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

So, the question is, as an agent that represents the seller, can I call the lender on the "pre-approval" letter when I receive an offer?  OF COURSE!!!  Why are buyers' agents so scared of this?

I do not respond, and my sellers don't respond, to offers unless there is an approval letter attached to the offer.  When I receive it, there are many times that I call the lender to ask some questions.  The main question is, Is this a pre-qual or an actual pre-approval?  I want to know if the buyer has turned in bank statements and W2s and other paperwork that actually mean they've started the approval process, not just made a phone call for a qualification.

Here's the scenerio:
House is listed at $109k, comps out at about $112k, and has been completely updated to the max with new carpet, fresh paint, new appliances, counters, etc...  The house is built in 1994 so not an old house at all.  I received an offer today for $92,500 asking the sellers to pay for survey ($450), home warranty ($350), 6% for closing costs, ONLY $300 for earnest money...

If you do the math, that offer comes to about $86,000 and we're listed at $109,000.  Oh, and did I mention the buyer's commission is listed at 3.5% which is higher than the average commission. 

Here's the kicker... the "approval" letter has no date on it.  It is from an out of state lender, AND the approval amount is for only $89,900.  Ok, didn't they offer $92,500?  Why are they offering more than they approve for?  This warranted a speedy call to the lender as I forwarded the offer to the seller and I told him I would discuss it with him further when I spoke with the lender.  I talk with the lender and she said that the buyer could actually go up to $95,000.  I thanked her for her time, and under my breath, I was like, that's what I needed to know because we can't even counter this offer if she's not approved for anything else. 

The lender tells me she'll rerun the numbers and call me in 2 minutes.  I asked her why she needed to rerun the numbers.  Her reply is that she thinks the buyer could go up higher.  I told her that we're already over $20k apart, and I'm not sure how she can get an $89,900 approval up to $95,000 and then get it over $100k.

Do I receive my call in two minutes??  No, I receive an EMAIL from the buyer's agent with the following message:

"I just received a call from my clients loan officer.  Please do not ask my loan officer how much more my buyer is approved for, if you would like to counter the offer please do so.  Thanks."

So, I'm asking you, do you call the lender when you receive an approval letter with an offer?  If not, why not?  Don't you feel you're looking out for your seller's best interest to know if the deal is going to fall apart before it even becomes a deal?

Garland, TX for many years, was known by people in Richardson and who grew up in Richardson, as the Armpit of Richardson.  Over the years, Garland has made a name for itself, and things are changing.  Prices of homes are going up.  Newer, NICER communities are being built, mostly around Firewheel Golf Course.  And a new outdoor Mall opened last years, anchored by Foley's, Dillard's, an AMC theatre, and many other big-name stores.

With all this activity, you can see why Garland is becoming a more desireable place to call home.  As I did with Richardson and Plano, here are the stats year to date compared to 2006 for Garland.

2006
Original Asking Price: $128,606.68
Reduced Asking Price: $124,018.58
Sales Price: $121,548.08
List Vs Sales: 94.51%

2007
Original Asking Price: $135,379.36
Reduced Asking Price: $131,184.25
Sales Price: $128,042.47
List Vs Sales: 94.58%

With the above numbers, you can see that, on average, Garland is selling more than 5% higher than last year.  In many parts of the country, you would laugh at such little appreciation.  In this market, that is a HUGE number with so many other places selling flat or a little lower.

As I did with the other blogs, we need to look further into why the average has gone up, but unlike Richardson and Plano, the stats of Garland have remained fairly equal.  The average home is still a 3/2.  The average size is only 65 sqft larger than last year, and the average days on the market has actually increased a little, from 72 days up to 78 days.

With appreciation like 5% a year, we might actually get back to a stage where someone can live in their home as little as 3 years and actually break even with closing costs if they needed to sell again.

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?!

I just posted the results of the Market Breakdown for Richardson, TX.  I thought it would be interesting to compare Richardson to Plano, TX.  Plano is the next city North, and many people compare the two cities all the time for school districts and neighborhoods.  Growing up in Richardson, I'm a little biased to the comparison, however, I am currently in Collin County and not Dallas County which means BabyHarris will go to Plano Schools, so the comparison is very important.

If I use the same categories as I did on Richardson, here is the breakdown for Plano.

2006
Original List Price: $270,812.97
Reduced Price: $267,734.98
Sales Price: $260,827.72
List Vs Sales: 96.31%

2007
Original List Price: $294,539.66
Reduced Price: $263,134.19
Sales Price: $256,004.48
List Vs Sales: 86.92%

WOW!!  Look at those numbers.  Last year, Plano was selling at over 96% of asking price.  This year, they're selling almost 87% of asking price.  What happened?  As you can see, houses are still selling at about the same price as last year, however, Plano has already been one of those "dreaming" cities that think they should get a million dollars for their $100k house.  With that, the sellers listed WAYYY too high, but agents that "let" them list too high, but overall, the market will still dictate what the houses are worth.

Again, you can't look just at these numbers as they don't tell the full story.  Other numbers you need to know are that the average days on the market last year was 61 days, and this year, the average is ONLY 58 days on the market.  These Plano sellers aren't taking too long to figure out that they're overpriced.  They're selling in UNDER 2 months!! 

To me, that's still a very strong market!!  If you have a house on the market longer than a couple of months in the Plano area, you need to reevaluation your goals.  Are your goals to continue to allow people to endlessly walk throught your house for weeks and months to come... or is your goal to SELL your house and move on with your life and a brand new start in your new home??

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?!

Richardson, TX is having a very interesting year thus far.  I was comparing numbers year to date to 2006 year to date, and the numbers astonish me.

People keep trying to say that it's a buyers' market because houses are staying on the market for months and months, even years, and sellers will sell their homes for whatever you offer.  Most of this comes from the National news, and some comes from those late-night infomercials.  Many areas are in such a buyers' market that you can offer 20% of asking price and potentially meet in the middle or even more towards the buyers side after the homes have been on the market 6 months or even a year.

Here are the numbers for Richardson:

2006
Original Asking Price: $191,242.17
Reduced Asking Price: $187,328.88
Sales Price: $183,079.59
List Vs Sales Price: 95.73%

2007
Original Asking Price: $189,943.31
Reduced Asking Price: $185,606.63
Sales Price: $179,606.60
List Vs Sales Price: 94.56%

At first glace, you might think that Richardson is having depreciation going on because the average list and sales prices are lower.  But that's what happens when you look at those numbers alone.  What you don't see within those houses are that in 2006, the average home was a 4 bedroom home.  In 2007, the average home is a 3 bedroom home.  People will pay more for the 4th bedroom as the sqft is also larger, on average.

Also, even though we've moved into a very different market, you'll be amazed to know that the average days on the market in 2006 was 71 days, and this year, it's ONLY 64 days!!

With this, all I can say is price the home right, and it'll sell!!  You need to price according to the current market, not last years market or 5 years ago.  Price it to today, and you'll see results!

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?!

Here are some wonderful before and after pictures for a new listing in Garland, TX.

In the Dining area, there is a sitting window, however, you cannot even see it.  Many people love sitting windows because you can put a padded top on it and use it for reading or as part of your kitchen table.  So, I had the sellers remove 2 of the chairs to open up the space more, and now you can see the sitting area when you walk in.  They were also using the Dining area as a holding place for toys, and those were put up.  Place mats were also put up to give the table a very clean look.

The main transformation in the Kitchen was removing all the pictures and artwork from the fridge, which you can't really see in this picture.  As you can see from the before picture, the sellers utilized all the counter space.  However, when a buyer looks in the kitchen, they don't see any counters at all, so away went everything except a couple of things for accent.  You can actually picture yourself cooking a full meal with all that space now, can't you?!

This room is almost self explanatory... Yes, this was the main place the kids played and watched TV.  The sellers were very worried about removing the gate from the fireplace and the TV as they thought the kids would get into trouble, but they've actually been very good.  The only thing that interests them are the buttons on the TV, but as long as they're leaving the fireplace alone, we're all good.  Also, the couches didn't match, so I had them buy slip covers to neutralize the room. It's a little too neutral now, but that's better than too much "stuff" that you can't see around.  Also, I advised on new carpet.  They got it changed the day before my Before picture, but it was an old 80's blue, and now it's a neutral Frieze.

The Master was a little busy. One of the easiest things I had them so was flip the comforter over so it was a solid color instead of a pattern.  It's a much cleaner look.  I also had them move all nonessentials from the room.  What you can't see is the furniture behind where I'm taking the picture was moved walls and opened up quite a bit.

Nice changes, don't you think?  All this for ONLY $143k!!!  Plus, a pool!

When you list with me, I don't just put a sign in your yard and stick it in the MLS.  I help you stage it in order to bring out the best in the house so others can picture it as their "HOME".

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?!

What a FABULOUS house! 4 Beds, 2 Full Baths, 2 Car Garage, and a Diving POOL!!  All for ONLY $143,000!!

Ready to Dive into your new POOL!? The Pool was just resurfaced and new tile installed. Being an Interior Corner lot, it still leaves room for a HUGE yard for entertainment (kids and/or pets) and pavestone patio. Many updates throughout the house include: Frieze carpet, fresh paint, windows, front door, water heater, laminate wood, tile in baths, some fixtures, kitchen appliances, and much more. The 4th bedroom would make a great study. The oversized Family Room has a brick, wood burning fireplace. Sprinklers, gutters, 8' fence with steel posts, & much more... 

Can you believe you can get all this for ONLY $143,000!!!  It's move-in ready, make your appointment today!

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?!

Do you water your foundation?

I work with a lot of relocation into the Dallas area.  With that, it takes a lot to educate someone not only about our market, but also about how to take care of their properties.

Most of the North Texas area is built on Clay Soil.  It's usually Red Clay, but Black Clay is also common.  Either way, it's Clay and Clay is a very interesting and unique material to build on.  The Clay is constantly expanding and contracting.  That means your house is constantly expanding and contracting.  With this movement, you can get many cosmetic cracks on the interior along with the exterior.  These cosmetic cracks will eventually turn into structural cracks if not taken care of.

The goal is to create as little movement as possible.  In order to do this, you must water your foundation year round.  What do I mean by watering the foundation?  You need to keep a consistent amount of water around your slab (or even pier and beam foundation if you're in an older home).  This is accomplished in a couple of ways.  If you have an automatic sprinkler system, as long as you can see the water reaches up to the house, you should be fine.  If you are manually watering with a sprinkler, make sure you get all over and not just the front and back yards because that's where your main grass is.  You need to be watering the sides of your house too.

Where I'm getting the freaked out look from people is when I mention placing soaker hoses around the foundation.  For the past couple of years, North Texas has been in a drought and we've been put on watering restrictions, which I've blogged about before.  With the restrictions, most areas could only water once a week, while a select few areas were allowed twice a week.  With the heat of the summer, this is not enough moisture to keep around your foundation for consistency throughout the year.  Soaker hoses, since the water goes directly into the ground, are allowed everyday, though your regular watering is not allowed.  Soaker hoses, to cover an average sized house, will cost approximately $50 and it's a good $50 to spend.  These hoses, usually black, should be placed 12-18 inches away from the house.  You do not want to put them right up against the slab because then too much water could get stuck under the slab and the house could rise.  You're just looking for consistent moisture around the foundation.  Using the soaker hoses about 10-15 minutes 3-4 days a week in the summer, and maybe only once or twice a week in the winter will help you save thousands on future foundation repair in the future.  It's a simple, easy fix for hot, dry summers, and there's no excuse for a bad foundation when it's part of everyday house maintenance when you're a home owner.

Yes, we're having close to record rainfall this year, but we're just catching up with what we need.  Our lawns are very green right now, whereas last year, everyone's looked like we were in a desert.  But, YES, we're still on water restrictions.  And the soaker hoses are for house maintenance, not just using them one year and not another.

Do you Water your Foundation in your neck of the woods?

Here's the count down to finding out the sex of the baby!  17 days and counting.  I'm so excited.  I've had a mad rush from some people to get their guesses in so they count before the sex is found out.  If you're one of those people, don't forget to make your guess.  Also, if you're not guessing because it's still too soon to really guess a date, not a problem because those items can be edited by me whenever you want.

SO, I am 18 weeks, and the baby is supposed to be about 5.5 inches long.  It can hear me talk.  It is sucking its thumb.  It is growing its babyfat. 

Oh, and it is also FINALLY getting used to my Trader Joe's dried Granny Smith apples!  I love those things, but baby kept making me visit the porcelin god to get them out... I just got back from the West Coast where Trader Joe's is in abundance, and I bought more along with my chocolate covered raisins.  I wonder if it will like those...

For those who don't want to look up the link for the guessing game, here's the link again.

Right now, the only thing the Texas Rangers have going for them is the publicity they're getting from Sammy Sosa and his race to hit HomeRun number 600.

He finally hit that 600th HomeRun on Wednesday, during the fifth inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs.  The crowd was only about 37,500 but an excited crowd they were, even though their Cubs lost.  They just witnessed history in the making.  The Rangers did come out on top with the 7-3 win.

Here's the full story and also a chart showing where everyone stands.

Arlington, TX is the LARGEST city in the country without a mass transit system in place.  You don't have to tell me twice how hard it is to get around Arlington because I went to college there for 4 years.  I remember the University had shuttles on the weekends at certain times to take you to shopping and back, but that isn't mass transit.  That is a shuttle, bus like vehicle that went up and down Copper St and that's it.

Mass Transit has tried to pass in Arlington for many years, since the 70's and no one seems to agree that raising taxes to pay for it is beneficial... I don't think they're calculating the numbers correctly.

The idea that is currently floating around is Arlington would team up with Ft Worth and receive about a dozen buses for rush hour traffic to pick up in Arlington, drive only on the highways, I30 and 287, and then drop off in Ft Worth where riders could then get on mass transit in Ft Worth or walk to nearby downtown jobs.   

This latest proposal is supposed to cost only $75,000 a year from Arlington which would be matched by Ft. Worth.  They also predict it only taking about 100-200 cars off the road.  With about 300,000 people in the city, and those are actual residences, not college people claiming outside addresses for their permanent address, I don't see how taking 100-200 cars off the road is going to help much.

Personally, without getting a complete mass transit system in place in Arlington in the near future, it's going to get even more chaotic.  Arlington currently has the Texas Rangers baseball team, Six Flags Over Texas theme park, and also Hurrican Harbor.  The Dallas Cowboys will move their home to Arlington in 2009, and there is no way for people to get anywhere within the city without driving.  This is CRAZY!!

Any other thoughts?  I'm just so glad I don't live out there anymore.  Here's the full story.

Roger Staubach started his own Commercial Real Estate company in the 1970's after his long and prosperous career with the Dallas Cowboys.

All this time, he has remained CEO and had never handed over control of the company as it grew.  Speculation has been going around for a while and it is now true.  Staubach has stepped down from CEO and will be giving the duties to Gregory O'Brien, the president of Staubach's northeast region.

Staubach claims none of his duties will change and he'll continue to remain as active as he has always been.

Staubach was also one of the speakers to present why the new Cowboy's stadium should host the Super Bowl.  I'm sure Staubach will be selling quite a bit of real estate around those neck of the woods.

For more of the story, click here.

CLICK HERE for the Visual Tour!! 3 Beds, 1 and a half baths, 2 living areas for ONLY $83,000

This is a Great starter home located on a quiet, cul-de-sac street. Many updates within include New Carpet, New Appliances, New Counters, New Cabinets, New Tile floors, & Fresh Paint! The house is move-in ready so pack your truck today! There are two adjoining living areas so plenty of ways to arrange your oversized furniture. The Dining area is 15 X 12 which is room enough for a HUGE dining table and Hutch! The backyard is huge and great for entertaining! This is definitely a Must See!!  

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?!

CLICK HERE for the Visual Tour!!  3 beds, 2 and a half baths, 2 car garage and all for ONLY $134,900!!

Great Corner Lot with a Huge Backyard for entertaining or adding a pool! Many updates throughout include: New Carpet, New Appliances, New 18' Tile in the Kitchen & Nook, and Fresh Paint. The master bedroom is downstairs with a garden tub, separate shower, and walk-in-closet. Upstairs has a Loft area with a skylight, great for play area or study with an abundance of natural light. The Formal Dining has a Bay Window. Other features are Vaulted ceilings, Gas Start Wood Burning FirePlace, Kitchen with a Breakfast Bar, Separate Utility Room... and so much more!! 

What do you think?  Ready to move in right now?  Come make this house your home!

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?!

CLICK HERE for the Visual Tour!!  3 beds, 2 full baths, 2 car garage, all for ONLY $109,000!!

What a Great House that sits at the back of a quiet cul-de-sac street, adjacent to trees and greenbelt. The house is in move-in ready condition!! New 18" tile throughout Kitchen and Nook, New Appliances, New Carpet and Fresh Paint throughout! Kitchen has an Island and a Beautiful view of the yard from the Bay Window in the Nook. Walk-in-closet, high ceilings, gas start wood burning fireplace, and so much more... this house is a must see

As you can see, the house shows very clean and fresh and is a blank slate waiting for you to move in and add your personality.

Make your appointment today!

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?!

I've been laughing for a few days about this, so I thought I would blog about it... Granted, the Dallas market does not follow the norm of the "Nationwide" market that the news is always talking about. We never had a bubble and prices have been fairly steady for the past few years, and almost flat the last couple of years.

With that said, one of my husband's co-workers bought a house last year for $184k.  Just over a year later, he decides he wants to buy a house with his new Realtor girlfriend so they list his house for sale.  His girlfriend is a fairly new idiot, I mean Realtor, and according to the MLS has only closed 8 transactions in 3 years.  So, even though she wants to say she's been in the business for 3 years, to only have 8 transactions, she's very much still GREEN and has a lot to learn.  Most of her sales have been in the $75-100k price range.

Anyway, she lists "Bob's" houses for $249k!!  I did say he just bought it for $184k, right??  The area he lives in is seeing about a 3% appreciation and he put about $5-7k of updates into the house.  He thinks his house is made of Gold and apparantly she agreed, and listed it for the outrageous price.

The weeks go by and he continuously tells my husband about all the showings he's having.  Oh yeah?  Where are your offers?  Last week an offer came in.  An offer that he thought was a low-ball and it took them 4-5 days to actually negotiate to a contract.  I just kept telling me husband that he can argue all he wants about what he "wants" for the house, but it won't appraise.  Apparently, the buyer got fed up with countering back and forth, and I guess the buyer's agent knew it wouldn't appraise either, so they finally just agreed on Bob's price because they knew the price would reduce down anyway...

Bob gets all excited that he has a contract and tells my husband that I don't know what I'm talking about and got a contract for $243,000!!!  Yeah, $243k!!  That's only 2.76% off list price which is average for the area...  Fast forward and the appraisal was on Thursday.  House doesn't appraise!!  Bob spends the next few days saying he's going to get a second opinion because there is no way he is going to lower his price... but wouldn't you know it, the second opinion that he wants, he is going to have to pay for!!  Yes, he's too cheap to spend $350 on a second opinion.

Yesterday, my husband comes home and says Bob decided to go ahead and sell the house to this buyer for the appraised amount.  I asked what it appraised for, but Bob wouldn't tell my husband.  It must have been VERY LOW for him to be that embarrassed to not say... but what's even more sad is if he spent the $350, he might have been able to get a second opinion slightly higher to save a couple of thousand dollars.  I guess the numbers didn't make sense to him or his idiot, I mean agent.

I'm counting the days to see it closed in the MLS so I can see the sales price!!  My guess is there is no way it appraised higher than $220k.  No freakin' way!!  LOL!!!

The lesson here is, it doesn't matter what you WANT for your house.  It matters what it will APPRAISE for and what the buyer can BUY it for.  Price your house correctly, and you won't have embarrassing problems like Bob!

I just got back from looking at some phones.  I have decided to finally upgrade to a PDA phone so I can check emails and look up the MLS while out on appts.  My husband narrowed it down for me, thank you Mike!

I think I'm leaning towards the Palm 750.  The main difference was the 8525 has a digital camera quality picture and the 750 is not as good.  However, I have a digital camera and I take important pictures with that.  I won't be taking virtual tour or MLS pictures with a phone.

Both phones have Office and Outlook Express so I can download my emails.  Both allow for access into our Supra Lockboxes.

I don't carry a purse, so I usually put a phone in my pocket so weight is fairly important.  Both are heavy, compared to what I'm used to, but the 750 is lighter...

Anyone have any information on either phone to help me lean further in one way over the other?

I had my 16 week appointment this morning.  Everything is fine!!  All those dreams I've been having are meaningless now.  The heartrate was down to 154 from 160 at last month's appt.  More of my pants are getting tighter, so I'll probably be in maternity clothes full time in the next couple of weeks.

They took blood for the Quad Test today.  I have rolly vains, so they actually had to try both arms to get blood.  I bruise easily so I'm definitely going to look like a junkie in a couple of hours.

I will go back for a full Sonogram to find out the sex of the baby on my Birthday, July 11.  I figured it would be a very nice birthday present!!

Things are moving along very well, but very slowly!!!

I read a blog by James Gordon this morning about when you should turn down an overpriced listing and it reminded me of something that happened to me last month.

I received a call from an out of state seller who had a rental property on the market for 191 days, yes, I said 191.  During that time, the price was $104k.  People in other markets might think anyone would jump on this house and they're crazy not to.  However, I went and previewed the house, and ran comps, and the house comps out at about $92-95k.

At the time the sellers called me, they were still under a listing agreement, so I talked with them in generalizations about the area and said we would talk in more specifics when their listing expired, as the broker would not release the listing.  With all our talks, they knew I knew it was over priced, and the only way to generate activity was to get it below the $100k mark.  I mean, to be at $104k for 191 days with no price adjustments and about 1 showing a month, that should tell you something's wrong right there.

While we waited for their house to expire, they asked me to run comps on 6 of their other rentals that they wanted to sell as well.  I'm thining, WOW!  7 listings from one seller, this is GREAT!!  NOT!!!  The price ranages were from $50k up to about $100k.  Really bad houses in bad neighborhoods that I don't like to drive in, but I still sent them the information thinking they would all add up to a volume deal instead of just one listing at $50k.

Anyway, the first listing finally expires, and I spoke with the wife.  Mind you, most of the other conversations had been mostly with the husband (wife on speaker) and via email with the husband.  The wife was not happy with my final analysis that listing at $99k was pushing it and to sell it, we needed to be at least at $95k.  She said she would talk with  her husband.  I also followed up with an email to the husband.  He said he would sign the paperwork and send it back... a couple more days go by, and the husband says they've just been busy... a couple of more days... I check the MLS, and what do you know?

THEY LISTED THE HOUSE AT $104K WITH ANOTHER BROKER!!  Yes, I said $104k.  Again, it was already at $104 for 191 days.  So, I can see how they thought the strategy of listing it at $104k would help them this time.  The current listing has been on the market for 28 days already... at $95k, it would have lasted a week with my marketing!!

If these sellers BEGGED me to list their house to try it out at $104k, I would have very bluntly said no!  Why would another agent, after seeing it on the market for over 6 months list at the same price?  He must have been desperate for the listing.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, if you're reading this, as I know you found me because of my blog, YOU'RE OVER PRICED and you're going to continue to make mortgage payments and pay taxes on a vacant house!!!

We had record amounts of rain in May.  The last stat I heard was that it was the 15th wettest May on record.  However, we are still under Water Conservation Rules throughout most of the DFW area.

Because of the conservation efforts, in just the first quarter alone, we have conserved 16.5% more water than in the first quarter of 2006.

Many people ask why we are still under restrictions when we've had so much rain.  The main answer is because our lakes are not all at their main operating level as of yet.  Yes, we've had a lot of rain lately, but it hasn't made up for the past couple of years where it's been very dry.  The other thing is, if we've had so much rain, why do you even want to water your yard more?  It should be even easier to conserve water when nature has been taking care of it for us.

Many people outside the area are asking what type of restrictions we're on.  For most of the DFW area, you can only water your yard on your trash day.  Also, that water must be before 10am and after 6pm.  Many areas only have 1 trash day a week, which made for some very brown yards last year.  The City of Richardson actually has 2 trash days a week, so we get to water twice a week, but the same hour restrictions apply.

The City of Richardson has been offering Indoor Water Conservation Kits, and now they are offering Outdoor kits as well.  The Outdoor kits will include a soil moisture meter probe, an automatic lawn sprinkler timer, a six-position garden hose nozzle, a rain gauge, a drip gauge, and a flow meter bag.  You can pick one of for only $16.  The indoor kits are only $8.

All Property Tax bills that are not up to date by June 30 will be sent to the City's Deliquent Tax Attorney for collection.

There are Options!!  However, if you wait until your account goes to the attorney, you are responsible for the additional fees incurred.  Since being late Feb 1, you have already been dinged an 18% late fee as the late fee continues each month you don't pay.  In addition to that 18%, you'll have to pay an additional 20% collection fee if your file is in the hands of the attorney.

So, if you're having problems paying your taxes and you need help with the city to work out a payment plan, call them ASAP!  They don't want the extra work, and they don't want to foreclose on your house because you can't pay your taxes.  They'll work with you if you're willing to work with them.

You can reach the city at 972-744-4151 or the Tax Department at 972-744-4150.

If you're having problems paying your taxes, are you also having problems paying your mortgage?  Call me before you get into a foreclosure situation!  I can help and we can work things out with your lender through a short-sale if that's what needs to be done.