San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®: Texas

This post originally appeared on www.RErockstar.com on May 26, 2010.

Do you have to tell the buyer?

Death is a topic that most people don’t want to talk about in general and in real estate, it’s no different. I’ve been asked a few times about the details regarding death and disclosure in the state of Texas (more specifically, in San Antonio) when buying and selling a home. Questions such as; “This home seems cheap for this neighborhood, did someone die here?,” “It says ‘estate sale‘, does that mean that grandma died in the house?,” or “Do you know how they died?” are common, especially if there’s some indication of death, such as an estate sale.

The Texas Property Code covers this in Section 5.008(c):

Section 5.008(c) A seller or seller’s agent shall have no duty to make a disclosure or release information related to whether a death by natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property occurred on the property or whether a previous occupant had, may have had, has, or may have AIDS, HIV related illnesses, or HIV infection.

When a seller (or someone else) dies on or in a property, there is no requirement to disclose – as long as the death is related to natural causes, suicide, or unrelated to the property’s condition (if it is related to the condition of the property, you should be disclosing the defect, regardless of the death). However, the Texas Property Code does not mention homicide (murder), and this becomes a gray area that is often discussed in real estate law circles.

Disclose, disclose, disclose.

It is my opinion that disclosure is the best course of action when it comes to death. I am not an attorney and therefore can only tell sellers and buyers in San Antonio what the Texas Property Code states (and refer them to a real estate attorney who specializes in these issues), but when in doubt – disclose. I’ve never heard of a case where a seller runs into trouble because they’ve disclosed too much.

My view is that you’re better off disclosing the death now, before your neighbors do. Neighbors like to talk and tell potential buyers info they know about a home. No one wants to be surprised by the news of a death on the property, so if you disclose it up front, you eliminate that potential awkward situation when the buyer comes back to you and says “I hear someone died on the property.”

If you’ve experienced a death in your home or on your property and you wish to not disclose the fact to your agent or any potential buyers, I suggest you speak with a qualified real estate attorney beforehand to be sure you don’t run afoul of any laws.

photo courtesy of astimewise

Spring Vistas in San Antonio 78251

Spring Vistas is a popular neighborhood on San Antonio's Northwest side located between Potranco and W Military Drive (map).  A strong military community, with Lackland Air Force Base being nearby, Spring Vistas offers excellent access to Sea World, shopping and dining, and major highways 1604, 151, and 410.

Offering a variety of home sizes and floorplans, Spring Vistas has what you're looking for.  As part of the North Side Independent School District (NISD), Spring Vistas has Bob Lewis Elementary School within the community (located on Seascape) which makes it convenient for short walks to school.

The pool and amenity center of Spring Vistas are surrounded by mature oaks - making the pool a secluded hideaway and a hidden oasis in the Texas summers.  Centrally located to most of the homes, the recreation center is a short walk for just about everyone.

With the summer time military PCS orders beginning to be issued, expect to see more activity in Spring Vistas over the next few months.  More homes for sale and more buyer traffic which can lead to multiple offers and higher prices.  Whether you're ready to sell your home in Spring Vistas or make it your new home, come visit the community and see why so many residents love this area.

Search homes for sale in Spring Vistas

Want to search all of San Antonio?  Use the San Antonio homes search below.

Visit the San Antonio Neighborhoods section of RErockstar.com for coverage of more communities throughout San Antonio. Don't see what you're looking for? Call me at (210) 646-HOME and I'll add photos, videos, information, and more.

Video released.

Now that Takara and her calf have had some time to rest, it looks like they're ready to enjoy their time at Sea World San Antonio.  Like most animals bonding with their mothers, the new calf has a lot to learn and it looks like Takara is ready for the task.  I can't wait to get over to San Antonio and see the latest addition to Sea World.

To the new calf: I welcome you to San Antonio and hope you have a wonderful time in our city.  Although you won't be able to stroll the Riverwalk (and if you could it would be kind of freaky), we've got a great city full of fun - and you're now part of it!

photo courtesy of jeku arce

Sea World San Antonio has a new Shamu.

Look out Shamu, you've got competition!  Sea World San Antonio announced the birth of a new killer whale calf by Takara, an 18 year old Orca.  My wife can't get enough of Sea World (map), but I have yet to visit (for some reason, I've been out of town every time we've had visitors that she went there with), but with an announcement like this, I feel a certain pride in San Antonio and the Sea World staff.  Breeding any large animal in captivity is typically not an easy feat, but Sea World has been rather successful in their efforts with killer whales, which are truly magnificent to watch (I've seen them in San Diego).  Amazing intelligence, agility, and understanding of their surroundings, it should be interesting to watch the new calf grow up through the years.

FHA Loan Changes - Good Idea?

Yesterday, I re-blogged a post about FHA loans, originally written by Ken Cook, one of the lenders I really trust when it comes to FHA information and advice.  I had read his article with great interest, as any change in any lender's rules, regulations, or requirements - directly affects me and my clients.

I'm not a mortgage wizard, which is why I surround myself with the best lenders I can find - so that when I do have questions or my clients need more explanation of a mortgage issue, I can get them the answers or at least have them chat with the lenders I know.  I do try and stay up to speed on all the issues though and the new ideas about what to do with FHA loans in order to refill the coffers of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's FHA funds were the subject of Ken's post.

The problem is simple; with foreclosure rates skyrocketing, the FHA has had to pay out more and more insurance claims to the mortgage companies.  Part of every FHA loan is the mortgage insurance premium (both upfront and monthly).  The upfront mortgage insurance premium is paid (who would have guessed?) upfront at closing.  However, it is possible to roll that premium into your financing (so many people don't actually bring that cash to the closing table).  The monthly mortgage insurance premium is a monthly fee tacked onto your your mortgage payment.  Like other insurances, you're paying today, in case something goes wrong tomorrow.  In the event a home buyer defaults on their loan and the house is foreclosed on, the lender gets paid out of the FHA funds that are built up through the collected of these mortgage insurance premiums.

Now that we have that FHA primer out of the way (there's a lot more to it, but I didn't want to write a full post on how FHA works - we have other issues to discuss today).  On December 3, 2009, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services and announced that FHA's funds were getting uncomfortably low (they had dropped to 0.53% of outstanding loans, well below the 2% required by federal law).  After looking at some of the ideas that have been tossed around to cure the problem, I spent some time thinking about what's good and bad about those suggestions.

I would write it all out here, but the fact is, it's a rather long post (something you should be used to by now).  I think it might be one of my top 5 posts of all time.  I hope you'll take the time to read it and weigh in with your opinions.  I just spoke with a friend of mine who disagrees with me completely, so this could be interesting.  So, here you go...enjoy:

"An Open Letter To HUD About FHA Loans" at RErockstar.com

photo courtesy of Caitlinator

Thanks Ken!

As usual, Ken Cook, does a great job breaking down some of the latest expected changes to FHA loans.  I find it shocking that everyone ran around saying we need to help clear the inventory by extending and expanding the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and now they're thinking about making it tougher to buy a home.  So which is it?  I thought it was odd when they raised FHA down payment requirements from 3% to 3.5% while saying they needed to get the housing market moving again.  A jump from 3.5% to 5% will most certainly eliminate a larger pool of ready, willing, and able buyers.

Although the theory of "having some skin in the game" is a commonly accepted idea, this reeks of an attempt by Secretary Donovan to save himself at the expense of home buyers and possibly the housing market recovery.  When the federally mandated reserves started to slip, we should have been talking about solutions, not when they are 1.47% below where they should (the law requires the FHA insurance pool to be maintained at 2%, Secretary Donovan reported it was at 0.53%).  Maybe we should have learned a lesson from the banks that didn't notice how low their reserves were getting before then announced (seemingly overnight in many cases) that they were broke.

How does someone not notice these things?  Ugh.

Thanks again Ken!

San Antonio home buyers can search without registration.

I made the decision awhile ago to remove all registration from my San Antonio real estate search page on RErockstar.com.  Real estate agents have varying opinions on these sorts of decisions, but I thought this was the best way to provide a service to San Antonio residents looking for homes.

Many real estate search sites have some form of registration, whether forced or what me often call "nagging" (where the site reminds you to register every so often, but allows you to continue even if you don't).

Why not require registration for a real estate search site?

For me, the question came up in a discussion with some fellow agents.  I had tried full registration and even the nag option, but always was slightly uncomfortable with both.  When I've been looking for homes in the past for myself, I was always quick to click off a site that was asking for registration.  When I moved to San Antonio, I searched on sites without registration, but when I was ready to commit, I then performed a search for real estate agents.

When I found a Realtor® I liked and felt I was comfortable with, then I moved over to his website's real estate search as well as received emails from them about houses I might not have seen.  Through that combination of efforts, the three of us (my wife included) were able to well define what we were looking for in a home and we were able to purchase one over the course of a weekend of looking.

So go ahead, search to your heart's delight.

My San Antonio real estate search page is free for all to use with no required registration.  I think you'll find it very easy to use and a great tool to help you find your next home in San Antonio.  If you have questions, feel free to contact me and I can help you set up your searches.  Take it for a test drive and come back again and again.  When you're ready to get serious about your search, give me a call and let's sit down and discuss your needs...then the fun begins.

photo courtesy of JohnHallAssociates

Donna Galinsky isn't the only one.

Donna's post about homes that are under marketed or poorly listed is something I've spoken about before with clients, agents, and brokers.  I see it happen too.  Seems we all see them from time to time.  What many non-Realtors® don't know is that the Realtor® Code Of Ethics prevents us from telling that homeowner what we think or violating the client-agent relationship in any way (this is why no agents knock on your door when the sign goes up in your front yard and why all those postcards you get in the mail mention that they are not a solicitation of business if you are currently working with an agent).

I encourage you to visit Donna's original post and read through the comments, but I thought I'd leave mine here for you to read as part of the re-blog:

Donna - This has to be my biggest gripe with the Code Of Ethics.  I know the theory of the Code Of Ethics and why it exists and agree with most of its tenets, but I often feel that it winds up protecting Realtors® who aren't really taking great care of their clients.  Now of course, without the code, we'd have a flurry of people who use it to destroy their competition, right or wrong, with tactics that that would be more than questionable, so I see a need for it.  But I can't help but wonder what would happen if we were allowed to step in and tell a homeowner how they're not getting what they could be.

Based on some of the things I've seen, I can imagine my business would certainly grow if I could show those sellers the difference between me and their agent.  It's frustrating to say the least.  I often want to tell them and then tell them of 4 or 5 agents I would trust to do better - since I wouldn't want to be seen as just doing it to generate business for myself.  I'd rather someone else had the business and did it right, than someone do it poorly.

Perhaps I should give up my license and build a business around this fact.  Without a license (and membership in NAR) the Code Of Ethics would no longer apply to me.  Of course, then I wouldn't be doing what I love, so that wouldn't work out well.  Perhaps we need an independent third party business to do this for us...a listing auditor basically.  That idea fails as well though, because in an attempt to monetize that business one of two things would happen - a) the game of favorites or b) an exorbitant referral fee or sale of leads back to us.

Oh well, for now the status quo will remain.