Jack Haymes is a Green Designator Realtor with Register Real Estate Advisors in The Woodlands, Spring and Tomball.

Every week, we ask a Houston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before.

This week, we talked with Jack Haymes, a Green Designated Realtor who, in addition to his duties as a Realtor for Register Real Estate Advisors in The Woodlands, Spring and Tomball, does the “Green Minute” segment on Register’s weekly radio show on KSEV AM 700 at 2 p.m. every Sunday.

Houston Agent (HA): We often hear how tricky financing can be for some home purchases. Have any of your clients had difficulty obtaining financing for their purchases? What are some ways that agents can assist clients through that stage of the homebuying process?

Jack Haymes (JH): Financing in todays climate has become a very artful process to say the least. Within the last six months I have personally had two clients that were facing minor issues with the financing of the their homes.

By working directly with the lenders involved, these issues were handled at the beginning of the transaction and not 10 minutes before closing.

Educating the buyers on the ins and outs of the loan process is where I believe more time should be spent. The willingness to answer even the basic questions can easily remove the cloud that is created by the unknown.

HA: As everyone knows, the election season is in full swing. What recommendations do you have for agents on getting involved at the association level, both local and national, and making sure that housing is an important issue for the public?

JH: We have several ways here in Houston to get involved, and our local association, HAR, has made several groups available to all members. Becoming a volunteer for the Government Affairs Advisory Group, Political Affairs Advisory Group or the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee Advisory Group (TREPAC) are great first steps.

At the national level you can become involved in the Realtor Political Action Committee and/or become a member in the Realtor Party.

HA: Existing-home sales and new residential home sales data was quite strong nationally; can you speak to how sales activity has been in your section of Houston?

JH: In the Woodlands, Spring and Tomball areas, we have seen consistent growth in the number of sales and the increase in prices that sellers are listing their homes for. I am looking for this trend to continue as we close out the year strong.

We have been a great beneficiary of the oil and gas boom that has made its expansion into our local area and look for this to pick up in the coming years.