About Kaufman County, TX

Are You Upside Down

with your mortgage? A SHORT SALE could be your solution.

If you live in certain new communities in Forney, Texas, such as Travis Ranch, The Villages of Fox Hollow or the Trails of Chestnut Meadows, just to name a few, you are probably aware that there have been several foreclosures in your community lately. Needless to say, these foreclosures have affected the Value of your Investment...Big Time!!

If the Market Value of your property is considerably less than what you paid for it, say three to four years ago, then you are what we call in the Real Estate Industry, "UPSIDE DOWN" in your mortgage. Meaning you owe more for the home than it is worth.

You are not alone, so don't feel discouraged. But if you are getting to where you can't make the payments on your mortgage for some unseen financial hardship reason, then you may qualify for a Short Sale.

What is a Short Sale? A Short Sale occurs when the seller request that the lender accepts less on the mortgage than is due. Short Sales can occur if you are upside down in your mortgage loan - upside down meaning that you owe more on your home than its current market value. This can also happen if there are numerous foreclosures in our community or the values have decreased overall and you cannot sell your home for more than you owe on the mortgage.

Visit our website for more information on short sales and to register for your FREE Short Sale Report. We are helping residences of Kaufman County AVOID FORECLOSURE.

Integrity in Real Estate since 1997.

Call or Click for more information and to register for your FREE Short Sale Report!

469-766-7379

www.homesmint2be.com

MeLisa Minter, MBA, Realtor

It's that time of year where everyone is reflecting on how well things went for 2008 or how far south things went for 2008. Given the state of our overall economy, the latter is true in most instances.

However, as I was researching Statistics in my local MLS for performance information for 2008, I found that Kaufman County overall, had a pretty good year when it came to home sales.

http://www.kaufmancounty.net/

What was most impressive is that the Average percent of List Price received on homes that sold within the first 30 days was 96.80%. Sellers for you, this means that homes that sold within the first 30days, received 96.80% of the list price and homes that were on the market for more than 120 days, still received 95.72% of the list price.

Kaufman County is the fourth fastest growing county in North Texas and with new developments popping up around the county, I'm sure it will surpass that number pretty soon.

Now it's time for a look-see with our charts and graphs.

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Listings per Status

Minimum, Average, Maximum

Days On Market Analysis

Listing Price\Selling Price

If your like me and are not big on charts and graphs, here's the breakdown:

Search Period: 1/1/08 - 12/31/08

Active: 600

Pending: 76

Sold: 1078

Average List Price $150,000, Average Sale Price $133,274 and Average Days On Market 102.

What does this mean to you as a Seller?? This means that now is a great time in Kaufman County to put your home on the market. Grant it, it may sit on the market longer than you may want, because according to the numbers, over 288 homes have been on the market for 120+ days. But it will sell faster if the price is right, the condition is great and the location is favorable.

What does this mean to you as a Buyer?? This means that if you're thinking about making that move to the "Country," then you'd better get a move on it.

Now grant it, these numbers are for residential listings with 3/2/2, pretty standard, and if you want acreage, which is why most of us move to the country, then the numbers would vary there as well.

But in the end, it looks like the year of 2008 for Kaufman County, Texas was a pretty good year.

If you are considering buying or selling in the Kaufman County area, please feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to assist you with your real estate transaction.

MeLisa Minter, MBA, Realtor

469-766-7379

www.homesmint2be.com

melisa@homesmint2be.com

I've always told my sellers that when someone wants to see their home during the holiday season, that more than likely that person is pretty motivated to buy rather quickly.

Today one of my sellers had a showing and they were pretty put-off by the "intrusion." While they normally leave during showings, today, they decided to stay in and watch the game. I was not too bothered by this because it is the Sunday after Christmas and people are still in a relax mode.

I informed them well before the holiday season began that they may still get showings in the next few weeks and they seemed ok with it. While it was not our intention to still have their home on the market during the holiday season, I think a showing during this time is a good sign.

Sellers if your home happens to be on the market during the Holiday Season, be prepared that showings may occur at inopportune times. I admit that there is more of a chance that these people are looky-lou's looking for something to do since they are bored out of their wits from the holiday hoopla; but in the same breathe, this could be a buyer who would like to be in their new home by January 1st - you never know!

As 2009 approaches, I'm starting to review my marketing plan for the year. Since I have been in the business for over a year and half, I have tried almost every marketing method. What I have learned that has worked for me was of course referrals, followed by advertising in a popular monthly real estate magazine, then the good old fashion door-knocking.

I was never big on advertising in print media, for some reason it never worked out for me, even when I was an event planner. But the particular magazine that I am advertising in now has great publicity and it also gives agents free websites, which I thought was great. Homes and Land advertises in several different regions and when I started receiving phone calls from people that were viewing my ads in other cities a light went off. I immediately thought I have to keep this advertising campaign going.

I would have never thought to advertise in some areas where this book is delivered to, simply because they were not areas that I served, but this definitely increases my reach to potential buyers and sellers. So the Homes and Land ad stays.

As far as referrals go, you can never get enough referrals from friends and family. A week ago, I hosted an appetizer and cocktails happy hour for our little league football moms. I have gotten several referrals from the moms and I try to stay in contact with them even during the off season. There are a wealth of contacts to be gained from these moms and I look forward to building these relationships.

Finally, the good old fashion door-knocking will be put back into my plan, especially since gas prices have dropped to a more managable level. I can easily go out and approach expired and FSBO sellers and just make a day of it. I have compiled great packages for both of these sellers and have gotten a listing from an expired and a potential listing from a FSBO, so I'll keep at this.

I know a lot of agents frown on advertising in print or on door knocking, but since I'm fairly new and have had the opportunity to see what works, I think I will stick to what has brought me results.

Tell me what works for you. I'm open to different strategies and plans.

This past week, I went FSBO prospecting. I have'nt done this in a while, since gas prices were so high for GMC Yukon. But since gas prices have finally come back to reality, I'm back out going door-to-door.

I put this FSBO on my list because it was on the way to a showing that I was doing in the area. I compiled my FSBO package and delivered it to the homeowner who happened to be at home - I'm never prepared for that - and I started with my FSBO questions.

The owner stated that he had been FSBO for a while and that it had not been working well for him, but he also stated that he had a couple of realtors and they didn't work well for him either. This was my time to SHINE. Without exerting too much pressure, I just asked him to review my package and to call me with any questions.

The next day his wife calls me and immediately asks me what I could sell their home for. I avoid the question and turn the tables to start asking her questions about her last experience with an agent, how FSBO works and what was their selling motivation.

After she figured that I was not giving her and exact price, she continues to ask me about my marketing strategy and what I would use to market her property. I then try to make an appointment with her and her husband after the holidays so that I could do a formal presentation and last week when I followed up, she stated that they would be making a decision to list the home with an agent at the top of the year.

So I will carefully continue to prospect them and hopefully I will be the agent that they will call.

I'll keep you posted.

Hope All Is Well.

MeLisa Minter

www.homesmint2be.com