The new homestead law is now in effect.  Effective September 1, 2011, there is a change in state law concerning homestead exemption on property being purchased. The new law requires applicants to provide a copy of their Texas driver’s license or state ID card and vehicle registration receipt. The documents must show the same address as the property for which the exemption is requested.

Click Here To Download the Homestead Exemption Form

Applicants who do not own a vehicle must provide a copy of a utility bill with the correct address. They also must provide an affidavit stating he/she does not own a vehicle. The new requirements also apply to applications for the over-65, disability, disabled veterans, homeowner’s surviving spouse and manufactured (mobile) home exemptions. They do not apply to homeowners who already have homestead exemptions.

Will these changes affect your qualifications for receiving a homestead exemption?

Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
www.50andholding.com

As HVAC units have increased in size, inside replacements are having to be installed in the attics.

It is very important to have a licensed HVAC tech do the work and I personally think it is important to check with your city about permits and this and other licensed work. It also is important to keep your invoices together in one place.

About permits: I understand that everyone does not agree about the importance of permits, but it places an extra measure of accountability on the installer and can be a good marketing tool when you later sell the property. Permitted work presents you as a responsible owner who makes sure work is done correctly and this can translate to a better sale price and/or fewer repair requests when you are selling your house.

Home inspection reports are showing enough bad, and even unsafe, installation work of HVAC units and hot water heaters to convince me of the value of having the work permitted. This means you may pay slightly more for the permitted work, but think of it as a type of insurance on quality of installation
work. Remember that this is not your weekly grocery list – it is one of your most valuable assets.

About keeping your paper work: Recently, some buyers purchased a house and the home inspector and their HVAC inspector found that when the unit had been replaced several years earlier, the installer used a 5-ton coil in a 4-ton unit.

The work had not been permitted; however, the owner kept his invoice. Without the invoice, it is doubtful the owner would have been successful with the HVAC company, or it would have taken much longer and possibly prevented the sale from closing by the contract date. However, the documentation in hand (showing the correct size written up but different/wrong size installed), probably saved the owner a lot more time and at least $2,000+ if he had paid for the correction work.

Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
www.50andholding.com

Always! In fact, it is really smart. When purchasing something as expensive as a house, be sure to look past the cosmetics.

If you are purchasing older resales, especially going back 30 or 40 years or longer, pay attention to the differences in design. Housing responds to the needs and demands of buyers. For instance, in the 1950’s and into the 1960’s there were fewer 2-income families which meant there was neither the need nor the income for room-sized closets and 2- and 3-car garages. The mid-century homes were just beginning to have central HVAC and the units were much smaller. Also, instead of separate utility rooms, washers and dryers were still found in the garage. These are important pieces of information because it is smart to learn how installation of larger systems in small spaces was handled and if it was done correctly – and safely.

Unless the interior of a house has been taken back to the studs and the floor plan reconfigured, you will see a lot of differences in room arrangement, number and size of closets and cabinets.

When you find The House, it is always important to learn as much about the house as possible. Even when the seller is forthcoming with property information, it is important for you as a prospective buyer begin taking mental ownership before you go under contract or at least during your walk-away time. A seller might disclose all that is required on the Seller’s Disclosure Notice but you should look closely at the bones of the house and its systems (especially installation of hot water heaters, HVAC, roofing, electrical system).

If you purchase an investor-owned “flip” property, do double duty with questions and buyer beware. A number of investors think they are exempt from disclosing property information because they have not lived in the property – they have only rehabbed it. They are wrong.

Keep in mind that buying is a business transaction. Attempt to check emotions at the door, gather factual information, and you are more likely to have a successful transaction with much less angst.

Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
www.50andholding.com

When working with sellers, it has been interesting to learn how often homeowners have no idea where they have put paper work that may be needed in the sale of their property (e.g., significant repairs and replacements during their ownership). Sellers don’t seem to realize the value of this paper work when a buyer comes along.

Did you know that an incomplete Seller’s Disclosure Notice form equals no seller’s disclosure? Disclosure of a property’s condition is pretty important; in fact, it is the law under the Texas Seller’s Disclosure Act so it is especially important for everyone (sellers, buyers and their Realtors) to carefully read all of the Seller’s Disclosure Notice on a property of interest to make sure sellers
have completed, initialed and signed the form.

Sellers should be given direction by their listing agent about the importance of providing prior inspection reports from the time of their purchase, in addition to other inspections, repairs and replacements during their ownership. Failure to disclose places a seller at risk.

In addition, if homeowners obtained permits as required by their city when having certain types of maintenance, replacement and updating work done on their house, the permit can be a plus at resale time. If in doubt about the type of repairs requiring permits, most city websites will have that information; but if not, a call to the city offices should work.

Some situations exempt an owner from providing a Seller’s Disclosure Notice and, if in doubt, ask your Realtor. Some heirs of estate properties think that the exemption from disclosure for an estate also applies to information they have as a result of property maintenance or repairs made to the property.

They are mistaken.

With all of the issues that can happen when we do things “right”, why risk more issues by taking shortcuts on a property as expensive as your house?

Becky Hopkins, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company

Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

www.50andholding.com

Buyers’ home inspections have produced some surprises over the years, one of the most frequent being incorrect installation of HVAC systems and hot water heaters. I think much of this has come from work being done without permits. I realize everyone doesn’t agree about the use of permits, but they do provide some accountability on installation which it appears is much needed. And some of the stores I can tell …

About the owner who paid for a new HVAC system but one tiny problem happened along the way. The invoice showed the correct size coil needed, but the installer used the wrong size. The seller wasn’t happy when this was discovered. Would a
permit have prevented this? Possibly.

Or the HVAC system that was incorrectly wired and blew out the electrical panel.

Or the hot water heater where the T&P line had been cut of at the wall and the line was installed differently to empty into, instead of outside, the garage. Would a permit have prevented this? Oh, yes.

Or the hot water heaters that are installed with incompatible metals? See, I’m not a plumber – I’m just repeating what a line of licensed home inspectors and plumbers have said. There is a right way – and wrong way to do this stuff and it seems that I see more of the latter with buyer inspections.

What about a roof [in a community requiring a permit] installed without a permit? Some I have seen looked like a bunch of decals pasted side by side. I’m also not a roofer, but anyone with normal vision and a brain can see the problem with this type of installation.

The point here: Know something about the company who is installing these systems in your home. If you don’t have testimonials from prior customers, at least check them out on Better Business Bureau’s website. And ask that the work be permitted if
it is required by your city. It will probably cost a little more, but you are investing in a larger amount – the property itself. I’ve learned that you pay now, or generally you pay later, and later may end up being the more expensive route.

Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company

Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

www.50andholding.com

There is more to be said about the issue of seller disclosure because I consider it really important when buying a home.

Buyers, be sure the Seller’s Disclosure Notice is completely filled out because many times these are posted even though incomplete. And you may want to probe into some of the information disclosed – such as a seller’s answer to the matter of doing work with or without a permit. Frequently, bad installation is found with hot water heaters and HVAC systems that were, big surprise, installed without a permit. Sure, we want to believe that people are being honest with us. Sorry to disappoint, this doesn’t always happen.

If possible, check the permit history on a property to verify a seller’s answer. Some cities have a faster turn around time than others for this type of information. Pay attention to what the seller discloses — also if paper work is provided as a result of the disclosure. In other words, buyers need to take ownership of the inspection period and discovery process. Having some direction from a Realtor® should be a big advantage, but the buyer needs to be an informed decision maker.

Becky Hopkins is a realtor with CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company and serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. You can contact directly on her phone (469-568-7654) and through her website www.50andholding.com.

For years there have been a lot of foreclosures, but in the past few years I have been seeing more properties that have been “flipped”. Some of these transactions have included some degree of irritation with the investor-owner who operates with bottom line mentality; others have been like a continuing bad dream.

A “flip” is a distressed property bought by an investor below market price. The investor then invests “x” dollars and resells at market price. The problem: how the investor spends on the house.

So buyers – listen up! Typically, investors spend most of their money on cosmetics (the lipstick and rouge approach) such as expensive granite counters; “designer” paint; fresh landscaping; new carpet and maybe tile flooring; new light fixtures and fans; maybe a new shower and vanity in one bathroom; sometimes new appliances; even some crown molding. Many times, the house shows well and the look of newness has a seductive influence on a potential buyer.

Protect yourself by looking for issues such as:

• ignored foundation problems,
• either a worn out overlay roof or a bad roof job;
• a really old water heater or one that has been incorrectly installed;
• an HVAC that is toast;
• wiring issues; even faucets that fall off the wall when you touch them (that’s right, I’ve even seen those).
• Or how about the house where one bathtub drain was filled with hardened grout!

Another time I came across an older house where the investor owner had moved the replaced furnace to the attic. The problem: he cut out part of the A-framing (a/k/ a part of the house structure) so he could shove the unit in more easily; and he didn’t install a catwalk or even a ladder to access the attic for service and repairs.

Many investors seem to think they are exempt from disclosures since they haven’t lived in a property. They are wrong! They have at least limited information on the property because it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think they approved the property’s rehab (and
that term is used loosely) expenses.

Finally, buyers can expect more than a few investor-owners to be less than reasonable about responding to repair requests after inspections that shine the light on a property’s defects.

So buyer beware.

Becky Hopkins is a realtor with CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company and serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. You can contact directly on her phone (469-568-7654) and through her website www.50andholding.com.

Be careful about agents who work both sides of the table.

Thanks in large part to the internet, today’s buyers and sellers are more informed than in years past – which is a good thing.

While catching up on reading recently, an issue of Texas Realtor magazine with statistics from a 2009 survey caught my eye. According to the survey, 38% of buyers and sellers worked with a Realtor who represented both buyer and seller in a transaction. This is known as “dual agency” and although it is legal in the State of Texas and was disclosed to the buyers and sellers, I have to ask myself
why an informed buyer or seller would want their agent to also represent the
other guy.

My question: Did these buyers and sellers understand how dual agency would affect them in the transaction and especially during the contract negotiation phases?

I need to disclose that I am not a lawyer and am not attempting to practice law, but it seems to me that dual agency is a conflict of interest and really is a buyer or seller common sense decision. With dual agency, there is not the same line of open communication between a Realtor and his client because the Realtor has
made the same type agreement with the opposing party(ies). With dual agency, the Realtor can’t advise either client so it isn’t unlike working with one hand tied behind his back.

The next time you are preparing to sell or buy property, be sure to (i) read what you are asked to sign and (ii) ask about anything you don’t understand before signing. In Texas, contract forms don’t use the words “dual agency” but you can ask your Realtor about this and say that you don’t want dual agency in your
transaction.

Sales teachers may tell their agents to sell the sizzle – but in real estate at least, my suggestion is to go with the steak – or substance.

Becky Hopkins, REALTOR®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company

Direct: 469-568-7654

www.50andholding.com

Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

Whether you are a buyer or seller, the roof is a significant part of the transaction. An older roof or a poorly installed roof may give the buyer some leverage in negotiating a contract, whereas, a newer, well installed roof is a plus for the seller.

So what about the matter of overlays of which there are still more than a few?

Wood shingles were a mid-century version of trendy. When they became dry and split, owners would often install a composition roof over the wood shingles because it was less expensive than first removing the wood shingles. However, about 10-12 years ago, changes in municipal codes required removal of the old decking.

More recently, insurance companies have stopped approving homeowner’s insurance for overlay roofs.

So – this is an important piece of information. If you are a buyer, you want to make sure a property’s roof isn’t an overlay or you can be prepared to replace the roof after you have closed, the title transfers to you, and it is policy renewal time.

Until the closing, the property will be covered by the seller’s insurance. However, even if you can get insurance and financing approval in order to close on your purchase, you still can be denied coverage for the older roof at renewal time.

If the Notice of Seller’s Disclosure says the roof is not an overlay – nevertheless, if the roof is older or looks questionable, it is a good idea to be proactive and have the roof inspected by a home inspector and/or reputable roofing contractor. Or occasionally a seller will agree to having his insurance company inspect the roof for replacement purposes.

If you are an owner planning to sell your house, one piece of information you should be prepared to disclose is whether the roof is an overlay; and if you have an older roof or a cheaper overlay job, you may need to budget for replacing that roof prior to
placing the property on the market. And, sellers, a new, well installed roof is a pretty big bargaining tool when you find your buyer.

Becky Hopkins, Realtor®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company

Direct: (469) 568-7654

www.50andholding.com

Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

In another lifetime there was a popular TV show called “Truth or Consequences”. As a little girl, I just understood the basic rules of the game: players attempt to guess which is being told – a true statement or a false one. However, this theme has become more
sobering as it appears there is a growing number of people in one of two categories: (1) those who don’t understand the meaning of honesty, or (2) honesty is not taken seriously.

“Why?” you may ask would this be in a real estate blog? I would answer “why not”?

Either dementia is truly epidemic, or the epidemic lies within our core – with our loss of integrity, basic honesty, our personal ethics.

There is something called the Texas Seller’s Disclosure Act which requires most property owners to disclose everything they know about a property they are attempting to sell. When an owner wants to sell, generally the dominant thought in the owner’s head
is “how much can I get for this property?” That’s it. Of course, buyers have a different mindset, but this is about sellers.

Owners would be advised to understand that withholding known information about their property can create more grief than they can imagine. It also can make a serious dent in their bank account, depending upon the nature of undisclosed information, whether the buyer experiences damage to the property, and to what degree the damage occurs.

Becky Hopkins, REALTOR®, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company

Direct:

www.50andholding.com

Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

469-568-7654