Georgetown, Texas Real Estate Blog      Your Host: Edward Lui

…she seems to be the only one giving me any confidence in purchasing from your company in the future.  Her extension is 2009.  Please forward this email to her.”

Does that sound a bit harsh?

That was the content of the email I sent a supervisor of letstalk.com recently.

I recently became a free agent in the cell phone world and decided to go with Sprint and eliminate all of my nit picky overage charges from verizon.  I have 3000 minutes and my cell phone bill was still over $300 last month for overage charges!  That was reason enough to switch.  So I got some pretty cool phones:

This one is mine:

This one is for my wife:

The hassle with ordering from letstalk.com was enough to make me want to pay $50 more and go through a Sprint store.  But, I chickened out since I was so close to finishing this order and I have a busy week.

The ordering process was pretty smooth, and Heather did a great job with the order-taking part, but lacked some follow-through.  I kept getting these ridiculous emails to call Sprint and verify my credit information before my order could be processed.  So I did that….THREE SEPARATE TIMES!  Every time I called, Sprint would tell me that my credit decision was approved.

I thought Heather was banking it big from my big order and she would return my call…..she didn’t.

I then tried the website’s “fill out this form and we’ll call you back” feature and…they didn’t.

So tonight I called again, asked to speak to a supervisor, and there was none to talk to (they were all busy).

Finally, I got a hold of Tametria and after 3 attempts to Sprint Credit, and 3 attempts with letstalk.com, she took care of business.  All it took was for her to call Sprint Credit and verify that I was approved.  So all of the emails and instructions for me to call Sprint Credit was a big waste of my time!

Thanks Tametria, for allowing me to move forward with my life.  Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and do a little extra work (like the credit verification phone call) that completed my order.  You deserve a raise.

So was my email harsh?  Well, I figure a letter that might potentially benefit somebody like Tametria is much better than a letter that is filled with complaints.  So there you go letstalk.com, please train your people and please give a bonus to Tametria.

This just underscores how important it is for me to listen to my clients and not just go after the sale.  With 10,000+ real estate agents in Greater Austin, doing that alone will differentiate me from the crowd.

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I joined yet another social networking site:  Facebook

Heard of it?

If not, it’s time to dust off the computer and start using your Internet!  I’ve been trying not to get an account for several months because my time is stretched already writing for the Georgetown Texas Real Estate blog, balancing work/church/family life and still making time for myself to just chill.  So I thought I would just get an account, not waste any time on it, wait for people to find me and maybe even sell a house or two.
Boy was I wrong!  As far as selling a home, that hasn’t happened…yet.  But I have to tell you, that Facebook sure is addicting.  I love it when I can find an old high school or college buddy and we can link up as “friends.”  Everytime they write or do something, Facebook notifies me on my account.  It’s a real neat way to stay in touch with friends a little more frequently then the once a year Christmas card.
So check out my Facebook profile and find out what I’m having for lunch, when I’m brushing my teeth and other useless things to know.  Or you can just do it to spy on MY friends.  After all, you can learn a lot by the friends someone has.

And oh yeah, if you’re an old buddy, look me up!  Just don’t get me confused with the other 65 “Edward Lui’s” that pop up when you do a search.  Sheesh, so much for feeling special.

Property taxes are pretty high in Georgetown, Texas. Anywhere in Texas for that matter. The last thing you should do is pay more than you need to. In my previous post on property taxes in Williamson County, I revealed the actual value that the Williamson County Appraisal District appraised some homes for:

Boxwood Loop – Appraised for $171,607

Westbury Lane – Appraised for $160,324

Rosebud Lane – Appraised for $214,193

Greenside Lane – Appriased for $182,535

Well, here are the resuts:

Boxwood Loop – Adjusted to $153,600

Westbury Lane – Adjusted to $152,400

Rosebud Lane – Adjusted to $184,000

Greenside Lane – Adjusted to $158,300

That’s a total reduction of $80,359. Assuming a tax rate of 2.4%, I just saved $1928/year in taxes. Now that’s worth fighting for! I believe that service happens before and after every transaction so I provide this tax-fighting service free to my clients every year. Did you get good results fighting your taxes this year? If so, let us know your experience. This blog gets more interesting when you give your feedback!

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These days you mention anything with the word “gas” and you can get all sorts of attention…so I’m cheating with this blog post to get some additional readership

If you searched for GAS PRICES, GAS STATIONS, GAS IS GOING UP, GAS IS GOING DOWN and/or GEORGETOWN, TEXAS I hope this blog comes up. Don’t worry, I will actually write something relevant:

My parents and my older sister, Jennie and her whole family, came down from Maryland to visit us a few weeks ago. It was nice, we stayed in a time share at San Antonio and then spent a few days in Georgetown, Texas. Well, since all things must come to an end, it was soon time for me to drive them back to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (just 40-50 minutes from Georgetown). I left at about 4-5 AM since it was an early flight and I needed to get gas. So I went down Williams Drive and thought I would hit the most convenient gas station I saw:

Wow, this looks like a very nice place. Lots of bright lights and existing vehicles tell me that this place is open! However, when I got here, for some reason the first pump would not accept my credit card. As a matter of fact, neither would the second pump I drove to. I tried a debit and a credit card and no luck. What was worse was that the pump started asking me all sorts of silly questions that took me forever to scroll through. WORD OF ADVICE: If you’re in a hurry, and you’re in a hot Texas summer, avoid gas stations that advertise the “TOUCHLESS CAR WASH” Why? It’s just another silly option that they offer and it can delay the whole gas filling process. What happened to the good ‘ole days when the only options you had was the type of gas you wanted. Now, they start trying to sell anything from soda, to oil additives to car washes at the pump!

Anyway, since I struck out at Valero with their non-credit card working pumps I hopped on down to the only other gas station that was open at this hour on Williams Drive:

Another nice looking gas station and gas here was actually a whole penny cheaper! Wow! So I saved about a quarter filling up here. Options were kept to a minimum (no brushless car wash system here) and the pumps actually worked!

So, the next time you come rolling into my part of town, go for the big name in gas: TEXACO. You’ll sweat less (by having less options to scroll through), pay less and be finished quicker!

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I’m in the middle of buying my next home here in my neighborhood, Georgetown Village in Georgetown, Texas and my loan is almost out of underwriting. Then I get the call from my lender that goes something like this:

Hi Edward, there’s just one more thing they need.

Sure, what is it?

Well, the underwriters are having a hard time accepting this home as a primary residence

Ok, that’s easy…”Yes…it is.” Can you just tell them that? Isn’t this what I indicated when I applied?

Yes, but they want you to write them an explanation and “convince” them because you bought other investment homes in the past in this neighborhood and this one is only a few houses down from you.

At this point, I was a little annoyed. They were questioning my integrity! I applied and said it was NOT an investment home but would be owner-occupied, so what’s the big deal? Ok, so I own other homes in this neighborhood and I bought 3 of them last year. I’m not sure how that relates. But, if I really WAS lying, why would I suddenly stop now? So, I tell my lender

Oh, I’ll “convince” them…you can expect the email shortly.

And I send them this…

This email is to affirm my intent to occupy the home on 125 Village Park Drive as my primary residence. Although, I have purchased many investment homes in the past, in this same neighborhood, they were all purchased with the INITIAL INTENT to invest in them and rent them out. They are also all priced BELOW my current primary residence. It would seem to make sense that if my stated intent is to purchase this home on 125 Village Park Drive, as a residence and NOT an investment, that I would follow-through with this commitment, otherwise that would be considered fraudulent, dishonest and maybe even illegal. All of which I would never want any part of.

In addition to the fact that I’m qualifying for this home as a residence and not an investment, there are several other facts that must be mentioned that support the legitimacy of my intent:

1. This home is priced ABOVE my current primary residence which would classify this as a typical MOVE-UP purchase. All of my other rental homes were priced below with significant (20-25% down) cash down so that it would cash flow. This home would be a poor investment choice and could never cash flow given the mortgage and current rental prices

2. This is 4 bedrooms and my current home has 3 bedrooms; it also has 2400 SF and my current home has 2000 SF. Lastly, this home has 400 SF of space above the garage which will be converted to my home office which is one of the main reasons I am moving. I have 3 children under the age of 4 and have worked from a small study for the past 5 years in this home. If anyone has had children before, they can understand the reason for this move!

3. I purchased my current home when I was single, 6 years ago. I am purchasing this home, 3 kids, a wife and a minivan later. Yes, that sounds like a move-up to me.

I hope this helps clarify my intent to purchase this home for a primary residence. If you or the underwriters would like to call me for further clarification please don’t hesitate to call me.

As far as me moving down the street, what person would NOT want to move their belongings a short distance and find the perfect home this close by? This means less time packing and unpacking a moving truck and more time enjoying my glass of ice cold lemonade on the front porch of my new home overlooking the neighborhood park.

So, what do you think? Were the underwriters being a little overzealous or just doing their job? Do you think what they did would really prevent a liar from stop lying at that point? I mean, if a guy is going to say he’s going to occupy it and then really rent it out, why would writing a letter change that? Is this just more “busy work” or is it really effective? I’d love to hear a situation from a lender or underwriter that was similar to this, but had different results (i.e. the purchaser wrote the letter and admitted he was secretly buying the home as an investment but was qualifying it as owner-occupied)

Message to Underwriters/Banks: It’s hard enough to qualify somebody these days, give us “legitimate” buyers a break! Sheesh!

(Bet that picture makes you thirsty huh?)

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My Georgetown

Hi, My name is Maria Dorian and I proudly live and own a business in Georgetown, TX. In the past 5 years I went from working part time waiting tables to owning a growing residential cleaning service.

Shortly after, while at church, my then 3 week old son had a dirty diaper in the middle of service. Go figure right?! Who knew this would end up being a blessing in disquise. While in the nursery changing the diaper, I overheard a lady talk about her sister who cleaned houses. Like a ton of bricks, it hit me. There it was.it! My next thought was, “Wow-I’m supposed to be cleaning houses.” Still blows me away to this day as cleaning houses was just so…random! Needless to say that I believe that the incident was God’s way of leading me to start my own business.

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I have a younger brother named “Edwin.” Yes, I know I’m “Edward” and he’s “Edwin.” Ha ha ha.

Well he lives near Anaheim, California and is studying for his real estate license. I’m pretty excited that he’s doing that and I hope he is able to get enough business to transition out of his full-time work.

I entered into the real estate business by just jumping in with both feet. However, the other option is to gradually build up enough business to fully transition over like Edwin. Even though it was scary for me to do that and I didn’t make my first sale for a couple of months, I think the learning curve shot up very quickly for me. It was either “do or die.”

Well, maybe “die” is a little too dramatic.

More like, “do or flip burgers.”

Edwin: (If you’re reading this) BLOG, BLOG, BLOG – that’s my first tip. I wish I would have started blogging about Georgetown, Texas in my first year of real estate rather then waiting until year four. That’s the best way to expose yourself to a large audience quickly. If they like you, they’ll read you and you’ll probably like them. If they don’t like you, you probably don’t want them as clients anyway. Hey, it’s the truth!

On another note, this week I’ll be introducing a friend of mine on this blog, Maria, who also started her business by just jumping in with both feet. I think you’ll enjoy reading her story and writing style.

What about you? Are you a “jump in with both feet” type of person or do you think a slower transition would work better for you if you were to start a business? I’d love to hear your story!

Here’s a story about my friend in Georgetown, Tx…

She has 2 beautiful grandbabies who have been fostered and one is now officially adopted (Praise the Lord). The other grandbaby was in the process of being adopted, when there came opposition from her birth mom. Well, the courts ruled that the baby should stay with her birth mom.

After caring for the baby for about a year, my friend’s daughter had the gut wrenching task of returning the baby! Instead of just washing her hands of the matter, she decided to continue to keep in contact with the baby no matter what the cost. The birth mom lives about an hour or so from here and for months my friend or her daughter would make the long trip down there and pick up the baby and bring her to all of her well-baby doctor visits. In addition, she would ask to have the baby for selected weekends throughout the year with the approval of the mom and have the mom and baby over during holidays! And before and after these visits, she again would make that lengthy trip down to pick up and drop off the baby. As if that wasn’t enough, I just found out that the birth mom and the baby are now living with my friend until they can find housing close by!

As I listened to my friend speak of this, I commented that she and her daughter are amazing to do so much for someone they may never claim as theirs. Her response blew me away…she said:

“She’s my grandbaby at heart.”

She is an inspiration to me. I don’t know if she is a Christ follower, but what she and her daughter have done gives me a tangible example of what Christ’s love looks like in the 21st century. They reached out to give this child and her mom love and hope, without expecting anything in return. I am grateful for an example of such radical love. ~Autumn

Editor’s Note: It’s refreshing to read this example of a selfless act of love. Especially in the world we live in where the tradition is always about looking after yourself. Need a break from tradition? Call a Realtor who’s radical about real estate and will look after your best interests. No “old school” high pressure sales tactics or bait-and-switch listing techniques here.

Contact me anytime at 512-554-9594 or email at Edward@georgetowncustomhomes.com

Waiting to purchase a home in Georgetown, Texas using an FHA loan? There is something you should know…FHA is making changes to it’s lending on 1 – 4 unit single family mortgages.

Coming July 14th, FHA will make the following changes:

1. Risk based pricing on rates…higher rates for those that are credit challenged
2. Risk based pricing on FHA’s one-time funding fee…use to be 1.5%; it will now range from 1.25-2.25%
3. Monthly mortgage insurance…use to be 0.5%; now it will be 0.55

These changes will be based on credit scores and amount of money you will be putting down (LTV).
If your credit scores are not in good shape…better work on it otherwise it is going to cost you

~ Tracey Day

Editors Note: Looking for a great Georgetown Texas lender? Tracey is local in Georgetown and works hard for your referrals. He’s handled my own personal loans and has some competitive rates! Best of all, he’ll work with you to clean up the credit report so that you have the best borrowing power when it comes down to getting a loan. You’ll be seeing more of him on this blog, so please comment and ask any questions you have on the financing side of things.

Yes, today I decided to live on the edge and change my email address. Pretty bold, eh?

I sent a massive email out to almost 700 people to notify them of this change.  If you didn’t get the email, don’t be offended.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that  you’re not in my “top 700 friends” list.  Maybe I just lost it somehow.  Or even worse, you unsubscribed from my email newsletter!

Ok really, don’t be upset.  Here’s your chance to get on my radar again:

My new email is Edward@georgetowncustomhomes.com

I really love reconnecting with old friends, so shoot me a comment on this post and say “Hi.”  If you’re one of the 3000+ unique visitors on this blog every month and I don’t know you, it’s time to introduce yourself!  I love to hear feedback and this blog is only interesting with your participation!