We got homes:
New homes, used home and some abused homes
0n some, the Seller will carry the loans.
Free home lists, New, Used, for Rent and Sell
@ www.SABankRepo.com by email.
Hot Home Deals in San Antonio January 2012
Hot home deals available first come, first served, subject to change without notice.
Buying a Home requires a few initial Steps Your first steps should be;
• Meet with a Realtor and start receiving Free Home Lists that matches what you are looking for
• Meet with a Lender and know what you can afford
• View only homes within your price range
• You have choose the homes you want to view with your Realtor
I want to jump into the actual viewing process when buying a home.
Buying a Home – Use your Head not your Heart
No matter how many times home buyers, especially first time home buyers hear “buy with your head not with your heart”, this phrase falls on deaf ears early in the process. The reality is; home buying is an emotional process. Initially, the heart creates the interest. Later you will realize that your heart will cost you money, and your head will save you money when buying a home.
Buying a Home with Chris and Jen
Ok, like hundred’s of families since 1988, the pattern has not changed much. Guys seem to focus on where their TV is going to fit comfortably and the Ladies are picky about their kitchen area. Guys like big garages and a spot to bar b que, and the Ladies like separate tub and showers in the master bedroom area and prefer a formal dining area.
Chris wants a “man cave”, where is he going to set up his big screen tv for the “Football” games and Jen wants the modern practical Kitchen. Now, if there is not a suitable room for Football viewing, or if the Kitchen does not measure up, it’s off to the next home.
Buying a Home with a Man Cave or Spacious Kitchen
Buying a Home – Man Cave
The first home on our list features a separate game room upstairs, the prefect “man cave” but the Kitchen area does not measure up. The Kitchen is small and out-dated and Jen says “next”… Chris was slow to leave.
Buying a Home – Kitchen
We pull up to the next home that had the most beautiful kitchen, very spacious with granite table tops, stainless steel appliances, Jen’s dream, but the man cave at best is part of the Family room and not as exciting as the previous home. Chris says “next”… Jen was slow to leave.
Buying a Home is an Emotional Process
Back at my office, the discussion gets louder. The ‘man cave” home was at the extreme maximum of their qualifying range and the “kitchen” home was $10,000 less… The bedrooms, bathrooms, family room and garage were pretty much a toss up for both homes so it comes down to “man cave” vs “kitchen home” and we took a break for lunch, hoping they would let me know which to offer on…
Buying a Home – Wants or Needs
It is important that every home buyer creates a list of what they want and what they need in their home. Falling in love with a home is nice, but not a good enough reason to buy it. If you are comparing several homes, you will be able to figure out how much extra that “man cave” room will cost, how much those granite table tops in the kitchen are really worth.
Buying a Home – Dollars and Sense
Back from Lunch almost 2 hours later, Jen says they viewed the list they had created before viewing any homes. The results were that the “man cave” at a $10,000 higher price lost out to the fancy kitchen home. We made the offer, they got their home and both agreed that saving Dollars made sense when buying a home.
Confessions of a Realtor
My family relocated to San Antonio a few years ago. My wife and I had been long time Realtors in California. When we moved to Texas, we basically had to start over and take classes to get our Texas real estate licenses. We wanted to buy a home as soon as possible. It did not take long to find a home we liked.
How much to offer on a house
Even with our experience, we overpaid for our first Texas home!
We found a home that fit what we were looking for. We called the Realtor’s office on the For Sale sign. Since we did not know the San Antonio values, nor have access to the San Antonio MLS (as we were still taking our classes to get our Real Estate License), we depended on the same Broker that represented the Seller. Although the Broker did nothing wrong, it was obvious, we felt we were not given any advice that would favor us. On our behalf, the Broker contacted an independent Appraisal company. The Appraiser’s price came in at the same price we offered. Our deal closed.
How much to offer on a house
New Found Knowledge
Soon afterward we got our Texas Real Estate Licenses and had access to the MLS and decided to review our Appraisal. We discovered that some of the comparables the Appraiser used were not from the subdivision we purchased in, but from another more expensive subdivision. That is how the sales price came in to the price we offered, on the Appraisal. The Appraisal influenced our offer. We vowed to not let that happen to any clients we represent.
How Much to Offer on a House
Initial Thoughts
We recognize some homebuyers save money for a long time before purchasing a home. Often the home search process can take several weeks or longer. Then you finally find that home that works for you and you decide to make an offer. You are not sure how much to offer on a house. Because if you offer:
• Offer too low: You may lose the chance to buy that home because another offer may come in higher or worse, because the seller gets upset and refuses to respond to your “too low” offer.
• Offer too high: When your offer is immediately accepted, You will wonder if you should have offered less.
How Much to Offer on a House
Suggested Research
You can ask the Seller for answers or ask your Realtor to help do County record and local MLS research to help you get answers. The more you know, the more confidence about how much to offer on a house.
• How long has the Seller been trying to sell?
If the home has been on the market a long time, has the price been reduced, or could there be problems with the house.
• How much does the Seller owe?
If the loan amount due is same as what you want to offer, you may be wasting your time.
• Why is the Seller selling?
Is it a necessary move, financial hardship, employment relocation?
• Does the Seller live in the house or is it vacant?
If home is vacant, and seller is paying mortgage out of pocket, could be a motivated Seller.
How Much to Offer on a House
Determine the Subdivision Values
Get comparable Sales within the Subdivision
• Comparable sales from 12 months ago
• Comparable sales from 6 months ago
• Comparable sales within 3 months ago
Determine if the neighborhood trend is stable, going up or going down?
How Much to Offer on a House
Do Your Homework
Unlike the mistakes I made, I encourage you to ask more questions, do your research, and use that knowledge to make your offer. This is not an exact science, but with the right information, you will know how much to offer on a house.
generally refers to a Realtor competing for a home seller listing. The Realtor lists the home well above market value, to beat out other Realtors for the listing, then lowers the price to market value, just before the listing contract expires to get the home sold. No, for the purpose of this article, I’m thinking about a different real estate bait and switch that potential home buyers are experiencing.
More Common Methods of “Bait and Switch”. Used Cars
If I were talking “used cars” perhaps you saw that ad for that restored under priced Ford Mustang on TV. I did, but when I got to the lot, I was told that it was already sold, and I drove out of the lot with a more expensive car. Yes, this happened to me a while back. Store
If I was talking about a Store, perhaps the ad or commercial stated a flat screen LCD TV, under priced, for a limited time, and the time limit expired between viewing the ad or commercial and getting up and driving to the Store, finding out you missed out. Yes, this happened to me, I was told product was out of stock, and deal would expire before new stock came in.
Loans
If I were talking about a loan interest rate, well below what you might expect, but I overlooked the unreadable small fine print, that stated that rate required 5 discount points to obtain it. Yes, I called to find out about the $1,000s extra in discount point fees.
Real Estate Bait and Switch
I’m writing about Homes for sale marketing. Lately, I have been talking to home buyers about their experiences responding to homes for sale they find on Craigslist, Trulia, Zillow among others …
These home buyers found homes they were interested in on these websites, but much too often, they were told, the homes were sold, when they called about them. Yes, they were offered less desirable, more expensive homes to choose from.
I really don’t know if some Realtors are not notifying Craigslist, Trulia and Zillow, among others, that their listing had sold, but I know plenty of sold homes are showing available.
I’m guessing that some of these websites like to have a record number of listings for some kind of bragging rights and are not too eager to delete them as sold. Whatever the reason, the home buyers are not getting the best service with these websites in my opinion.
Real Estate Bait and Switch Solutions
May I suggest to home buyers, especially first time home buyers, if you may want to choose homes from every possible match, from every real estate office with a listing in the MLS, the solution is simple.
Contact a Realtor, and REQUEST a fresh up to date home list, with the home buying criteria that matches what you are searching for. No home list is more up to date, than directly from a Realtor thru the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Real Estate Bait and Switch Beware
Bait and Switch methods have been around for a long time, or in some cases, advertising homes for sale that are not available. Home buyers need to be aware of better options, and I believe that for home buyers that want a better home search strategy, they should contact a Realtor for updated homes lists from the MLS, like our service @ www.SABankRepo.com to avoid the Real Estate Bait and Switch.
Homeowners, if you are falling behind on your mortgage for your San Antonio home, it is important to know what your options are. Making decisions and taking action is better than getting “knocked” out of your home.
Better options today, than yesterday, for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
Today, there are better options than filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcy may delay your foreclosure, but eventually you’ll lose your home and wreck your credit.
Steps to consider for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
You need to fully be aware and understand your present financial situation.
Start now: Make a budget and start trimming any excess expenses possible.
• Consider, borrowing money from friends or family, or tapping retirement funds.
• Consider getting help. Legitimate credit counseling services, the Making-Home-Affordable-program, those associated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies,
• Check your Refinance options.
Be realistic. Many times people struggle to hang on to a house that they simply can’t afford when they’d be far better off without it.
Remember: Consider the pros and cons, it’s far better to sell a home while you still have equity and a little damage to your credit score than to have your home taken away in foreclosure.
If you qualify for a Modification loan: The lender will specify what type of hardship evidence is needed.
Moving on
If a loan modification or refinance isn’t possible or feasible, your options come down to these:
• Sell the house
• Offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure to your lender
• Negotiate a short sale with your lender
If none of the above works out, allow the foreclosure to proceed.
This is not going to be a good option, but many homeowners have rebounded after a foreclosure and purchased another home a few years later.
Consider our Free no-obligation Consultation about the options listed above. You may call us directly at (210) 442-9986.
Start now, learn all the options for
Jumping mortgage rates seem to be motivating home buyers to act now.
Transactions in escrow and expecting to close are up 2% from last month.
Recent survey by National Association of Realtors says 89% of home buyers start their search on the Internet!
Home buyers are judging homes based on the photos they see on-line. With gas prices going up, home buyers are depending on internet searches more and more.
Home Sellers
Sellers best make those photos look good. Consider neutral colors, and perhaps using professional stagers.
Act Now
According to NARS, it takes the average buyer 12 weeks to find a home to make an offer on.
If you are thinking of selling your home, today is a great day to start the marketing process.
Please check out the video “This Month in Real Estate by Keller Williams click hereor click on the image.
Buying a house can be hard work. Plenty can go wrong! But there are things you can do to make it easier. First time buyers should work with a Realtor”.
Realtor in your Corner
A Realtor in your corner will reduce the stress and legwork in finding a new home and save you money as well. You can save money and time because a Realtor will use their expertise to help you find the best home at the lowest possible cost.
Imagine Your Realtor as your Pilot
Imagine your home buying process is like taking a plane trip. Your Realtor is your “Pilot”. You are the First Class passenger. Nobody can promise there won’t be “turbulence”. But since the Pilot has successfully made the trip several times, you can bet your “Pilot” will get you safely where you want to go.
First time buyers should work with a Realtor.
What Can Go Wrong when you buy a House:
When you buy your first home, you want the best advice you can get. You want to show the house to friends and relatives before you commit. They will probably tell you about all of the things that went wrong during their own transactions so you can avoid the same mistakes. These experts all have good intentions, but so much advice can put you into a state of high anxiety. First time buyers should work with a Realtor.
Although most transactions are successful, plenty encounter “hiccups” along the way. A few I have witnessed include:
• Home Inspectors discovering minor and major problems. First time buyers should work with a Realtor, so you have an expert negotiating on your behalf.
• Buyers not getting loan approval. First time buyers should work with a Realtor because a Realtor will make sure that the Buyer recovers the earnest money deposit with a special clause in the purchase contract.
• Appraisal coming in too low. First time Buyers should work with a Realtor because a Realtor will negotiate in your favor.
Start Here
Real estate transactions can be complex, and difficulties can arise. First time buyers should work with a Realtor” and proceed with a Realtors guidance. First time buyers will have less “turbulence” because a Realtor will know how to make sure that any minor upsets do not turn into major problems. A Realtor’s expertise is based on formal training and experience in many real estate transactions. A Realtor’s reputation is on the line with each sale, so Realtors are highly motivated to make your purchase or sale go as smoothly as possible. When you are dealing with a Realtor, you can worry about what might go wrong if you wish, but you don’t have to!
Remember First time buyers should work with a Realtor.
I remember like it was yesterday. My daughter was a new born, Hurricane Katrina was headed to the US and we were planning to move from California to Texas. We were moving closer to my wife’s family and were considering Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.
Move to San Antonio
I pretty much have lived in Southern California all my life and in the summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina helped us choose San Antonio, as we wanted to avoid Katrina’s path. People were driving from Houston to Dallas and we settled comfortably in San Antonio.
First Day in San Antonio
The first day we arrived in San Antonio, it was over 100 and it took awhile to adjust to the heat. The next day it rained. Neighbors told us if we didn’t like the weather, give it an hour or two, so it could change.
Texas Construction
Unlike the smooth roads I was accustomed to in “California,” I found myself on rough roads and detouring from construction workers everywhere. But I saw so much land, lots of land with no buildings, and I felt excited because I was use to seeing nothing but buildings, houses and crowds of people in California.
Record Growth in San Antonio
Recent surveys states that one in every 14 Americans reside in Texas. A couple years ago, before the economy slowed, home builders were setting records with so many new homes built. The competition kept home values pretty stable and that is probably why Texas, and particularly San Antonio, did not have as many problems when the economy went south, as my former home state of California, which is still suffering.
The Good
• Texas has NO STATE TAXES. That is a reason many retirees relocate to San Antonio.
• The traffic here is very mild compared to where I grew up in California.
• I love the schools and Teachers. My 5 year old is taking dual-language classes and speaks 2 languages now.
• My neighbors and the store keepers I meet often make me realize that southern hospitality really does exist.
• Affordable home, you can purchase a large 4 bedroom home here in North San Antonio cheaper than some homes in the worst areas of California where I use to live.
• San Antonio is led by a bright dynamic mayor who hit the ground running assessing and addressing problems.
The Bad
• I have become comfortable with the weather, but it is hotter in San Antonio than I remember in California.
• Property taxes are HIGH! I know it is because there is no State Tax, but it is still high.
Places to visit in San Antonio
Many millions of dollars are brought in every year through tourism:
Popular places to visit are: Click on image to see Places to Go in San Antonio:
• The Riverwalk
• Sea World
• The Alamo
• Botanical Gardens
• Missions
• Natural Bridge Caverns
• Market Square – El Mercado
• Shops of La Villita
• Six Flags (Fiesta Texas)
• Schlitterbahn
• San Antonio Zoo
Happy with move to San Antonio
Although I miss Family and Friendsin California, I believe my family and I made a good move coming to San Antonio. While San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the US, most people don’t even realize it because it still feels like a friendly small town. San Antonio is big enough to provide all the “Big City” activities, but small enough NOT to have a horrible rush hour problem. People are friendly & have a strong sense of community. The San Antonio economy keeps chugging along better than the rest of the country. There is a large military presence, 1 large Army base Ft. Sam Houston, 1 large military hospital Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) , and 2 Air Force Bases.
Before you start Relocate and Move to San Antonio
Before you start packing to move to San Antonio, please request your Free list of Homes, including New homes, Foreclosures and Rental Homes @ www.SABankRepo.com because a move to San Antonio should include a good deal on a home.
Your first steps should be;
How much to offer on a house:
More Common Methods of “Bait and Switch”.
Store
Loans
Facebook
Twitter