Wayne Johnson Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors

After a couple of days of good rain, we've greened up a little, but this small creek bed in Hollywood Park will return to its normal dry and rockly condition soon. No doubt the deers will appreciate the better quality of the grass.

Some marathon runners hit "the wall somewhere between 19-23 miles. This is the point at which they use up stored fuel within their bodies and basically have to finish the race on intestinal fortitude- mind over matter and a quick easily digestable snack during the run. Sometimes buying a house can feel similar to running a marathon.

You find a house, negotiate terms, repairs, price, and possession. As a buyer, you may think the hard work is done. But it's not. In fact, your agent has to work throughout the time between everyone signing off on the deal until you get to the closing table.

I think of this time as the "wall" in the transaction. As a buyer, you can help get to the finish line for a successful close, or you can imperil the deal and watch everything crash and burn.

How can the buyer's acts help hit the wall and cause the transaction to terminate?

• Don't miss any payments, particuliarly rent or mortgage payments
• Don't have any delinquences on credit payments
• Don't open any new lines of credit while your new mortgage is being arranged
• Try to avoid changing jobs

There are lots of things the buyer cannot control during the process. But control the things that can be controlled for a better chance at closing the deal.

MSN Real Estate has an interesting articlethat seems to have been authored by "journalists" at SmartMoney.com.

The basic gist of the article is real estate agents, and Realtors are usually dishonest with clients and customers. The article's title "10 things your real estate broker won't say", is filled with generalizations, and unsubstantiated assertions masquerading as facts.

Several of the points the authors allege brokers will not tell clients could lead to the loss of one's real estate license in Texas. This is a pretty poor piece of journalism.

I was on the back side of a north central San Antonio development the other day and noticed a big difference in the landscape between a developed area and an untouched area.

This is adjacent to the developed area. Typical north San Antonio, dry, rocky, short trees and schrub brush. But even with our drought conditions, the trees are typically Texan-tough to the core, unbending, unbowed, and unbroken.

As you pan left, you see the eastern edge of the development. Pretty much clear cut of foilage. No doubt this is a rocky area with very little topsoil but it looks like no effort was made to save much of the native plants.

I understand that builders and developers initially pay for the land and have a right to develop within the established rules and to make a profit.

I am not for another commission or board to dictate how developers handle this matter, because I think some extreme environmentalists go over board in the other direction.

This is what it looks like in all its glory. This is probably not the worst version of this technique. But I have no answer. Just a question-Was there another way this could have been done?