Question for home owners

The home inspector I used was Fox Inspections (Houston, TX) It's owned by a guy who does this because he loves it, not because he couldn't be a realtor. He wants to make sure people know what they're buying when they buy a home. This guy didn't just look at things and wander around the house. He got IN the attic and UNDER the house (pier & beam home) he crawled through small spaces and inspected as much as he could. He was honest and sincere and provided an extremely thorough report that even included digital pictures of the inspected damage so that both parties could better understand what was going on with a particular house. This turned out to be a valuable tool when negotiating for our current house.

Keep asking around, you'll get plenty of recommendations for inspectors. It doesn't matter who you choose, just as long as you get it done.

Good luck.

 

If you are new to this I would definetly get a buyers broker or an exclusive buyers agent to represent you, I would also buy a recent edition book on buying your first home. In most cases the seller pays all of the comissions and your and their broker's divey that up. New developments also have set asides to pay for buyer's brokers that bring in their clients. It is true you might have to pay more for a FISBO (for sale by owner), but the odds that you as a new buyer could negotiate a price as low as a good broker/agent could is not very good--offsetting this difference.

What I (we) did prior to buying our first home was 1) bought and studied a book on it, 2) asked around trusted people for agent/broker references and interviewed them, 3) signed a contract with our top choice broker to represent us for 2 months (that way they know you won't try to cut them out of the sellers commisions after they have done all the work for you). It worked out great.

Now if and when we sell I'll think more about not using an agent/broker to reduce commissions, but on the buyers side I think it is more of a no-brainer to use one.

If you have less than 20% down an 80-10-10 is a great idea (we refinanced into a conventional 14 months later), but that could be a whole another thread.

 

I didn't read all the posts, but something Jeff said sticks out. By all means, use a buyer's broker--preferably one that you can get references on. I'm sure there are some who just want to get as much of a commission as possible and won't really look out for your interests--the more you pay the better. So I wouldn't just pick one out of the yellow pages. Ask people like Jeff, if you're looking in Houston. I'm out in West Texas, so the one I used wouldn't do you much good. Ideally speaking, no one will be able to tell you if a house is listed for too much, or is a bargain, like a realtor will. They deal with this stuff day in, day out. If they're well acquainted with the area, they should be able to help you a lot.

 

Get the buyer to throw in a home warrenty. It costs the seller around ($400-$500) and you only have a $35 deductable on most home repairs for the first year. Most sellers will not refuse since they don't want you to think that something is wrong with the house. I had a worthless home inspector (get references from buyers and sellers and NEVER use one that an agent recommends). The home warrenty has save me money more than once on getting things repaired that should have been caught in an inspection. Also, that first year can be tight on finances so a home warrenty is a nice insurance policy against unexpected big expenses. And keep the name and number of the guys they use. They use those people because they don't rack up the bill with unnecessary work.

Jeff's reply is good - find out his/her bottom dollar. But if you can't talk to the owner directly - unless the home is in a hot market - and you don't have a property to sell - you are in the driver seat; Don't be afraid to low ball them. You can tell by the response where the final price will be.

 

If it helps, I have a friend who is a realtor in the Heights. His name is Jeff Morrison and he works for Martha Turner Properties in the Heights. He is a good guy (great guitar player) and he might be able to help you find a place.

His number is 713-558-3154. Tell him Jeff Balke referred you if you call him.

 

HA HA HA HA!!! Good one!

He's a musician friend of mine. He's a great guitar player. We've played together a number of times.

 

The thing about musician/realtors is that when they say, "It's a quiet neighborhood," you have to wonder, "Compared to what? Nigel Tufnel's Marshall that goes to 11?"

 

They appraise the houses for tax reasons. They usually start out lower than the market value on the house so the homeowner isn't too worried about the property taxes.

Then, every two years the house is reappraised. Most of the time they are appraised higher and higher.

Many times way above the market value of the house.

Its the way they can get more taxes without actually raising taxes percenage wise. That's why most appraisals are not usually a good indicator of the market value of the house.