Tag Archives: Arlington Real estate

What Is A Real Estate Appraisal?

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paper docs

If your home is under contract that means it is sold, right?

That’s not always the case.  When selling a home, there are three main stages during the transaction where contracts can fall out.  Those are:

  1. The Inspection
  2. The Appraisal
  3. Final underwriting for the buyer’s loan

The Inspection Process:

The buyer pays the seller an amount that “buys” him days to inspect the home and the ability to cancel the contract. This is called the “Option Period.” During this time, the buyer can terminate the contract for ANY reason. The highest percent of contract terminations occur here.

The Appraisal Process:

The buyer’s lender orders an appraisal of the property to protect their loan investment.  If the appraised value is lower than the agreed purchase price, there are 3 options:

  1. Seller can lower the price to the appraised value
  2. Buyer can bring more cash to closing to compensate for the price difference
  3. Seller and buyer can share the cost of the difference between the purchase price and appraisal value
  4. Buyer can terminate the contract and receive their earnest money refund

Final Underwriting for the Loan

This is where cash is KING – there is no underwriting required for a cash purchase.  A prequalification letter from the buyer does not mean the buyer is totally approved for the loan.  Typically, the lender has not reviewed tax documents, divorce decrees, overtime information, and many other items that could disqualify a buyer’s loan.  This is done in the final underwriting process and at this point in the process, there is a small risk of contract fall out.

Of course, using a great realtor team like The Christenberry Group for your home sale and purchase keeps you in the know about your closing process, and helps you “fail proof” your move.  Give us a call – 817-504-4338 or check out Jean Team Homes.

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You’ll Never Believe!

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Week 34_You'll Never Believe

You’ll Never Believe!

That Real Estate is a lot like delivering a baby!

It’s relatively easy to deliver a baby or close a real estate transaction when everything goes according to plan.  However, when things get challenging and life throws you that curve ball, that’s when the true professionals and specialists really show up.  Here are some examples of recent curve balls in real estate and what my amazing affiliates and vendors were able to do to help:

*Closing a home in 1 week (cash deal) and inspector finds foundation problems – Thomas Engineering was able to get us an evaluation with 1 day notice and this saved the sale for my client.

*AC went out on a listing 1 day before final closing walk thru and Golden Air was able to get AC serviced and repaired the same day we called.

*Buyer’s documents were late arriving at title, and our title rep at Old Republic Title stayed after hours to get our seller who was leaving town to sign closing paperwork.

*3 days before closing, the lender for our buyer told us that the trees had to be trimmed away from the house they were buying or they couldn’t close.  Dennis Elmore, my buyer’s agent personally trimmed the trees so buyers could close.

We love our affiliates, vendors and agents – and of course babies!

Does A Home Loan Scare You?

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Does a Home Loan Scare You?

Does a Home Loan Scare You?

Well, it doesn’t need to…  I talk to lots of buyers every day that procrastinate when it comes to speaking with a lender about a mortgage.  Some are nervous about their credit scores, but others simply have heard myths like ”pulling your credit lowers your credit score”.  The bottom line is that when it comes to buying a home, information is power and the more you know and understand about your loan process the more confident and worry free you can be when you buy that new wonderful home.

Granted, some lenders are not worth a grain of salt and they arrogantly talk circles around clients instead of taking the time to explain, educate and inform clients about the process.  However, there are also some really great, service friendly lenders who will spend as much time as needed explaining the process and helping a buyer feel more secure with their home purchase.

A great lender will email the client a fees worksheet that clearly outlines various types of loans that the client qualifies for, discloses loan origination fees, down payment requirements and the buyer’s closing costs – basically all monies needed at the closing.  They will also provide information about monthly payment amounts and estimated taxes and insurance amounts.

There are a number of items that the lender needs from the buyer such as a loan application, tax records, W2’s, verification of employment forms, copies of bank accounts – just to name a few.  Our favorite lenders ask for these documents the day of application so they can verify that the buyer fully qualifies for the loan.  This avoids so many pitfalls that can happen in the loan process – especially since the buyer sometimes may have a situation that he doesn’t know will cause problems with the loan – and through analysis of these documents, the lender can confirm the qualification.

Working with a lender before you start looking at homes is the best way to go!  It allows you to know what price range home you want to look for and begins the education process that is so crucial to owning a home.  Give us a call if you want the information for our preferred lenders.  We love them and they take great care of our clients!!

Nearby Great Escapes

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Nearby Great Escapes

Nearby Great Escapes

Helping our clients buy and sell property is our passion. We love what we do and work hard to do it well. At this time of year, many hard working people start to dream about vacations and exciting “escapes” from the steadiness of our schedules. What is so great about our area is that there are so many nearby Great Escapes that it doesn’t require a lot of money to get away from it all.

Check out these fun “daycations”

  1. In Ft. Worth – Visit the FW Zoo, Hip Pocket Theatre, Catch the train at the T&P Building, Sundance Square for music, Art at the Modern and Kimbell Museums, Movies at the Coyote Drive In, Drama at The Hip Pocket Theater, Nature at the Botanic Garden and Cowboy culture at the Stockyards.
  2. In Granbury – Visit the Granbury Opera House, Brazos Drive in, Granbury Marina for canoes, kayaks, fishing and food and the Granbury Town Square for food, wine, music, art and clothes
  3. In Arlington – Visit the Levitt Pavillion for outdoor music, Theatre Arlington for fun kid plays, Friday Food Truck night at River Legacy, Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor, the Planetarium at UTA and The Rangers Ballpark
  4. In Benbrook – Ride horses at the Benbrook Stables, rent boats and sail or fish at Benbrook Lake, visit the Lost Oak Winery in Burleson – a stone’s throw from Benbrook, and on your way back to Fort Worth, eat dinner at the Edelweiss German Restaurant.
  5. In Dallas – Visit the Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas Zoo, Arboretum, Dallas World Aquarium, Highland Park Villages for high end shopping, The Science Place Museum, Dallas Arts District and don’t forget Dallas Top Golf for a different kind of fun.

Make your summer a great one!