1. In This Week’s “The EDGE”
The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business
In This Week’s “The EDGE”
• Voter Registration Deadline is Monday
• Keeping Buyer Due Diligence From Killing a Deal
• Houston Market Movements
• Appraise Your Real Estate Career
“The Edge” is a weekly tool for managers to use to inform their agents and stay current and up-to-date with important real estate industry issues.
Brought to you by the HAR Communications Department.

2. Voter Registration Deadline is Monday
The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business
Voter Registration Deadline is Monday
Next Monday, October 5 is the voter registration deadline.
Can't remember if you've registered in the past? You may use the Texas Voter Information Website that not only confirms whether you are registered or not, but will even allow you to search for your polling place location prior to an election. The service is easy to use. All you need is a Texas driver's license to get started.
If you need to register, you may fill out a voter registration application online, print it and mail it to the Voter Registrar in your county of residence. You are not registered until you have filled out the online application, printed it, and mailed it to your local County Voter Registrar. The County Voter Registrar's address can be found at the top of the online application once you have submitted your information from the fill-in-the blanks screen.
Early Voting runs from Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3

3. Keeping Buyer Due Diligence From
The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business
Keeping Buyer Due Diligence From
Killing a Deal
From time to time, sellers have been known to ask their REALTOR® how many appraisal issues might cause a deal to go awry. One REALTOR® routinely warns his clients that he sees more sales killed from due diligence that from a low appraisal. His tips to agents:
Be at your listing during home inspections.
Pick a trusted inspector’s brain to determine what repairs simply need a Band-Aid and which are major.
Have a list of tried-and-true contractor professionals who you know will shoot straight with you and your clients.
Read more of this entertaining and enlightening story at
Get valuable tips like these from Inman News Select. Are you taking advantage of the free subscription that comes with your HAR membership? What are you waiting for? Sign up today at

4. Houston Market Movements
The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business
Houston Market Movements
Despite some nervousness about the oil industry, all roads continue to point to relatively normal as fall is upon us. From the mouths of market-analyzing pundits, the nation is in the midst of one of the best housing markets in the last 15 years. This, of course, makes for a great autumn, along with pumpkin-spiced lattes and cinnamon apple spiced tea, of course.
In the Houston region, for the week ending September 20:
• New Listings increased 26.8% to 2,471
• Pending Sales increased 16.8% to 1,812
• Closed Sales increased 1.2% to 1,627

5. Appraise Your Real Estate Career
The EDGE Information and news that gives you an edge in the real estate business
Appraise Your Real Estate Career
Think Like an Appraiser
The purpose of this course is to explain the process of appraisals to enhance REALTORS®’ understanding of the rules and regulations in this industry. This course will inform our REALTOR® friends of how an appraiser approaches the valuation of a property, starting with the engagement letter to final report. It will describe how this approach results in more accurate valuations of residential real estate.
Date: Monday, October 12 or Monday, October 19
Time: 9 to 11 a.m.
Location: HAR Montgomery County Branch
Investment: $10
Register at Questions? Call ext. 6