San Antonio-Valley Forge
San Antonio-Valley Forge subdivision housing market summary consist of eight active listings. None of the eight homes are under contract at this time. In the past three months there have been ten homes sold in Valley Forge Subdivision. The average price per square foot for homes sold in Valley Forge during the past three months is sixty-three dollars. The current average price per square foot for the listed homes for sale in Valley Forge is seventy-two dollars. For more information about this San Antonio subdivision market summry click here.
Krishna Perkins
San Antonio-High Country
San Antonio-High Country Subdivision housing market summary consist of ten homes sold in the past three months and currently seven homes pending sale for the month of September 2009. The average price per square foot for homes sold in San Antonio-High Country subdivision is $69 dollars. The average for pending sales is $70 per square foot. To view the complete housing market summary for this San Antonio subdivision click here.
Krishna Perkins
Water Saving Landscapes
Water saving landscapes can be a hot selling feature especially when you live in an area susceptible to drought. We have just come out of a record setting summer in San Antonio for 100 degree heat in 2009. With dead lawns, sky rocketing water bills and fines reaching hundreds of dollars, more eco-friendly lawns are catching on here. Drought resistant plants (AKA xeriscaping) need less water and can add lasting beauty to your home. When considering the best plants for your home, visit your local nursery or visit the saws website for tips and links to more water saving landscape ideas.
Krishna Perkins
Home Owners’ Insurance
Home owners’ insurance should be among your top priorities when searching for a home. Your monthly payment will be determined by many factors. Be sure to shop around for an insurance provider with a good rating and the coverage you need. Don’t forget to consult with your insurance company early when you find a home. Your insurance company can tell you if there have been any recent claims on a home that could effect your decision to make the purchase. Also a big concern for the San Antonio area is flooding. We have flood zones all over and they do change from time to time. Flood insurance is not included in a regular policy and can be very expensive.
Current home owners can also benefit by shopping around since rates change every year and switching companies can save. In fact I’m going to switch my policy this year. Yikes! I’ve been over paying.
Visit The Texas Department of Insurance to compare companies
Krishna Perkins
Termite Inspection
Termite inspection is often a forgotten expense buyers face and neglect on a regular basis. Just recently I noticed some termites in my own bathroom sink! They had come out of the wall behind my mirror and fell into the sink. I later found out that they were coming in through the plumbing. It’s a miracle I found them before they could do more damage. The home had a previous inspection before we bought it and there were no termites at the time. However, it did have previous treatments for termites before the inspection.
My pest control tech explained to me that there was a recent spike in activity due to the rain we just had. Here in San Antonio we have Subterranean termites. Subterranean termites will start swarming in the spring usually, but when in a drought you are more likely to see them after some much needed rain comes in, so keep your eyes open. They can come through plumbing space in the slab or shifting cracks.
Don’t let termites go unchecked. An inspection for a buyer can start around $100. Extreme damage can cost thousands. Don’t be affraid to ask for a discount or shop arround. If you own your home many pest control experts will give you a free inspection and only charge for the treatment. Treatment can be around $350 depending on what needs to be done and what type of home you have. After each termite inspection or treatment, pest control will leave a sticker under the kitchen sink (it’s the law). Also termite reports, if available, will be listed on a seller’s disclosure notice when a house is listed for sale. This information will serve you in looking for future termite activity in problem areas.
For detailed pictures and descriptions of termites click here.
Covenant Partners
http://www.sahomelocator.com
Great Mexican Food Restaurants to Try in San Antonio
Great Mexican Food restaurants to try in San Antonio are in no short supply. You can find Mexican food on almost any street. My favorite places to eat on the North East Side of San Antonio are; Chuy’s,Salsalito and Los Generals.
Each has its own appeal so try all of them if you can. Chuy’s and Salsalito serve lunch and dinner. Los Generals serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Los Generals is a great mom and pop place if you want some good local food. I eat breakfast at other places but I think Los Generals takes the cake.
Krishna Perkins
Energy Efficiency
‘Energy efficiency’ is here to stay. What are you going to do in order to separate your self from the competition? Home buyers and sellers can both make wise choices by reading this.
You can start by auditing your home’s features in a list format to focus your attack.
Energy Star items in the home:
Air conditioner
Ceiling fans
Food disposal
Heater
Refrigerator
Stove and range
Water heater
Next list the energy saving structural features:
Radiant barrier
Insulation rating
Windows
Weather striping
Ventilation
Finally, consider the cost of adding new items based on your own personal budget and goals for how soon you need to sell. Consult a local agent for a list of recent sales statistics to give you an idea of how far you should go with upgrades. The sooner you start adding these upgrades to your home the sooner you will start saving money on a monthly basis. And when it comes time to sell you will have a great list of features to market your home to potential buyers.
Note: Your local energy provider may offer rebates for adding energy saving features to your home. Time and availability is limited on these rebates so act soon to maximize your savings. Our local San Antonio provider is CPS energy.
Krishna Perkins
Hurry up and wait for your loan
Hurry up and wait for your loan home buyers.
The same bad news goes for sellers these days as well so don’t worry you won’t be alone if it happens to you. I’m waiting for a late closing due to loan issues at this very moment. In fact, all but a couple of my closings this quarter have been late (30, 60 and 90 days late).
“So, what’s the deal?” my clients ask.
Well, if we subtract any lost time the buyer contributes to the process we are left with:
1. rookie loan officers (lenders are cutting expensive people to be more profitable)
2. rookie processors (again more expense cutting)
3. new federal regulations (they mean well but they slow the process down with more hoops for loan officers and processors to jump through)
“So, what do we do?” my clients ask.
A. Shop for a lender early. This is not a new piece of advice, it’s just much more important these days because of all the new changes. Not all lenders have sent their studs packing. You can still find a good loan officer, but you have to look. Chances are if you can find a good loan officer you will find a good processor or a loan officer who has a good relationship with the processor.
B. Start a file right away with all your important docs. Ask your lender for a check list and keep your file up to date as you shop. Getting your docs scanned to your self as an e-mail for easy access is also a good idea especially if you work a tight schedule. I can not tell you how many times we needed a docs to be resubmitted because it got misplaced at the lender office. Doing this will make it easier for you to forward any docs to the processor from work via e-mail right away.
C. Finally be as patient as possible. If you start early enough and keep organized this will be much easier. Remember that everyone else wants your deal to close too. I know I do. 
Northeast San Antonio housing market report for August 2009
North East San Antonio housing market report for August 2009 shows most inventory is still selling at 97% of the list price. Consider this average when considering offers on purchases and sales. Both buyers and sellers should know the average percentage under or over the list price homes are selling for in any given area. That’s right! In some cases in certain areas there are homes selling for higher prices than they are listed for. Ask your realtor for the most recent market summary of the area you wish to purchas in to get an idea of how much negotiating room you may find for that area.
