Clay Lee
Broker/Realtor®
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Real Estate News Category
Resort Style Living Right in College Station
August 17th, 2011 Categories: Home Improvement & Design, Pebble Creek, Real Estate News
How many times during the hectic work week do you find yourself asking “When do I get a vacation?”
You imagine yourself relaxing by the pool with a cold drink in your hand without a care in the world.
What you imagine might look a little like this:
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Bridal Registry List: Toaster, Blender, New Home?
August 16th, 2011 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Real Estate News
Seems like asking a lot of your wedding guests, huh? With the FHA’s little known Bridal Registry program, it isn’t that wild of an idea.
Are there keys inside?
Young couples are in need of lots of items when starting their new partnership. What is one of the most important things they need? A roof over their head! Couples can start off on the right foot towards homeownership by establishing a FHA Bridal Registry account. The program, started in 1996, has been recently changed to make it easier for newlyweds to put their wedding gifts towards a home purchase. You can apply these funds towards a down payment on a FHA loan, and even earn interest before you make the purchase!
How to get started:
- Visit your choice of FHA lender and set up a savings account for the down payment
- Give your friends and family the banking info on where their gifts can be deposited
- You can even put gifts received by Uncle Joe who didn’t want to bother with the bank in the registry account
- All of the funds can be used towards a FHA down payment
- You don’t even have to tie the knot before you can close on your new home with this program!
The biggest advantage of this program is that you do not have to follow the typical rules and regulations regarding gifts that are applied to a home purchase. The program allows the funds to be used with simple documentation, no more than a letter from the lender verifying that the funds were gifts from friends and family with no business interest in you purchasing a home. That is the only kicker; builders, Realtors, and any other party that could benefit from the sale are not allowed to give to the account.
This underutilized program could help that soon to be wed couple make their first home purchase even before they walk down the aisle. Share it with friends and family that could put it to use!
For help finding that perfect first home in the Brazos Valley, give me a call @ 979.255.1839!
Clay Lee - Realtor
Century 21 Beal, Inc.
(979) 255-1839
Timeless Service, Quality, and Experience Guaranteed
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NAR Directors Pass Sexual-Orientation Protections
June 1st, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News
The National Association of Realtors held a scheduled meeting on May 15th in Washington D.C. During this meeting, the Board of Directors passed a change to Article 10 of the NAR Code of Ethics barring REALTORS® from denying equal professional services on the basis of sexual orientation or from discriminating against any person on the basis of sexual orientation.
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How to get rid of PMI - Part One
December 2nd, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Foreclosures, Home Improvement & Design, Real Estate News, Selling Real Estate
No I didn’t say PMS. If I knew that, then I’d be a millionaire. PMI - your Private Mortgage Insurance protects your lender in case if a borrower defaults on the loan, and the value of the home is lower than the loan balance.
Home Equity and PMI
PMI has been a large money-maker for the mortgage lenders. The amount of the insurance (usually $40/month for a $100k home) is commonly rolled into the mortgage payment. Given the size of the overall note payment, this additional fee is often overlooked. Homeowners continue to pay the PMI even after their loan balance has dropped below the original 80% threshold. This occurs naturally, of course, as the home owner pays down the principal on the loan. On a typical 30-year loan, however, it can take many years to reach that point.
Lenders were under no obligation to tell home owners when they had reached a point where the PMI can be dropped. That all changed back in 1999 when the Homeowners Protection Act took effect. In most cases, this law now obligates lenders to terminate Read the rest of this entry »
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Timber House Just Minutes Away From Texas A&M Football
September 23rd, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
As the football season gets underway, everyone is reminded just how hectic game day traffic can get. Parking can be a nightmare, and, if you are hungry, you had better get your fair share of hot dogs during the tailgate party because getting seated in a restaurant after the game lets out is an extremely time consuming endeavor. Is there any way to come and enjoy a day of Aggie Football at Kyle Field without having to conquer the gauntlet that is post-game traffic? The answer is, simply: Yes. Crowley Homes is currently in the process of custom remodeling a beautiful home in the Historic District of College Station, which is within walking distance of Kyle Field and The Texas A&M Campus. The flexible floor plan, which includes 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and an extra deep 2-car garage with tons of storage, is 3,500+ square feet. The wide open rooms and 3 enormous covered patio areas make this the perfect place to entertain guests. Also, the formal dining room has French doors that can be closed off to create a library or study using the large dining in the great room instead. Top of the line amenities through out the house include hardwood floors, custom molding, state of the art audio/video wiring, and appliances by Sub-Zero and Wolf. Upstairs features a gameroom and 2 guest suites complete with walk-in closets and en-suite baths. There is even a large storage room that could be finished as a home theatre. While this house is not move-in ready now, it will be by next season and, being just a short walk from Kyle Field, won’t stay on the market for long. So next season, instead of sitting in long lines of traffic and fighting for a seat at a restaurant after the game lets out, enjoy a short walk home and a cookout in your own backyard. There is not better way to spend a Saturday.
If you have any question, feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] or 979-255-1839
College Station’s #1 Luxury Lifestyle & Real Estate Expert for over a Decade!
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Real Estate That Changes and Moves as You Wish: Coming Soon to Dubai, Moscow, and New York City!
June 26th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Home Improvement & Design, Market Trends, Real Estate News, Real Estate True Tales
When you were a child, you probably had or played with a slinky. You probably remember how you could twist and spin a slinky in a million different ways to create some crazy looking tubular shapes. Well now you may be able to do the same thing with your home! Today in Dubai, a new building was unveiled called the Dynamic Tower which will be 80 stories tall and be able to adjust its shape at any given moment. Each floor will be able to spin independently to change that floors view or to change the shape of the entire building! The picture to the left shows different configurations that the tower might have. I guess that if you wake up and decide you don’t like the ocean view of your bedroom that you can twist it around for a desert or city view! A part of me wonders what it will sound like when the entire building is rotating. Will clients feel it rotate?
The building is truly a new study in the way that high Read the rest of this entry »
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5 Star Hotel Bedrooms - In Your Own Home!
June 25th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Home Improvement & Design, Kids, Family & Personal Stuff, Market Trends, Real Estate News
If you’ve ever stayed in a great hotel and when it came time to check out you didn’t want to leave, you are not alone. Today’s 5 star hotels and many 4 star hotels are making their beds and bathrooms more luxurious all the time. It’s almost as if it’s a competition between them to see who can top the other. The bathrooms keep getting larger and the beds keep getting fluffier with even higher and higher thread count sheets.
But going home doesn’t have to be the end of your stay at your favorite hotel! Due to an enormous amount of client demand, many of the 5 and 4 star hotels are now selling almost everything you need to recreate your hotel experience at home. If you had to pull all the materials together yourself, it would take extensive travel and weeks of internet searching to find all the bedding, accessories, towels, and plumbing products. Now with just a simple phone call you can have almost everything you see!
For example, W Hotels has a retail store in Read the rest of this entry »
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