Register Real Estate Advisors

Ever wonder how to find the right builder to build your family a home?  Below are my Top 10 recommendations for finding the builder that is right for you!  If you would like to purchase a home, RREA has many experienced and seasoned Realtors that can help you and there is no cost to you.  Your builder will pay our commission!  Call RREA today to find the Realtor that best meets your real estate needs – 281.288.3500.

10.  Use a Realtor!  Realtor’s comply to a strict Code of Ethics and are licensed by the state.  They have a fiduciary responsibility to protect your best interest in a transaction.  Builders do not fall under this Code of Ethics.  They are looking out for their best interest, and many times have their attorneys write their contracts for them.

9.  Find the areas of town you want to live in and interview the builders that will build in those areas.

8.  Get Pre-Approved for your Financing or have a letter from your financial institution stating how much home you can afford to buy.

7.  Figure out the type of home you want – ranch style, basement, two story, patio home, etc.

6.   If your Realtor is a member of the Greater Houston Home Builders Association they have access to the list of builders who construct homes in the area.  All of the Realtors at Register Real Estate Advisors has access to this membership list.

5.  Once you have narrowed down a list of builders, see some of the homes they have under construction and some that have been completed.  Ask for testimonials from their clients or references.

4.  Before picking a floorplan, walk through as many new homes as you can.  You can do this by attending open houses or visiting new communities.  This way you can see the differences between builders and find ideas you want to incorporate in your new home.  Check out the quality of the homes and see what building trends they use (bay windows, art niches, etc.)

3.  Remember that you will be picking your tiles, carpet, countertops, paint, appliances, and much more.  When touring homes and looking at magazines, inspect these items to find out what you like best.  Take lots of notes to share with your builder and photos if possible.  Ask lots of questions!

2.  Your goal should be to find a builder you trust and feel comfortable talking to.  You will have a close relationship during the months that your home is being built.

1.  When you finally pick your builder, ask about his company history, experience, philosophy, and building and payment process.  Talk with the builder at length about what your expectations are for the new home.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NAHB) – December marked the fourth month in a row that the National Association of Home Builders/First American’s list of improving housing markets expanded.

The improving markets index (IMI) rose from 30 to 41 markets. Eight of those are in Texas: Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Sherman and Tyler.

While 20 markets (including Laredo) were added to the IMI this month, nine were dropped. Among them was Waco.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months.

DALLAS (MPL Public Relations) – This year’s State Fair of Texas, which opens today in Dallas, has at least one exhibit that may be of interest to anyone
involved with building or selling homes.

The fair’s “Home of Tomorrow” exhibit will showcase the latest technology in home automation, energy-efficient construction,
appliances, design and imaginative outdoor environments.

Highlights include the Net-Zero Energy Home, which demonstrates how a home can produce its own electricity, and even sell excess electricity created
within the home.

And for those who like cozy spaces, the Micro-Home shows how a bedroom, family room, kitchen and bathroom can all fit within a
space the size of a walk-in closet.

The exhibit is open through Oct. 23. The site is on the main gate plaza, between The Women’s Museum and the Daughters of the American
Revolution House.

Look at every home through the eyes of a burglar. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that 2.1 million burglaries were committed in 2004. Not all of these situations involved forced entry; many were the result of unlocked doors and windows. Once you close that loophole, though, how can you determine if one house is more vulnerable than another? Well, a residence surrounded by a 15-foot electric fence and patrolled by guard dogs might be a giveaway, but here are some more subtle ways to judge a house’s security.

Entrances should be visible and the exterior well lit. Thieves don’t like to be seen. If a home’s doors and most-accessible windows are visible from the street or a neighbor’s house, they might look for another home. Most homes have outside lights; make sure those lights are positioned correctly. Lighting up the front door and driveway is great, but what about the dark corner of the yard near the living-room window? Use motion-sensor lights in these areas.
Exterior doors must be metal or solid-core wood. A particle-board or similarly weak door will break long before most locks give out.

All exterior locks should have dead bolts with metal strike plates. Dead bolts alone don’t deter burglars. Without a heavy-duty metal strike plate screwed in the door frame to receive the lock, someone could break open the door by busting through the wood.

Watch for old sliding-glass doors. Old doors with worn-out rollers can be lifted off the track, bypassing any lock.
Any fence gates should have locks. Yes, burglars can climb over most fences, but they risk more exposure by scaling a fence instead of quickly walking through the gate.

Look for “painful” landscaping. A good way to discourage a thief from breaking in through a first-floor window is to install a rosebush or other thorn-covered plan under it.

You can’t keep a determined, professional burglar out of a home. However, you can make it less appealing for him to try.

2005 Copyright by the Texas Association of Realtors, All Rights Reserved.

LAS VEGAS (National Association of Home Builders) – Builder confidence in the new single-family home market dropped one point to 15 this month, according to the latest housing market index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo.

 Experts attributed the decrease to the poor job market and increasing number of home foreclosures.

 ”At this point, home builders have done everything we possibly can to set the stage for a housing recovery,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “We’ve thinned our inventories, we’ve kept new construction to a minimum, and we’ve fought for and achieved a great new buying incentive with the extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit.”

 ”Homebuying conditions have rarely been as good as they are right now, but consumers are still waiting to see significant positive signs of improvement in employment and confidence, and this is slowing buyers’ return to the market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

 Crowe said competition from foreclosed homes is also severely impacting new-home sales.

 The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.”

 The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Twenty-six percent of home builders have seen lost sales as appraisals come in significantly below the contract sales price, according to a study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“Home builders are increasingly concerned that inappropriate appraisal practices are needlessly driving down home values. This, in turn, is slowing new home sales, causing more workers to lose their jobs and putting a drag on the economic recovery,” said Joe Robson, NAHB chairman.

According to Robson, construction of 100 single-family homes generates 324 local jobs, $21.1 million in local income and $2.2 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments in the first year.

Of the builders surveyed, 60 percent claim that inadequate appraisals are creating major problems in the market. Fifty-four percent of those reporting appraisal problems saw appraisal amounts less than the cost to build.

Robson blames the surge of faulty appraisals partly on foreclosure and distressed sales.