Interviewing Realtors (1 Viewer)

[El Caliente]

You guys are tops in my book, I don't care how many of your pictures I see hanging up at the post office.

 

[El Caliente]

I'm going to be working downtown in Houston (Louisiana St) and I am fully aware that the traffic is going to suck. Brother wants me to live in The Woodlands, the other wants me to live in the Energy Corridor, but we are trying to find a place with good schools, where I am not driving an hour each way.

 

[pmiceli]

Our mortgage is quite low thanks to the time we bought and they were practically begging people to buy. How can I find out rent rates?

Find a realtor. During your interviews mention that you will sell or lease the property. Your realtor can get comps for both and let you know what you are looking at.

If leasing looks to be a good option put it on the market for sale or lease with a high listing price. Normal commission for securing tenants is one month rent but this may vary by area.

You will likely find tenants who want the house but can't quite qualify for the mortgage. Those types make good tenants because they have dreams of one day buying the house.

If someone has a cash full price offer, take the money and run.

 

[pmiceli]

I'm going to be working downtown in Houston (Louisiana St) and I am fully aware that the traffic is going to suck. Brother wants me to live in The Woodlands, the other wants me to live in the Energy Corridor, but we are trying to find a place with good schools, where I am not driving an hour each way.

From my perspective, The Woodlands is hell on earth. Pure white flight suburbia, stepford wives, cookie cutter HOA Nazi stronghold. And too far north to enjoy the city.

True Energy Corridor is high dollar for the most part although I suspect the term is being applied to I-10 West of 610 out to Katy.

Har.com has a neighborhood map that shows the true boundaries of all the houston neighborhoods.

If you want a property that appreciates in the short term you will need to be inside 610 almost exclusively.

Houston overall is a stable market with 3% annual appreciation over the long term. Neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal are where the values rise rapidly. I was at a house two weeks ago (2800 sq ft) that appraised at $600,000 in 2015 and $750,000 last year and was listed at $1.1 million but that was in the Heights, which is rather inexplicably red hot.

If you must live in tbe far suburbs your best bet will be to use the park and ride bus service to downtown or the commute will make you miserable. If you can stick to within a mile of Beltway 8 on the west side, you will be close enough to have a reasonable commute and be able to really enjoy the city.

I live just outside the Beltway right off the Westpark tollway and we can be in the theater district ( downtown) or museum district in 20 minutes on weekends.

 

[saintmdterps]

Because we will soon be moving to Houston we need to sell our home (I’m sure that we can rent, I am just not sure if it’s worth the hassle). Tomorrow we will be interviewing realtors to decide who we should hire to represent us. My question to the group is, what are some questions we should get out there during the interview process so that we don’t have regrets later down the line?

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

 

[saintmdterps]

Find a realtor. During your interviews mention that you will sell or lease the property. Your realtor can get comps for both and let you know what you are looking at.

If leasing looks to be a good option put it on the market for sale or lease with a high listing price. Normal commission for securing tenants is one month rent but this may vary by area.

You will likely find tenants who want the house but can't quite qualify for the mortgage. Those types make good tenants because they have dreams of one day buying the house.

If someone has a cash full price offer, take the money and run.

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.

 

[pmiceli]

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.

I have property in three states. Its not a nightmare but it does require good tenants. Bad tenants are a nightmare not matter how far away you are.

I don't recommend management companies because the cost is too high. A good relationship with the tenants is the best way to go.

Landlording does require emotional detachment. If you can't take the long view and get wound up easily I don't recommend it.

And I don't do lease/purchase. I find people who want to own the house someday (by listing it for sale and for lease simultaneously) and lease it to them under standard terms. Since they have dreams of someday owning they take care of the property.

 

[TenTwo]

Whichever one sells themselves best to you can probably sell your house the best as well.

Reminds me of a few educational videos I watched some time ago...

 

[Flipx99]

Based on limited personal experience, I would only negotiate the commission down if that reduction comes out of the listing agent side. The first house I sold they agreed to cut down the total commission from 6 to 4% each side getting 2 instead of 3%.

After the house sat, I raised the commission back to 6% and added a bonus to the buyer's agent if the house closed within so many days. The house sold almost immediately.

It just seems like you want to distinguish your house in a positive way, if at all.

 

[El Caliente]

Man, we are obviously not looking around enough. The realtors all laid out the good and the bad with the house, and they all mentioned landscaping and flooring would make an instant impact in appearance, and those are our two biggest weaknesses.

Does anyone in the metro area have a landscaper and a floor guy? We are thinking laminate flooring.

 

[saintmdterps]

Man, we are obviously not looking around enough. The realtors all laid out the good and the bad with the house, and they all mentioned landscaping and flooring would make an instant impact in appearance, and those are our two biggest weaknesses.

Does anyone in the metro area have a landscaper and a floor guy? We are thinking laminate flooring.

don't go hog wild. You're not likely to get back in increased value what you put into either flooring or landscaping, but those things may help your house sell quicker.

 

[Craigj]

don't go hog wild. You're not likely to get back in increased value what you put into either flooring or landscaping, but those things may help your house sell quicker.

I agree. Don't watch too much HGTV. You will not get your money back on most upgrades. Realtors love for you to dump a bunch of money in a house. It makes their job easier.

 

[FWtex]

Man, we are obviously not looking around enough. The realtors all laid out the good and the bad with the house, and they all mentioned landscaping and flooring would make an instant impact in appearance, and those are our two biggest weaknesses.

Does anyone in the metro area have a landscaper and a floor guy? We are thinking laminate flooring.

Selling a property is not difficult ... if it is priced right. Unless your house has some unique characteristics that require a unique marketing plan, every Realtor is going to put it on the MLS, and then all that information is spread to every other Real Estate website and that is about all it takes to sell a house.

Use common sense and learn about the process so you will know how to direct the Realtor. Keep the house CLEAN ... not by your standards but by something similar to a a nice hotel CLEAN. Get rid of the clutter in and outside the house ... live minimal. Buyers are not just looking at the house they are also looking at how you live in the house. If you have jerry rigged repairs, extension cords run all over, un-repaired damage, soap scum wall bathrooms, dirty pots and pans in the sink from last week, counters covered with every "as seen on TV" gadget then your going to have a hard time selling.

What does the buyer see when they drive up and walk up to the door? I know a Realtor that will himself trim the trees in the front and put fresh mulch in the beds and around trees. That first impression is MONEY! Next, what does a buyer see when they first walk into the house? Most buyers know at this point if they want this house or not. It is a had sell from here if they do not have the gut feel at this point.

If the realtors are telling you to spend money to sell then I would be leery. What is the cost benefit analysis? Cost of repairs vs sales price AS IS? Remember higher commission paid with higher sales price and vice versa so calculate that as well. What if you put in floors that some buyers do not like and you lost those buyer because of your new floor choices for them?

 

[pmiceli]

Move out of your existing home as quick as you can and find a Realtor who will have it professionally cleaned and staged as part of the service.

Landscaping and flooring is important in a buyers market but there are cheap options for both. Stick with cheap beige carpet if the house will be empty. Laminate is very loud in an empty house and the echoes it produces create a bad vibe. Tile is always a good choice if you are on a slab but pricier. You want to be comparable to other homes in the neighborhood.

Hire a weekly lawn service, mulch all the beds and plant flowers in bloom.

Get bright light bulbs in all your fixtures and make sure they all work. Set the thermostat to 70-72 degrees.

Think of every thing a buyer might touch and clean it.

Make the kitchen sink cabinet look good.

Buyers spend about 10 minutes in the house and make a decision based on what they see, smell, and feel.

In a seller's market, all that matters is location and price.

 

[dtc]

You guys are tops in my book, I don't care how many of your pictures I see hanging up at the post office.

Word of advice.

Don't move to Houston.