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Useful things.
Buyer and seller guides, Texas TREC forms and disclosures, Houston tools, and the glossaries you'll actually want when you're reading a contract. All in one place. Bookmark this page and come back when you need something specific.
For Houston Buyers
Buyer Guides & Reference
Everything I send to a Houston buyer before the first home tour, plus the glossary they'll want when reviewing the contract.
Pillar Guide
The Houston Buyer Guide
The five-phase buyer process — pre-approval first, search and tour, offer, option period, financing and close. Start here.
Read the buyer guidePhase 1 · Spoke Guide
Houston Mortgage Pre-Approval
Why Houston sellers won't read an offer without one. The four steps to a letter in 24 to 48 hours. Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA loans compared.
Read the pre-approval guidePhase 2 · Spoke Guide
Houston Home Search & Tour
MLS-fed listing alerts the moment a matching home hits HAR.com — not 24 hours later. How I show every home with the contract in mind: what would be flagged on inspection, what’s market-priced, what’s overpriced.
Read the search & tour guidePhase 3 · Spoke Guide
Houston Offer & Contract
The Texas Association of REALTORS® / TREC residential contract — option fee, option period length, earnest money, closing date, and the tailored pre-approval letter that protects your ceiling in multiple-offer situations.
Read the offer guidePhase 4 · Spoke Guide
Houston Option Period & Inspections
The 7-to-10-day Texas buyer-protection window. Licensed Texas inspectors, specialty inspections (foundation, HVAC, sewer scope, termite), and the four ways to renegotiate after the report comes in.
Read the option period guidePhase 5 · Spoke Guide
Houston Closing for Buyers
Lender funding, title prep, the final walk-through 24 to 48 hours before closing, deed recording with the county, and the Texas-specific closing-day mechanics. I’m at the table every time.
Read the closing guideGlossary
Houston Buyer Glossary (A–Z)
Every Texas-specific term that shows up on a Houston purchase contract, inspection report, lender package, and closing statement. Plus 12 featured terms.
Open the glossaryFor Houston Sellers
Seller Guides & Reference
The pre-launch sequence, the listing timeline, the showing process, the photo prep, and the seller-side glossary.
Pillar Guide
The Houston Seller Guide
The five-phase listing sequence on a written timeline — pre-launch prep, the Texas TREC option period, financing, and closing day. Start here.
Read the seller guideSpoke Guide
Houston Listing Timeline
The full sequence from signed listing agreement through closing day. Pre-launch milestones, contract phase, option period, financing, walk-through, close.
Read the timelineSpoke Guide
Houston Photo Prep Checklist
Five areas of the home, room by room, with the exact moves that make a Houston listing photograph at its highest value. Plus vacant-home protocols.
Read the checklistPhase 2 · Spoke Guide
Houston Home Showing Process
How showings actually run in Houston — the showing service, agent verification, the §16.02 audio rule, weekly feedback expectations, vacant-home protocols.
Read the showing guidePhase 4 · Spoke Guide
Houston Seller Appraisal & Financing
What happens after the option period closes — buyer’s lender orders the appraisal, low-appraisal negotiation paths, the 15-to-21-day final loan approval window, and how to protect the contract.
Read the appraisal guidePhase 5 · Spoke Guide
Houston Closing for Sellers
Final walk-through, sign at the title company, fund-and-record, move-out logistics. What sellers need ready (keys, garage remotes, gate fobs) and how proceeds get wired same-day.
Read the seller closing guideGlossary
Houston Seller Glossary (A–Z)
Every Texas-specific term that shows up on a Houston listing agreement, contract, and closing statement. Plus 12 featured Houston seller terms.
Open the glossaryFor Houston Investors
Investor Guides & Reference
Investor-specific content lives on its own track because investor expectations are different — different financing, different down payments, different tax treatment, different math. The IDEAL framework, three Houston entry tiers ($245K–$357K), 10-year sensitivity, and a four-phase acquisition sequence with dedicated guides per phase.
Pillar Guide
The Houston Investment Property Guide
The IDEAL framework (five wealth drivers), three Houston entry tiers ($245K–$357K), 10-year IRR sensitivity, the new-construction-vs-resale call, and the four-phase acquisition sequence. Start here.
Read the investor pillarPhase 1 · Spoke Guide
Houston Investor Strategy & Underwriting
The IDEAL framework, True Return vs Cash-on-Cash, the buy box, reserve planning ($25K–$38K per property), and the new-construction-vs-resale operational call. Math first, tour second.
Read the strategy guidePhase 2 · Spoke Guide
Houston Investor Financing & Lender Match
DSCR, conventional investment, non-QM, hard money, cash with delayed financing. Builder rate buydowns and the after-tax math that turns a 7 percent rate into a 5.3 percent effective cost.
Read the financing guidePhase 3 · Spoke Guide
Houston Investor Offer & Builder Negotiation
Builder closing credits, rate buydowns, free upgrades. Closed-lease comp methodology and the 0.55 sqft elasticity rule. Line-by-line pro forma walk-through on the median tier.
Read the offer guidePhase 4 · Spoke Guide
Houston Investor Closing & Tax Setup
New construction close vs. resale close. Depreciation election, cost segregation, Real Estate Professional Status — the tax setup that’s often half the deal’s value. Property management hand-off and first 90 days.
Read the closing guideSpecialty · Spoke Guide
Houston 1031 Exchange Guide
How to defer capital gains tax by rolling investment property gains into new investment property. The four hard rules, six-step process, $400K→$1M math example, stepped-up basis at death, and when not to use it.
Read the 1031 guideReference
Houston Investor FAQ (11 Questions)
Eleven honest answers to the questions Houston investors actually ask — cash-on-cash misconceptions, stocks vs. real estate, the 1031 exchange, negative cash flow, tax benefits, leverage, cap rate, rental estimates, reserves, property management.
Open the FAQReference
Houston Investor Glossary (A–Z)
Every term that shows up on a Houston investor pro forma, contract, or tax return — IDEAL framework, True Return, DSCR, BRRRR, 1031, cap rate, depreciation, REP status, cost segregation, and the rest. Plus 12 featured investor terms.
Open the glossaryTexas Forms & Disclosures
TREC Notices Every Houston Transaction Requires
The two notices below are required by the Texas Real Estate Commission. They cover what a Houston REALTOR® can and cannot do for clients, and how brokerage relationships work in Texas. Both come up at the start of every transaction.
TREC PDF
TREC Consumer Protection Notice (CN 1-5)
Required notice from the Texas Real Estate Commission detailing consumer rights, how to file a complaint, and TREC's consumer protection role. Required on every Texas transaction.
Download from trec.texas.govTREC PDF
Information About Brokerage Services (IABS)
Required notice explaining how brokerage relationships work in Texas — agent vs. subagent, buyer's agent vs. seller's agent, intermediary representation. Eddie's REMAX Signature IABS, keyed to his agent ID.
Open Eddie's IABSAbout these notices.
Texas requires both the Consumer Protection Notice and the IABS to be presented to clients at the first substantive meeting. They're also linked in the footer of every page on this site for ongoing access. Missing them is a TREC §535.155 complaint trigger and a real risk to license standing — so they live where you can always find them.
Houston Tools
Search, Verify, Map
Public-facing tools I use during Houston transactions. Bookmark them — they're the same ones I check when underwriting a deal or vetting a property.
MLS Search
Houston MLS Search
Live Houston Association of REALTORS® MLS feed, embedded on this site. Search the full Greater Houston market — filter by city, price, beds, baths, school zone, and more. Refresh cycle ~15 minutes.
Open MLS SearchFlood Zone Lookup
FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Official FEMA flood zone designations by address. Critical for any Houston purchase — Harvey and Imelda made flood-zone awareness non-optional.
Open FEMA Flood MapLicense Verify
TREC License Holder Search
Verify any Texas REALTOR® or broker license holder — including mine. Search by name or license number.
Open TREC searchProperty Records
Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD)
Property tax records, appraised values, ownership history, and protest information for any Harris County property.
Open HCADProperty Records
Brazoria County Appraisal District
Property tax records and appraised values for Brazoria County — Pearland, Alvin, Lake Jackson, Angleton, and surrounding areas.
Open BCADProperty Records
Fort Bend Central Appraisal District
Property tax records and appraised values for Fort Bend County properties — Sugar Land, Missouri City, Katy (FB portion), and more.
Open FBCADProperty Records
Montgomery Central Appraisal District
Property tax records and appraised values for Montgomery County — The Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia, and surrounding areas.
Open MCADCalculators
Numbers Tools, Built for Houston.
Houston-specific calculators built for the way the local market actually works — Texas tax rates, MUD and HOA realities, and Greater Houston cost assumptions baked in. The mortgage payment calculator is live below; the seller net sheet and investor cash-on-cash tools are next in the build queue.
Payment Tool
Mortgage Payment Calculator
Houston-specific PITI calculator — principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance — with Texas tax rates pre-loaded.
Open CalculatorComing Soon
Seller Net Sheet
Estimate seller proceeds at closing — sale price, commission, title and closing fees, prorated taxes, mortgage payoff, and any concessions.
Coming soonComing Soon
Investor Cash-on-Cash
Underwrite a Houston rental deal — purchase price, financing, projected rents, expenses — for cap rate and cash-on-cash return.
Coming soonNeed something specific?
If there's a Houston resource you wish lived here — a calculator, a checklist, a neighborhood guide, a market report — tell me. The list above grows based on what clients actually ask for. Quick text or email and I'll add it to the queue.
