March is CLEAN UP Month in Rowlett, TX!

That's right City of Rowlett residents, let your Spring Cleaning begin because the City of Rowlett is providing a FREE drop off location & FREE disposal of your unwanted Residential Non Hazardous Bulky Items and Residential Brush! So start trimming those trees & cleaning out your garage and closets!

The free "Clean Up Campaign" will last the whole month of March. The City of Rowlett will have Dumpsters located on 1904 Castle Dr (just east of Rowlett Rd) and will be open daily from 10a-6pm, unless it's raining. *Be sure to bring your Drivers License or a Utility Bill to show proof of residence.

Please Don't Bring any TV's/Computers, Automobile Parts, Batteries, Liquids (paint, motor oil, solvents, ect), Chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, pool chemicals, ect), and/or no Freon or Freon Containing Appliances (ac's, freezers, refrigerators, ect). In addition, they Can't Accept any Dirt, Rocks, or Concrete ... ONLY Brush (branches, weeds, grass, bushes, ect). If you do have a TV or Computer that you'd like to dispose of, you can call IESI (972-475-3600) to schedule a pick up.

AND don't forget City of Rowlett Residents, you are allowed 2 FREE passes per year to dispose of Household Trash, Bulky Items like furniture, Brush or Wood Waste, and Construction/Demolition Debris at the Hinton Landfill(3175 Elm Grove Rd, Garland). To obtain your passes, simply take your Drivers License & Water Bill to either the Public Works Department (4310 Industrial St), Bussiness Office in the Annex Building (4004 Main St), or the City Secretary's Office at City Hall (4000 Main St). *When you're ready to use your FREE Rowlett Resident Hinton Landfill Pass, be sure to take your Drivers License AND your current Water Bill to show proof of residency.

If you’d like to learn more about life in Rowlett or the Lake Ray Hubbard area, or available homes, please contact me or visit my website. *Rowlett is where I’m proud to call home & work as a Realtor. I’d be happy to share with you why Rowlett & Lake Ray Hubbard is a fabulous place for your family too!

As you know, the Eastern Extension of The President George Bush Turnpike (toll road) is OPEN and boy is it fabulous! But if for some reason you're still not sure where this NTTA Extension is, the 9.9 mile Eastern Extension of the PGB Turnpike is between State Highway 78 & Interstate 30. You can read more about it's opening here.

Along the 9.9 miles, you’ll find your way to great shopping and dining along the way & even be taken to Firewheel Town Center, which is a Main Street-style shopping, dining and entertainment center that also has an outside Park and trackless Train. Be sure to check frequently on what's going on at Firewheel Town Center.

In addition to the different businesses & restaurants, you can also travel the one-mile bridge over Lake Ray Hubbard and continue DIRECTLY onto Interstate 30 nonstop! Talk about cutting down your commute time!

As with any NTTA roadway, the best way to drive, & the most Cost Effective way is with a TollTag. ZipCash customers pay 50 percent more than TollTag customers. A trip on the extension from I-30 to Firewheel Parkway costs $1.52 with a TollTag, compared to $2.28 with ZipCash.

Now I’m no Bird Watcher or expert in the subject of Birds, but I do know that having a SNOW OWL in Texas is a crazy thing!

Well just a few days ago, a SNOW OWL , was spotted hanging out at the Robertson Park in Rowlett, on the banks of the beautiful Lake Ray Hubbard!

It’s my understanding that SNOW OWLS are hardly ever seen south of the Arctic Circle in Canada, and is actually the 6th Time a SNOW OWL has been spotted here in the state! Because of this, it’s easy to understand why so many people are making the tract out to Lake Ray Hubbard, just off I-30, to see this amazing bird!

Below is a clip from the local Fox News …

STAGING YOUR HOME TO SELL is a marketing tool that is becoming more & more essential in the DFW & the Lake Ray Hubbard Real Estate Market. As your Realtor, my main responsibility is to make sure YOUR HOME SELLS in a little time as possible and for as much money as possible! One of the things that I provide my sellers are tips on how we can stage & better present their home, and if needed, help from a professional Home Stagger. Buyers are looking for value, especially in today's economy that has a lot of 1st time home buyers. Whether its a car or a house, buyers need to perceive that their purchase is worth the price & even that it has more value than the price.

• You only get 1 First Impression and often times it's on the internet. Holly says, "A beautifully staged home stands out from its competition & spends less time on the market. Many buyers start their search on the internet so if the photos of your home display the cat's litter box, 1980's wall paper, & mismatched furniture, you will not draw a crowd! Stage your home before it's placed on the market and entice those potential buyers to come and take a look!"

• Staging is beneficial in Preventing Price Erosion that inevitably happens in the minds of buyers. As Karen puts it, "Price Erosion is when the potential Buyers start to make objections to the condition, repairs or updates that haven’t been completed. This can be anything you do to prepare your home which could include De-Cluttering, Neutralizing, Updating, De-Personalizing & Organizing, and enhancing the Curb Appeal."

So you've decided to SELL YOUR HOUSE ... Now what?!

Finding yourself a Realtor is a great 1st step. As a Realtor who specializes in the Lake Ray Hubbard area and Dallas Metroplex, I'm here to help you reach your Real Estate goals and sell your house for a good price & in a timley manner! I understand that selling your home can be a very emotional & will enfringe on your personal time.

As your Realtor, my goal is to make the selling process as stress free and profitable for you as possible. The three main things I stress in getting your Home Sold are to ... Stage your Home, Price your Home Right from the Beginning, and Marketing your Home. Below is more information on these:

• Staging Your Home is basically getting your home in "showing and selling" condition. You never get a 2nd chance at a 1st impression, so it's important to take the time to get your house set to Impress Buyers. How your home looks will greatly impact how quickly your house sells & the price you get for it. As your Realtor, I can assist you in approaching your home from the buyer's standpoint and recommend changes/repairs/updates that should be done to make a good first impression. *Read more about the importance of Stagging HERE

• Pricing Your Home Right from the Beginning is essential for getting your house sold both quickly & for a higher price. If your home isn't priced correctly, your home might end up sitting on the market too long because it's overpriced ... which then leads potential buyers to think that something is wrong with it & inevetably offering a much lower price, which could very well be lower than what should have been your initial listing price. As your Realtor, I'll do an intense Comparative Market Analysis for your house. It is important to remember that the current Market, meaning prices that homes have sold for over the past 6 months, is what will be used to price your house & will also be used by your Lender's Appraiser. It is this objective analysis that will be used to determine the best Price Range for your house.

• Marketing your Home is the final step now that your home is ready, it's time to put it on the market and announce to the world that it's For Sale! Marketing a home has changed a lot from 10 years ago, and even 5 years ago. As your Realtor, I continually update & evaluate how I market my clients homes to reach the highest possibility of potential and qualified buyers. Online marketing is a MUST, ~85% of all home buyers start their looking Online, and this venue changes frequently as well as what is popular with the consumers. Along with the basics (taking quality pictures, inputting your house in the Multiple Listing Service, Sign in Yard with Flyers, and setting up buyer showings with the Centralized Showing Serivce & using a Supra Lockbox), I also do the following ... Create your own Website & Domain Name, Utilize major consumer marketing websites like Zillow, Trulia, & Realtor.com, Advertise continuously on my business & company Websites, Blogs, & Social Media sites like FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube & LinkedIn, and I also do Online Classifieds like CraigsList & RealBird.