Interviewing Realtors (2 Viewers)

[dtc]

Every one I know who has tried renting out their old home when they've moved any distance away has had it turn into a disaster. Renting your home out, and trying to manage all of the issues which arise from that rental, when you do not live close by is a huge hassle. If you use an agency you'll lose 10-15% or more of the rent payment in management fees. Being a landlord can be a full-time job.

Sell your home and cut the ties. Get a clean start in your new town.

Good luck in your search for a realtor, ours was wonderful. We asked around and checked his references, and we remain friends with him to this day

I bought a condo in Austin during grad school and kept it 20 years without ever having to do anything except watch my mortgage decrease. When we sold, I split a huge profit with my X girlfriend who co-owned. Same thing in Tallahassee. I bought a house in Killearn in 92 and sold it in 01. Made a ton. I once had to pay the deductible when a giant tree limb crushed the roof above the kitchen.

Realtors charged 10% in Tally and 6 in Austin.

If you can cover the nut with rent and have any intention of returning or can afford to buy without removing the equity, I'd have no problem recommending it.

 

[melman]

Not a big fan of realtors jus sayin...but 1st do not sign a 1 year contract with any. My last realtor to sell my house 2 years ago I gave her 120 days. It took that long but not after I told her at the 90 day mark I'd take it off the mkt to replace flooring and raise the price with another realtor. 2nd, when they do the narrative on your MLS make sure it says what you want the buyer to see...this one did not mention my incentives of cash at closing, 1 year warranty etc...

 

[zeetes]

And if you decide to rent and place the house with an agency, when something breaks this agency will call their per serviceperson and you'll get skinned alive on repair/replace costs.

Being an absentee landlord sucks

A lease/purchase can work, but all details need to be nailed down in stone.

partly agree. my uncle wouldn't do it any other way.

a reputable management company is worth it's weight, but finding one is part of the challenge. watching a few friends go through this, it seems that most of the best ones want to handle multiple properties.

 

[zeetes]

Word of advice.

Don't move to Houston.

hate to agree, but solid advice. if you don't mind driving, I'd look at tomball - navasota - college station (depending on how much you like to drive). if anything, I personally prefer katy or sugarland over north houston, ie spring/woodlands. conroe is further up 45, but much more peaceful. houston can be a difficult city to work and live within reasonable distance.

 

[pmiceli]

Word of advice.

Don't move to Houston.

I would have to strongly disagree. Houston is easily one of the great cities in the United States.

But you do need to live in the city to experience the city.

And for someone with Louisiana roots, Houston is the perfect place to be.

 

[El Caliente]

I started work today, and the wife stayed behind to take care of the house. The realtor came by and said that we need to put some sod and riverbed sand in our backyard as it isn’t leveled. I guess it makes sense that since we don’t have to redo the bathroom we will have to take care of the yard (one high priced job for another). Do I just need to go down to the river in a truck and shovel that out? Where do you get that stuff? Lowe’s? We found some great flooring at Costco, but they don’t install, and for the price per square foot of flooring ($1.45 sqft) installers are telling us it will cost $1.99 sqft to install. Jesum.

I drove around the city after work, nice place, but it’s not New Orleans. But my secretary is from New Orleans, so that’s cool.

 

[Snakehead]

We listed our house in Tucson before moving back here hoping to sell it and move on base last September, but the market died and I think our realtor just wasn't that good. When I took the house off the market, I got calls daily by realtors wanting to know why and if/when I was going to list it again.

Six months later in March we decided to list it and at first I was spoke to a few realtors, but one of the guys who previously cold called me contacted me again and I agreed to see his pitch, he specialized in houses that didn't sell.

We decided to go with him and within 72 hours of the house being listed we had 2 full price offers. Now we close on 16 April and move into base housing like originally planned.

If I was looking for to purchase a house I would've went with a realtor that was a personality match, but since I wanted to sell I went with a guy with a track record of selling. The team he works on sold almost 200 houses in 2017 and he sold 50 of those.

He did hire someone to take professional photos and that was a huge difference compared to the cell phone photos my previous realtor used.

 

[pmiceli]

I started work today, and the wife stayed behind to take care of the house. The realtor came by and said that we need to put some sod and riverbed sand in our backyard as it isn’t leveled. I guess it makes sense that since we don’t have to redo the bathroom we will have to take care of the yard (one high priced job for another). Do I just need to go down to the river in a truck and shovel that out? Where do you get that stuff? Lowe’s? We found some great flooring at Costco, but they don’t install, and for the price per square foot of flooring ($1.45 sqft) installers are telling us it will cost $1.99 sqft to install. Jesum.

I drove around the city after work, nice place, but it’s not New Orleans. But my secretary is from New Orleans, so that’s cool.

New Orleans is 45 minutes away on Southwest. That's how I do the home games.

Feel free to call if you need anything or have any questions about Houston.

 

[El Caliente]

And just like that our house sold (15 days on the market). Where in the Houston (surrounding areas) should I be looking. I can’t afford West University, and anything within a 20-30 min drive (according to HAR.com) is either too expensive or has poor schools, so we are looking for up an coming areas, or homes we can put work into and get a solid return on when we sell (which will probably be in 3-5 years).

 

[pmiceli]

And just like that our house sold (15 days on the market). Where in the Houston (surrounding areas) should I be looking. I can’t afford West University, and anything within a 20-30 min drive (according to HAR.com) is either too expensive or has poor schools, so we are looking for up an coming areas, or homes we can put work into and get a solid return on when we sell (which will probably be in 3-5 years).

It depends on your price range and the age of your kids. I live on the west side (in Shadowlake) but no one sends their kids to public high school around here. They move out when the kids get that age. Most of the kids go to private schools too. Lots of language immersion elementary programs around here for all the oil company families from everywhere.

I can refer you to several different realtors if you want.