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Establishing a Trust Relationship with Your Frisco TX Realtor® Is Good Business Practice

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We are planning to do our own research before hiring a Realtor. We want to drive by some neighborhoods that look interesting to us. We came across THIS and THAT neighborhoods. But what I noticed is that they have been depressed the past few years. What are your thoughts about them? Is $xxx per square feet reasonable or too high?

I receive similar emails such as this pretty often.

This email has very general questions – even if it was about THIS and THAT neighborhoods. It also depends on the finish-out home, which builder and such. In my personal opinion, it is better to find an expert/ resourceful Frisco TX Realtor® who knows the area to help digest this information. Even if you are not ready to purchase the following weekend.

Establish a trust relationship with your Frisco TX Realtor® is a good business practice. It is when you know you can pick up the phone or email and ask, “Hey – What do you think about this?”

When you build the relationship, you automatically create trust. For something as expensive as your personal home (most likely one of your most expensive financial asset), why wouldn’t you want to find the person who will give you the RIGHT ADVICE?

Once you build the relationship, your Frisco TX Realtor® can understand how you are, what your thoughts are about finances as well as understanding how your lifestyle is. One home may be more suited for a family who enjoys rolling in the backyard while another home may be more suited for a family who constantly travels and do not need alot of home maintenance.

 

If you are unsure of how an Exclusive Buyer Agency works with your Frisco TX Realtor®, contact 3:16 team REALTY for more information. We will be happy to discuss this with you.

Call Loreena & Michael Yeo
(214) 783-2210

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES, Top Frisco TX Realtor®

Where do I start if I want to buy a home in Frisco TX?

April 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

House hunting is always FUN! Home buyers spend hours and hours looking at houses online doing their preliminary homework on:

 

Finding an Experienced Frisco TX Realtor®

Working with an experience realtor® who understands the area you want to purchase in will ensure you have the best expertise working for you.

The selected Frisco TX Realtor® can assist you in providing you choices of:

  • Neighborhoods that fit your lifestyle, budget and locations
  • School districts important to your family
  • Must-haves and wish lists

More often than not, a seasoned realtor® work alongside many reputable real estate professionals that support the business. One of them are names of experienced lenders.

 

Getting Prequalified/ Pre-approved

Approximately 70% of America finance a property when purchasing a home. One very crucial part to home buying success is understanding the Loan approval process and understanding the difference between a pre-qualification and pre-approval process. This is the 2nd part of the Frisco TX First Time Home Buying series.

Most Sellers want to know that the buyers for their homes have gone through a financing screening process to ensure that the time that they are under a contract for the sale of their home will result in a SALE! Hence, the Sellers require a pre-qualification letter from a lender with an initial offer.

A Pre-Qualification process is where a lender asks a borrower some important financial information such as annual income, job employment, plans about the home purchase and down payment towards the purchase. It involves the permission of reviewing credit report. With the review, a pre-qualification letter is usually produced subject to verification of financial assets, employment, satisfaction home appraisal of the purchase and final underwriting approval.

A Pre-Approval process includes everything of a Pre-Qualification process. However, this Pre-Approval is verified by reviewing financial documents as provided by the borrower.

 

These are the important first two steps  when considering buying a home in Frisco TX.

 

Call Loreena & Michael Yeo to begin the home buying process in Frisco TX and surrounding cities.
(214) 783-2210

Search Frisco TX homes for sale now

 

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES

Two Halves Make A Full Frisco TX Loan Mortgage Approval

April 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Getting a full mortgage approval is actually a two important step process. Each step checks different factors to contribute towards the full loan approval.

Mortgage - Full Loan Approval

Buyer Financial Approval

In obtaining a Buyer Financing Approval, a buyer is checked for credit worthiness. A full mortgage application is completed and credit is checked. Then, the mortgage lender receives supporting documentations such as W-2 Tax returns, 1099-statements (if applicable), and other other asset statements such as 401K, retirement accounts, banking accounts, etc. to ensure that the information as mentioned on the application are true, correct and verified.

Here in Texas, a sales contract MAY include a Third-Party Financing Addendum. What this addendum tells the Seller is the type of loan the buyer intends to acquire, for up to a maximum interest rate and for how long. The most important section of this addendum is the DATELINE for Buyer Financing approval. This dateline is subjected only for Buyer’s portion of financing approval. It does not include property approval (see below).

When this dateline is elapsed, it would be assumed that the Buyer have received his/ her portion of the financing approval.

See excerpt from the contract below:

 

Property Approval

In this section, the property has to be approved by the lender to complete the full approval. The lender reviews the property appraisal, insurability and property conditions.
Property appraisal - The lender needs to ensure that the property appraises for at least the amount borrowed. However, with the market conditions these days, lenders also makes sure that the appraisal meets sales prices – for a just-in-case situation. As an example, if a buyer puts 20% down on a $100,000 property, the bank needs to ensure that the property is valued at least $80,000. But recently, banks have also made sure that the house is truly indeed valued at $100,000 to protect their future issues that may arise.

Insurability – The property must meet the minimum insurability requirements of the buyer.

Property Conditions – Different types of loans have different property condition criteria. FHA loans are more stringent than conventional loans. If there are structural damages or serious maintenance issues to the property that may cause the condition of the property to deteriorate further, lenders usually request for these issues to be repaired before a full approval is granted.

Here in Texas, the property approval request arise in the original sales contract under Section 4 A (1) that states the property must meet the lenders’ underwriting requirements for loan approval. There is no dateline for property approval.

See excerpt from contract below:

 

 

 

It is important for a buyer to understand the full loan approval process. As always, in real estate – It is important to act and respect dates given on the contract. Time is of an essence in real estate.

The information may be confusing for some buyers – including real estate agents. If you need any clarification on any of the items above, or the loan approval process, please contact us.


 

 


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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOME MORTGAGES, HOME BUYING ARTICLES

Tango Video Call Application for Real Estate Buyers

March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Tango Video CallInternet technology has changed the way real estate business is conducted everyday. Smartphones are getting smarter and there are so many applications on phones that allow home buyers to reach homes in ways they never could, even just a few short years ago.

Video conferencing is not new. But it has always been limited to local and permanent spaces. With faster bandwidths, and visions of being able to view and talk on-the-go, Internet technology in video calls have reached places we never dreamed of a few years ago.

Here at 3:16 team REALTY, we are technologically-savvy agents that help many relocation home buyers move to the area at ease with the use of Internet Technology. We use Youtube to showcase properties for sale as well as driving tours of neighborhoods we sell in.

Tango is used as a video conferencing tool to talk with and walk through properties with home buyers who are unable to personally visit the homes.

Check out the video as our client talked to her husband, showing him the property. He was able to ask her questions, discuss while they “walk” the property together.

It is important to select real estate agents who understand the power of Internet Technology, who utilize technology in their business and to assist you, the home buyers with all available tools for your home buying needs.

Call Loreena & Michael Yeo (3:16 team REALTY), an Internet-savvy company serving your home buying and selling needs in and around the Frisco TX real estate market areas.
(214) 783-2210

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES

Home Buying Tip: Why Knowing What Seller Paid For Is Irrelevant

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Texas is a non-disclosure state when it comes to home sale prices, which means the sales price of homes are not made public record. However, mortgage loan amounts are public information.

Benefits of working with a Local Frisco TX Realtor®

Frisco TX - Grayhawk If the property you are interested in purchasing was listed on the local Realtor®‘s MLS system within the last 10 years, there is a high possibility you are able to find out how much the current owner paid for it.

Regardless of whether you can gain that “insider” information, the outcome is such that,

“Knowing what the Seller paid for the house is IRRELEVANT”.

Home buyers get so hung up on “How much – How much?”. What difference does it make if you knew how much the seller paid for the house?

Home purchases are made based on FAIR MARKET VALUE. What houses are worth the day you make the offer.

If the seller purchased the home 10 years ago and paid X, or the seller purchased the home 3 years ago for Y – why knowing that fact change what the house is worth today? Better question would be: Why would knowing that fact change how much you make an offer on?

What if the seller purchased the home for more than what it’s worth today, does that mean you will pay the amount the seller paid, or what the mortgage amount was?

In today’s home selling and home buying business, 3 parties need to agree: the home buyer, home seller as well as the appraiser that the property is worth the agreed sales price.

Fair Market Values in Frisco TX

You find out how much a home is worth based on FAIR MARKET VALUE and you find out the FAIR MARKET VALUE based on:

  • SOLD Sales data in the same neighborhood
  • Comparable properties similar to the subject property:
    - Within 10% of square footage
    - Similar features/ finish-out/ upgrades
    - Within similar age (5 years difference between them)
  • Sold sales data within the last 6 months

The only time it does make a difference in knowing how much the seller paid for the property – is if the buyer plans to buy with a FHA/ VA insured loans. New anti-flipping rules must apply to make sure the property resold for a considerable profit in less than 90 days. (The key is 90-days).

When buying a home in Frisco TX, dont get caught up in needing to know how much the seller paid for.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES

Buying Price Per Square Foot in Frisco TX

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Home buyers and sellers in Frisco get hung up with price per square foot of home prices very often. It is not uncommon that serious home buyer and sellers as well as friends and family like to ask,

“How’s the real estate market in Frisco TX now? How much are homes sold for these days? How much are they going for – Price per square foot?”

I come from an Engineering background where speaking in “general” is really a concept I find hard to grasp. Hence, the Price per Square Foot conversation can really throw me off completely. Here’s why:

(1) There are so many types of homes in Frisco TX.

There are single family homes, patio homes, townhomes and duplexes for sale in Frisco. A home buyer can purchase either one of these property types. Naturally, it is not hard to understand each of these property type will sell for different price per square foot.

There are starter communties with homes around the $150,000 prices. There are neighborhoods that start around $200,000 up to luxury home communities up to $5 million all within Frisco TX. You would certainly assume that homes in the Million Dollar estates will not sell in the same vicinity price range of a starter first time home community.

Plano TX Kings Lake(2) Even within the same area or the same neighborhood,, there are homes with different finish-outs.

If a home in a neighborhood has high-end upgrades, (and even if the homeowner does not get a full return on investment for the upgrades), a home with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, hand-scraped hardwood floors, 8 foot board-on-board cedar fence, a swimming pool with  spa cannot be valued as the home down the street  that has laminate countertops, original appliances, carpet as flooring, original fence that is about to fall off. It would not be a fair assessment  to say the homes in thss neighborhood sells for $93 per square foot. Clearly the one that has more upgrades could be valued higher and  the one that has basic nominal home features is probably not worth $93 per ssquare foot.

(3) Brand new versus pre-existing

Builders in Frisco TX generally sell their homes for more than homeowners with their pre-existing homes. There is a premium to pay when you get to select the color choices, pick the desired lot, make floorplan changes, etc. A homeowner should not expect to sell his/ her home in the same price per square foot as the builders can too.

A conversation about “How Much Frisco (or this neighborhood) is going for, especially when you are referring to a specific property, or considerring an offer for a property you are about to purchase? You probably should gather all the data, market comps and solds for the specific and similar properties in the neighborhood.

Let an experienced Frisco TX Realtor® – Loreena & Michael Yeo assist you in evaluating the properties you are interested in or even a market comparable report, in terms of price, instead of price per square foot. Price per square foot will turn out to be however much it turns out to be.

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE, MARKET REPORTS

Down To Earth Home Buying Tips For Future Frisco TX Homeowners

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The BEST TIME to buy real estate is NOW!

Home Buying - Down To Earth TipsI am a huge advocate of encouraging friends and family to make our homes a true blessing. Blessings from the home that produces good fruit. In order to make your Frisco TX home a blessing rather than something you worry about payments and ownership, here are some simple guidelines for you to follow.

It is SIMPLE yet difficult to adhere because Frisco TX home ownership can be emotional.

1. Be debt-free.
This plan includes becoming debt-free of all store accounts, credit card debts, school loans, car loans, medical bills and all consumer debts. Only when we become debt-free, it relieves us from the vicious cycle of “minimum payments” and continuous fear of never-ending “emergencies”. Credit cards are not our source of “emergency savior”.

It is when you become debt-free, you can focus your funds into savings because all houses eventually have small and large maintenance issues that you have to pay out of pocket to fix.

2. 3-6 months of living expenses saved.

Having a good stash of savings prepare us for the “rainy days”. To start, have a minimum amount of cash stocked away for “emergency preparedness”. Earmark this as a “minimal starter emergency”. The amount differs person to person. It also depends on how easy you save, how large your paycheck is. For those of us who are more “emergency” prone, maybe begin with $2,000 – $3,000. For those whose jobs are “more secure”, life has less risks, perhaps $1,000 may be sufficient to tide small emergencies.

Beyond the minimal starter emergency, attack the consumer debts with a vengeance. Be willing to change your lifestyle. Most of all, be prepared to make alot of UNEASY sacrifices. A quote that I continuously remind myself when I wonder why I do what I do:

Live like no one else, so that later you can live like no one else (Dave Ramsey).

After paying off all consumer debts, continue to save 3-6 months worth of living expenses ie the expenses that is needed for survival (not take-home amount0. Since you are getting ready to purchase a house, be sure to save a sizeable down payment  after you complete the 3-6 months emergency funds.

Remember, a house should be a blessing. The difference between a blessing and a curse (after Murphy moves in) is the savings.

3. Live on a “Pretend” Budget.

If you plan to be a first time home buyer in Frisco TX or other areas, set up your budget as if you have a home mortgage expense. Read also,

What Makes Up a Frisco TX Home Mortgage Payment.

If your rent is $1,200 per month and your total mortgage payment including property taxes, home insurance and HOA dues are $1,650 per month, save the $450/month into a savings account to see how your budget and lifestyle may change.

If it is something you can do, GREAT! I think you are ready (at least on the financial side) for Frisco TX home ownership.

If it is something you continue to struggle with, you might need to re-think your Frisco TX home ownership strategy. Either lower your purchase price, move to a different location where housing fits your budget or save more money towards down payment to keep your mortgage loan amount smaller to fit the monthly payment you are comfortable with.

4. 15-year, fixed mortgage.

Interest rates today (2011 – 2012) are at its historic lows. Get 15-year, fixed mortgage instead of 30. Be sure that the payment is no more than 1/4 of your take-home pay.

Would other numbers work? Sure it would. Most people take on a 30-year mortgage. However, this topic is to discuss Down To Earth Home Buying strategy for the blessed home.

5. Furnish room by room.

Furnish the ENTIRE house one room or one furniture piece at a time. When you own a home, HomeDepot and Lowes become your second home. Some of the cost-saving ways to shop for home furnishings include garage and estate sales, Craigslist, local Salvation army or donation centers.

Here in Frisco TX, many items donated to the local donation centers are in very good condition.

There are no big secrets to home buying. Blessed are those who lives in their house filled with happy days.

Note: Michael and Loreena Yeo are ministry-financial counselors for their home church. Besides selling real estate, they counsel the Frisco TX community towards financial-savviness.

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES Tagged With:

Is Homeownership On Your Horizon?

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Considering buying a home in Frisco TX or surrounding areas in the near future?

Is homeownership on your horizon? Are you excited about your possibilities?

Frisco TX - First HomeI remembered one of the freedom I felt about buying my first home is the ability to decide the colors of my walls and I did not have to ask anyone about it……It was such a liberating feeling.

 House Rule: Is Buying ALWAYS better than RENTING?

So, you pay $1,000 in rent now. For $1,300* in mortgage payment a month, you could probably buy a first-time home for $175,000 at 4% interest on a 30-year mortgage (estimate). In the Frisco TX home market, $175,000 buys you a good first Frisco TX home.

Sounds like a reasonable and affordable solution for $300 more per month.

 

So you put your signature on the dotted line. Your Frisco TX Realtor® called you to tell you that your loan closed and funded. You received the keys. Now, you own your American Dream. You move in and you are happy.

New homeowners start to think differently. The mix and match furniture from the college days suddenly do not fit the decor of the new home. The new homeowners do not like the wallpaper the previous owner left behind. The yard needs to be mowed, edged and trimmed. The garage needs some organization. So, what would a new homeowner do in this situation?

They go out to make Home Depot and Lowes their second homes (almost). These are the unseen foreseen expenses that homeownership incurs. How much is ever enough? So, out they go to get a Home Depot or Lowes store credit. Zero percent interest for 18 months? Sounds like a no-brainer. Have pure intentions of paying this off before the zero percent deal ends? But life got in the way? Before you know it, you are adding more debt.

Even if you are disciplined enough not to do home improvement projects and do not mind using the couch Aunt Janet gave you, homeownership have maintenance costs to consider. Remember in your apartment days, when the air conditioning unit is not cooling enough, you pick up the phone to call the apartment manager? Gone are the days. When your heater goes out, you pay for the repair. When your toilet gets clogged, you sign the invoice.

It is not my intentions to dampen your spirits. But if I was your Frisco TX Realtor® – the one who watch for your best interest, if I did not discuss these scenerios about your possibilities but just share with you about how homeownership is blissful, I would not have served you well.

A well-prepared new homeowner is a smart planner. Remember that your home should be a blessing for you. It should serve you and your family well for many, many years, not the other way around.

So, if you feel that homeownership is on your horizon, pick up the phone and call. I’d love to share tips and strategies with you to make your American Dream a pleasant experience.

House Rule: Is Buying ALWAYS better than RENTING?
The answer: In the long-run, yes. In the short-run, no. If not executed well, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth for a while.


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME BUYING ARTICLES

How Realtors® Get Paid

February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are too many confusion on how Realtors® get paid in the public’s eye

Thus, educating consumers on this issue is important. Realtors®, Real estate agents, mortgage brokers and title companies are paid only when the property closes and funds. If something happens in the middle of the transaction, no one gets what they want.

If you are a Seller, you typically pay fees for BOTH Realtors® involved in the transaction, ie. the Realtor® representing you and the Realtor® representing your buyer.

If you are a Buyer, the services offered to you by your Buyer’s agent is typically paid by the Seller, hence it **may be free to you.

There are NO set STANDARD fee. Each real estate company and Realtor® may have a  fee they set for their business service and company policies on how they charge. Anti-trust law prohibits price-fixing. Hence, you must call individual companies and Realtors® to find out what their fees are.

 

Signing the Buyer’s Representation Agreement

Realtors® require a signed buyer’s representation agreement with the client. Signing this paperwork means the buyer client gives exclusivity to the Realtor® to work solely with him or her to find their next property. Not all Realtors® may not require this paperwork. But any good agent would at least mention about the exclusivity and what it represents.

 

Also, Realtors® are independent contractors of the business name they are associated with. 99% of the agents are not employees. For example, Realtors® pay a fee to be associated with the real estate companies of their choice. The Realtors® pay for ALL BUSINESS EXPENSES. These expenses are not limited to:

  • Education and other professional dues to maintain their Realtors®’ licenses
  • All auto expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance, etc.)
  • All communication devices including computers and software (cellphone, iPad, etc.)
  • All business expenses (depending on company policy)
  • All marketing expenses (marketing themselves or marketing their listings, etc.)
  • All insurance expenses (health & medical, disability, etc.)
  • Retirement fund, if any. There is really no employer matching.

So, when a Realtor® gets his/ her check, through the eyes of the consumer, it may seem a large paycheck but most of it have its designated names before the individual Realtor receives his/ her portion.

 

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: BE AN INFORMED CONSUMER, HOME BUYING ARTICLES

Kids and Real Estate

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As parents, we always do our best to provide everything to our children within our means (some even when it’s out of reach). Many times, parents make decision to buy or sell real estate because of the children. Some of my personal experiences with my clients have been:Frisco TX PreSchool

  • Moving to a better school district
  • Parents divorce, and need to sell their home. But each of them buy a home in the same designated school – to try cause minimal disruption to their already chaotic lives.
  • Parents move across country to come to Frisco and Plano school districts because we have very good Special Education programs in public schools, equivalent to private education where they are at. Private special education programs are very expensive.

Many families time their move, their buying and selling of real estate based on the school calendar. Hence in Frisco TX, just like most parts of the country, the majority of the home sales are conducted between end of May through August.

One of the big concerns when “moving” for parents is how well the child(ren) will do in school. Will they get used to the place? Will they find new friends easily?

I’m not a child psychologist so the observations I am about to make is solely just based on observing other children as well as having children of my own.

In general, I think children are very resilient. Far more resilient than what we give them credit for. Many times, I think parents over-think things, creating false fears in their minds. I think children make friends easier than adults because they do not carry all that baggage with them. They are pure. When they are happy, they show it. When they are sad, they show it too. It’s us adults over-thinking most of the time.

Most of the time, my child is just as happy where he is at, as long as he is with us. It didn’t matter to him if i was a 3-bedroom 1,500 sqft house where things and people crammed into spaces, or 3 people in a 4,000 sqft home with media and gamerooms and a few extra unused bedrooms. Sometimes, even in a hospital bedroom with 4 walls just suffice!!!

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOMEOWNERSHIP, HOME BUYING ARTICLES
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