Carratala Group Real Estate Video Blog Carratala Group

Should you rent your home out or sell it? Both can be good options, depending on your situation. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale I recently met with a former client who asked me if they are better off renting their home out as an investment property or simply selling it. It really depends on your individual circumstances and goals, but there are advantages to each method. If you’re looking to build wealth, you can use one investment property to get you to the point where you have four or five of these properties bringing in passive income each month. If this is your goal, it’s important that you meet with an agent who is looking out for your best interests. Most people need to sell in order to buy. However, most people need to sell their home in order to buy another property or they simply want to cash out on the equity they already have. In cases like these, selling makes much more sense. Renting is more of a long-term investment. If you have any questions for us or need help selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Today I wanted to give you a bit of an update on the Houston real estate market. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale It is hot, and we’re not just talking about the weather. The Houston real estate market is on fire. We had some wonderful gains these past few months. The highest gains took place among homes priced $750,000 and above where we saw 8,500 homes sell. This is an almost 10% increase from this time last year. The average sales price increase 1.5% to just over $300,000. That is a hot market. Even the lease market has increased, with single family home leases up 17% and townhomes and condos up almost 21%. We’ve seen some wonderful gains these past few months. So, between strong employment numbers and a healthy housing inventory, we can expect a great end to the summer and a wonderful start to the fall season. If you have any other questions or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, please give me a call. I’d be happy to help!

If you want to buy a home inside the 610 loop this summer during the busy buying season, follow these four tips. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale If you want to buy a home inside the 610 loop during the spring and summer buying season, follow these four tips: 1. Drive around the area to really discover what works best for you: Since there are so many different neighborhoods within the loop, drive through to get an idea of them all. If you have pets like us and you want to live close to a dog park, for example, do your research to find dog parks and trails. 2. Get a home inspection: We recommend this for both resale and new construction homes. You’ll want to examine things like stucco, which was very popular after 2000. You also want to be sure the home’s flashing is done right so that there is no moisture behind the stucco. 3. Get a survey: This will establish the property lines. Sellers might actually have this done, but you want to get your own just in case. The current homeowner might have installed a fence off the property line or had a patio that wasn’t included. 4. Check out the new flood maps: They just changed as of January 2017, so check the updated flood map to be sure you have the right flood coverage. Flood maps changed this year, so you need to know how it would affect your coverage. We also wanted to quickly remind you that we’re having our vacation giveaway this year! If you buy or sell a home with us in 2017, you’ll be entered to win. If you have any questions or you're ready to buy or sell a home, give us a call or send us an email soon. We look forward to helping you!

Handling homeownership and mortgage obligations during a divorce can be difficult. I'm joined by divorce attorney Candace Demary to help me explain how to make this process go as smoothly as possible. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale It's an unfortunate fact that 50% of marriages end in divorce. If that happens, what happens to your home and mortgage? To help me explain, I'm joined by Candace Demary, a family law attorney of 15 years. Once you've decided to file for divorce, the first decision should be whether one of the parties wants to keep the house and whether they can afford it. If neither party wants the house or can afford to keep it on their own, you can sell the house and divide the proceeds. If one person wants to keep it, refinancing is an option. You'll need to have the house appraised and then negotiate a buyout of the equity of the house from the other spouse. Judges typically don't order a mortgage to be refinanced, but Candace says she often negotiates it as it's better to completely change the title over the to spouse keeping the house. It also frees up the other spouse to buy another house down the road. If one person wants to keep the house, refinancing is an option. If one spouse owned the home prior to the marriage, it would be considered their separate property. The other spouse doesn't have a claim to the house other than possible reimbursement for mortgage payments made during the marriage. Of course, each situation is complex and merits its own set of questions. If you'd like to ask Candace any questions, you can call her at (713) 682-4210. If you have any questions about the market or you're thinking of buying or selling a home, give us a call or send us an email soon. We're always here to help.

How can you successfully sell your home this spring or summer? For starters, avoid these four major selling mistakes. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale Now is a great time to sell your home, so we have four tips to help you have a successful sale this spring and summer. 1. Price your home correctly. A lot of sellers think that they can price their home high and just negotiate with the buyer down the road. However, homes that are priced at market value get the most attention, the most showings, and the best offers. 2. Don’t overimprove your home. Some sellers put so much money into their home thinking they will get $10 back for every dollar they spend, only to end up getting 10 cents on the dollar. Don’t invest too much money in home improvements. 3. Don’t limit the showings. Showings can be hard to deal with, but it’s really important that you allow people to come in and actually look at your home. If you limit showings, you risk working with a smaller pool of buyers. Make sure your home is available for showings. 4. Don’t sell your property by yourself. 85% of For Sale By Owner properties end up hiring a listing agent to get their home sold. After all, we know what we’re doing. If you need any advice on selling your home, or if you are interested in a free copy of our book, "The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your House", give us a call or send us an email. Don’t forget, anyone who buys or sells a home with us this year will be entered to win a vacation in 2018. We are always here to help. We look forward to speaking with you!

We want to thank you for your business, so we are giving away a free vacation to one lucky client. Find out how to enter today. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale Thank you for making 2016 such a great year! We appreciate your business and your referrals. To fully express our appreciation, we will send one of you on vacation. In December of 2017, we will have a drawing and a lucky winner will get a free vacation. All you have to do to enter is buy or sell a home with us before December 1, 2017. Where will you go? It’s up to you—you might get to visit my hometown, Havana, or you might get to check out the Carribbean Islands. No matter where you go, it will be tropical, fun, and relaxing. All you have to do is buy or sell a house with us before December! Buy or sell a house with us in 2017 and you and your loved one will get a chance to win a free vacation. If you have any other questions about how this giveaway works or if you want to get started with the home buying or selling process, give us a call. We would be happy to help you!