Why you want deed restrictions in Harris and Montgomery County!

It really boils down to 2 words and they are NO ZONING. When we moved here in 1997 and I was in real estate school I almost fell off my chair when I found out that Houston did not have zoning. It is especially apparent when you live in either unincorporated Harris County or unincorporated Montgomery County. If you are not in an area that has some deed restrictions it is a total free for all. Those subdivisions without restrictions have mobile homes, businesses, salvage yards, farm animals etc. You get the point!

Since we don’t have zoning something that has naturally happened are subdivisions with all levels of restrictions. I have seen subdivisions with deed restrictions that don’t have a yearly fee all the way to subdivisions with yearly fees of up to $1500. The beauty of our area is that you can find everything in between.

Personally I think it is a good idea to buy in a deed restricted area. My husband had a co-worker that bought in an unincorporated area when we first moved here. At the time his co-worker bought his house the house next door was a nice house so he thought he was safe. That house sold and the new buyer decided to open a salvage yard. His co-workers equity just went down the tube when that salvage yard opened.

I have written several post that relates to this subject;  for additional information please visit them at:

• Why you need to live in an HOA!
• The Vegetable Patch; no deed restrictions in Spring TX!
• Municipal Utility Districts in Harris & Montgomery Counties
• Why buy in a Homeowner’s Association if you live in Northwest Harris & Montgomery Counties

Refurbishing your front door in Spring TX!

I recently walked refrigerator calendars around my neighborhood and I was AMAZED at the difference I saw in front doors.  In my neighborhood the homes were built between 1997 and 2003 so if a door has not been refinished it probably should have been.  I was leaving my calendars on front doors so you could say I had a bird’s eye view of my neighbor’s front doors.  I saw some doors that had been replaced, some that had been refurbished, others that had been recently painted and I saw a bunch of doors that looked like no one had touched them since 1997.

Almost immediately after walking those calendars I saw an article in the National REALTOR magazine about the Top 5: First Impression Matters.  According to the article this year’s Cost vs. Value Report by Remodeling magazine named the Entry door replacement as the biggest bang for the buck of any other remodeling projects.  With an average cost of $1,218 and a re-sale value of $1,243 the cost recouped was 102.1%. (These were followed by garage door replacement, siding replacement, midrange kitchen remodel and a wood deck addition.) For this article I am however going to center in on the front door. If you would like to read the entire article about the Top 5: First impression matters you will find it here.

They did put a caveat though the door needs to match the style of the house. The biggest mistake people make is to choose a door that does not match the neighborhood or home.  In a high end home you will want a nice leaded glass door whereas in a lower priced home it would be more appropriate to replace the door with a regular steel door that is painted a complementary color.  If you are not sure what kinds of doors are in your neighborhood; walk your neighborhood like I did. I found everything!

If you are looking at making a new door purchase this is one of those times where a little online research will take you a long way. You can identify the type of steel whether the door has been primed with a rust inhibitor, how many coats of finish paint have been added and whether it has been insulated. An alternative to finish paint is powder coating.  I guess powder coating is more like glue than paint and holds up better than paint.

A pretty entry door in Spring TX!

As another alternative to replacing your door you could also look at refurbishing your leaded glass doors.  Just today I received a local Woodlands magazine and there is a local company called Rick’s Front Doors that just refinishes doors.  They come to your home take the door off the hinges and replace it with a piece of plastic.  Then they chemically strip the door to its bare wood and wash it to remove any residue. At that point they repair any dings or scratches and then sand it. After that comes staining and protection. They spray 4 coats of premium fast drying marine grade spar urethane with built in UV protection.  When everything’s done they re-hang the door.  The homeowner will usually have bought new hardware that they put on.  I thought this was a cool concept. This was the first time I have heard of this company so I can’t say what kind of work they do but they back their work with a 100% customer guarantee and I thought the price seemed reasonable.  You can check them out at Rick’s Front Door Refinishing.  As I was walking my neighborhood I saw lots of these doors that could stand to get to know Rick.

The front door is the first thing that a buyer sees when they walk up to your house and that first impression can make such a difference.  If the front door does not look cared for the buyer often wonders what else the seller is not taking care of.  So my recommendation is to put a little extra money in to making your front door look spectacular.

Dings in your Spring TX home!

Years ago my mentor told me to not sell a home that I can’t resale. I have taken that message to heart and I’m always looking for dings that could make a home hard to resale. I’m going to give you a list of some of the major dings that might make your home hard to sale. Mind you this does not mean you won’t be able to sell your home if you have these dings but you might have to take less to make it competitive with similar homes that don’t have the ding. It also might take a little longer to sell.

1.  Backing to a road. The good thing on this is you don’t have backyard neighbors but the downside is that you have lots of noise.
2. Backing to tall power lines. I did not think this was a huge ding until I tried to sell a house that backed to tall power lines. There are many people that just don’t want those lines in their back yard.
3. All bedrooms up. When we lived up north this was not huge as most homes were built with all bedrooms up. That is not the case in the Spring area as most people want the master down. I have found the same square footage homes will probably sell for $10,000 less with master up and they are usually a little harder to sell.
4.  Backing to vacant land. You would think this would not be a ding but since our area is unincorporated you just NEVER know what is going to be built behind you.
5. Buying a home that is not in a deed restricted subdivision. Again this was not a problem up north as the cities I lived in had restrictions. That is not the case in the Spring area as we are unincorporated. My husband had a co-worker that bought out in the country. Everything was wonderful until the neighbor sold and the new owner decided to open a junk yard.
6. A choppy floor plan. I have found that most people want an open floor plan.
7.  A very small yard. This is okay if you have a patio home but it can make for a hard re-sale if your home is not a patio home.
   

   Home dings you can live with!

There are probably other dings but these are the ones that come to mind. As I said this does not mean you won’t be able to resale if your home has these dings but it might make it a little harder.

You also might have something in your home that is so incredible that people will look past some of these dings. I personally sold my own home that backed to a fairly busy street quick as we had a drop dead gorgeous backyard.

As your REALTOR® I will point these out and anything else I might see that might make a home hard to re-sale. You can then make an informed decision as to whether this is a ding you can live with or not.

Everything is negotiable but usually you will have put $100 (plus or minus) down for a 5 to 10 day option period.  This option period gives you the time to do your home inspections.  Typically a seller will allow you 10 days but I have found that many foreclosures only allow 5 to 7 days.  These are not business days; time is of the essence and strict compliance with the time for performance is required.

You will need to quickly find an inspector to inspect the home.  I have a list of home inspectors that I can give you or you are welcome to find your home inspector yourself.  Most people only think of one or two questions to ask a home inspector.  The most common being “How much is your fee” and “When you can inspect the home”.  Below I am including a list of additional questions you might ask.

• The State of Texas does require testing and licensing of inspectors.  Ask them about their training and what kind of license they have.  
• Ask them how long they have been licensed in the state of Texas. 
• Make sure they are a full time home inspector.  I have found there are a lot of inspectors who dabble and you want someone who is making home inspections their career.   There are lots of codes they need to stay current on.
• Ask them if they also perform repairs? (If the answer is yes this may be a conflict of interest). 
• What will the inspection include?  (It should include heating, A/C systems, electrical, interior plumbing, visible insulation, visual roof, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, foundation and the visible structure of the home.
• Ask them if they charge extra based on the size of the home.  I have found that most inspectors have different price breaks according to the square footage of the home.
• Find out how much they will charge if you ask for a re-inspection after the repairs are completed.
• Be sure you can attend the inspection.  This is your time to learn about your new home and ask questions.  If the inspector does not want you following him around I would suggest finding a different inspector.
• Be sure that they don’t mind you calling with additional questions after the inspection. 
• Ask for references.  Get names and phone numbers of people they have recently inspected homes for.
• Make sure you are getting a written report in a timely manner. They may give you the report at the inspection or they may want to email it to you the following morning.   Either method is acceptable.  Just remember that time is of the essence.
• If you have a particular concern about the property, be sure to ask if it will be covered in the inspection.

The inspector may not inspect swimming pools, wells, septic tanks, wood destroying insects or other environmental test.  You will likely need to arrange for those inspections separately.  Sometimes the home inspector will have developed a relationship with a termite inspector or some of the other inspectors and can schedule that inspection for you.  You will need to discuss that at the time you set the appointment.  If not you will need to set the additional inspections yourself. 

I have heard the saying that there are two types of homes in Texas one that has termites and one that is going to get them.  What I am saying here is don’t freak out if you find termites they are very common and treatment is fairly easy.  I have seen brand new construction where they have found termites.  The inspector should be able to give you an idea if there is any permanent damage.

The primary purpose of the inspection is to educate you so you can make an informed purchasing decision.  If you are buying a re-sale home I can almost guarantee you that the inspector will find something; that is what you are paying them for.  The big ticket items you will want to keep in mind are the foundation, the heat/air and the roof; almost everything else is small stuff. 

Should you find something that needs to be repaired during the inspections you can either ask for repairs or negotiate an agreed upon price so that you can do the repairs yourselves.  We will then fill out an Amendment to the contract which takes precedence over the Contract. If you remember right we had probably marked accept the property in its present condition on the Earnest money contract.  The Amendment amends the contract for any repairs or other changes that are made. 

If the repairs are more than what you want to do, or maybe you just got cold feet, you can back out for any reason during this option period and the only money you will lose is the money you put down for the option and the cost of your inspection. The earnest money will be returned to you in full as long as you provide the owner a termination letter in the agreed upon days.  Again time is of the essence!

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If you are buying or relocating to  Tomball Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about Tomball please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com and at http://www.resultsrealtytx.com/.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about the area.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Tomball TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS

Section 3 – Sale Price- I covered this extensively in my last post Tomball TX First Time Home Buyers Guide – Part 4 – What price do we offer!

Section 4 – Financing – The only way we would not mark this sections is if you were paying cash for your transaction.  If you are getting a loan we will be marking that “this contract is subject to buyer being approved for the financing described in the Third Party Financing Condition Addendum”.  We will be attaching the Third Party Financing addendum and it goes in to more detail about whether your financing is going to be conventional, FHA or VA.

Section 5- Earnest money – In our area it is typical to put either $500 or $1000 Earnest money down (depending on the price of the home).  If the home is over $250,000 there’s usually more earnest money put down.  In other states it is often 1% of the purchase price; for the most part that is not the case here in our area of Texas.  This is the place where we also decide what title company to use.  When the seller pays for the title policy they often feel they should get to choose but it is a negotiable item between the buyer and the seller.  Please note as soon as we finish negotiations the Earnest money will go to the title company we have chose and they will cash the check and hold the money in escrow.

Section 6 -Title policy and the survey – Typically in our area the seller pays for the title policy and the buyer pays for the survey.  This is however totally negotiable between the buyer and the seller.  If the seller has an existing survey this is the place where we request it.  Most lenders will allow an old survey to be used if the survey has been done within the last 10 years and if nothing has changed.  If a pool or fence has been put in then the survey will need to be re-done.

Section 7 – Property Condition-

7B- Seller’s Disclosure notice pursuant to 5.008 Texas property code (notice) – This is where we mark that you have seen the seller’s disclosures.  If you have not seen the disclosures then we will mark how many days the seller has to provide it to you and you may back out if you see something you don’t like in that amount of negotiated days.  The one exception to providing a seller’s disclosure is a foreclosure.  The seller of a foreclosure is not required to furnish the notice under the Texas Property Code.

7D – Acceptance of Property Condition -You either accept the property in its present condition or there is a place that you can ask for specific repairs and treatments.  I will be covering this in more detail when I write about the termination option.

7H – Residential Service Contracts – In today’s age most sellers will pay for a buyer to have a one year home warranty.  If there’s a pool or spa we will typically try to negotiate coverage on that also.  This is a totally negotiable item and if the seller declines you can still buy a policy yourself when we close.  As I said most sellers will pay for a 1 year warranty but foreclosures and relocation companies may not offer this to the buyer.  We will of course ask for it as all they can say is no.

Section 9 – Closing – This is where we put the closing date.  I have found that this item often requires as much negotiation as the sales price.

Section 10 – Possession – We will either mark that possession is on closing or funding or it will be according to a temporary release.  I almost always mark that possession is on closing and funding but if I was representing the seller I would come back and ask for closing plus 48 hours.  Typically in that case there is not any money involved but it gives the seller time to get out.  I have heard nightmare stories of the seller moving out and then everything fell apart.  This is something that should be negotiated at the time we write the contract but it is something that I have found often comes up later. 

Section 11 – Special Provisions – Rarely do I have to write anything in special provisions.  On our old contracts we often wrote lots of items in this section but when the contracts were overhauled years ago they left no stone unturned or very few.

Section 12 – Settlement and Other Expense – If we are going to ask for any help from the seller with closing cost this is where it will go.

Section 16 – Mediation – Typically we are always going to mark that you would agree to mediate before you will sue.  The exception on this is again foreclosures and relocation listings.  They will typically not allow you to mark “will” on this.

Section 21 – Notices: – This is a place for you to write all your contact information. 

Section 22 – Agreement of Parties – This is where the addenda we are attaching are marked.  Typically we will have marked Third Party Financing Condition Addendum and Addendum for Property Subject to Mandatory membership in a Properties Owners’ Association.

Section 23 – Termination Option – In this section you can put an option fee amount and a number of days.  Typically this will be $100 and 10 days but again this is totally negotiable.  This gives you the unrestricted right to terminate for the amount of days that we negotiate.  This is the time to get your inspections done.  I will be discussing this in more detail in my next post on home inspections.  I always mark that the fee will be credited to you at closing.  Time is of the essence for this paragraph and strict compliance with the time for performance is required.  During this option period you may back out at an time and all you lose is the option money.  The earnest money you put down will be refunded to you.

As you can see there are lots of items for the Tomball TX first time home buyer to negotiate.  I never fail to be amazed at what can end up being a hot button.  I recently had someone buy one of my listing who could not agree on the Title Company on a prior home that they made an offer on.  That one was amazing to me.

My job is to ensure that as a Tomball TX first time home buyer you have the tools and information you need to make an informed decision. I will help you prepare the offer. Then I will present it to the seller on your behalf and try my best to get it accepted at your price and terms!  My next post will be on the option period and the inspection.

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If you are buying or relocating to  Tomball Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about Tomball please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com and at http://www.resultsrealtytx.com/.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about the area.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Tomball TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS

My real estate mentor years ago gave me some wise advice.  She told me to never sell a house that I couldn’t resale.  I have taken her instructions to heart and as we go through theTomball TX homes I will be looking for anything that would make this home hard to re-sale down the road.  There are many things that can make a home hard to re-sale.  What does the home back up to?  It can be hard to re-sale homes that back up to businesses or roads.  In our area a 2 bedroom one bathroom home would be another example of being functionally obsolete.  Almost all homes in our area have at least 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms.

In the Tomball TX area where the master bedroom is located is a big deal also.  Most buyers prefer either a one story or the master bedroom downstairs.  If you buy a home with all bedrooms up you just have to realize when you go to re-sale the home it might take a little longer and you will probably not get as much for your home.  On the plus side you probably got a good deal when you bought the home.  I have to admit we did not realize this when we bought here almost 13 years ago and coming from the north all of our bedrooms are upstairs.  Back then my husband was a day sleeper so I don’t know that we would have bought with a master bedroom downstairs anyway.

Once you have narrowed down the homes that you are interested in we will want to compare these homes to other homes that have sold in that area in the last 6 months.  Sometimes this will tell you that the home is priced good and other times it might tell you that the home seems to be a little over priced for the area.  Recently I did comparatives for a client and we found that the home was fairly overpriced; in doing the comparatives we found another home that was priced good with similar square footage. In this case my client ended up buying the comparative.  Doing a buyer’s comparative analysis will then give you the information you need to make an educated offer.  My next post will cover what price to offer for your Tomball Texas home.

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If you are buying or relocating to  Tomball Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about Tomball please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com and at http://www.resultsrealtytx.com/.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about the area.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Tomball TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS

They have also been changing my 2 hour showing window to a 1 hour showing window. When you are showing 10 to 15 homes it is so hard to try and work a showing schedule around this tight of a window. Several times I have had to call and extend my showing time. Typically I’m good at judging my time but I’m finding this one hour window very difficult to deal with.

Yesterday afternoon I scheduled appointments for this morning. I was trying to show between 9:00 and 11:00. For one of the homes I was called back by the showing service and told that my showing was declined as they were only accepting showings after 12:00 PM. I went ahead and scheduled for noon but then had to cancel because we were finished with the homes we were looking at long before that 12:00 time. I just now called again to schedule for this evening when we are showing both Mr. and Mrs. Buyer. For this particular home there was also a two hour notice that was required so I again barely fit it in the time slot. This time it was at least accepted.

I guess the most incredible showing that I have run across lately was a seller that was only allowing showings on Sunday between 1:00 and 4:00. The particular Sunday that I tried to show their home they decided not to show it that day. My feeling is they are obviously not motivated and with so many homes on the market: next!
Now I do understand when I call at the last moment and a showing is declined. Invariably as we are driving around my clients will see a sign in the yard and want to see a home. When that happens I don’t’ have a problem with rescheduling at a later time. In that case I’m the one being a bit inconsiderate but I always feel like it is worth a try to show the home.

I realize that it is a pain to have a home on the market. I moved many times with children and I remember having to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. My solution to this is for the seller to wait until we arrive to leave. I don’t have a problem with a seller leaving through the back door as we are arriving at the front door. I do have a problem with the home not being accessible to show (especially since for the most part I have been giving a 24 hour notice).

I would like to make one last note. The seller does need to leave. It is very uncomfortable to look at someone’s home with the seller looking on. I have also found that they usually open their mouth and insert their foot.

Please Mr. Seller make your home available to show.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texasand need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at www.AgentwithResults.com  and at www.ResultsRealtyTX.com. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about Spring. If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Spring properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader

All of a sudden she started getting letters from credit card lenders who were dropping her.  Most of these were cards that didn’t even have anything on them.  I thought maybe somebody had stolen her identity and told her to get Lifelock.  As part of Lifelock’s service they provided her with copies of her credit reports.  Come to find out Countrywide had reported her as not making her house payment for three months.  Not once did Countrywide contact them letting them know that thought they were late making their payments.   Personally I thought it was the law that you had to be notified if you were behind in payments but maybe that is not the case.  It sure seems like they should have notified her but she received NOTHING from them.  As I said she had been making payments on the new loan so she of course had no idea this was going on. 

So now that she knew what was going on she called Countrywide.  Their first response was “oh you are right we will correct this”.  No apology!  Countrywide did send a letter to the affect that they had reported her as delinquent when she was not.  She contacted the credit card companies who had dropped her and was told that she would have to request the credit report from each company then she could submit that report with the letter from Countrywide and each lender could decide whether they wanted to re-instate her account or not.

I could not believe that this was all being dumped on her and Countrywide could just basically say “oops am I bad”.  I told her she needed to call Countrywide again and see if they could do anything.  This time she did get a nice gal who told her she was REALLY sorry that this had happened but there was nothing Countrywide could do; if she could call each lender for her she would but they would not accept the phone call. 

Somehow this seems so WRONG.  My sister’s credit went from 760 to 600 in that short time.  Countrywide has contacted the credit bureaus letting them know it was a mistake but there is no easy fix.  Now she has all these credit card companies who show they have dropped her which dings her credit.  It is a vicious cycle and one that is going to take her months to fix while Countrywide comes off totally unscathed. 

I feel so bad for my sister and this has made me realize how important it is to watch your credit on a monthly basis.  I think this is a good warning for EVERYONE; especially if you are considering a home purchase.  I got Lifelock after I saw what a friend went through when her identity was stolen.   Lifelock is helping me to watch my credit by locking my accounts but when the problem is within like this one was I don’t know what the answer is. If you are not paying a company to watch; I highly recommend checking your credit on a routine basis.  In the age we are living in we just don’t know what is around the corner and once your credit is zapped it takes a long time to recover it; even if it is no fault of yours.

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If you are buying or relocating to  Spring Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com/springtexas.html and at Results Realty.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about The Woodlands.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Woodlands properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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I took these pictures on Carrot street and as you drive along the street you might see cars on Cinder blocks, trailers in front of house, businesses etc.  If you are going to open a business this is the perfect place for you.  If you are looking for a subdivision where you want similar types of property this might not be the best place. 

I lived in 3 states prior to moving here and almost fell off my chair when I was in real estate school and learned that Houston DID NOT HAVE ZONING!!  With no zoning you are really dependent upon home owners associations and deed restrictions to maintain your property values.   When you don’t have an HOA this is an example of what you get.

My husband had a co-worker who bought out in Waller County in an unresticted area.  When he bought the house a nice house was next door.  Shortly after they moved in the nice house next door was sold and the new owner decided to open a junk yard.  Like I said earlier if you have a business  a subdivision with no zoning might be the place you want to be but if not this is probably not be where you want to be.

For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332

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