Weekly Report 2-41

What Options Do You Have During a Home Search?

By Marla Lewis President of the Houston Black Real Estate Association

Buying or selling a home can become complicated in this already high-pressure market that we are experiencing. Even other expensive items like cars or boats don't present you with the level of complexity you will experience during most home sales.

One part of the contract that's designed to help make the process easier is what is known as the option period. The option provision is contained in all Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) residential contracts. On the newhome and resale contracts, it's called the termination option, and you can find it in paragraph 23.

Buyers pay for a chance to say "no thanks"

During the option period, a buyer may terminate the contract for any reason and get his or her earnest money back. Most buyers use the option period to evaluate the condition of the property and otherwise determine if they want to proceed with the transaction, but that first point is worth repeating: It doesn't matter what the buyer's grounds are for terminating the contract. In fact, the buyer doesn't even have to give a reason as long as he gives notice of termination within the specified time. If the buyer does not give notification during the option period, the transaction moves ahead and the option fee is either credited to the sales price at closing or not, as negotiated in the original contract.

What's in it for sellers?

The termination option sounds pretty attractive to buy-

ers, but what about sellers? Sellers do not have the ability to terminate the contract during the option period – they are obligated to sell to the buyer under the terms of the contract (unless the buyer terminates), but the termination option does provide benefits to the seller.

First, sellers receive a fee in exchange for the buyer receiving his right to terminate. The amount is whatever the buyer and seller negotiated in the original contract. Perhaps more importantly, the option gives the seller peace of mind that the buyer is happy to be purchasing the home. Think about it. Who would you rather sell your home to - someone who is bitterly disappointed that he or she ever agreed to buy your home, or a buyer who is excited to purchase your house and is satisfied with the condition of the property? The truth is that if the buyer terminates the contract during the option period, you most likely got out of a transaction that would have caused you headaches at the least - possibly even a trip to the courtroom.

Lest sellers think that the option period creates a freefor-all for buyers to make offers left and right on properties they are not serious about, consider this: Only about one in 10 transactions don't make it past the option period, according to the National Association of REALTOR®.

What does it cost and what's involved?

The termination option is not a required element of a contract offer to purchase a home. However, most buyers do make the option part of their offer. The amount of the fee and the number of days of the option are both negotiable parts of the contract. Your realtor can help you decide what is reasonable and necessary given the circumstances of your situation. As a buyer, you will want to make sure the option fee is an amount you are comfortable paying should you decide to terminate the contract. You also want

to be certain you allow yourself enough time to conduct inspections of the house and address any concerns you have about the property.

While most sellers want to keep the option period as short as possible, negotiating hard for an extremely brief option period may work against you. If a buyer feels pressured and cannot get the information needed within the timeframe allowed, he or she may feel her best course of action is termination of the contract.

Buyers can do their part by scheduling inspections at the beginning of the option period. You'll want to allow enough time to ask the inspector questions, schedule follow-up inspections with other experts if recommended, and conduct any other due diligence you need to feel comfortable with your decision to purchase the home. Sometimes, an inspection will reveal conditions that lead to additional negotiations between the buyer and seller. A buyer will want this to happen during the option period, so they still have the right to terminate if they choose.

Even though there's an option on the property, sellers can continue to market the house and accept backup offers. This gives sellers who choose to accept backup offers a measure of protection in case something does fall through. No matter which side of the transaction you are on, the option period can give you additional confidence that the entire process of buying or selling a home will work smoothly for you.

For the most reliable guide to real estate around the greater Houston area and across the state, please visit HAR.com. And for more about the Houston Black Real Estate Association, please visit hbreahouston.org.

Source: Houston Association of REALTORS®

How a Simple Tape Measure May Help Predict Diabetes in Black Adults

By Thor Christensen American Heart Association News

Measuring waist circumference may be an essential way to help predict who will develop diabetes among Black people with normal blood sugar levels, according to a new study. The problem is, researchers say, waist size often is overlooked at health visits.

The study, published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, focused on how to best determine the risk of diabetes in Black populations. The condition causes blood sugar to rise and can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart.

About 1 in 10 people in the U.S. have diabetes, but the numbers are higher for Black men (14.7%) and Black women (13.4%), American Heart Association statistics show. According to federal data, Black people are twice as likely as their white

counterparts to die of diabetes and three times as likely to end up hospitalized for uncontrolled diabetes.

Researchers looked at nearly 4,000 Black adults without diabetes who had their waist circumference and body mass index measured and received different types of blood and imaging tests to assess body fat. Participants had either normal blood sugar levels or prediabetes, a serious condition when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to qualify as diabetes.

After about five years, the study found a simple A1C blood test was the best marker for predicting future diabetes in those who had prediabetes. The test measures average blood sugar levels over the past three months.

However, for participants with normal blood sugar, the researchers found it was better to measure waist circumference as well as liver fat and visceral adipose tissue, a type of fat that surrounds abdominal organs deep inside your body.

Measuring visceral and liver fat can be complicated and costly, but measuring waist circumference is simple and inexpensive, said the study's lead author Dr. Joshua J. Joseph.

"All you need is a good old-fashioned tape measure," said Joseph, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

"Waist circumference measurement has fallen off in recent years during office visits. Our (study) is a big reminder about the importance of actually doing that, and considering waist circumference alone, as well in the context of other conditions" such as obesity, he said.

About 55% of Black women and 38% of Black men have obesity, AHA statistics show. Since obesity is a key driver of diabetes, Joseph said it's important to maintain a healthy weight, eat a nutritious diet and be physically active. But making and sustaining those changes isn't easy, Joseph acknowledged. "The bigger question is how do you get these individuals into programming that will actually help them improve their waist circumference and improve their life?"

Possible solutions, Joseph said, are for doctors to prescribe physical activity courses and training for their patients, and encourage them to enroll in nutritious cooking classes and take part in community gardens.

"We also need to address barriers that cut across all racial and ethnic groups. If you don't have a sidewalk in your community, it's much tougher to go outside and take a long walk," he said.

"To make sure everyone can lead longer, healthier lives, we have to work intensively as academic, corporate and government institutions, along with community stakeholders, to really address these social determinants of health."

Dr. Michelle Kelsey, who was not involved in the research, said the study was limited by its focus on Black adults in Mississippi. "The results may not be generalizable to all African Americans," she said.

In addition, she said, although everyone in the study had their waist size and BMI measured, not everyone received the same blood and imaging tests.

Still, Kelsey called the study "an important paper that helps us better understand who is likely to develop diabetes. If we can identify people at high risk earlier, we can intervene earlier to improve exercise and dietary habits, so those individuals don't go on to develop diabetes and all of its complications."

Kelsey, a cardiology fellow and researcher at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said while it's still important to measure a person's BMI, the study is a reminder that not all body fat is created equal.

"We know that some of the markers of increased visceral (belly) fat are associated with development of diabetes," she said. "Waist circumference may tell us more about someone's risk for diabetes in the future than body mass index on its own."

“The American Heart Association in Greater Houston works closely with hospital systems and clinical sites through our Inpatient and Outpatient Quality Improvement Programs like Target Type 2 Diabetes and Know Diabetes by Heart to tackle Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. The challenge of diabetes in our community requires comprehensive solutions. The American Heart Association is driving change through our Clinic to Community Partnerships as we improve the social determinants of health such as food insecurity, education, access to care through collaborative partnerships in communities across Greater Houston,” said Verónica Sánchez, Senior Director of Healthcare Systems and Community Impact, American Heart Association Greater Houston.

For more information, please visit heart.org.

Source: American Heart Association

Photo Caption: Verónica Sánchez, Senior Director of Healthcare Systems and Community Impact, American Heart Association Greater Houston