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Archive for July, 2009
Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Tax Appraisals vs Sales Prices; What’s the Real Deal
Tax appraisal versus the Sold Price what’s the REAL deal?
I was asked this question today. This is a great question and asked by many buyers. The value that the county tax assessor does not reflect the selling price of that home. Tax assessors do not go into the property to see any improvements (or lack thereof), and in some cases square footages are listed incorrectly.
Now then, this is NOT a bash against the good folks at the county tax office. I’m just stating what I see. Assessed values can be all over the map (no pun intended) as shown in the following chart. These are homes that sold November 1st, 2008 in the Bay Glen subdivision of Clear Lake.
| Address | Closed Date |
Adjusted Sold |
Assessed |
|
Price |
Value |
||
|
|
|
||
| 1306 Chestnut Springs |
11/19/2008 |
$ 133,763.00 |
$ 133,190.00 |
| 1247 Sandy Plains |
1/14/2009 |
$ 148,000.00 |
$ 149,494.00 |
| 14722 Cobre Valley Dr. |
1/30/2009 |
$ 156,500.00 |
$ 155,589.00 |
| 14330 Arborcrest |
1/16/2009 |
$ 165,000.00 |
$ 156,631.00 |
| 14806 Flowerwood |
11/26/2008 |
$ 161,990.00 |
$ 167,700.00 |
| 14211 Leafy Elm |
1/13/2009 |
$ 170,000.00 |
$ 167,807.00 |
| 14718 Sun Harbor |
1/30/2009 |
$ 175,475.00 |
$ 169,900.00 |
| 1207 Sandy Plains |
11/21/2008 |
$ 174,000.00 |
$ 154,500.00 |
| 1522 Hillside Elm |
11/13/2008 |
$ 182,000.00 |
$ 155,000.00 |
| 1223 Mabry Mill | 11/22/2008 |
$163,000 |
$155,755.00 |
|
|
|
It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your assessment as it could be off. Square footages can be off. I’ve seen it both ways. Some homeowners have paid for years, based on square footages that were off as much as 200 square feet. Now that’s fine, if they have underestimated. But if they have overestimated your footage, you’re paying for it.
Buyers need to be careful when looking at property taxes listed in the MLS listings. I always suggest that they not get too excited when they see a home with taxes listed that are significantly lower than everything else in the neighborhood. On more than one occasion properties have crossed my desk where the taxes listed did NOT include the school taxes! And by all appearances, it’s “WOW! This is a GREAT tax rate.”
Lesson: Don’t sign an offer just because you see low taxes on an MLS printout- investigate it first.
When a Realtor inputs the listing into the Houston MLS, the listing “auto populates” the tax information. In other words, the system goes to the county tax office records and imports that info into the MLS. Ok, granted I’m not “techie,” but you get the idea. So if that information is incorrect on the tax records, it is going to be incorrect on the MLS.
Check the facts.
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Just Who Are All These People?
Just who are all these people?
Did you know that there are more than 40 people that will “touch” your contract in the home buying process? It’s true.
Here is a short list of some of them:
Seller
Seller’s agent
Appraiser
Inspector
Insurance agent
Lender
Lenders processor
Underwriter
Title Company closer
Title Company processor
Termite inspector
Attorney to draw documents
These are just a handful of the folks that get involved in your contract. Plus, they all have support staff. I’d like to tell you that the home buying process is a perfect one, but it’s not.
The two most devastating words in the real estate business are, “NO PROBLEM.” Because we know that in a real estate transaction, there will be problems. A skilled consultant however will work to minimize those challenges but no one can promise a trouble free transaction.
If you’d like answers (they may not make you happy, but they will be the truth), just give me a ring and I’ll be glad to help you.
I’m headed out camping tomorrow but will be back in the office on Monday. My staff however will be covering for me while I’m gone so don’t hesitate to call.
Till next week,
John
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Clear Lake Texas Real Estate – Is a Foreclosure Really for Me?
Buying a Clear Lake foreclosure can be exciting, and challenging all at the same time.
There are some differences between purchasing a foreclosed home and a
“normal” transaction between a buyer and a homeowner.
It is not uncommon for example to be in a multiple offer situation where one
home can have as many as 8 or 10 offers. In addition, the banks can take
some time just to find out if they’ve accepted your offer. Sometimes it can
take up to a week.
Foreclosed homes are sold “as-is.” The banks do NOT make repairs. You’ve
heard the expression, “what you see, is what you get.” It’s never been more
true than in this case. You can have inspections done and you have the
option to either (a) move forward, or (b) terminate the contract and receive
your earnest money back.
While we’re talking about earnest money, although I don’t see it often, I’d
say that about 20% of the time, the banks are now requiring 3% as earnest
money. Quite a bit different than the typical $1,000 you might see. This
means on a $150,000 home, $4,500 would be required for earnest money. Budget
accordingly. It’s critical to close on time as well. The banks often will
charge a per diem penalty for not closing on time; generally .1% of the
price.
I want to buy a foreclosure- but one in GREAT condition. Remember how we
got here. If a homeowner could not make the payments and the bank took the
property back, they didn’t have the money to make repairs, or do normal
maintenance. Like anything else, some homes are in better condition than
others.
You MUST have an approval letter from a reputable lender. Another little
requirement for some banks (Wells Fargo is a good example) is that they
are now requiring not only an approval letter, but an approval letter from
the same bank that owns the property.
Now this one IRKS me!
It seems it should be illegal. But, it’s the way they’re playing the game.
In some cases, they won’t even LOOK at your offer until they have that letter.
They “claim” that you do not have to use them for your mortgage and that it
is just so that they can feel comfortable taking the house off the market
while you get your loan etc. But I promise you, they want to “encourage”
you to use them as the lender.
Don’t get me started…
Here’s the thing. I should have been an educator because I believe that
many of the horror stories you hear about someone buying a home, really did
not have to be that way. It’s about managing expectations. As a homebuyer
whether you’re buying a foreclosure, or a home from a homeowner, you MUST
be knowlegable. And, you need to know BEFORE you get into the home buying
process; before you get caught up in the emotional part of purchasing a
home.
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned. More to come…
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