Fort Hood, TX

In any given week, I'll take buyers to see a number of homes for sale, both older homes and and brand new homes, expensive and not so expensive.   You might think the expensive homes are what impress me, but actually, it's the homes that feel like a HOME that I really enjoy the most!   It has nothing to do with how much the house costs;  it's all about the feeling of order, security, and coziness that a homeowner has createad in their space, no matter the price.

It seems that buyers, for the moment, are being a bit more conservative and are buying homes that are very affordable, leaving them more money to put into making their house a real home!    If this sounds like how you and your family are thinking these days, be sure to look into homes by Randy Bruton and QCH Builders.   His homes start in the $120,000s and are beautiful quality, spacious floorplans, nice floorcoverings, garden tubs.  You'll really enjoy having a brand new home and you'll also enjoy having money left over to decorate! Meet Randy Bruton and QCH Builders in the video just below:

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QCH Builders, Fort Hood, Texas. Use your VA Loan Benefit to purchase an affordable brand new home in House Creek North Subdivision in Copperas Cove, Texas. Just ten minutes from Fort Hood!

If you are a first time buyer, getting ready to start looking for a home at Fort Hood, here's a quick peek into a real house hunt in the Fort Hood Real Estate Market:

My latest USAA buyer already had a target subdivision and price range in mind when we met for our first consultation. He and his wife are first time buyers and are looking for a home that is close to Fort Hood and close to her work in Killeen. They also want their children to attend Copperas Cove schools, so it's been pretty easy to narrow down their choices.

They've been looking at new construction but just didn't find anything that quite fit their needs and time frame (before the holidays). So we moved on to looking at existing homes, which are a pretty good value in the market right now since prices are down and sellers are paying most if not all of your closing costs.

The buyers picked five properties off the internet to see this past week, and here's what we found when we got to the homes:

Property #1 - First Impression: Big pile of rocks and dirt in the front yard (lots of work required to remove). Front porch and door were covered in dog paw prints. The interior was, frankly, filthy. Looking into the back yard we saw that the dogs had pretty much destroyed it, and they had chewed chunks out of the back porch posts, too!

Property #2 - First Impression: Nicely maintained yard. Attractive brick with stone accents. Spotless interior, nice floorplan with a fireplace and playscape in the back yard for the buyer's children. Well priced! These sellers are as perfect as possible for an unoccupied home.

Property #3 - First Impression was not good. Yard is full of dead grass and weeds, not a bush, tree or flower to be seen. And this home was occupied! Interior was surprising in that it was clean, neat and nicely decorated, perfect for showing to a buyer. Many buyers would never get past the dead yard to even consider this home. It was very well priced, though, and the buyers took a chance and went in to see the interior. It appears the seller is pricing the home low to offset the condition of the yard.

Property #4 - First Impression: Beautiful yard, neatly trimmed, healthy, green, with nice landscaping touches. Interior was clean, neat, with a big covered patio overlooking the healthy, landscaped back yard. This floorplan was actually the same as property #3. These sellers had painted several walls a variety of "interesting" colors that didn't appeal to the buyers. This was the highest priced home we looked at. This home had been on the market three days.

Property #5 - New construction. I called the builder prior to driving out to this home. He assured me that the home was finished and ready for buyers to move in. When we got to the address, we were greeted with a bare concrete foundation.......

I guess he thought we were going to pitch a tent and use the Port-a-John out in the street!

After looking at these five homes, the buyers (who are really charming people!) said they would call me in the morning to let me know which home they wanted to buy. But it didn't take 20 minutes before they called back to tell me their choice!

So which home do YOU think they bought? Which one would YOU buy if you were a first time buyer here at Fort Hood?

Great news from local Fort Hood lenders this morning! Late yesterday afternoon the VA rate plummeted from 6.75% to 6% and stressed buyers can, for the moment, give a sigh of relief.

If you've been waiting out the rates before committing to a home at Fort Hood, this could be the time to jump in. Rates have been volatile the past month, swinging between 7% and 7.5%, so 6% is looking pretty good today!

House Creek North subdivision in Copperas Cove is really coming into its own this year as the most requested subdivision near Fort Hood!  Located just ten minutes from a back gate into the main base, House Creek has a wide variety of homes available, both resale homes and brand new homes by well established local builders.    D R Horton Homes, a nationally known builder, is also building in Phase II.

Photo near House Creek

House Creek North Phase II is almost finished up, and builders are waiting for Phase III to open soon.  Once finall utilities are installed and accepted by the city, builders can get busy.  Phase III lots include many sites on wide streets with views, or for those of you who prefer quiet and solitude, there are sites down the hill close to House Creek, with access to its green areas for walking the dog and exploring Texas flora and fauna.

BUILDERS ARE PRE-SELLING NOW for PHASE III! 

Texas Spiney Lizard (Rusty Lizard, non poisonous)

Local House Creek North builder/developer Mike Emmons was recently interviewed by Mike Bolding of the Killeen Daily Herald Newspaper.  In this interview, Mike gives us an insider's view as to what goes into the development of a new subdivision.   With all the regulations on developers, the services of engineers, surveyors, utility companies and heavy equipment companies must be coordinated with the city, the county and other regulatory agencies. 

Click here to ready Mike Bolding's interview with Mike Emmons about the next phase of  House Creek North.

I prepared a quick video yesterday of some of the new lots for a buyer, and it's posted below if you'd like to take a peek at what this part of the new phase looks like.   You might want to turn your sound down, too, as there is a LOT of wind noise that couldn't be filtered out!

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A lot of you may not be aware that the new Housing Stimulus Legislation recently signed into law by President Bush will be a source of interest free funds to this year's First Time Home Buyers.

If you were, or will be, a first time buyer between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009, you may be entitled to a temporary $7500 tax credit. This means you can receive money from the government, interest free, to be paid back at $500 a year for 15 years, unless you sell the home.

When you sell your Fort Hood real estate, the balance of the tax credit is to be paid back from the proceeds of the sale. If there was insufficient profit to cover the balance owed to the government, the remaining credit payback would be forgiven.

This would be a great opportunity for those of you thinking of buying a home to plan to use the tax credit funds to pay off high interest credit card debt, or to pay off student loans that may be a burden on a first time buyer.

As always, when dealing with the government and the subject of income tax and estimated tax credits, always consult a qualified tax professional who can explain everything to you in greater detail. If you'd like to read more now, visit www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

This should prove to be a super program if buyers use the funds as part of a solid plan to grow their financial future!