General Real Estate Information 
There are currently 69 blog entries related to this category.
Home De-Cluttering Tips
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 3:34pm. 4262 Views, 0 Comments.
De-cluttering your home can help you to become more organized and less stressed. There are many rooms in the home that just seem to collect clutter. Clutter can cause discord and stress in families, but thankfully there are many options available for de-cluttering in each room of the home, making life much simpler.
Wondering where to begin? To avoid becoming overwhelmed, it's best to start slow and small. By scheduling regular times to de-clutter in fifteen minutes per day, you can get a good start on removing the clutter from your home before burning out too quickly. Another option is to set aside one to two hour blocks of time one or two days a week. By scheduling de-cluttering times you can avoid feeling burned out and the desire to give up by doing too…
Understanding Your Responsibilities as a Landlord
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012 at 4:54pm. 6051 Views, 0 Comments.
If you have decided to get your feet wet with commercial real estate you'll first have to learn about your responsibilities as a landlord. While it may seem like an easy task and you'll be able to allocate most of the tasks to a property management company, you will ultimately be the one who has to take on the responsibility of ownership.
Your first responsibility will be to provide a secure and safe environment to the tenants occupying your rental. All building codes must be in place and you need to ensure that you are looking for the best people as renters. When you establish a building that is safe and inhabited by responsible people, your tenants will enjoy a better atmosphere and you will have less on your plate to handle.
The Property Management…
HOA Reform Means Changes for Houston Texas Homeowners
Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 4:14pm. 24487 Views, 0 Comments.
When I was shopping for my first house, my dad pulled me aside for a bit of fatherly wisdom. "Find a place with a strong Homeowners' Association and plenty of deed restrictions. Trust me, you want a lot of deed restrictions." And to a point, he was right. It's those HOA rules which ensure that the neighbors all maintain their homes at a consistent level. HOAs can help ensure the neighbors don't let the yard get full of weeds, park junked-out cars in the driveway and generally let their homes get run-down, taking our property values with them.
But as many homeowners can attest, being part of an HOA isn't aways an easy experience. A quick survey of the Internet reveals story after story of ordeals and horrors homeowner's have endured at the hands of…
New Ways Houston Home Builders are Selling Houses
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 5:21pm. 5641 Views, 0 Comments.
No one can dispute the buying power of the Internet. All we have to do is enter a credit card number and boom, we're the proud owner of shoes, books, music, clothes, toys and … houses?
"The latest trend," says one of the 567 million Google hits I found on this very topic, "is to buy a house online."
You can't really buy a house online. But you can look at photos, watch video, print listings – or simply scan a QR barcode while out and about – to help narrow down the choices.
"Baby boomers want a lot of information and it's up to us to get it to them in a way they want it," said Rosemary Bickford, vice president of sales and marketing at Brickland Homes. "Buyers want to know almost everything before they even pick up the phone."
And hopefully from there, they…
Mortgages Underwater, Housing Recovery Stalled: Bring Out the Bulldozer
Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 1:46am. 53118 Views, 0 Comments.
In recent months, discussions on the economy have been dominated by two topics: the national deficit and jobs. And rightly so. Mushrooming debt casts a pall on our long-term financial outlook and unemployment is a singular focus for anyone looking for a job. As the economy continues to sputter, though, many economists and analysts are reaching the conclusion that, just as the housing market was at the core of the economic crisis, it is also the key to recovery.
Currently, 1 in 5 mortgages is underwater; with these homeowners often pouring all of their resources into just keeping their homes, they often have little money left to put back into the economy. Foreclosed homes, which in some areas sit in limbo for months or even years, often fall into…
Making Your Houston Home Energy-Efficient can be Easy Peasy Money Squeezy
Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 1:03am. 4298 Views, 0 Comments.
This is the time of year that makes even seasoned Houstonians want to hide from the heat in an air conditioned cocoon; and as temperatures soar, our electric bills do, too. In fact, thanks to our sultry summers, Houstonians have among the highest utility bills in the country.
Luckily, there are things you can do to ease the pain - and that doesn't mean packing up to move north. (You don't want to live there come winter anyway.) With changes to your home big and small, you can slash your energy bills, help the environment - and use local and federal rebates to help pick up the tab.
Fix Those Leaks and Insulate
Regardless of what new, energy-saving technology might be out there, much of our home's energy efficiency comes down to simple and low-tech - how…
Glenbrook Valley In Houston Texas Gets Groundbreaking Historic Designation
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 10:59am. 8755 Views, 0 Comments.
In 1956 Glenbrook Valley was just hitting its stride. The Parade of Homes had singled out the residential area, exclusively featuring Glenbrook Valley for all 30 homes on their annual tour. The development had previously been included in a citywide Parade of Homes in 1954, but not for the entire event.
Nestled along Sims Bayou between I45 and Telephone Rd., Glenbrook Valley originally opened in 1953 with a lot of fanfare. It was designed by the renowned Kansas City landscape architecture firm Hare and Hare, which was known for many Houston layouts, including River Oaks. The subdivision also received a lot of interest when Better Homes and Gardens featured 7923 Glenview on the September 1954 cover for an article titled “The Home for All America” and was the…
Keep Your Emotions Out of the Real Estate Selling Process
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 at 10:21pm. 4523 Views, 0 Comments.
If there’s one thing that will always get in the way of selling your home, it’s your emotions. So, how do you remain objective when selling something in which you have an emotional investment? Below are several important tips to aid you in this process.
- Hire a Realtor to help you set an objective price – The truth is that, most of the time, you will think your is worth more than it really is. And rightfully so; after all, you’ve likely invested a good deal of time, money and energy into making your house a home. However, buyers simply are not interested in your emotional investment. So, instead of pricing your home according to what you think it is worth, call in the advice of a qualified real estate agent who can give you an accurate price at which to…
Houston Texas, Taxes and Houses. A Harris County Property Tax Overview
Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 12:54pm. 6094 Views, 0 Comments.
If you own Houston property, chances are you recently received a "notice of appraised value" in the mail from the Harris County Appraisal District ...or you will soon. Spring is tax appraisal season in Texas, and although what we're receiving aren't bills - these taxes won't come due until next year - it's important to understand how appraisers arrive at these numbers, and what your rights are if you disagree with them.
While Texans overall enjoy a relatively low tax burden thanks to the fact that we don't have a state income tax, Texas property tax rates average higher than most states, These tax rates are not set by the state; in fact, all property taxes are both collected and spent locally. Rather, it's up to each individual taxing unit (i.e. the…
Home Letting, Leasing or Renting - It All Spells Property Management
Friday, April 15th, 2011 at 5:52pm. 4948 Views, 1 Comments.
Even though the real estate market is showing small signs of improvement, it’s still tough to sell a home out there - which is one of many reasons people are turning to leasing these days. Potential buyers who would’ve once qualified for mortgages are being turned down, and sellers are sometimes unable or simply unwilling to sell in this market, making leasing their most attractive option. Leasing out your home, though, is a business transaction and one which can often be more complicated than it appears on the surface. If you’re considering leasing your home, arm yourself with knowledge to help set it up for success.
First, consider whether leasing is truly the right option for you. If you live in a Houston neighborhood with a homeowner’s association,…
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