Are Homeowners Glad They Own?

It might come as a surprise but a whopping 72 percent of surveyed homeowners nationwide are satisfied with owning a home. The other 28 percent, not so. They say they're dissatisfied and that's likely due to the devaluation of their homes.

But surprisingly, of those who were satisfied with owning a home, only 24 percent said it was because of home appreciation. The majority, 76 percent, had many other reasons they were happy to own their own home including the one that proves the American Dream is alive and well: pride of homeownership. Following closely behind were the freedom to control their home improvements and upgrades. All this according to HomeGain's 2012 National Home Ownership Satisfaction Survey.

Of those who were unsatisfied with owning their home, 63 percent blamed depreciation as the root of their dissatisfaction. However, the cost of owning a home, such as paying for property taxes, homeowner's association fees, upkeep, and routine repairs, also sucked the joy out of homeownership and led this group of 37 percent to be unhappy about homeownership.

On the bright side, most - three out of four - are very happy with homeownership even in spite of such rocky real estate times where declines in home values have crippled some homeowners severely.

The survey polled homeowners all across the country. So you might be wondering is there a connection between where you live and how satisfied you are with owning a home?

The highest percentage of satisfied homeowners comes from the Northeast where there is 77-percent satisfaction, according to HomeGain. Pulling in at a close second is the Southeast at 73 percent satisfaction. The West and Midwest were at 71 percent and 68 percent, respectively.

Those who purchased their homes within a timeframe of the past three to eight years were the least satisfied. If they bought more than eight years ago, they tended to be more satisfied.

The higher-end market was the least satisfied with owning a home, especially if they paid more than $800,000 for it. This group's dissatisfaction rate was 69 percent. But those who purchased homes for under $75,000 are cheering. This group's satisfaction rate was 77 percent.

Of course, a lot of homes are sold through foreclosure and short sale, which, depending on the side of the sale you're on, can leave you satisfied or very dissatisfied. Those purchasing a foreclosed or short sale had the highest satisfaction ratings; 79 percent and 83 percent, respectively.

New and existing homes didn't fare so well with homeowners. They were fairly dissatisfied and showed it in a 73 percent and 71 percent rating, respectively. Most seemed to have expected an increase in the value of their home and when depreciation hit, this highly disappointed them, making this the primary reason for their dissatisfaction.

An interesting statistic may reflect the need for freedom from being tied down to a home and its maintenance as well as other costs. Homeowners ranging from 18 to 25 were the least satisfied (45 percent) with owning.

On the other end of the spectrum, those homeowners between 55 to 65, were the most satisfied with their homeownership. This group's satisfaction rating was 76 percent.

HomeGain collected some comments from some of the surveyed homeowners. Here's how one satisfied homeowner summarizes homeownership, "Just knowing I own it. I rented a house two times after owning a home for 16 years, and I do NOT like relying on, and dealing with, a landlord! I also feel pride in owning my home. I just bought a house 8 months ago and am very happy!"

Published: January 27, 2012

by Phoebe Chongchua

Know Your Expenses Before You Buy

For many, homeownership is still a dream. Moving from renting can seem like it’s an impossible mission. But if you plan ahead and carefully budget, the goal of homeownership can be yours.

When budgeting how much home you can afford, it’s important to understand and anticipate the costs of owning and maintaining a home. Here are a few things that some first-time buyers forget to include.

Private Mortgage Insurance

This is added on to your mortgage when the down payment is less than 20 percent. You can buy a home with less money but you’ll pay the PMI which covers the lender should a homebuyer default on the loan. As you build up equity, your PMI drops off.

Taxes

Property taxes generate revenue for municipalities, counties, and schools. It’s an expense that can vary across the U.S. However, on average, it’s 1.38 percent of the home’s value. Back East tends to have the highest property taxes.

HOA Fees

Homeowners’ Association fees (HOA) can add several hundred dollars to your monthly household expenses. These HOAs help to maintain common areas, typically within condominium complexes. They also govern what can be done to the unit and the surrounding area. While there is an up side to HOAs, some buyers prefer to have more freedom over their property, perhaps, until the neighbor paints his house turquoise with red accents.

Homeowner’s insurance

Lenders require homeowner’s insurance on your property. The amount you’ll pay depends on many variables including: where you live, the age, type, size of your home. For example, older homes can cost more to insure due to the fact that they may require more repairs than newer homes. Also, high-hazard areas can cost more to insure and some insurance companies may not offer an insurance policy for your home, if you’re in a high-risk area.

Utilities and appliances

These areas can be overlooked because, often, when people are renting the appliances are taken care of. When you own your own home, be sure to consider expenses such as the water heater or dishwasher breaking down. While, you can’t exactly figure out when an appliance is going to quit working, you can set a monthly allowance aside to start establishing a household repair fund. Just don’t touch the account or when you really need it, you’ll find it’s not there for you.

Inspections, appraisals, and closing costs

Many buyers understand they will have closing costs but they fail to budget for other items such as a home inspection. Sometimes inspections are paid for by the seller but it’s usually the buyer who pays for the inspection. And, even if the homeowner recently had a home inspection and has the report, a buyer still might want to pay for an inspector to have another look to compare the findings.

Depending on the home, there may also be other inspections such as for lead paint, pests or radon gas.

While the extra expenses do add up quickly, if you carefully budget and plan ahead, the goal of homeownership is achievable and very satisfying.

Published: February 10, 2012

by Phoebe Chongchua

Why Homes in the Woodlands and Spring are a Match Made in Heaven

Not everybody knows how seasons can affect how well a home can get sold or bought. Well, spring would be the best season to do so in the Woodlands due to the weather and the changes that occur during the season. This is also why homes in the Woodlands and spring agree with one another, among other reasons.

First of all, without a doubt, everybody has more time during the spring because every other season is much busier; there are summer vacations, Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas holidays, after all. The best thing about the spring is the weather. because it is so warm, it would be much more convenient to take a look at different homes within the area. Plus, if you have children, spring break will give you the perfect opportunity to take a look at how homes in the Woodlands and spring go well together.

Another reason why it would be best to look at the Woodlands homes during the spring is because down payments won’t be as much trouble during this season compared to the busier months. This is also the time when house sales remain steady while other months usually see a drop in house sales.

When looking at buying homes in the Woodlands and spring, you might come to notice that many more choices will be available to you. However, you will also have to remember that the competition is sure to be higher, too, and so sellers will be much more strict with the prices, whereas other months might give you cheaper prices because of the lower demand. Now, if it is a mortgage you are looking for, off-peak months would also be the best time to look for great deals.

It would also be much easier to negotiate during the off-peak months because the offers will be less overall. This may results in less choices when it comes to the homes, but they won’t exactly be extremely limited. There will still be many homes available for you; don’t worry.

One buyer tip you should really know: when selling your old home to make way for a new one in the Woodlands, you should think ahead and sell before anything else. This will help get rid of any unnecessary selling stress that might come about when time starts closing in and money starts becoming a problem. Remember: you won’t be able to pay off two mortgages together, so do something about it before that happens.

When you should look into buying or selling homes should ultimately depend on your own circumstances, though. However, if you want it comes to the Woodlands, looking into homes in the Woodlands and spring would usually be best.

Why is it Best to Buy Homes in Spring?

 A lot of people seem to be unaware that a lot of places in Texas are actually good places to buy homes to live in. Spring happens to one of the best of them as the weather there is warm most of the time. People will especially love to buy homes in Spring during the warmer seasons due to various reasons.

For one, people have a lot more time to waste during the warmer months compared to other busier seasons. Plus, because the weather is warmer overall, it would be much more convenient to move around in search of homes. Buyers would also prefer to move during spring break before school starts up again and this is probably one of the bigger reasons why more families move to new homes in Spring during that time.

The weather aside, people usually get tax returns early on, as well, making home down payments much easier to deal with compared to other months. In fact, overall, house sales in general remain steady in Spring during the warmer months and drop during the busier months of the year.

If you are a buyer, you are sure to have a much wider variety to choose from in Spring compared to other places in Texas, though the competition might be much higher, as well. This conversely translates to sellers keeping to their original asking prices. Now, if you want to find a mortgage in Spring, you will probably find much better deals if you apply in the off-peak seasons.

During off-peak seasons, sellers will more likely negotiate when it comes to price, as well, because not a lot of offers will be present then. So, although your choices of homes might not be huge, they still won’t be completely limited. A lot of homes in Spring will still be for sale this season.

As an extra tip: if you have plans of buying a brand new home and selling your home, you need to make sure you sell yours as early as possible, so you can alleviate some stress from selling your house because of financial pressure and time constraints. After all, you will now want to pay for two mortgages at the same time, right?

Now, the greatest homes to buy in Spring might still be relative to personal circumstances and preferences, though. So find out what would work best for you first, so you can put the seasons to your advantage and look into those homes in Spring that truly cater to your needs.

Homes for Sale in Northwest Houston – Tops Tips to Follow

Homes for Sale in Northwest Houston – Tops Tips to Follow

There are a lot of homes for sale in Northwest Houston – all of which have different styles and price ranges. Regardless of which home you choose, though, you will be happy to hear that most transactions made in Northwest Houston are done with ease and speed.

Now, if you want to save a bit of money while buying homes for sale in Northwest Houston, you should look into short sales first. Buying short sales will actually give you instant equity; however, it might take some time to complete because of the overall processing time that comes with them. See, short sales are usually still occupied by their owners since they couldn’t afford to maintain or repair their homes just yet.

Other great bargains in Northwest Houston can be found in bank-owned homes. Since banks don’t have any other option but to get rid of their inventory, they will usually agree to sell houses for much lower prices in order to get something out of them.

However, you need to be very cautious and very careful if you choose to go down this route. As good of a bargain as these houses may be, you still have to check every inch of them and look for things that might need repairs. Foreclosed homes are generally left in very bad conditions, so keep your eyes open for things that might cost you a lot of money in the long run.

Conversely, if all you want to get out of your new home in Northwest Houston is a completely hassle-free experience, then you should just buy a non-distressed home where you can negotiate with the owner directly instead of going through a lender or another third party.

The best part, though, is that you can find homes for sale in Northwest Houston in practically any kind of community-  whether you want to live in an urban and active community, a retirement community, or a family-oriented community. There are also various communities that will suit different tastes and needs, such as golf communities, gated communities, rural communities and subdivisions for those who are looking for a more secluded area of living.

Fortunately, looking for homes for sale in Northwest Houston is very easy nowadays. Thanks to the World Wide Web, you can now narrow down your search options to include various price ranges, sizes, and locations, making the search much easier for you and your family. Good luck!

Buying in 77382? Good Idea!

Woodlands Real Estate Trend Watch

Sellers Must be More Aggressive Now! MORE new Real Estate Inventorycoming on Market in 77382

Price War WILL happen After July 4 in 77382, 77381, 77380

WOODLANDS BUYERS NOT BUYING FAST. Home sellers in The Woodlands are in a bit of pickle, for reasons inexplicable, home buyers are not responding to the current low interest rates the way we all would have hoped. It is natural for folks to want to go ahead and put the ol’ homestead on the market to get a better one when rates are so attractive. Trouble is, so many are doing so, that the market has already become diluted.

HOME RENTALS. And we simply don’t have as many buyers moving in from the city as everyone thought we would. Or, at least they aren’t buying.they are RENTING! Generally speaking, rent demand is WAY UP from last year, about 20% higher. Good clean rentals in all price ranges are flying off the rent rolls. We have a had several Chevron long term rentals, and a few Exxon are popping around.

MORE HOMES FOR SALE THAN HOME BUYERS BUYING. Alas,not enough sales to absorb current inventory. And the inventory keeps growing!

ZIP 77382,STERLING RIDGE, ALDEN BRIDGE. Take zip code 77382 for example, this covers Sterling Ridge and Alden Bridge Villages. Look at these numbers carefully and you can easily see what I mean.

In the last 10 days, 56new listings were posted in that zip code. In those same 10 days, 7 listings sold.

In the 10 days prior to that, 44 new listings posted, with10 new sales.

Going back to May 1, in zip code 77382, there have been 126 new listings, and 46 of those are now “pending”.

Now that you are getting the picture, let’s add in the listings that were ALREADY THERE!

Why is it Best to Buy and Sell Homes in Spring?

Why is it Best to Buy and Sell Homes in Spring?

A lot of people are unaware that there are good seasons to buy and sell homes in. Spring happens to be the best of them as it is the season of change and warm weather. Believe it – people tend to buy or sell homes in spring the most due to various reasons.

For one, people have a lot of more time to waste during the spring months compared to other busier seasons. Plus, the weather tends to be warmer, making it more convenient to move around in search of homes. Buyers would also prefer to move during spring break before school starts up again and this is probably one of the bigger reasons why families move to new homes in spring.

The weather aside, people usually get tax returns in the spring, as well, making home down payments much easier to deal with compared to other months. In fact, house sales in general remain steady in the spring and drop during the busier months of the year.

If you are a buyer, you are sure to have a much wider variety to choose from during the spring, though the competition will be much higher, as well. This conversely translates to sellers keeping to their original asking prices compared to the months where the market isn’t in such high demand. Additionally, if you want to find a mortgage, you will probably find much better deals if you apply in the off-peak seasons, too.

During off-peak seasons, sellers will more likely negotiate when it comes to price because not a lot of offers will be present then. So, although your choices of homes might not be huge, they still won’t be completely limited. A lot of homes will still be for sale this season.

As an extra tip: if you have plans of buying a brand new home and selling your home, you need to make sure you sell yours as early as possible, so you can alleviate some stress from selling your house because of financial pressure and time constraints. After all, you will now want to pay for two mortgages at the same time, right?

Now, the greatest season to buy and sell homes might still be relative to personal circumstances and preferences, though. So find out what would work best for you first, so you can put the seasons to your advantage and look into homes in spring if it caters to your needs.

The Woodlands Area Real Estate

The Woodlands Area Real Estate

The Woodlands area has experienced phenomenal growth in the last three decades. Just slightly over thirty years ago, this area was sparsely populated and had just a fraction of the buildings that you find today. In this thirty year period, the population in the Woodlands has grown by about ten times and so has the real estate. While the phenomenal growth is good for business, it also complicates matters for investors in real estate who might not know where to search in such a vibrant and dynamic community.

The Woodlands is a planned community located in Houston, TX. In the whole of metropolitan Houston, no other planned community has anything close to what the Woodlands has to offer in terms of real estate. For the person looking for a home to buy, this area has homes in all manner of styles so that even the most discerning potential homeowner will find a home that is just right. In addition, the price ranges vary substantially depending on a home’s location and the amenities nearby.

What will not disappoint the new homeowner in the Woodlands is the advanced level of amenities in the commercial town. There are quality shopping outlets and trendy restaurants as well as a host of recreation venues. The Woodlands is also home to excellent schools and the parent who brings a family here will be assured of getting a quality school for the young ones.

The Woodlands has ten villages each of which has the amenities fit for a small town. Getting a house, either to buy or rent in any of the ten villages requires the help of a seasoned real estate agent, a person who not only lives and works in the Woodlands but one who has also been present in the area for a long time and has seen the area grow to what it is today.

The village of Grogan’s Mill is the oldest in the group of 10 Woodlands villages and, apart from its proud history, is a well-developed community that provides adequate shopping, dining and recreation facilities for its residents. Creekside Park Village is set beside Lake Paloma and has a Nature Reserve where a myriad of recreation activities such as biking, kayaking and mountain watching keep visitors and residents entertained. The village of Alden Bridge has a population of slightly over twenty thousand and has well developed amenities to keep the new homeowner fully entertained. The village is home to a number of private and public schools, a Village Medical Center and a nearby hospital.

In the Woodlands, one community that seems to stand out is the Carlton Woods community which is a more affluent community when compared to the rest of the villages. The community has a huge park in its neighborhood in addition to many high-end amenities and facilities.

For a community that has so much to offer, the Woodlands is a real attraction to many homeowners. To obtain expert advice on the Woodlands area real estate, it would be a prudent idea to obtain the services of a seasoned realtor-broker.

The Woodlands Market Street: Environment Friendly

The Woodlands Market Street: Environment Friendly

The Woodlands Market Street has set the bar for being environment friendly. The proprietors of this community have made sure that the community preserve the environment it is built on. For years, activists have opposed the construction of new subdivisions in areas that they considered as protected. A good number of people have dedicated their lives to keep these areas as pristine as possible. These individuals have concluded that the constant construction of residences have lead to the cutting down of numerous trees and replacing them with brick walls and buildings. However, The Woodlands Market Street has begged to differ and set an example for others to follow.

The Woodlands Market Street is designed with the environment in mind. This community is indeed an eco-friendly village. If you are wondering about the measures the proprietors took in order to make the community eco-friendly, here are some examples.

Using Grass

Instead of covering The Woodlands Market Street with concrete, the architects created a design that will pave way for grassy patches rather. Anywhere you look at the street you will notice areas covered in grass. In fact, majority of the area is covered in grass. Grass reduces the heat being emitted by the concrete therefore enabling the establishments save on energy consumption.

Recycling

Recycling is defined as the method of reprocessing waste materials and transforms it into a different product. The Woodlands Market Street has encouraged the establishments to engage in recycling be providing the customers with re-usable shopping bags and proper garbage segregation. This will allow them to separate reusable items from biodegradable items. The re-usable shopping bags on the other hand will allow the consumers to reduce the amount of plastic shopping bags used whenever they go out to shop or buy groceries.

Go up

In the hopes of conserving space the buildings where constructed in an upward manner rather than outward. This enabled The Woodlands Market Street to save of the land area being used for buildings and more land area for grassy patches and parks. This upward construction is not only reserved for establishments but it also applies to parking areas and garages.

Saving Trees

The problem with construction subdivisions is that trees are cut down. To counter this, trees are planted all over the Woodlands Market Street. More than 500 trees are saved as well as the 24 mature trees rescued from previous projects.

Conserve Energy

The growing number of people residing in one area will result to an increase demand for energy. In order for The Woodlands Market Street to save on energy consumption, they installed solar panels and reflective roofing materials. These reflective roofing materials are not just installed in one building, but are installed on all buildings. Each year they get to save enough energy to power 30 residences at the same time.

Carlton Woods Luxury Homes

Carlton Woods Luxury Homes – How to Find the Right One for You

Admit it: whenever you look at elite neighborhoods with country estates, chic condominiums, and elegant mansions, you can’t help but dream of living there. Well, why don’t you, then? If you really want to live in a luxury home, then Carlton Woods luxury homes should be the first ones you look at. Here are several helpful tips that can help you plan your potential future purchase to a tee.

While looking at Carlton Woods luxury homes, you should talk to the people in the neighborhood whenever you can to find out what kind of problems they face and ask about the neighborhood amenities that they enjoy the most. Try to get a copy of the homeowner’s association guidelines and rules while you’re there, as well. This will give you an idea of how strict they are when it comes to the amount of cars in the driveway and the house color, among other things.

Take a look at the zoning laws, too. This happens to be a vital thing to take into consideration, so you can protect your home from various township developments like new buildings being built. Basically, you need to find out as much as you can about Carlton Woods so you can adapt to it much faster if you choose to live there in the end.

When comparing Carlton Woods luxury homes, try not to rely solely on pictures if you can. There happen to be a lot of big and beautiful homes that simply do not look good in photos and which you will have to see for yourself first, so make sure you pay a visit.

You also need to make sure that you have a great agent who will help you buy your dream home, no matter what. This agent should know the ins and outs of Carlton Woods since high-end properties usually come with certain access restrictions and a good agent can help mediate such cases. Also, since the stakes with Carlton Woods luxury homes are quite high, he should be professional and thorough enough to help you out anytime. He should also negotiate with lenders and financial institutions for you, so that the entire house financing process, in general, will become a much easier task for you.

The most important thing to consider when looking at Carlton Woods luxury homes, however, would be your own financial position. Sit down with a realtor and find out just how much you will be able to afford. Remember: your assessment has to be honest.