5 Good Questions Buyers May Not Think to Ask

First-time home buyers have a lot to think about, and sometimes they don't consider all of the factors that will impact their enjoyment of their new home.

A handful of recent home buyers in St. Louis say what they wish they would have asked before buying a property. The issues they raise are valid concerns for anybody buying a home practically anywhere:

• For pet owners: How welcome and comfortable will my pet be in this home? Are there any pet restrictions and is there a safe convenient place to walk a dog?

• For condo buyers: How often and by how much have the condo fees gone up in the past? Is there a maintenance fund, and how large is it? While past performance is no guarantee, stable fees and good planning in the past is promising.

• For homes with basements: Does water sometime seep into the basement or other parts of the home? Has this property ever been flooded?

• For everyone: Who are the neighbors? Do any of them have noisy animals or hobbies?

• For homes near vacant land: What is the future of the adjacent open land? Just because a piece of property doesn’t have anything built on it now doesn’t guarantee that it won’t.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Casey Newman (06/23/07)

For more homebuyer tips and information for home buyers, visit http://www.thomasanddrake.com/ and click on "Buyer/Seller Info".

WHY YOU NEED AN AGENT WHEN BUYING OR BUILDING A NEW HOME

Builders are hungry and that means great savings for you! With many builders discounting new homes and offering incentives to buyers, now could be a perfect opportunity to buy a BRAND NEW HOME.

Unfortunately, many new home buyers may not know what the house next door sold for or what may have been included in the final sale price. Here is where you NEED to be professioanlly represented by a qualified Realtor who has a good working relationship with the builders in the area and who keeps track of the new neighborhoods' sales.

Cost to You
Nothing! Any compensation given to us is recognized by the builder as a marketing fee and has no impact on the final cost of the home. In fact, most builders do not even see the referral fee (commission) agreement until AFTER all negotiations have been completed. Builders desire, expect and encourage us to show their homes to our clients.

Savings to You
Are you getting what you're entitled to have ... both in quality and value? The Thomas and Drake Group knows what you should receive and what "extras" might be available.
Since we have already representated so many of our clients at so many of the new home developments in the Desert, we have learned (from both past transactions as well as from the relationships we maintain with the on-site sales teams) just how much we can help negotiate in to your new home! Overall price discounts, interest rate buy-downs, floor coverings, countertops, window coverings, ceiling fans, patios, decks, pools and spas, landscaping, even appliances and furninshings can often be negotiated into your purchase if you know how to ask and from whom!.

Resale...Appreciation & Profit
Give your investment the best opportunity for appreciation at resale. Questions concerning site location, builder, design and decor are important. We know you are building not only for today ... but for tomorrow.

You Are Represented
With The Thomas and Drake Group, YOU are represented! Our experience, knowledge, and reputation represents strength and leverage on your behalf. Several builders in the Coachella Valley now see us with a client and simply say "OK, tell us your final deal will be" because they KNOW we work hard and help to negotiate the best possible deal for our buyers and then KEEP working hard for our clients up to and beyond the day they get their keys!

Why Us?
The Thomas and Drake Group has a very strong working relationship with most of the New Home builders throughout the Coachella Valley and we even maintain a library of brochures from many of them. We have represented clients with these builders and are recognized for our professionalism and significant follow-up throughout the process.

We make sure that you are kept informed of what to expect from your first visit to the property until the day escrow closes and beyond. We will guide you through the process and keep you up-to-date on your transaction and we will gladly coordinate any third-party inspections you may need, take photographs of your new home as it is being finished - something our out of town clients find especially beneficial.

Contact Us
We will be happy to help you in your new home search!

Greg Thomas and Gary Drake(760) 799-0320 or (760) 898-8110

Where Have All the Agents Gone?

Just a few years ago, I was getting my hair cut when the barber told me she was buying a new home. Since I had already helped others in her salon, I said “Great! Have you already picked out a neighborhood?” She let me know that she was already in the transaction and that her neighbor was a real estate agent and was working for her. I asked the agents name and found it was no one I had ever heard of, someone with a small brokerage who was offering a discount.

It seemed at the time that everyone was an agent. My friends’ wife’s ex-boyfriends brother-in-law; my plumber-and-real-estate-agent; my sisters’ old college roommate. Everyone jumped into the business when the market was hot and made a quick buck, even though they really didn’t know what they were doing, didn’t know a basic contract and had no idea what to look out for in property disclosures.

Today, now that the market has cooled and leveled off, I look around and see some of those same old agents at the home improvement center selling me my dishwasher. It’s not a bad place to work – it’s air conditioned, out of the sun, no continuing education requirements, no licensing fees or insurance costs, and the customers come to them.

The costs of maintaining a real estate license are quite significant: Association dues to the California Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors and to the local Boards, the costs of Errors and Omissions Insurance, additional automobile liability insurance, the time and money to meet continuing education requirements, marketing and advertising costs…the list goes on.

When the easy money faded away, many agents decided not to renew their memberships to the National Board of Realtors, meaning they were no longer “Realtors”, just “agents”. They no longer had the National Association backing them. No longer being “Realtors”, the could no longer belong to the California Association of Realtors – no backing on the state level, no free contracts or forms, no online forms, no legal hotline. Next, lower the auto liability coverage – no more taking clients around in the car. Put off getting those continuing education requirements met, wait a while on the marketing and, finally, don’t pay the E&O insurance – no broker will carry them without it and *POOF*, they are no longer active agents, they no longer have an active license.

It’s the Tortoise and the Hare all over again. The quick money falls by the wayside, the steady workers are in it for the long haul. In the Desert, everyone slams on their breaks for a tortoise; on the sad side of the same coin, how many dead rabbits do we keep seeing alongside the roads?

As a friend who has been in this business for over 30 years keeps telling me, “In a neutral market, this business is the toughest way to make an easy buck.”

The lesson here is to look for a Realtor who works full-time in Real Estate and works even when business is slow, even when the weather is hot, even when the market is not. At least you will know that your agent will be there for you after his or her commission check clears the bank; otherwise, hunt them down at your local super-center.

-Gary Drake
The Thomas and Drake Group
Palm Desert, CA

Homeowner's Insurance:12 Ways to Save

1. SHOP AROUND Ask friends, check the phone book, call your state insurance department, check consumer guides, insurance agents and online quote services.

2. RAISE YOUR DEDUCTIBLE Most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $500. If you can afford to raise your deductible to $1,000, you may save as much as 25%.

3. BUY YOUR HOME & AUTO POLICIES FROM ONE INSURER Some companies will take 5% to 15% off your premium if you buy two or more policies.

4. MAKE YOUR HOME MORE DISASTER-PROOF See what steps you can take to make your home more resistant to natural disasters.

5. DON'T CONFUSE YOUR PURCHASE PRICE WITH REBUILDING COSTS Don't include your land value when deciding how much insurance to buy.

6. IMPROVE YOUR HOME SECURITY Some companies will discount as much as 15% to 20% if you install a sprinkler system and a fire and burglar alarm that notifies police, fire or other monitoring stations.

7. SEEK OUT OTHER DISCOUNTS Ask your agent or company representative about any discounts available to you.

8. SEE IF YOU CAN GET GROUP COVERAGE Professional, alumni and business groups often work out an insurance package with an insurance company, which includes a discount for association members.

9. STAY WITH THE SAME INSURER If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive a special discount for being a long-term policyholder.

10. REVIEW THE LIMITS IN YOUR POLICY AND THE VALUE OF YOUR POSSESSIONS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR

11. LOOK FOR PRIVATE INSURANCE IF YOU ARE IN A GOVERNMENT PLAN You may find that there are steps you can take that would allow you to buy insurance at a lower price in the private market.

12. WHEN YOU'RE BUYING A HOME, CONSIDER THE COST OF HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE Choosing wisely could cut your premiums by 5% to 15%.

Xeriscapes: Water-Saving Landscaping

All across America, communities have been faced with increased demands on existing water supplies. Consequently, there is a greater focus on water conservation, not just in times of drought, but in anticipation of future population growth. Water can no longer be considered a limitless resource. A philosophy of conservation of water through creative landscaping has created the new term, xeriscape.

The term xeriscape is derived from the Greek word xeros meaning dry, combined with landscaping, thus xeriscaping. The term was coined by the Front Range Xeriscape Task Force of the Denver Water Department in 1981. The goal of a xeriscape is to create a visually attractive landscape that uses plants selected for their water efficiency.

Properly maintained, a xeriscape can easily use less than one-half the water of a traditional landscape. Once established, a xeriscape should require less maintenance than turf landscape.
The eight fundamentals of water-wise landscaping illustrate the concepts and principles of Xeriscape landscaping and other water-efficient approaches.

1. Group plants according to their water needs
2. Use native and low-water-use plants
3. Limit turf areas to those needed for practical uses
4. Use efficient irrigation systems
5. Schedule irrigation wisely
6. Make sure soil is healthy
7. Remember to mulch
8. Provide regular maintenance.

Proper landscaping techniques not only create beautiful landscapes, but also benefit the environment and save water. In addition, attractive, water-efficient, low-maintenance landscapes can increase home values.

Water-efficient landscaping offers many economic and environmental benefits, including:

• Lower water bills from reduced use
• Conservation of natural resources and preservation of habitat for plants and wildlife
• Decreased energy use because less pumping and treatment of water is required
• Reduced home or office heating and cooling costs through the careful placement of trees and plants
• Reduced runoff of storm water and irrigation water that carries top soils, fertilizers, and pesticides into lakes, rivers and streams
• Fewer yard trimmings to be managed or landfilled
• Reduced landscaping labor and maintenance costs
• Extended life for water resources infra-structure, thus reduced taxpayer costs.

In short, plan and maintain your landscape with these principles of water efficiency in mind and it will continue to conserve water, as well as be attractive.