As soon as Pinterest is out, real estate professionals are out there trying to think of creative ways to market themselves on yet "another" platform.

As a marketer and someone who constantly think about business, I understand where this thought came from.

But here's where I'd put a stop to BUSINESS and let's just start working on some FUN STUFF.

Life isn't just ALWAYS about BUSINESS.

Pinterest, when I found it about 2 weeks ago sounds like an interesting concept to me. My friends have long joined Pinterest and I wonderred what it is.

In case you didn't know - Pinterest is like an online Creative Board where you pin your favorite photos/ images. You can create many boards based on "themes". I have My Favorite Books, Favorite Quotes and I especially love my VISION BOARD I created.

Pinterest is a place where we can have fun and share with others the things you like. If you want to talk about business, the only place I see "fit" for business is that you also show your clients and prospective clients the PERSON in personal life besides just WORK all the time.

Not everything is BUSINESS. We need to have a life and Pinterest is a great answer for introverts as well as workaholics. It's our "get away" for a few moments.

However, prior to entering, I know how Pinterest can be yet another addictive thing like Facebook that sucks your time always. So play with it with  CAUTION. Dont say you've never been warn.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Pinterest Your Interests >

For the sake of Negotiating..... Lessons of Feet Dragging - yes, even in a Buyer's Market.

So, I've experienced the Lessons of Feet Dragging, Negotiating and Dragging just for the sake of Negotiating. It is not fun to witness buyers wanting to haggle just for the sake of haggling.

In the end, when the counter offer is not accepted and a new offer is introduced into the picture, it would be very disappointing when you lose the house, the house you've been talking about and the house you've been spending your time visualizing in.

So many times I wonder why buyers cant be serious? What could $2,000 mean in a $200K transaction or better yet, $2000 in a $500K transaction? Is it worth haggling?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! After evaluating the pros and cons of going back to the sellers for a tiny pricehaggle, in the grand scheme of things, it will not make a small pinch in the monthly payment,

WHY OH WHY DO YOU RISK ANOTHER OFFER COMING INTO THE PICTURE?

Do you know until it's signed and executed, you - the buyer is still vulnerable and that you have not secured anything yet.

And agents, don't come back to tell me how your clients will now pay the price they originally agreed on. It may be too late. The seller may have signed and executed the other offer. The seller may be upset about the haggle, the seller wants to deal with the other non-haggling buyer.

I've personally experienced 2 back-to-back negotiations where buyers lost because of Negotiation for the sake of Haggling.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
For the Sake of Negotiating... Oh How Much Fun It Is to Ride

Keeping it short this week, I promise. It's not even a biblical scripture but this quote has reminded me yet again to pray over my dreams and heart's desires. I believe they come from the Lord too.

So,

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God cannot protect you.

I stay at rest this Sunday knowing I'm in good Hands. Everything will go smoothly according as planned although at times, in life - it may be hard to see through the storms.

Scripture of the Week:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Have a great Sunday!!!

I begin my week here on Active Rain with my God First posts, written every Sunday once a week. My promise to you is that the messages I share will be day-to-day related, often times related to real estate. If these topics are important to you also, I'd love for you to subscribe to my blog.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Seeing Pass the Storms of Life

As parents, we always do our best to provide everything to our children within our means (some even when it’s out of reach). Many times, parents make decision to buy or sell real estate because of the children. Some of my personal experiences with my clients have been:

• Moving to a better school district
• Parents divorce, and need to sell their home. But each of them buy a home in the same designated school – to try cause minimal disruption to their already chaotic lives.
• Parents move across country to come to Frisco and Plano school districts because we have very good Special Education programs in public schools, equivalent to private education where they are at. Private special education programs are very expensive.

Many families time their move, their buying and selling of real estate based on the school calendar. Hence in Frisco TX, just like most parts of the country, the majority of the home sales are conducted between end of May through August.

One of the big concerns when “moving” for parents is how well the child(ren) will do in school. Will they get used to the place? Will they find new friends easily?

I’m not a child psychologist so the observations I am about to make is solely just based on observing other children as well as having children of my own.

In general, I think children are very resilient. Far more resilient than what we give them credit for. Many times, I think parents over-think things, creating false fears in their minds. I think children make friends easier than adults because they do not carry all that baggage with them. They are pure. When they are happy, they show it. When they are sad, they show it too. It’s us adults over-thinking most of the time.

Most of the time, my child is just as happy where he is at, as long as he is with us. It didn’t matter to him if i was a 3-bedroom 1,500 sqft house where things and people crammed into spaces, or 3 people in a 4,000 sqft home with media and gamerooms and a few extra unused bedrooms. Sometimes, even in a hospital bedroom with 4 walls just suffice!!!

Kids and real estate. They are more resilient than we give them credit for.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Original Post found at: Kids and Real Estate

It's hard to think about real winter when it's 70 degrees outside. This week last year, as Dallas was getting ready to welcome SuperBowl XLV, we were slammed with one of the worst winters in our area. (Let's not talk about Dallas Superbowl. It's a sore subject around here).

This year, we are wearing light sweaters and on some occasions, even in casual T-shirts, jeans and flip flops.

No complaints from me because I'm very afraid of the cold anyways.

In some ways, I miss winter from a distance. The cool winter coats, ear muffs and my Columbia jacket.

This year, many Frisco TX homeowners are out in the yard, preparing for a Spring flowering season. Trimming, shaping and working on long-due exterior maintenance of our homes. It sure beats having to run in and out of stores.

Join me as I reminisce the winter that was:

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Original Post found at: This Weather Week in Frisco TX - 2011

It's been said that this is the Happiest Week of the Year. Christmas and its damage is finally, finally OVER.

Hopefully, you are keeping your New Year's resolutions with eating well, staying healthy, etc.

Families are starting to really plan out for the year - for vacations, trips, visits with families and perhaps thinking about buying or selling a home.

This week has been declared the Happiest Week of the Year. So, make sure you stay happy. Dont let trolls rob your joy. And celebrate the Happiest Week of the YEAR!!!!

As for me, I'm enjoying some quiet and restful time during my favorite time of the day (wee hours in the morning where there's no disturbances). I hope you'll find that some time during your day.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Happiest Week Of The Year

Day in, day out, you work, you pour out everything you have. You work your might. You do everything you can. You make the best of what you have. Then, you go home. You lay yourself to sleep at night. When morning comes, you repeat everything you did the day before.

Where does your strength comes from?

As for me, everything from start to end comes only from the Lord.

The gift of waking up in the morning, the joy to serve another day.

The things I do ALL day.

Then, when I go to bed at night, I don't call it a day until I know I've given my best to everything.

The strength only comes from the Lord. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a reason to do what I do.

It is in His presence that our weakness is made whole. Sure, we wont do everything right. But at the end of the day, we know who leads and propels us, the Lord's strength is all you need.

Scripture of the Week:
God is our refuge and strength Psalms 46:1

I begin my week here on Active Rain with my God First posts, written every Sunday once a week. My promise to you is that the messages I share will be day-to-day related, often times related to real estate. If these topics are important to you also, I'd love for you to subscribe to my blog.

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Where Does Your Strength Comes From?

Profile of a true Frisco TX home buyer

Every home buyer in the Frisco TX these days want a “good deal”. However, a “good deal” may be relative. What is good for you may not be good enough for me. And often times, “good deals” also occur in the higher-priced Frisco TX properties.

Anything $300,000 or under typically sell pretty quick (assuming it was correctly priced within range of subject property. Hence, the “need” to competitively price the property just to move it isn’t quite as necessary when compared to homes in the $600,000 and up range.

So, buying a “good deal” is a given. It’s part of a Frisco TX home buyer DNA.

6 seconds is all you need

A true Frisco TX home buyer who is looking for a good deal can spot a superb, once-a-lifetime deal from a mile away. By judging the neighborhood, it isn’t quite necessary to look at sold comparables when you know the deal presented in front of you. It shows up.

Once you open the front door, all the Frisco TX home buyer needs is 6 seconds to capture everything s/he needs of the house. S/He further walks in just to verify the house is just as sweet of a deal as s/he imagined.

Realistic pricing

Have you ever known buyers who just want to negotiate for the sake of negotiating? If the list price is a XYZ, the buyer – although acknowledging it’s a great deal may still want to go lower than XYZ list price.

But a true Frisco TX home buyer – who acknowledges the great deal, many times do not mind going over the list price – just to be sure s/he buys the house. It’s already a steal at the list price – for goodness’ sake.

Confidence in Huge earnest money, possibly large downpayment

A true Frisco TX home buyer will show his/her seriousness in the offer by presenting a large sum of earnest money (if possible). If you are a serious buyer, show it like it is to assure the sellers there’s no games to be played here. Have you seen some home buyers who want to play game simply because they think “this is a buyer’s market. The seller should pay me to buy his/her property”! WRONG. Loser always get disappointed – especially in multiple offers.

Other terms at Seller’s Discretion

No games to be played here. A true Frisco TX home buyer won’t nickle and dime the Seller for every single itsy-bitsy thing. A good deal is already a good deal.

So, do you have a profile of a true, serious Frisco TX home buyer?

Search Frisco Texas Homes

Map of Frisco Texas

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Original Post found at: A True Profile of a Frisco TX home buyer

Have you ever wondered what type of home buyer are you?

There are those who:

• "I want it NOW" type home buyer
  They are typically eager to jump in the car, without much thought as to what homeownership entails. All they know is that they are "wasting" money on RENT.
  Typically, this home buyer profile type jumps into decision-making pretty quickly. But just as quickly as they make a decision to buy, sometimes they can make the decision to not proceed just as quickly.
  
  
• The ANALYSIS PARALYSIS type home buyer
  This group of home buyers like information. They typically try to consider ALL CONSEQUENCES to their actions - considering one aspect of home buying to homeownership, to financing. Many times, they may start "imagining" worst case scenarios and how to prevent them. At times, these "worst-case" scenarios may or may not happen at all.
  Typically, this home buyer profile takes a very long time to come to a decision - whether to buy or not. But when they do proceed, they have thought through the whole process.

Then there are all types of Home Buyers between the 1st and 2nd group.

One specific Home Buyer group I want to highlight today is:

The Home Buyer that makes an OFFER but doesn't need to look at market SOLD COMPS to see how much the rest of the homes in the neighborhood have been selling. (I dont know what name to give, but this group does exist).

This group is SERIOUS BUYERS. They understand the contract they sign is LEGAL AND BINDING. But how they come up with the INITIAL OFFER can be "hilarious" to say the least.

"Let's just go with xxxx as the Initial Offer".

All 3:16 team REALTY clients undergo more EDUCATION at that point. We want to write winning offers for our clients. After all, they like it enough to want to make the property their home. It is our job to make our clients as informed and as educated in the home buying process.

(1) We pull SOLD COMPS from the past 6 months of sales data in the neighborhood. We find a handful of homes that sold, most similar to the property the Buyer wants to purchase.
"Most Similar" means similar square footage (within 10% range), similar finish-out with similar features and/or upgrades.

(2) Compare these SOLD properties to the subject property (the property the home buyer wants to buy). Place them side-by-side, provide debit and credits for the features and/or upgrades, acknowledge square footage difference & seller concessions.

It is difficult to pinpoint specifically for the EXACT DOLLAR for the Fair Market Value of the house. Hence, with the method above, the home buyer usually have a "price range" of which the house should sell for.

(3) Also, we take a quick evaluation as in the AVAILABLE HOMES in the NEIGHBORHOOD to see what it has listed for.

Negotiations and initial offer can be presented from this point forward.

Certainly not by picking a number from the sky or it "sounds" like a good starting offer.

If you are on First Time Home Buyer in Frisco TX, please read the First Time Home Buyer Resource.

3:16 team REALTY serves home buyers in Frisco TX and surrounding areas. Call Loreena Yeo (214) 783-2210 for a home buyer consultation and take advantage of this great home buying season in 2012.

Search Frisco Texas Homes

Map of Frisco Texas

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Original Post found at: What Type of Frisco TX Home Buyer Are You?

Kong Hey Fatt Choy!!!! That's what you'd say to a Chinese for the next 2 weeks as we celebrate the biggest "Holiday" celebration starting today on Chinese New Year Eve until February 6th (last day of the Celebration!!!)

Kong Hey Fatt Choy, in direct translations means, "Congratulate & Prosper"...

Every Chinese would love to be greeted this way, along with other well wishes,

• Man Si Heng Loong, which means "Prosper in Business"
• Cheong Mang Pak Sui, "long and prosper life"

This is the YEAR of the DRAGON (2012) - Water Dragon to be exact. The Dragon is a big deal in the Chinese community. The Dragon symbolizes Power and Wisdom. The Dragon is also the only animal in the Chinese Zodiac sign that is not real. Mystical to say the least.

Lots of great things will happen in the Year of the Dragon for those who believe. Ultimate abundance, intense power and good fortune. I'm ready for what's to come.

From me to you, Kong Hey Fatt Choy!!!

Content & Photography Copyright © 2012 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Kong Hey, Kong Hey Fatt Choy!!!