Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale: March 2007

The Woods of SpringCreek held their first Social Committee meeting for the year.  We have decided to concentrate on the National Nite Out for August 7.  We will be holding our next meeting on Monday, April 9 at 7pm.

This event is very important to our neighborhood because we currently have the Crime Watch signs posted throughout the streets.  In order to keep the Crime Watch signage, we must have a particular amount of people in attendence to sign the roster at the event.  We had a great turn out last year, and we're looking forward to a larger turnout this year.

During this event, we also have a canned food drive.  Each neighborhood in the city of Richardson is encouraged to have a canned food drive as part of attendence for the event, and each year, the city of Richardson collects thousands of pounds of canned foods.

We're looking forward to you joining us on August 9, 2007 on Deerwood Court.  If you have any ideas or would like to join us in the planning, please don't hesitate to contact me.

OK, for years, I've always maintained my own website.  I've blogged about it before, but in case you've missed it, I'm a control freak.  I liked designing it and updating it and being in control of how things were presented.  That site still exists at www.donnahomes.net.

However, I did not think my site was being utilized to its fullest, so I made a change.  I did go to a templated site, which I never wanted to do, because I don't like looking like others, but I decided that it didn't matter to look like others.  What mattered most was to create more business and if it looks like someone elses site, but buyers and sellers love the information provided, it's a better website.  My new sites are:

www.DonnaHomes.com and www.northtexasfreehomeinfo.info

I now have a branded site as well as an unbranded site which will help with my marketing campaigns.  Though they're templates, I have still modified them a bit to make them my own.  Check them out and let me know what you think.  (If you're an agent and you fill out a form just to see more info, please say you're an agent in the comments section so I know not to follow up with you)

I'm so excited to see how this changes my business!

** By the way, if you're interested in more information on how you can get a site like above, drop me a line and let me know.  I'll get you the name and number of the great gentleman who hooked me up with my new project!

This is a great new feature that I have and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the marketing of your home in further detail.  Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, etc... my car will take us anywhere you need to go!! 

 ARE YOU PACKED YET?!

Are you using PLAN for your business?  Have you heard of PLAN?  In some form or another, I've heard of it, but I've never heard of it in this context until today.  PLAN stands for Prospect, Leads, Appointments, and Negotiate.

If you're not doing PLAN each day, you're wasting time.  This kinda hit home.  I'm a control freak and like to do everything.  I don't delegate well.  But, when you look at PLAN, it basically says that if you're following up with a home warranty, or if you're following up paperwork, or following up with feedback, etc... that you're wasting value time continuing to build your business.

With this know enlightenment, even though I knew these easy things, it was just put into a different perspective that made the lightbulbs go off, I will very much be looking into hiring that Virtual Assistant I keep teasing about.  If I can spend more time doing the things that need to be done by me, and less time working on the little details that can be done by someone else, I'm going to pass all my goals for the year, and continue to grow from there on out!

I'm excited!  Do you PLAN?  Are you a control freak too?  How did you relinquish the control??  It's so scary and will probably take some time... days, weeks, probably months to let go...

What a fabulous house!!  This house is in sound mechanical & structual condition, but you'll need to bring your decorating & updating ideas with you to make it your home. We'll even give you $5k to start with! There are 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 car garage, and backs to Creek for privacy!  The master and one bedroom are downstairs.

Features include: newer appliances & corian counters, elevated nook with bay window and view of Mature Trees and Creek, Sautillo & tile floors, wood paneling in the Living room with a floor to ceiling brick WBFP, Balcony off the GameRoom with WetBar, Double Shower with Jetted Tub, Double Vanities and Double Closets in the Master. Through the garage, you'll find a separate exercise room & workshop that are vented for AC.  The house has 3 AC units so it's definitely zoned for better efficiency bills. The house is priced below appraisal so you can come update it yourself.

YOU CAN GET ALL THIS FOR ONLY $350,000!!!

The list for April's foreclosures has just been tallied and the DFW market is up 18% for April compared to April last year.  For the year, foreclosures are up 15%.  The main counties break down as follows:

Dallas- 11%- up 1597

Collin- 40%- up 456

Denton- 20%- up 333

Tarrant- 20%- up 1066

Rockwall- 29%- up 63

The main reason for this many foreclosures in the Dallas market is the amount of adjustable rate mortgages that are starting to adjust.  Two and three years ago, people were getting ARMs where the rate for those first couple of years were fixed.  In their head, they're not realizing what that really means after it's not fixed anymore.  I work hard at explaining these loans to my clients, as best I can without being a mortgage person, so none of my buyers have ever been in a foreclosure situation, knock on wood.

The number of subprime loans that foreclose compared to prime loans that foreclose is substantial.  At the end of 2006, 4.5% of subprime loans foreclosed compared to only 0.5% of prime loans... there is a reason those buyers couldn't get a traditional loan and needed a subprime product.  It's because their scores were low, probably from having collections and late pays... what made these lenders think the borrowers would make their mortgage time consistantly and on time?

Thus far, year to date for 2007, we have had 14,307 foreclosures, which is 15% up from last year during this same time.

The Richardson, TX Trash Bash will take place on Saturday, April 7 from 9 am- 12 noon.  This is the 16th year Richardson has participated to celebrate "Keep America Beautiful" month.

Trash bags and street assignments will be handed out on Thursday, April 5 at 7 pm at the Richardson Civic Center.  There will be prizes awarded at the end of the day when everyone meets back at the Civic Center.

Texas started the "Don't Mess with Texas" campaign back in 1985.  Since then, it's reported that there has been a 75% decrease in litter along the roads.

Across the country, there are supposed to be about 80,000 volunteers and this is considered the largest one-day clean-up in the nation.

If you would like to participate, you can contact the Health Department at 972-744-4076.  If you're not in Richardson, TX, call your city and see if there's a similar event going on in your area.

Buyers are compromising on their homes?  Why can't I ever get a buyer like that?  I seem to always get the buyers who are looking for this and that and that over there, and they're never happy because they can't find everything they want in one house so they keep looking and looking, sometimes for months, sometimes for years.  Yes, I'm working with a handful of buyers who have been looking for a house for over two years.  Can you count how much money they're throwing away by continuing to rent all these months?

2006 Profile of Texas Homebuyers and Sellers found that though 40% of Texas buyers said that they found the exact home they were looking for, there were 6 common compromises that the remaining 60% of buyers make when purchasing their homes.  This list includes:

1. 17%- Size of home

2. 17%- Purchase Price

3. 14%- Condition

4. 14%- Lot size

5. 14%- Distance from work

6. 12%- Style of home (this must be from all those CA relos who don't like brick homes)

In my experience, with my clients, I would say distance from work would be rated higher because most won't compromise on price range which means they must go out further into the 'burbs to get what they want which takes them further from their jobs...

Do you see your buyers compromising on things, or are they waiting and waiting for the perfect house?

NAR has their own number saying 79% of buyers use the internet when looking for a home.  However, Texas has done their own research.  The 2006 Profile of Texas Homebuyers and Sellers has some astonishing numbers.

According to the profile, 94% of Buyers were using the internet to look for properties.  That's a huge difference from the National number!  25% of Buyers were using the internet to get information about a particular area.  This is where Localism will come in more handy in my market.  I'm still waiting for the grass to turn green before I enter more photos.

Here's something interesting.  There are still agents that think all they need to do it enter a property in the MLS and it'll sell, as 10% of Sellers said that's all their agent did. On the flip side, 77% of Sellers said their agent provided more services throughout the selling process.  I wonder what happened to the remaining 13%??

Overall, I guess I would conclude that the Texas Buyer is above the curve with using the Internet for their home searches!  It's a good thing I jumped on this bandwagon long ago!

I'm posting this public so more people within AR know that there is a 24 group to join.

Last night's episode took place between 6pm-7pm.  That's CA time, so we're talking 9pm-10pm in Washington.  Isn't this the first time there has been an attack in CA and the president was on the opposite coast with time difference issues?

So, Logan entered CTU and boy is he getting a lot of looks.  They put him in a room like they do with everyone else.  I loved it when Chloe walked in to set something up and when Logan says something to her, her reply was something about how she was ambivalent to the situation and needed to leave.  I think Logan was a little unnerved when no one cared he was the former President.

In comes RICKY Schroder.  In NYPD Blue, the credits said Rick because he was trying to be Mr. Grown-Up.  I could have sworn the opening credits said Ricky and not Rick.  Boy, is he looking old, at least in HD.  Every line and wrinkle on his face was sticking out... he's gotten be pushing 40, right?

Anyway, Rick comes in with an attitude and we find out that Milo worked with him Denver.  I can't believe he laid his hands on Morris, though Morris is a smart arse and almost deserved it. 

At the Russian Consulate, Jack is thrown down a flight of stairs on top of the guard who was killed last week.  Then, all of a sudden, Jack turns into Indiana Jones!  He takes the belt off the dead guy and lassos it around the shooting hand of the other guy and pulls the gun out of his grip.  Jack then manages to get the gun and kills him.  Jack then makes his way to a room in the basement with two Russians getting it on.  He has the man go upstairs to get a phone that can dial out since all the phones were down. 

At the same time, Logan decides he needs Martha's help to talk with the Russian president's wife, Anya.  Martha has not seen Charles in almost 2 years.  Charles decides he can't just talk with her on the phone.  He must take a chopper to visit her and Aaron.  When he gets there, Martha decides she doesn't want to see him.  Yadda yadda, she comes out of the room with her hair all done up and dressed nice, to show him what he's missing.

Martha gets agitated and goes to the Kitchen to cut up some kiwi.  I'm thinking, why does this unstable woman have a knife?  She goes back to sit down and there were raspberries and another fruit, I can't remember, along with another knife.  Why do you need a knife to eat raspberries??  This time, I say out loud to my husband, "Someone needs to get those knives away from her."  What happens next??  She walks up behind Charles as stabs him!!  Yes, I called that one!

She is sitting there with handcuffs and asks Aaron why she's being treated this way.  Boy is she messed up.  She then has to talk with Anya to talk with her husband to make the consulate surrender.  The consulate won't surrender so Suvarov actually gives the US permission to attack the consulate, and they went in firing at everyone.

When the guy gets back with the phone for Jack, before he can get his call out, the door is busted in and the firing begins in the basement. Pow, Bang, Boom, many people dead.  They rescued Jack.  Jack tells Ricky, I mean, Mike Doyle, where to find the nukes...

Did you see the previews for next week??  There's another mole at CTU!  What kind of interview process do these guys go through??  Any guesses at the Mole?

I got my new REALTOR® Magazine today, and I've just started thumbing through it.  I landed on a chart of "What's Hot" and "What's Not" for current trends.  On the list, there were some no-brainers like the fact that people are liking Earth tones instead of the cold, modern look.  Multiple photos within the listing are hot instead of just one picture, DUH!

Here a few that surprised me.  I've read several places that Bamboo flooring was just a phase and that they don't hold up as well as once thought, but the research is saying they're hot. 

Another thing on the list is that McMansions are out and "cozy, small homes on a big lot" are hot.  WHAT?  Where did they get that information?  All my buyers want as big as possible for the money.  Even empty nesters are buying bigger instead of down-sizing.

The main one that surprised me is that Granite counters are out.  According to the research compiled, Marble, limestone, and concrete counters are Hot.  Huh?  Concrete? I thought tile counters went out because the mortar was a great place for bacteria to grow.  Concrete aand limestone both bsorbs moisture too, don't they?  Am I wrong?  Marble counters in the kitchen?  Marble goes in the bathrooms in my area.  I'm not sure I want my Kitchen to look like my bathroom.

For disclosure purposes, this was not research that REALTOR® Magazine did.  They just reported the findings from: Steve Melman, director of economic services, National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C.; Bruce Wentworth, president, Wentworth Inc., a residential remodeling companyin Chevy Chase, Md.

Are these trends you're seeing in your areas?  I can tell you Granite is hotter than ever!  Hand-scraped hardwoods is the big thing to have, and Bigger is Better when it comes to house sizes in my current experience and market.  Let me hear you!

Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, etc... my car will take us anywhere you need to go!!

Are you thinking of remodeling your home? Consider the return on your investment before remodeling. Not all remodeling projects yield the same return in increasing your home's value.

Updating your kitchen and baths is your best remodeling investment, returning a nearly dollar-for-dollar increase in home resale value. An updated kitchen and bathrooms make your home that much more attractive to potential buyers when you do decide to sell.

By contrast, converting a basement into a family room (if you're are has basements) or adding outdoor recreation facilities, such as a swimming pool or sport court, yield the lowest return on your investment.

Sometimes the cumulative effect of several smaller projects can yield a higher resale value than one or two larger ones. Smaller projects tend to be more cosmetic--new paint, doors, or windows. Larger projects that upgrade or add living space may cost more, but almost always add less resale value for the dollars spent, like converting space over the garage to a media room.

Whatever you do, be careful of over-improving for your neighborhood. Remodeling that significantly improves your property over neighboring homes won't return as much when it comes time to sell. People don't just buy a house, they're buying a neighborhood as well.

If you have any questions or you'd like additional information, please don't hesitate to call or email me. Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, etc... my car will take us anywhere you need to go!!