Why You Should Buy A Houston Home Right Now.

Why You Should Buy A Houston Home Right Now.

Whether you desire to lease a Houston apartment or lease a Houston home, or buy or sell a house here in the Houston metropolitan area, we will provide the information and expertise to help you make a sound decision. As your Houston Realtor and Houston relocation specialist, you can expect integrity, fairness, extensive knowledge and professional service from my team and I. We are certain that with your input and our knowledge, we will locate the right home for you. We listen to our clients and most of all we care about you and where you live. Please know that we offer a FREE Houston Apartment Locating service to you as well!

You have probably heard it all over media outlets. "Affordability is at an all-time high. Interest rates are excellent! The question remains, however, why buy a Houston home? What do these proclamations actually mean for you?

Let’s look at these claims. Affordability is at an all-time high. This is calculated by a ratio of median household income to median home prices for any given area.


According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) this record level is around 73 percent of all new and existing homes. To put this number into perspective, before recent years’ developments it was rare to see the HOI go above 60 percent.


What does this mean for you, the buyer? It means that If you're here in Houston, I can assist you by letting you know what home prices are like in the area you're looking for and compare those to your own family income. Are you in the position to buy a larger home or move up thanks to low rates and low prices? I can help you determine that.


The market is the perfect climate today for buyers with cash for downpayments, steady incomes, and good credit scores. Buying today is full of opportunity. You can buy more home for less money and pay less interest over the life of the loan thanks to incredibly low interest rates.


Rates have never been this low and even lower for buyers with good credit (think credit scores at least 720). Even if you don’t have an excellent credit score you may still be eligible for other good rates or deals. Now is the time to find out!


There are fewer buyers on the market, which means you have more leverage at the negotiating tables. Sellers are willing to make more concessions and many are motivated to sell, especially if their home has been lingering on the market.


Why should you buy a Houston home right now? You’re going to find better deals, lower prices, and the best rates in history for buying a home. That sounds like an ideal time to enter the market!

Please take a moment to visit our website at www.DavidTheLocator.com or call us direct at 281-326-HOME! We look forward to hearing from you!

Hurricane Preparedness- Be Ready

Hurricane Preparedness - Be Ready

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Preparedness Week | Hazards | Watches & Warnings | Be Ready

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Two keys to weather safety are to prepare for the risks and to act on those preparations when alerted by emergency officials. These are essential pieces to the Weather-Ready Nation.

Refer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) ready.gov/hurricanes for comprehensive information on hurricane preparedness at home and in your community.

Highlights on how to prepare and take action are available below:

• Gather Information
• Plan & Take Action
• Recover
• Resources

Gather Information

Know if you live in an evacuation area. Assess your risks and know your home's vulnerability to storm surge,flooding and wind. Understand National Weather Service forecast products and especially the meaning of NWSwatches and warnings.

Contact your local National Weather Service office and local government/emergency management office. Find out what type of emergencies could occur and how you should respond.

Contacts

Keep a list of contact information for reference.

• Local Emergency Management Office
• County Law Enforcement
• County Public Safety Fire/Rescue
• State, County and City/Town Government
• Local Hospitals
• Local Utilities
• Local American Red Cross
• Local TV Stations
• Local Radio Stations
• Your Property Insurance Agent

Risk Analysis

Online hazard and vulnerability assessment tools are available to gather information about your risks.

• Check your hazards risks with FEMA's Map Portal.
• Rate your flood risk with the FloodSmart.gov portal.

Plan & Take Action

Everyone needs to be prepared for the unexpected. Your friends and family may not be together when disaster strikes. How will you find each other? Will you know if your children or parents are safe? You may have to evacuate or be confined to your home. What will you do if water, gas, electricity or phone services are shut off?

Supplies Kit

Put together a basic disaster supplies kit and consider storage locations for different situations. Help community members do the same.

Emergency Plans

Develop and document plans for your specific risks.

• Protect yourself and family with a Family Emergency Plan - [PDF]   [Google Docs]
• Be sure to plan for locations away from home
• Business owners and site locations should create Workplace Plans
• Make sure schools and daycares have School Emergency Plans
• Pet owners should have plans to care for their animals. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention offer information on animal health impacts in evacuation shelters.
• Prepare your boat and be aware of marine safety if you are on or near the water.

Health & Environment

Follow guidelines to guard your community's health and protect the environment during and after the storm.

• Review the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) health considerations before, during, and after a storm.
• Remember to follow the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) food and water safety guidelines during disasters.
• Review the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggestions for health and environmental safety in disaster preparedness.

Evacuation

• Review the FEMA Evacuation Guidelines to allow for enough time to pack and inform friends and family if you need to leave your home. FOLLOW instructions issued by local officials. Leave immediately if ordered!
• Consider your protection options to decide whether to stay or evacuate your home if you are not ordered to evacuate.

When waiting out a storm be careful, the danger may not be over yet...

Be alert for:

• Tornadoes – they are often spawned by hurricanes.
• The calm "eye" of the storm – it may seem like the storm is over, but after the eye passes, the winds will change direction and quickly return to hurricane force.

Recover

• Wait until an area is declared safe before returning home.
• Remember that recovering from a disaster is usually a gradual process.

Resources

• FEMA - Are You Ready? Guide
• National Weather Service Weather Safety
• Be a Force of Nature with NOAA's Weather-Ready Nation
• NWS Storm-Ready Sites & Communities
• Ready.gov Kids
• American Red Cross

Tired of Searching fora Place to Live? Search No More! Let David Moore Search For You!

Tired of Searching fora Place to Live? Search No More! Let David Moore Search For You!

                     

Tired of searching for a place to live? Finding a Houston home or Houston Apartment that is ideal for your needs may take you a lot of time and money, not to mention stress. Hi, my name is David J. Moore, ABR.GRI. I have lived in the Houston area for over 46 years and my  team and I at  DavidTheLocator specialize in re-locations in Houston and its suburbs. 

We are unique in that we are full service Real Estate and Apartment Locating company. Whether you have just moved to Houston or you are just looking for a new house or apartment, we will help you find the place that you will truly love and be comfortable with. We will provide you with the best Houston Apartments that meet all of your needs and criteria because we take pride in our work and care about where you live!

Be cautious when looking for a place to live via the internet as many companies post what's called "bait ads" that really don't exist or have already been leased just to get your business. We are about honesty and integrity. We would never recommend a place that we know to be unsafe and that we would not personally send our own family members to. We are experts in the Apartment Locating business and we know which apartments are well taken care of not just cosmetically but most importantly by the management company....the people that in the end will be taking care of your needs. With us you will have the place that you want in no time because we have years of experience in helping people find the apartment (or house) that is right for them.

At DavidTheLocator you will definitely get the personalized service that you require. Paying the rent that you can afford is very important so we make sure that we find you a place in the right price range. We offer you advice that you can use to get the home that is right for you. You don't have to do a thing... we do all of the work for you. We will personalize a list of apartments from our own database, call for specials and availabilities and schedule a time for you to visit them. Best of all (I know you won't believe this) our service is completely FREE... no strings attached because we get credit from wherever YOU choose to live. I know there are a lot of "rebate" offers out there...some legit...some not, we will match any rebate offered to you as well.  

So first of all... visit our website at www.davidthelocator.com and get to know us and please call us direct at 281-326-HOME at any time. 

We look forward to hearing from you! Remember...moving is stressful enough...let US do the hard part for you! 

Protect Your Health While Flying.

Protecting Your Health While Flying

My wife Marisoland I have the priveldege of flying just about  anywhere and often. And just In case you haven't already noticed, the airplane is a germ infested capsule filled with unseen critters just waiting to latch on to you from the moment you walk in! And it never fails, wherever we are seated, we have the snotty baby to the right, the coughing teenager in front of us and just for fun the kicking toddler behind us! After years of flying for Continental Airlines, my wife swears her body holds the key to many cures not yet discovered by science simply from having been exposed to these germs for so long. In fact, she happens to get sick less often than most and I believe it has to do with some type of resistance to these germs that her body has developed! Hmmmm...  But why learn the hard way right? Who looks forward to going on vacation only to return with a bug? Below are just a few, easy and valuable tips to take with you on your next journey... and there are no extra charges for these extra tips! Enjoy!

Last month, a female passenger who had just returned from a visit to Africa had broken out in hives and the condition had gotten progressively worse since leaving the nation of Ghana.  By the time the regional jet had arrived at Midway airport, the local airport fire department had surrounded the plane and the Centers for Disease Control had been notified of the possible contagion situation.  The plane was placed in quarantine as a result, forcing everyone on board to remain until the passenger’s condition had been monitored by medical experts.  There were unconfirmed reports that the affected passenger might have contracted Monkey Pox.

After being observed by the crew and photos of the skin rash reviewed by CDC officials, the crew and passengers were allowed to deplane.  Passengers who experienced the quarantine reported high levels of stress, worry and anxiety about their personal health and safety, but were relieved that the passenger had been cleared and that the authorities had taken the situation serious enough to verify that every person involved were safe.  It appeared that the passenger was reacting to exposure to bed bugs while in Africa.

This entire incident brings up a very interesting topic…one that is rarely discussed: contagion by airline traveler.

Watching movies like “Contagion” or “Outbreak” tend to add to the anxiety one feels when informed that exposure to a possible bacteria or virus.  While there are strains of these diseases that are extremely dangerous and virulent, luckily they are rare and authorities are usually on top of these strains with advisories and advice to protect oneself from contamination.

Still, it gives one pause to be extra vigilant when it comes to one’s personal health, especially when traveling.  There are resources available for any traveler to take advantage of, especially when traveling abroad.

The CDC has an excellent traveler’s advisory website for almost every country you might want to inquire about.  This resource can be found athttp://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.htm .

It’s also a good idea to schedule a visit to your personal physician to get needed or recommended vaccinations/boosters when traveling abroad, particularly to third world countries, where infection and disease control is minimal or non-existent.  Be mindful that some of these vaccines have short shelf lives and many clinics and medical offices must special order them in advance and may not be readily available on demand.  Check with your state’s health department for further information.

There are other things one can do to reduce your exposure on an airplane.  The most important (and sadly one that is continuously omitted by airline passengers) is washing your hands, especially after using the lavatory facilities.   I don’t recommend using hand sanitizer all the time, but having some with you while traveling has many benefits, especially when access to soap and water is not immediately available.

Another easily available resource is saline mist.  This offers two things to airline travelers.  First, airplane cabins are extremely dry as the air is processed and filtered in the ventilation systems.  Using this product will keep your nasal passages moist and allow your body’s own natural defenses to work more efficiently.  Second, saline solutions allow you to rinse your nasal passages from allergens and other nasty “bugs” that you may have inhaled.  It may sound overly simple, but studies have shown that they are quite beneficial, even on a daily basis.

As a travel professional, I never recommend airline travel if you are under-the-weather.  Airlines do reserve the right to determine whether travelers are “fit-to-fly” and if you are exhibiting signs of illness, they have the right to refuse you access to the cabin.  This policy is not often executed, but be aware that it does exist.  If you must travel and are ill, please do your fellow travelers a huge favor and take along a “surgical mask” – they are easy to obtain at most drug stores.  This will help keep your illness contained and will help lessen others’ anxiety about germs spreading to them.

                                        

                            You don't have to end your                                  

                                   vacation like this!

                                        
                             End your vacation like THIS!!!

                Or take it to the next level .. end it like THIS!!!

Before leaving on your next journey beyond the borders of the U.S., check out these other online resources for other information regarding current outbreaks, tracking of infections, and preventative measures:

• Flu Trackers: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/ 
• AirCrewHealth.com: http://aircrewhealth.com/Topics/topics.htm 
• MedicineNet.com: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47044 
• The Harvard Medical School: Family Health Guide:http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0604c.shtml 
• 
  

Has The Housing Market Hit Bottom?

Mortgage rates moved very little last week, even with the release of the first quarter’s GDP and a
meeting of the Federal Reserve. As expected, the rate of economic growth in the US slowed during
the first quarter to 2.2%. While this rate is often considered a healthy rate, it is nowhere near high
enough to help reduce the nation’s employment issues. On a positive note, however, a sub-indicator
in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index revealed that consumers believe jobs are
getting easier to find. The Fed’s policy announcement provided little new insight to the Fed’s thinking or future policy, but as is always the case, it left itself open to act when and if needed.
This week is a busy week for financial markets. Dominating the week’s data will be the ISM reports
and the monthly employment report. With signs that manufacturing is beginning to slow, a dip in the
ISM reports will help hold mortgage rates low. If more than 200K jobs were created last month, we
could see rates moving upward. Otherwise, rates may remain stable again for the week.

The Housing Market Has Hit Bottom?

"The crash is over," stated Mark Zandi, respected chief
economist for Moody's Analytics in an interview with
Bloomberg last week. While definitions of what characterize
the end of the housing market crisis vary widely, more and
more economists are predicting that we have finally reached
the bottom. While many are expecting sales volumes to pick
up, and inventories to dwindle, very few experts are
expecting prices to move significantly higher for many years.

If you are in the market to buy or sell your Houston Home please give us a call at 281-326-HOME or visit our website at www.davidthelocator.com. Have a great day and we look forward to assisting you with your purchasing and selling goals!