Happy 4th of July and MYTHS & FACTS is here!!!

QUOTE......(something you might want to keep in mind):

"Thank a soldier and public safety officer today and every day!!! (this includes, Police, Firefighters & EMS"

----Todd A. Johnson (Real Estate Agent)

SPORTS:

Astros-- Final ballot results will be out this Sunday 7/2.  Looks like we've got some of our "Boys" representing HTown!!!  Congrats Boys!

53-26, .671 "Ain't" too shabby.  Still Numero Uno in the MLB.  LA Dodger .650, Arizona Diamondback .633, Washington Nationals .603.  Keep it up!!!  The most important part of the season is around the corner.  Stay strong......AND healthy!!

Rockets-- Looks like some activity going on.  Welcome to Houston Chris Paul!!  Hope you can help us get a Championship!

Oh yeah.....Mike D'Antoni Wins 2017 NBA Coach of the Year Award.....Congrats Coach D!!!

Dynamo-- 2nd place in division with 25 pts. behind KC (30 pts.)

Dash-- Having a tough year in 9th place with 10 pts.  GET OUT and support them!!!

CWS-- Congrats to the Florida Gators on their CWS title

Skeeters-- Still struggling a little.  29-37, .453, 8.5 games back

Texans-- Texans to hold training camp at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. VA

https://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-to-hold-training-camp-at-the-Greenbrier/646352fe-ec77-4053-a209-179b3b312083

First Pre Season game Aug. 9 at the Carolina Panthers @ 6:30pm NFL Network

First Season game Sept. 10 at HOME against Jacksonville Jaguars @ Noon CBS

https://www.houstontexans.com/schedule/season-schedule.html

​MYTHS & FACTS:

Ok, as promised, here are some thing Myths & Facts you may or may not been aware of:

Myth: A Real Estate agent is supposed to tell which schools are best for your kids and what areas are safe.  This is a Myth, because Fair Housing does not allow agents to "steer" clients to certain areas for any reason.  I always recommend that my clients ask their friends, family, colleagues.  I know many believe "that is what we are here for," but our we are subject to fines, license suspensions, and revocations for break any and all Fair Housing laws.  Along with your family, friends, and colleagues, consult greatschools.org and crimereports.com for you best assessment.

Fact:  You have purchased property in the past, and you recently closed on a property, and it seemed so different.  This is a Fact, because in Oct. of 2015, the CFPB implemented many new rules to protect, especially buyers.  This was a very delayed reaction to what happened with the housing market peaked at the beginning of 2006 and began to crash in later that year and into 2007, while hitting its all time low in 2012.  This caused closing to take on the safe side 40-45 days, HUD-1 has been replaced with the "Closing Disclosure" and many, many new rules that lenders have to follow with the intent to protect buyers so that they understand everything in the process of obtaining financing.  Some things have been tweaked, and we have been back to the "normal" 30 day closing for quite a while.  Smart and reliable lenders began implementing some of the "new rules" in the summer of 2015, and we are ALL glad the postponed implementation until Oct. instead of Aug., arguable the busiest closing month of the year.

Myth:  A property that is very similar to yours (or a comparable/comp) recently sold for lower than what the average and/or median price, but that shouldn't affect your property value.  This is Myth, because the stats and market don't lie.  If this is a true comp, not just a house down the street, then higher and lower prices do affect average and median prices (price/sf.).  And my humble opinion is that an effective way to "calculate" your property value is price per square foot.  There is quite of bit that goes into properly pricing a property.  Quick CMAs/Stats are helpful, and most of us use them.  BUT, especially in certain areas, drilling down in more detail is necessary to properly price a home/property.

Myth:  You use your local county appraisal's district to make your personal assessments on the value on your property, and nothing else is a better tool than that.  Appraisal Districts (and even Zillow & Trulia) are good tools to get a general idea about your valuation only, and many of you will NOT like this answer.  A county assessment, even their "market value" assessment, is only a general gauge, and that is about it.  The "Market" dictates values, higher or lower than assessments by your local appraisal district.  Our beloved appraisal districts' values as "all over the board," don't always make a lot of sense, and do not understand the market all year round.  It is very fair to say that the market changes off and on throughout any given year or season, and this is not demonstrated properly with appraisal districts-- humble opinion of course.  A 3rd party appraiser, hired by a buyer's lender, will use the closest "true" sold properties (comparables/comps) within the closest of proximity possible,  in the past 3 months, then go to 6 months if there aren't enough or "fair" comps.  If they have to, they will keep going further out in time and proximity or may bring in a property that is a "close" comp.  Some areas just don't have as much activity as others.  If you are serious about selling, please consider asking your agent to sit down with you to assess your asking price.   You may also want to consider hiring an appraiser for about $400 or $500.  This will help you the safest if and when a lender orders a appraisal for a buyer's financing.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE & GENERAL REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS:

Check out these links for some CRE and general market "stuff":

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/06/27/206398/confusion-in-regards-to-housing-prices-in-houston/

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/healthcare/houstons-healthcare-real-estate-booms-despite-oils-bust-53856?be=relyontodd%40gmail.com&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mon-05-jun-2017-000000-0500_houston-re

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-gains-aiming-for-four-winning-sessions-in-a-row-2017-06-27

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/other/nows-your-chance-to-tell-txdot-how-you-feel-about-i-45-76026?utm_source=MorningBrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170628_houston_morningbrief&be=relyontodd%40gmail.com

***Come back mid July for local statistics and updates on our market***

Once again, Happy 4th of July to you and OUR U.S.A!!!  (remember my quote from above!)

God Bless our Troops, our Public Safety Officers, and our USA!!!

https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

https://www.the100club.org/

#@RelyOnTodd