Is it Cheaper to Rent or to Buy?

I guess that depends on where you live.  

   In Dallas and its suburbs, you should buy.  However, if you move to Fort Worth, maybe you should rent?  New York City?  Definitely rent.  In fact, Inman News reports that It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nation’s 50 largest cities.  Inman cites a a quarterly report released today by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.

   The folks at Trulia have produced a rent vs. buy index that compares the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and town-homes in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011. 

   Ken Shuman, Trulia’s spokesperson, stated, “With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying.
   “As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home — much more so than in previous years.”

   A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it’s much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city. 

Top 10 cities to buy vs. rent:

Rank	City	State	Price-to-rent ratio
1	Las Vegas	Nev.	6
2	Phoenix	Ariz.	7
3	Arlington	Texas	7
4	Fresno	Calif.	8
5	Miami	Fla.	8
6	Mesa	Ariz.	8
7	Jacksonville	Fla.	9
8	Sacramento	Calif.	9
9	Detroit	Mich.	10
10	Omaha	Neb.	10

Source: Trulia.com

   Inman reports that this index considers the total cost of homeownership compared to the total cost of renting. Calculations for total rental cost include rent and renters insurance.  The total cost of homeownership was highest, compared to the cost to rent, in New York; Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City, Mo.

Top 10 cities to rent vs. buy:

Rank	City	State	Price-to-rent Ratio
50	New York	N.Y.	39
49	Fort Worth	Texas	30
48	Kansas City	Mo.	22
46	Memphis	Tenn.	20
47	Los Angeles	Calif.	20
43	San Francisco	Calif.	19
44	Boston	Mass.	19
45	Seattle	Wash.	19
42	Portland	Ore.	18
41	Oklahoma City	Okla.	16

Source: Trulia.com
http://www.inman.com/

Working By Referral

When we enlist the services of any professional, aren’t we really looking for someone we can trust—someone proven who comes highly recommended and is willing to go the extra mile to help us achieve our goals?

Relationships Are More Important Than Transactions
  Working by referral is the commitment I have made to provide my clients with unsurpassed service whenever they need me, and to maintain long-term relationships that will offer added benefits for years to come. My primary source of new business is referrals from people who already know and respect me. Since I don’t have to spend excessive amounts of time prospecting and promoting myself, I can focus my time and
resources on the tasks that benefit you most, and always deliver truly exceptional service.

Service Above and Beyond
I devote myself to serving the needs of my best clients like you before, during and after the sale. I will stay in
touch and send you valuable information every month, and I’ll also call from time to time just to see if you
need anything. There are a number of ways I can help, such as researching your home’s current value, or suggesting improvements that will enhance its resale potential. And when you have a need for a particular trade or service, I know many reliable professionals that I am happy to recommend. If there is ever something that I can do for you, please feel free to ask.

You Control My Business
  I want to earn your confidence and your referrals; therefore I have a vested interest in making sure
that you are completely satisfied at the end of our transactions together. My goal is that you will be so
impressed that you can’t wait to tell your friends and family about me and the fantastic service you received

Oh, by the way... if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service I provide, please call me with their name and business number. I will gladly follow up and take great care of them.

(c)Copyright 2010 Buffini & Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission

Countdown to J.T.'s Birthday!

Texas Independence Day

Happy Texas Independence Day fellow Texans!!!

A Rant: SPAM Spam spam spam....

Spam.

I hate spam.  Who doesn't?  What I really hate is the "Unsubscribe" option.  Listen, Bonehead, I never subscribed to your digital detritus and have no interest in it at all!  To unsubscribe, one MUST have subscribed.  It is an absolute law of our language!  Now, if you want to offer me the opportunity to un-spam myself, or "To reject our unsolicited marketing crappola, click here" then you might win my respect--but not my business.

I can only think of one spam solicitation I have ever attended to and grasped hold of in a transactional manner.  That spam email was for a unique product.  Dear Gussie, there is another word.  Can we all agree that unique means one.  Not rare, nor unusual, but singular.  One.  Only.  So, this unique product caught my eye and I continue to trade with that service provider today.  But the sea of spam I am awash in is all very common.  Are there any shortages of mortgage lenders?  Is the MLS down?  Then why are you sending me e-flyers of properties for which I have no actively shopping buyer-clients?  If you need a CE class in your field, could you find 20 to choose from without the aid of a spam concierge?  Yet I get 3-4 slices of spam a week telling me about every school for real estate brokerage continuing ed. options--ironically, I don't get any spam from the one source I will always use for CE.

Ok.  Enough.  One last confessional defense against a charge of hypocrisy.  I do send out a lot of postcards, letters, and real estate information to fill the mailboxes of my friends and acquaintances. Ah-ha!  In that confession lie three defenses against prosecution. 1) I use the post, not the email.  Isn't there a level of urgency with email that snail mail lacks?  2) I send out material that is intended to either inform or amuse, not merely solicit your dollars.  And, 3) I only mail to folks with whom I am acquainted or at least live near.

I now release you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Getting Good Photos of Your Home for Sale?

Does their photography stink,
or does the house need major foundation repair?

Seriously.
It's a real one right off the MLS.
Are you buying the house or the lamp?

"Your Broker Matters"  


That's just my latest clever marketting tag line, right?  WRONG.  Maybe it shouldn't be so, but it is very true that the level of expertise and commitment to quality that your broker brings to the table is very relevant to your selling and buying success.

So, I guess the used shampoo is included?
This tub makes my neck hurt.

To prove the point: this is a list of photography tips I just saw, written for listing agents.  Take a quick look....

Photography tips for listing agents

You will need: A camera, a towel, a table or sturdy flat surface, a hammer, a phone and a room that needs to be photographed.

1. Remove camera from case.
2. Remove battery from camera and put it in your pocket.
3. Place towel on flat surface.
4. Place camera on top of towel.
5. Fold towel over camera until it is completely covered.
6. Pick up the hammer and hit the camera at least 10 times. When the camera is flat you have hit it enough times.
7. Use the phone to call a photographer.
8. Carefully pick up the towel and keep it folded and toss it in the trash (this part may take some practice).
9. Take the battery to a recycling center.

Ha!  JTOden Realty has worked with a professional photographer for listing images for years now.  It seemed OBVIOUS to us.  To read the whole of Teresa Boardman's article at Inman News click here.

Meagan Block Photography... done the RIGHT way.

Your Broker Matters.  Really.

To Build On or to Move? That's the question.

So...

You've found a nice little home and you like the neighborhood, the schools, the location and the house.
You have plans for updating it and improving as you go.
After a while you realize that the only thing your home needs to be perfect for the rest of your lives is another bedroom, or a game room, or a larger master bath.  So, what do you do?  Move or remodel?

The objective analysis of this choice will come to you after your call your REALTOR and get a good referral for a general contractor.  He'll do an analysis and produce for you an itemized bid estimate for your project.  In my area, the cost for adding a game room could be as much as $105 per square foot.



A REALTOR can also tell me that my home would likely sell for less than $105 per square foot.  Furthermore, and this is important, there is a diminishing return per square foot.  If your home sells for $100 per sq. ft. and you add 550 sq. ft. you do NOT necessarily add $55,000 to the value of the home.  Nevertheless, adding a room to a house adds more than just price-per-sq.-ft-value to a home and your REALTOR can help you evaluate that potential gain.

Let me divert for a second here and say out loud, please, please don't turn your garage into anything but a garage?  Garages are garages and rooms are rooms.  Don't use the toilet for a planter and don't rent out your master closet to migrant workers, no matter how big it seems!  Garage conversions are almost always a negative value characteristic.




Now, the subjective analysis is the second important part of your decision making.  We started out saying this was your perfect home, neighborhood, schools, location, and yard.  Those things can't always be replicated by moving.  For example, if you live in a cul-de-sac, those are hard to come by and finding a cul-de-sac home that cures your other issues may be unreasonable.  If you have 0.3 acres in an area where everything is 0.15 acres, or if you have a nice view, a creek, or a greenbelt you will have a greatly reduced selection of for-sale homes in any given area of town.  Now, you have entered into the *Amenities Zone*!


If the amenities of your property are more dear to you than the temporal value of the home, you may be ready to do an expensive remodel.  If you have looked and can't find your present home + whatever you think it is lacking, then you may be ready for a remodel.  Again, your REALTOR is a vital asset here.  He can tell you how much house is too much for your neighborhood, what your add-on is likely to do for the over all resale appeal of your home.

Remember, an independent broker REALTOR gets paid to be objective, not conciliatory.  When folks ask me about their remodeling ideas, I first tell them what I would want as an agent selling their home.  "Well Mr. Jones, I'd have a tough time selling a home with a master bedroom add-on meat packing plant."  Or, "Yes, Mrs. Smith, granite countertops are a super idea and a real value-add should you ever decide to sell this home."  Then it occurs to me, "And you'll really enjoy them whether you sell in 6 months or 6 years."  Oh yeah, "No Mr. Jones, I'm not at all certain that a meth lab would be any better."

Well.  As you can see, there are powerful objective AND subjective elements to this discussion.  You and your family have to decide if you are moved to action by either.  No one reason is usually enough to make the decision to remodel, build additional room(s), or pack up and move.  Either way, the friendly advice of a REALTOR should be a premium asset to your plans.

Oh, one more thing, if you find yourself just wanting to wipe the lot clean and build one from scratch--just the way you want it--I can help with that too!

TEXAS' NOVEMBER HOME SALES DOWN, PRICES UP

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – More than 13,700 existing homes were sold in Texas last month, according to newly released data from Texas Multiple Listing Services (MLS). That's a 24 percent drop from November 2009.
Meanwhile, the median price for an existing home increased by 3 percent last month to $146,700, and there was a 7.6-month inventory.
November 2010 MLS data for many Texas cities (current as of Dec. 21, 2010) are available on the Real Estate Center website. Here is a sampling:

	Sales	Change from Last Year	Median Price	Change from Last Year	Months' Inventory
Abilene	121	down 7%	$85,700	down 25%	6.4
Austin	1,345	down 22%	$181,300	up 3%	6
Beaumont	150	up 9%	$150,700	up 21%	11.2
Brownsville	49	down 21%	$95,000	down 5%	--
Dallas	2,736	down 27%	$156,100	up 3%	6.9
Fort Worth	577	down 24%	$106,800	down 7%	7.1
Houston	3,905	down 23%	$151,000	No change	7.8
Killeen- Fort Hood	160	down 39%	$125,700	up 1%	7.9
Longview- Marshall	142	down 30%	$122,900	up 2%	9
McAllen	150	up 7%	$106,000	up 3%	13.9
Midland	88	down 17%	$180,000	up 11%	5.8
Port Arthur	38	down 14%	$95,000	down 24%	12.7
San Antonio	1,249	down 22%	$152,900	up 8%	8
Texarkana	55	down 10%	$102,500	up 3%	9
Waco	146	down 6%	$129,200	up 24%	8.9
Texas	13,745	down 24%	$146,700	up 3%	7.6

Finally! En Fuego Cigars opens in Murphy!!!

En Fuego Murphy is just hours away from opening and they want all of us to come and help break the store in properly. They will be having an opening party Thursday night. Feel free to grab your friends and come on out and party with us.


In Murphy 


Excellent!
   

HAPPY Holidays?

Humbug!

I'm very disappointed in my beloved Murphy: there are scant few homes with Christmas light displays! I can find whole streets, half a mile long without one single decoration. What's the deal people??? Has Scrooge won? 


To combat this lackadaisical holiday spirit, we are announcing the JTOden Realty Christmas Lights Decoration Competition.


Winner get's $100 gift-card medley. Post your address here for evaluation, or email me if you are afraid that Jack Frost will ID-theft you. Outdoor displays only. Not at all limited to Murphy only but I'm not driving to Fort Worth or Florida. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


(PS Runner up gets maybe a slice of pumpkin pie)