THE REAL COSTS OF OWNING A HOME | THE TRUTH NO ONE TELLS YOU Do you know all of the costs associated with owning a house? Like every last expense other than your mortgage? Well in this video and article we are going to break down a real world example of every single expense you need to know. Let’s go! For this example, let’s lay down the basis of where our numbers are coming from. Purchase Price: $300,000 Down Payment: 5% = $15,000 Loan Amount: $385,000 Interest Rate: 3.25% [...]

TIPS FOR BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME | BIGGEST MISTAKES TO AVOID Building a new house can be fun and exciting! Especially if it’s your first time. Before you go off and start signing contracts with builders or contractors, check out these quick tips on how to avoid common mistakes people make when building a house. PICKING AN UNRELIABLE BUILDER If you are building a new construction home in a subdivision with a builder, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. But you should definitely still do your research [...]

WHAT IS EARNEST MONEY AND OPTION FEE? | HOME BUYING 101 When you and the seller agree to the terms of a contract, the next step is to deposit two checks made out to the title company: one for the earnest money deposit, and one for the option fee. The amounts are negotiated, but will be spelled out in the contract that both parties sign. But what exactly are these? Let’s dive in.. EARNEST MONEY Earnest money is basically a deposit in good faith that you are serious about [...]

BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your vision become a reality. Building a custom home is loaded with many perks and can be very rewarding. Before you go off and start building, there are a few things you should know. Let’s dive in! FINDING YOUR LOT The first thing you need to do is find the area you want to call home and find a vacant lot to build on. You can find lots for sale on the market [...]

FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS 101 | THE PATH TO HOMEOWNERSHIP Are you committed to achieving the American dream of homeownership, but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you think it’s too difficult to buy a house? Well, this article is for you! MORE SIMPLE THAN YOU THINK Some people believe buying a house is more difficult than it actually is. They think they need a ton of money to make it happen. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t have to be rich or [...]

TIPS FOR BUYING A NEW CONSTRUCTION HOME IN HOUSTON Buying a new construction home can be very exciting. We’ve been there! What are some ways you can make the best out of your investment? Check out some of these tips you need to know before you sign on the dotted line. TIP #1: BUY EARLY When it comes to new developments, the best thing you can do, in our opinion, is to buy as early as you can. You don’t want to be the last person the builders sell [...]

MOST COMMON HOME LOANS FOR BUYING A HOUSE | TIPS FOR GETTING A MORTGAGE Buying a house has it’s perks. But do you know the most common loan types that are used? Do you know which loan would best fit your goals? In this video and article we break down everything you need to know about the different loan types and how to qualify for them. FHA LOANS An FHA loan is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and is issued by a mortgage lender that is FHA-approved. [...]

HOW TO BUDGET FOR YOUR NEW HOME | HOME BUYER TIPS Buying a home is super exciting! I mean, you are about to achieve the American dream of homeownership. But how do you budget for a new home? Let’s dive in! COSTS OF OWNING A HOME If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the video and blog we did about a real life example of the costs to own a home. We went in depth and broke everything down. But just a quick recap: All mortgage payments, [...]

HOUSTON HOME BUYERS CONSULTATION WHAT IS A HOME BUYERS CONSULTATION? There are so many moving pieces when it comes to buying a house in the Houston area. When we work with our buyers, we want to ensure that we provide the absolute best service possible. One of the ways we ensure top notch quality service is by setting up our initial meeting, known as a home buyers consultation. We typically like to do this before we start house shopping with our clients. This way we can get to know each [...]

DO BUYERS PAY REALTOR FEES? | THE COMMISSION BREAKDOWN Believe it or not, we get asked this question quite often, especially from first time home buyers. And the short answer is no, as a buyer you don’t pay a Realtor commissions. The longer answer? Well it all depends on the situation. Before we dive in on what exactly that means, first let's discuss how real estate agents are paid. HOW REAL ESTATE AGENTS ARE PAID Real estate agents actually get paid directly through their broker, not the seller or [...]