Posts Tagged ‘Best realtors in Houston’

The weather is beginning to warm up and everything’s turning green. So to inspire you to push aside that spring cleaning and enjoy some time with your family, we are sharing a list of fun upcoming events happening here in our area! The first ever Masquerade Woodlands event featuring everything Mardi Gras! Sat, February 24, 2018 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM CST Town Green Park  2099 Lake Robbins Drive    The Woodlands, TX 77380 Music-Zydeco, Jazz, R&B-JABB Zydeco. N.O. Hustlers Houston Brass Band Food-Crawfish, Cajun, Southern including Cousin's Maine Lobster, Voodoo Momma's Cajun & Crawfish, Wings on Wheels, Gumbo Xpress, La'Deville Cajun, KICPOPS, Kogler's Bakery and MORE! Drinks-Cold Beer, Hurricanes, Margaritas Kids Zone free for kids Krewe of Barkus (Mardi Gras Pet Parade) Photo Area for the whole family Beads, Beads, and more Beads!   Mother Daughter Tea Party Saturday, March 10, 2018, 11:00am - 01:00pm Enjoy a wonderful afternoon with your mom or daughter. Pla...

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Home ownership should make you feel safe and secure, and that includes financially. Be sure you can afford your home by calculating how much of a mortgage you can safely fit into your budget. Why not just take out the biggest mortgage a lender says you can have? Because your lender bases that number on a formula that doesn’t consider your current and future financial and personal goals. Think ahead to major life events and consider how those might influence your budget. Do you want to return to school for an advanced degree? Will a new child add day care to your monthly expenses? Does a relative plan to eventually live with you and contribute to the mortgage? Do you like to travel? Consider those lifestyle issues as you check out these four methods for estimating the amount of mortgage you can afford.   #1 Prepare a Detailed Budget The oldest rule of thumb says you can typically afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. So, if you earn $100,000, you can typically afford a home between $200...

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In the lasted release of the The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Quarterly Metro Home Price Report revealed that severely lacking inventory across the country drained sales growth and kept home prices rising at a steady clip in nearly all metro areas. Home prices rose 5.3% over the last quarter across all metros. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, discussed the impact of low inventory on buyers in the report: “Unfortunately, the pace of new listings were unable to replace what was quickly sold. Home shoppers had little to choose from, and many had to outbid others in order to close on a home. The end result was a slowdown in sales from earlier in the year, steadfast price growth and weakening affordability conditions.” Trulia reported that “in Q4 2017, U.S. home inventory decreased by 10.5%. That is the biggest drop we’ve seen since Q2 2013.” What this means to sellers Rising prices are a homeowner’s best friend. As reported by the Washington Post in a recent article post: ...

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Can you believe it, Spring is right around the corner! For most home owners it’s an exciting time to get your home ready for the season of warmer temperatures and colorful flowers . During the winter months, many areas of your home are neglected. From the interiors of your home to the exterior, getting your home ready for spring will ensure you’ll be ready to enjoy the warmer weather once it hits. Space out your maintenance tips and by the time spring is here, you will be able to enjoy the season! Start on your exterior: The outside of your home has taken more wear and tear from the harsh winter. Walk around your home and examine caulking around windows and doors, as well as open windows and doors and look at weather stripping. Replace old or cracking caulk and replace weather stripping. Inspect the roof for broken or missing shingles, or tiles, and clean out gutters and downspouts at the same time. Landscaping: While it may not be time for you to start planting flowers and watering your lawn, it isn’t too early to...

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The Outlook for Real Estate and the Economy presented by Ted C Jones, Chief Economist, Last week we attended the "By the Numbers - A 2018 Real Estate and Economic Outlook” meeting presented by Chief economist, Dr. Ted C. Jones. He provided us with a close look at the trends that will impact the real estate market.  The most popular topic at this event was obviously what will happen to the housing market and economy post Hurricane Harvey. Well, I have great news to report! He said that the housing market will boom this year and there will be no post Hurricane Harvey recession.  The reason he suggests this is because 8 out of the 9 last hurricanes, this is exactly what happened to the market.    About 10% of homes in the Houston area were damaged by the hurricane and many of these home owners will likely decide to fix their homes then sell, be part of the buyout program, or simply sell as is. These homeowners will then need to purchase a new home which is why the market will skyrocket.  Besides the housing...

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Did you recently set some New Year’s resolutions? You probably made some last year — and the year before as well. Right? In fact about 45% of American’s make resolutions each year. But as you look back at previous years, did you actually keep any of them? If you answered no don’t feel bad, most people don’t see it through. Let’s face it … it’s a little silly waiting all year to decide on one thing that you sort of want to stop doing, but you know you’re not really committed to following through with it anyway.  The truth is, resolutions simply don’t work. First off, there’s no commitment or motivation. A recent study showed that only 40% of American’s actually kept their resolutions for the entire year. Why? Because there was no commitment! Most people take a problem that really has no meaning to you and try to fix it. Your resolutions lack a true foundation of meaning so you pretty much run out of steam. You may get a little boost of motivation at the start of your journey, but it never lasts. It�...

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  You’re probably well aware that there’s more to real estate than just owning your home. There are countless success stories of people who made a fortune or even just a comfortable extra income by investing in real estate. Here’s an overview to get you thinking about an investment property. Improving a home Quickly flipping a home is one way to make money off a real estate investment, but it can be risky. A safer play is to buy a fixer upper and carefully manage costs over a year or so as you improve the property. You’re likely to get a great return. Rental properties Instead of selling your investment property, you can rent it and make a good monthly profit if the rent exceeds your costs. Renting to a stable, reliable tenant can put extra money in your pocket every month for years on end. You can even hire a property manager to handle repairs, rent collection, and other administrative tasks. And if you’re ever ready to stop dealing with tenants, you can sell the home and profit on the improvements and a...

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  During the holidays time flies, and soon we'll be ringing in a new year.  Since many of us will be on Christmas break soon this is actually a great time to wrap things up and start new tasks. And there are also a number of things that have to be done by the end of the year. Get these things done to start 2018 fresh. 1. Spend Your FSA Make sure you've spent the money in your Flexible Spending Account, because it will expire by the end of the month. You may be allowed to file an extension if you haven't used up all your FSA dollars, but you need to check your company policy to see if it allows that. Here are some last-minute ideas to use your FSA money: Over-the-counter items: We're not allowed to spend our FSA dollars on over-the-counter medicines without prescriptions but there are plenty of nonmedical products that we can still use the FSA money for. For example, band aids, crutches, first aid kits, reading glasses, sunscreen, and wound are all covered under the FSA. Acupuncture: Acupuncture is covered by yo...

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Exxon Mobil plans to move 1,600 jobs out of Fort Worth between 2018 and 2020. XTO Energy, an Exxon subsidiary, will relocate to its parent company's new campus in Spring. 1,200 employees will leave Fort Worth in mid-2018, and another 400 will move in 2020. So how does this affect you? Well, there will certainly be an increase of sells in the Spring and Woodlands area in 2018 which surrounds the Exxon campus so If you are thinking about moving in the near future, now may be the right time. Selling a home can take longer than you think it's going to so, be smart and plan ahead. If you have lived in your current home for at least a couple of years, you most likely have a general idea of housing prices in your neighborhood and local economic conditions. It is still a good idea to do some additional homework and research housing activity in your area. The best way to know what your home is worth is to contact a professional and trustworthy realtor to give you a comparative market analysis. This will give you an indication of value on y...

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  Run Thru The Woods Nov. 23 This 28th annual Thanksgiving morning tradition features 1-mile, 3-mile and 5-mile run options for participants of all ages. Hosted by the YMCA of Greater Houston, top finishers receive cash and awards, and everyone who crosses the finish line receives a medal. 7:45 a.m. $25-$55. Market Street, 9595 Six Pines Drive, The Woodlands. 281-681-6730. www.runthruthewoods.org Home for the holidays - Winter Wonderland in Old Town Spring   November 11 (Saturday) 10:00 am - December 23 (Saturday) 5:00 pm Home for the Holidays will be from November 11th to December 23rd, 2017.  We are busy getting ready for lots of great entertainment and family fun! The 2016 celebration was a great success that featured a brightly lit community with lots of family-friendly activities! This year’s entertainment will bring wonderful Christmas music on our stage, a Petting Zoo, Santa’s House, complimentary Hot Cocoa stands and so much more!! The Woodlands Ice Rink -Ice Skating in Town Center The Ice Rink...

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