Chris Tesch College Station, Texas Real Estate

For the second time in the last five years Bryan and College Station have been recognized as places where real estate is selling for under what the values should be. This means that there are definate bargains here in Aggieland. Houston was the only other city in Texas that got this designation. With the prospects of tremendous job growth and undervalued real estate it's a wonderful market to be in. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M believe that our appreciation rates will be higher than ever in the next few years.

With higher than ever appreciation values will you make a mint on your property? NO! We are still not California with ridiculous appreciation in short times. In the last few years our appreciaton rates have been 3-5% per year. We're looking at appreciation rates raising to about 7%. A stable market in the price ranges lower than 200K and lot's of first time homebuyer interest it's a great time to buy!

First time buyers please take note. The $8,000 tax credit requires that you close on your home by December 1st. There are programs to help you tap into some of that tax credit to help with closing costs as well. Take advantage of tax credits, low interest rates, and an undervalued market now.

Here's a link to the Bryan/College Station MLS

Many parents, wanting to buy a College Station home for their students, visit the idea of a condo or townhome. As with anything there are some very positive points to consider and some other negative points on these issues.

First let's talk about what the difference is between condos and townhomes. The major difference is that condos always have associations and the homeowner doesn't actually own the land beneath the condo, the association does and you typically only own from the studs in. The exterior is owned and maintained by the association. Townhomes may, or may not have associations formed to maintain community resources. With a townhome you own the land that it sits on and the entire structure.

The down side of Condo associations is that there is a monthly fee. This fee can range, in College Station Condos, from $65 a month to over $200. There's no set answer on what these fees cover unless you look at individual associations. Most will cover exterior landscaping and insurance on the common areas. A good many will cover exterior maintenance on the roof and sides of the building. Some will have pools and a very few will cover things like internet service and water. Each association varies.

The down side to a townhome is that the maintenance typically is not covered. You may find yourself with the nicest property on the block with other properties to the right and left of you not nearly as well maintained. Also many share roofs with the other townhomes so eventually roofs may become mismatched.

With a College Station home you are always going to be responsible for lawn care, maintenance of the exterior and interior and all insurance. Keep in mind that the City of College Station conducts periodic checks of areas to ensure that residents are mowing their grass and other upkeep items. Getting a letter from the city warning of an impending fine if the situation doesn't improve is typically the parents first indication that the property isn't being maintained as well as it should be.

Any of these options can be the right choice for you and your student. The first thing you need to do when deciding to buy a student property is to think about what appeals to you the most. If you're not in Texas and maintenance needs to happen on your student property a condo might be the best bet. Also if you really want an easy care solution a condo can be a very good choice.

Want a glimpse of all the College Station real estate for sale? Go to my website and click on "Search Listings". When you buy I'd love to help!

So, you've bought the house of your dreams and moved in. What's the next step? Remembering that one day, whether you realize it or not today, you'll be selling. Increasing the value of your home isn't just a blitz right before you list it. Protecting and increasing the value of your home starts the day that you write the offer.

So you've closed now. What is the number one thing to do as soon as you've bought the home? If I could tell you that in one day you could make a change to increase the value of your home by possibly up to 20%, decrease your utility bills, and reduce your stress while helping the entire ecology of our area would you be interested? You can! Quick, plant trees!

In any area this holds true, but in our area it's of prime importance. Bryan and College Station, actually all of Brazos Valley, has traditionally been used as farm land. Trees in fields aren't a great value, as they provide unneeded shade and reduce the area given for crops or livestock. Therefore many were eliminated. The remaining trees in many cases, are Post Oaks. Post Oak trees are beautiful trees and very hardy, when given a natural enviroment. They are, however, very resistant to change and to human intervention. Pouring a slab close to their root system, watering them with clorinated and processed water, putting a tree house in them or driving over or near their root systems are all huge problems for these gorgeous natives. In other words, as homeowners, we don't play nice with them. They tend to die within a year of a new property being built on, leaving you with a big empty space in your yard.

Here's some quick statistics on the value of a tree:

Dr. Roger S. Ulrich of Texas A&M University stated that "in laboratory research, visual exposure ot settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension."

The USDA Forest Service states "Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating"

The Management Information Services/ICMA states "Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent."

According to the US Department of Agriculture "The net cooling effect of a young, healty tree is equivilant to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."

"A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000," according to the Concil of Tree and Landscape Appraisers.

Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research states "if you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%."

Wow, lower your blood pressure, decrease your utility bills and increase your property value in one fell swoop! Definately a recipe for success!!!!!!!

For more information on local tree farms and resources visit my website.

Bryan certainly seems to be in the news lately! With the new Toyo Ink Plant (the 3rd largest ink manufacterer in the world) coming here and the new A&M Health Science Center quickly becoming a reality along with the new Bryan Rudder High School that is soon to open it certainly seems that Bryan is the center of a storm of new businesses.

The Super Target will be opening July 20th at the corner of Highway 6 and Briarcrest soon. It's anchoring a whole conglomerate of great stores and restaurants that will truly add to Bryan's prestige and the enjoyment of every citizen in Bryan and College Station!

Thought you all might be interested in seeing quick list of stores that will be in the new Bryan Towne Center anchored by Target.

Shipley's Doughnuts

Baskin Robbins

Eyemart Express

Citifinancial

E-Nail Topia

Dollar Tree

rue21

Rack Room Shoes

Maurices

Logan 's Steakhouse

Anytime Fitness

Salt Grass Steakhouse

IHOP

Burlington Coat Factory

Bryan is certainly on the move! Look for more on the new Toyo Plant and the HSC in further blogs. For more information about Bryan or College Station, or to see the latest in homes for sale come to my web site at www.ChrisTesch.com.

Prospective buyers in Bryan and College Station need to take several things into consideration when looking at homes. Focusing on resale value from the very start will definately put you in the drivers seat when selling later down the road. Many buyers come into the market not looking at their purchase from this perspective and suffer later down the road.

Things to consider:

1) How long do you plan on living in this particular home? Obviously, plans change frequently, but this is the first thing to consider. If you are planning on a stay two years or less you may want to rethink your purchase. Don't get me wrong, I'm not big on paying a landlords mortgage, however, though I've helped many clients get out breaking even after a year or two the general concensis is that you will probably, at best, break even and potentially even loose money.

2) Love the new home smell and feel? It won't be new when you sell the property! Looking at both new and resale homes is the best policy. Remember that many times the resale properties are under pressure due to the brand new homes. Everyone wants that perfect property, and with either a new or resale their will be pluses and minuses. Think these through carefully. Remember that when you go to sell this property it will be competing with new properties.

3) Carefully choosing your neighborhood can pay off! (or location, location, location!) Drive around the neighborhoods (or take a tour with a great Realtor) and see what each neighborhood in your price range offers. Amenities can make or break your sale down the road. No pool in the neighborhood? Currently it's not a deal breaker here in Bryan or College Station, a few years down the road it could hurt. Many new neighborhoods are being built with pools, tennis courts, basketball courts and other elements that aren't necessarily common here in the Brazos Valley. Competition in the coming years could be stiff between your house and these!

4) No price reduction can compensate for a bad floorplan! Look for resale value when you buy. Do you really dislike the tiny living room and micromini master bath? Then move on unless what you are seeing is common in your price range. One of my buyers was truly attracted to a house. Despite the contemporary exterior (not a resale plus here in the College Station), it had the makings of a phenominal home when you first walk in. Large kitchen, beautiful fireplace, raised ceilings...then we walked into the master bath...sunken tub, one sink, tiny closet. The floorplan didn't flow well either. With further research we found that the property had been listed before and hadn't sold after quite a few price reductions and many days on the market.

5) Consider the school district whether you have children that will attend it or not! You might not care that the schools that serve the neighborhood aren't that good. When you go to sell, it might make or break the deal. That being said remember that school districts and schools can change. Even the school zoning that your home is in can (and around here, probably will) change.

Though my crystal ball is broken there are indications on how certain neighborhoods, home style and areas will do. Take these things into consideration and make your purchase a solid one!

Need a great buyers agent or just want to learn more about Bryan/College Station real estate? Come to my website at www.ChrisTesch.com.