Bonuses of Using a Realtor When Buying a Home

1. It's FREE - As a buyer, you pay absolutely nothing for the services.
2. You Could SAVE THOUSANDS- Realtors are experienced in the market, and have the ability to negotiate any price on a home for you.
3. You SAVE TIME - With a good Realtor, you just find the home, choose whether or not you want to view it before putting in an offer. Then, you just tell your Realtor how much you're willing to pay, and he/she will put in the offer. They will set up the closing, and all you have to do is sign.
4. Did I mention it's FREE - The seller will pay all Realtor fees from the proceeds of his/her home's sell.

Dallas Morning News Spotlight on real estate market in Melissa!

I mentioned last week about the Dallas Morning News quoting me in an article. As promised, I found the link.

You can click HERE to read more on the market in Melissa, TX.

Homebuild negotiations

People don't realize that homebuilders do not tell the general public about specials that Realtors know about. When a builder rep sees a family or individual come into their model homes without a Real Estate Agent they smell blood.

Not to say they are unethical in any way. They are just doing their job. That job is to protect the interests of the homebuilder. Get the homebuilder the most for their home. Your Realtors job is to protect your interests and not the builders.

Realtor comissions on a new construction are paid out of a builders marketing fund, NOT added to the price of the home.

Interest rates

Every Tuesday a.m. I meet with my primary mortgage lender and discuss mortgage trends. While rates have been very low, they are on the rise. You need to begin your homesearch immediatley to take advantage of the still low interest rates.

Give me a call and lets get you into that perfect new home.

An expired listing?

Your home has failed to sell. What do you do now? Give me a call!

Even if you are not planning on listing your house with me, you need an agent that has worked with many buyers to go in and evaluate what a buyer is going to think of your property.

It is imperative that your new agent has a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes print, direct mail and internet advertising for your property.

I've never been working with so many buyers at one time. The DFW market is rolling on well.

Coppell

One of DFW's most desierable areas is Coppell. A strong school district coupled with strong resale values has made Coppell one of the areas most desired neighborhood.

If you find a good deal....

If you find a good deal with your Realtor, jump on it. The problem with the media over-inflating the buyers market is that buyers think that sellers are going to give away their homes or make a lot of repairs on their home.

I've seen a lot of buyers pass up incredible deals because they don't think they are getting enough. If you, as a buyer, are prepared to pay what list price is then don't get overly greedy. You can definatley lose out on an awesome opportunity.

If your agent says it's a good deal and they support it with a market analysis, make a realistic play for the property.

Busy weekend

The market is picking up so much that I have a fully booked weekend. 3 different buyer clients looking at houses and 2 listing appointments. That's a lot of work. I'm always asking my assistant that if she ever imagined how much work being in real estate is.

For each buyer client, it takes us about 2 hours to prepare for them. Then 4 to 5 hours to show them them the houses. When we prepare for a seller client, it takes us 3 hours to prepare for the appointment, 1.5 hours for the appointment and 10 hours to start the basic process for marketing the listing.

To say the least, I will be working well into the evening to finish up the work to prepare for all my clients. Call me if your up late!

Best time to list your home

We are coming up on the best time tolist your home. It is recomended that a list date of March 1 is the best time to get your home listed. This is because, this is about the time that people begin looking to make that move.

With the market in a slow down, it is important that any sellers understand that they may need to wait a little longer to get their home sold. Lots of inventory with fewer buyers is making it extremley important to make sure that your home is the best value and in the best condition as possible. For more information about how to accomplish a sale please call me for my special report:

Home Seller: How To Sell Your Home For The Highest Price Possible
972-254-2011

Today.....Short Sale

Wow, it seems like the market has gone crazy this week with as many appointments as I've had to get houses on the market.

Just so everyone understands "short sales"......a short sale is a property that is fixing to go into foreclosure. The bank will agree to take less for the property than is owed on the loan. This is to avoid a foreclosure. However, to be approved for a short sale, you have to prove to the bank that you can't make the payment. It's like being approved for the loan in reverse.

Understand, if you put an offer on a short sale property, you will be waiting, and waiting, and waiting. The bank will hold out for the BEST offer on a property. Additionally, they WILL ABSOLUTLEY NOT consider to sell the property contingent on yours selling.

I was quoted in this weekends Dallas Morning News

On Sunday afternoon, a family friend called me and said that I was in the newspaper. I had done an interview with the Dallas Morning News last week. The premise of the story surrounds the city where I live, Melissa Texas.

If you would like a copy of this article, please email me or call me. I will try to link a copy of the article to my blog this week.

My thoughts on the real estate market

From all indications, I have seen no reason for people living in DFW or Texas for that matter to be so concerned about the housing market. Yes, homes are sitting on the market a little longer than ususal. There are less buyers than there are sellers, however, that is always the case in the winter time. As long as your home is priced to sell and it is marketed, then your home will sell.

Dallas home prices are stable and may actually see an increase in value this year. The home builders have cut back on their building surge and will help balance out inventory.