Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale: November 2006

	Wed		Thu		Fri		Sat		Sun
	75		35		48		52		50
	35		25		27		28		32

The above is the weather forcast for Dallas for the next 5 days.  You might look at it and think to yourself that it doesn't look too bad, but think again.

It shows a high of 75 days.  It shows a high of 35 tomorrow.  In and of itself, that's a 40 degree drop.  What the chart does not tell you is that the 35 degrees for the high is the high temperature registered tomorrow morning after midnight.  As the day goes on, it's getting colder and colder. 

What that means is a 50 degree drop in less than 24 hours!!  Yes, 50 degrees in ONE day!!

Can anyone top that right now with this weeks crazy weather going on??

This past weekend, I blogged about buying rollerblades and accidentally running into a Builder.

Well, the day before that, I walked the dog a route I've only taken once before and it put me into a different section of my neighborhood.  As I'm walking, there's a sign in the yard for such and such general contractors.  I memorize the web address by repeating it several times to the dog, and when I got home, I went to the webpage to find out information about the company and to get a quote.

I finally got a response today as they were backed up from the Holiday.  He calls and comes over to take a look at our plans for adding a covered patio onto our house.  We're talking for about 10 minutes and then he looks at me and says that he noticed in my email signature that I was a Realtor.  I confirmed it and it went something like this (per Scott Daniels):

Contractor: I noticed in your email signature that you're a Realtor.

Me: Yes I am, do you work with a Realtor? (I asked with a big smile on my face, being sarcastic)

Contractor: As a matter of fact, the Realtor I was working with, I'm not longer working with because he was too greedy and decided to go back into Mortgages instead of the Real estate side.

My Husband: Funny you should mention that because Donna gets most of her business from investors who are tired of working with greedy Realtors.

Contractor:  This is what I do...

Me: How about we finish talking about the covered patio so Mike (my husband) doesn't have to listen to us talk shop.

Contractor:  Sure, so I see this and that about the patio. (less than two minutes later) Now, let me tell you what I'm looking for and let's see if we can do some business on some rehabs.

Me: Mike, go ahead off to the driving range and I'll see you after poker tonight. Mr. Contractor, I'll email you the information I have on 9 properties that I know are going into short sales...

Once again, new business without even looking for it.  It's almost like dating.  Whenever I was dating, when I would "look" for the right guy, they were always jerks.  Whenever I wasn't looking for someone, a great guy was standing right in front of me.  Perfect example is I a mutual friend set me up on a blind date with my now husband.  Sometimes things just work out when you least expect it!!

There have been many debates over the years about the differences of Limited Service agents compared to Full Service agents.  Many Limited Fee agents like to consider themselves Full Service,  but potato, tomato (I don't know how to type the different pronounciation)

There is an article that I have included in my listing presentations since it came out last January. It's called In Search of a Better Deal: Effects of Limited Representation and Agent Experience. This is a great article and I thought I would quote some fabulous statistics it found.  The main reason I present this report to my sellers is because it actually took place in the Dallas/Ft. Worth market.  The study tracked over 55,000 residential transactions.  The overall average of the study showed the listings to be on the market 90 days with an average sales price of $175,270.

"Limited service listings sold 1.7 percent less than typical exclusive-right-to-sell listings and took 17.1 percent longer to sell".  With these numbers, "there does not appear to be any net gain to sellers using limited service representation."

Let's put that into real numbers. Let's say there is a house that sells for $200,000 in 60 days with a full service REALTOR®, like me. The above statistics would show this same house, with a limited service brokerage, would sell for $196,600 in 70.26 days. So, the seller "tried" to save 2% on the listing commission... did he succeed?? NO!

The difference in price is $3400. 2% of $196,600 is $3932. Then you need to calculate those extra 10.26 days on the market. What are your taxes per day? Let's say taxes are about $5600 a year which would be about $15.56 a day. Home Owner's Insurance can be estimated at about $5 per day ($1800 yearly coverage). Taxes and Insurance for the additional 17.1% marketing time is $210.95.

So, in all actuality, you didn't save 2% of the commission with a limited service brokerage. What you saved was $321.05. Is it really worth $321 to schedule all your own appointments; to be home for each and every showing to let them in the house; to sit on the market an extra 10 days; to call for feedback; or to negotiate your own contract instead of having the help of a professional? What is your time worth to you?

Other interesting findings were, "Sellers using listing agents with less than two years of experience received 1.1 percent less for a house compared with sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the marketing time was 1.9 percent longer." "If the listing agent had more than fives years of experience [that's me as I'm in my seventh year], the seller received 0.8 percent more than sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the property sold 1.5 percent faster."

As I mentioned, this is a great article and I include it in all my presentations, the seller's smile and nod, and they still ask for a discount... WHAT??

*Tierra Grande by James Ford and Ron Rutherford; January 2006

I have had a great day today!  So, I took advantage of Black Friday and went and bought some roller blades.  As soon as I got home, I decided I had to try them out.  Yes, I'm crazy, as the last time I had roller bladed was about 17 years ago and that was only for about 5 minutes!  I got all strapped in, 10 minutes, and rolled out the door.  Boy, are my streets hilly!! (yes, this is a real estate story so keep reading)

I'm going the last stretch to head home, and I'm trying to figure out the brakes, since it's a heal brake and not a toe brake like the good ol' roller skates!  I'm swinging my arms every which way trying to keep my balance as I passed a house on the market with 3 of the workers standing there looking at me (new home).  I joked from the street that I was their entertainment for the day.  All of a sudden, one guy starts giving me pointers on what to do and this and that.  He was very nice.

He turns out to be the builder of the house!!  He's building three houses in the neighborhood on the final three lots.  He tells me that it's his sister-in-law who asked him to build the houses and it's a friend of the sister who has them listed, though he doesn't really work this area.  I told him I would "skate" home and get him my cards in case they wanted to make a change to someone who does work the area. 

When I get back, he asks if I work in Rowlett, which is a suburb near the lake and about 10-15 minutes from me.  I told him yes since we keep our boat at that lake.  He tells me he's building 16 homes in a small community starting at $139k and that we need to go out next week to look at it and see how I can help him!!!

Did I just, potentially, get new business because I finally decided to go buy some roller blades??!!  That's amazing.  Plus, I brought him home to my husband so he could look at our plans for a covered patio.  I emailed him the architech plans and he's going to send me a quote by Monday!!

The day has been long thus far, but well worth it!!

According to an article published today in The Dallas Morning News, Blogging is becoming more popular with Real Estate Agents.

What I find interesting is that the article states that there are only about 500-1000 agents blogging right now "according to industry estimates."

"According to industry estimates"??  Where did they get this estimate from?  ActiveRain alone has over 5000 agent members, not including the members from other branches of the real estate industry.  Do all of those agents blog?  No, but I'm sure at least a quarter of the people who sign up actually post a blog here and there.  Matt or Caleb could probably give a better percentage of who signs up verse who's blogging, but it's definitely got to be a healthy number. 

And then you need to take into consideration that AR is fairly new and not all real estate bloggers know about the site yet, as they may be living in a dark hole, or they feel blogging on their own is more efficient than blogging within a networking group.

Do you think the industry estimates are accurate?  If not, what do you think is reality?

The picture is courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.

The comment about people living in a dark hole is not meant to offend anyone.  If it offends you, move on to the next blog.

I'm so excited! I blogged back in October about  how I took the Arbitration class and I just got my first case! There was a gentleman in the class who was taking it for the second time as a refresher because he took the class over a year earlier and has yet to be chosen. I've been on the registry for about 2 weeks and have already received my first letter.

I was so excited that I didn't want to mail it back, so I scanned and emailed it back to their office. I just received a returned receipt showing they received my email. Now, I get to sit and wait to make sure I'm actually the person chosen for the case!

I'm looking forward to this new and exciting experience.

As of Monday, English is now the official language of a small inner suburb of Dallas, called Farmers Branch.  Farmers Branch has a population of about 26,000.  This doesn't mean other languages can't be used for social or business in the city, but it means the city will no longer be providing Spanish translated information for anything provided to people within the city. Another city ordinance that passed on Monday was that illegal immigrant, as of January 2007, will no longer be able to rent apartments within the city.  Within this ordinance, they are going to watch what happens over the next six months and potentially make it so illegal immigrants can't rent houses either.

There is a lot of noise going both ways.  My housekeeper was over yesterday and is very upset because of this issue.  She's actually a homeowner in Farmers Branch so this doesn't necessarily directly effect her, but most of her friends are renters.  She said that someone yelled out at the rally that illegal immigrants were only good for cleaning their toilets.  My jaw dropped to the ground.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

Here's a quote from The Dallas Morning News: "I think Farmers Branch is saying that we don't mind if you work here - probably in minimum-wage jobs cutting our grass and washing the dishes in restaurants - and we don't mind if you spend your money here and shop, but we don't want you to live here ... and we're going to use living requirements to enforce that," said Gerry Henigsman, executive vice president of the apartment association."

All I can say is WOW!  What Farmers Branch doesn't see is all the work the illegal immigrants do in the Dallas area because their small little city is very old and built out.  They don't have any areas of new developments.  If they did, they would know it's the illegal immigrants who are building all the houses in our areas.  They're the ones roughing in the plumbing.  They're the ones pouring the slab.  They're the ones putting up the sheetrock, texturing and painting.  They're the ones bricking the homes and putting the roofs on.  They're the ones laying the sod and planting all the landscaping... they do it all!  And sometimes all you  need to do is bring them a 6-pack of Cerveza and they'll follow you home to paint your rooms or fix your fence or something like that.  They aren't greedy, but they like their beer!!

Anyway, many think there is no way this ordinance is going to stand up in court.  Many people don't think Farmers Branch is going to want to pay the legal fees if there are many court cases.  We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Here is the link to one of the stories.

Picture courtesy of the Dallas Morning News.

LBJ 635 is the main East and West highway in the Dallas area, named after President Lyndon B Johnson.  It's a nightmare to drive on.  Rush hour in the morning starts at about 5:30am and goes until about 9:30am.  Afternoon rush hour starts at about 3pm and goes until about 7pm.  We're talking constant stop and go.  I try to avoid 635 at all costs if I can.  It's easier to avoid now that they've semi-completed the George Bush Turnpike about 5 miles north of 635.

Well, there has been lots of talk over the years about how they are going to dig tunnels under 635 to get some of the traffic off the main highway.  Even though there have been plans and much talk for about 20 years, they're now saying there's not enough money for this project to actually do it.

The new concept they've thought about is running channels 25 feet under 635.  The channels would only be 3 lanes for each direction.  There will also be a toll charged to go underground as the money to build the channels would be coming from private funds and not the state.  This would create the 4th tollroad in Dallas.  pretty soon, you're not going to be able to go anywhere without paying to drive on the roads. 

Are my taxes not paying for roads?  This is ridiculous.  I already live right off the Bush Turkpike. The Bush is currently being extended to be a loop around the Dallas area.  The Dallas North Tollway has been here for years.  Highway 121, further north, just turned into a tollway a couple of months ago.  I'm getting really sick and tired of paying to drive to the grocery store or to my parents or to my office.

Are there other places in the country that can say they have FOUR Tollways/Turnpikes in their immediate metropolitan area?  If I wanted to include the entire state, I would include the multiple Tollways in Houston, Austin, ect... 

I was watching The People's Court while eating lunch this afternoon and I'm so proud of Judge Milian for holding a Landlord to a contract!!  Many Sellers and Landlords think they can get out of real estate contracts, but it's just not true.

This Broker takes a landlord to court for $1000 for a rental renewal on one of his properties.  I can't get my Broker to sue for $5000 commissions, but this guy had time to sue for just $1000. 

Here's what happened.  Out of town landlord in Florida puts his condo up for rent.  Broker finds a tenant.  Towards the end of the lease, the tenant gives his notice to move out.  The Landlord then hires another brokerage in Florida to find a new tenant.  A month later, the current tenant decides he wants to stay.  He calls the new broker and they work out the details.  He asks the new Broker what he owed them, and new broker said he didn't owe him anything.

Judge Milian is so smart, she picked up on this.  The Landlord felt that since the tenant gave notice and he had hired a new brokerage, that his contract with the first Broker was not valid anymore.  The problem is, the lease was never interrupted and the tenant never moved out, therefore it is a true lease renewal under the original contract.  Judge Milian even pointed out that the new Broker kindly stepped aside because they knew the first Broker would have every right to that commission and sue the other broker for the commission and for getting in the way of a valid contract.

The way they were cutting to commercials, it sounded like the new Broker made a bad decision so I was prepared to say who the broker was and the name of the agent, but in the end, the new Broker did the right thing and, most importantly, our Commission agreements are held up in court!!  I'm so excited!!

I took a couple of hours off the past couple of weeks to relax and get my Fall beds planted.  It took me 5 days to complete everything as I didn't try to do it all in one day this year.  I'm one of those A personalities that like to get things done and get them done now.  Last year, I didn't feel mch accomplishment once they were all planted and then the next day, all I could do was look at them.

This year, my strategy was to plant sections at a time.  I have my main front tree that is Pink and White.  White for the Pansies and Pink for the Dianthus.  I had really good luck with Dianthus this past year, that the ones I planted last  year and still thriving in another bed.  I figured, as these grow, they'll be a great accent around the tree for my Spring planting as well.  I also surrounded the trunk with kale.

The next section is did was my Purple section.  Purple Cabage, Purple Kale, and Purple Mini-Pansies.  The problem with this section is that I was supposed to have 4 Kale and 4 Cabbages, but as they've grown, I can distincly tell that I got 6 cabbages and only 2 kale so my bed is off balance.  They looked the same when they were tiny so I trusted the guy at the store to have handed me the correct items... oh well.

My third section is at the front of the house.  It's Yellow and White Pansies with more Cabbage and Kale.  This section was planted last, so there aren't many blooms right now, but we had a nice rain yesterday so I expect them to take off well!  This is a long section, so I just took a picture of the right side.

I still have one more section at the front of the house... I'm thinking about what to do there.  I've actually been waiting for more houses in the neighborhood plant their Fall beds so I can "borrow" some of their ideas. I can definitely say that spreading the planting out has been much more enjoyable.  I'll post again as everything matures!

 Desoto, TX is just south west of the center of Dallas.  They are trying to ban Bit Bulls in their city.  Richardson, where I live, passed an ordinance to ban Pit Bulls back in 1987, but it was struck down by an appeal just a couple of years later.  The ban would include several breeds including the popular American Pitt Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

Instead of just banning the animals, the mayor has asked for a meeting with the residence to voice their opinions of what types of dogs they do and don’t like.  I can see this opening a huge can of worms.  Of course, all the people with pitt bulls are going to say they don’t cause any problems and then the people without pitt bulls are going to say they do cause problems.  I understand trying to be democratic about it, but I don’t know how that’s going to solve a problem. 

It was also suggested that they ban all dogs over 50 pounds… doesn’t that include most, if not all, labs?  I recall hearing on one of the dog show competitions that the Lab is the most common pet across the country.  I, personally, have a lab, blue heal mix, and he weighs 65 pounds…most labs wouldn’t hurt a fly.  They just want you to play catch with them and they’re happy.  I can’t imagine an entire city banning such a dog. 

Other areas that have successfully banned the Pitt Bull are Denver, Miami, and Cincinnati.  The ban didn’t stick in Richardson because of Texas’ Health and Safety Code which allows Cities the right to regulate the handling of vicious and dangerous dogs, but doesn’t allow the cities to ban a specific dog breed.

What do others think about the Pitt Bull and other dogs that are bread “mean”?