The home or condominium that you're thinking of buying may be governed by a homeowners association (HOA). These legal entities are common and growing in popularity across the country. According to the Community Associations Institute, more than 57 million residents in 23.1 million housing units were governed by HOAs in 2006; that's up from 45.2 million residents and 17.8 million housing units in 2000.
These associations provide many benefits, such as property maintenance and amenities that individual residents couldn't otherwise afford, and their rules often protect property values. But the dues HOA members must pay and the covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CCRs) they must follow rub some people the wrong way.
Look past the pool and golf course
Your perfect condo may have a great pool or your dream home might be sitting on the first tee, but remember that those things are only part of the HOA's scope. When you purchase a property governed by an HOA, you enter into a legal contract with the association. You agree to abide by the association's regulations and pay its dues. In exchange, you get a community guided by an HOA and the access to its facilities and perks.
Read before you buy
Make sure that any uses or freedoms you expect to come along with your property are allowed in the CCRs. Do you store your boat trailer in your driveway? I doubt your CCRs will allow that. Want to paint a bright color? Check the color palette allowed by the HOA.
You may have heard horror stories of home repossessions and other legal squabbles involving property owners and HOAs. A common theme among many of these cases is homeowners not understanding the regulations or ignoring them. Review the CCRs carefully before you purchase the property and you'll be less likely to run afoul of your HOA.
About those dues ...
HOAs run on dues - your annual fee for living in the community. These fees range from tens to thousands of dollars, depending on the neighborhood or building and what amenities it offers or what things are covered. Ask how much the dues are and if they've increased during the past few years.
Find out what the dues cover and what they don't. For example, your condo association may perform all exterior maintenance. That means when the roof leaks, your dues pay for its repair - even if you live on the ground floor of a three-story building.
Who's in charge?
When you review an HOA's documents, be sure to inquire about its finances. Is the HOA solvent? Does it have a reserve fund? Who controls the money? What kind of oversight is that person subject to?
Find out who manages the HOA and what role residents have in its governance. There may be a board or other group of property owners who manage the association. Take some time and talk to people who currently live in the community. How do they feel about the neighborhood or building? Find out their impressions of how the HOA is run.
Perform some due diligence before you sign a contract to purchase a property governed by a homeowners association. You will be able to make an informed decision about the HOA's pros and cons without jeopardizing your real estate transaction.
For expert advice about HOAs and all kinds of information about owning, buying, or selling a home, contact a Realtor.
Whether you're interested in buying your first home, your next home, or just want to know more about home-ownership in general, I encourage you to check out a couple of great online resources: http://www.texasrealestate.com/ or http://www.har.com/ and for all of your Pearland TX and Northern Brazoria and Galveston County real estate needs, please visit my site at http://www.danfrankrealty.com//. All of these sites offer tons of useful, real estate-related information geared specifically for Texans.
Danny Frank is a local Pearland TX Real Estate expert! You can see my entire blog at http://www.pearlandrealtyblog.com
My column was also published in the 09Aug09 edition of the Galveston County Daily News
Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to be confronted and perhaps overwhelmed with numbers: interest rates, days on market, loan terms and many more. They’re all significant in the transaction, but what do they mean?
This column is not the place for in-depth analysis of real estate math … that would be a tall order, indeed. I hope to convey two things: the importance of understanding what the numbers mean and that there is help available to decipher it all.
Should you go with a 15 or 30?
Many buyers are able to shorten their financial obligation by choosing a 15-year mortgage instead of the 30-year variety. The payments on 15-year mortgages are certainly larger, but are not, as it may seem, twice as large. If you can handle the bigger monthly expense, you’ll build equity faster because a greater portion of each payment goes toward principal rather than interest. Additionally, the lower rate and shorter term lessen the overall interest due.
With a longer loan term, you have a higher interest rate and build equity more slowly, but you get the benefit of lower monthly payments and, perhaps, increased buying power. You also still have the option to shorten your loan by making additional payments when possible.
Time is money
When negotiations between a buyer and seller stall, each party should think about what the difference in the offers actually means.
To a seller, it means more money at the time of sale, of course. But there could be more to it. Has the house been on the market a long time? If you decide to stick to your guns on a number, do a little math to be sure it makes financial sense. Should the home linger on the market another two or three months, the cost of keeping the house may be close to or even surpass the amount you’re holding out for. Your move may be delayed and you could end up paying two mortgages, two utility bills, two landscaping bills and so on.
As a buyer, plug the numbers in to see the difference on your monthly payment. It may be that the extra money each month pushes the home beyond your budget, or it could just be a few dollars per month – an amount you may decide isn’t worth it to lose the home.
That’s not what I heard on the news …
Don’t be confused by national numbers that have little to do with our market. Texas never saw the rapid rise in property values that parts of California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and a few other states did. Nevertheless, the national media and even reporters in Texas have been reporting doom and gloom in the real estate market for some time now.
In most cases, though, real estate investments hold their value quite well, appreciating consistently over the long term. Even many homeowners in the states mentioned above aren’t in as dire straits as the media would have you believe. Think about it this way: If you bought a home four years ago, and its value increased $80,000 over the first three years but dropped $12,000 in the fourth, are you down $12,000 or up $68,000? Unless you’re bought in the third year and are selling in the fourth, that $12,000 drop is not as bad as it sounds.
To the rescue
There’s more to real estate math than this column could possibly explain … we didn’t cover buy-down points, fixed-rate vs. ARM loans, tax implications, credit scores, loan ratios and many other concepts. The intricacies of a transaction this large, along with your specific situation, call for extensive knowledge about numbers in the real estate world.
I encourage you to make a smart choice and hire a Realtor. Realtors work with these figures and concepts regularly and can help you navigate the financial waters and make sense of the numbers. Additionally, Realtors are bound by a strict code of ethics, which means that they are obligated to act in your best interest.
Whether you're interested in buying your first home, your next home, or just want to know more about home-ownership in general, I encourage you to check out a couple of great online resources: http://www.texasrealestate.com/ or http://www.har.com/ and for all of your Pearland TX and Northern Brazoria and Galveston County real estate needs, please visit my site at http://www.danfrankrealty.com/. All of these sites offer tons of useful, real estate-related information geared specifically for Texans.
Danny Frank is a local Pearland TX Real Estate expert! You can see my entire blog at http://www.pearlandrealtyblog.com
My column was also published in the 26July09 edition of the Galveston County Daily News
Dr. Ted Jones, Chief Economist, Stewart Title, reports on the Housing Industry for November 2008. Smart people are buyin and selling real estate right now... The time is right for you to get into the market...
Today I am going to examine the Pearland real estate market up close and personal. I am gong to drill down to the last 6 months of information about Pearland.
I am going to start at the first week of February 2009 and move all the way through to July 19, 2009 a week at a time to find out just how Pearland and the real estate market is doing. My goal is to help you understand how the real estate market is doing and why is a great time to buy a home.
So, the 1st week of Feb. 2 2009, Pearland had 27 homes sold with an average price of $184,900 which is above the $183K running average price. Then the next week, Feb. 9, we had 25 homes sold with an average price of $157,500... Wow. And that was way below the average. Then the week of Feb. 16, the real estate market jumped back with a nice rebound of 38 homes sold with an average sales price of $186,296. The following week as very close to the same.
Then come the big jump. The week of March 2, 2009 Pearland sold 31 homes with an average sales price of $207,354.00 which is well above the average price of a home in Pearland of $183K.
For the next few weeks, the real estate market in Pearland just kind of bounces around until the week of April 20, 2009. In that week Pearland sold 42 houses with an average sales price of $216,234.00. Then we just kind of cost along again until the week of May 25, 2009 when we sold 80 homes with an average sales price of $177,500. That many homes being sold in the Pearland area is way above the average of 57 houses a month since Ike hit last year...
As you can see by the chart below, the real estate market is like a ride at AstroWorld... Lots of up and downs. But all in all, I say Pearland is holding it's own... For the last 24 weeks the average price of a home in Pearland has only dropped 1.1% or $1,993.00. To me, that's good news compared to the rest of the world.
Now let's look at what I think is the leading indicator of how the real estate market in Pearland is really doing, the number of homes under contract...
In looking at this next chart, you can clearly see houses are starting to go under contract at a much higher rate than just 12 weeks ago. When we started on this chart, the week of Feb. 2, 2009, we were sitting at only 49.5 houses under contract as an average. And today we are sitting at an average of 57.8 houses under contract... And everything I see is telling me the housing market in the Pearland area is starting to get even hotter than than last year...
With all of this being said, NOW is the time to buy a home in the Pearland TX area...
Whether you're interested in buying your first home, your next home, or just want to know more about home-ownership in general, I encourage you to check out a couple of great online resources: http://www.texasrealestate.com/ or http://www.har.com/ and for all of your Pearland TX and Northern Brazoria and Galveston County real estate needs, please visit my site at http://www.danfrankrealty.com . All of these sites offer tons of useful, real estate-related information geared specifically for Texans.
Danny Frank is a local Pearland TX Real Estate expert
You’ve searched for weeks and finally located the perfect house for you and your family. Unfortunately, your work isn’t over yet. You still have to convince the owner to sell it to you at a price you can afford.
Don’t despair, however. With a little research and an informed strategy, you can drastically improve your chances to move in to your dream home.
You have to start somewhere
Obviously, the amount you initially write into the contract has a great influence on whether the seller looks favorably on your offer. How do you come up with that figure? There are several factors to consider.
Determine how the home compares to similar properties in the area. The most reliable way to make this evaluation is to look at homes that sold recently in the same neighborhood. Texas Realtors are a great source for this information, as they have access to multiple listing service data that includes sales prices.
Is the home bigger or more updated than the average house on the street? A house with a remodeled kitchen, an extra 500 square feet or a new roof will fetch a higher price than the average house in that neighborhood.
It’s not just the money
Most sellers have a number in mind when perusing offers, but there are factors beyond price that influence how they view your proposal – factors that you can control.
It depends on the market
Until you get a response from the seller, you never know if your initial offer will be accepted. And if it’s not and the seller submits a counteroffer, the real work begins. Deciding how to respond to a counteroffer is one of the hardest parts of purchasing property.
If it’s a buyer’s market, you may have some leverage and can stand firm on your initial offer. On the other hand, a seller might be able to command his asking price – or even higher – in a seller’s market. Knowing what shape your market is in will help you figure out an appropriate response.
Also, consider how much you really want the home and how much you can spend. If your initial offer was a stretch for your budget and the counter didn’t reduce the price significantly, it may be time to move on. However, if you’re in love with the house and were simply looking for a better deal, it may be worth trying again.
Regardless of the seller’s response, don’t take it personally. Reaching an agreement on the price of the home is strictly a business negotiation, not a reflection of your appeal as a buyer.
Many things combine to make an attractive offer. Your Realtor can help you determine how to put together an offer that gives you the best chance of getting the home you want at terms that are favorable to you.
Whether you're interested in buying your first home, your next home, or just want to know more about home-ownership in general, I encourage you to check out a couple of great online resources: http://www.texasrealestate.com/ or http://www.har.com/ and for all of your Pearland TX and Northern Brazoria and Galveston County real estate needs, please visit my site at http://www.danfrankrealty.com/. All of these sites offer tons of useful, real estate-related information geared specifically for Texans.
Danny Frank is a local Pearland TX Real Estate expert! You can see my entire blog at http://www.pearlandrealtyblog.com
My column was also published in the 19July09 edition of the Galveston County Daily News
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"All I can strive to be is the absolute best possible version of myself." I am the Pearland Area Real Estate Expert - A Friend in the business. I am here to help and serve you - THE CUSTOMER
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