About Tarrant County, TX

I had a call from the realtor who sold me my house the other day. I had given her a complimentary consultation to thank her for referring me to her office.

Her clients are in the middle of remodeling a home they purchased with her. She said they needed help getting to the next step and asked if I could help. Well I've done a few renovations along with my home staging and I feel very confident about sharing ideas for design that will translate into a better investment.

So.... picture a home custom designed in the 60s whose main living space is taken right from the plaza in Santa Fe complete with corbels and artificial windows inside the 20' high room. Around the perimeter of the room the ceiling drops to 9' and is supported by spanish style beams. The piece de resistance was a fish pond smack in the middle of it all which they have concreted over. Where do I begin? It was obvious this required a little more architectural vision than I expected.

So I have been scouring the internet looking for home design software that I could use to translate the changes or suggestions I made into a 3D vision they could "see". What else can you do on a rainy Black Friday if you don't like shopping with thousands of your closest friends? ;)

Well here are my findings and I hope it helps anyone else who has ever thought about using software to plan interior space. It's one step away from virtual staging (I don't advocate that) but light years from your basic furniture planner. Although I consider myself computer literate, CAD is in a category of its own. A lot of these program reviews talked about a steep learning curve. No thanks. To add to the challenge I use a MacBook Pro and there's not a lot of options out there.

This is a nice round up of most of the options along with reviews:
Consumer Research Best Home Design Software

HGTV's propriety program - couldn't find this reviewed anywhere but is inexpensive.
HGTV Home Design & Remodeling Suite starts at $49.99 and is only for PC.

The answer to the question what does Barry use from HGTVs message board:
"Does anyone know what software program that Barry Wood uses on the show Hidden Potential? Does anyone know how much it cost to purchase?"

"Autodesk 3ds Max
It's about $2,000 for the software.
If you are looking for a less expensive alternative, consider Punch."

They are referring to Punch Home Design Studio.
Punch Software

Also the Autodesk program does NOT run on a Mac (even though Barry is shown using a MacBook Pro, the only way he could would be to run Windows on the Mac, which is possible)

Another alternative I found is a program called Live Interior 3D Standard for Mac which is available for free trial download. I've been playing around with this and its fairly easy to use but has some limitations for room designing. For example that dropped ceiling? Still waiting to hear if its possible from support.
Live Interior 3D

Another alternative is Google SketchUp which is also free and available for Windows and Mac OSX 10.4+. This looks promising although I haven't had a chance to dig around in it yet.
Google SketchUp

I'm still trying to decide if I want to spend this much time on the computer. After all one of the reasons I chose home staging was the lure of getting to design and create in real time instead of on a flat screen!

I'd love to hear from anyone who has used any of these programs. You can do everything from simply add a new paint color to the walls or create workable blueprints. There are also some web based solutions which are pretty basic but may do the trick.

I have a client that I've listed her property. Because of the slow moving market and the many calls as to whether my client would be interested in leasing her property is beginning to soak in. With 6 people ready to lease her house, she's now thinking of leasing the property, but she asked me to manage it, get a lease signed, pickup the monthly checks, keep the lawn mowed and track the repairs, etc. It's just I've not done property management before. It can't be rocket science but having the extra time to do it might be the question. Thoughts anyone....?

Eat plenty of turkey and dressing, watch the Macy's parade, gab with loved ones, watch your favorite sports team get beat, and most important of all, give thanks for everyday and for all your loved ones, our troops, and our country. Don't forget the pumpkin pie with ice cream, chocolate candies, and invite someone over who doesn't have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with. See ya'll soon.

I was just sittiing at the computer, watching my e-mails, wondering where everybody's going for Thanksgiving when "Voila!" it popped in. I quickly logged in and there it was, just waiting for someone to accept. I did and captured the BPO (from Pro-Tec). My first one. I quickly ran the stats, grabed the digital camera and headed out. It was an exterior job for $45, due by Friday 11/28. But I had the required pics within one hour, went back and filled out the form and finished the job, uploaded it and finished it. It took a couple of hours of paperwork, didn't have any errors or imcomplets (atleast at this point of submittal), and got a quality rating of 100%. I signed up with 9 BPOs in August and so far, still, the only one who has being sending me BPOs has been Pro-tec. I've received 10 requests for BPOs from them but this was the first captured. Since this is only an exterior, photos only and comparisons, it appears to be fairly simple. The form was equally simple and I should be able to knock it out in about an hour on the next one.

Ok. I know you see things like this all the time, and when you ask about them, they are the same as a FHA, Conv, that has a down payment assistance program, etc.

In this case, that is not the case. The 2% No MI is a Bank Product only offered by Wells Fargo. It is a portfolio product, that is designed to help with CRA and First Time Buyers/Low To Moderate Income.

Again, I feel that this is another great opportunity for someone that has shown they can manage their money but just cannot come up with the down payment/closing costs, etc.

Here are some details:

• 98% Loan To Value and can have seller contributions (they have to go towards closing only)
• No Mortgage Insurance
• Priced as a Conventional Loan
• No Minimum FICO requirement
• Must have a good pay history over the past 12 Months...if nothing on Credit Report can use Alt Trade-line (ie. cell phone bill, electricity, car insurance)
• This can be used with New Construction and locks can be extended for up to 120 Days
• Income Limits (Family 1-4)-Dallas, Collin, Denton County-$53,200: Tarrant and Parker-$51,700

If the home they are wanting to purchase is in an area considered a LMI- Low to Moderate Income neighborhood, there are no Income limitations.

Needless to say...this is a great program!

Jason