Real Estate Information Archive

It's back to school time and kids and parents are busy trying to get organized to start the school year prepared. Kids are typically concerned with buying the right outfit while parents concentrate on making sure their kids have the proper supplies for their classes.

Check your local school website for a school supplies checklist. If your school doesn't offer this list online, below is a basic list, as provided by GreatSchools.com, to help you get started.

Elementary School

• Glue sticks  
• Scissors
• Ballpoint pens
• No. 2 pencils
• Colored pencils
• Pencil sharpener   
• Large pink eraser  
• Box of crayons   
• Drawing paper
• Construction paper
• A ruler with English and metric measurements
• School box   
• Kleenex
• Small bottle of hand sanitizer
• A backpack (Check out GreatSchools.com article, Tips for Buying a Backpack and Carrying Safely, about choosing the right backpack)

Middle-School and High-School

In addition to the basic school supply items, children in middle and high school may be required to purchase the following:

• A calendar for time-management and for scheduling assignments
• 2 combination locks   
• Binder dividers  
• Several 3-ring binders
• Folders to fit into binders
• A small notebook to record assignments
• Pencil case to fit into binder
• Pens
• Index cards, ruled and unruled
• Calculator (Check with your teacher first for type and model)

Don’t forget to visit GreatSchools.com for a more complete list. Happy shopping and have a great school year.

My Kingwood Housing Trends eNewsletter is now ready to offer you up-to-date real estate information. It is filled with market updates provided by the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources. Information includes key market indicators, real estate sales and price statistics, a video report by a nationally recognized economist, commentary(blogs) by top real estate economists, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.

Everything you need to stay in touch with today's real estate market.

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest investments you will make in your lifetime, and it can also be one of the most stressful. By having a home inspection it can help to ensure that the quality of your potential home is in good condition and help to eliminate surprises by making you aware to any problems.

So how do you go about selecting a home inspector?    One good way to start is one of the two nationally recognized professional associations for home inspectors; the American Society of Home Inspectors or The National Association of Home Inspectors.   In order to be listed with either of these organizations one has to go through a certification process. Both of these have a search engine to help you find “state certified home inspectors.”  Once you have a few names it doesn’t hurt to check with the Better Business Bureau.  Make a list of inspectors that have been recommended.  Avoiding anyone who has a negative report can help you avoid any potential problems with your inspection. 

A few things questions to ask when talking to your potential home inspector:

• What is the inspector's experience? How many years have they been in the business and how many inspections do they do a year?
 
• Exclusively inspections? Beware of contractors who do house inspections "on the side"--they may be looking for work and this isn’t necessarily what you want.

• What type of report? Will it be written or oral or both? Will the report contain suggestions for remedying deficiencies?   Preference should always be to get it in writing. When will the report be ready?

• How long will it take? Depending on the size of the house an inspection should take between 2 and 4 hours.

• What will be included in the inspection?

• What certifications do they have? Are they ASHI or NAHI certified?