San Antonio Real Estate Blog | Kimberly Howell Properties

Countdown 2018 – Top 10 Pages and Posts

December 30, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Every year at Kimberly Howell Properties, we take a look back through the activity on our website to see what you’ve been looking at on the site and see what’s been on your minds. We try our best to put out content that you will find interesting and relevant to your real estate needs (and we’re always open to suggestions from our readers!). This year has been a great year on our website and we’ve added lots of new content as well as some new features (our latest IDX powering some of our property searches will see a big expansion through 2019). It’s definitely a labor of love – it takes a lot of work to bring you content that isn’t canned, cookie cutter rehashes of the same old recycled content, but it’s something we take great pride in and based on the feedback and compliments we’ve received from you over the years, we know it’s something you have come to expect from us. We promise to continue working to bring you the best content possible.

Here are the Top 10 Pages and Posts from our website through 2018:

10. Closing on a Home While You’re Out of Town? No matter where you are there’s always a solution to getting you closed, no matter where you are.

9. Disclosing Death in Texas We hear this question a lot and we see it’s a very popular Google search as well.

8. Time is of the Essence: What Does it Mean? Tick, tock. The countdown is on – what does this important real estate phrase mean in contracts?

7. Our Agents We’re proud of our agents and we love that you look them up and learn about them before picking up the phone!

6. What If Your Property Survey is Incorrect? It does happen from time to time – so what do you do when it’s discovered?

5. The Option Period: Termination and Timelines Real estate contracts have several important timelines and the option period is one of the most crucial to buyers.

4. Writing Effective Repair Amendments Repair amendments are a critical piece of the contract and writing them well is a skill.

3. What’s a T-47 and Why Do I Need One? Apparently, a lot of people have questions about this form that is used in conjunction with the survey.

2. Search for Homes We’re all here to talk about homes, so it’s no surprise that our search feature is one of the most popular items on our site.

1. Why is My Rental Application Taking So Long? No one likes waiting and we get a lot of questions about the length of time it takes to process applications.

image courtesy of Meno Istorija

New Home? Get It Inspected

December 26, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

We’ve written on this subject multiple times, but it never becomes less important. Recently, we’ve seen quite a few clients choose to go without an inspection on a new build home and we’re concerned it may be a growing trend. A general home inspection (and at times other key inspections like pool, HVAC, well, septic, etc.) is an essential part of the home buying process. Common wisdom is that when you inspect an older home you will find problems – no home is perfect. We’d like to make it common wisdom that if you inspect any home, old or new, you will find problems. It’s just a fact of life.

We could write lists of things we’ve discovered on inspections at new homes: windows not caulked and sealed, fireplaces built in the wrong place, missing wiring, wrong appliances, broken appliances, exterior walls missing insulation, dangerous wiring improperly done, doors you couldn’t open, windows installed crooked…it’s an endless list. Pointing this out is not to say all builders are bad, but rather all builders are human. Ever have a bad day at work and know your focus isn’t solid like it should be? Ever had family stuff distract you from the work in front of you? Ever just flat out forget a key step in what you do day in and day out and realize it days later after it’s too late to correct? It happens to all of us.

Inspections allow you a second set of eyes to look at the things. They allow you an independent opinion of the house. All builders go through their own inspection processes, but those inspections are designed to benefit them, not you. That’s not to say they’re shady and one big set up, it’s just that we all have our focus – the builder’s is not exactly the same as yours.

An inspection will cost you money, but the money you spend will save you money by finding the problems before they become big problems later. Talk to your agent about getting an inspection and if your builder discourages you from getting one, let the red flags wave.

image courtesy of dynamosquito

Merry Christmas From Kimberly Howell Properties

December 24, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

We wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Regardless of your beliefs or personal traditions, we hope you have a wonderful time and get to spend some time with your families and friends. While the holiday maybe rooted in religious traditions, we find it to be a great time to look around and celebrate with loved ones and share with those who may not be as fortunate. It’s about the spirit of the season and we want you all to have a great day. Kimberly Howell Properties and its family of agent’s will do our best to relax and enjoy a little time off as our offices will be closed Christmas Eve (December 24) and Christmas Day (December 25). We’ll be back on Wednesday and ready to wrap the year up.

image courtesy of nan palmero

That Color is Too Dark

December 20, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Your eyes are incredibly complex human machines. If you don’t believe me, google any one of the thousands of optical illusions that get passed around the internet – like what color is the dress or are the plates upside down or right side up. The eye can play tricks on you and when it comes to painting and choosing paint colors, you often have to try and outthink your eyes. We sat with a designer recently and discussed how choosing paint colors can be difficult but with the right mindset, you can overcome some of the common things that come up.

Darker isn’t always darker. One of the first things people think about a particular color is that it’s too dark. While it can be, it’s not always the truth. Dark colors can actually draw in more light and make rooms seem brighter. Painting an entire room black probably isn’t going to work to make it look sunny, but you’d be surprised how dark colors can actually lighten a room.

Test in large areas. Most people will paint small swatches on their wall when trying to make a decision. The designer suggests painting large patches – think feet, not inches to truly get a good idea.

Let the paint dry. Paint colors change as they dry (and they dry differently on different walls and surfaces).

Don’t always count on a color that looks good in your friend’s house. Paints are affected by a lot of factors and what looks one way in your friend’s house may not look anything like that in yours. Everything from the surface to the natural lighting to the objects in the room can make the color look completely different.

If you just don’t feel you have an eye for it, don’t be afraid to ask the experts in the store or to hire a designer or professional painter to assist. Not everyone has the natural ability to bring color and design together to make those picture perfect rooms that we all dream of having.

image courtesy of acme

Do You Have A Green Thumb?

December 17, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

They say having plants in your home will make you happier and healthier. A burst of green along with the fresh, clean smell of flowers are welcoming and comforting and can take a house to a place you’ll call home. So what do you choose? How do you keep your plants thriving? Do you have a green thumb?

I’m not the best at keeping plants going. It’s a curse I was born with, but I continue to try. I’ll buy a plant, try and solve its riddle and usually succeed for awhile, but then somewhere along the line, the leaves start to turn brown and the plant starts to look a little rough. I google and try everything I can find, but in the end I tend to lose the battle. But I don’t like fake plants and refuse to use them in my home.

So how do you keep your plants alive?

Pick the right plants. Plants need sunlight to thrive and some need more than others. Pay attention to this when shopping – putting a sun thriving plant on a shady part of your living room is going to guarantee disaster. Also watch for drafts. You may have a bright sunny window, but if the cold air is creeping in through that window, all the sun in the world may not save the tropical plant you put it in.

Watch the water. One of the easiest things to do is to overwater a plant. Trust me. Making things worse, overwatered plants often have leaves that turn brown and start to curl up…which is also a good indication of underwatering. Watering is probably one of the hardest parts to master. If a plant seems to be dying and you’ve been watering, back off on the water and see if that helps.

Poor potting. Read about the plant and know how to set one up. Proper drainage is usually required on most plants. Leaving water stagnating at the bottom of the pot and close to the roots can cause all sorts of fungus and diseases in your plant that will kill it off slowly while you watch in horror and try in vain to stop the slow spread.

Feed me Seymour. Don’t forget to feed your plants with fertilizers. Check your plants’ specific needs. Since they are not living in soil whose nutrients are replenished in the natural cycle, you’ll need to replenish those nutrients through fertilizers.

Despite all that advice, I still admit to being really good at killing a plant. I’m currently nursing a bird of paradise and some orchids and while I refuse to give up, I have a larger plant that I think I need to admit defeat on. If you have some great tips, we’d love to hear them.

image courtesy of Amadeusz Leonardo Juskowiak

How Many Bedrooms Do You Need?

December 14, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

We were talking in the office the other day about some of the old 2 bedroom, 1 bath homes built in the 1940s in communities all across America. In many places, those homes are being revitalized and retooled as many cities look to downtown areas for new growth. Those old 2/1 homes (real estate lingo for 2 bedroom, 1 bath) often raised families with multiple children and those small spaces seemed like all a family needed. Now, our expectations of space are much larger. So exactly how many bedrooms do you need? Is there a magic number?

When it comes to resale, we typically recommend no less than three bedrooms. The days of 2/1 homes are something from the past and although there is some revitalization of those homes, there is still a smaller pool of people looking for them and buying them. Many times when they are bought, they are purchased by investors who go in and reconfigure and expand the homes to more common 3 bedroom, 2 bath homes.

If you have a larger family of course, you’ll want more bedrooms. Much like the smaller homes, as you increase the number of bedrooms, you change your buyer pool. Four bedrooms? Not so bad. Five bedrooms? Still doable, but definitely getting harder to sell in the future. Six or more? At this point your probably looking at luxury homes and a completely different set of considerations.

Overall, 3 to 4 bedrooms seems to be the sweet spot. Remember, many people use a bedroom as an office/study, so if your home has a dedicated room for that, you may not need the extra bedrooms. The median quick sale home at the moment would definitely be the 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath – kind of the gold standard for suburban living.

Of course, the number of bedrooms you need is up to you. If you have a large family or know you’ll be having a lot of guests, more bedrooms might be the way to go. We do recommend avoiding large bedroom counts if you’re thinking of using the bedroom as a rental down the line. We’ve seen more than one 5 bedroom home sit for a long time waiting for tenants. It’s a combination of factors, one of the big ones being that for the price you’ll want to rent it for, most people would be able to buy and with a smaller buyer pool, you need to be competitive and attractive for quicker turnaround.

Find the number that works for you and remember, somewhere out there is someone looking for exactly the same. So while you may have to wait a bit, you’ll find that someone for your home when it’s time to sell.

Congratulations to Tatiana Delaserna, PT50 Newcomer of the Year

December 7, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Today, our agent Tatiana Delaserna, was awarded Newcomer of the Year by Platinum Top 50 in San Antonio. We are extremely proud of her accomplishment and her path to achieving such an award. Tatiana came into this business with a single minded goal to be the best agent she possibly could and we’d say she has more than surpassed that goal. After spending the first half of her first year studying, listening, and going through the learning process that we see so many agents go through, Tatiana kicked it into high gear and began performing like a veteran agent, achieving impressive numbers month-over-month.

With Platinum Top 50, it’s not all about your sales numbers though, and Tatiana has proven herself to be open to the full range of experiences that truly make a great agent. Education and community involvement are two areas that she specifically focused on, earning several designations fresh out of the gate and giving back to her community whenever and wherever she could. A wife and mother, she seemingly bends time to make it all possible in the limited time in any given day.

We can’t say enough about Tatiana. We are proud of her achievements and love having her as part of our family. We look forward to the upcoming years as she further hones her skills and finds new ways to achieve her goal of delivering an exceptional customer service experience personalized to each client and their needs.

Congratulations Tatiana, can’t wait to see what your next year brings!

The Holiday Rush – A Real Estate Tradition

November 28, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

The “holiday rush” usually refers to the shopping madness that is known as Black Friday and the last minute crush of people hurrying and scurrying from store to store looking for those last few deals, picking up last minute gifts, and those of us who wait until the last minute for everything. Stores love it because it fills out their bottom line during the waning moments of the year. But in real estate it happens too and for the past few years we’ve seen it even more. There are several reasons why we see a rush to buy heading into the holidays and it keeps us busy and we love seeing it and hope the tradition continues. What creates the holiday rush in real estate? Let’s take a look at some of the factors.

Corporate Relocation

As corporations end their years they make big decisions. Corporate relocations happen all the time, but we see a lot at the end of the year as companies look to the year ahead and shift priorities and personnel. Because the decisions driving the moves are not personal, they can be made without the more emotional ties of things like the holidays or disrupting a school year (often deciding factors for people in their moves).

Tax Considerations

Some people have large tax considerations to take into account and need to offload property or spend cash to help with their taxes. Accountants will recommend different tactics depends on your particular situation, so refer to them for tax advice.

Bargain Shopping

Like shoppers on Black Friday, homebuyers love a good deal. While not a de facto truth, buyers often think that if a seller is on the market during the holidays, they are desperate to unload their property at rock bottom prices. There certainly are some sellers out there in that position, but our experience shows that this is more buyers putting their hopes into their own perception of the end of year. We do find that both buyers and sellers during the holiday season tend to be quite serious about buying/selling and are often quicker to pull the trigger once they find what they want.

New Year, New You

The coming new year provides a big opportunity for change. The familiar phrase “new year, new you” applies to housing as well. Who wouldn’t want to start a fresh new life with a change of setting too? You can start decorating, change your style, have plenty of new DIY projects, and reorganize everything – a new house is a chance to do it all over again and for some people, that’s a dream come true.

Join the Holiday Rush

If you do find yourself looking for a home or need to sell your house during the holidays, let us know. We’d love to help you make the transition, no matter what your reason for doing so. We specialize in making the transitions as easy on you as possible. Happy holidays and happy homeshopping!

image courtesy of B Rosen

Happy Thanksgiving from Kimberly Howell Properties

November 22, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

The agents and staff of Kimberly Howell Properties wishes you and your families a happy Thanksgiving! We always have so much to be thankful for and you are a big part of that. We hope no matter what your plans are, you have a fantastic day full of moments to be thankful and get to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones. Please note, our offices will be closed today as well as Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you need anything, call your agent and they will be able to help you. If you don’t have an agent yet, take a look through our agent page and you’ll be able to find someone that you connect with and can start building a relationship with today.