Mark Martin

The majority of Houston real estate buyers start their search process on the internet. 2M Realty knows that empowering real estate buyers with as much information as possible provides them the opportunity to make informed decisions. With that in mind, 2M Realty proudly announces the implementation of the Get Local Info tab on its website. This feature is designed to empower real estate buyers with neighborhood information and demographics directly surrounding real estate listings.

"The 2M Realty website enhanced with the Get Local Info feature is an invaluable resource for all Houston real estate customers", said Mark W. Martin, principal broker for 2M Realty. "Our website visitors can now get information for both Houston real estate and the neighborhood where it is located without having to crawl many different websites to get it."

This feature provides detailed statistics and demographic information such as community characteristics, population statistics, crime rates, weather, climate, average and financial statistics such as household net worth, median income and more. It contains nearby school names, locations, grades, the distance from the real estate listing, and the school website (if available). It also provides a Google Mashup of local amenities like shopping, restaurants, entertainment, churches, health care, and even such things as hair salons. This neighborhood information is available to view at all times for all Houston MLS properties anytime it is needed.

To access the Get Local Info tab, online customers simply need to create a free account on the 2M Realty website. Once registered they not only get access to the detailed information for properties in the Houston MLS, they now get access to all neighborhood information and statistics that directly surrounds the real estate listings.

________________

To learn more about the overall Houston real estate market or Houston homes for sale, please visit our website.

Mark W. Martin is President of 2M Realty, a Texas Real Estate Broker and Houston Realtor. He develops land in north Houston, and more specifically the Porter real estate, Conroe real estate, Humble real estate and Kingwood real estate markets.

Famous for deep ties to the energy industry, Houston has redefined itself as one of the nation's foremost industrial, educational and financial centers. As home prices continue to decline, now is the ideal time to invest in Houston real estate.

Houston offers a wide variety of upscale, fashionable urban districts, in addition to many attractive surrounding neighborhoods. Whatever your tastes demand, Houston real estate delivers.

Consider the following five reasons why you should buy Houston real estate.

Reason 1: Homes are starting to move.

The volume of single-family home sales in August across the Greater Houston area dropped 10.1 percent compared to August 2008, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Median home prices have even started to rise. This data suggests that if you are considering purchasing Houston real estate, don't wait much longer.

Reason 2: Affordability.

Houston was recently ranked the ninth-most expensive American city by Forbes. While this may seem misleading at first, bear in mind that the same basket of goods is significantly less expensive in Houston than in other major U.S. cities like New York (No. 1), Los Angeles (No. 2) and Boston (No. 8). Houstonians get major-city benefits at a cheaper price.

Reason 3: The Suburbs.

Just minutes outside the city, Houston real estate impresses in suburbs such as Sugar Land, Kingwood and The Woodlands. Sugar Land was honored as one of the "100 Best Places to Live" by Money Magazine. Sugar Land's relatively low cost of living, low crime rate and cultural options make it and other Houston suburbs extremely attractive to homebuyers seeking a little extra space.

Reason 4: Entertainment choices.

If sports are of interest to you, Houston boasts several professional teams including the NFL's Texans, MLB's Astros and the NBA's Rockets. Houston also hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and received rave reviews. Not a sports fan? Houston offers many world-class museums, theaters, restaurants and shopping destinations.

Reason 5: Professional opportunities.

According to the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, 16 companies on the Fortune 100 Fastest Growing Companies list are headquartered in the metropolitan area. Furthermore, Kiplinger's Personal Finance named Houston the top city in the U.S. to live and work based on its strong economy, abundant jobs, reasonable living costs and fun things to do. So if you're seeking to invest in Houston real estate, time is of the essence.

________________

To learn more about the overall Houston real estate market or Houston homes for sale, please visit our website.

Mark W. Martin is President of 2M Realty, a Texas Real Estate Broker and Houston Realtor. He develops land in north Houston, and more specifically the Porter real estate, Conroe real estate, Humble real estate and Kingwood real estate markets.

With consumer trust being an integral part of any business success, especially for companies collecting information on its website, 2M Realty has taken steps to increase the level of confidence with their customers by becoming an Accredited Business of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). As a member of the BBB, 2M Realty is authorized to display the widely recognized BBB Accreditation Seal on its website, which links to a BBB report on the business and allows its website visitors to instantly verify its trustworthiness.

"Many studies have shown that the majority of real estate buyers and sellers begin the process on the internet," said Mark W. Martin, principal broker for 2M Realty. "Our website is designed to enhance the real estate process by delivering relevant Houston real estate results in a safe online environment."

"We are pleased to be a BBB Accredited Business because it signifies our assurance to online trust and reliability" added Martin. "By receiving our BBB Accreditation, 2M Realty gives its customers a clear message that it is committed to maintaining the privacy of the people who visit our website and register to search the Houston MLS".

BBB accredited businesses must adhere to BBB's "Standards for Trust," a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and best practices on how businesses treat the public. The standards call for building trust, embodying integrity, advertising honestly and telling the truth, being transparent, honoring promises, being responsive and safeguarding privacy. According to the BBB, seven of 10 consumers say they are more likely to buy from a company designated as a BBB Accredited Business. It is a resource for the public, providing objective, unbiased information about businesses.

________________

To learn more about the Houston real estate market or Houston homes for sale, please visit our website. Mark W. Martin is President of 2M Realty, a Texas Real Estate Broker, and Houston Realtor.

Are you selling your home? If so, there are several things to consider before a potential buyer comes through the door.

1) Is cleaning the home good enough? NO ...being clean does not remove the clutter. To elaborate:

• We all love our "stuff" and think our stuff makes the home feel comfortable. But guess what? The potential buyers who visit your home will most likely think it is cluttered, messy, and uninviting.
• Buyers need to see a home in "model perfect" condition and they should be able to picture themselves living in your home. That means a minimum number of pictures of your family, no personal items like golf clubs or back packs, and no papers or mail sitting around.
• You want the house to look like they could bring all their "stuff" and move right in. When people see your collectibles, your kid's toys, etc., they focus on that and forget about the house. Give them a reason to see your home as their home.

2) Should you stage the home? ABSOLUTELY.

• There is a special mindset associated with "staging" your home to sell. Staging refers simply to the act of improving your home's appearance in order to appeal to the widest segment of potential buyers. The approach you must adopt is to see your home with an objective eye.
• Since you may have a strong emotional attachment to your home, you may not fully appreciate hearing about a better way to show it, but try to recognize that the way you decorate to SELL may be quite different from the way you decorate to dwell. The appearance of a space often trumps its functionality when impressing buyers.

3) Is it still your home? YES and NO.

• You are obviously still the owner until it sells, but when listed for sale it quickly becomes inventory and should be viewed as a house not a home.
• Start visualizing it as the "product" to sell, like a car or another commodity. The better the packaging and price, the easier it is to sell. Both a real estate agent and a professional home stager can help to market your product successfully by highlighting positive features and downplaying less attractive aspects.

Overall, your goal is to sell quickly at a fair price. A survey by a large national real estate brokerage showed that staged homes sell in half the time, and another survey of REALTORS® showed that a $500 "staging" investment recouped 343% of that cost. So be prepared to swallow a little pride, move some furniture, and field better offers on the road to your successful sale.

To learn more about the Houston real estate market, selling your home, staging your home, or Houston homes for sale, please visit our website at http://www.2Mrealty.com.

Texas usury laws say that interest rates cannot exceed 18% ...which would be the max rate a buyer would pay if they were crazy enough to agree to an 18% interest rate.

As a seller of hundreds of seller-financed notes in the Houston real estate market, I have charged anywhere from 8% to 12%. The rate will vary depending on annual salary, credit history, employment history and how much down payment. Typically, the more favorable the credit factors means the lower the interest rate, and/or the larger the down payment usually means a lower interest rate.

Bear in mind, if you choose to seller-finance your property you are passing on the option to cash-out and put that money to work in a CD, T-bill, stock market, etc. And, instead, you are choosing to create an asset backed note receivable (the mortgage you accept backed by the house as collateral) with a better rate of return than you may get in the money market or stock market. Also, you are taking on the responsibility of managing / collecting a mortage and enforcing it if the mortgagee (buyer) starts to miss payments. Because of these factors, you should be compensated with a higher interest rate than on a traditional mortgage.

You could also think of this as "what return on investment am I willing to accept by having this buyer as a credit risk?" Bad credit, low down payment and poor employment history would likely mean you would want a higher return; verus, good credit, strong down payment and stable employment would likely mean you would accept a lower rate of return.

If you think 8% - 12% seems high compared to standard mortgage rates ....I usually tell my customers that if they want a better interest rate than I am offering they should consider getting a traditional mortgage and paying me off.

In my opinion, the interest rates on seller-financed homes for sale in Houston usually run between 8% - 12% when considering the above information.