About San Antonio's Timberwood Park

We want to eliminate the fine print in real estate. There is a lot to read and comprehend but it needs to be done so all parties are informed. Both the buyer and seller have duty to provide information to the best of their ability and to read and understand the documents provided for them to make an informed decision regarding the sale and purchase.


While "caveat emptor" is always a good rule to follow whenever you buy something, the disclosure rules in real estate, should be a benefit to both buyers and sellers. The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) has rules and obligations regarding disclosures and notices that real estate licensees must use to be in compliance with the rules of practice.

Real estate brokers often add more disclosures and notices than required by the state. It's my belief that whenever there is a successful lawsuit or complaint involving a real estate matter, a new form is created, designed to protect someone from a future lawsuit or complaint. It's also to make an effort to disclose relevant information to the interested parties.

As a new real estate licensee, one of the things that I remember most was Instructors begging, pleading, and demanding that we should always disclose, disclose, disclose material facts known about the property. This is a good policy. It is not painful, and although it may cause a buyer to reject a property, in the long-term, this is a benefit for all concerned.

Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men"said,  "you can't handle the truth". 

 
That's not the case, as the truth shall set you free.

Following are some of the typical disclosures and notices you will see involving Texas Residential Real Estate sales transactions:

Property Located Seaward of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway-Advises of the potential economic loss due to proximity to the coastal area.

Sellers Disclosure on the Presence of Lead-Based Paint-Needed for houses built before 1978.

Property Subject to Mandatory Membership in a Property Owners Association

Information About Brokerage Services-Explains responsibilities brokerage services and duties of the parties to each other.

Information About On-Site Sewer Facility-disclosure of septic systems

Information About Special Flood Hazard Areas

Inspector Information

Protecting Your Home From Mold

Seller's Disclosure

Affiliated Compensation Disclosure-Advises clients of potential referral based fees paid to the brokerage

Oak Wilt Disease

In addition, Property Management, and Commercial Real Estate have disclosure documents appropriate for their transactions.

Here is my summary on this subject:

• Disclosure is the best policy. 
• Ask questions, read the documents, and make sure you understand what you are reading, seeing, and hearing. 
• Get your issues resolved in your mind before you buy.
• If the buyer is unsure and is uneasy about some aspect of the condition of the property, get an expert or specialist to provide additional information. If still unsure, you should probably find another property.
• When all the disclosures are made, the seller has fulfilled their responsibility.

When you are looking to buy or sell  residential real estate in Bexar or surrounding counties, call me, I'll be happy to work with you in getting your residential real estate matter handled.

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This was a dry hole last summer. Hopefully our drought is over.

Let me know if I can help you find your way around San Antonio, Bexar or surrounding counties.I've been doing some work in LaVernia, Boerne, and Spring Branch in the past few weeks. I'm ready to help you with your residential real estate needs. I have some great associates who can help you with Commercial, or Farm and Ranch needs too. Put us to work for you.

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Sellers should use the option period aggressively.

A few days ago I wrote a post about how buyers should use their option time to help confirm the house in which they made an accepted offer is the right house for them.

Sellers receive a small financial inducement to accept an option period. If the transaction is completed, the option fee is usually applied to the sales price. If the transaction does not go through to closing, the option fee is the only money received by the seller and the house will be placed on the market again for sale.

The seller and their agent have two choices when an offer is accepted and an option period is being used: take a passive approach, or take an active approach.

PASSIVE

1. Wait for the option period to end.
2. Assume the transaction will be completed as stipulated in the contract.
3. Cross your fingers and make a wish for good things to happen.

ACTIVE

1. If you did not get a seller's home warranty when the house was listed, get it now.
2. Keep the house neat during the option period. The seller and their inspectors will be coming by. Don't give them a reason to second guess their buy decision.
3. If other buyers want to see the property, let them. Take a back-up offer and let the buyer's know you have a back-up.
4. If other buyers want to see the property after the back-up offer, let them see it. The listing agent should maintain a list of interested parties just in case the deal falls through.
5. Begin neatly preparing for your move in an organized manner. You should keep your home neat from the time you house is listed until the day you move out. Remember, your house is not sold until the owner gets paid.

Home sellers should use the option period time to their advantage. Waiting for something good to happen is just not the best strategy.

Let me know if I can help you find your way around San Antonio, Bexar or surrounding counties.I've been doing some work in LaVernia, Boerne, and Spring Branch in the past few weeks. I'm ready to help you with your residential real estate needs. I have some great associates who can help you with Commercial, or Farm and Ranch needs too. Put us to work for you.

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Do you prefer more choices or fewer choices in choosing your next home?

For most of us, more choices is better than fewer choices. Whether we are considering fruits and vegetables at the produce stand, movies to see, selecting our next car, or our next home. We like to begin with a wide selection and narrow down to a smaller number of favorites. This is one of the great benefits of living in a free society. Our choices are limited only by our financial situation and personal preferences.

In San Antonio, there are more homes available for sale than there are buyers ready, willing, and able to buy. According to the San Antonio Board of Realtors website, there are over 10,000 homes currently available for sale. At the current rate homes are being bought and new homes are coming on the market, we have over an eight (8) month supply of homes available.

I've seen some buyers overwhelmed by the thought of going through the process of narrowing the field. However, that need not be the case. As you consider your next home, begin creating a list of features and attributes you would like to have in your next home. Here are some things to consider:

• Commute time to work (how much time are you willing devote to commuting?)
• Schools (school districts or specific schools you would like to use)
• Exterior Features (exterior materials-brick, stone, wood, etc)
• Interior Features (bedrooms, bath rooms, hard wood floors)

That's a short list, and incomplete for most buyers. But it's a start. After this initial list is developed, interview some Realtors to get a sense as to how they would help find the right home for you. In Texas, when you find the Realtor with whom you want to work, get them to sign on as the Buyer's Representative for you. In this arrangement, the Realtor will represent you, not the seller.

Let me know if I can help you find the right house to make your home.

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Do you have an emergency plan for your business? Something to disrupt your business or your life can happen any day or any time. It could be weather-related-like a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake. It could be health-related regarding you, a family member, or business associate. Maybe a source of short-term financing dries up at a time when you really need it to tide you over until your next commission. So what can you do?

Many companies have contingency plans that outline procedures that can be implemented when the unexpected happens. Maybe they have alternate work sites for their staff to report, or maybe calls can be routed from office telephones to home phones or cell phones. The main thing is they have a plan that can be brushed off, tweaked to meet the current conditions, and then implemented to reduce negative affects on customer service, and cash flow.

After September 11, 2000,I gave some thoughts as to what I would do to try to survive terrorist attacks. Similar disruptions in our lives could occur during and after terrorist attacks. As time has passed, my preparations have gotten slack.

The earthquake in Haiti is my wake up call to do something to prepare. On the scale of disruption, from one to ten, this is a ten+, because the infrastructure, financial and government support systems are so weak in Haiti.

I am going to give some thought to a plan so that when a time to execute it comes, I will not be flying totally blind.

The first three parts of my plan will cover Transportation, Communications, and IT

Here are a few of the high-level actions.

Transportation

1. Refill gasoline when the tank is half full.
2. Keep the emergency box in vehicles stored with flashlight, extra batteries, charging unit for cellphone, water, dry snacks, first aid kit, and blanket.
3. Store some money in the vehicle. If power is out, ATM and credit cards will be of no use if there are things that can be purchased.

Communications

1. Route office telephone line to cell phone.
2. Leave message on voice mail giving alternate ways to contact me via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.
3. Assume communications support will be spotty as cell towers, electrical power to support communications infrastructure may be compromised. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

IT

1. Back up files with off-site support daily.
2. Back up current files on thumb drive daily.
3. Update anti-virus programs on regular basis.

As a one man shop, my plans do not have to be overly detailed, but the more things are planned, the less effort needed to get a plan in gear. Hoping for as good an outcome as possible for the people in Haiti.

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