About Bell County, TX

$74,900

• 3 Bed, 2 Bath
• Troy ISD
• Lot Size is 75' x 120'
• 1,565' Square Feet (Bell CAD).

Directions: I-35 to Exit 308 in Troy. Austin Street, right on College, then turn left onto Steven Lane.

	David Jirasek, ALC, CCIM JIRASEK REALTY (254) 770-0996 djirasek@ccim.net http://www.jirasekrealty.com
Listed by: David Jirasek, ALC, CCIM

Call David Jirasek, ALC, CCIM at (888) 662-3390 for more details.

This information has been secured from sources we believe to be reliable, but we make no representation or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information. All references to age, square footage, lot sizes, school district, zoning, income/expenses, etc. are approximate. Buyers should conduct their own independent investigations and rely only on those results. All information subject to change.

If you are thinking of selling your Fort Hood area home soon, I bet you've been surfing and reading suggestions on staging, decluttering, pricing, and landscaping, right?

Sounds like WORK!

Welll.. here's a true story that show just how necessary and effective all your work will be if you take it to heart and properly prepare your Fort Hood real estate to sell.

One of my dearest real estate clients called me around the middle of March to let me know they were getting orders to Fort Bragg and needed to sell their home. They also have a two year old and are expecting a baby! They wanted to visit with me to find out what they needed to do to prepare their home for sale, to talk about pricing the home, and what they could expect to net from the sale.

We met to go over all their concerns regarding pricing the home and arrived at a solid price. (Mrs. Seller is an accountant.) We also talked about the fact that there was a large number of comparable homes for sale in their neighborhood, and that they would need to be ready to make their home the best it could be.

We walked all through their home, along with Carol Easters, my professional home stager (a complimentary service when you list with me). I was very impressed, as these sellers took careful notes of all the suggestions:

1. Remove the curtains in the living and dining area (tooo dark)

2. Install mini blinds in the living room and dining area

3. Remove all personal photos from the walls

4. Remove all exercise equipment from the house

5. Purchase storage tubs to organize the toddler toys in the living room

6. Remove the dead aquarium in the living room

7. Remove all items on top of the kitchen cabinets

8. Remove inexpensive storage cabinet from the master bath (they used for towels)

9. Remove the sports awards, photos, and games in their "sports room" (4^th bedroom)

10. Remove the baby gate from the fireplace

11. Remove general clutter from both bathrooms and master bedroom

12. Fertilize and water the yard well to help it green up faster

13. Keep yard mowed and trimmed.

14. Plant a few flowers in beds for color.

15. Have carpets cleaned immediately

16. Keep the garbage dumpster somewhere besides the front porch

17. Put away all blankets and throws on the living room furniture for showings

18. Keep all shoes in the closets - not in the entry

19. Be sure kitchen and bathrooms are always sparkling clean

20. Leave all the blinds open in the living and dining area for showings, since the kitchen was a bit dark (dark green counters and black appliances).

Now this is quite a list for two people who work full time and manage to chase after a two year old, too. But these owners were committed to SELLING their home quickly, not just listing it for sale.

Within a week, they had accomplished everything on the list. It was amazing! The house went from feeling dark and a bit cluttered to feeling light, bright, airy and wide open, which is exactly what relocating Fort Hood home buyers are looking for!

We listed the house on March 29^th and ended up with TWO competing offers! We worked hard and finally negotiated their best offer and were under contract on April 8^th for excellent terms and $600 above the asking price! Closing is scheduled for April 29^th, and everything is already in place to close.

Talk about WINNERS! These sellers did everything they needed to do to be the BEST home in their neighborhood (there are approximately 50 homes for sale in that area).

When you are ready to sell your Killeen Fort Hood real estate, make a commitment to SELL your home, not just list it.

Then you will be a WINNER, too!

Mary Ann Daniell is a licensed Texas Realtor and a
Military Relocation Specialist who can help you relocate to anywhere in the world with Coldwell Banker's vast network of relocation experts.

Credit Crisis! Falling Prices!! Foreclosures!! Why in the world are you even thinking about buying a house right now when you relocate to Fort Hood?

Maybe because you are sly like a fox?

Credit Crisis? This is a GOOD thing for you if you are buying right now. It means that you can be confident that your lender is going to be CONSERVATIVE and won't shoehorn you into some kind of weird subprime loan to get you into a home. If you get turned down for a loan, that is GOOD. It means you are NOT ready to buy and should encourage you to work on your credit and prepare yourself to be a home owner.

Falling Prices? First quarter Killeen Fort Hood home sales showed an average price increase of $3000 over the same period as last year. Appreciation is happening in our market, not in all price ranges, but it is evident that prices have been increasing.

Foreclosures? Yes, there are more foreclosures in the Fort Hood real estate market right now, but reference back to the Credit Crisis above. This is fallout from the wild lending that went on two to three years ago. Risky buyers got risky loans. These buyers should have NEVER bought a home. They were not ready for home ownership. And they didn't understand the loan documents they were signing. The documents that clearly explained to them that their low interest rate was only good for a couple of years, and then would explode into a much higher (and unaffordable) interest rate and payment after that. Once the payments went up (per their loan) these risky home buyers were unable to make the larger payment and had to let the house go. Since their credit still wasn't good, no lender would approve them for a new loan to refinance the house at a lower fixed rate. They were risky buyers to begin with and still didn't work on their credit after they bought the house in order to be prepared to refinance when their adjustable rate mortgage reached the date the interest rate was scheduled to go up.

So what does all this mean for you?

It means you might find that you have an opportunity to buy a home at Fort Hood, so don't fear the credit crisis, or falling prices or foreclosures. If you have good credit, good employment history, and you make sure to get a fixed rate loan, you are in great shape to buy when you get to Central Texas.

There has probably never been a better choice of real estate to choose from in Killeen, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove than there is right now, also. Beautiful resale homes are on the market this spring, as is a large inventory of brand new homes. So whichever type of home appeals to you, go out there and buy your new home at Fort Hood feeling confident that the time is right!

The Village of Salado, Texas announces the seventh annual Wildflower Art Show, to be held Saturday, March 29th and Sunday, March 30th. Stroll under the majestic oak trees on the grounds of the historical Salado Civic Center as you enjoy the original works of the artists and craftsmen in a wide range of media. Vendors may click here for an application.

Visit www.salado.com for more information!