Houston Home Search

I posed a similar question a while back when my wife and I were starting to think we might like to move into the city.

We're in a full fledged house hunt right now, and we have our current home on the market. We've were looking at quite a few inner loop areas, and we've pretty much narrowed it down to the Boulevard Oaks/Southampton area (Between 59, Kriby, Montrose and Rice). Because we're too poor to live in such a rich neighborhood, we're also looking a little bit south of there in Southgate, a little bit Northeast of there in Montrose, and a little bit North of there around Kirby and Richmond and points east.

Anyway, we've been trying to avoid using Realtors to save on money, and we've really been using www.har.com quite a bit. We've also used www.houstonfsbo.com and www.buyowner.com (as well as the Chronicle). We've looked at most of the houses available, but I'm sure we've missed some. Do any of you know of any websites that specialize in for sale by owner Houston real estate? Do any of you know of anyone in those areas that are thinking of selling?

.....we've probably reached the end of our options, but I figured it was worth a try.

 

cmrockfan--we're using the listing agent for the Martha Turners and Greenwood Kings (those who will only pay the seller's agent if he/she is a licensed realtor), but if we find a house we like listed by another agent, I'd much rather have that three percent myself. If I hook up with a realtor, then I have no chance of getting that three percent. I have the same information available to me that Realtor's have and quite frankly, I'm confident in my appraisal abilities (not that it means anything, but I have the required 12 semester hours for my real estate license). In fact, my best friend is an appraisor.....and don't tell him, but I'd rather make my own assessments. And after using an agent in the past, I'd MUCH, MUCH, MUCH rather have my wife and I behind the wheel when it comes to the negotiating table.

However, I would like to hear what you have to say about the mortgage loan process. My wife and I have drawn a line in the sand at $375,875. We won't buy a house that costs more than that. 80% of that is $300,700 which would explain to you where we came up with that figure--no jumbos for us. We want to do an 80-15-5, so we can avoid the PMI and the escrow and a high down payment, and we can't say for sure how long we'll be at this house, though if I had to guess, I'd say about five years....still, that could drag on into 10 years and beyond, so we want to stick with a 30 year fixed, no points. Anyway, I'd love to hear what I might be missing or what else I need to know, and I'm sure I'll be happy to give you my business.

roberthablinski@yahoo.com

 

Wow......what a necro-bump. The short answer is "no." We looked and looked and looked, and although we found houses we could afford, we couldn't find anything we liked that we could afford. I think we got tired of looking, and one day, we started looking at the Friendswood side of Pearland, and we saw a house that was just awesome. Way bigger than we needed, but on a corner lot with (supposedly) close to a $150K in upgrades. The builder and the original "owner to be" had a falling out, and we picked it up cheaply. We ended up having to sell it when my wife got transferred to Calgary for a five year stint, and upon our return last year, we ended up in West Memorial. Close to her office in the energy corridor. Needless to say, we couldn't get into West Memorial for that kind of money, but we're also in a completely different phase of our lives than we were fifteen years ago.

One thing is for sure, my opinion on using a Realtor had not changed (we've gone through a few recreational real estate transactions in between Pearland and W. Memorial). A Realtor can be the smartest person you'll ever encounter...........but it sure as hell isn't a job requirement.