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Preparing Important Documents For The Sale Of Your Frisco TX Home

April 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

In order to facilitate a successful sale of your Frisco TX home, there are several documents to prepare (ie. have on hand) so the next step after accepting an offer will go smoother:

  • Survey

  • T-47 if you are using an existing survey in the transaction
  • Mortgage payoff authorization (consists of your lender’s information, mortgage account information, and last 4-digits of your social security number)

Survey

The survey details the property boundaries, building setback lines and easements. The survey must have a clear and legible surveyor’s stamp also. Existing surveys are allowed to be used a new real estate transaction.

T-47: Texas Residential Real Property Affidavit

The T-47 affidavit goes alongside the survey used for the real estate transaction. With using the T-47, it states that the current owners have no made improvements or changes to the property that could affect the use of the existing survey. Changes that would include:

  • adding new structures such as swimming pool, room additions or extensions, or other permanent structures.
  • change the location of fences
  • construction projects on immediate adjoining property that encroach the property

By stating “NONE” – it states that the owner (to the best of the knowledge) does not know of any changes made (listed above).

The T-47 affidavit should be signed in front of the notary.Then, delivered to the title company along with the survey when the transaction is executed.

Upon closing, the T-47 affidavit will be requested to be signed again.

Best practice should include signing the T-47 even before the property comes on the market. When an offer is presented, concentrate on negotiating the offer, instead of running around trying to get the T-47 notarized.

 

Mortgage Payoff Authorization

The mortgage payoff authorization can be a simple request letter (with the mortgage information listed) that the owners authorize the title company to request a mortgage payoff authorization.

 

When you hire 3:16 team REALTY to sell your Frisco TX home, you can be assured that the important paperwork needed will be requested upfront. It is how we operate as a company. We do not like to chase after paperwork. We are planners and we gather all the necessary paperwork needed upfront, so when you do have an offer on the property, we will concentrate on negotiating the contract, instead of chasing needed paperwork.

Call Loreena and Michael Yeo
(214) 783-2210
to discuss the sale of your home.

 

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Filed Under: HOME SELLERS ARTICLE

Seller’s Allowance: Bridging the Buyer and Seller Gap in Frisco TX Home Selling

March 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Frisco TX is a highly desirable area to purchase real estate in today’s market. There are several factors that contribute to it.Frisco TX community pool

  1. Frisco TX is a very affordable area when compared to many cities closeby.
  2. The floorplans and age of Frisco TX homes are relative new. Many homes are built after Year 2000, which means the homes have many desirable updated features: open floorplan, nickel or oil-rubbed bronzes fixtures, granite countertops, stainless appliances. Many homes have hardwood floors, beautiful curb appeal accented with stone exterior fronts.
  3. Frisco TX has many master-planned communities with community living: community swimming pools, children’s playgrounds, greenbelt for hiking, active HOAs (with annual activities to bring the neighbors together). Many communities have elementary schools close or within the community, and middle and high schools near by.
  4. Frisco TX has an EXEMPLARY school district standing in comparison to Plano (Recognized), McKinney (Recognized), Allen (Exemplary). Frisco ISD has smaller student population and keep its student to teacher ratio small.
  5. Everything in Frisco looks new, orderly and family-friendly.
  6. Frisco TX is just a very well-built, well-planned city. Kudos to the Frisco TX city planners.
  7. Frisco TX is 30 minutes for 2 major airports: DFW and Love Field. DFW is an American Airline hub. There are many direct flights to all major cities in the US. DFW is centrally-located.

That being said, there are still some Frisco TX homes that lack some highly-sought after home features. Hence, in order to increase the chances of selling the Frisco TX home, many home sellers are open to the idea of needing to update their homes: Granite countertops, stainless appliances, replacing gold/ bronze fixtures.

Frisco TX home sellers typically ask,

Should we sell the house as-is and offer the buyer some allowance for upgrades at closing? That way, they can decide what they like and also have cash-at-hand to purchase.

Frisco TX New HomeNot a bad idea to begin with. However, here are some of the realities the buyers face:

  • Most mortgage companies do not like to hold back ESCROW, which means more often than not, the buyers receive a seller concession in the form of closing costs in lieu of appliance or upgrade holdbacks.
    Yes, instead of taking $5,000 into closing, the buyers are now using that cash that they otherwise have to buy appliances or hardwood floors.
  • But many Frisco TX home buyers may not have the surplus cash laying around for the purchase. They are already needing sellers’ assistance in closing costs (up to 3% on conventional loans and up to 6% on FHA loans).
  • Most Frisco TX buyers do not want the hassle of needing to spend additional time to work on the house. They want to buy it “already done”. They live a very busy lifestyle. They don’t want to spend weekend after weekend updating the house.

While Frisco TX home sellers do not want to deal with having to do minor home improvement projects, this may be the necessary evil to begin increasing the chances to successful home selling – far better than offering seller’s allowances. They dont go very far, at least here in Frisco TX.

If you think your home needs it, do it NOW rather than to offer it at closing 30 days later.

 

3:16 team REALTY has a very successful track record in home selling, especially in and around the Frisco TX market areas. Loreena Yeo is one of the best and top local Frisco TX Realtor that maintains an immaculate home selling track record. Call Loreena (214) 783-2210 for an appointment to evaluate your home selling plans.

 

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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOMEOWNERSHIP, HOME MAINTAINENCE, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE

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

Pay back Frisco TX First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Recapture

March 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post does not constitute tax advice. You must seek a professional tax advisor for your specific tax circumstances.

Frisco TX - Heritage GreenIf you bought a home in Frisco TX in 2009 or until June 2010, and you claimed the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000 and you are now ready to sell it, you must consider some tax implication (if it applies to you). Even if you continue to own the property and it is no longer your primary residence, there are some tax consequences.

If you owned your home for less than 3 years (from the date of settlement) and you claimed the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, selling the home in less than 3 years will require for you to repay the $8,000 tax credit in FULL in the year when you sell.

There are some circumstances where you do not need to pay back (or recapture):

(1) Taxpayer dies in less than 3 years of ownership
However, if the property is owned by husband and wife on a joint return, the surviving spouse must still fulfill its 3-year personal residence requirement.

(2) Divorce
If husband and wife file a joint return, for the IRS tax purposes, it considers each person with half repayment obligation. If both decides to sell the property, each will take the $4,000 each repayment on its tax. Otherwise, if one of the party leaves the property and the other remains, the remaining spouse receives the full tax repayment obligation if s/he sells in less than 3 years.

(3) Involuntary conversion
If the property was destroyed in a natural disaster or the property subject to eminent domain (property sold to government, state, town for public use), you do not need to recapture (or pay back) the tax credit you received.

You must fill out IRS Form 5405 (Part 4) to correctly recognize your Tax Credit Recapture in the year you become disqualified.


 

 


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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOMEOWNERSHIP, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE

Wonderful Experience in a Trying Time

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Directly from past residents of Queens Gate in Frisco TX

Queens Gate Frisco TX home for sale

“Paul and I are happy we chose you to represent us in the sale of our home in Frisco TX.  We want you to know we appreciate your service and how dedicated you are to your clients needs.  In the economic down turn, we expected it to take much longer than it did.  It was a surprise to us that you sold and closed on our home in two moths instead of six.  We also appreciated your business attitude all through the process.  Thanks a million.”

Paul & Fran Cooksey – Former Queens Gate Frisco TX residents
7478 St. Stephens Square in Queens Gate Frisco TX

 

Our Story

We placed the house on the market on Tuesday before Thanksgiving 2011. Not exactly the most perfect time to come on the market because of the holiday season.

Just little over a week later, we received our first offer (at 9 days) and went into contract for a tentative closing date at the end of January.

By mid-January, the buyer of this Queens Gate home decided to terminate on the contract because the sale of the buyer’s home fell through.

We got back on the saddle again and this time, 7 days later, we had multiple offers on the property – all with solid candidates.

We successfully closed on the house this time and helped both buyers and sellers of this Queens Gate home achieved what they want: a closed transaction.

 

What Made The Sale Successful

3:16 team REALTY specializes selling real estate and homes in the Frisco TX areas. Also, the marketing plan is like no other. Paul and Fran Cooksey are former real estate agents before they retired. They especially liked how we focus on Internet Marketing for home selling in Frisco TX. They recognized our strength and capitalized on our knowledge and experience.

Read also our proven track record in Frisco TX home selling experience.

 

Thank you so much for your faith and trust in us!!!

 

If you are considering buying a home in Queens Gate with an experienced Frisco TX Realtor®, call us now. We are ready to get to work!

Michael and Loreena Yeo
(214) 783-2210

Search homes for Sale in Queens Gate Frisco TX

More information about Queens Gate, Frisco TX including community photos and videos.

 

If you are considering selling your home in Queens Gate with an experienced Frisco TX Realtor®, either fill out this Home Value Request form, or call us at (214) 783-2210.

 


 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: CLIENT TESTIMONIALS, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE, Top Frisco TX Realtor® Tagged With:

Is Landlording An Alternative to Home Selling?

February 3, 2012 By 1 Comment

Considering selling your Frisco TX home? BUT you won’t get what you want out of the sale?

Frisco TX RentalNo doubt that the real estate market has recently suffered some downturns, Frisco TX real estate homes market included. Many Frisco TX home sellers who plan to sell but cannot wait for the market to turn around are looking at alternatives to home selling.

Landlording comes to mind.

Is Landlording A Better Alternative To Selling In This Market For You?

The best person to answer this question would be to answer the following questions to assess your personal situation.

(1) First of all, not everyone can qualify for having 2 mortgages in their name. Well, someone else has just made the decision for you. Check in with a lender to evaluate your financial ability to hold 2 mortgages.

(2) Even if you can qualify for it, should you?

(3) Are you ready to become a landlord, both financially and emotionally?

(4) If the market was not in this condition, would you get into the landlording business in the first place?

When Sellers make this consideration, they assume that:

(1) You will always have a renter in the house (no vacancy ie someone is always there to pay this part of your mortgage)
(2) There will be no turn-over.
(3) There is no repair.
(4) Rent will always be on time.
(5) It is just a simple clean and vacuum, then the For Rent sign goes up again in the yard.

The questions that I have raised are truly significant. They are real and they can make or break you. As much as I believe in real estate, landlording is not for everyone. Landlording is a business and should not be used as an alternative until something turns around. So, make your EMOTIONAL as well as FINANCIAL considerations diligently.

Find out what it takes to become a landlord.

 


 

 


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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOMEOWNERSHIP, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

Are You Landlord-material for Frisco TX?

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Your home in Frisco TX is not selling. Or you just bought your Frisco TX home and you know you don’t have enough equity to sell to break even. You are considering leasing your Frisco TX home instead of selling.

Are You Landlord Material in Frisco TX?

(1) How much money have you set aside for your rental property(ies)?

See, the question is if you have any money ready to be set aside for this business (after all, landlording is a business). I did not quite mean if you have any money set aside. Unfortunately, if you have to dip into credit cards to make the mortgage payment when your tenant cannot pay you, or if you have a plumbing issue, this is a good red flag to say that it may not work out for you. If you can put at least 3 months worth of payments aside (better at 6 months), you at least have a sound financial plan.

(2) Can you cashflow? Or are you going to feed some money into the property each month?

Work out the math. Factor in vacancy rates and estimate repair costs. Not just mortgage payments with property taxes and insurance. There is a real math behind this. What if the numbers do not work? Does it mean this land-lording business is out? Not necessarily. Again, it depends on your individual situation. If you need help in figuring this out, contact me. I’d be more than happy to share with you what I know. No pressure and obligation. I feel the more information you have in your hands, the better the decision you make for yourself.

(3) Oppps………. let me back up. Do you work off a monthly budget and abide by it?

How is your financial situation at home? Are you living from paycheck to paycheck? (Red flag alert)… The truth is that I have heard many people saying that “They are doing okay” or “I got that covered….”. What does that really mean? Please let me tell you what it should mean before you really think you have that covered.

It means you are on-time with all your personal bills. You are sitting on at least 3-months of cash savings (living expenses) and now that you are getting into the rental business, you should have at least 3-months of additional mortgage payments plus property taxes and insurance. This is the least you must have in order to sit on a strong foundation to begin considering land-lording.

Why so stringent you might ask? The more you have, the more you can pad away your problems. Then you won’t operate in a crisis mode. Having that $500 plumbing problem then because just a mere inconvenience for you.

Should you seek credit cards to fund your emergencies? Absolutely not. The rental business is purely a numbers game. If you have to seek a credit card for help at 18-20% interest rate, dont you think your entire ROI (return on investment) go out the window? Well, how about those 0% credit cards? Well, think again. It already says you are not financially ready for landlording, in my humble opinion.

(4) Do you plan to manage it yourself or hire a property manager?

Either way, property management can be successful if you have the right personality and tools to do it.

The benefits of handling your own rentals is that you save money. Typically, property management fees start around 10%. That means you will also need to factor this fee as part of your cashflow equation. The property manager takes the tenant calls for you, however, you still will need to play a somewhat active role in keeping on top of your property manager. So, instead of dealing with tenants, you deal with your property manager. Late fees are collected for you and typically split between the property manager and you. But we never wish that to happen.

You do not need to listen about Why Rent cannot be paid on time this month. Some real tenant answers are, “I need to buy new clothes for my kids or school items before the kids go back to school” or “It’s Christmas and I really dont want my kids to be without this season. After all, ’tis the season to love and give, right?”…….. Going back to school in August and Christmas occuring every December suddenly catch them by surprise. Be prepared that people make decisions with their money and it is beyond your control. I am not here to judge if it is right or wrong. It happens. (I do not say that ALL tenants are this way. But you need to assume the worst to make your most conservative decision).

The advice I provided may sound difficult or somewhat harsh, but as a realtor and a trusted advisor in your new endeavors, I’d rather be upfront with you than to get you scrambling when you are already in the situation. Call me if you have considerations in becoming a landlord – whether it is here in the area or anywhere else. I’d love to share with you.

PS: I am a landlord and I have some experience in this field. I am not here to say whether this is for you because ultimately you do what you think is best for you. But you should hear all the goods and bads before you get your feet wet. After that, you will still have your own lessons to learn.

 

 


 

 


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Filed Under: FRISCO TX HOMEOWNERSHIP, HOME SELLERS ARTICLE Tagged With:

Sellers, Keeping Up With Your End of The Bargain

October 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have 2 transactions that stalled out because of this incident, thus I figure I should blog about it.

Transaction 1: Short sale seller moved out when we submitted the offer. 30 days later, the contract was approved, hence we proceeded on Buyer’s performances of the contract. Turned out, the Seller would not turn utilities on, hence it would be impossible to check some important items in the house such as water heater, furnace and a/c unit. Short sale seller owed over $800 in utility bills. In order to have it turned on, the account needs to be brought up to current.

Listing agent’s advice: Have your buyers turn it on. They are going to buy the house anyways. You’re getting too emotional in this transaction. Tell your buyers they are buying this house for very cheap. Plus, this house is only 3 years old. Nothing should go wrong.

Transaction 2: Seller would not turn on gas in her name.  She hasnt lived in the house in over 5 years. She does not have a gas account.

Listing agent’s advice: Only the water heater is affected. The inspector can check everything except for the water heater. It should be covered under warranty anyways if it is broken.

Wow.

Okay, I must admit that I learnt from my very 1st listing I sold some 6 years ago, that the Seller moved out and have utilities turned off. Come inspection, the Buyer’s agent then chewed me out, almost belittled me because I reiterated my client’s wishes to request for Buyers to turn on in their names. Oh no. That didn’t go very far. In the end, my Seller clients had to turn it on in order to sell it.

So, some 6 years later, I have 2 back-to-back transactions stall out because of utility/ inspection issue.

Buyers will spend somewhere between $300-$400 for a home inspection. The Sellers should keep up with their end of the bargain by providing utilities on: water, electric and gas. No, buyers should not turn utilities on in their names, not knowing what turns out with the inspection.

Real estate is NOT rocket science. It’s not too hard to figure out how to treat others fairly in a transaction. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, if you were the Buyers, would you turn utilities on in your name – not knowing if you would end up buying it?

How about this? What if I wanted to sell you my car? Can I just tell you, it should be fine? You trust me enough to take my word for it? What if I didn’t want to put gas in my car for you to test drive it? If gas cost $150 just for you to test drive, would you walk away from the deal?

When in doubt, treat others the way you want to be treated. Fairly and honestly.

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Call Loreena Today (214) 783-2210

Contact:
Loreena Yeo
Realtor®/ Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
loreena@loreenayeo.com

Super-serving Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area communities and other surrounding areas.

Copyright © 2009 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY).
Sellers, Keeping Up With Your End of The Bargain.


 

 


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Filed Under: HOME SELLERS ARTICLE
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