Mary Bowen, The Woodlands Texas Real Estate & Relocation Specialist

If you are a runner and moving to the Houston area, you should seriously consider living in The Woodlands. Home to the Texas Ironman, The Woodland's Marathon, Ten for Texas and numerous other athletic events, you will have plenty of opportunities to test your abilities. Training for these events is easier in the woods. We have numerous training opportunities, support groups and social activities for runners, not to mention our hike and bike trails of over 140 miles. Trust me come, summer you will appreciate all the tree lined trails!!

If your moving to The Woodlands, work with a Realtor who knows the paths and understands the needs of a runner. I can tell you about the lastest races, club events, the best places to run.

As a certified Relocation Agent, I work with lots of people being transferred to The Woodlands from other areas of the country. The most common question I hear from these buyers is, "How low should I offer? After all its a buyers market." First of all, The Woodlands didn't have much of a dip in the market price. It had a slow down, but not a real dip in price. The homes most affected were the ones purchased during the high of 2007. Those homes are not selling for much more than they were purchased. But for the most part people are not losing money or they are breaking even.

But, now, we are dealing with a shortage of homes on the market. Now is the time to sell your home. Just in the last week I have seen two well maintained and updated homes have multiple offers within days of hitting the market. One of the houses has listed $8.00 above sales price. Will it appraise? I have no idea, but I'm betting someone will be willing to pay the cash difference. After all, there are 3 back up offers waiting to see if the first makes it to closing.

Great homes are flying off the market, which such speed that many agents including myself have taken to looking for homes for our buyers before the homes even hit the market.

If your thinking of selling your home there are several key items to keep in mind.

THE HOUSE MUST BE IN GREAT CONDITION!!

1. Freshly Painted in fashionable neutral colors
2. Clean or new carpet
3. Updated hardware and fixtures in the latest colors (gun metal sells best)
4. Updated kitchen. Granite sells in The Woodlands
5. Manicured and freshly mulched landscape
6. CLEAN, ORGANIZED, AND DE-CLUTTERED

4 Brentwood Oaks

The Woodlands, Tx 77381

Offered at $136,500

How do you list and sell a house in this economy in 5 days?

1. Price is right. Don't overprice for the market.

2. De-clutter EVERYWHERE.

3. Paint It! Paint is cheap and goes along way freshening up the home.

4. Freshen up the carpets or replace if needed.

5. Stag It. How you live in a house may not be the best presentation for selling the home.

6. Take care of deferred maintenance before going on the market.

7. Clean up the landscape for better curb appeal.

I can't guarantee your house will sell in 5 days, but taking care of the above items will insure your house selling faster and at a higher sales price.

For more information, contact me at www.SoldOnMary.com and find out why my clients Get Sold On Mary!!!

You've decided to list you home.

That was the easy part. Now you must decided which Realtor to hire to list your home and help you sell your house.

One option is to go with the agent who advertises the most. While that agent's name might be most familiar it is not always the best option.

If you don't already know an agent that you are comfortable working with, then you should pick several through recommendations from friends or even the agents own marketing and set appointments to interview. You don't have to interview all of the Realtors face to face. I have been interviewed and hired via email and phone conversations. I have several out of town clients that I would not recognize if they past me on the street, but they thoroughly interviewed me before hiring me to market their real estate.

What Should You Look For In An Agent?

Experience, Knowledge, and a Can Do Attitude!

Can the Realtor provide client referrals?

Is the Realtor capable of providing staging assistance?

Does the Realtor submit to an online Client Experience Ratings?

Is the Realtor willing to hold Open Houses?

Which websites will advertise your home?

Does the agent follow up on showings?

Will the agent keep your best interest in mind, fiercely negotiating the best possible contract?

Does the Realtor send you weekly reports on the marketing of your home?

Will the Realtor meet with you on a regular basis via phone or in person to discuss status and strategy?

What Should You Not Be Concerned About?

The Broker's Commission

While everyone wants a deal, a discounted commission is often no deal. Usually full service agents are just that....full service. Find yourself the most qualified agent and you won't go wrong. If they offer a discount great, if they don't, the service and negotiation abilities of an experience, quality agent will often net you more money than the discounted agent. If it is not your policy to hire discount doctors and lawyers, you shouldn't hire your Realtor based commission, but instead experience and knowledge and Can Do Attitude.

For more information you can contact me at www.SoldOnMary.com

In the world of Real Estate, 2009 will probably go down in history as the year of The First Time Buyer. Never in all of my previous years have I worked with more first time buyers. Thanks to the generous $8000.00 federal tax credit, many qualified buyers who had been quietly content with renting decided they wanted a piece of the American Dream and the $8,000.

As a Realtor, this has been a huge opportunity to hone my skills in helping first time buyers through the process purchasing a home. I think first time buyers really benefit from working with an agent who thinks like a teacher. Novice buyers need someone who take the time to walk them through the steps of negotiations, inspections, the mortgage process, and the closing prior to viewing homes.

Once the buyer is approved for the mortgage it is time to start looking for homes in the price range that buyer can afford and is comfortable spending. It is important for buyers to understand the difference between what they can afford according to the mortgage company and what they are comfortable spending.

Buyers need to have a realistic idea of what they can expect to purchase for the amount of money they are willing to spend. While it is reasonable to expect to find a cute home for $150,000, buyers need to realize that they are not going to find a 3000 sq foot home with 5 bedrooms/3.2 baths/3 car garage with pool on a cul de sac lot in the areas most desirable neighborhood. Giving buyers a realistic idea of what they can expect to see during the home shopping process will go a long ways towards preventing heartache and frustration.

After the buyer finds the house the house he/she wants to make an offer on, the Realtor should provide the buyer with a CMA (comparative market analysis). This will let the buyer know what similar homes in the area sold for in recent months. With this information the buyer is ready to make an education decision as to the initial offer. Once the initial offer is decided, the Realtor writes up the offer for the buyer to review and approve. After the buyer signs off on the offer it is submitted to the seller's agent and negotiations begin.

Since buying a home can be an emotional process, it is always important to decide upfront the most you are willing to pay for a home. This is especially important if you find yourself pitted against another buyer.

There are generally two parts to the negotiations process. The first is agreeing to the terms of the contract such as price and closing date, and who pays for what closing cost. The second part involves the repairs that are needed based on the inspection.

It is advised that buyers pay for an option period. Generally, the option period is ten days for $100. This means that the buyer can opt out of the contract for any reason during the first ten calendar days of the contract. During this time the buyer has all of the desired inspections performed and negotiates with the buyer repairs to be completed prior to the sale. Sometimes the inspection reports are so bad that the buyer decides to "opt out" of the contract and not purchase the home.

Once all negotiations are finalized and complete, the contract continues to move forward towards the closing date. It is important not to get complacent. There are many things to be done...getting all of the required documents to the lender, making sure insurance is in place, the appraisal, title commitment, and the survey. It's very important to stay on top of all of these items, delaying any of these items can delay the closing which can cost money or even your interest rate lock. So while it is tempting to focus on paint colors and fabric swatches, save that till after the closing. It is also important not to make any major purchases before the closing. A large purchase could affect your ability to qualify for the loan. Most mortgage companies will pull your credit within 24 hours of the scheduled closing to confirm your credit worthiness has not changed.