Chris Tesch College Station, Texas Real Estate

So, you've bought the house of your dreams and moved in. What's the next step? Remembering that one day, whether you realize it or not today, you'll be selling. Increasing the value of your home isn't just a blitz right before you list it. Protecting and increasing the value of your home starts the day that you write the offer.

So you've closed now. What is the number one thing to do as soon as you've bought the home? If I could tell you that in one day you could make a change to increase the value of your home by possibly up to 20%, decrease your utility bills, and reduce your stress while helping the entire ecology of our area would you be interested? You can! Quick, plant trees!

In any area this holds true, but in our area it's of prime importance. Bryan and College Station, actually all of Brazos Valley, has traditionally been used as farm land. Trees in fields aren't a great value, as they provide unneeded shade and reduce the area given for crops or livestock. Therefore many were eliminated. The remaining trees in many cases, are Post Oaks. Post Oak trees are beautiful trees and very hardy, when given a natural enviroment. They are, however, very resistant to change and to human intervention. Pouring a slab close to their root system, watering them with clorinated and processed water, putting a tree house in them or driving over or near their root systems are all huge problems for these gorgeous natives. In other words, as homeowners, we don't play nice with them. They tend to die within a year of a new property being built on, leaving you with a big empty space in your yard.

Here's some quick statistics on the value of a tree:

Dr. Roger S. Ulrich of Texas A&M University stated that "in laboratory research, visual exposure ot settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension."

The USDA Forest Service states "Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating"

The Management Information Services/ICMA states "Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent."

According to the US Department of Agriculture "The net cooling effect of a young, healty tree is equivilant to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."

"A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000," according to the Concil of Tree and Landscape Appraisers.

Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research states "if you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%."

Wow, lower your blood pressure, decrease your utility bills and increase your property value in one fell swoop! Definately a recipe for success!!!!!!!

For more information on local tree farms and resources visit my website.

Bryan certainly seems to be in the news lately! With the new Toyo Ink Plant (the 3rd largest ink manufacterer in the world) coming here and the new A&M Health Science Center quickly becoming a reality along with the new Bryan Rudder High School that is soon to open it certainly seems that Bryan is the center of a storm of new businesses.

The Super Target will be opening July 20th at the corner of Highway 6 and Briarcrest soon. It's anchoring a whole conglomerate of great stores and restaurants that will truly add to Bryan's prestige and the enjoyment of every citizen in Bryan and College Station!

Thought you all might be interested in seeing quick list of stores that will be in the new Bryan Towne Center anchored by Target.

Shipley's Doughnuts

Baskin Robbins

Eyemart Express

Citifinancial

E-Nail Topia

Dollar Tree

rue21

Rack Room Shoes

Maurices

Logan 's Steakhouse

Anytime Fitness

Salt Grass Steakhouse

IHOP

Burlington Coat Factory

Bryan is certainly on the move! Look for more on the new Toyo Plant and the HSC in further blogs. For more information about Bryan or College Station, or to see the latest in homes for sale come to my web site at www.ChrisTesch.com.

Prospective buyers in Bryan and College Station need to take several things into consideration when looking at homes. Focusing on resale value from the very start will definately put you in the drivers seat when selling later down the road. Many buyers come into the market not looking at their purchase from this perspective and suffer later down the road.

Things to consider:

1) How long do you plan on living in this particular home? Obviously, plans change frequently, but this is the first thing to consider. If you are planning on a stay two years or less you may want to rethink your purchase. Don't get me wrong, I'm not big on paying a landlords mortgage, however, though I've helped many clients get out breaking even after a year or two the general concensis is that you will probably, at best, break even and potentially even loose money.

2) Love the new home smell and feel? It won't be new when you sell the property! Looking at both new and resale homes is the best policy. Remember that many times the resale properties are under pressure due to the brand new homes. Everyone wants that perfect property, and with either a new or resale their will be pluses and minuses. Think these through carefully. Remember that when you go to sell this property it will be competing with new properties.

3) Carefully choosing your neighborhood can pay off! (or location, location, location!) Drive around the neighborhoods (or take a tour with a great Realtor) and see what each neighborhood in your price range offers. Amenities can make or break your sale down the road. No pool in the neighborhood? Currently it's not a deal breaker here in Bryan or College Station, a few years down the road it could hurt. Many new neighborhoods are being built with pools, tennis courts, basketball courts and other elements that aren't necessarily common here in the Brazos Valley. Competition in the coming years could be stiff between your house and these!

4) No price reduction can compensate for a bad floorplan! Look for resale value when you buy. Do you really dislike the tiny living room and micromini master bath? Then move on unless what you are seeing is common in your price range. One of my buyers was truly attracted to a house. Despite the contemporary exterior (not a resale plus here in the College Station), it had the makings of a phenominal home when you first walk in. Large kitchen, beautiful fireplace, raised ceilings...then we walked into the master bath...sunken tub, one sink, tiny closet. The floorplan didn't flow well either. With further research we found that the property had been listed before and hadn't sold after quite a few price reductions and many days on the market.

5) Consider the school district whether you have children that will attend it or not! You might not care that the schools that serve the neighborhood aren't that good. When you go to sell, it might make or break the deal. That being said remember that school districts and schools can change. Even the school zoning that your home is in can (and around here, probably will) change.

Though my crystal ball is broken there are indications on how certain neighborhoods, home style and areas will do. Take these things into consideration and make your purchase a solid one!

Need a great buyers agent or just want to learn more about Bryan/College Station real estate? Come to my website at www.ChrisTesch.com.

Mel Brooks runaway hit "The Producer's" is headed for College Station. This record holding 12 Tony hit musical is sure to entertain. This is an adaptation of Mel Brooks first Feature Film about scoundrals trying to make a play that was so bad it was sure to fail....and failing even at that!

March 4th and 5th at Rudder Auditorium you can see it too! Tickets are as low as $23 and the best seats are running $55. Make your reservations now to see this smash hit! MSC-Opas is the place to go!

Parents are preparing to come for their annual visit to College Station on April 11th - 13th this year. Activities planned include the Aggie Mom's Boutique and Midnight Yell on April 11th, a Bevo Burn BBQ on April 12th and the Singing Cadets Concert as well. Awards will be April 13th.

Parent's weekend is when most of the students want to have their living accomodations for the next year nailed down at. I typically will still show many clients on Parents Weekend. If you want an appointment on weekends between now and then for condo or home purchase consultations please give a good amount of notice. Good agents get booked quickly this time of year. If I'm not available during the time you would like to come I can try to arrange another good agent to take care of you. Whatever you do you don't want to just show up and get relegated to potentially end up with an agent with little experience.

Now is the time to book your appointment for condo or home searches. If you're looking at buying I'd love to help! Go to my website now at www.ChrisTesch.com or www.BCSRealEstateNews.com to see current listings.