The Woodlands Real Estate

Our last post outlined how to create a personal budget. According to Bankrate.com 58% of Americans track their spending against their monthly budget. Once you have your monthly budget/spending down, you will want to start saving so that you can eventually become debt free. How to save?
Pay yourself first.
– Make it automatic. Sign up for your bank’s automatic transfer program and move a percentage of your paycheck to your savings account each payday.
– Ask for discounts. Don’t be afraid to find out what discounts exist that you qualify for. Ask your insurance company about discounts that could lead to savings on your premium.
– Think before you buy. We have all probably fallen victim to a classic impulse buy at least once in our lives. To resist them in the future, wait 24 hours to buy an impulse item. It may turn out you do not need it after all!

A general rule of thumb is: If you have to finance it, you can’t afford it. The exceptions to this rule are cars, education and homes. If you can’t pay for it on-the-spot, then you should wait to buy it until you have the cash saved.

How many times have you thought to yourself “if I were only debt free?…”
Millions of Americans dream of the day they will be debt free. Back in August we talked about the household debt ratios falling, which is great! According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York the average household debt has fallen over 8.2% since its peak in 2008. For many people, eliminating household debt feels unattainable. However, there are steps you can take to help control your spending and begin to build back up your wealth!
To acheive financial freedom you must create an intentional spending plan, which can feel overwhelming, but is necessary in order to meet your short- and long-term financial goals.
1. List all of your fixed expenses (I.E. food, utilities)
2. List all of your irregular expenses (I.E. taxes, car maintenance, vacations)
3. Every other expense is discretionary spending (I.E. shopping, daily Starbucks run)
4. A,B,C your expenses. A’s = needs, B’s = needs you can be more efficient with like utilities or groceries, C’s = wants
5. Total your expenses and compare them to your net income. If your expenses total more than your income, then it’s time to reassess your spending habits and make cuts from your B’s and C’s.

Looking for a relaxing way to spend your Labor Day weekend? Grab the family and head over to Waterway Square on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4 from 6 – 9 pm for a free evening of live music, face painting, balloon artists and more!

Saturday evening will feature music from the six-member party-and-dance band Little Queen Band from 6:00 – 7:15 pm. Another local favorite pop group, Cold Shot, takes the stage from 7:35 – 9:00 pm.

On Sunday, the fun starts all over again as the smooth, acoustic sounds of the Nigel Edison Band soothes the crowd from 6 :00 – 7:15 pm. Rounding out the holiday weekend celebration is Fidelity Maxx, a funk and dance band rocking it out from 7:35 – 9:00 pm.

“Waterway Square provides a wonderful family-friendly setting for events like this and we invite families from around the region to come experience what The Woodlands has to offer this Labor Day weekend,” says Nick Wolda, President of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau.

For more information, call 281-363-2447 and visit www.visitthewoodlands.com

Effective September 1, 2011 there are new Homestead requirements. If you are going to become a homeowner in our area, this is important for you to note!
Changes:
1. In order to qualify for a residential homestead exemption you must provide HCAD with a copy of either your Texas driver’s license or Texas ID Card.
2. The address on your driver’s license or state ID card must match the physical address of the residence for which you are applying.
3. This address must also be the same as the address on your vehicle registration. Attach a copy of your nvehicle registration receipt to your homestead application.
Remember: Your physical street address must match the address on your vehicle registration and both must match the address on your driver’s license or state ID card. All three must have the same address.
If you would like additional information on this – or help to know how to apply for any of these requirements, give The Chappell Team a call today!

Depending on where you live in the The Woodlands area your children may feed into one of three school districts. The best known is Conroe ISD, but there is also a possibility of attending within Magnolia ISD or Tomball ISD. All three districts have received a Recognized rating in the latest state accountability ratings by the Texas Education Agency. Students residing in the Village of Creekside Park attend Tomball ISD schools. Students residing in May Valley in The Woodlands’ Village of Sterling Ridge attend Magnolia ISD schools while the remaining students in The Woodlands attend Conroe ISD schools. All three school districts are great draws for people to want to live in the area because they all have fantastic school opportunities! If you would like more information on school districts give us a call today!

Buying a home is usually the single largest financial investment a person will make. Therefore, saving money to buy a home can be a very important first step. Many people dip into their 401(k) or traditional IRA for a down payment on their first home. However, doing so forces them to pay taxes and penalties for withdrawing the funds before they reach age 59 1/2. Is there an alternative with less penalties? YES!
With a Roth IRA, individuals can withdraw contributions and earnings up to $10,000 (couples can withdraw up to $20,000) tax and penalty free, as long as the account has been open for 5 years.
A major perk of the Roth is that the owner of the account doesn’t have to be the first-time homebuyer; you can give the money to a spouse, child or grandchild. However, it must be the buyer’s primary residence.
Be sure to speak with your financial advisor about all of your savings and retirement options. If you would like further advice or would like to talk about the housing market, please call The Chappell Team today!

Well, if nothing else, the hard economic crunch in which we continue to find ourselves has left one bright spot…found in a recent study by the nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility who says American consumers have been shoring up their household finances.

The Atlanta-based credit counseling agency tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household with the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index each quarter. For the April to June period, the national index registered a reading of 69.20 on a 100-point scale, up from 68.15 in the first quarter of 2011.

A score below 70 indicates a state of financial distress. CredAbility says while the nation remains in financial
distress (coming in under the 70-point threshold for the 11th consecutive quarter) the average household continues to make progress and is close to moving out of financial distress.

People are making the tough decisions necessary to live within their means. That means paying their bills on time and not working so hard at keepting keeping up with the Jones’ by getting their spending in line with their income.

What ‘touch decisions’ have you had to make?

A report by the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy suggests that the Northwest region of Harris County will grow by more than 13 percent over the next decade buoyed by Exxon Mobil’s development near the area. The analysis said that the region was expected to gain 400,000 residents in 10 years, household income would grow 27 percent among those making between $100,000 and $150,000 per year, and the value of homes in the $200,000 – $300,000 range would increase by 27 percent. Those are pretty significant numbers! The Woodlands Is An Amazing Place To Be! It continues to also be an amazing place for Real Estate. If you or someone you know are looking to buy, sell or invest please give us a call to discuss your options! Interest rates are still at an all time low. Now is a great time to jump in the market!

After our last post discussing the recent study done by Move.com they took it a step further and listed their Top 10 Investor Friendly cities focusing on college towns for investors to take advantage of a market thick with nomadic college students. Believe it or not, Houston showed up on the list and ranked quite high!

“Houston, TX: Houston is another market with low-priced inventory as the median list price was $174,900 in June 2011, down slightly from the same time last year and lower than the national median list price of $189,900. Houston is home to Rice University, ranked 16th on the list of best US colleges. Houston’s average rental rates for a 2 bedroom unit were $1,218 and $1,478 for a three or more bedroom unit in June 2011. These rent prices are both higher than a mortgage payment of around $710 for a median-priced home with a 20% down payment and current mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed loan.”

According to the recent Move, Inc. investor survey, “In the next two years, real estate investors are expected to outnumber traditional homebuyers in their local markets by three to one, and 56.5 percent plan to put their investments to work as rental properties.”

“Local markets with universities or colleges can be an attractive option for many local real estate investors,” said Move, Inc., Chief Executive Officer, Steve Berkowitz. “Housing demand in college towns is generally high and vacancy rates are usually low. Combine the supply and demand ratio with rising admissions and the five percent rise in rental rates expected by the end of the year, and rental property in college towns can be a smart option for the right investor.”

The Woodlands may not be known for being a ‘college town’, but there are plenty of colleges and universities in our area. Additionally, with the recent news of incoming Exxon Mobile, Investors will definitly be popping up more frequently than they have in the past. Are you interested in investing in real estate? Give us a call!