Stay safe as a homeowner

4 ways to stay safe as a new homeowner

From Texas Association of Realtors:

04/04/2014 | Author: Summer Mandell

You do actions to stay safe every day, like fastening your seat belt, looking both ways before you cross the street, or locking your doors before you go to sleep at night. Your Texas REALTOR® likely has some ideas of how to you can stay safe as a new homeowner, but here are four safety tips to consider:

Don't entice thieves with your empty boxes. While it's exciting to upgrade your home to make it your own, putting those boxes from your new TV on the curb might send a signal to potential thieves. Instead of putting boxes out in plain sight, break them down and place them in a trash receptacle or store them inside until trash day. Better yet, take them to your local recycling center as soon as possible.

Change the locks. Have you ever made extra keys for your home for the dog walker, your best friend, or as a loaner to give to visitors? You're probably not the only one. Even though your seller will surrender her keys at the sale, there's no guarantee that she remembered to retrieve all of them. For safety's sake, it's worth getting your own set of keys that no one else has but you. If you're in a condo, you might be able to ask a maintenance crew to change your locks for you. If not, your local home-improvement store can give you some guidance, and there are plenty of instructional videos online as well. You can also hire a locksmith to rekey for you.

Keep your name to yourself. You might want to tell the world about your new purchase by putting your name on your mailbox, doormat, or elsewhere, but be smart about what you reveal. On your mailbox, use just your last name or your last name and first initial. This keeps strangers from knowing too much about you and your family, like your gender or how many people live in the property.

Sign up for the neighborhood email list. If there is a local group email list, becoming a member of it is a good way to stay informed about neighborhood happenings. For example, my neighborhood's email list has alerted me about suspicious door-to-door visitors and car break-ins. Even though it's unfortunate, I'm glad to be in the know. A bonus benefit? You'll probably hear about fun ways to meet your neighbors, too, like block parties or yard sales.

Friday December 6 In the News...

1. Unemployment Down, Manufacturing surge, Construction Spending Up, Home Prices Up,
2. Economic reports brightening…The U.S. economy is growing faster, corporate profits are rising and companies are laying off the fewest workers in six years.  The economy grew at a robust      annual rate of 3.6% from July through September.
3. Condo sales on the rise inSan Antonio and the State.  Sales are up 18% YTD, Median up 6% to $98,900, average price up 11% to $159,776, DOM down  23% to 113 days.  YTD there has been      a 26% increase in condo sales statewide.  Average sales price:Austin $245,417, Houston $186,757,Dallas $199,957 andSan Antonio $159,776.
4. New  Home Sales ramped up in October.  Sales of new homes grew 25.4% so far YTD. 

Twelve tips to sell your home from the Texas Association of Realtors

There are few things more frustrating to a seller than a home that sits on the market. It's stressful to keep a house in showing condition, and not selling can cost you lots of money.

Use these tips as a quick guide to better your chances at selling your house in a timely fashion.

1. Sit down with your Texas REALTOR® and evaluate your listing price. Visit open houses in your neighborhood. Are similar homes priced lower? An overpriced home is destined to sit on the market too long.
2. Do whatever it takes to be away from your home during showings and
   open houses.
3. Ask your Texas REALTOR® for feedback on how your home shows, and ask him to solicit other agents' advice. Feedback from their clients can really help.
4. If you intend to hold an open house, consider doing so on a weeknight. Competition may be lower, and you'll attract the interest of buyers who may not be available on the weekend.
5. Help promote your property. Talk about your home to everyone you know. Look for other ways to get the word out, too, even if your agent is doing a lot to promote your house.
6. If you're really motivated, you can offer perks to buyers, such as a cash bonus or help with closing costs.
7. Neutralize your color scheme. Most buyers prefer neutral colors that make it easier to imagine a new home as their own.
8. Consider offering an increased commission or a bonus for your listing agent as extra incentive. If you do so, amend your listing contract to reflect the change, and be sure those details are added to the multiple listing service (MLS). Buyer agents will also be inspired to give your house extra attention.
9. If your REALTOR® has a video tour of the house, watch the tape as if you were a prospective buyer … you may be surprised at what you see.
10. Fix lingering problems, such as the dripping faucet or the door that doesn't quite close right.
11. Clean and de-clutter—neat, organized houses sell faster than those that look too lived-in.
12. It's not about you. Buyers want to imagine their family in the house. If your house shows an abundance of your personality, it may dissuade the buyer.

There are many other things you can do to hasten the sale of your property, no matter the condition of the housing market. Make sure you consult with your Texas REALTOR® first.

Vacation market heats up for second-home owners

Not only is the number of vacation home sales on the uptick, but the percentage of those purchasers who intend to rent out that vacation home to friends, family, and travelers also is climbing like never before.

Perhaps it’s the new economy, coupled with the chance to buy a bargain getaway, but 70% of vacation homebuyers say they plan to rent out their home in the next year, according to a survey from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Recreation home sales were up 7% in 2011 yet the median sales price dropped 19% to its lowest point in four years.

Of the 70% who said they intended to rent out their properties, 39% planned to use the rental income to help cover mortgage, taxes, insurance, and other costs while 14% stated they purchased the property to make a profit.

These statistics probably do not surprise the 3.3 million vacation property owners in the U.S. who choose to rent out their homes, condos, and apartments. According to Radius Global Market Research, the vocational rental industry generated more than $85 billion in 2010 in the U.S. and Europe.

“Families and groups have just begun to discover the value proposition that renting a home holds over renting a hotel room,” says Jeff Mosler, a former group manager at Microsoft and Amazon and now vice president, global customer experience, at HomeAway. “People not only appreciate the space but also the ability to use a kitchen and laundry services plus the privacy of their own patio and pool.”

HomeAway, the parent company of VRBO and dozens of other international websites that allow owners to display and rent out their properties, showed a revenue increase of 37.1% to $330.2 million last year, up from $167.9 million in 2010. The company has become the major player in the vacation rental space and charges owners an annual average of $300 to list their homes with pictures, description, and reviews. HomeAway had 640,000 paid listings in 2011, up from 324,933 in 2008. The Austin-based company went public last year.

According to NAR, there are approximately 7.7 million recreational properties in the U.S. Of the second-home owners who bought in 2011, approximately 33% of those surveyed said they purchased solely for personal use – less than half of the number found a decade ago.

That stat is mostly likely a reflection of a “luxury-adverse” economy plus the addition of online tools making it easier to locate and bill travelers and vacationers. For example, HomeAway has negotiated deep discounts for credit cards, rental guarantees, and insurance while streamlining reservations and providing customer profiles.

“There’s no way a person in the vacation rental business could go into a bank and get a merchant credit card rate of lower than 3.5 or 5%,” says Brent Bellm, HomeAway’s chief operating officer. “All of our owners can take credit card charges at 2.5% with no additional fees, which is a relationship you could not receive as a single individual or small-business owner.”

Potential owners considering another purchase have also been viewing online results in making their decisions to get into the vacation rental business. For example, HomeAway reported that 51% of its owners who financed their vacation home were able to cover more than 75% of their mortgage by renting it to travelers. In addition, owners averaged 19 rental weeks a year, generating more than $28,000 in annual rental income.

Michael Smith, a vacation-home owner who specializes in large groups who want to visit Disneyland, says not only are his bookings on the rise, but so is his competition.

“Two years ago, we were probably the only people with homes that could accommodate 18 to 25 people,” Smith says. “Now, there are at least four other competitors just in the immediate Anaheim area. Consumers now have more option where we used to be their only call.”

Bellm says that HomeAway’s target market is groups of at least three-plus people, not individual couples headed out for a romantic weekend or vacation.

“Those people often don’t require the size of a vacation rental home,” Bellm says. ”Often, they are looking for specific services that a certain hotel offers. We see that changing, however, as more vacation-property owners expand the creative services in their homes.”

Tom Kelly’s new e-book, “Bargains Beyond the Border: Get Past the Blood and Drugs: Mexico’s Lower Cost of Living Can Avert a Tearful Retirement,” is available online at Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon.com, Sony's Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Borders Books, Diesel eBook Store, and Google Editions. It mirrors a recent article byCNN on the benefits of the country, including increased rental possibilities.

Selling your home during the Holidays

So how should you best market your home during the holidays? Take the same careful consideration as with any other time of year, but add a bit of holiday flair for warmth. Just don't go overboard a la Clark Griswold and the holiday lights in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

The fact is that homes look and feel warm and inviting when they are decorated for the holidays, and that's very appealing to buyers. You want buyers to picture their own family in the festive environment you've created. If it's cold and you have an open house scheduled, it can't hurt to have a fire going in the fireplace, hot cider at the door and even candy canes for potential buyers.

Most importantly, consider your selling price carefully and be realistic. When setting the asking price, ask your Texas REALTOR® to compare similar homes sold in the winter months/during the holidays. Many owners set their asking price too high because of comparisons with sales prices during peak seasons. Always try to compare similar properties sold at the same time of year.

Finally, if your home has been on the market for a while (more than six months), it's time to change your sales approach. Work with your Texas REALTOR® to figure out another strategy. Ask for a reassessment of the sales price; it may be too high for the current market. You may also want a new or updated marketing plan and an explanation of each activity.

In the News November 22, 2013

In The News…

1. Foreclosure postings down this year by 1/3. Next month 621 properties are posted, down from 863 last year or down 28%.  YTD  postings are down from 13,755 to 8824 or 36%.
2. Stock  Market hits 16,000 for the first time ever.  Economists speculate the combination of solid corporate earnings, a steadily strengthening economy and easy-money  policies from the Federal Reserve has been driving the market.  Since the start of the year the Dow is  up 22%.  If it holds onto its gains  for the year, it would notch its strongest performance since 2003. 

In the News...October 26

In The News…

1. Solar Tracker Plant set, 130 jobs coming to SA.  Two companies one from Spain has finalized plans to build a dual axis solar tracker manufacturing facility in SA.
2. New-home sales jumped in September 5.7% to the highest level in 2 years.
3. Houston and Dallas were the strongest homebuilding markets in the nation for the year ending in August.  Austin was 6th and San Antonio 15^th.  The pace of new home construction rose 15%.
4. S.A. Job Count hits Record 880,200 while unemployment falls to 6%.  This is the highest job count SA has ever had.  The more people who work the more that need to rent or buy homes.
5. Eagle Ford has doubled oil production in the last year from 150,000 barrels a day to 322,000.
6. FedEx predicts record number of packages shipped for the holidays…Caterpillar third quarter profit rose 49% to almost $1.7 billion.
7. American seeking to hire 1500 flight attendants and 2500 pilots over the next year.