Connie Goodrich, CRS (McKinney Realtor) Texas

Another way to expand your financial growth opportunities, tips from your Property Inspector partner. Except these tips are even more valuable than the dollar, they are excellent suggestions on maintenance, understanding your home, safety concerns and improvement possibilities.

I make it a practice to be present for my buyer's home inspections. Often the inspector is one that I trust and have highly recommended to take excellent care of my clients and to give outstanding insight to the home, its issues or to validate the good condition and care. The true value for me is over the years of paying attention, it has made me a better Realtor to identify potential issues on a home or point out areas that may flag concerns. I readily tell my clients that I am not an inspector but these are some issues we may wish to inquire about on the front end with the seller prior to making decisions on a purchase, etc. In many cases the inquiries have saved my clients a ton of emotion and money on the front end.

My favorite part of the property inspection is the helpful hints. A few of my favorite include:

• Once a month putting 2 Tablespoons of Cascade (or similar dishwasher detergent) into a Jetted bathtub and filling with water. Turn on the jets and let the water circulate for 5 minutes. Empty and fill again with just water and run again for 5 minutes and empty. This will keep your jets cleaned out and prevent the green slim mildew build up.
• Once a quarter take a quarter cup of liquid bleach and put it down the condensate line from the air conditioner unit. This will keep the line cleaned out.
• Remove the old caulk and replace with new caulk in the bath areas to keep sealed. Mortar all grout areas associated with tile openings in the bathroom tub and shower areas to prevent water from going behind the tile and causing damage (a lesson I learned the hard way as I am currently replacing my shower tile and damage).
• Kitty litter can be used to remove oil drip stains from the driveway. Just put some on it to help soak it up. There are also other products you can purchase to do this as well.
• If you have a hot water heater in the attic when it gets to be about 8 years old for many brands you may consider replacing it. The life for many hot water heaters is 8 to 10 years. If it is in the attic and malfunctions, you may have a huge mess and lots of damage.
• Chimney cap vent covers should be placed on the fireplace chimneys in our area to prevent birds and animals from claiming it as "home".
• Granite counters should be re-sealed once a year. You need to clean them down with a product and do a simple re-seal application.

As for the Tips, I think I have saved a bundle with I follow the suggestions with proper maintenance, have fun sharing these with my clients as "chat" when we view homes, and the reward of the tips are just priceless. Listen and learn when you have the chance at the property inspection!

Did you work your business during the quiet times? Did you keep up your marketing to your sphere, farm area. Did you plan for the greener days and the time that will be coming around the corner?

Did you properly "drip" on your clients and contacts to cultivate the business? Spring time has come with the blossoms popping out on the trees and flowers hinting of a glorious bloom. It is not too late to seize the opportunity and join in the warmer season of Real Estate Sales.

Remember that our real estate profession is like the seasons of the year. We know there will be beautiful moments when things really heat up but even when it is cold and quiet the seed for success needs to be planted and cared for so it will grow to realize its fullest potential.

A question that I am asked several times a week from my fellow Realtor friends and sellers. The answer -Yes or could be No. Seems like a safe on the fence answer but to answer the question there are clarification questions that need to be addressed. I am a certified appraiser so by nature I have to get a more in depth picture of what is going on around the home in question.

•1. Are you located in a neighborhood that has several homes that has been foreclosed on?

•2. Do you have a lot of homes in your area/neighborhood that are currently for sale that are foreclosed properties?

•3. Do you see that several homes in your area/neighborhood are going into foreclosure?

The key is what is your competition or predominate sales that have taken place. If the home is located in an area/neighborhood that has foreclosure stress then the answer to the question is Yes. The activity predominate type of activity taking place dictates comparable sales and competitive competition and that becomes your market. It is very important that you still consider varied factors in the valuation such as condition, repairs, and points of difference.

If you have some foreclosure activity scattered in the area but it is not dominate and your neighborhood is comprised of typical sales activity then the answer is No. One sale does not dictate value. If a foreclosed sale is not the normal market then it should be excluded unless you are valuing for a foreclosed price projection.

The key is to look at the market the home is located. Utilize sales that are indicative of the normal activity taking place. Just as one high sale does not set the market one low sale does not either. Homeowners are afraid that one foreclosed property for sale or one that recently sold will pull the valuation of their home down. Many sales will be used to determine the value of a home and the properties that are skewed should be eliminated. It is critical in the economic market that we are experiencing to utilize not only current sales activity but current listings to help us stay in step with the market.

Feeling like you are watching commissions fly away? I have been on several listing appointments and it seems that on every appointment the big pause and ... would you be willing to cut your commission? I am past shell shock and yes, all equipped with objection overcoming techniques. It just gets OLD! I know it does not hurt to ask but I just don't offer out a discounted service unless I am representing the seller on a purchase of a higher value home. That is my business decision and I am professionally clear about my cost for representation and marketing their home.

I received a call this morning from a seller who had interviewed another Realtor and had selected me to market their home. Yea! The wife was not well when I had initially met and they were fighting the clock to meet for a family birthday gathering. We made arrangements to meet later this week to do the paperwork. The call started out with the other Realtor had called and offered to take the commission down below my fee. I guess I had just had one too many battles regarding the reduced commission issue. I proceeded to ask why they had selected me as their first choice. He told me. I told him it was not because I was cheap, it was that I am good and save you money in this process. By the way when you purchase your new home, I save you money on right decisions, proper valuation information,etc. I said obviously the other Realtor was feeling fairly desperate to call to cut commission and I felt sure if she was in that mindset she would certainly not work hard to negotiate your sale. I told him absolutely I would not cut my commission and I was not in the business of marketing homes for free. I explained the cost of selling a home and said I work hard and am a business woman. I feel for the minor difference in our commission (a home worth about $165,000) that is was just a choice of working with a person who they had valued my professional service or the cheap Realtor. If they felt that this Realtor is their best choice then they should work with her. The seller said he would see me tonight to sign papers.

Thank you other Realtor for trying to negotiate my commission. You lost out and shame on you for the desperation tactic. Realtors need to get a backbone to stick by their well earned fees. It's a personal decision but one that I am willing to walk away from rather than compromise my time and service. Realtors need to realize that we are worth the value we bring, help save our client lots of financial grief by assisting them into informed decisions.

Good luck to you as you confront this choice and be true to what you know is right. Weak in the moment will end up costing you not only financially but self respect.

So many changes to the varied mortgage guidelines causes confusion. To help give some direction to the most recent changes I decided to summarize the guidelines for ease of reading. My number one rule is to always consult your trusted mortgage partner as it seems these changes occur on a daily bases.

FHA Loans

Find out what your maximum mortgage amount is for your location. My area, Collin County, Texas is $271,000 for a single family home.

Down-payment is 3.5% of the sale price. The borrower must have 3.5% investment in the transaction but this can be a gift.

A borrower does not have to be a US citizen but must have a visa to be eligible.

Lack of credit or less than perfect credit is acceptable.

The seller can contribute up to 6% of the sale price.

Mortgage insurance is partially financed and collected monthly.

You can only have one FHA loan at a time (some exceptions to guideline)

Appraisal requirements are stricter on condition and the appraisal stays with the property for 6 months.

If the borrower is going to rent their current home to purchase a new property you will need to consult with your mortgage partner for the rules and how it may apply to this situation. Be aware that the lease income my not be acceptable to offset the mortgage payment of their currently owned home.

Credit Score minimum of 620 and some lenders are calling for 640.

Loans will be able to go to 45% debt to income rations and some cases up to 49%

VA Loans

100% Financing

Current limit for a VA loan is $417,000

VA assigns the appraiser for the transaction

The veteran must have a certificate of eligibility and often a DD214 to be approved for the loan.

Qualifications may be affected by the size of the family.

VA has no limit on the amount of acreage of a property.

There are closing costs that the veteran is not allowed to pay.

In order to reuse the VA eligibility, the current home must be sold before another home can be purchased.

All VA loans are assumable with qualification.

There is a funding fee which is added to the loan.

Currently there are no guidelines about using a lease agreement to offset debt.

Credit score of 620 is a good rule but there are exceptions.

These loans will be able to go to a 41% debt to income ratio.

Conventional Loans

Conforming lending limit is $417,000.

Down-payment - 3% with a credit score of at least 720

Down-payment - 5% down must have a credit score of at least 680

Debt to Income ratio is between 41% to 45% in some cases but mostly up to 41% is the rule.

Private Mortgage Insurance - applies if the primary company has less than a 20% down or a second lien to make up the difference for a 20% down position.

Rules apply if leasing, secondary home, investment so consult your mortgage partner.