Dan Doofus is Burning Down the House!

Our weather finally turned cold! Here is a fun video to watch before you light that fireplace or plug in a space heater. Dan Doofus is back in a new National Fire Protection Association public service announcement. This time, Dan learns some important safety lessons about home heating. Use these tips to help keep your home safe! Presented by Real Living; video.realliving.com

I hope you enjoyed this fun video!

And, if you are looking for a home to call your own - here are a few in and around the Allen area that might suit you:

City of Frisco offers Chunk Your Junk
Saturday February 11th from 8 am to 12 pm.
Must be in line by 11:30am.
Environmental Collection Center
6616 Walnut St. Frisco TX 75034

Perfect time to clean out your garage or work on Spring cleaning.

The Chunk Your Junk event is an event for free Frisco residents only. Bring a valid driver’s license with a Frisco home address and latest Water Bill.

The following items can be brought to the event to be donated, dispose of or recycled.

Metal and appliances
Yard Waste, limbs and untreated wood for mulching.
Fencing
Cardboard
Refrigerators **
Styrofoam and plastic bags
RX and over the counter medications
Household chemicals, paints, gasoline, oil batteries, pesticides
Computers, printers, cell phones, television sets or other e-waste ***
Documents for shredding *
Old clothes, furniture, books for donation

Fees may apply for certain items. Check out the Original Blog: Chunk Your Junk Frisco TX blog to find out.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Original Post at Chunk Your Junk Frisco TX 2012

Saw the blooms TODAY!

If you would like to know more about Plano Homes click on the blue link.

Is it better to rent right now? According to the Government it is!

For the first time in memory according to Market Watch online, the Obama Administration is telling folks it is better to rent than buy right now! You can read the article here. It says with more than 5 million homes going into foreclosure over the next two years that there will be no shortage of renters.

If you think about it, with all of those foreclosures predicted the owners who walk away are our future renters. Owners of the rental homes have to be flexible and look at these folks as potential customers. They have to look at the whole picture and consider a homeowner who lost their home to foreclosure. I have found most of these renters to be excellent tenants who have good jobs and payment history on their mortgage until the foreclosure!

For those of us who are already set up in property management , this is a good news for our business. We are currently making alot of changes in our office to accomodate this niche business even more. Last year we leased 36 homes and listed for lease 28 homes. I expect this to double this year.

With more renters renting we are also seeing increasing rental rates and homes flying off the market. I am working with a couple now who has applied for several homes only to be told that there were multiple applications, with people offering double deposits to get the home!

Proof is in the Staging - Home Star Staging

The listing had been on the market for about two months with one of those months being December. Come January though the activity really picked up and we had more than our fair share of showings. Feedback was positive yet there always seemed to be some something that we could not get an offer.

After more than a dozen showings the seller was getting a little anxious about no offers. We settled in at the dining table for a full discussion about a new approach. Our goal was how to go about attracting an offer.

It was apparent that we were missing something. The home was presentable - clean and well-maintained. But it wasn’t enticing an offer. I suggested to the seller that perhaps we were missing the “Wow” factor. You know, wow I really can see me living here.

First on the agenda was to tackle how to improve the curb appeal. Looking at some pictures I had on-hand showed that the it was past time to trim and shape up the hedges in the front of the house. They had become a bit wooly looking. What a difference that made!

Items cluttering up the small front porch entry were removed to another area. Silk flowers were bought and placed in the basket on the wall along with a pot of flowers placed beside the front door. Since the front of the house is almost always cast in a shadow a wreath adorned with white flowers was added to the front door. It was the final touch that drew an observer’s focus to the front entry making it more inviting.

But when we began to tackle the interior I realized quickly that we really needed the help of an expert inside the home. That is when I sent a plea for “help” to Karen Otto, Home Star Staging. Even though Karen was preparing to leave on a trip to Las Vegas for the RESA conference she quickly agreed to come to my rescue. We talked briefly on the phone and the next day Karen showed up at the house armed with her props and the wonders that she is so capable of achieving.

You can see by just the two photos that Karen did an awesome job in the home. In fact, it was so well-done that the very next showing we received an offer. WOW! It took a few days to work out the details but as of this writing we are under contract!

Thank you, Karen for your willingness to help and for being the awesome professional that you are. I had asked my seller before we listed about staging and they were reluctant. I can honestly say now that “the proof is in the staging!” And on my next listing appointment I will include this testimonial to the wonders of staging especially when done by Home Star Staging - Karen Otto, one of Activerain’s finest contributors. Karen, I and the client are most grateful.