Tips for Preventing Home Storm Damage

from Parade of Homes Fall 2020

by The Eagle Advertising Department

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Three Myths: About Buying a Home Right Now

By David Deutsch and Dennis McMillin BCS Parade of Homes™ CoChairmen

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded this year, a place to call home took on a new meaning for many. Living spaces evolved into home offices, schools and playgrounds. Stay-athome restrictions this year may have accelerated your desire to purchase a new home to gain more space or perhaps you were prepared to buy a home this year but are now reevaluating your commitment. To help you determine if now is still a good time to search for and purchase a home, below are a few misconceptions about home buying right now.

Myth 1: Interest Rates are High. This is not true. In fact, interest rates are low, making it an attractive time to purchase a home. While rates are subject to change at any time, the Federal Reserve recently announce that it intends to keep the federal funds rate near zero through 2022, which should help keep mortgage rates low.

Myth 2: No one is buying homes right now. Even in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000 units in April, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The data shows that home sales are continuing.

Myth 3: Buyers can only view the home’s exterior. There are many ways to view the interior of the home even with social distancing measures in place. You’ll be surprised by the number of online showrooms, photos and even 3D videos available that show the interior of a home. Websites such as Realtor.com, Redfin.com, Trulia. com and your local custom home builders have detailed information about the interior of a home. Contact a local relator or home builder who can tell you about the options available to safely tour homes in person.

For more information on how to find a home in the Greater Brazos Valley contact info@gbvbuilders.org and view new construction homes during the 2020 Parade of Homes™ through the new BCS Parade of Homes™ mobile app and website bcsparadeofhomes.org beginning August 26th.

Home Purchasing Plans Largely Unchanged in 2020

By Chad Murphy, President Greater Brazos Valley Builders Association

The spread of coronavirus upended almost everything in 2020 with lockdowns and other public health interventions disrupting daily life. How did the pandemic affect potential home buyers this year? According to a recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Trends Report, online survey results showed the spread of COVID-19 did not change home purchasing plans for many Americans this year.

According to the report, the share of Americans who are considering the purchase of a home in the next 12 months was 11 percent in the second quarter of 2020, essentially flat when compared to the same quarter in 2019 (12 percent). The survey finding indicates that the overall propensity of Americans who want to buy a home has not been impacted by the pandemic.

However, generational differences among potential home buyers was stark. In the second quarter of 2020, millennials — adults 24 to 39 years old — were the generation most likely to want to buy a home (19 percent), a sentiment slightly higher than a year earlier (17 percent). In contrast, Boomers, adults 56 to 74 years old, were the least likely to plan for a home purchase (five percent). Home purchasing plans by region were similar. The share of survey respondents who were prospective home buyers was unchanged in the Northeast (10 percent) and South (12 percent), essentially flat in the West (13 percent), and just slightly lower in the Midwest (down from 11 percent to nine percent) from the previous year.

One of the challenges home buyers are encountering this year, in addition to affordability, is a delay in their home search due to the rising number of multiple offers on the same property. The survey found that nearly a third (30 percent) of active buyers reported getting outbid by another buyer in the second quarter of 2020, significantly higher than the comparable 18 percent share a year earlier.

For house hunters who have been actively searching for a home for at least three months, more than half (51 percent) say they will continue looking for the “right” home in the same preferred location; while 37 percent will expand their search area; and less than a quarter (21 percent) is willing to accept a smaller/older home.

For more information about home buying in the Greater Brazos Valley area contact info@gbvbuilders.org.

3 Questions to Ask When Looking for the Right Builder

By Chad Murphy, President Greater Brazos Valley Builders Association

Though builders might generally use similar tools and materials when building homes, not all are alike when it comes to things like technique, training and customer service. Finding the right builder whose business approach aligns well with your personal preferences is essential to a pleasant homebuilding experience.

The builder will be asking you plenty of questions during your initial meeting to discuss the home you envision. But the questions you ask the builder are equally important to determine if it’s going to be a positive partnership. Consider asking the builder about the following:

Work Experience – You will want to find a builder with extensive experience building homes similar to the one you want. Ask to see examples of floor plans and designs they’ve done before to ensure their company can deliver what you need. You should also ask if they have or are working toward any professional designations, which show that the builder has advanced training in a particular area. A few examples of such designations include a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), a Graduate Master Builder (CMB), and a Certified Green Professional (CGP).

References – Any high-quality builder should be ready to provide you with several names and phone numbers of satisfied customers. If they can’t, consider that a red flag and walk away. When reaching out to those former clients, ask about how well the builder followed through on the initial plans, and if the builder met their expectations regarding budget and timing. Don’t forget the most telling question of them all: If they could do it all over, would they hire that builder again?

Communication Style – Many builders will do their best to accommodate your communication preferences. But it’s always best to establish expectations as early as possible. The frequency (weekly, monthly, as-needed, etc.) and method (phone, text, email) of how you communicate early on with each other is something that will set the tone throughout the whole building process.

For more information about how to find the right builder to create your dream home, contact info@ gbvbuilders.org or visit the BCS 2020 Parade of Homes™ website at bcsparadeofhomes.org after August 26th to read about participating builders in the Parade.

Five Things to do After You Purchase a New Home

By: The National Association of Home Builders

If you’re a first-time home buyer who has just finished the closing process, you might be wondering what you should do as soon as you move-in. Maybe it’s unpacking or gathering new design ideas to make the home your own. Before settling in, there are a few tasks you should consider completing to help keep your home comfortable and family safe. To help you transition to the status of new home owner, consider adding the following items to your to-do list.

Develop a Home Maintenance Checklist

You should regularly check, clean and/or test a wide variety of interior and exterior systems and structures. A robust home maintenance list can help keep your home functioning at an optimal level and save you time and money in the long run. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a Home Maintenance Checklist to help you get started with the basic guidelines for keeping different areas of your home in the best shape.

Keep Documents Related to Your Home Organized

As a new home owner, you’ve likely gathered a mountain of paperwork, printed or electronic. Make sure to keep track of all the documents related to your home purchase, appliance warranties and insurance information. You might need to have those documents handy for future tax preparation or to keep track of items in your home may need to be replaced or repaired in the future.

Prepare an Emergency Kit

You don’t have to wait for seasonal storms or wintry weather to prepare your home and family for an emergency. In the event of a natural disaster, basic services such as electricity, gas or water, may be cut off for days, or even weeks, so you should be prepared. The Department of Homeland Security recommends stockpiling at least three days’ worth of food and water for your family. Visit ready.gov for a list of suggested items to include in a basic emergency preparedness kit.

Change the Locks

If you bought an existing home, you should rekey the locks right away. You never know who the previous owners gave keys to. The National Crime Prevention Council recommends purchasing high quality locks that have a long enough bolt so the door cannot be pried open. If you don’t have a deadbolt on your doors, now is a good time to install one or hire a locksmith.

Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

Even if you’ve purchased a brandnew home with the latest energyefficient building materials and techniques, there are still some improvements you can make to save even more money on utility bills. For example, you can install a programmable thermostat that can be set to automatically adjust the heat or air when the home is most or least used. Visit energystar.gov to learn about more opportunities improve your home’s efficiency.

For more information on homeownership, contact info@gbvbuilders.org.

DID YOU KNOW?

Metro Creative Connection Outdoor living is wildly popular, as more and more homeowners are bringing elements once reserved for home interiors into their backyards. When designing outdoor living spaces, homeowners may learn about biophilic design, an architectural concept that aims to incorporate natural elements into outdoor living spaces. Proponents of biophilic design say it satisfi es an innate human need to affi liate with nature, thereby helping to reduce stress that people may experience after being stuck indoors for much of their days. Biophilic design is often part of a home interior design, but many homeowners also embrace it when designing their outdoor living spaces. For example, surrounding outdoor living areas with noninvasive plants, fl owers and trees and using natural materials like wood and stone when building such spaces are great ways to embrace biophilic design and create a tension-free ambiance in outdoor living spaces. It’s not a dream home

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