Greg Nino Houston Texas

A buyer who has an agent should use them 100% not 50% or when it's convenient. If your agent isn't willing or able to be available on a frequent basis then maybe you should fire that agent. I would.

All to often buyers will call me directly when they have an agent. Here are some of their mistakes:

1. They think if they call me that I'll give them "inside scoop" about the seller, the price or other information that might help provide them some opinion. None of this will happen, not with me.

2. They call acting like they don't have an agent, when they do. This is a poor decision. I am MORE than happy to show my listing to ANYONE as my duty is TO SELLL the home, so please don't be dishonest or sneaky about it. I am HAPPY to be clear and honest to potential buyers, and I would love to be treated the same way. :)

3. Buyer's some time think that "they'll do all the footwork" then let their agent do the paperwork. Another horrible decision. FIRE YOUR AGENT & find a new one. Agents are not meant to be paper pushers or robots.

Recently a "to be tenant" called giving me her ~sob story~ about her financial background with hopes to win me over on a personal level. She said "she didn't have an agent." I began speaking to the seller, negotiating the deal and so forth. I even asked if she had an agent & she said.. "no." When it came time to write up the paperwork she said. "I'll have my agent call you." She LIED. The agent eventually called and said they had been working together the WHOLE time. I explained this to the seller and guess what? She was disqualified for being both deceitful and untrustworthy. My client didn't want to "deal with her." I don't blame him.

********************

Your Buyer's Agent should be worth their weight in GOLD & not an ounce less. If your agent is substandard then expect to achieve substandard results. If you don't TRUST your agent 100% then you've got the wrong Realtor.

It is in YOUR best interest to NEVER call the listing agent about negotiations. If you want a price, sure. Have a question about property details? Fine. Not a good idea to ask.... "how much will the sellers come down."

Buyer's Agents work for Buyers. Don't "let" them earn their money - MAKE THEM.

As the saying goes.. "I was born at night, but not last night."

As a Realtor we are expected to "know people." I have a long list of different types that I recommend for different things all the time & I stand behind them because I trust them.

Recently I decided to try and "add" to my list by taking on a new Handy Man company. I won't disclose who they are because I don't feel it's fair to bash someone unless they are given the opportunity to defend themselves.

Anyways,

This company is a nationwide franchise (red flag #1, high overhead)

I called them up and asked if they could give me a quote to add 4 deadbolts, including the new holes in those same four doors in a vacant home that I had on the market. The house was coming up for lease and we needed to get it up to code. No biggie.

The representative was like, "sure we'll send somebody out to get you that quote."

2 days later a guy calls me from somewhere and says it will cost $847.00.

I literally started laughing. Why did I laugh? Because "MY GUY" could, would & ultimately DID do it for $375.00.

Next, I said WHAT & WHY? Are you sitting down? This is really funny. The guys says.. We charge $75 per hour. "WE" as in he an his helper, so it's really $150 per hour. One guy to work and the other to watch if you ask me. They ALSO charge drive time! That's not a miss print! or a miss hear. They charge you LABOR while they drive! LOL!

It get's better...

He then tells me that this is the "going rate!" I was so appalled the only thing I could think to say was... DUDE! You are soooo full of horse manure if you think I'm going to even pass along this quote to my client! NEVER! Thanks & goodbye.. BUGHH BYE!

Two days later I get a $175 INVOICE for the quote!

I quickly picked up the phone, called the company and immediately demanded to have the invoice removed or I would report them to the BBB, State Attorney Generals office & any OTHER authority that I could, including our local media for SLAMMING me with a bill that was not discussed prior, nor is on their website or anywhere else!

The owner threatened to put a LIEN on the house!

At the end of the day I would have never allowed the lien to take place, but I wasn't about to allow this moron or his pathetic company to intimidate me or shove my client around. So I did exactly what I said I was going to do. It was pretty easy really. I called up my Real Estate Attorney and in one phone call the invoice was history.

Good Realtors have Good relationships. Case closed.

When you need to determine value you should take the advice of a local Realtor® who is able to show you comparable sales. Pulling the "comps" or comparable sales isn't a complicated process to determine initial value.

All to often potential buyer's and sellers rely on HCAD or other online Wizards that provide what appears to be a free home evaluation by spitting out a number based on tax record information & inaccurate or off base former sales that DO NOT COUNT.

Those same ONLINE VALUE ASSESSORS or GUESSTIMATES should have "for entertainment purposes only" in bold.

Here are several reasons why you should NOT rely on HCAD to determine"value."

1. When a home is appraised the individual"city-employee" doesn't get to enter the dwelling to take note of any upgrades, improvements or enhancements. HCAD appraisers are usualy not aware of swimming pools, custom landscaping, new roofs or any other type of interior modifications.

2. Often you'll notice a -5% off to the right of the Appraised value under any given year.. too many folks see this and assume that values "have dropped." In reality the homeowner has protested their taxes!

In Houston over 75% of all homeowners who fight their taxes win. Many homeowners want their value to be less when they pay taxes, but when they sell have a much different opinion!

3. Many times HCAD has INACCURATE information! Common errors include: Square footage, room numbers, year built, lot size and just about any data on your screen.

On the flip side..

You may see a home that has a tax value of say $165,000 and it's on the market for $145,000. Don't assume you have a "great" deal waiting!

Here are some other key points:

* LISTED PROPERTIES are NOT comps. They do not determine the value of your home

* BRAND NEW HOMES that just closed in 2008 or 2009 do not compare to your 2004

* Only CLOSED resale homes are usually considered.

* Interior improvements, pools and other enhancements are very neighborhood specific. Pools in some neighborhoods actually hurt your value! While pools in others will increase it dramatically.

So how do you know what the values are?

Contact A GOOD REALTOR®

Our government knows that raising taxes isn't the easiest thing to do if you want to stay in office or get elected in the first place.

Our police officers, the cars they drive and they tires they roll on are paid for my our tax dollars. A hundred percent. Right or wrong?

Do you have police patrol in your neighborhood? Who do you think pays for it? In most cases your HOA pays sixty or seventy thousand dollars a year for 1 police car to "patrol your neighborhood." Maybe they pay LOTS more, like in my neighborhood. OVER $100,000 PER YEAR!


Patrol?

Not really. Not in my neighborhood. The police cars and officers that drive them tend to "park" at high visibility street corner for ALL to see. A demonstration of force. A political parking spot if you will. I have driven past our paid police officer many times, usually 15 miles over the speed limit. Ordinarily they don'tnotice because they're either chatting on the cell, reading a paper or using their laptop.

The local police departments double dip. They get paid tax dollars, then big bucks by our HOA's. Why do they do this? Because they can. If we don't pay them, they won't patrol our neighborhoods. Very simple.

What about RAISING our property taxes! Oooh, now that's blasphemy in the voting book! Don't dare utter those words as a politician, otherwise you'll be crucified by your constituents for sure, then left to hang like raw meat in a walk in freezer.

So if raising property taxes isn't an option than perhaps theycan TAX, I mean THE HOA can CARGE You a 1/2 a percentage point on the SALE of your home. Why do they do this? Oh, they'll tell you it's to retain property value of course.

Got anything to add?

This morning at 7:30 central time, I walked out to my backyard to let the dog out & said to myself... Sheesh, what time is it?

Can you believe it? On March 8th at midnight it will be time to push the clocks forward by one hour! Weren't we just talking about the holidays?

Ready or not, time has come. Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin conceived of the idea?

Give us a better use of daylight? Really? What do you think? Will you make better use of the extra daylight? Does this save electricity?

Greg Nino Is Your RE/MAX West & Northwest Houston Real Estate Expert. Available 24/7 because you deserve the best!

Sell my home Cypress

Buy a home Cypress