Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale: February 2009

No, that's not a typo.  This house had 114 showings on it.  What was wrong with it, you might ask.  Nothing!  It is a great house!

This is where pricing competetively can sometimes backfire...

The house comped out at $289k.  I looked at the comps every couple of weeks to keep up with the activity in this neighborhood, and the comps were always very consistant at $289k.

We listed the house at $249,500 in order to sell it FAST!  It was completely updated with new granite counters, travertine floors, travertine fireplace, refinished and stained hardwood floors, stainless steel applianes, all new light fixtures and fans throughout, all new bathrooms with travertine showers and surround, new vanities and sinks, the works...

It is a GREAT house!

Showings happen immediately because of the price.  We get an offer.  I speak with the mortgage person like I do on all offers, and the mortgage person assured me that everything was good. We execute, and almost immediately the buyers back out because their loan was no longer available.

We drop the price to $244k.  We get another buyer, and go through the same scenerio.

We drop the price to $237,500k.  We get another buyer, and go through the same scenerio.

We drop the price to $225k.  We get another buyer, and go through the same scenerio.

Do you see the pattern??  Each time we got an offer, even though I would take the time to talk with the mortgage person, in which he/she would assure me that this buyer was "strong" and everything would be ok, it kept turning out that the buyers weren't ok. 

In order to drum up activity when it would be active again, I would lower the price as further incentive for an APPROVED buyer to come in and "steal" this house from the seller, since it comps at $289k.

You're going to laugh, but the same thing happened a couple more times in which the price was lowered to $220k, then $210k and then to $200k.  Not only could I not believe this house was listed for $200k, I couldn't believe that the same situation played out so many times!!  What was going on? 

At this point, I'm fielding calls right and left from agents asking what was wrong with the house and why was it on the market so long and why so many price adjustments.  To each and every single one, I had to explain that we kept dealing with unscrupulous mortgage people who were telling buyers they could qualify for such and such, but then turning around and letting them know they weren't approved with the rates and terms they thought, which made buyers back out.

How it happened to me so many times on one property, I have no idea.

Anyway, at $200k, of course I got another offer... the mortgage person told me on three separate occasions that the buyers were approved, but then I got further information.  The buyers were only approved with their parents co-signing. 

 "Oh, don't worry about the parents. I've known them for over 20 years and they really want their son and daughter-in-law to buy this house."

After the parents had the buyers spend the money on the inspection and appraisal, according to the buyers' agent, the parents decided they didn't want them buying a house this old nor in this neighborhood... Since the buyers couldn't buy without the parents, back on the market the house goes...

This time, I don't reduce the price as that would be silly.  $200k is a bargain for this highly sought-after area.  We VERY quickly get a new contract.  This loan officer worked for a guy who I've known for almost 9 years.  I sent him a message on Facebook and asked what he thought of the mortgage person and if he could almost "guarantee" an on-time closing and that the buyers were approved.

He assured me all was good... two days before closing, we find out that there was still an open FHA case file under the buyers with the parents.  They had been trying to contact the previous mortgage guy, but guess what, HE'S OUT OF BUSINESS!!

They had to call HUD in Denver to get an exception and assigned the case number without a release from the previous lender.  This took 24 hours... docs arrived at the title company yesterday, they were sent off to the seller out of state, and the buyers signed at noon this afternoon...

I don't like writing posts this long, but this was a long saga!  I'm so glad it's over.

Bottomline is that even if you price a property very competetively to start with, outside influences, beyond your control as an agent and beyond that of the seller, can still prevent a property from selling quickly. Be prepared for any situation!

Buyers' Agents, PLEASE verify with your buyers' mortgage person that they are truly approved for a loan, and try to get them to use one of your trusted mortgage people whom you know will shoot straight with your buyers.

Breathe, Donna, Breathe.  This one is finally over... breathe in, breathe out, repeat...

I got a call today at 3:30pm.  Within the message, the lady said, "Will you please call me back by 4:30pm as I have already wasted so much time leaving messages with other agents who have not returned my calls."

I called her back in under 5 minutes.  She was shocked that I called back, and even more shocked that the call was so quick.  I explained that I don't like calls or emails to pile up and if I'm available, I respond immediately.

She went on to tell me that she had called several agents in the Austin area looking for someone to pass a fully approved buying in the $150k range to.  I had to sadly explain to her that I'm not full time in Austin yet, but that I would gladly refer her to someone.

She was very excited to get a name for a referral.  She went further to mention some names of agents that she had tried to contact, even a couple of ActiveRain people, and that she always thought ActiveRain people would be some of the first to return calls promptly.  She said one person's phone wasn't even working.  How do you do business if your phone isn't working??  I'll be nice and not reveal their names, but it's an awful shame those people couldn't take the time to work a REFERRAL, though our businesses are built on referrals.

Anyway, she works for a company that is getting a lot of Austin area buyers, and she told me to call her when I was in Austin permanently so I can be their main go-to person. 

Their previous go-to person is no longer in real estate so they were looking to fill a void. Good thing I actually returned the phone call!

Man, I want to scream!!  My husband is in Austin right now to check on the house... the workers were there late last night, but you've gotta wonder why.  Look at this picture. 

First, the cabinets are wrong.  That tiny tiny drawer, underneath the opening for the oven, is supposed to be a full-sized drawer.  This was confirmed a few weeks ago when we saw the tiny drawer in another house.  We were told that we were getting a full-sized drawer and not to worry.  What got put in the house?  And now that tile is in, it's going to be a little harder to wrip out and put in the correct one.

What else is wrong with the cabinets, you might ask?  There are supposed to be a row of stack drawers, you know, for tupperware containers and such. Where are the stack drawers?

Now, look at the tile floor.  Do you see the pattern?  Pattern?  There isn't supposed to be a pattern, but there is!! This same tile was actually laid in the showroom so we could see what the final product looked like. There are several "different" tiles to the "pattern" and with several different ones, there shouldn't be two of the same right next to each other, especially in the same orientation.  Why didn't they at least turn the tiles another direction?

I'm so frustrated, there aren't even words to describe what I'm feeling about this situation...

Breathe, Donna, breathe... breathe in, breathe out, repeat...

Ok, so after I sent an email to the builder, after leaving two voicemails this morning, I decided to look at things that I like.  Look at this awesome Slate floor.  It's still pretty dusty, but you can see some of the detail.  It's not what I expected since we currently have slate in our house, but this looks pretty good.

I'm wondering if all these mistakes would have been made if the original builder wasn't laid off and if our red-lined plans did not disappear...........

I've been in real estate for almost 9 years.  Real estate was my passion. I was a workaholic.  I took, and still do take, every transaction very personally.  I become friends with many of the buyers and sellers.  To this day, I get excited for a buyer when they submit an offer and it's accepted.  It doesn't matter if it's a $100k condo or a $400k house, the excitement is the same.

Then, 15 months ago, there was a shift...

Two years ago this month, I got pregnant.  I didn't know until some time in April that year.  Once through the first trimester, I blogged to the world about my pregnancy.  I blogged on my birthday that year to announce the sex of the baby.  It was a great birthday present to find out on that day.

Then, my water broke, and off to the hospital.  Nothing to do except to lay in bed, and the hospital had a wireless connection, so I blogged to the world that I was in the hospital.  After Alyssa was born, 9:54 am on November 16, 2007, I was blogging again to announce her name as we didn't have one agreed to until she was almost 2 days old.

Then, I had 4 appointments the week after she was born.  Oops, I found out why they want you to take it easy for 6 weeks.  It was hard for me to slow down, so I went at about 80% of my usual pace...

Somewhere in between all the cooos and giggles, I realized work wasn't as important as I always thought it was.  I now had someone that hung on my every word and I needed to be there for her.

She did start daycare at 10 weeks old so I could work, but I was there for her first giggle, her first laugh, her first rolling over, her first crawl, her first standing up without hands, her first steps, her first words, her first everything... and I love every minute of it! We play hookie every so often and spend the entire day together.

Even though I have other "passions" like wakeboarding and volleyball and anything sports related, my true passion is now being a Mother to my daughter, Alyssa.

These are some pictures of her throughout the year. It was hard to find narrow down to favorites, but these are definitely a good group to show her different personalities.

Back by popular demand are two more opportunities for coming to my class.  I'll be teaching a TREC approved MCE class on March 3 from 1pm-3pm and March 4 from 9am-11am at Republic Title in Richardson, TX.  There cannot be any "end of the month" excuses as I purposely didn't schedule anything that week.

Learn the basics of how to create an Internet Presence in order to help capture more buyers and sellers who are doing their research online.  Learn how to convert those Cyberleads into a clo$ed $ale putting more money into your pockets!

If you can't make either of these dates, you'll either have to come visit me in Austin, TX for a class there, or I'll let you know when I'll be back in Dallas, TX to do another one, but it probably won't be until the end of the second quarter at the earliest.

This class is open to mortgage professionals as well.  You might not get any education credit for it, but you'll learn a lot!

Course # 02-00-120-7645
Provider # 0600
Cost $20

Presented by me, Donna Harris.

RSVP to Donna@DonnaHomes.com (972-407-3908) or Jeff Duffee jduffee@republictitle.com (972-423-8777).

Location:
Republic Title
3610 Shire Blvd #100
Richardson, TX 75082

Is there a process you go through in the evenings to shut down your brain?  I've been up since 1:30am this morning as I couldn't sleep.  My brain wouldn't SHUT UP!

No matter what I did with my usual tricks, I couldn't get my brain to power off and allow me to sleep.

I even got up and worked for 2 hours.  That's two hours that I don't have to work later today, though I will work as I have lots to get done, but I couldn't believe I worked for 2 hours in the middle of the night.

What's sad is that there were a lot of people on AR blogging at those hours too.  Do you other people go to bed that late?  Or did you wake up early like me?

I used to go to bed at 1-2am, probably up until about 7-8 years ago... but then I realized I could go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier and then get more things done in the day.

I had so many things running through my brain that I wanted to squeeze it out through my ears!!

I was in Austin, TX for a couple of days this past week.  Much progress on the house, yeah! 

The biggest change is the exterior look of the house.  To jog your memory, here is what the messed up version looked like.  They gave us a squared opening, and the front top is flat, in one dimension.

And now, here's most of the corrected version.  It's not a great shot as there were trucks and dumpsters in the way, but it definitely shows you the new roof line that was added along with the arched opening instead of the square opening.  We're still missing the brick detail above the garage doors, but that's not an urgent thing.

We also got our windows in the kitchen put in, and yes, they are the correct ones!! FINALLY!!

Remember the ones on the left being so box-like?  The correct ones are longer and thinner, and will bring in more light and fit above the counters looking less "odd" than the others.

Cabinets were supposed to go in on Wednesday, but they weren't there when we were there, so I went back on Thursday and still no cabinets.  This puts us behind some more.

The joy of building continues...

I've always liked the saying that being second is just being first in a long line of losers.  Not that I'm saying I'm a loser, or that anyone else here in Texas is a loser, but for almost 3 years, I always saw the number 1 on my main page, and for the past week, all I see are 2's...

I changed my profile over to Austin on Monday, though I didn't officially join an Austin brokerage until yesterday.

I've gotten several comments about the change, most sarcastic of course, saying they're glad they don't have to see my face everyday anymore (from the Dallas people).  A couple of Austin people noticed the change, but it wasn't as apparent there as the gaps are much greater.

Anyway, I'm officially announcing that I'm now a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Austin Skyline in Austin, TX.

Have you ever picked up your lockbox and it had a bonus doorknob attached to it?

I had a closing where I tried to go get the lockbox right after funding, but I was also giving the buyers' agent enough time to obtain the key from the lockbox.  She confirmed she removed the key, and I told her I would be by the house that afternoon for the lockbox and sign.

I get there, and there is no sign, and no lockbox...

This listing was not a hop, skip, and a jump away.  It was a good 20-25 minute drive with no traffic, so I was a little peeved that my things weren't readily available.

I called the buyers' agent and asked what happened.  I reminded her how much those lockboxes cost.  She couldn't get a hold of the buyers.  Each day that went by, I reiterated to her the cost of the lockbox and sign and on this day, I told her that I would expect her to cover the cost.  It's $96 for the lockbox and about $30 for the sign.  I guess she didn't like that, so finally, 3 days after closing, she confirmed that the buyers would leave my sign and lockbox at the back of the house.

I arrive, and my sign was just thrown near a pile of garbage, and I had to look for the lockbox.  It was also with the pile of garage, and not only was it just thrown aside, it had a bonus doorknob attached. 

I had recommended the buyers' agent tell her buyers to rekey the locks, as that's just common sense. The buyers' agent said she had never recommended that before, but that it makes sense.  Apparently, she freaked the buyers out enough to not rekey the locks, but to completely change all the locks in the house. 

As I looked closer at the garbage, I not only found the backdoor locks too, but the garage door openers.  Did these buyers not understand that garage door openers could be reprogrammed?  Garage door openers can be expensive. The cheapest ones are about $25 each, and with two cars, that's $50, plus the cost of all the new hardware for the doors.

I'm all for getting your locks changed when you buy a new house, but don't ever hold a lockbox and sign hostage from a REALTOR® in the process.  We spend enough money on our businesses, we don't need to spend money to replace things that are in perfectly working condition.

Why is it a great time to be a buyer or seller in the great State of Texas right now?  Because the rates are low, and values are stable!

"Donna, Did you say the values are stable?  But, I thought values were down across the entire country.  That's what the National news tells me whenever I turn on the tv!"

Yes, I said values are stable and, in many places, values are up.

According to the main Texas real estate magazine, Tierra Grande's January 2009 issue, home prices in Texas are UP 1.4%.  Granted, 1.4% doesn't sound like very much since 2007's values were up 4.8% and 2006's values were up 5.6%, but to be up in today's market, even a little, is fabulous news!

This is another example of learning your local market and not listening to the national news.

As a seller, that means you shouldn't be taking a loss on your home unless you have owned it only a couple of years as average closing costs to a seller are around 8%. Your house will need to have appreciated at least this amount to break even. 

As a buyer, this means that you can buy a house today at basically the same price as last year, but have a much lower mortgage payment as rates have dropped considerably over last year's rates.  On a home priced about $200,000, you could be paying upwards of $235 less a month (rates were at 6.75% and now at 4.875%). 

Why wouldn't you want to buy TODAY with all that savings?!?!

With this great news for buyers, that means all you sellers who are on the fence about selling should be hopping off.  There are buyers for your homes, and when your home sells, you'll also be able to take advantage of today's lower rates as well.

It's a WIN/WIN for both buyers and sellers right now.

I hear it all the time that sellers want to wait and see what happens with property values, and they'll try to sell when they see values go up some more.  The bigger of the two main problems with that is if your value is going up, so are the houses you're going to look at to purchase.  But, not only are the values going to go up when you finally decide to sell and buy, but rates will also go up and that just ruined not only your buying power, but also the buying power for the people who would be looking at your home to puchase as well... double edged-sword!

My professional opinion for every seller in Austin, Dallas, Houston, or anywhere in Texas, *thinking* about selling is to get your house on the market now to take advantage of the stable values and lower rates or you'll kick yourself later when you're trying to buy a house next year when rates are back up into the 6+% range.

Always ALWAYS check your credit card statements.  I never do this as I have so many things on auto-pay, it's always the same charges every month.

However, I went online a little bit ago to pay my credit card off and I decided to actually look at it as there were "pending" transactions. I looked at them and just nodded my head saying to myself, "Yep, those were yesterday's charges of gas and lunch and what is that?!"

I saw a charge for $69.95.  The details say it's a computer software company. Did my husband use my credit card?  No, he's been out of town and didn't get in until last night...  I look further down the list.  There's another charge 2 weeks earlier for $69.95.  What the heck is this?

I call the number provided, and apparently something got ordered online with my credit card and using my maiden name and they were not a computer software company. They so kindly removed both charges and gave me a refund confirmation number. 

I then looked further at the account, and saw a charge for something called Fit-Fac for $29.95.  Huh?  What is this?  I call this number and it's also something using my maiden name as they had a hard time looking me up.  I received another confirmation code to remove that charge.

That's $170 on my credit card that I did not charge!!  I did look further back, and there were no other bad charges.  How in the world did I catch these?  Pure LUCK!!

So, my warning to everyone, even though you think you know what is being charged on your credit card each month, double check those statements as you could be losing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars!

This is way too too funny!!  It's definitely worth the almost 7 minutes to listen to the entire thing.  You'll find yourself laughing out loud and how often does that really happen?

Austin and Dallas people, didn't you love her description of how they shut down the entire city because of a snowflake?  It's so true, it's sad, as it just happened last week!

With the inclement weather we had last week, the annual HOA meeting for the Woods of SpringCreek community in Richardson, TX was canceled.  The meeting has been rescheduled for February 12, 2009 at 7-8:30pm.

If you cannot come, you must resign a proxy as the previous proxies are now out of date.  Let me know if you need a proxy form, or you can get one from your block captain.

I will not be able to attend as I will be out of town on that date, but if you can't make it and have any issues you want to discuss, let me know as I have the direct line to the HOA president.

As before, it's being held at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church at 3901 North Star Rd, Richardson, TX 75082.