Below you will learn about: my sweet friend Luis’ journey to finding the perfect home, a neighborhood that pays your closing costs, how you can own and move into a brand new home with $1000, and so much more..

First a little story..

Yesterday was the most rewarding day of my whole entire career, and no, it was not a day I received my largest commission check. Yesterday wasn’t even a day that will lead to my largest commission check. And while I like to pay my bills, buy new shoes, take my family on vacations, eat yummy food at a restaurant once in a while, and all those normal things normal folks like to do, what I love more than anything is helping people. It is true. I love to help people.

One of my greatest friends..

Let me tell you a story. I have a friend named Luis. Luis and I have been friends for what feels like 10 years. He was working at my school while I was in college, and he was the go-to guy for anything IT related. But he was also my go-to guy when I needed someone to talk to. He was older and wiser. He once told me, “You should write a book.” Which by the way, is on my to-do list one day. Any who, so yes, Luis is one of my greatest friends.

A six month journey..

Well back in January (yes 6 months ago this journey began), he wrote to me on Facebook and told me he wanted to buy a house “sooner rather than later”.. Lol. Well, yesterday he bought that house. We communicated often, and went out almost once a month to look at houses, but didn’t act on any particular home until yesterday. You can ask him to confirm this.. I was nothing but patient along this timeline, because as time passed, I could tell there was something holding him back. I feel a lot of it was not yet finding the right home, but another huge part of it, was that he was scared. Fear was holding him back.

Owning your first home is scary..

Owning your first home is scary. I would know, I just purchased my first home last year. I luckily had my husband by my side, so there was two people carrying this weight, but for Luis, it was just him. Over the last six months, I am thinking he came to realize, it wasn’t truly, “just him’, because it wasn’t. I was there next to him. I always had been.

I do this to help friends..

Last night after the papers were signed, the sold sign was placed in the yard, while I was driving him back to his car (Thanks Black Walnut.. Lol.), he told me “I don’t think I would of done this with out you.” I wanted to cry. I got goose bumps. This is why I do this. I do this to help friends.

This last month, he felt more anxious than all the other months to find a home. He opened up to friends and family members about how he wanted a home. He told his cousin in Austin, that he was looking, and his cousin, who is a real estate agent for KW, got all excited for him, and hooked him up with a local agent (I could probably throw a rock at this agent’s office, because it is so close to where I live). Luis was thankful and wanted to “call this agent when he got home”, but his cousin fed on his excitement, and went ahead and “set up an appointment” for Luis when Luis got home. Luis was polite and he went to this appointment.

Can I talk to someone human?

As he was walking out of another agent’s office, he called me. He explained what happened. He wasn’t calling me to tell me he was using a different agent, but he was just calling me, as a friend, to talk. And we did talk, which led me to hooking him up with a new lender, and finding the new build neighborhood which covered one’s closing costs. But then last night he explained why he called me right away. He was sitting there at the table with the KW agent, and she was rattling off this and that while talking at him, and the thought that crossed his mind was “Can I talk to someone human?” Wow.. He just summed up a typical real estate agent, in a way that I had never heard of before.

We are not all like this.

I don’t know why I am telling you this, but if you have come across one of these types of agents before, please know, we are not all like this. Yesterday, Luis and I looked at two older homes (both remodeled) before finding the brand new home he ended up purchasing. He was really excited about the second one. He was almost positive that this was the one. He could see himself having friends over in this home and cooking for them. He could see himself fixing up the backyard and maybe installing a hot tub.

During the excitement of planning his future in this home..

As we were about to walk out of this fully renovated home, I couldn’t help but point out that the ceiling had a patch that we hadn’t noticed during the excitement of planning his future in this home. Also, the dry wall that made up the ceiling appeared to not be appropriately attached to the beams; I could see a wave in the construction. I assured him we could get it inspected, but I wanted him to take note of the imperfections. I put his needs before my own. I didn’t think about the paycheck that would hit my bank account in 30-45 days. I thought about his future. I thought about his need for making a good investment. My clients making a good investment, is one of the most important things to me in my business. I like sleeping at night. I am proud to be a real estate agent.

Why you clicked on this post..

I really do love making dreams home true. So, yes, let me get to the reason why you clicked on this post! The neighborhood that we ended up in was a needle in a haystack. It zones to Tomball ISD, and for only $1000 up front, one can secure a home in this neighborhood. No strings attached. A $1000 check or money order, and you have yourself a brand new home, with one of the lowest monthly payments around. And the good news doesn’t stop there. This neighborhood covers all of your closing costs, minus that $1000 you put down to secure the home. And it gets better than that. If you fall within the income bracket of being able to afford the home, but making less than $79,000 (after subtracting any cost for childcare), you qualify for a 0% downpayment loan option. Yes, I just said $0 downpayment. This truly means, that with $1000, you can buy a brand new house!

Let me break down how this works..

Let me break down how this works.. There is a loan, commonly known as the USDA loan. I briefly talked about it here in my last post. A USDA loan can only be used in certain parts of the state. You must be outside of city limits, and you must make less than a certain amount. For a family of 5, the allowed income goes up about $20,000. You can find out if you qualify here. You do need to have a decent credit score, but I can help you figure all that out.

The great news keeps coming..

The coolest thing about this neighborhood is their tax rate. This neighborhood has the lowest tax rate I have ever seen! You might not know what this means, but what it means is, that you can purchase about $20,000 more of a home here. The taxes in Texas are a bit different than other states, so I am all answers, if you have questions! But let me break down your monthly payment, and if you make at least $50,000, and have low debt, you typically quality for the payment I am about to break down..

A monthly payment of $1192.90

So the least expensive home in this neighborhood is currently listed at $169,900 (their prices go up every 3 months). With the guarantee fee (lender fee) of 1%, your loan amount would be $171,616.16. With an interest rate of 4.25%, your principal and interest amount is $844.35 a month. Add in $236 a month for taxes, $63 for their “in-house” home owner’s insurance, $49.55 for the .35% PMI (private mortgage insurance), and your monthly payment lands you around $1192.90. (FYI, The HOA fees $360, so you could add $30 to your monthly payment if you would like to budget for this. The HOA fee is paid up front by the builder for the first year.)

A monthly payment of $1273.04

Now if you want a little bit of a bigger home, with a covered patio, higher ceilings, etc, you would want to go one step up to the home they currently have listed at $181,900. With the guarantee fee (lender fee) of 1%, your loan amount would be $183,737.37. With an interest rate of 4.25%, your principal and interest amount is $903.00 a month. Add in $250 a month for taxes, $66 for their “in-house” home owner’s insurance, $53.05 for the .35% PMI (private mortgage insurance), and your monthly payment lands you around $1273.04.

There are homes in this neighborhood ranging from 1400 square feet to 2600 square feet, from 3 bedrooms to 5 with a game room. All are below $230,000, with a monthly payment under $1725. The homes are energy efficient and boast granite counter tops! There are beautiful trees every where you look, side walks, and a play ground is about to be constructed.

If this sounds like the neighborhood for you, I would love to tour it with you sometime. It is located just 2 minutes from Tomball Parkway 249, nestled perfectly between Spring, Tomball, and The Woodlands.

As always, my cell phone number is below. I look forward to helping your dreams come true!

Jordan Marie Schilleci, REALTOR®
Beth Ferester & Company

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