League City Blog

Many sellers want to make sure they have paid their property taxes in the current calendar year so they can claim this benefit when filing their Income Taxes for the same year. Your League City Real Estate Experts have the answers!  Call The Brian Worrell Team if you need any clarification, 281-948-7042.

There are a few options for paying property taxes:
There are a few options for paying property taxes...  This example is based on assuming a scheduled closing date of 12/30/2011.

Option 1.  Pay each of these yourself with CASHIER'S CHECKS to each tax entity in at each of their offices respectively in person.  Get a copy of each cashier's check. And get a copy of the paid receipt.  This would ensure all taxes are paid in 2011.

Option 2.  Do not pay anything now.  If on the 30th, it looks like we are not closing on time, then pay the taxes online yourself.  The title company will need to retain the total amount of taxes from your proceeds until they can verify through each tax entity that they have been fully paid.  They they will send you that money once verified which may take several weeks.  This would ensure all taxes are paid in 2011.

Option 3.  Taxes will be paid at closing on the 30th from your proceeds.  If the closing is delayed for whatever reason, taxes would be paid in 2012 from your proceeds.  The Income Tax benefit of paying for 2011 property taxes would have to be claimed at the end of 2012 with this option.

Thoroughly confused??  Please feel free to email me any specific questions, brian@brianworrell.com

Scented Candles Can Backfire

Often, a scented candle or wax warmers can make a home feel more welcoming and cozy, but beware...some of your clients are going WAY overboard.  I walked into a home the other day that had such a strong floral scent, my client and I immediately got a headache. 

Not only does it make a buyer uncomfortable, it also makes you wonder what the owner is covering up (even when they aren't actually covering anything up).  Often, the owner of the home is so used to the scent that they don't even notice it, but it is worth stopping by your listings every once in a while to make sure you aren't turning people away inadvertently.  Every little thing counts...especially in this market.

League City Realtors -- The Brian Worrell Team

Some of the recent feedback I've received on HAR.COM -- My official Houston Assocaition of Realtors client feedback score is 4.9 out of 5 stars.  I'm truly excited and honored to have had the opportunity to work with so many great people...  Here are a few of the comments I've received.

 

Micah and Rebekah Drummond said,
"Very thorough, attentive, and efficient. "

Eric and Jennifer said,
"Excellent realtor who met all our needs with professionalism and personal attention. I would definitely recommend him to others seeking real estate services. Eric."

Brian and Karen said,
"Simply OUTSTANDING! We've worked with 5 realtors over the last 7 years, and Brian Worrell bested them in all areas...hands down. If you choose Brian as your realtor, you won't be disappointed."

Dennis McLarty said,
"Brian is an incrediable realtor and human being. From the first time I spoke to him he was informative and answered every question I had and made sure I understood. He showed me every home I requested to see but because he took the time and listened he showed me one that was not on my list and it turned out to be the one I bought. He always made himself available anytime I had a question and/or wanted to see the house. He truly is an exceptional person and I am grateful for all he did."

David Bolton said,
"Brian did a great job during a tough market time of the year, in marketing the house and working with me on how I can improve the property in order to get a tenant into the property. I will be recommending him to others I know looking to buy or sale property. "

I recently showed a house to a buyer I'm working with...  The home we looked at was one of the nicest homes in the neighborhood.  It had been on the market for a while.  The house looked pretty good inside, and the seller had many upgrades.

It's really frustrating though for me to see a seller that really should have sold.  All they really needed to do was rearrange some furniture and a few other details... this would have a dramatic impact on the listing.  They've since taken the home off the market.  And I know I could get this house sold for top dollar for the neighborhood.

------------------------------------

Do you feel like your house shows really well?  Are you getting ANY feedback that could actually be helpful?

We cover League City, Clear Lake, Friendswood, Pearland, and surrounding areas.    Call The Brian Worrell Team, and let's work together to get your home SOLD.  We have the ADVICE and EXPERIENCE to get the job done.

Internet Marketing Menu

by The Brian Worrell Team, REALTORS® specializing in League City, Clear Lake, and Friendswood

 

Internet Marketing is a very important part of our marketing plan.  According to the National Association of Realtors® 2006 Profile of Home buyers and sellers, 80% of home buyers viewed the Internet as a very useful tool in their home search. It's not very surprising. But, having extensive coverage in a multitude of high traffic local and national web sites is one of the most important marketing strategies you can have. Below is our Internet Marketing Menu where your home would be featured if you selected us as your marketing partner:

INTERNET MARKETING MENU

· Your property information will be submitted to multiple Web sites on the Internet, including:

· Prudential.com and YAHOO! - We will make information about your property available to 325 million visitors to YAHOO, and promote it online - 24/7! According to Alexa.com, YAHOO! is the Number 1 most frequently visited web site in the world.

· Google.com - Your home will be listed under "Houston real estate" and home buyers will find you on a myriad of sites when these key words are typed into Google - garygreene.com, har.com and realtor.com feature your home and are searchable on google.com. Google.com is the third most popular web site in terms of traffic according to alexa.com, a traffic ranking web site.

· GaryGreene.com - Viewers can custom search the entire Houston MLS by their own selection of features. Potential homebuyers are invited to set up their own e-mail alerts to receive listings that match their needs. Results? Your home's features are e-mailed to thousands of homebuyers registered on our web site or YAHOO's, when their criteria matches your home! GaryGreene.com is the most frequently visited real estate company web site in Houston.

· REALTOR.com® - Your property will also receive added exposure through REALTOR.com, the official Web site of the National Association of REALTORS®. Realtor.com is the most frequently visited real estate Web site in the world.

· har.com - har.com is the point of origination of your listing once it is uploaded in MLS. Har.com is the most frequently visited real estate association Web site in Houston. Like our auto-responder, www.har.com has a similar feature. Thousands of real estate agents and homebuyers use this feature, which enables viewers to register search criteria that match their needs. The best way to leverage the power of har.com is to work with a Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors® agent! We get more leads from har.com than any other broker in Houston!

· Trulia.com - Your property will be featured on this specialized search engine optimization site that helps rank our listings high on the major portals, like Google.com, Yahoo.com and a host of other sites that home buyers research for properties. Google and Yahoo are horizontal search engines [broad categories of information] and Trulia.com is a vertical search engine specializing in real estate.

· Facebook.com - There are no longer 6 degrees of seperation... that number has shrunk thanks to Facebook. Somebody may know somebody that wants to buy your home! And Facebook is one of many great tools to help find that right buyer!

· Twitter.com - The Brian Worrell Team has several Twitter accounts with local followers!

· ActiveRain.com - This is basically like Facebook for Realtors. It's a Real Estate Networking site. Getting your home listed on ActiveRain will give your number of showings a shot of adrenaline!

· Your property will also be submitted to these Web sites:

 

www.aol.com	www.Juno.com	www.Netscape.com
www.compuserve.com	www.JustListed.com	www.NetZero.com
www.Excite.com	[registered buyers only]	www.RealEstate.com
www.Homes.com	www.LendingTree.com	www.WallStreetJournal.com
www.Houston.org	www.MonsterMoving.com	[on Realtor.com database]
www.HoustonChronicle.com	www.Move.com	www.WorldProperties.com
www.iwon.com	www.MSN.com

· At least 10 multiple images of your property will be used in the marketing of your listing online, except for those web sites that do not accept multiple photos under ordinary conditions. Research has shown that homes featuring high quality multiple images are viewed 6 times more than those with low or no photos.

· Your property will be submitted to the online e-mail alert system on GaryGreene.com, yahoo.realestate.com and har.com. This instantly sends detailed property info and pictures of your home to registered buyers currently searching for homes that match your home's criteria.

· Inquiries about your property from online customers will be responded to in a timely manner.

· Prudential, Gary Greene Realtors® will use various forms of National Advertising to bring buyers to YAHOO! And GaryGreene.com to view your property.

· Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors® uses a citywide billboard campaign, The Houston Chronicle, television and local advertising throughout the Houston Metropolitan area to drive homebuyers to view your home on www.garygreene.com.

· Each Web site that features your property information will provide buyers with multiple ways to inquire about the property.

· Each online listing will provide detailed information about your property for buyers to view.

If you have any questions regarding our web marketing exposure or our menu, I am at your service.

Please feel free to contact The Brian Worrell Team anytime, 281-948-7042.

 

Dear Realtors,

The number of pictures I see in MLS that are terrible is astounding.  Nothing new there...

But seriously, take stuff of the counters for the pictures.  I have seen countless pictures of cluttered laundry rooms, food out on the counters, dishes in the sink... and recently, a supra lockbox front and center on the island counter of the kitchen.  Seriously???

STOP BEING LAZY!  And don't blame the seller.

 

Sincerely,

The Brian Worrell Team

I am passing along this story mainly because I absolutely could not believe it. I also thought it raised some interesting questions about sellers disclosures.

An agent friend of mine used to work in new home sales at a model home in a new neighborhood. She was working with a client whose home was in the process of being built. The client came by to get the key for the home to take a look at the home while construction was in progress, and came back to the model home to return the key and looked as if he had seen a ghost. All he said was..."do not go in that home." He did not look well.

Of course, the agent's curiosity was piqued and when traffic in the model slowed down she walked over to the home under construction. Everything seemed okay downstairs, so she took the stairs to the second floor. When she rounded the corner at the top of the stairwell, she saw blood stains on the floor leading into a bedroom. She walked into the bedroom and say a human arm. She immediately left...calling her manager and the police on the way. Even though she was rattled, there were more clients in the model, so she got back to work and waited for the police to arrive. When they did arrive, she was in the middle of speaking with a client, and asked the officer to hold on one second. The officer immediately responded brusquely that "this is about a homicide maam...you need to come with me right away." She then spent the next several hours involved in a homicide investigation. The original purchaser of the home backed out of the contract and bought a different home in the same community.  The home was ultimately sold to another employee of the home builder.

Besides being totally shocking...I thought the story brought a couple of questions.

Is the builder required to disclose the homicide on the property?? My understanding is that a builder does not need to make sellers' disclosures, even regarding homicide. However, if an employee of the builder who knew about the homicide purchased and subsequently sold the house, I think he would have to report it on his sellers disclosure.

The second question is how do you deal with clients in such strange circumstances. In this case, the agent had a client who found a dead body in his home and a client she was pulled away from by a very blunt homicide detective. Only the smoothest of the talkers can get around those situations. There is no amount of role playing that can prepare you for that. I guess it is important to remember that you always need to stay calm and professional, and be ready for the unexpected.

Names have been omitted to protect the innocent.

My office has a meeting every week where we all get together, watch a presentation, and then tour the new listings from our office. Most weeks, the presentation is about something real estate related like a presentation from an appraiser, home stager, inspector, representative from local business organizations, etc. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into my office meeting and saw someone with a candle display set up, and I nearly walked out the door.

I mean....seriously...a presentation about candles??? I stayed for the meeting because I wanted to go on the tour, but I was skeptical about the amount of my time that was being wasted listening to someone trying to sell me candles. Much to my amazement, the presentation actually showed me a product I had never heard of that I actually anticipate being helpful in my business.

The presentation was given be a representative of Scentsy wickless candles. A Scentsy is basically a light bulb that heats up and melts scented wax to add fragrance to a room. The product is great for homes with odors because it doesn't have the danger of a candle flame or the cheesy scent of a plug in air freshener. It can be plugged in for showings or even put on a timer in a vacant house since it plugs into the wall to power the light bulb.

I know this is probably old news to most of the female readers out there, but I plan on getting one to use in some of my listings, so I thought I would pass along the info in case some other agents out there had never heard of it either.

This is a beautiful home with quick access to I-45 & 96! Low taxes. NO MUD. CCISD. Very open floor plan. Enter the covered back porch directly from the master, or near the breakfast area! Some of the upgrades include: Garden tub in the master, double sinks, attic floor decking, upgraded light fixtures, surround sound wiring, sprinkler system, and landscape lighting. Energy efficient double pane windows. Home warranty included. Huge study with french doors and closet can be 4th bedroom.

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Beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on CUL-DE-SAC in the South Shore Harbour Master Planned Community. New Education Village Schools for CCISD. Spacious Study at front of the home. Tiled Entry. 2' Wood Blinds. Master Bath has 2 sinks, bath tub, and separate shower. Corner fireplace. Neutral colors throughout. Extremely Energy Efficient with double pane windows and storm door! Home Warranty included! WASHER & DRYER INCLUDED! FRIDGE INCLUDED!

 

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