. The best thing you can do to stack the odds in your favor is to choose the right agent. To know what it means to choose the right agent, watch this short video.

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What are the odds your home can sell in the current real estate market?

We still have a pretty good number of buyers in the market right now. The reason you see so many homes not selling is because we have between six or seven sellers for every buyer. In order for you to sell your home, then, it has to be perfectly positioned in every single way.

In order to set yourself up for success, you need to choose the right real estate agent to market your home. Most agents have been in the market for 10 years or fewer, which means they’ve never seen a market like this. They’ve only seen the really good times for sellers - they’ve never seen the challenging times.

"Choosing the right agent will determine whether or not you’re successful."

The chances of your home being the one that sells out of six or seven other homes depends on how well your Realtor positions your home in the marketplace. By “positions” I mean everything from staging to preparation to marketing. Many agents that have been in the market for a short period of time don’t advertise very broadly because they don’t know how or they don’t have the resources. Thus, choosing the right agent will determine whether or not you’ll be successful.

When you’re ready to talk about selling your home with an agent, please include me in your list. I would recommend you interview at least two or three agents so you can find the one that’s been in the business long enough to have the knowledge of the market we’re in. The last time we saw a market like this was in 1988, which means anyone with fewer than 30 years of experience has never seen these conditions before.

To find out how much your home is worth, go to myvalue123.com for a free market analysis, or just give me a call. I’d be happy to chat with you about the value of your home or any other real estate concerns you may have. See you soon!

What Is an Appraisal?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 6 Jul 2016 10:57:00 -0700

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I wanted to take a minute to talk about the three types of appraisals we have in the real estate world.

You have the tax appraisal - which really should be called an assessment, because it is not an appraisal where someone comes out to look at your home to determine its value. Then you have the market value appraisal; typically a mortgage company will come out and make an appraisal for them to be sure they're safe in lending money to a buyer. Then, you have the refinance appraisal, which has nothing to do with the value of your home, but has everything to do with how much the mortgage company can lend you and still feel safe. These typically come in much higher than a market value appraisal.

The property tax appraisal can be challenged every year in Houston, and I recommend that you do so every year, even if your value does not change. It'll prevent future excessive increases if you protest every year.

The market value appraisal can sometimes come in below market value. That doesn't necessarily mean the home is "worth" less. It only means that the mortgage company is only comfortable loaning up to that certain amount on the property.

"Refinance appraisals have nothing to do with a home's value."

The third type - the refinance appraisal - the gloves come off so to speak, because the rules are stretched. Typically by the time a refinance appraisal comes up on your home, the mortgage company has run your credit and they know it's good, and they want to lend you as much as they possibly can, because they get paid a percentage of what they lend you. They have nothing to do with real value.

Whenever you're in a situation with an appraisal, it must have a specific purpose. The purpose will make a difference in the validity of the appraisal.

If you have more questions about appraisals or are interested in a free home valuation, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to continuing this conversation with you!

What Does 'Days on Market' Reveal?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 19:46:00 -0700

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A lot of people have been asking us lately about how long homes are taking to sell in Houston. We measure this statistic by looking at the average days on market. However, there are actually two numbers to look at. One is the average days on market for all homes, and the other is the average days on market for homes that actually sell.

In the Houston area, homes that are priced properly in the first place typically sell in 14 days or less from the first day the home is put on the market to the seller accepting an offer from a buyer. However, most homes aren’t priced properly from the get-go. The overall average days on market in Houston is 48 days. Many sellers are unrealistic at first about how much they can get for their home, then the home sits on the market for longer than need be.

These sellers will eventually reduce their price and when they do, the home will sell much quicker. When overpriced homes are reduced to what buyers think they are worth, they sell in under two weeks. That’s why it’s so important to price correctly from the beginning. Your home sale will be much quicker, and you won’t have to deal with the uncertainty that comes with overpricing and having your home sit on the market for months. This will help it sell for the most money possible.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

What You Should Know About Houston Flood Insurance

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Sat, 28 May 2016 15:45:00 -0700

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.

The Houston area recently suffered from a natural disaster. Some homeowners might have been unprepared without flood insurance.

Typically, homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover rising flood water. That’s why you need an additional flood policy to cover those specific damages. Fortunately, because it’s issued by the federal government, it ranges from $400 to $1,200 a year depending on the elevation of your home and insurance coverage.

"Typically, homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover rising flood water."

However, the policy doesn’t take effect until 30 days after you sign up. Hypothetically, you can’t run out and buy a plan right before a major storm comes your way. Additionally, whenever a new storm (with a name) enters the Gulf of Mexico, new insurance policies are frozen. They cannot be issued until the storm has passed.

Let’s chat soon. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the surrounding area, reach me by phone or email. I’d be happy to serve your local real estate needs and answer any questions you might have!

Which Way Is the Value of Your Home Headed?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Fri, 13 May 2016 14:02:00 -0700

One of the most frequent questions I get these days is if we are in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market in Houston. The answer is, we are actually in a balanced market.

Whenever you’re in a balanced market, you’re never really even-keeled. Typically you’re trending one way or another; toward a seller’s market or a buyer’s market. The Houston real estate market is currently trending toward a buyer’s market.

This means we have more sellers than we do buyers. Right now we have about 6.5 sellers for every buyer out there. Typically when you get to about a five month supply of homes for sale - which we’re easing towards right now - it turns into a full-blown buyer’s market.

Right now, prices are becoming competitive because we have so many sellers trending toward that buyer’s market. Over the past year we’ve seen about a half point decline in home values on a monthly basis, so prices are down in general; about 6% lower than where they were during the same period last year.

I expect the current decline to continue, well into the summertime. In fact, I expect us to hit that buyer’s market at the end of July, when prices will become even more competitive, and we’ll have about 10 sellers for every buyer in the market. Things will get interesting unless something changes dramatically in the petroleum industry (which is what controls a lot of our market in Houston).

If you’re interested in learning more, email me and I’ll provide a free market analysis. If you have any questions in general, send me an email or give me a call. I look forward to working with you.

What You Need to Know About Your Double Pane Windows

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 12:33:00 -0700

More and more, we’re starting to see the same problem during home inspections.

In 2002, the state of Texas started requiring double-pane windows to be installed on all homes moving forward. These windows have a life expectancy of about 20-30 years, depending on the type. Since builders use different manufacturers and different types of materials for their double-pane windows, they are not all created equal.

As a result, we’re seeing a 15% failure rate on some of the earliest windows, typically installed sometime between 2002 and 2005. The cause of these failures is our extreme weather. When you have 100-degree summers, the seals in the windows expand and contract; over time, they lose their elasticity and you get moisture in the window. A sign of a failed window is cloudiness on the inside of your windows, so if you’re seeing that on some of your windows, you may want to get them checked out.

If you think your double-pane windows might be failing, it’s best to get them checked out and fixed before you list your home. You don’t want to lose a buyer over an issue like this, and even if the buyer sticks around while you get them repaired, it will really slow down the process. If you have any questions or concerns about this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would love to give you a hand!

Which Custom Houston Homes Have the Most Premium Price?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 6 Apr 2016 11:05:00 -0700

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?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 09:28:00 -0700

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!

What’s Happening in the Houston Real Estate Market?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 8 Mar 2016 09:41:00 -0800

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 talk to you about a market condition that is starting to happen more often. This isn’t something that happened when Houston was in a seller’s market, but now that we’re in a balanced market, buyers have started making an offer on a home, executing a contract, and then continuing to look for homes.

If the buyer finds another home they like better, they will secure that home under contract and terminate the initial contract. The Texas real estate contract lets the buyer out during the termination option period with a very insignificant penalty to the buyer.

This drives sellers and agents crazy, but buyers have the upper hand in this market. We haven’t seen this happen before. Now, just having your home under contract is not a sure thing. It used to be that if problems arose during the home inspection and the buyer and seller couldn’t negotiate a deal, then the buyer would walk away.

That’s not happening as much anymore. Now buyers are just finding a home they like better, and they have a lot to choose from. In our current market, there are 5.5 sellers for every buyer to choose from.

If you have any questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help!

How Is the Houston Market Improving?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 09:04:00 -0800

The great news right now in the Houston market is that interest rates are still low and buyers still have faith in the market. There will come a point when many home buyers will decide to wait another 6 months to start buying again, and when that happens we are going to start to see some declines in buying activity.

The biggest challenge sellers are having is that there is only one buyer out there for every 5 sellers. We are seeing 1 out of every 5 homes sell, and the rest are sitting. A lot of people are listing their homes right now and as long as petroleum stays in the $30 per barrel range, we expect this to continue.

One other thing we wanted to mention is to remember to protest your property taxes. I can help you with that. Head over to drtaxprotest.com and I’ll send you the info you need to protest them in 2016.

If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to get a call or email from you!

What Do Recent Houston Market Trends Mean for You?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 09:46:00 -0800

December 2015 was a record month in real estate for the Houston area. The momentum has continued so far in January, which started out with a phenomenal burst of buyers. In fact, this past weekend we had 48 people show up to a single open house, and we received three offers by the end of the day.

What we're looking for this year is an increase in interest rates. When rates rise, they decrease the affordability index, which can negatively affect home prices. If you take a home price of $250,000, a change in interest rates from 3.75% to 4.25% will have a pretty dramatic impact on the affordability of a home. It will likely put some downward pressure on the median sale price, but how much pressure depends on how big the change is, so be sure to keep an eye on rates throughout the year.

If you have any questions about what you can expect from the Houston market this year, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you take advantage of the market before rates rise and prices fall!

Are Houston Foreclosures Still a Good Deal?

rdr@daleross.com (Dale Ross) — Tue, 5 Jan 2016 11:00:00 -0800

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!

Houston Real Estate Podcast with Dale Ross

Is the Houston Market Starting to Balance Out?

Do You Need a Survey When Buying a New Property?

Is a Contingency Purchase Agreement a Good Idea for a Seller to Consider?

Some Exciting Developments in the Real Estate World

How Can This New Pilot Program Benefit You?

Have You Heard About HECM?

Should You Have Representation When Purchasing a Brand-New Home?

Do You Need to Correct Code Violations?

How Can You Successfully Sell a House in the Winter?

Why Am I Paying a Property Tax Certificate?

What’s Happening in the South Katy Market?

How to Market a Vacant Home

Open House or Market Launch? You Decide.

What Are Your Home’s Chances ​of Selling in This Market?

What Is an Appraisal?

What Does 'Days on Market' Reveal?

What You Should Know About Houston Flood Insurance

Which Way Is the Value of Your Home Headed?

What You Need to Know About Your Double Pane Windows

Which Custom Houston Homes Have the Most Premium Price?

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

What’s Happening in the Houston Real Estate Market?

How Is the Houston Market Improving?

What Do Recent Houston Market Trends Mean for You?

Are Houston Foreclosures Still a Good Deal?

What Are Your Home’s Chances of Selling in This Market?