7 MOST COMMON FIRST TIME HOME BUYER MISTAKES People make mistakes. That’s human nature. And when it comes to buying a house, that mistake could cost you. Or even worse, you can’t ever buy a house. Do you know the most common mistakes most first time buyers make? Let’s dig in.. MISTAKE #1: NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR CREDIT SCORES AND REPORT There are several important reasons why you should pay attention to your credit score and your report; identity theft being one of the main reasons. If you have [...]

HOW TO MAKE THE WINNING OFFER WHEN YOU FIND THE HOME OF YOUR DREAMS Imagine this if you will: You’ve been searching for a place to call home and after seeing a dozen houses you finally found the one you just can’t live without. But the real estate market is on fire. Competition is steep. There is a high chance there will be multiple offers in a matter of hours, not days. This is the reality of the Houston real estate market today. So how do you win? How can you [...]

USE OUR APP TO SEARCH FOR A HOME & GAIN ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION WHAT APP DOES THE LAKE TEAM HAVE? Do you want Houston's #1 home search app for yourself? Do you want to gain access to exclusive information? If you are familiar with Houston real estate, then you’ve probably heard of the Houston Association of Realtors or HAR. This is our MLS and where all the listings come from that you see on other 3rd party apps like Zillow, Trulia and other sites. The beauty of it, HAR [...]

WHAT ARE YOUR CLOSING COSTS WHEN BUYING A HOME IN HOUSTON? When buying a house in Houston, there are other costs you need to know about other than your down payment. Most home buyers don’t know all these “hidden fees” because no one talks about them. Well, I’m here to break them all down for you so when it comes time for you to buy a house in Houston, you can make the most educated decision possible. Let’s go! DOWN PAYMENT First and most obvious – your down payment. [...]

HOW TO FILE FOR A HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION IN HOUSTON Filing for a Texas homestead exemption can save you quite a bit of money here in Houston. Texas property taxes are high enough as it is, because we don’t have state income tax. So every bit of savings you can get adds up quickly! But what exactly is a homestead exemption? Who qualifies? WHAT IS A HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION A homestead is a property that is owned as your primary residence in the form of a manufactured home, single [...]

SHOULD YOU USE A REALTOR WHEN BUYING A NEW CONSTRUCTION HOME IN HOUSTON? The real question is, why wouldn’t you? It may seem like you wouldn’t need an agent to help, but having one from the start can help you in many ways. GUIDANCE FROM BEGINNING TO END One thing you need to consider before going at it yourself is that the builder agent or sales rep doesn’t represent you. They are employed by the builder and hold the builders best interest. Not yours. No matter how helpful they [...]

WHAT IS THE #1 FINANCIAL BENEFIT TO HOMEOWNERSHIP? Owning a home has many different benefits! That’s why it has been the American dream for so long. Let’s break it down. WEALTH CREATION The number one benefit to owning a home is the ability to build wealth through the creation of equity over time. When you purchase a home, over time your equity increases. Equity is the difference between what you could sell the house for at that moment vs. what you owe on the loan. For example, if you [...]

10 AWESOME STRATEGIES TO FIND THE PERFECT REAL ESTATE AGENT IN HOUSTON Finding the best real estate agent in Houston can be challenging. Especially since the barrier to entry is basically non-existent and everyone and their mother has a license. You can throw a rock in a crowd and hit 10 Realtors, quite literally. There are over 30,000 real estate agents in Houston alone, how do you choose the right one?? Check out this video and read the article for a more in depth review on how to find the best [...]

10 THINGS YOU MUST DO BEFORE YOU BUY A HOUSE So you’ve made the decision to buy a house and you are ready to go right? Not so fast… before you find yourself in a pickle check out the 10 things you need to do before you start your house hunting journey. #1 KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE This should be a no brainer, but you need to know how good or bad your credit score is. If you don’t know, you can get a free credit report from all [...]

FINDING THE RIGHT MORTGAGE LENDER | ONLINE LENDER VS. LOCAL Finding the right lender to work with can be difficult just like finding the right Realtor. There are so many to choose from! But how do you select the right one? Let’s dive in! RECOMMENDATIONS FROM YOUR REALTOR Start by asking your real estate agent who they recommend. Your agent is in the trenches every day and knows the ins and outs of the business. They should have a preferred lender that they work with, because they know that [...]