Thinking of buying? Winter is a great time!
Everyone knows mortgage rates have been at the extreme low end of the spectrum for some time now. The question is: how long before the rates start creeping up? This is a case that whatever goes down, must eventually go back up. Not only that, but we are still in the middle of winter, when the rates usually are better than the other times of the year.
Lenders are willing to routinely offer a discount of almost 20 basis points in January, as compared to other times of the year. If you took out a mortgage in July at 3.5%, this month you may have gotten it at 3.3%. But if you miss out in January, remember that December and February are the next-best (cheapest) months to shop for a loan.
What does this mean to us? Just like what is happening across the U.S., the housing market here in the Houston and surrounding areas has been very hot, with a majority of properties getting multiple offers. So even though it’s supposed to be a slow season, it has been very competitive for buyers, with many properties selling for above asking price. People are taking advantage of the super-low rates, and if you’ve been thinking of buying and have been on the sidelines, you may be missing out on an opportunity that only comes along once in a blue moon.
That home looks great, but what if it’s in a flood zone?
I recently had a client who was interested in a home that was partially in a designated flood zone. The part of land in question was a back corner of the three-acre lot, and the home itself was toward the opposite end of the lot on higher ground and reportedly had never flooded. Other than that issue, the little home and everything else seemed to be great. What to do in a case like this? The question comes up more often than you may realize, especially after the Harvey flooding in 2016.
Even though Harvey was more of an anomaly that caused many previously “high and dry” homes to suffer damage, the stigma remains in many people’s minds. It was indeed a rare event, but it happened with such ferocity that flooding has taken on a whole new meaning to many home buyers. I make it a practice to provide my buyers with a current screenshot of the county flood map where the property of interest is located. This also shows detailed information about which flood zone, if any, the property is located. But I go a step further and advise them to check with their insurance company to find out what they have to say about the property and the possibility of needing flood insurance. This is what a typical flood map looks like, with the property in question designated by the purple marker:
A word of caution is in order. The county flood maps are periodically revised, so people need to ensure they are looking at the latest information. And this is another reason to call the insurance company to have that second line of defense. Something else: it’s always of some comfort to see a home listing that mentions the “home never flooded,” but it’s still really good to know about whether it’s in or near a flood zone.
There are many buyers who don’t seem to mind a home in a flood zone, since they feel their flood insurance will cover any potential damage, and the home is “perfect enough” to warrant buying the place. There are others, however, who simply do not want a home in a flood zone, and will not even look at the ones that are. They prefer having the peace of mind of not living in a flood zone. I fully respect and understand both viewpoints, and ultimately, it’s up to the home buyer to decide which direction to go.
Finding a Home Near Great Schools Pays Off
When I bought my first couple of homes I never even thought about the local schools. That’s because I wasn’t married when I bought the first one, and when I bought the second one with my wife, neither of us gave schools a second thought. We were just trying to find the best neighborhoods we could afford to live in, and the ones that looked safest.
Luckily, as it turned out, both of those homes were located in better school districts. Since then, a good school district is one of our top criteria when looking for a home. Since we came to this realization, I can’t tell you how many “perfect” homes we looked at and ultimately passed over because the local schools weren’t very good. There were times where we even broadened our standard to areas where the schools were rated a bit less than 10, 9 or 8 on a scale of 1-10. The home we’re currently living in has schools that are rated 9 or 10 across the board, but it’s not always as easy as you may think to find those areas.
How do you find these better school districts? If you don’t have a realtor, sites like Zillow have a great built-in feature to narrow down the better school areas. Take notes or even screenshots of the map with schools pinpointed, and do your home searches in those areas. If you have a realtor, you can ask them to build their home searches around those schools. Realtors who have kids (like me) fully understand your concerns around schools, especially now in 2021.
Another benefit of living in an area with great schools concerns property value and the ability to make a quicker sale in the future when the time comes. When you’re ready to sell, I guarantee many home hunters are looking for those “elusive” homes near great schools for their kids, and to them, it’s worth paying a little (or a lot) extra. Keep good school districts in mind when home hunting, and I promise you won’t regret the extra time and occasional frustration.
