Jason Kidd becomes a Dallas Maverick again

Jason Kidd was previously with the Dallas Mavericks in 1994 where he played a couple of years before being traded to Phoenix. It seems like we trade everyone to Phoenix as that's also where Nash went.

There are many things involved with this trade, and I could possibly explain it all, but the main thing is that we get Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright. We also gave up a couple of first round draft picks for next year.

Jason will be ready for today's 3pm practice and ready to start.

Read more details of this trade on Dallasnews.com.

Texas Homestead Exemptions- First Reminder to File

Here is your first reminder to file your Texas Homestead Exemption form if you closed on your home by December 31, 2007. I like to remind people towards the end of February because hopefully you're done with your Holiday bills, and worrying about your W2s (1099's) from your employer, and you're starting to get your tax information ready.

You have until the end of April to actually file, but why wait until the last minute. Also, if you closed in 2008, you CANNOT file for this year. You must wait until next year before the end of April to file your exemptions.

It's good to do it as soon as possible so when you get your new Tax Assessment that first week of May, all your information will be correct. There are many companies that will charge you a pretty penny to file the exemption for you. DO NOT PAY ANYONE TO FILE ANYTHING!! IT'S FREE!!

All you need to do is go to your county appraisal's website and print off the form there. Some counties require a notary, while others do not. It takes less than 2 minutes to fill it out, so there is no excuse about not having time.

Here are some of the county links in my immediate area:

Dallas- www.dcad.org
Tarrant- www.tad.org
Collin- www.collincad.org
Denton- www.dentoncad.com

Newspaper Ads Do Not Sell Houses

Will you post my house in the Dallas Morning News?

NO!

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, people don't read the newspaper like they used to. Many people have switched from the actual news paper to the online version of the paper. Yes, with the online version of the paper, your ad will appear in the online portion of the classifieds section, however, that's not where you want to be, as there is a new and separate online section for listings that are automatically fed from the MLS.

First, when an ad is placed in the paper, you're getting about 3-4 short lines to grab someone's attention. If I get absolutely no calls, does that mean that no one saw the ad? So, problem number one is that I can't track how many people the ad was put in front of like I can with my internet ads.

Second, do you really think serious buyers are looking in the paper with today's technology? The people who are looking in the paper are typically lower income and they're looking for rentals. They might call on your ad just to see if you would consider renting it, but they are not a qualified buyer inquiring on your house.

I say serious buyers aren't looking in the paper because there is a National statistic that shows about 80% of buyers are looking online when searching for a house. However, Texas has done their own research, and they show that over 94% of buyers are looking online for houses... that means only 6% of buyers are looking in the paper and at open houses and other "old school" methods of house hunting.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, would you rather me spend my marketing money and efforts on capturing 94% of the Buying population, or would you like me to spend my time marketing your house to only 6% of buyers?

Third, people want information and they want it now. A short 3-4 line in a paper does not offer pictures or tours, or any details about the house. The typical interactive buyer is not interested in any information where they can't see a little more details before inquiring further about it.

Did newspaper ads work a few years ago, yes, of course they did. Do they work in today's market? No, they do not. Will I post an ad in the paper just to appease you? No, I will not. I can use that $100 on something more productive.

Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, etc... my car will take us anywhere you need to go!!

ARE YOU PACKED YET?!

Texas- 2006 Profiles for Buyers and Sellers

NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) has their own number saying 79% of buyers use the internet when looking for a home. However, Texas has done their own research. The 2006 Profile of Texas Homebuyers and Sellers has some astonishing numbers.

According to the profile, 94% of Buyers were using the internet to look for properties. That's a huge difference from the National number! 25% of Buyers were using the internet to get information about a particular area. This is where Localism will come in more handy in my market. I'm still waiting for the grass to turn green before I enter more photos.

Here's something interesting. There are still agents that think all they need to do it enter a property in the MLS and it'll sell, as 10% of Sellers said that's all their agent did. On the flip side, 77% of Sellers said their agent provided more services throughout the selling process. I wonder what happened to the remaining 13%??

Overall, I guess I would conclude that the Texas Buyer is above the curve with using the Internet for their home searches! It's a good thing I jumped on this bandwagon long ago!

If you're a Buyer and/or Seller, and you're reading my Blog, congratualations on putting the newspaper down and saving some gas from driving around neighborhoods aimlessly. Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, etc... my car will take us anywhere you need to go!!

Facts to Know about TEXAS

Below is a list of Facts about Texas. Some you'll know and remember them from elementary school. Others, you might look at them and think, where did they come up with that?!

And if you're relocating here to Texas, these are some things you should know about your future new home!!

Name: From "Tejas", Indian word meaning "friendly"
Capital: Austin
Motto: Friendship
Bird: Mockingbird
Tree: Pecan (how do you pronounce this word?)
Flower: Bluebonnet
Gem: Topaz (I did not know this)
Stone: Petrified Palmwood (huh?)
Dish: Chili
Song: "Texas, Our Texas"
Insect: Monarch Butterfly (I would have thought mosquito!!)
Fabric/fiber: Cotton
Dance: Square Dance
Fruit: Texas Red Grapefruit (I had no idea!)
Fish: Gualalupe Bass
Large Mammal: Longhorn (duh!)
Small Mammal: 9-Branded Armadillo
Plant: Prickly Pear Cactus (do pears grow on this or is it shaped like a pear like the Bradford Pear Tree?)
Reptile: Horned Lizard
Vegetable: Sweet Onion (to go in the Chili above!)

Texas- Home Sales Set Record for 2006

According to the Associated Press and NAR, Texas had a record year in 2006 whereas the rest of the nation didn't, for the most part.

NAR reported only 6.5 million units were sold in 2006 which was down 8.4% compared to 2005 sales. They also stated that 40% of sales in 2005 were to investors or second-home buyers. Once the market switched in several areas, those investors backed out and have, therefore, decreased sales overall.

Texas sold almost 290,000 homes in 2006 which was the higher amount sold to date.

Even with sales declines across the country in many high-dollar areas, the median sales price was $222,000 compared to $219,600 in 2005.

As I tell all my clients, you can't listen to the national news to see what's going on in our area. We have had tremendous activity where others have not. If more people would look at the facts and not depend on information in other areas, the Dallas area could see even more growth!!

If you're looking to move or invest in the Dallas area, give me a call/email!!

Dallas Real Estate- My Personal Message

Recently, I was in Chicago for a video shoot for a company. At the end of the interview, they allowed me to make a personal commercial. I had to quickly think of something to say that didn't sound stupid or scripted. It took me a couple of minutes, but then I remembered my Mission Statement that I have on my website and my Blog profile, and then it was easy. I've been using the same statement for almost 7 years now, so I had it down pretty well.

Watch my Personal Commerical here!!

There are a couple of new shows on HGTV that I've watched a few times, House Hunters and Hidden Potential. These shows really tell me how much my buyers choose houses that THEY love and not choose houses for themselves that I love.

House Hunters is where they take people out and show them house after house. I remember when I first saw it, the people were given the choice of three houses and they had to make a decision. The last time I saw it, they made a comment to the effect of, "three weeks and several houses later, choice #4 is such and such house." That's great that they're now acknowledging that it takes more than seeing just a couple of houses to make a decision.

Hidden Potential is where you take a couple that has looked at several homes already and they're just not finding what they like in their price range. Typically, these buyers are trying to get into a pricey neighborhood for the lowest end of the price range possible and then they're not happy with the condition of the homes. Hidden Potential takes them to three houses with a designer and he completely redesigns the houses on his computer. Then the buyers go "WOW!" The problem with this show is that you take someone's budget of 300k, and you show them houses around $200k, but you show them $100k worth of improvements to the house. What they don't acknowledge is that if you're buying a house in a $200k neighborhood and you're putting in $100k of repair, you just over updated your house and there's a huge possibility that you're never going to see that money back on resale.

Anyway, back to the point of this post... On both of these shows, I listen to what the buyers are saying that they want and watch intently as the hosts are explaining the different features and the Hidden Potential of each house. I then make my educated guess on which house they should choose. I have been correct ONCE!! That's right, only once! Can you believe that?! This is my job, and it takes into account my degree in Psychology and I've been picking the wrong houses for these people all these years! It's no wonder why I get so shocked sometimes when my buyers call and say they want to write an offer on such and such property though I'm prepared for them to say the other property.

No matter how much training you've had over the years with reading people, most are still going to shock you with their decisions. I mean, a family that keeps talking about how they need more space and an extra bathroom actually "settles" for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home just because they liked the designers plans... I don't get it. If I was the agent working with them, I would keep reminding them over and over again about resale and how 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths will resell so much better than a 2 bedroom with 1 bath any day of the week! My job is also to remind them that the point of their move was for more space and how does 2 bedrooms accomplish this. I wish they would do follow ups on these people later to see when they resell and why.

Does anyone do any better when guessing which houses these people are choosing on the shows?

The Sense of Accomplishment

I have the sense of a HUGE accomplishment today!

Whenever I would show 2-story houses that had a "dust collector" above the front door, I would tell myself that if I ever had a house like that, I was going to decorate it, and it would involve one of those treasure chests. When we bought out current house about a year and a half ago, it actually has the "dust collector"! I was so excited. For those of you who don't know what a dust collector is, it's a plant ledge that just collects dust, mainly because it's too high for you to dust it.

I wanted to decorate it, but when it came down to it, I didn't really know what I wanted to do for that spot. My husband was very much against putting anything there because "who is going to dust it?" I told him that the point is that no one dusts it, the stuff just sits there and looks pretty. So, all this time goes by, and I had secretly been looking for a reasonably priced chest and I would build around it. I looked several places, but I was not going to spend $100+ on something to collect dust.

I received a referral last month from an agent in California. They came into town and we were looking at many houses. While looking, I had mentioned my plans for the "dust collector" but hadn't been able to find any chests worth the price. Before these buyers left town, they stopped in a store and called me. They said they were there and that they had tons of chests at 50% off! It's weird because I had gone to that store, but not that location. It turns out that the location they were at was one of the biggest in the area so they carried more things.

The next day, I drove up there, and I got my chest for only $34!!! I brought it home, and my husband was like, "we're not putting that up there!" I was like, "Oh, yes we are!"

I bought that chest about a month ago, and yesterday my husband looks at me while watching TV and asks, "Are you ready to put that stuff on the ledge?" I immediately jumped up and got my jacket on so we could bring in the HUGE ladder from the backyard.


I have a huge sense of accomplishment that I had been wanting for many years and finally did it. Yes, it's something simple, I didn't cure cancer or anything, but it's my own creation and I like it. It's a chest, a chair, a throw blanket, and a plant that was just sitting around the house. All for under $65!
As for Mike, he thinks it blocks out too much sun, but we'll just have to open the windows in the front formals! I told him I would climb up there twice a year to dust, but that means he's going to have to bring in the big ladder from outside! I wonder if that's going to happen....

Real Estate is like Learning Golf from the Pros

My husband, Mike, has decided to take up Golf again. He used to play, but got frustrated with it, but now he’s falling apart (38 years old) so he gets more frustrated with the Wakeboarding (knee, wrist, ankle, shoulder, and back injuries) and has decided Golf would be good again. So, he’s gotten new clubs (several times over so he could find ones he likes), new clothes, new bag, and he’s probably going to ask for new golf shoes for the Holidays.

TiVo has been very busy recording Golf. Each infomercial says you must have this or you must have that to be successful. Hmmm, each seminar I go to about real estate does the same thing.

The thing that really hit home was when Mike was watching the Pro Lessons last night. He’s been watching a lot of the professionals give lessons so he can take bits and pieces and see what works for him. All of a sudden he says, “Each Pro does something completely different than the other and I’m more confused than ever!”

With that comment, I related it to Real Estate. Take a new agent, for example. A new agent comes into your office and asks to pick your brain. If you’re online reading this, you’re probably telling this new agent about all the online presence you have and how you are going to concentrate your efforts on marketing and advertising online since you know the latest reports show that over 80% of buyers are looking online for properties before contacting an agent. You’re telling them about creating their website and SEO and how to drive traffic to their own site in order to pick up leads.

However, that new agent, trying to gather as much information as possible, then sits down with an agent who has been in the business 30+ years, because we all know that agent should know how to get business in his/her sleep. Well, that agent then tells the new agent about his/her experience with door knocking and cold calling (even with the Do Not Call rules, eliminating those not to call) and farming a particular neighborhood for the same 30+ years.

As our new agent finds another agent to talk with, this other agent just talks about taking as many phone-duty shifts at the office as possible and holding Open Houses every weekend in the hopes of getting new buyers to walk through the doors.

Which agent do you want to be like? I know which one I am, and I know which ones need to get into the 21st century. However, different things work for different agents. Is there a wrong way to do real estate if you’re successful with it? I would only say you’re way is wrong if you can’t show any production.

As a new agent in a weird market, you need to look at all the information given and try each way and see what will work for you. Maybe you like sitting inside a house by yourself and a good book for a few hours on the weekend while you wait for buyers to approach you. Maybe you’ve been in your neighborhood for years, and knocking on doors makes sense for you for the face to face contact. Maybe you like to make contact with as many people as possible within a short amount of time, so you find the internet is the way to go for you. Whatever you chose, make it your own.

Back to Golf, my husband has tried to take tips from several different pros to see what will work for him. However, a friend of his is a golf pro himself and he doesn’t know how to teach anyone how to swing a club who doesn’t swing it the way he wants. So, Mike is left with the dilemma with learning how to swing a swing that is productive and works well for him, or with learning a swing that works well for someone else, and not feeling comfortable with the swing himself.

Which way should he go?? I’m sure more advice will only help him!!

NAR Heading South of the Border

NAR has headed south of the border into Mexico, and as of January 2007, all Mexicans that are members of AMPI (La Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios) will be considered REALTORS®.

This is the first joint relationship that NAR as formally signed with a foreign real estate organization. The have been ongoing liaisons over the years, but this is a much larger step in bringing REALTORS® together.

NAR announced at the convention in New Orleans that they will launch a 4-hour course called "Doing Business In Mexico" with an online version available later in 2007.

Is this a start of NAR actually becoming a "National" Association of Realtors and not just considered National as in Nationwide over America?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this relationship? Do you see yourself or your investors buying properties in Mexico and this being an important relationship? How do you see this relationship being of benefit for your business? Being in Texas, I would like to hear other's thoughts.

Cell Phone Taxes Too High in Texas

I briefly heard on NBC news a couple of days ago that, on average, Texas has one of the highest taxes on cell phone usage. The average is 20% which is about $12 on an average user's bill. My cell phone plan is $39.99, but each month, my bill ranges from $48-49. That's $8-9 in just TAXES, and I live here!! I'm not an investor buying cell phones to use them out of state!

The news video is here. It basically talks about how the state of Texas gets over $700 million a year just from cell phone taxes alone!! That's a heck of a lot of money.

What are your cell phone taxes where you live?

Texas- First Property Tax Arbitration Case

I'm so excited! I took the Arbitration class in October and I just got my first case! There was a gentleman in the class who was taking it for the second time as a refresher because he took the class over a year earlier and has yet to be chosen. I've been on the registry for about 2 weeks and have already received my first letter.

I was so excited that I didn't want to mail it back, so I scanned and emailed it back to their office. I just received a returned receipt showing they received my email. Now, I get to sit and wait to make sure I'm actually the person chosen for the case!

I'm looking forward to this new and exciting experience.