Ronda Allen

Today, one of my listings that came off the market in Prosper, TX is being shown to a prospective buyer. That listing actually came off the market a couple of weeks ago. The owner decided not to sell the house. That was, until a buyer made contact through their agent and asked me if this home was still available. We reactivated the listing, for this buyer, and they are touring it now. They have no competition for this home. Nobody else is aware the home is available. And, the owner is thrilled that this buyer liked their home enough from the marketing that they all but demanded to have it included in their home tour.

Sounds like a win/win, right? You would be correct. Sometimes, a home comes off the market early, because the sellers become fatigued waiting for their buyers to get their current home sold. That was the case here. But, that does not always mean that the home is unavailable. It never hurts to ask, and this is not one isolated incident of this occurrence.

There are currently 328 expired listings in Prosper, TX that expand the list of available properties for every Prosper buyer in every price point. Ruling out these homes would be unthinkable. Every one of these sellers was highly motivated to sell, and committed to the process. But, they got tired of waiting for their buyer. And, I'll let you in on a secret that buyers just don't realize. There was nothing wrong with the overwhelming majority of these homes. Their buyer just didn't show up in the timing the seller wanted.

By no means a Prosper-only scenario, buyers need to ask their agents to research all available and expired options in the local community, and not lose out on the opportunity for just the right home, rather than limiting the search to only those homes that are currently posted in active status in the MLS.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

You moved to Prosper, TX. You love your home. You change your air filters out quarterly. You mow your lawn every week. You put out fresh mulch in the landscaping once a year. You run your sprinklers when we don't have steady rainfall. Is this the extent of your home maintenance schedule?

Someone who has become a good friend to me in the past ten years is the local plumber. Believe it or not, he is the one contractor who gets called out to homes more than any other, in the course of my home sale transactions. But, it isn't usually for plumbing issues. That surprised me. The most common reason we call out a plumber for repairs during the course of a real estate transaction, in my experience, has been to do routine maintenance to gas fixtures in the home that have never been serviced.

My plumber friend suggested a regular maintenance schedule for gas fixtures as not only a routine service, like you would do on your HVAC (heating and air conditioning), but also as a safety feature. Leaky gas fixtures in a home are a hazard.

I was a little skeptical, at first, that a plumber would recommend a routine maintenance schedule. But, then time proved him right on home sale after home sale. His service call fee is $85.00/hour. And, he only suggested a visit every 3-5 years. In one visit, he was able to check all of the following fixtures in a home in one and a half hours:

The gas cooktop, gas starter/gas log fireplace, gas water heater, and the exterior gas bib to the barbecue grill. That isn't all. In the same appointment, he checked all the toilets, showers, baths, sinks, and exterior water spigots.

I've seen repair bills on home sales come in between $0 - $thousands. Most of the time, repairs are on items that have been ignored by the seller since the day they took ownership of the house. Not every problem in a home is going to be visible to the seller. But, I have found that in many of these home sales, it would have been a lot less expensive for the seller if they had put all of their major home systems on their routine maintenance schedule.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

Come out and visit me at any of these great homes in Collin and Denton County for the remainder of October, 2010. Fall is a great time to tour and buy a home in our area. The weather is gorgeous and these homes are ALL worth the trip!

October 24, 2010

2-5pm 4700 Canvasback Boulevard, McKinney, TX 75070 - 5 bedroom Toll Brothers 2001 built custom home on .72 acres in gated The Preserve at Mallard Lakes. Study, gameroom, split formals, split staircase, 3-car garage, and Tahitian Pools backyard oasis! List price $474,900

2-5pm 1421 Cedar Hollow Drive, Prosper, TX 75078 - 4-bedroom plus study, media room, gameroom, and complete outdoor living area. This beautiful K Hovnanian home was built in 2007 and was their model home in Cedar Ridge Estates. Owner occupied and staged to perfection! List price $429,000

October 30, 2010

1-4pm 2691 Lake Ridge Drive, Little Elm, TX 75068 - This 4-bedroom home was built this year and the owner has accepted a job in another state after just closing on the house this Summer. Built by Horizon Homes, this home has more upgrades than any of the builder's spec homes and is a fantastic value at $214,000. You can lease this home, if you prefer, at $2200 per month.

2-4pm 1226 Gwinnett Ct., Savannah,TX 76227 - 4-bedroom D.R. Horton home in Sea Pines Village at Savannah. Wrap-around front porch, split bedrooms, and a very open floorplan. Sunroom off the family room connects to the master bedroom. Nice, corner lot on the interior of the subdivision. This home is a must-see. List price is $200,000.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

Just last week, a valued client contacted me about the sale of his home in Houston. I am not involved in that transaction. I sold him the home he and his family now own in Prosper, TX. But, since I did not have 'skin in the game' as he stated, he trusted my opinion. He wanted to know whether he should consider leasing out the home in Houston (YES!) since it wasn't selling. Over the course of the conversation, he candidly shared that he didn't trust the agent he was working with to advise him in an unbiased fashion on this matter.

The topic of my blog is whether or not the real estate blog has run it's course? But, the topic actually came out of the conversation that I had with this particular client. I believe it is essential that we put our opinions out on the web in an attempt to show people what we're made of prior to having 'skin in the game'. You don't have to look too far to find a person who has a real estate nightmare. It also isn't too difficult to find people who use the word real estate agent and Realtor as if they are interchangeable. The best of us don't have a halo that floats above our heads, and the bad ones look just like everybody else. People need information, especially at this time in our economy. Media reports make it seem like the sky is falling when it comes to real estate. It's all over tv, the newspapers, and online. But, there is no national real estate market. Real estate is a regional industry. And, although the foreclosure freeze is having some impact on our area, it is not going to be a crushing blow to the North Texas region.

Once we have that all important 'skin', meaning the outcome of a real estate transaction that would lead to a payday for the agent, it is important that we understand that to some, our believability factor is lower. They may not trust our opinion to be unbiased any longer. All the more reason that they know and trust you prior to doing business with you. Your blog can help you build that trust. When you and your public comments are consistent, even in light of some future payday, I have found that credibility with the client doesn't come into question as often. There is always someone out there who won't believe you. You haven't been in real estate long if you are still worried about pleasing everybody. But, your written word is that extended hand to a future client. And, your handshake and your word should be your bond.

I've seen a drop in blogs on some online sites. And, some real estate agents have never written a single blog. But, they are missing out on a huge opportunity to build a steady stream of future business. I have current clients who advised me that they decided I would be their agent no less than a year before they picked up the phone to call me out to their home. They are fans of my blog. They read my opinion of what's going on in our region and they know how I market homes even before our first listing appointment. When we do finally meet, it's as if we've known each other for some time already. They know me. And, they tell me that I'm exactly the way they knew I would be, by what they read in my blog. There is no competition for that client. They didn't call anyone else out to their home. I extended my hand, and their hand was extended in return.

It is never too late to start blogging. If you are carrying less business than you'd like, and you aren't a blogger, then you owe it to yourself to start. Don't tell me that you have nothing to write about. This economy and each of our regions are giving us more blog topics than you have hours in the day. Even better news - you don't have to pick just one.

Have a blessed day.

Ronda

In my humble opinion, the foreclosure freeze has been a long-time coming. The foreclosures and short sales have been handled in such a way that (again, in my opinion), there isn't a big bank out there that should pat themselves on the back for the handling of these properties.

As a home seller in Prosper, TX - what does the foreclosure freeze mean to you?

1. Those foreclosure properties are currently 'off the market'. This creates opportunity for you. Qualified buyers in our area look at foreclosures, but I've found them buy normal resale homes or new construction in higher numbers. Some of your competition went away temporarily. Supply and demand basic rules imply that we should see some positive outcomes for the homes where there is no lender involvement in the sale.

2. The media attention is causing a bit of a stall in home showings this month. Bad news sells papers. Consumer confidence was low already. It's going to take people a moment to shake off all that fear and move on with their lives. Buyers are very savvy. They are taking in information from a variety of sources and then making up their own minds.

3. There are even more opportunities for residential leasing. When people hesitate on purchasing a home, or they can't get that foreclosure property yet that they thought they were about to close on, they will turn to temporary living solutions. This is an opportunity that homeowners have to get a qualified tenant for a 6-month to 24-month period. This moratorium on foreclosure sales is not going to last. Real estate is a cyclical industry. Freezing billions of dollars in home inventory is a big wake-up call and the banks are finally going to get off their duffs and pay attention to their broken processes.

4. Also on the leasing of residential homes, sellers are going to have to decide if they are on board with the idea of leasing out their home. Tenants are just as afraid that homeowners won't make their mortgage payment as landlords fear tenants won't pay the rent. If you can get beyond the fear, and get tenants and landlords vetted to everyone's satisfaction, I can point to dozens of happy clients who are currently leasing their homes to good tenants. Some of these tenants may actually become that landlord's buyer when the lease is over. Some are just waiting for their current home to sell so that they can buy in Prosper.

5. The eventual return of some of the foreclosure inventory to the market. These folks were behind in their mortgage. As each file is reviewed more closely, and banks decide what will be done with these homes (or someone decides for them), some of those homes will filter back out for final sale. Many could be mitigated, which means the banks may work with the owners and re-establish their ownership rights if they qualify to stay and can reach an agreement about what to do with the back-payments.

I helped one family in Royse City, TX last year who was already four payments behind to a large bank. We rented out their home (it took one day to get a tenant), and they began repaying back their payments to the bank with the extra $600 above their house payment that they received in rent. That tenant renewed their lease this year and both tenant and landlord are happy with the arrangement. The bank is also happy, and all threats of foreclosure are off the table. People working with people got this problem solved. Unfortunately, many people fall behind on their mortgage and just sneak out in the middle of the night and abandon the property. There are other options if we can get in front of people to discuss those options.

I hope you have a blessed day!

Ronda