Up Front Homebuyer Costs to be Aware of- Questions with Kristen Episode 19

Whether you are purchasing your first home or your fifth the entire process can feel like you’re trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant. One question I get far too often is “what hidden fees can I expect when purchasing a home?!”. Super fair. I want to know that too!

First thing to be aware of is your earnest or option money. Once you make an offer and it gets accepted you will immediately need to submit money to the title company for your earnest money and your option money. Your earnest money is like your good faith money. It is typically about 1% of the contract sales price, and will go towards your downpayment as long as you make it to closing.

Your option money is a bit less, usually $100-$500, and it buys you an option period, or a period of time to get the home inspected and negotiate any repairs with the seller. If you back out of the transaction during this option period, you only lose your option money, plus the cost of inspection. However, if you make it to closing, this goes towards your downpayment and closing costs.

Inspections and appraisals are another thing, however these are typically billed to title and are a portion of your closing costs and prepaids that come from lending. Typically when you purchase a home you will have a down payment, and closing costs, and the total of that number is what you bring to closing. The only cash you need up front is your earnest and option money, which like stated above, goes towards your down payment at closing! Hope this helps!

For more information visit our YouTube Channel for a quick video on this topic!

https://youtu.be/QdPncGBBZvo

Uptown West - Lubbock Neighborhood Minute

Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Welcome to Uptown West! Uptown West is a new 253 Lot subdivision located at North Frankford and Erskine Ave. Construction on this area began in 2020, with plenty of lots still available, and incredible builders like Blackrock Properties, M&M Homes, Joey Yates Construction, and AveNew Homes.

This area draws many new families for its convenient location, affordable price points, and incredible schools. This area is a part of the Frenship Independent School District, and feeds in to North Ridge elementary, Terra Vista Middle School, and Frenship High School.

Home values begin around the upper $200,000’s and go all the way up to the mid $300,000’s at the time of our research. However market values can rapidly change so feel free to reach out to any of our team members for more up to date information!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HOSApDdMjPg

What is a PID? Is that different from an HOA? - Questions with Kristen Episode 17

Admittedly, this question is tricky! First of all, lets tackle, “What the heck is a PID?” PID stands for Public Improvement District and is when a certain area or neighborhood is subject to an extra portion of their taxes that is specifically allocated to the upkeep or beautification of a neighborhood. It is NOT in every neighborhood, and it is NOT an HOA.

So what’s an HOA? An HOA, or a Home Owners Association, is a neighborhood that has a governing body, that charges a fee to be a part of that neighborhood and uses and allocated funds based on the governing system and needs of the neighborhood, like a pool, or entrances etc.

So what is the difference? The main difference is the governing body. HOA’s have appointed leaders, and their fee is paid for separately, where as PID is a portion of the homeowners taxes, is a part of their mortgage payment/taxes paid out to the city. There is NO governing body, or appointed leaders in a PID. Hope this one helps! :)

Do Realtors Use Zestimates?! - Questions With Kristen Episode 16

Lets talk Zestimate’s shall we? I get this question so often it is laughable really. So drumroll………. no. I don’t! I’m not saying there is zero value in them, I’m not! However I as a real estate agent have access to so much more helpful information to base my pricing or valuation of home off of.

Texas is considered a “non-disclosure” state, meaning, we do not have to disclose publicly what homes sold for. Typically we do in the MLS, however many agents do not go and add this information to other websites, such as the one we’re currently discussing ;). So the only information that they have to go off of is limited comps, and tax records. They never see the inside of your home, the comps not disclosed, or take into consideration, upgrades, or lets be honest, downgrades.

I have access to the MLS which holds way more accurate comparable home information. I also have the ability to meet with you, and assess the home with a trained eye and give you a professional opinion. No guessing. No assuming. Want to know how to value your home? Give me a call. I’d LOVE to help!

https://youtu.be/ZHFerIaboQM

Rushland Park - Lubbock Neighborhood Minute

Rushland Park

Welcome to Rushland Park, or, most commonly known around the hub city as Rush. Rush is located North of Lubbock between 19th st and 4th st, and Quaker Ave to Toledo Ave. This area is one of Lubbock’s most established, and sought after neighborhoods, because of its unique architecture, the tree lined streets and some of Lubbock’s finest LISD schools.

This has two local parks, Higginbotham Park being one of the most popular with a playground, basketball court, a walking trail that is about 3/4ths a mile around, a great local pool that the residents can buy into, and a large playa lake for fishing. Many people seek this area because of its close location to Covenant and UMC, and also LCU and Texas Tech University, making it a great location for Physicians, Professors, or anyone in the Medical profession.

Rush feeds into Rush Elementary School, Mackenzie Middle School, and Coronado High School. Home values in this area can vary greatly, but mostly begin around the upper $300,000’s and go all the way up to well over a million at the time of our research, however home values can change rapidly, so give one of our agents a call today and discuss where our local market is now!

Tech Terrace - Lubbock Neighborhood Minute

Tech Terrace

Welcome to Tech Terrace! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Welcome to one of Lubbock’s most established and sought after neighborhoods, Tech Terrace. Tech Terrace is located between Indiana and university avenue, and 19th-34th st.

This area is so highly sought after for many reasons, but mostly because of how well established and maintained it is. This area has 2 parks, Wagner Park perfectly shaded by the playground for kids, and Tech Terrace neighborhood park. This area is known for its fun block parties, holiday home tours, huge events in the park, and its close proximity to a few local favorite businesses, like J&B Coffee, Capital Pizza, and My Cup Of Tea.

This area is a part of the Lubbock Independent School district and feeds into Roscoe Wilson Elementary, Hutch Middle School, and Lubbock High School. Home values can vary GREATLY in this area because there are so many unique homes, and upgrades done to each home. Construction primarily took place in the 50’s & 60’s over here, but the preservation has been incredible! Market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

Stonewood Estates-Lubbock Neighborhood Minute

Stonewood Estates

Welcome to Stonewood Estates! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Stonewood estates is located south of 114th st, and east of Frankford Ave. This area appeals to many buyers because of its diversity in properties including single family residences, townhomes, duplexes, retail, & garden offices.

Stonewood Estates is primarily new construction homes and features a diverse group of builders including Sharkey Custom Homes, Kim craig homes, Clearview Custom Homes, Apex and Southern Homes by Dan Wilson. This area is a part of the Cooper School District and feeds into Cooper Central Elementary, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School.

Stonewood is on city utilities, and home values begin in the low $300’s and go all the way up to the mid $400’s at the time of our research however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below! We have also linked a neighborhood website from the developers below for your reference!

https://epicproperties.com/residential/stonewood/

Bella Mia Lubbock- Neighborhood Minute

Bella Mia

Welcome to Bella Mia! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Today we’re in south east Lubbock in a wonderful little tucked away neighborhood, Bella Mia, located on the northeast corner of 130th st and Indiana Ave. Bella Mia is an incredible little area power packed with some great homes on larger lots!

Bella Mia is a part of the Cooper independent School District, and feeds in to Lubbock Cooper South Elementary, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School.

Betenbough is the primary builder for this area, and most of the homes were developed between 2008-2017. Home values in this area right now start around the low $300’s, and go all the way up to the low $400’s at the time of our research however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

https://youtu.be/tSIFkrtcIh4

Sundance Estates Lubbock Neighborhood Minute

Welcome to Sundance Estates! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Today we’re taking a small peek at Sundance Estates. Sundance Estates is located just south of the new loop 88 and west of Frankford Ave. This area is being developed by Epic Properties and features ½ acre lots on city water.

Sundance is a part of the Cooper Independent School District and feeds in to Cooper West Elementary School, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School. The primary featured builders for this area include Edge Homes, Odyssey Homes, Southern Homes by Dan Wilson, and Marshall Family Homes.

Home values in this area begin around $400K at the time of our research, however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis!

For more resources you can visit the neighborhood website linked below or watch our YouTube video, also linked below!

https://epicproperties.com/residential/sundance/

https://youtu.be/hHLzAL03D3A

Woodland Park Lubbock- Neighborhood Minute

Welcome to Woodland Park! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. This week we are in Woodland Park! This area is located just between Slide rd and Utica ave, and just North of 82nd st.. Woodland Park may only be a few blocks, but it really packs a punch with many higher end homes built primarily in the 70’s and 80’s.

Homes in this neighborhood are a part of the Lubbock Independent school district and feed into Whiteside Elementary school, Irons Middle School, and Coronado High School.

Many folks love this area for this convenience of Jan Jennings Park with its wonderful walking trails, great playground for the kiddos, and a pond for fishing. The whole area has a great family feel with its beautiful tree lined streets. Home values in this area begin around the upper $200,000’s, and go all the way up to the upper $400,000’s at the time of our research, however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

https://youtu.be/RgfVWPUkWzw

Cooper Heights Lubbock- Neighborhood Minute

Welcome to Cooper Heights! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood.

Today we are in one of Lubbock’s newest neighborhoods, Cooper Heights. Cooper Heights is located off of 125th st and Uptown, just west of quaker and north of 130th st.

This area primarily consists of new construction homes and is very much still in development. A few of the builders out here are D.R. Horton, and Clearview Custom Homes.

Cooper Heights is in the Cooper Independent school district and feeds into Cooper Central Elementary school, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School. Home values begin around $250,000, and go up to about $350,000 at the time of our research however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

Is it a good time to buy/sell?! Questions with Kristen

Is it a good time to buy? Is it a good time to sell?

We have been getting this question quite a bit lately. You have no doubt heard that the real estate market has shifted, seen homes with signs in the yards longer than, oh a day ;) and wondered to yourself if buying or selling a home right now is even a good idea. We have some good news for you, there is 100% NOTHING dead about the real estate market! Frankly, yes, there has been a shift. Interest rates, have risen, everyone knows that, but what else has happened? Lets chat about it.

First of all, lets go back all the way to 2020. In March of 2020 when the pandemic hit and everyone stayed home, we all got a little stir crazy. We had time to sit around and look at home and decide we needed more. More space, more freedom, a second living room, a big backyard, a pool, YOU NAME IT WE NEEDED IT! This drove out home values up nationally about 29%. That is quite a bit, in fact statistically home values go up 2-4% on a normal year. So then in 2021, while folks were STILL trying to find a place, home values continued to creep up, it went up again 18%. Now here in 2022, we have still seen these numbers rise, but only 8%.

So home values? Still high, still on average going up at a faster than normal pace, even if it is coming down off of the crazy real estate frenzy of 2020-2021, we are still in a housing shortage. There are still more buyers than sellers. It is STILL a great time to sell your home. You may not get the crazy over asking offers, or the 20 offers at once that you may have before, but you should still be able to sell relatively quick.

Buyers, on the other hand are in full panic. We get it. Interest rates are high. They aren’t where we want them to be either, but the reality is this is probably a BETTER time to buy. Why? It’s quite simple. In the last 2 years you had to do SO much to appeal to sellers. Give up your appraisal, pay $20-40K over asking price, rent the home back to the sellers for 1-2 months for free. You name it we saw it. Guess what? You have SOME power back. We as an office are going back over negotiation topics. We are re-training ourselves in the art of negotiation! This is HUGE! we have seen some buyers get their closing costs covered, making sure their home appraises for the agreed upon sales price, and slightly less competition! You can always re-finance that rate!

It’s 100% normal to be concerned about buying or selling. Anxiety creeps in and we aren’t quite sure what to believe when it comes to these situations. However, the best time to buy is when YOU are ready. Look at your finances, save your down payment, work on your credit, and when those things are done, you’re ready regardless of the market. As always, we are HERE for you! Reach out to our team, we want to partner with you and walk through this process together!

2022 Parade of Homes- Breakdown!

2022 Parade Of Homes

The Parade of Homes!! For realtors in Lubbock, this really is a very happy time of year! For those of you new to our area, the Parade of Homes is a local event put on by the West Texas Homebuilders Association here in Lubbock. It usually involves a few different neighborhoods, BEAUTIFUL brand new custom built homes, some of which are still available for purchase, some that are not. They are all staged professionally and beautifully, and features so many local businesses it’s hard to count! However, you’ll see things anywhere between furniture companies, to local clothing designers and pop up shops in the closets. It’s truly an event of all events!

This year the Parade will begin Saturday July 30th and run through August 14th. There are 3 neighborhoods featured this year, and thankfully they’re all pretty close together, which is not always the case! The neighborhood are The Vineyards located off of 50th and alcove, Escondido Ranch, which is just right across the street from the Vineyards, and Burgamy Park which is just off of 19th and Upland ave, all of which are a part of the Frenship School District.

A few things to remember is that these are brand spankin new homes, and though you’re allowed to go through and tour them all, there’s a few rules that are always helpful to know beforehand. First, wear your easy to slip on and off walking shoes. You will be required to remove them at each home, and also required to walk to each home, so they should be easy to walk in, and easy to remove. They do provide booties to slip over shoes, however, these are few and far between and they run out every single year. Just take your shoes off.

Secondly, no strollers. This one is hard, but they do not allow them in the homes, so grab your best baby wearing device and tuck those sweet ones in with you!

Lastly, there will be water at each property, but please remember its late July/ early August in West Texas. Our forecast see’s temps in the 100’s most days, so bring water, and stay hydrated!

This event is great if you’re building a home and needing ideas, remodeling a home and needing ideas, or just simply needing a great evening out! We’ve seen friend parties, girls nights, date nights, and nights out alone just taking in the gorgeous architecture! We cannot wait to see you there!

Entry:

Adults: $15

Children 2-12: $5

Infants 0-2: Free

2022 Market Changes- What you need to know to navigate this new "normal"!

Okay, so they market has SHIFTED. Have you heard? Of course you have! The amount of buzz and panic we have been discussing with many of you is at an all time high. Here is the main question we are seeing, are we back in a 2007-2008 market recession? Here is our short answer, no. However, lets look at it and break it down a big shall we? ;)

The first thing we have to know is what exactly drives the real estate market? It’s really pretty simple, its supply + demand. Pretty simple! Now that we know that, we have to look at our inventory. Here in Lubbock we are still just at 1.5 months of inventory, meaning that if we sold everything currently on the market without anything new coming up, we would be out of homes to sell within a month and a half! Secondly, we have to know who is buying these homes?! Most buyers are between about 25-35 years of age, or simply put our millennial generation. Did you know there are about 5 million more millennials than there are Gen Xers who were the primary buyers in 2007-2008? You read that correctly, FIVE MILLION.

There are plenty of buyers!! The market is still moving! The last thing we need to talk about is lending. In 2007-2008 there were many lending issues. Mostly they were practicing a lot of subprime lending, meaning they were lending to folks who really shouldn’t have been approved for a home loan. Lending practices have changed so much that this is not a grave concern at this time.

So why has the market shifted? What’s changed? Frankly, the market shifted because it needed to shift. The most notable changes that our clients are obviously noticing is the rise in interest rates. This of course directly affects our clients. Though they have gone up, they are still historically low. However, this has meant that many buyers have had to adjust their budgets a bit. Because they will be paying more in interest they cannot pay as much as previously expected in principle, which is obviously upsetting to many buyers.

However, from our end what we see is positive. Buyers are no longer having to drain every dime they have saved to pay 20-30K over asking price. Sometimes we are even seeing some closing costs being covered from the sellers. Appraisals are being done and honored. It is a market that we feel SO GOOD about. We want our buyers to walk away knowing they made a wise investment, and have reserves for anything that may come up!

Navigating a new normal after the feeding frenzy of 2020-2021 is not easy. However we are committed to staying on top of all the learning for you. Please reach out to our team with questions! Our YouTube Channel also has a video that may go a bit into more detail that we linked to the photo above!

What is the value of my home? - Questions with Kristen

There are so many buzz words that fly around the real estate world that it can be difficult to navigate through what all of it means. We know that when we purchase a home the bank has an appraisal. You may or may not also know that each year the county does an appraisal on your home. These numbers are the same right? Maybe? Which one is accurate?

Lets first talk about tax appraisals. If you own a home each year the county does a drive by (if even that) by your property to make an assessment of what it could be worth, then they multiply that by the tax rate specified for your area, and voila, you have your yearly taxes. Now, here is the thing, you ideally want this number to be as low as possible. Provide comparable homes and contest this each year, keep it as low as possible! The higher it gets, the more you pay per year in taxes. So this number SHOULD be in a perfect world, lower than what you could sell your home for.

Home value appraisals are what happens when you purchase a home, and the bank requires an appraisal to be sure you are not over paying on a property. These appraisers do much more than your yearly tax assessor does. They go into your home, the measure each room, look at everything, windows property, paint exteriorly, the whole nine yards. They also pull comparable homes to yours that have sold ideally in the last 6 months within a 1/4th-1/2 mile radius, or if you’re more rural, counties similar to yours with properties similar to yours. It is a very in depth analysis, and hopefully is as high as possible, putting the most amount of money in your pocket.

These two things are often misunderstood, or assumed to be the same. Hopefully this helps break it down a little bit for you!

Are We In A Bubble?- Questions With Kristen

I think I have heard this term more in the last 3 months, than I have in my whole Real Estate career!!  So, “Are we in a housing bubble, and will it bust?”  We get asked this question usually right after the most popular question, “How is the market?”  I think we need to start with what is a Housing Bubble??

According to a recent article written by Rocket Mortgage:” A housing bubble (aka a real estate bubble) is generally defined as a period of unexpected or unusual growth in demand for real estate and housing, paired alongside a sudden or uncommon spike in home pricing. As alluded above, these circumstances occur when demand greatly outpaces supply and home buyers are faced with a limited choice of options, causing prices on available houses to go up as a result. The trouble with this scenario is that (a) investors and speculative buyers are often prone to bidding up the market, causing home prices to rise significantly and (b) when supply eventually realigns with demand, the bubble can “pop” so to speak – causing a rapid and pronounced dip in the number of home sales and the average price of homes.”

Many of us have lived through and experienced a similar situation when the Real Estate market tanked around 2008.  The difference in that era was poor lending practices.  Putting buyers into homes with no down payment(causing them to basically be upside down when everything shifted), and approving them for loans that they really could not truly afford.  We are in a different era real estate wise:

1) West Texas has always been somewhat more sheltered from the housing fluctuations we see on the East and West Coast because we have always been more conservative in our lending and buying practices.

 2) Interest rates are steadily rising which we have already began to see a leveling off if you will in the market.  We are still receiving multiple offers, but crazy offers tens of thousands of dollars over asking are starting to decrease.  

3) We still have low low inventory.  Builders can’t build fast enough mainly due to product/shipping delays.  Lubbock is steadily growing and the housing market inventory could take years to catch up fully in my opinion.  

So are we in a bubble?  Perhaps we are.  Will it burst?  Not any time soon based on the research we have done and the local market we have seen. Even when the market does start to correct, which it always will, we will not seen the ‘fallout’ that we saw in the 2008 era.  

Neighborhood Minute- The Falls at Suncrest

The Falls At Suncrest

Welcome to The Falls At Suncrest! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood, today we’re going to take a luxury tour of The Falls At Suncrest. The Falls is by far one of Lubbock’s most prestigious neighborhoods that began construction around 2007, with a small HOA. This area is located off of 114th st, between Slide Rd and Quaker Ave.

Many residents are drawn to the area to be a part of the wonderful Home owners association.  The HOA fee is around $1200/ year, and goes towards the maintenance of the entrances and buildings such as the roofs etc. Also, for a small extra monthly charge the residents can buy into the Falls Tennis & Athletic club which features a pool, workout facilities, and tennis courts. The neighborhood is also conveniently located just across from Las Brisas Steakhouse, one of Lubbock’s finest restaurants.

This area is a part of the Cooper Independent School District, and feeds into Cooper Central Elementary, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School. Home values start around the low $600,000’s and go all the way up to about $1.4 Million at the time of our research,  

however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked on the top photo of this blog, or visit the website about The Falls!

http://thefallsneighborhood.com/about/

Neighborhood Minute- Windsor Park

Windsor Park

Welcome to Windsor Park! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Today we’re in Windsor park, one of my most favorite south Lubbock neighborhoods. Windsor Park is located in South Lubbock, a little outside of town, just South of 1585 and Milwaukee Ave. Windsor Park is well known for its larger lots, between about ½- to a full acre, and many, if not most have shops or large out buildings.

This area is well known (and sought after), for its lower taxes because it is just outside of the city limits. Windsor Park is a part of the Cooper Independent School District and feeds into Cooper West Elementary, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School.

Construction on these homes were mostly between about 2000-2010, and have home values that currently range between about the mid $400,000’s and go all the way up to about the low $700,000’s. at the time of our research, however, market values can change rapidly, so give our team a call to find out where the currently sit, or to see some footage of this area visit our YouTube Page.

Cute little neighborhood library!

Neighborhood Minute- Springfield

Springfield

Welcome to Springfield! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Today, we’re going to take a look at Springfield. Springfield is a south Lubbock neighborhood located between Frankford Ave and Chicago Ave, and 106th-114th st. This neighborhood is incredibly affordable, making it great for first time homebuyers!

Springfield is a part of the Cooper Independent School District and feeds into Cooper West Elementary School, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School.

Betenbough is the primary builder for this area, and development began in the early 2000’s, but have some newer ones closer to 114th st. Home values in Springfield begin around the low $200,000’s and go all the way up to the low $300,000’s at the time of our research, however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

From a previous listing in that area

Neighborhood Minute- Fountain Hills Estates

Welcome to Fountain Hills Estates! Our hope with these blog posts is to give you a short synopses of a local Lubbock or Plainview neighborhood. Fountain Hills is located between Frankford and Milwaukee and 103rd- 114th st. This incredibly stunning area is known for its larger lots, some of which are about a ½ acre, and its unique custom builds.

Fountain Hills is a part of the Cooper Independent School District, and feeds into Cooper West Elementary School, Laura Bush Middle School, and Cooper High School.

Many residents love this area for its quiet friendly feel! Construction on this area began around 2008, but still has a little bit of construction still going on today. Home values begin around the high $300,000’s, and go all the way up to the low $900,000’s, at the time of our research however market values can change rapidly, so please visit our meet the team tab on our website to speak to one of our agents for one of the most up to date analysis, or visit our YouTube video on this neighborhood linked below!

https://youtu.be/qGsaSBFvyn0