Richard Overall

Well, we made it through our Killeen chamber of commerce ribbon cutting and it was a real success. We probably had 65 to 70 people, more than a dozen of which were realtors from other companies. I didn't think that was too unusual until one of the chamber ambassadors was talking to me afterward and said something I found very interesting. He said that he goes to a lot of ribbon cuttings for real estate companies and there are never "competing" realtors in attendance. He said most companies don't invite other realtors to their function.

Maybe I'm an idealist, but this makes no sense to me. These are people in our industry, people we deal with on a daily basis. Why would we not invite them to be a part of our business celebration, and that's exactly what we did. They came to support our company and help celebrate our growth. This is the relationship we foster in our real estate community. We support other agents and in turn receive genuine support from them. These are what we call our "Friends of Casa." These are the agents that give Realtors a GOOD name.

I want to thank those that came to support us and encourage everyone in our community to reach out to each other. We're all in this together. The business may be adversarial in nature, but that doesn't mean you have to be adversaries with each other.

Good evening, everyone. It's late and I've been running sice early today preparing for our office ribbon cutting/open house on Thursday. It's not that we're a new company, but like the married couple who missed their honeymoon, we never had a ribbon cutting and after 10 years, and our latest move, we thought it about time. So here I sit, after days of planning, much of today shopping, and getting ready to prepare the food Wednesday evening (still have to sell houses during the day) I think I'm just about ready. On the one hand, I'm excited, (though maybe not so much as the honeymoon couple), but on the other, I am looking forward to when this is over and things can get back to normal. Of course we'll have the honeymoon ribbon cutting snapshots to remember it by. Oh the memories.

By the way, all of you local folks ot there that might read this, you are all invited. The event will be Thursday, February 26 from 11am to 2pm. There will be great food and hopefully lots of fun for all.

Are you thinking about selling your home or are you selling your home by owner? Buyers are here and I need inventory.

My name is Richard W. Overall, Jr and I am a Realtor at Casa Realty in Killeen. Some might argue that the market is soft and there are no buyers out there, but the fact is that there are buyers. In the last 30 days, 221 houses have gone under contract in our market and 171 houses have sold. The fact that more houses have gone under contract than have sold indicates that the market is picking up, at least in the last 30 days. Of course we have had 4th ID coming back in the last couple weeks so that always helps.

I would like to talk to you about how I can help you sell your home. I use many marketing tools including my personal and company websites, an individual website for the property (for example: http://708stewartstreet.bestpricedhouse.com/), For Sale, For Rent magazine and website, Craigslist, and of course the Fort Hood area Association of Realtors multiple listing service.

I would not be writing this if I did not believe I could sell your home. If you would just like to discuss the market conditions, I would be happy to talk to you about that without any obligation. I believe that once we have a chance to talk, you will know that I am the person who will sell your home. If you have any questions or if there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to call me.

Richard W. Overall, Jr
254-394-6637

Casa Realty
254-526-5000

Hello, Central Texas homebuyers. I am Richard Overall, a REALTOR in the Fort Hood area and "I am your OVERALL long-term real estate resource in Central Texas." I primarily work in the Fort Hood/Killeen/Harker Heights areas.

In order that I may better serve you, please tell me what are looking for in a home. Please include bedrooms, bathrooms, area, price and any other information you would like us to consider when creating your property search. With this information, I will personally set up a saved search for you in our local multiple listing service. You will be notified by email of all properties that meet your requirements as soon as they come on the market and/or when they have a price change. This search will include all listings in this market, not just listings with our company. There is no charge for Buyer Representation with Casa Realty. Please feel free to call me with any questions or concerns.

I am not a high-pressure salesperson. If you are interested in being set up on this free service, please email me back or call me with the requested information. If you would prefer to pass on this offer, that's OK, too. As I said, there is no cost or obligation, but this will give you some insight into the central Texas housing market. Thank you again for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Richard W. Overall, Jr REALTOR

Sales Manager

254-394-6637 cell

Casa Real Estate

1201 South WS Young Dr., suite F

Killeen, TX 76543

254-526-5000 office

888-526-2410 fax

www.OverallRealtor.com

I have to admit that one of the great things about living and working in the Fort Hood area is the opportunity I have to get to know and help military families.  While credit markets are suffering around the country, we are making home ownership a reality for military families on a daily basis.  The sourse of our ability to sell homes to these buyers is the VA guaranteed loan.  The qualifying standards for these loans has not changed and the local lenders have money ready to go for them. 

Just this week, we were working with a young soldier and his wife who originally approached us about a rental.  They quickly realized that in this market, they could own a home for the same, or less, than what they would pay for rent.  Additionally, with this particular transaction, we were able to negotiate with the seller to pay all of the buyers closing costs and prepaid items and, since there is no down payment required for a VA loan, they are actually buying a house for FAR LESSout of pocket than they would have had they rented.  As if that wasn't enough, they will also qualify for the new homebuyer tax credit ($7500 or $15000). 

Of course, as part of the process, we guided them on whether homeownership was right for their situation (ie. how long would they be here), how to buy so that, should they have to leave sooner than expected, they will have an asset that can continue to work for them (hold the house as a rental), and the possible pitfalls of the real estate investment business (stock away any excess positive cash flow for the inevitable unforeseen circumstance).  With all that in mind, they were ready to move forward.  Today, we found them a New House that met all their wants and needs, negotiated a deal where the builder would pay all of their closing costs and prepaids and would get them moved in before closing on a very reasonable Buyers Temporary Residential Lease.  They have been prequalified, will go to loan app on Monday and they will be closing in a little more than 2 weeks. 

Are these buyers happy?  You better believe they are.  Are they gonna say good things about our company?  Without a doubt.  Are we doing what's right for the client?  Absolutely.  Is the economy still strong in Central Texas?  HOOAH!!!  It's ARMY STRONG!!!

www.OverallRealtor.com