Register Real Estate Advisors

SMITHVILLE (Austin American-Statesman) – The crew of the popular television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming to Smithville to build a new home for a local
volunteer firefighter.

Mizzy Zdroj and her family lost their home while Zdroj was fighting area wildfires late last summer.

The ABC show and Bastrop homebuilder EFC Custom Homes will build a 2,500-sf home to replace the 724-sf home the family lost.

The new home will cost $250,000. With 100 workers plus community volunteers, EFC President Eric Christophe said construction will take only four and a half days.

1.  Peace of Mind – New comes come with a warranty

2.  Floor Plans – floor plans meet today’s family’s needs

3.  Energy Efficient – Save on utility bills

4.  Quality Appliances

5.  Choices – Choose your own paint, flooring, and upgrades

As seen in the Houston Chronicle “Sound Off” section.

Q. I want to build a new home. How can a real estate agent help me?

A. An agent acting on your behalf will represent you and your interests, not those of the builder. Not that there is an adversarial relationship between the builders and agents, usually the opposite is true. Builders recognize that most home buyers have already obtained the services of an agent. Therefore they want the agents to show their product to the buyers. Builders aggressively market to agents, offering “how they build it” seminars, agent open houses, direct contact letting the agents know when changes are happening in neighborhoods, close outs, discounts, incentives and that’s just to name a few. Builders even pay the agents to represent you.

When you walk into a builders sales office you will meet a knowledgeable, well trained and very friendly sales representative. Their job is to sell their builders homes and upgrades and that is as it should be. Just be aware, the sales rep works for the interests of the builder.

When you have an agent on your side you level the playing field. An agent representing you will work to protect your best interest. Take advantage of the agents knowledge gained from working with the builders and put it to work for you. Meet with your agent before you ever go to a builder to discuss the home, upgrades and price range you desire. From there you will visit the different builders and neighborhoods that best fit your parameters. Once you have chosen your favorite design your agent will help you negotiate the best price and guide you through the contract and associated addenda. You also have an ally as the home is being built. Someone who can get to the site to make sure construction is progressing as promised and bring objections to the builders attention. When the builder lets you know the home is completed you get to walk through the home to make sure everything is satisfactory. At the walk though your agent brings another set of trained eyes looking for mistakes and uncompleted items. Finally at closing an agent will be there to address any questions you may have about the closing documents.

But it does not end there. It’s true, agents are in the business to make a living. Because most agents depend on referrals they will want to stay in touch with you after closing. They can be a very valuable resource for you, by keeping you up to date with the current real estate market and it’s related industries.

–
Jay Richardson
Register Real Estate Advisors

MINNEAPOLIS (Hanley Wood) – Texas-based David Weekley Homes ranked fourth on Builder magazine’s list of nation’s top ten home builders in 2010.

According to Builder, Weekley closed on 1,857 homes last year, bringing in gross revenue of $612 million.

Topping the list was Arizona-based Taylor Morrison, followed by The Villages of Lake Sumter (Florida) and Shea Homes (California).

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Realtor Magazine-Daily) – Nearly one-third of new construction projects in the United States qualify as “green,” up from 2 percent in 2005, according to McGraw-Hill Construction.
The green category is obtained by becoming LEED-certified.
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1998 to encourage environmental awareness. Becoming certified can add almost 4.7 percent to the cost of a project, according to studies by the University of Michigan.
For more information on rising LEED certifications in Central Texas see “LEEDing the Way to a Greener Future.”

If the latest technology and entertainment options are important in your new home, add the following questions to your buyer’s checklist.  This is interesting information I got from the REALTOR Magazine Online and reprinted with permission of the National Association of REALTORS.  Visit the Consumer Electronics Association ( http://www.ce.org/techhomerating ) for a complete Tech Home Rating Checklist.

1.  Are there enough jacks in every room for cable TV and high-speed Internet hookups?  Does it include U-Verse if that’s important to your family?

2.  Are there enough telephone extensions or jacks?  Most people use their cell phones these days, but some still want a phone in every room, including the bathrooms.

3.  Is the home prewired for a home theater or multi-room audio and video?

4.  Does the home have a local area network for linking computers?

5.  Does the home already have wiring for DSL or other high-speed Internet connection?

6.  Does the home have multi-room lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?

7.  Does the home have multi-room lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?

8.  Is the home wired with multi-purpose in-wall wiring that allows for reconfigurations to update services as technology changes?

Not only does owning a home give you a haven for your family, it makes great financial sense, too. You can use the “Calculators” on my website to help you figure out how much your mortgage payment will be based on the interest rate and the amount of the home you want to purchase. The calculation below will also help you figure out what you can afford. It assumes a 28% income tax bracket. If your bracket is higher, your savings will be, too.
Rent: _____
Multiplier: X 1.32
Mortgage Payment: __________
Because of tax deductions, you can make a mortgage payment – including taxes and insurance – that is approximately 1/3 larger than your current rent payment and end up with the same amount of income.

Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of Realtors, Copyriht 2005, All rights reserved

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – Construction of new homes and apartments in January rose 2.8 percent to 591,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, surpassing economists’ expectations of 580,000 units, according to the Commerce Department.

Construction of single-family homes increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 484,000 units. Multi-family construction reported a 9.2 percent increase to an annual rate of 107,000 units.

 Construction rose 1 percent in the South and 3.2 percent in the Midwest. The majority of last month’s improved construction rates were due to the 10 percent jump in activity in the Northeast and the 8.9 percent increase in the West.

 January’s numbers represented a 21.1 percent increase from January 2009 and the fastest building rate since July.

 Additionally, December’s construction rates were revised by the Commerce Department from 557,000 units to 575,000 units. However, even with the revision, activity fell 0.7 percent in the last month of 2009. This dip was attributed to severe weather in many parts of the country.

 Applications for building permits, considered a good measure of future activity, fell 4.9 percent last month to a rate of 621,000 after two months of significant increases.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Area apartment occupancies have fallen to 84.2 percent, their lowest level in 15 years, according to locally based Apartment Data Services.

 The real estate research firm says last year’s rental rates fell to $709 per month from $726 in 2008. An industry report by Marcus & Millichap says asking rents are expected to finish this year at $737 per month, down 1.2 percent from the end of 2009.

 Effective rents — after discounts and concessions — are expected to fall 2.7 percent from $656 per month. 

With occupancy and rents down, builders are turning out fewer new apartments. This year, about 5,000 units will be added in the Houston area, the smallest number since the mid-to-late 1990s and lower than the market peak of 21,000 new units in 2008.