jscarbor

Did I? Had you checked your caller ID, in your meeting, you could have told your client "I'm in a meeting - call you back in 5 minutes." Instead, your client had no idea when you'd call him back... Was it going to be 5 minutes? 5 Hours? The next day? Not knowing that, and anxious that he might lose the deal (because of your unavailability), your client, who probably didn't know "the rules" - called the other realtor to make arrangements to see the place. Uh oh. We all know what that means: the other realtor then had the right to keep ALL the commission, because they were going to be the ones providing entry to the property - not you.

So had you been available, you could have been there to provide prompt service to your client, you could have arranged entry to the property, the other realtor would not have gotten abrupt/rude, and you would have been guaranteed 3%. But no

You missed the call. Root of the problem...

You missed the point...

So a guy calls me and wants to use me to buy a house. I sent him a commission agreement form but not the TREC "buyer Rep" form because quite frankly I don't like the form when I buy from another realtor, but thats just me. Anyway I was in a meeting and the guy called me about wanting to see this foreclosure, I missed the call. As soon as I got out of meeting I called and he is having the "listing" Realtor open the house on Inker up. I told my client I was right down the street and I would call the listing agent and tell him that I could show. When I called the listing agent the guy was pissed and asked why we were wasting his time. He said he would call the bank and tell them that I was not eligible to get a commission. I told the guy I was sorry but let us please check it out. If he likes it maybe we can work something out. This jackass refused. I told him I would gladly pay for his gas. At that point he told me that he made $350,000 per year and paying for his gas was an insult(So he takes REO listings, this is his only one and he makes that much money?). At that point I pretty much knew we were dealing with an idiot here. I told him that his job was to look at Real Estate. Heaven forbid he checks out his listing. After he said the rest of his BS I told him I would call the Buyer and tell him to go see the house with me and if he could get a good deal then do so without me getting a commission. I told him I didn't want to get in the way of him getting a good deal. After talking with the Realtor my client decided to not see the home, he agreed that the guy was an ahole and figured ther would be more on the market. I really feel like spending time on this and contacting the Bank that owns the property to see if they would want him to open a house as a courtesy or not?

Obviously I am a Realtor but I understand much of the publics disdain for Realtors as much as anyone. Some of these people are egomaniacs who think Real Estate is about THEM and not the clients.

Here's my deal with the appraisal...I have 10 unit townhouse development going up. On Jan 1 five of the houses were about 60% complete and 5 were about 20% complete. A few weeks ago we get the appraisal amounts for 2008 and they appraise all of the houses at $290ish! #1, not one of the homes was finished, really the properties are nearly worthless at these stages, #2. The highest I sold one for was $260,000 and that had a lot of builder concessions. The 1540 sq footer that I have listed at $230K....$290 by the county! The 2350 sq footer...$290 by the county??? Just throw a number out there.

So I went to my informal hearing and tell the guy theze were even close to being finished...he was willing to go with that so he crunches numberrs...looks like he is going to go with what I had in them. He then sayd they have my lot values at $62000 per lot. I told him that is ridiculous. I wouldn't pay $40000 for a lot over there right now. He said that since something was built on the property the lot was worth more which really teed me off because assuming its worth more its worth more because of the construction that went on....I was thinking then don't seperate the values, if its improved make that one value, the lots in that area are not wrth $60000. I have 12 lots in the area that I cannot get rid of at $45 per lot. Id gladly sell them at a discount to the city for $50000 each. They could turn around and sell them and make money. Damn idiots.

I've done a little research since I wrote my post this afternoon and I am almost certain we're going to go for the arbitration. The most we would have to lose is $500 and the most we could gain would be ~ $1000 in lower taxes on the $40,000 difference.

The more I think about this sham, the madder I get.

Sham doesn't even begin to describe what the stat and local politicians have been doing to our taxes while they look in the camera with a smile and say they lowered the taxes for homeowners a few years ago! Crazy appraisals and the business tax just don't really seem to matter to them.

I don't really cook much, so I'm not that hard on my countertops whatever they're made of. Besides, I'm not sure I understand what seems like a quest for an indestructable kitchen. I have a friend who's always reminding me that most things ugly out before they wear out. So, my approach is to also look at the cost and bother to de-uglify. Bleach works pretty good for making unsealed grout white again, and even if it doesn't, it's not that big a deal to scrape it out and re-grout. Certainly easier and less expensive than replacing granite that you've grown to hate the look of.

I still like granite myself, I like it a lot better than tile really. But granite is to normal now I guess. I have a house I am redoing that has a chippped up formica cabinet that I am going to tile up I think. Should dress it up considerably from the white formica.

I'm planning to replace the icky laminate on my kitchen countertops with tile, and folks look at me funny when I say that. But really, it's a 1920 house, and even though the original kitchen is long gone, I just can't see anything but tile fitting in with the rest of the house.

Tile is a pretty inexpensive way to go and looks good, especially in remodel. The drawback IMO is cleanliness. Grout lines are hard to keep clean. Do you just clean(besides everyday cleaning) and seal the grout lines every year or two?

I will admit to having odd tastes in kitchen stuff, preferring a lot of original elements and vintage looks to a uniform "stock" kitchen design.

This is an example of what I am sure a lot of people find appealing, but I just can't stand. I see it all the time in the east end. I see this ONE pattern of cabinets, like this is the only option, tossed into everything over there. Arts & Crafts in Eastwood, Tudor bungalows in Houston Country Club, or mid-century moderns in Glenbrook, it doesn't matter. One size fits all apparently. Even when they spring for the real granite over the cheezy fake version, it still looks wrong in older homes to me.

Often times people rip out good quality old stuff to slap this or worse in. Often times made with low grade wood which doesn't help.

But that looks like it has neither granite or SS...Both of those would dress that kitchen up a but more?

So what are some counter tops and appliance colors that convey a sense of "upgrade" that can be used instead of granite or SS? I have thought that these were pretty ambiguous now for a long time but the market still seems to gravitate to these items???? Silestone doesn't say upgrade and black appliances don't either. Marble not good for kitchens generally. Built in appliances matching cabinets is ok but that really is an upgrade.

I have used the 2percent2buyer.com and so have two of my co-workers. None of us have ever had any issues on getting the rebates.

ferronsfunctionals was my first customer! I think he would say that I did a good job for him?

I also wanted to add a little anecdote...I had a couple looking at one of my houses a few months ago. They made a decent offer, I countered back in my favor, not at the halfway mark, and they walked and decided to buy a Waterhill which I believe was the development on Commerce. I kicked myself for not getting them in, I think we were off by $5000 from my last offer. I probably would have moved another $1000-2000. I got and offer about 45 days after on that house near where my first counter was so in the end all I probably lost was some interest on the loan for carrying the home. Moral is as much as I kicked myself I bet the people that went Waterhill are kicking themselves more now. We should have worked the deal a little harder.

I also lost a few people that said they preferred the Waterhills. I was always polite but asked myself what the hell are these people seeing...In the end I think it was the fact they had a model????

I'm posting here because it shows up high on search engine results.

We've lived in a Waterhill townhome since December 2007. Though we like the design and our neighbors, tt was the worst decision of our life. To date:

1. Only one of the two community gates actually works. Just get rid of them, they don't keep the thieves out anyway

2. The one gate that does work doesn't have a locking pedestrian entrance. It's just open.

3. We were never given the gate remotes as promised. Go an see what brand the gate motor is. PM me with it and I can see if my gate guy can get you some

4. The retaining wall behind our home is still incomplete.It will be a long time before it is.

5. The tree in front of our house was dead when we moved in.Put another one in yourself

6. We regularly receive notices from contractors who were never paid by Waterhill for work.They should have filed their leins before you closed on the property. These liens will have to be taken care of when you sell. You probably won't have to pay them but they will be contacted and told to remove the lien.

7. We've received two notices threatening to cut off our water because Waterhill didn't pay. I would call the city if you have not already asnd ask what you need to do. Waterhill probably had the account on those? They are gone is my guess, they are not going to pay.

8. Of the planned 78 homes, only 11 are done. No construction has been done in months.

9. The empty land is overgrown and has attracted all sorts of critters.

10. The solar light above our garage does not work.

11. We were never provided touch-up paint despite more than 10 requests for it.

12. The sheetrock in our home is uneven at the studs.

13. Our toilet leaked only one month after moving in.

14. Weather damaged two of our neighbors' roofs due to improper installation.

Our water is being cut off tomorrow due to Waterhill's non-payment. It's inspired me to share my complaints with the world.

I answered a few things in the post above but I guess its best to not be redundant and keep telling you that Waterhill is probably not going to fix anything. You got screwed and its horrible. Keep records of what you get fixed. I doubt there will be anything or anyone to sue but you never know.

Diggity, we put the offer in on a Friday - our realtor recommended the inspector, but the inspector couldn't do the inspection until Wednesday of the following week. The third offer came in on Friday, a week after we put our offer in. Our option period expired on Sunday. The odds are very slim that someone drove by, saw the house and just happened to call our realtor to represent them. She was obviously actively taking her other clients to it while our option was pending and our negotiations were underway.

In short, there most likely wouldn't have been a third offer coming in at the last minute, if not for our Buyers Agent. That's why I'm very upset.

Have you asked the Realtor what happened?

Also, would you have bought the house if the Seller would not make the "repairs"? No matter how much negotiating a Realtor does with the selling agent it doesn't mean the Seller will comply. This house had 3 offers in 1 week, why negotiate if you are the Seller?: You had the property under contract and controlled the transaction for a small amount of time. Just playing devils advocate, because4 thats what will happen if you try to do anything legally or with TREC. Ethically it smells a little though which is what your initial post is about.

I have a 2-1-1 in Cypress Trails of Timberlane in Spring, TX. I've had the best tenants for the last five years. They are moving on next month and I'm presented with an opportunity to sell or lease again. I'd like input from the HAIF community.

The property will bring 250-300 a month positive cash flow; however, I have over 20K equity I'd like to use to reduce debt and buy a new AC system for my current residence.

I'm not sure, in this market, whether I should hold on to it for awhile longer and delay current needs or sell and be a bit more comfortable.

I look forward to your responses.

Positive cash flow is a good thing.

I might even think about selling using part to fix what needs fixing in your house and use part to try and buy another rental that can bring close to the amount cash flow you have now.

Another way to look at it is, will the rental property you have now need any items replaced soon? If so its time to sell before they come up or you will have not only your current res to fix then you have this on top of it.

$.02

Back in June we found a house in Tanglewilde that we liked and had our agent put an offer in on it. At the time, our realtor told us that the seller's realtor said another offer had already come in on the home, but the seller had rejected that offer and accepted ours. We paid for an inspection and were negotiating based on the results of the inspection (HVAC was too small for the size of the home, not enough air registers, insulation was blown in over the tops of lighting fixtures [fire hazard], foundation concerns, etc...) While our option was pending, our realtor told us that the seller told them that a third offer had come in on the home. The seller was not very agreeable to crediting us for the repairs, and our realtor wasn't really negotiating with them the way we'd hoped - she seemed to be more concerned about staying on their good side than getting us the home. In the end, the seller said they wouldn't agree to the repairs and they were going to take the third offer. Our last communication on the home with our realtor was on June 9th.

I was looking at another home on the same street today, looked at the recent sales on HAR and found the home we'd almost purchased. Was stunned by what I saw: our realtor is listed as the selling broker and the sales date is July 8th. She was apparently representing that other offer.

Are the sales dates on HAR the closing dates? And is it a violation of ethics in Texas for an agent to represent two offers on the same home without disclosing that information to the (potential) buyers?

Thank you.

Try this link and see if it says anything: http://www.texasrealestate.com/web/4/43/index.cfm.

Personally I would have told both potential buyers that they were repping another interested party.

Thanks for all the info everyone.

Sevfiv- I am curious about your bias against the Galleria area and the style of home. Is the Galleria not a good area to live in?

I drove by the area and the exterior common area does look a little unkept (needs a landscaper to trim back the bushes/grass)... There were for sale signs everywhere on that street... bad investments? bad area? bad construction? mortgage scams? No way to really know I guess..

jscarbor- do you know those names? Both of those are the people listed in HCAD ownership history...

I only saw the names on a quick click of the hcad account #.

Good Afternoon,

hope your week goes well!

I am seeking some input, comments, advice or and knowledge you have encountered or experience with

selling an older home and selling by owner instead of using a realtor.

What are some Pros and Cons of selling an older home not worth much when using a realtor

besides the realtor advertising and showing the house for you to people?

What are some basic criteria for selling a home by owner? Can a potential buyer

give a large sum down payment then monthly payments directly to the home owner?

Thank You

make it a great day

Pro's are that you can possibly save some money, know what is going on with your property at all times.

Con's not on MLS which mean less people see the property. Realtors will not steer their clients from the property but will typically miss the property when they are searching. Also, Its typically better to have someone screen buyers for you. People looking at FSBO are usually looking to get a "deal" and sometimes that means lower offers.

I think for an older property not worth much it is doubtful there would be much advertising by an agent. The agents best tool for selling is good price and MLS.

Can a potential Buyer give the Seller a large sum of money then monthly payments? Yes, its called owner financing. The right way to do this would be to have an attorney draw up a note and deed trust, provide clear title(except the note).

Bottom line is FSBO is possible and can be a win win at times but it doesn't always work out best. Of course that can also be said for going with a Realtor couldn't it?

Alot depends on location but its a 1200 foot condo, say worth $200000...I would guess you could get around $900-$1100 for that? Just a wild guess.

Temitope Sodeke owned atleast 2 homes and I bet Tayo Oyekamni did to? This smells like a mortgage scam deal where they were able to get big appraisals for these and get cash back as a "marketing fee" on these. These look like houses that would have gone on the market for about $380,000 a couple years ago. An "investor" I use this term very loosely comes in and cuts a deal. They("investor and his client) buy it for $480,000 and after some fees someone walks away with $60-80k or so and never lives in it. It worked best when the scam group could buy all the houses in a town home community.

So, without looking at these $320,000 might be a pretty good deal? That third floor balcony is worth looking into for leaks. I would need to run some comps but I think it might be a good deal. It would be nice if someone could get a handle on the HOA and start building that up and making the exterior common space upkept and looking good. Soon scammers will all be bought up and new "real" buyers will be in.

What can anyone here tell me about the Sugarland area?Almost 3 years ago, my wife and I had twins and started looking for a house - knowing that our apartment wouldn't be big enough for the 4 of us. Now we still have our apartment (being used for storage and a place for our cat) but are living with my Mother until we find a home.We've looking in Houston, Pearland and Friendswood and now after hearing good things about Sugarland, we wanna look there too but first want to know what parts are safer.We're lookin' for a $200,000 - $275,000 home in a safe area with lots of kids for ours to play with. Peace

I enjoy living in Sugar Land, it has a lot to offer IMO. The mall isn't great but who really cares, I have been to a mall maybe 2 times in the last year. You can shop anywhere. Town Center usually has nice family outing type event right in front of city hall on weekends.

Traffic has really improved in th last 2 years with the near completion of us59. There are lots of open spaces.

Areas that I like that fit your description are:

Sugar Creek: Older established neighborhood. Nice Robert Trent Jones private golf, close to freeway, easy commute to Galleria.

New Territory: Nice homes, trees, open space, adjacent to the more expensive Telfair, pretty much same houses only a little older.

Greatwood: Similar attributes to New Territory with some newer homes, commute might be slightly better than New Teritory depending where you live I suppose. Public golf course wich is pretty nice.

I would think that Greatwood and New Territory have more kids to play with than say Sugar Creek but that is not a scientific analysis.

There are many other great places these are a few of my fav's.

The awning is up at The Real Sammie's. Website is up too!

Sammy is full of ____. He ONLY cares about making oney. I showed him some real estate a long time ago for Sammy's and he kept saying how he made x amount of money for the owners of Gallant Night and now it was time for him to get his $. It was is and will always be about the money for Sammy.

Thanks for the advice, but it's not all doom and gloom. Competent craftsmen that do quality work seem to be more valuable than inspectors. I have also seen the some of junk that registered builders churn out and the mark-up they extract on supposedly "high-end" materials. I'll take my chances and keep that extra $50/sq ft in my own pocket and feel good knowing what is actually behind those walls.

I'l be sure to let you know how it goes. What I learn here I will use on the next home I build.

You think builders make $50 per foot?

Yes good quality is a plus but the city does not mess around when it comes to this stuff. Please let us know how it turns out. I hope you can get this staightened out without to much trouble.

Possibly.

My architect friend works with a guy that had a hurricane tie-down system that replaces the individual straps with a cable that goes over the entire house. It can be retrofitted. A company called Creole Design in the Heights (the same people as Creole Construction) has the franchise for Houston. As long as you have not installed drywall yet, you should be able to get this problem solved without too much problem.

Creole Design's number is (713) 880-3158.

I think my brother was showing me this system. Is the guy's name Sam? The only problem I see with this is that you would probably have to get the engineer of record to look at the product and draw something up for you?

I have rebated my commission several times. I have usually done it on my word but just recently I wrote up an addendum to buyers agent rep form and stated what the intention of the rebate is. Thats about all you can do really is my guess.

2percent2buyer.com

Has anyone used or know anything about Rapid Ready Mix?

Portable Toilets - Best Portable Toilets - Ed - 281-924-5679

Brick work - Brick Restoration - Gabrielle - 281-558-1828

Hardwood Flooring - C.H.W.F. Inc - Carlos - 713-894-3827

Cabinet Hardware - Cornerstone - 713-839-8586

Gutters - David Carcia - 281-236-4069

Tree Trimming and Removal - EF Trees - Mr. Flores - 713-299-5274

Iron Work and Motorized Gates - Felix @ MMM - 713-777-9797

Tub and Tile refinishing (epoxy) - Julio @ JF refinishing - 281-596-9743

Insulation - Larry @ Payless Insulation - 281-667-5601

Trim Carpenter - Manuel Hernandez - 832-677-6547

Garage Doors and openers - Payless Garage Doors - Marcos Ramirez - 281-726-6897

Window Cleaning - Mark - 832-978-9892

Sewer line investigation - Michael Busch @ Professional Drain Inspectors - 713-304-5150

Granite - Michael Castro @ Granite in Stone - 713-382-6854

Copper weatherstripping and Thresholds - Raul Retiz - 281-932-2484

Frameless shower enclosures and mirrors - Roque Ramirez @ Visual Glass - 832-398-5976

Enjoy,

flipper

p.s. tell them Jonathan sent you so I can start getting better prices

Wow. Well, I was a real estate agent in another life in another state. I do know that a CONTRACE has to be submitted before the agent has a bona fide OFFER. If there is no CONTRACT, then no offer. I would be surprised if, like you say, out of the blue, someone gets mutiple offers on a foreclosure. What does your agent say? No way would I give my highest and best offer. No way. If you aren't happy with your realtor, get another agent. SERIOUSLY. No need for the breaking wheel. Really!

I had a client looking at this foreclosure property and got the same stupid highest and best offer. I told my client to think about it a little and see what he really wanted to do. I said this could be a ploy or maybe not, you never really know. In the end we decided to stay pat and about 3 weeks later we got a message saying someone else beat us. So, in this case I guess there really was an offer.

I need to add that the Realtor reping the bank was a piece of work. He had instructions 7 pages long on how the offer had to be perfect blah blah blah. Anyway, we go to show the house and there is not a lock box on it as mentioned in the NLS comments and from the showing service. It was a really interesting deal to say the least.

So I will be moving downtown within the next 6 months and have done quite a bit of townhome shopping. I will be working downtown so the closer the better. I was curious as to you guys thoughts on the different neighborhoods inside the loop. I'm a mid 20's single professional so where should i live? Here are some thoughts I have....(I am looking to spend no more than $270,000). Need 3 Bedrooms as I will have 2 Roommates. If there is already a thread on this please direct me to it.

East End- Probably the most home for the money. No bars/restaurants within walking distance. "Dirty". Close to basketball/baseball and work. Future?

Midtown- Close to bars/restaurants. Might have to buy used for 270,000

Montrose- "Nicest" area but will probably have to buy used for 270. Walk to restaurants/bars. Already developed

Upper West End- Target shopping center on Taylor will house many restaurants (chili's,subway, FREEBIRDS!!!, panda bear, etc). Washington blvd. growing. Short drive to work. Buffalo Bayou Park area very nice.

Rice Military- 5 miles from work (the farthest...how is traffic on washington?). Also might have to buy used for 270,000

Museum/Rice- ?

I am sort of leaning towards the Upper West End as I like the idea of having chain restaurants available downtown as well as a very nice Target. HHN, Intown, and Urban Living all have very nice new developments in the area in the general price range I am looking. Comments?

I build in the east side and am about to build in Rice Military area. If you were to compare the two straight up from a price standpoint here is what I can tell you. House in eastside about $240K-255K essentially same house in RM about $260-275K.

Eastside has a lot of huge projects near it that are bettwer than just about any other area in houston like Discovery Green. It has the new Pavillions which will be a pretty cool place, I especially like the idea of the bowling alley that is going in.