All Forum Posts by: Sharon Tzib

@Andrea Collatz I sent you a message with the App # and details. The only thing you can do to help me is to expedite the repair of the IT bug on the eviction notices for the two applicants. So far, one has already called in an received a refund, so it's probably too late. Feel free to call me, I left you my cell in the PM. Thank you.

@David Coleman I would love to help her, but I am a realtor, not a lender, so I cannot say if she will qualify or at what purchase price. Have her give me a call and I can speak with her about the process and give her lender referrals so she can get things started. Thanks!

@David Coleman - before you purchase a home, you should talk to a lender. They will look at your income, debt to income ratio, credit score, savings, etc. and let you know what you qualify for. It also depends if you are buying an owner occupant or investment property as well. You don't always need as high of a credit score as some think. PM me if you'd like some Houston lender referrals.

http://www.har.com/content/newsroom

Houston Real Estate Highlights in April

• Single-family home sales declined a fractional 0.6 percent compared to last April;
• On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are up 1.6 percent;
• Total property sales declined 2.0 percent to 7,583 units;
• Total dollar volume fell 1.6 percent to $2.01 billion;
• At $278,544, the single-family home average price was down 1.0 percent compared to last April;
• The single-family home median price rose 3.3 percent year-over-year to an all-time April high of $217,000;
• Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 3.6-months supply versus 2.9 months a year earlier;
• Townhome/condominium sales fell 12.6 percent with the average price up 4.1 percent to $206,832 and the median price up 7.3 percent to $153,450;
• Leases of single-family homes leapt 18.1 percent with rents up 2.6 percent to $1,811;
• Leases of townhomes/condominiums soared 26.0 percent with rents down 1.7 percent to $1,574.

I'm  done with My Smart Move. They are constantly having "IT glitches," as they call them, like not being able to add the landlords to the rental so they can peruse the reports.

The latest, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had three applicants, and two of the three did not generate eviction reports. Obviously, that's one of the main reasons I use a tenant screening service, to see if they have past evictions.

According to My Smart Move, it is an "IT" issue, and they can either report it to IT to fix, which takes 24-48 hours; or the tenants can call them and get a refund, and then I have to reissue the application request. This is hugely inconvenient to all parties, not to mention slowing the process needlessly. Considering the tenants are requesting a Saturday move in date, time is of the essence here, and if we lose the applicants because of this, my client and I will be livid.

I've decided I'm going to give Turbo Tenant a try next time. When companies can't complete the one simple task they advertise, then something is wrong.

I refer all my Houston investor clients to @Jerry Ta. He's got great service at very affordable rates, which helps your bottom line :) He covers most of greater Houston.

http://www.har.com/content/newsroom

Houston Real Estate Highlights in March:

• Single-family home sales declined 2.2 percent compared to last March;
• On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are up 1.0 percent;
• Total property sales declined 1.0 percent to 7,375 units;
• Total dollar volume fell 2.5 percent to $1.9 billion;
• At 272,658, the single-family home average price was down 1.6 percent compared to last March;
• The single-family home median price rose 2.4 percent year-over-year to an all-time March high of $215,000;
• Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 3.6-months supply versus 2.8 months a year earlier;
• Townhomes/condominium sales rose 1.9 percent with the average price down 2.0 percent to $193,483 and the median price up 4.9 percent to $150,000;
• Leases of single-family homes climbed 9.0 percent with rents up a fractional 0.6 percent to $1,736;
• Leases of townhomes/condominiums rose 7.4 percent with rents up 1.7 percent to $1,596.

Hey @Katie Brewer! My husband is from San Ignacio and I lived there for 2+ years (I also lived in Placencia and Ambergris Caye). I really like the Cayo District a lot. Very affordable, super nice people (both locals and expats), close proximity to rivers, rainforests and ruins, as well as the Guatemala border for shopping and medical runs. My husband is there right now visiting family :) Glad you enjoyed it.

Hi @Vincent Grant! I highly recommend @Jerry Ta. I refer all my clients to him and they are very happy with his service and reasonable rates.

Definitely take the conventional. I have a FHA transaction right now where the FHA appraiser demanded the foundation be inspected and the drainage around the property be upgraded prior to close. We had already had the foundation inspected and a credit back to the buyer agreed to prior to this, but the lender is demanding the repairs be done before closing, so this will delay closing at least ten days. With a conventional lender, the buyer could take the credit and perform the work themselves after close. If an FHA appraiser feels there are any major defects to the home, you will be thrust back into negotiations, and this is generally after the option period has passed. Not fun!