Wayne Johnson Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors

These are great, have some laughs!

This is how fights start!!
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her
someplace expensive... .
So, I took her to a gas station.....
And then the fight started....

My wife and I are watching "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" while we
were in bed. I turned to her and said,
"Do you want to have sex?"
"No," she answered.
I then said, "Is that your final answer?"
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying
"Yes."
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And then the fight started...

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for
Social Security.
The woman behind the counter asked me for my
driver's license to verify my age.
I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home.
I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home
and come back later.
The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.
So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.
She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me'
And she processed my Social Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the
Social Security office.
She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten
Disability, too'
And then the fight started.....

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch,
grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage .
I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into
a torrential downpour.
The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned
on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into
bed. I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different anticipation,
and whispered, 'The weather out there is terrible.'
My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my stupid
husband is out fishing in that?'
And that's how the fight started ...

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I
kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at
a nearby table.
My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'
'Yes,' I sighed, 'she's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to
drinking right after we split up those many & years ago, and I hear she
hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on
celebrating that long?'
And then the fight started.....

I rear-ended a car this morning.
So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got
out of his car.
You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and
Little things just seem funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it.... He was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY! !!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started.....

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first.
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
; He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And then the fight started.....

A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband,
'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay
me a compliment.'
The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's darn near perfect.'
And then the fight started..... .

Way back in the dark ages, before the Internet, when I was in school, I remember some of the sayings I heard my teachers and older relatives use. One of my favorites was "Penny wise and pound foolish." Now a penny used to go a lot further than it does now. But you get the idea, save a little on something of limited value, but loose a lot more on something of greater value or substance.

Between guests at my Open House today in Shavano Creek, I thought of a few real estate and property owner issues that fall into the penny wise-pound foolish area.

Conducting A Home Search Without an Agent or Guide

As a buyer in Texas, you hardly ever pay for the services of an agent. The agent must place the buyer's needs above their own. When informed of the buyer's needs, the agent can locate homes that fit the profile you specify, save you time, point out potential problem areas, negotiate price and terms on your behalf, and shepherd the transaction to close.

Now the Internet gives buyers an opportunity to see potential homes without an agent, but many Internet sites display homes with outdated information. If searching for your next home is a fun activity, and time is not an issue, going it alone is as good a way to spend time as anything else.

"Penny wise and pound foolish", and it's not even your penny.

Declining to Use a Licensed Inspector

If the buyer is a competent contractor, familiar with all the systems and components of the house being considered for purchase, maybe it's OK to do the inspection without paying for a licensed home inspector. Just because you use an inspector does not mean the seller will repair or upgrade any deficiencies. What it does is alert you, the buyer, to areas that may need to be addressed. This information can then be factored into you strategy for closing the deal. Forewarned is forearmed. (Another classic phrase.)

"Penny wise and pound foolish", sure you save the cost of an inspection, but what don't your learn about the property?

Reducing Home Insurance Coverage

If you own a home, and you believe the value of your home has significantly declined in value, there may be a temptation to reduce your insurance coverage to the current market value. Probably not a good move. You can save a few dollars, but remember, your insurance is to be used to replace or rebuild your property for covered losses. Even though market value may be down, the replacement costs for the home are probably up. So you might save some on the premiums by reducing the value, but if you have a loss, and your coverage does not cover the expense necessary to rebuild, this would fall into the "penny-wise, pound foolish" situation.

Feel free to add to the "Penny wise and Pound Foolish" list of examples.

You don't generally see windmills in the city, but here is one on Loop 1604 near the Stone Oak intersection. It over a building that contains a Mexican restaurant. I forget the name of it, but will add it tomorrow. May stop in for a bite too.

UPDATE

The name of the place is El Papalote Taco and Grill. Check their website.

In days of old, the saying was "caveat emptor", which I'm told is latin for something roughly equivalent to let the buyer beware.

Over the years, many changes in law and regulations have provided buyers better consumer rights than the old "caveat emptor".

In Texas, our One to Four Residential Contract (Resale), provides a way for a buyer to pay for the right to terminate the contract, in done within the time frame agreed upon, without suffering the loss of the earnest money deposit. The contract calls for a nominal fee, which should be provided to the seller promptly, for the option period to be in effect.

23. TERMINATION OPTION: For nominal consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by Seller, and Buyer's agreement to pay Seller $ (Option Fee) within 2 days after the effective date of this contract, Seller grants Buyer the unrestricted right to terminate this contract by giving notice of termination to Seller within days after the effective date of this contract. If no dollar amount is stated as the Option Fee or if Buyer failsto pay the Option Fee to Seller within the time prescribed, this paragraph will not be a part ofthis contract and Buyer shall not have the unrestricted right to terminate this contract. If Buyer gives notice of termination within the time prescribed, the Option Fee will not be refunded;however, any earnest money will be refunded to Buyer. The Option Fee 􀂉will 􀂉will not becredited to the Sales Price at closing. Time is of the essence for this paragraph and strict compliance with the time for performance is required.

The language in this paragraph is precise as to what must be done, and by when to have the right to terminate the contract. I like the flexibility this paragraph provides buyers. Agents just have to make sure to adhere to the requirements so their client's rights are protected.

One of the reasons the Termination Option is important to me was the expernce I had with a couple who were first-time homebuyers. We looked for a home for them over the course of several days and finally found the home they both liked. During the Option Period, the wife had a medical emergency and they decided they could not handle her situation and complete the home buying process at the same time.

Had we not followed the requirements of the Termination Option paragraph, we would have been at the mercy of the sellers regarding a refund of all or a portion of the earnest money deposit. Because the terms of the option period were followed, they were able to recover their full earnest money deposit.

As the wording in the paragraph states, it's an unrestricted right to terminate. I always recommend buyers use this feature. Key requirements are:

• Show an amount to be paid for the right to terminate in Paragraph 23
• Buyer's agent must have the funds to the Seller or Seller's agent within 2 days after the effective date of the contract

I love the variety of colors the Crepe Myrtle shows.