Friday, June 30, 2006

New Listing in Rowlett, TX Updated at $135,000!



CLICK HERE for the Virtual Tour!
I just listed this house yesterday, and I really think it's going to go fast! This is one of the BEST values in the neighborhood!! Sunroom (aprox 144 sqft) not includ in total sqft, which would make the house about 1950 sqft. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 car garage, 2 Living areas and 2 Dining areas! Great condition with all the updates done for you! Updates include: new appliances in the kitchen, new light fixtures, fresh decor paint, carpet, 2" blinds, cedar deck, HOT TUB heater and cover, vinyl siding, gutters, water heater, AC... and so much more!
All this for ONLY $135,000!!!

Walk in closets in all rooms. Formal Dining could be a Formal Living or Office space... 2 pantries for the kitchen... Double gate and concrete pad for boat, RV, or playing Basketball. Move right in! This house is in such great condition in a great neighborhood, and it's a steal at this price, lowest per sqft in the area!! Call for your appointment today!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Experienced Agent verse Newer Agent

When I first got into real estate, I had just turned 24 and I looked about 18. It was no wonder people always asked my age and how long I was in the business. I always had to prove myself as to why they should use me as a newer agent...

Now that I'm past the five year mark, and at the end of my sixth year, I love this new study that came out. Researchers followed 55,000 properties in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. The averages of these properties showed an average days on the market at 90 days and an average sales price of $175,270.

What the study tracked was how long the agents had been in the business. "Sellers using listing agents with less than two years of experience received 1.1% less or a house compared with sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the marketing time was 1.9% longer." "If the listing agent had more than five years of experience (That's Me!), the seller received 0.8% more than sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the property sold 1.5% faster." **

What the above numbers equal is that an agent with my experience level can expect to get a seller, on average, more than $3345 more for their home and sell 3.4% faster. Are you ready to sell your house with an experienced REALTOR®?

** Tierre Grande by James Ford and Ron Rutherford; January 2006

Full Service Listing Verse Limited Service

One of the things I have to explain to sellers when I'm on a listing appointment is why I can't take a reduced commission to sell their home. My first response is, weren't you paying attention to all the marketing I do for your house to get it sold and do you not understand how much time, energy, and money it costs to do that? Asking a Realtor to take a reduction is like asking you to work a full 8 hour day at the office, with your full duties, and then asking you to only work for 1/2 your salary because the company needs to cut back a little bit. What would you say to your boss? I would hope you would say NO along with a few choice words!

Well, a study came out a couple of months ago for the Dallas/ Ft Worth area and it's VERY interesting. One of the results is as follows:
*"Limited service listings sold for 1.7% less than typical exclusive-right-to-sell listings and took 17.1% longer to sell."

WOW! Let's put that into real numbers. Let's say there is a house that sells for $200,000 in 60 days with a full service REALTOR®, like me. The above statistics would show this same house, with a limited service brokerage, would sell for $196,600 in 70.26 days. So, the seller "tried" to save 2% on the listing commission... did he succeed?? NO!

The difference in price is $3400. 2% of $196,600 is $3932. Then you need to calculate those extra 10.26 days on the market. What are your taxes per day? Let's say tax are about $5600 a year which would be about $15.56 a day. Home Owner's Insurance can be estimated at about $5 per day ($1800 yearly coverage). Taxes and Insurance for the additional 17.1% marketing time is $210.95.

So, in all actuality, you didn't save 2% of the commission with a limited service brokerage. What you saved was $321.05. Is it really worth $321 to schedule all your own appointments; to be home for each and every showing to let them in the house; to sit on the market an extra 10 days; to call for feedback; or to negotiate your own contract instead of having the help of a professional? What is your time worth to you?

*Tierra Grande by James Ford and Ron Rutherford; January 2006

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Understanding Your Credit

There are many myths when it comes to your credit. I'm not a mortgage person, so I don't know everything that goes into what can be ignored on a report and what can't, but I've learned quite a bit over the years and here are some of the important things to remember.

If you have several credit cards, do NOT close your accounts, even if you're not using them. Keeping these accounts open show a longer length of credit history which increases your scores. Also, your credit score is based off what you're allowed to borrow verse what you are borrowing. If you have several cards you don't use, you still have that money available to you, so you're showing a lower rate of debt, and that is good!

If you have cards that have high balances, paying them completely off does NOT help you. Your credit score is also based off consistancy. If you have high balances one day and no balances the next, it could actually hurt you because there is no proof that you won't go charge your cards up again. The best thing to do to pay them off and increase your score, is to pay larger amounts then the minimums, but spread it out over a few months.

Also, do not be afraid to shop your loan. Many people think that their score suffers each time their credit is pulled, but this is only true in extreme circumstances. The rule of thumb is that if you're shopping within a 10-14 day period and have your credit pulled several times, you're ok. If you keep pulling your credit over and over again over weeks and months, then, yes, your score will be effected negatively.

I hope these tips have helped. There are still several things to consider when trying to improve your credit, but these are the most important.

Shopping for a House before a Mortgage

Are you trying to shop for a house before a mortgage? Do you find that you keep ending up in neighborhoods that are beyond your price range? How did you come up with your price range? And do you even know what your price range means? These are just some of the questions I ask people when they call to want to look at one of my listings, and I won't show them the house until they can answer these questions to my satisfactory, which my sellers love. Less unqualified people walking through their home.

To start with, if you haven't talked with a mortgage professional first, you have no idea what you can be approved for on a loan. Many people think they get to pick a mortgage payment that they are comfortable with and stay under that. There is much more to it than that. Everything is based off of a debt to income ratio. You might think you can afford a $1500 payment, but the numbers might tell us you are approved for only $1200.

Do you know what is included in a mortgage payment when the lender approves you? The final mortgage number typically includes your principal payment, your interest, the home owner's insurance, and your taxes. This puts things into a different perspective for a lot of buyers who think they will need to pay taxes and insurance separately. It helps them into a higher price range to be able to afford more of a home that they want.

I work with several mortgage people and I know they would welcome the opportunity to answer any further questions you would have. I'm not a tour guide so no one gets into my car without an approval letter!

Pre- Qualified verse Pre-Approved

Are you Pre-Qualified or are you Pre-Approved? Do you know the difference?
There are many ways to differentiate the difference between being pre-qualified and being pre-approved. The easiest thing to ask yourself is, "Did I just make a phone call and talk with someone? or Did I turn in any paperwork like bankstatements, W2s, and paycheck stubs?"

If you said that you just made a phone call or maybe you just did a quick mini-loan application online, you're only pre-qualified. In today's market, a pre-qualification gets you no where with a seller if you're trying to write a strong offer on a house. Sellers want to see pre-approval letters. They want to know that you're so serious in obtaining financing for their home that you've turned in all the necessary paperwork so the only things left to do would be to meet the satisfaction of the property for the lender, ie: appraisal, title policy, flood certificate, etc...
With a Pre-Approval, there are also many less surprises when it comes to the final rate you're locked into and the type of loan you're finally approved for.

And just because you get pre-approved before writing your offer, does not mean you can go buy a new car or appliances for the house and run up credit cards before closing. This will shatter your pre-approval as all pre-approvals are based on "no changes" between loan application and the time of closing.