Ask the Agents #18: Renting, Buying & Hosting Open Houses

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: Are open houses actually useful? Answer: The short answer is, yes. Oh, we’ve heard many of the arguments against public open houses: Only nosy neighbors come. It’s a weekend amusement for people who could never afford my house. Dishonest people might be checking out my stuff. Real estate agents want...

What’s New in Your Real Estate Contract?

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) regularly tweaks the various contracts, agreements, notices and addenda that home buyers and sellers and their agents use. The common One to Four Family Residential Contract – that is, the contract typically used to resell a home – has had a number of changes that...

Sneak Peek!

January 18, 2021January 18, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Cameron and Teresa are working now on the next edition of the River Oaks Market Report, set to go to press next week. The “Outlook” edition will drill down into the River Oaks real estate market for 2020 – what sold where and for how much? – plus offer thoughtful insight...

Ask the Agents #17: Open House Precautions

September 16, 2020September 17, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: What precautions should be taken for an open house? Answer: Despite six months of COVID-19, the real estate business has not ground to a halt. Or, to put it more accurately, after a hard stop last spring, it is once again percolating along. People feel more comfortable going out, and...

Snapshot of the River Oaks Market

July 20, 2020July 20, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

We haven’t talked to anyone in the past four months without hearing some version of the same question: How is the real estate market during the COVID-19 pandemic? HAR.com issues monthly updates on the entire greater-Houston market area, as you surely know, and the real estate market varies widely from area...

Ask the Agents #16: Saltwater Pools

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: What is the difference between a saltwater pool and a regular pool? Answer: A sparkling clean backyard pool makes a sultry Houston summer worth it, right? And no doubt, given our current COVID situation, people who have a swimming pool will be staying home and using it more than ever...

COVID-19 and Houston Real Estate

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

No one in Houston has been unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis that is playing out. And the scary medical/social-distancing circumstances have been compounded by free-fall oil prices and stock market. For many clients contemplating the largest purchase of their lifetime, this is a daunting situation. As of mid-March, most business that...

Ask the Agents #15: Contingencies

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: I know that real estate contracts have contingencies. What does that mean? Answer: Black’s Law Dictionary helpfully defines a contingency as “an event that may or may not happen, a doubtful or uncertain future event.” As Texas realtors, we are trained in the use of promulgated forms – i.e. forms...

2019 By The Numbers

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Ask the Agents #14: Home Staging Services

November 12, 2019November 17, 2019Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: What do home staging services do – and are they worth the money? Answer: The point of staging a home is, simply, to make it more appealing. You know about getting rid of clutter, touching up paint and replacing the dead shrub by the front door. Staging takes that “fluffing”...