January is such a great month.  It’s the month with the most opportunity.  Resolutions having us taking a look within to see what changes we can make to our lives and planning for the next 11 months.  For many January is the month where they say, “This will be the year we buy our first home.”  Although buying a home can be a very exciting time, it can be a bit nerve racking as well.  Can you get a loan?  How much money can you put down?  What will you be able to afford?  How do you know you are buying the right house?  All questions that first time home buyers face.  So where do you start? 

My suggestion is to first think about what you are comfortable paying a month for housing.  For many that is the amount of rent they pay plus that amount they seem to easily accumulate at the end of each month.  If you are married or plan to buy the house with someone it may be the combination of your rents.  Whatever the case know what you are comfortable paying, and then find out what that translates to in home prices.  Some may say that you shouldn’t be a payment buyer, but let’s be realistic!  For many of us we look at things in terms of how much we make in a month and how much we spend in a month.  I’m not saying you should determine what you “could” afford in a monthly payment and then go about making sure you spend every dollar of that money.  Just know what payment is comfortable for you.  You can contact just about any Realtor or mortgage broker and just tell them the payment you feel you could comfortably pay and they will give you a ballpark on what type of house that would buy. 

While you are on the phone talking that over with a mortgage broker, get qualified!  Yes, get qualified BEFORE you got about finding a house.  There are many reasons to do this.  The first is it gives you a realistic idea of what you could buy.  There is no sense looking at $500,000 houses when you have no chance of buying a house that expensive.  Conversely, I have worked with people who were surprised that they could buy more house than they expected.  Again, I’m not saying you need to buy more than you are comfortable with, but just having the knowledge is good.  The other reason to meet with your mortgage broker first is to give you a Pre Qual letter.  Although a Pre Qual letter isn’t a sure thing, lock it in, the loan is a no brainer, it does give your potential seller a good idea that you are legit.  It shows the seller you have been to, and are working with, a loan officer and should have an idea that you can obtain a loan.  Once you have done this you are now ready to start looking at houses!  As a Realtor I think this is the fun part!

As many as 80% of all buyers start looking for homes on the internet.  Websites like Zillow.com and Realtor.com are good places to start, and in some places the local board of Realtors may have a similar site that allows you to see most any home listed in the Multiple Listing Service for the area.  Even though I am a Realtor I encourage people to start on the internet.  Look at some pictures.  See what style you like.  Narrow down some houses you think look good, and then give a guy like me a call.  What I can do is get you into all of those homes, and that is crucially important because, as you will soon learn, pictures can be quite misleading!  I’ve seen pictures of houses that I just couldn’t believe were in a price range only to get out to the house and have a reality check.  And truthfully, I’ve taken pictures where, when showing a house, the prospective buyer comments something like, “Well, it’s okay, but it isn’t as nice as the pictures!”  One reason for this is that many Realtors (myself included) use a wide angle lense which can drastically improve the look of a room because it makes it look so much larger. 

Should you use a Realtor or go it alone?  Well, as a Realtor, I bet you can guess what I think, but let me explain why.  To you, as a buyer, my services are essentially free.  You are probably thinking that although I may say that the cost of paying me is coming from the seller, and hence the buyer is still getting stuck with the cost.  Good point, but you are wrong.  Most Realtors will prepare a listing agreement and indicate the percentage or cost to sell the house in advance.  For instance:  You are selling your home for $100,000 and I will list it for 6% (3% is my listing fee and 3% goes to the agent that brings the buyer).  If a buyer sees the sign or calls off the internet and does not have a Realtor I, as the listing agent, brought that buyer.  I may not represent the buyer, but my advertising dollars got them to us.  I am then entitled to the entire 6%.  So the seller is paying 6% (in this scenerio) regardless.  The listing agent isn’t going to pass off the saving (in most cases) to the buyer.  Why should they?  So it only makes sense to use someone who knows more about the process than you.  Yes, Realtors know more than you do.  It’s not a big deal, just relax.

So where do you start when buying your first home?  1) Mortgage Broker – Get qualified and informed.  2) Realtor – Have help getting the most for your money!

If I can help you buy your first home, CONTACT me!  I’d love to work with you!

CHRIS COWLEY
www.ChrisCowley.com
210-389-606
Chris@ChrisCowley.com

Just yesterday I took a client to a Kimball Hill neighborhood in Alamo Ranch, which in in San Antonio, TX.  We were actually just trying to get her an idea of what her $150k of buyer power could pull in during a buyer’s market.  As we walked into the model home she whispered to me, “There is no way I can afford to live in this area!”  I asked her to just hang with me and see what the on-site sales guy could show us.  He jumped right into his sales pitch, which I might add was nicely done without any pushiness, and proceeded to direct us to a home built on speculation that was about 1600 square feet and was originally listed at about $160k.  He then told us that because Kimball Hill was shutting down operations the home was discounted to $139k, well within my client’s budget.  The only problem – she didn’t fall in love with the house.  It was nice, no doubt.  The neighborhood offered more than she thought she could get, but the fact was the house just didn’t “do it” for her.  I took a look at list of available homes and saw one that was 1900 square feet and had originally been listed at $189k, but was marked down to $157k.  No too far out of our range, but still a stretch and really more than we were comfortable with paying.  The on-site guy said there was an additional 2% he could take off any home so we were getting closer.  “Let’s just check it out,” I suggested.  The home was AWESOME!  The floor plan was just right, the ceilings were taller than the first house, it had a study, and upgrades galore.  Now our only problem was the price.  $150k was the absolute top my client wanted to spend, and I could tell that would make her uncomfortable.  On top of that we weren’t looking to buy something ready so soon as my client is in a lease, but she just fell in love with a great house.  So what did we do?  We made an offer.  Our offer was $145k with a $1200 lease buyout.  That would get my client out of her lease without any additional funds coming from her pocket and put the house in a much more comfortable range for her.  And guess what – They accepted the deal just as we wanted!  Why?  Because Kimball Hill is going out of business.  Just like when any store goes out of business things are on big-time sale.  This house was originally priced nearly $45k more than she will end up paying. 

My point – Just because a builder is going out of business, don’t shy away from a potentially good deal!!

What to remember: 
You need to remember that the builder is going out of business so if you have an issue with the house after you close they will NOT be around to help you out.  With this in mind, MAKE SURE they have purchased a third party warranty for you.  The warranty my client is getting is actually BETTER than most builder warranties. 
You also need to remember the importance of a third party inspector.  The builder will still be in business when we close so before that we will have a third party inspector go through the house and identify any items that need correcting.  Between that and the warranty we should be in as good a shape as we could hope for, because at some point any builder could make an announcement that would prevent them from being around in future.

This is a tough real estate market.  Many builders jumped in when the getting was good, but now that money is not being thrown around like before they just can’t make it.  Maybe you can make a deal that would put you in a home or neighborhood you previously thought was way too expensive for you.  Always work with a qualified Realtor who can guide you through the process, make sure the builder offer a warranty from a THIRD PARTY, and never buy a house without an inspection from an inspector you hire (not just one a builder offers). 

If you live in San Antonio, TX and are looking to buy a new home, or a pre-owned home, I’d love to work with you to make sure you get the best home you can afford.  PLEASE, call or email me anytime!

CHRIS COWLEY
www.CHRISCOWLEY.com
210-389-6006
chris@chriscowley.c0m

I’ve lived in San Antonio, TX for nearly 9 years, and all of that time I have worked in the real estate industry so I have met a lot of people moving to our fine city. There seems to be debate on what can be a very sensitive subject for some of the people who live here. The aggrevation seems to be greater among those people who were born and raised here. That is the use of San Antone instead of the city’s full, and proper name, of San Antonio. I know this seems trivial if you are not from here, and just being here 9 years, I must admit, the argument is a bit lost on me, but it is a serious one.
Now it may seem odd that someone who hasn’t lived here their entire life has figured out the long-time gripe, but I have.
Here is how it is:
1) If you live here you cannot call San Antonio “San Antone”.
2) San Antone can be used in any song that speaks favorably of the city because it’s just too darn difficult to rhyme anything with San Antonio.
3) If you do NOT live, but have a deep admiration for the city and are speaking of the city graciously you can call San Antonio “San Antone”. This is especially the case if you are old. Old people often call it San Antone and that’s just fine.
The main thing to keep in mind is that it is NOT okay to call San Antonio “San Antone” if you are not doing so in a kind way. I have never heard of anyone doing this though so most of you are okay.
It is my sincerest hope that this clears up the debate and folks can now understand the rules.
Since there is no spell check feature available on this Quick Press I’m sure this will be full of mis-spelled words, but I think you get the message.
Chris Cowley
www.ChrisCowley.com
210-389-6006
Maybe sometime we’ll discuss why Bexar is pronounced like “bear”, or why it is not ok to call West Ave, “West” without the “Ave”. Who knows?

Is anyone else out there just a little sceptical of what the government says or does?  Well I am now more of a skeptic of both sides of the political isle than I have ever been so when I hear there is a “tax credit” for first time home buyers I want to know what the catch is.  Here is some decent information I found on this so-called “tax credit”:

The “first-time home buyer credit” is a temporary refundable, repayable tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price of a home, up to $7,500 for singles and married couples filing jointly. (Singles who buy a house together get only $3,750 each, as do married couples filing their tax returns separately.) […]

But the way the credit works, it’s actually more like an interest-free loan. Two years after you claim this credit, you have to start paying it back. The payback comes over 15 years in 15 equal installments–meaning you owe an extra $500 on your tax return each year. Sell your house, and you have to pay the rest back that year from your profits. (No profits, no pay back. Also, if you die, your heirs are off the hook.)

The allowed credit starts being reduced once a single has $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or once a couple has $150,000 of income. The credit goes away entirely at $95,000 for singles and $170,000 for couples.

So what you really get is a tax free loan.  That little bit of info is not on the main page of the website.  If you go to the FAQ section all the way down to number 16 you get:

Does the credit have to be paid back to the government? If so, what are the payback provisions?
Yes, the tax credit must be repaid. Home buyers will be required to repay the credit to the government, without interest, over 15 years or when they sell the house, if there is sufficient capital gain from the sale. For example, a home buyer claiming a $7,500 credit would repay the credit at $500 per year. The home owner does not have to begin making repayments on the credit until two years after the credit is claimed. So if the tax credit is claimed on the 2008 tax return, a $500 payment is not due until the 2010 tax return is filed. If the home owner sold the home, then the remaining credit amount would be due from the profit on the home sale. If there was insufficient profit, then the remaining credit payback would be forgiven.

I’m not saying this isn’t something you should look into if you are going to, “close on your new house between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.”  It may be a tool that is beneficial, but just remember that when you buy owe $150,000 on your house and sell it for $200,000 you will now not only have to pay Realtor fees and closing costs, but you will also have to pay back $7500 you “borrowed” which might leave you with something more like $24,500 profit when you are clearly expecting more. 

If you are a first time home buyer in San Antonio, TX please call me to help you navigate your way through buying your first home! 

Chris Cowley
210-389-6006
www.ChrisCowley.com

As a real estate agent I often think that my day to day activities are a good indication of what is going on in the world of real estate.  Why?  Because if I start getting calls from more and more people that they want to buy investment properties then I know other agents are as well.  So if more of us are getting those calls then I know there will, at some time there will be a shortage of investment properties on the market, or prices will rise.  On the other side, if my phone ain’t ringing then I know others’ are not either.  That or I am bound to go out of business. 

So what I am seeing in the real estate market?  The year has been an unusual one to say the least.  I’ve had 2 great months, a couple pretty good months, and I’ve had some months where I thought I wouldn’t ever see a closing again.  The one thing I think I have noticed most of all is that every time I think I’m dead in the water something happens to keep us going.  The phone rings with someone unexpectedly wanting to buy a house, I get an email from an agent on a listing that hasn’t had the showings it needs, etc. 

I certainly feels like we have hit the bottom.  Several months ago guys like Jim Kramer were saying that if you bought a house you would lose money, but now he is saying to not put money in the stock market and refi your house or go out and buy a new one.  Why?  Because investors make a living by buying things on sale.  We all know the saying buy low and sell high, but so few of us do that.  There is a section in the book The Purple Cow that talks about that to some extent.  Now, I’m totally paraphrasing here because I’m not really good on retention, but you have Trailblazers and they are the few who do the research and take the risk.  Trailblazers go out and buy a property when NOBODY else is.  They hold it and sell it and make a ton of money on it, and then they tell some friends about it.  Enough of those people (the general masses) start learning about this, but they are afraid to jump in.  More and more people slowly start doing it before the general masses do.  So by the time the general masses jump in and buy you are no longer “low”.  You are more like “mid” or “mid-high”.  That causes a problem because everything goes in cycles and, at some point, the market will take a down turn.  Now the Trailblazers that bought first aren’t too worried about it because they bought so LOW that even after the beginnings of the downturn they can sell at a profit.  A big chunk of the general masses cannot because they bought too high when things were sold at a premium.  So when should you buy?  Discount?  Or Premium?  Well, DISCOUNTS ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW!  HELLO!!

I often tell people that years from now you will look back on this time and say, “Man, had I bought that house I’d have made a bunch of mone!”  I totally think that is true.

If you are considering buying check out my website for more information, and if you are in San Antonio, TX and want to work with me, CALL ME!  EMAIL ME!  FLAG ME DOWN ON THE STREET!  That is what I am here to do!

Chris Cowley
www.ChrisCowley.com
210-389-6006

Ah remember the days of not so long ago when you could put a house under contract, let the builder build it and then sell it someone else for several times what you put it under contract for when you started?  In most cases those days are gone!  GONE!  So now real estate is a terrible investment choice, right?  Well, maybe not.

That strategy worked nicely when we were in a seller’s market.  It works until the market tops out and then you don’t see the rise in price you need to make the big bucks when it is time to sell, and in some cases (or parts of the country) the house may be worth less when you close on it than when you put it under contract!  The problem came when too many people got in on the action.   You had school teachers buying up properties to flip, and you had some properties that flipped many times and nobody ever lived in them!  It was crazy.  The way it worked was as long as the house gained appreciation nobody could lose! 

Now the charting line is going the other direction and this strategy can no longer yield returns.  So do you scrap investing in real estate all together?  I would say, “NO!”  What you have to do though is look at your local market (REAL ESTATE IS EXTREMELY LOCAL), look at what appears to have bottomed out price wise, buy it, and hold it for the length of time needed for it to gain value.  You may be thinking, “WHAT A TERRIBLE IDEA!”  But what if you can take a property that has nearly bottomed out and negotiate from there with the seller.  Essentially tell the seller that you understand they have the property priced to sell, but you still need an additional discount to buy it.  Then you have taken the property and added immediate value.  That value you can then reap when you sell.  This may sound strange to you, but this is how investors played the investing game for years before the last boom. 

• LOCATE A PROPERTY
• BUY IT AT A LARGE DISCOUNT
• ADD VALUE TO IT
• SELL

LOCATE A PROPERTY:  There are probably many properties available in your area.  That is the easy part!

BUY IT AT A LARGE DISCOUNT:  This is a trickier part.  You have to go through many properties to find one that will work.  Sometimes sellers are not willing to go that low, and sometimes they cannot go that low, but every now and then you find someone who can and WILL.

ADD VALUE:  This is typically what you see when people FLIP a property.  You remodel it, add a room, etc.  It doesn’t always have to be this extreme though.  I’ve seen properties in a tough market that just need to be cleaned and have the yard cut to make an improvement.  Remember in a BUYER’S MARKET there are more homes than buyers so buyers can be picky.  If the house is dirty and unattractive they will just pass it by.  I know of 2 properties just like this in my area that I have seen in the last couple days.  GREAT DEALS, but people are passing them by because they need some work – minimal work…really minimal!

SELL:  You have to be able to sell property…or do you.  Maybe you rent the property for a year or two while the market works itself out.  Or if the deal is right maybe you can sell it at a discount.  You have to know your area, and I suggest you work with someone who is knowledgeable.  Sell can be the trickiest part of all so have a game plan and a back up plan if you can’t sell it like you’d like.

If you are wanting to invest in San Antonio’s real estate market, call me!  I’ve worked with a number of investors and know how to make money in this market!

Chris Cowley

www.ChrisCowley.com

Selling your home is stressful despite the market conditions, but when you are in a buyer’s market you can really feel it!  A buyer’s market is defined as when there are more homes for sale in the market than there are buyers.  A buyer’s market is typically associated with more competitive pricing and an overall feeling of “it’s close, but not exactly what we want so we’ll keep looking” by buyers.  They know there are a lot of homes on the market so why settle? 

Realtors with a large number of listings love a SELLER’S MARKET because it is defined by having more buyers than homes for sale.  You can tell a SELLER’S MARKET when a house is listed for more money than any other comparable home has been purchased for in the area and there still is a buyer for it…sometimes several!  When Realtors have to actually work to get a home sold many turn to the OPEN HOUSE.  There are many different ways to market an OPEN HOUSE, but the question is, DO THEY WORK? 

I can answer that question with an emphatic – sometimes.  As a Realtor in San Antonio, TX I work hard to get my client’s homes sold quickly and for a fair price.  At times I use the OPEN HOUSE as a tool to get more people in the house.  Sometimes they work very well and sometimes I sit in the house by myself for most of the time. 

WHAT HOUSE MAKES FOR A GOOD OPEN HOUSE? 

-A house that already has a good deal of traffic going by the house really helps.  The more people who drive down the road and see the “Open House” signs increases the chances of additional folks stopping by. 

-A home with GREAT CURB APPEAL helps.  If the home doesn’t look good as you approach it then many people will just drive on by.  Make sure your grass is green and cut, flowers look good, and you are ready for the people to come by.

There are other things that really help, and if you want to discuss them further, call or email and we can talk through more ideas.  Of course, a Realtor who actively promotes and works to get people there makes a huge difference and if you are looking for such a Realtor, give me a call!

Chris Cowley

www.ChrisCowley.com

210-389-6006

What is a buyer’s market?  What is a seller’s market?  We’ve all heard the terms, but have really given good thought to what they mean – and more importantly what they mean to you?  Let’s look at each:

BUYER’S MARKET:  This means there are more SELLERS in the market than there are BUYERS.  When SELLERS are in greater number then you get excessive inventory.  The inventory is made up of several types of sellers; 1) Those who want to sell but don’t have to, 2) Those that really need to sell to make things easier on them, and 3) Those that absolutely have to sell!  All you need are a couple people in the third group to drop their prices and then the area the house is in gets tainted.  The Realtors of the buyers now going to that area will pull what has sold and will tell the buyer about the house.  That gives them leverage to ask for a lower price on your house.  Depending on what group you are in when you are selling will determine how you respond.  The bottom line on a SELLER’S MARKET is that inventory exceeds buyers.  This means you should not sell your home for the heck of it when your area is in a buyer’s market.  What this means for investors is the worse a buyer’s market gets, THE MORE YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING TO BUY!

SELLER’S MARKET: Obviously this is the opposite of the above, so what it means is that there are more potential BUYERS than there are homes to buy.  This is called a SELLER’S MARKET because typically sellers can set a price and if the buyer wants to live in that house they need to pay that price or there is a good chance someone else will and they will be left without a house!  What this means for you is that you would ideally love to sell your home in this type of market!  This is the market where your neighbor’s house sold for $500k while being on the market for 3 days, and yours is very similar so you would ask $550K.  If your home sells for that in short time there is a good chance your other neighbor may put his up for $575k, and so on until the price gets so high that buyers will not pay it.

So where are investor deals in a recession?  Well thing to remember is there are always deals out there.  You just have to know HOW to find them and WHERE to find them.  If we are in fact in a recession it is more likely that you will find investor deals largely from the slow down in the housing market rather than other factors that lead to a recessions (the “receding” of growth in the economy for 2 consecutive quarters).  So the deals are where they have always been, with people who CANNOT sell their homes and ARE willing to give up their equity if you will make their problem go away.  Those people were there in 2005 and are still here today. 

Essentially I don’t think the recession (if we are in one) means you will find deals.  That would be more likely if our unemployment rate was really high, but it is not.  If we are in a recession that was brought on by the beat up housing market then you could say there are more deals out there because of the recession, but I really think there are potentially more deals out there because we are in a buyers market.  Just because we are in a buyer’s market does not necessarily mean the we are in a recession, and conversely just because we are in a recessions does not neccessarily mean we are in a buyer’s market. 

The bottom line is that whenever we are in a buyer’s market the investor should be trying to buy houses that are good deals.  Typically so-called investors want to buy when we are in a seller’s market thinking that this time it can’t possible end.  True investors take advantage of a time when nobody will buy to get the best deals and sell when everyone thinks it is the best time to buy.  Sounds like a buy low – sell high strategy.  Something most of us have heard for years, but have not been educated enough to put into action.  So go educate yourself!

If I can help call me!

Chris Cowley

www.ChrisCowley.com

210-389-6006

Although we are not in a recession by the text book definition of one, times are clearly harder now than they have been in quite some time.  The industry that seems to be in the middle of all the talk is housing.  There is some thought the reason for the trouble was the greed of the mortgage companies and Realtors who did whatever it took to make deals happen.  Some think it is the fault of buyers who knew they couldn’t afford the houses they bought, but thought if they could just get some creative loan and stay in it for 2 years then they could sell it and make a fortune.  I have stated before that I find it odd that people from the government can say anything at all about greedy mortgage companies when a very large chunk of a house payment in the state of Texas goes to property taxes which are way too high and unfairly penalize people for living the American dream of home ownership!  So now we all have someone to blame, but what can we do to correct the problem?

Well first of all, we are lucky to be in Texas and even luckier to be in San Antonio!  I say that for reasons that have nothing to do with Texas Pride.  I say this because we still live in area that is among the most affordable in the country, and really one of the best places to live when you factor in climate.  You may be able to find cheaper housing in other areas, but how cold do their winters get??  The other reason we are lucky to be in San Antonio, TX is the amount of jobs that are continually streaming into our great city.  Now were just dealt a blow by AT&T when they announced they were going to move their headquarters to Dallas, but that really is the first bit of negative news we’ve had in a very long string of positives.  And when you think that losing 700 jobs is tough on your local economy remember that we took in about 20,000 new jobs last year!  This year looks to still be very strong as far as new jobs goes as well. 

All that being said we have seen a definite slow-down in our local market.  The days on market is longer than it has been in several years and prices are being forced down in some areas.  Now prices are still on the rise in most areas, but the fact they have come down at all is a huge deal to the people living in those areas!  So can it be fixed?  I believe it can.   I believe it can because I don’t think it is so bad that it is uncorrectable.  Here are two things that I think could really make a difference.  One is easy to do and one won’t happen easily, but I think it would really help solve our slow down.

1)  If you don’t need to sell take your home off the market!  In any market there are those that think their house will sell no matter what is going on around them.  They are the sellers that think because they put tile flooring down in the family room and bought new appliances that it is bound to sell at top dollar even though there are several houses on the market in their neighborhood that have been there for months.  They are the sellers that say, “We thought we’d just test the market to see if we could get a quick sale.”  They might.  That is the thing about real estate.  You “could” get a guy to walk through day one and pay you full price, but chances are you will not.  Chances are you will end up letting the house sit and then take it off the market, but no worries, right?  Well, guess again.  The problem is that when you re-list the home it now has to be off the market for 60 days to 6 months (our local MLS is still trying to figure out the exact game plan) before the history of the listing will be cleared from the agent report.  Meaning that on any listing you will see the DOM (days on market), but you will also see the CDOM (cumulative days on market).  The reason the MLS started doing this was because so many buyers would take the listing of the market for a little bit of time and re-list it just to get a new shot at picking up buyers on a short DOM showing.  The other negative is that if you re-list the home and a savvy agent pulls up the history of your property they will see that you have tried (unsuccessfully) to sell the home before.  This will convey a higher level of desperation to the potential buyers and there is a great chance you will get lower offers than if the home was only listed when you bought it, or never before.  So my suggestion is to only sell your house if you really need to.  Sell the house if you are moving out of state, need a larger home because of a new member of the family, but don’t sell just to see if you can.  It will end up hurting you and it add inventory to a market that already has too many home for sale.

2) San Antonio has to provide a realistic strategy to fix the traffic situation on 281 North of 1604.  There is no trust with TXDOT.  They have lied to the people of this great city too many times to be trusted.  It is obvious they have only one plan in mind with no regard to what the people want in place.  They suggest there is NO alternative other than a toll road, but if you look at 281 just about anywhere other than that stretch and the traffic flows smoothly…with no tolls.  Now I’m not for or against toll roads, but I against a semi public/semi private company that lied to my face.  I was at a TXDOT meeting where the speaker clearly said they had no intention of putting any toll roads on existing roads, and it wasn’t but a couple weeks later that it came out that they were in favor of tolling existing roads.  I actually think tolls would be a good alternative for the 281 corridor, provided the existing roads are not tolled or encumbered.  If TXDOT wants to build new roads and have them tolled then I’m probably okay with that, and my guess is that many are in the same boat.  I’m not sure why they haven’t looked at putting in overpasses over the just the lights that slow down the traffic.  That would be an easier and less expensive alternative.  Those are the types of questions I hear from clients.  Why nobody seems to be looking at those is the reason nobody trusts TXDOT.  In any case, solving that problem would help the real estate market because people are staying away from that area due to the traffic congestion.

Everyone in the real estate industry is wondering where we are in the cycle.  We had an upswing, leveling off, and now a down turn.  Are we at the bottom, or do we still have a ways to go before we hit the bottom?  Personally I believe now is a good time to buy because if we have any pricing still on the decrease it will be minimal enough that a couple year stay in the home will correct it. 

These are different times in the real estate market than we have experienced and it certainly is time to work with Realtors who know the market and know what they are doing.  If you are buying or selling a home in San Antonio, I really hope you call me to work with you on it. 

CHRIS COWLEY
www.CHRISCOWLEY.COM
210-389-6006

For some the real estate market in San Antonio is down right ugly!  If you own a home that is 2-5 years old from Blanco Rd. to Bulverde Rd. North of 1604 and are trying to sell it, then you know things are not going well!  But for everyone’s misfortune, someone else is making money!  That seems to be the case in today’s market.  While some people wonder if they will eventually lose their homes to foreclosure, some are buying exception deals with the plans to resell immediately, or hold until things settle down and then sell for big profit.

So the question is, “How do you find great deals on houses?”  Well, you have to ask yourself if the house you wish to purchase for a great deal is for your own use, or to own strictly as an investment.  If you want to live there, you have to realize you may have to take the bad with the good!  Great deals aren’t on EVERY street corner!  You have to search them out, and they may not be in your kids’ school district, or close to your church.  Can you look past that so you can focus on why you buy a great deal – TO MAKE MONEY? 

If you can then looking for a deal may be the way to go.  So who do you find deals, or how do you find houses at wholesale prices?  There are a couple ways:

1) You set out in search of them on your own.  Some call this Driving for Dollars.  You drive up and down streets looking for houses that have the potential to be deals.  Typically you are looking for the ugly dog on the street of pretty houses.  The one the neighbors would love to see cleaned up.  Once you find them you contact the owner to see if they would consider selling.  It can work, but it is work!

2) You could work with area wholesalers.  New term to you?  Well a wholesaler is just what is sounds like.  They sell houses at wholesale prices.  Most often they put a house under contract and then assign the contract to the end user for a few (or many) thousand dollars over their original contract price.  Basically they do the leg work for you!  Remember, not everyone is honest and respectable!  You will still have to research the deal to make sure it works.  All they have done is put the house under contract by weeding through the dozens that wouldn’t sell.  Although not all are honest, some are, and are great assets to you if you plan to do this often.  Make sure they are compensated and happy so they will bring you more deals!

3) You could work with a Realtor.  I have worked both as an investor and a Realtor and I can tell you that not all Realtors understand investors.  I have bought houses at prices that most Realtors wouldn’t believe was possible because most of them work solely in the retail market.  You want to work in the WHOLESALE market – big difference!

In almost all cases you will have to look at a lot of houses to find one that works.  Don’t get discouraged!  You have to be willing to be there when most have given up!  Stay focused, work with good people, and you will find some great wholesale deals!

If you are looking for wholesale deals in San Antonio, or if you have a deal you want to wholesale, please call me!

Chris Cowley

www.ChrisCowley.com

210-389-6006