7 Tips to Help You Make Sure Your New Home Is Pet-Friendly

If you want to find the perfect home for both you and your pet, I have seven great tips that can help.

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Many of us have pets we love and care for, but finding a house that fits both your family and your pet(s) can be a challenge. Here are seven tips that will help you find a home that fulfills both sets of needs: 1. Be aware of the local pet laws. In different neighborhoods, there are different HOA restrictions and rules that may outlaw certain breeds of pets or certain pets in general. Look over those restrictions and rules before putting a contract in place just to make sure there aren’t any that might cause an issue for you and your pet. 2. Know the yard and fence situation of the house you want to buy. Some neighborhoods will require a certain type of fencing. If your home is in a neighborhood that requires wrought-iron fencing, for example, that could cause an issue as far as keeping your pets contained. You might also encounter a neighborhood that doesn’t permit fencing. 3. Make sure your property has room for your pets to be able to get out and roam. This usually means having a big enough yard for them to be able to run around in.

Look over the neighborhood’s restrictions and rules regarding pets before putting a contract in place.

4. Make sure your home doesn’t back up to or border a major road. One of the worst things that can happen for a pet owner is a dog getting out and running into a busy road. A house that backs up into a green space can also be an issue, depending on what type of pets you have. Here in Texas, if your home backs up to a green space, you may encounter certain animals that would prey on your pets. 5. Choose a house that has pet-friendly floors. National flooring expert Debbie Gardner suggests having solid hardwood floors because they can stay in good condition for a long time and you can reseal and restain them if they endure any damage. As far as hardwood floors go, I would personally suggest using a more distressed wood type so if and when your pets scratch the floor, it adds to the character instead of making it look out of place. Stained concrete and tile both work great for pets as well, especially if they’re sealed. The one type of floor that doesn’t mix well with pets is carpet because it traps pet odors and will show any stains they make. 6. Pay attention to the floor plan. Some floor plans are very restrictive, so make sure you choose a house with a floor plan that will allow enough room for both you and your pets to move around without constantly being in each other’s way.

7. Make sure your pets can handle the home’s stairs. Some pets have trouble with stairs, especially if they’re older. Having a carpeting stretch going up and down the stairs can make it easier for pets like that.

If you have any questions about finding a pet-friendly home or you have any other real estate questions you’d like to ask me, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help.

4 Reasons to Buy a Home This Fall

Buying a home in the fall is a smart idea for a number of reasons. One of these is that you’ll face less competition for homes from other buyers.

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A lot of people look at fall as a bad time to buy a home. In reality, there are pros and cons to buying no matter what time of year you’re looking. When we look at the fall market specifically, there are four big advantages:

1. Lower prices. Prices usually rise in the spring and summer months, then flatten out in the fall and winter. You don’t see a lot of skyrocketing sale prices during this time and things tend to slow down a little bit.

2. Less competition. When you sell in the fall, there are fewer buyers out in the market for you to compete against. A lot of people who have been in the market have either already purchased a home or are waiting until next spring. Less competition gives you a better chance at finding your perfect house.

This is a great time to get a good deal.

3. The holidays are right around the corner. A lot of sellers don’t want to have their homes on the market during the holidays. If you are looking to shave a little bit of money off your purchase price or move quickly, fall can be a great time for you to accomplish these things.

4. There could be some year-end tax credits. When next April rolls around, you can write off some of the closing costs and your mortgage interest to offset your tax bill a little bit.

If you have any questions for us about buying a home in the fall, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would truly love to hear from you.

What if Your Appraisal Comes in Short?

If you’re buying a home and the appraisal comes in lower than the sales price, what should you do? Here are your four options.

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Today I’d like to answer a question that I get frequently from clients, which is, “What should I do if the appraisal on the home I’m buying comes in short?” Obviously, this is a situation that we don’t want to happen, but if it does, you have four options:

1. You can cancel the contract. Most contracts today are written in a way that if the house does not appraise for the sales price, the buyer can terminate the contract and get their earnest money back. This isn’t the preferred scenario for a lot of buyers, but it does occasionally happen.

2. The parties involved could put up more cash. For example, if the house has a $100,000 sales price and the house appraises for $95,000, often the lender may not be willing or able to make up that $5,000 difference. In these circumstances, that difference needs to be made up by the buyer and the seller. The seller could offer to lower their sales price, the buyer could put up more money, or the two could compromise. As long as the difference is made up, the sale can continue.

If the appraisal comes in low, you have four options.

3. You can change the terms of your loan. Depending on the loan that you’re trying to get and the lenders you’re visiting with, this may or may not be a possibility. However, in certain circumstances, it may make sense to take out a second mortgage on the house you’re buying. By having two liens on the property, you can sometimes satisfy the concerns that lenders would have in the event that the property does not appraise. Again, your ability to do this will depend on the lender and property type you’re dealing with, so I would encourage all buyers to speak with their lender about this option.

4. You can challenge the appraisal. This is probably the option that we go with most often. Appraising a house is not an exact science; you’ll never be able to find homes that are exactly the same as the home you’re buying or selling in comparable sales. For this reason, when an appraiser is looking at comparable properties, they’re putting forth their own subjective opinion to arrive at a value for the property. If the appraisal comes back low, what I would do as an agent is reach out to the appraiser and share facts with them that they may or may not have considered when determining the value of the property in an effort to get them to raise their value back up to our sales price. I’d say this strategy works about 60% of the time.

If you have any other questions about your options in the event of a low appraisal or any other questions about buying or selling a home in our area, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I’d be happy to help you!

The 3 Most Common Buyer Mistakes

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Buying a home can be very stressful, but it doesn't need to be. In order to help your buying process go as smooth and stress-free as possible, we want to share the three biggest mistakes buyers make so you can try to avoid them.

1. Not being clear on what you want up front
A lot of times, people will get into the home search not knowing what they want, and the price range is very broad. This can make narrowing down choices and finding the right home very difficult. The best thing to do when looking for a home is write down your priorities.

2. Not considering resale value
Many people go ahead and buy a home they like without thinking about the location and other factors that might negatively affect resale value. This can make for a financially stressful situation down the road. Be mindful of the resale and property values in the area you're thinking about moving to.

3. Not getting a good lender up front
This is BY FAR the most important thing to do when buying! We've found that people who go with out of town, corporate lenders often get lost in the numbers. If you go to a strong local lender, you're going to get phenomenal service, competitive rates, and a better overall experience!

So, if you plan on buying in the near future, keep these tips in mind! You don't want to make the same mistake many buyers have made before you! If you would like more buying tips or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!