Experienced Agent verse Newer Agent - 06/29/06 06:32 PM
When I first got into real estate, I had just turned 24 and I looked about 18. It was no wonder people always asked my age and how long I was in the business. I always had to prove myself as to why they should use me as a newer agent...Now that I'm past the five year mark, and at the end of my sixth year, I love this new study that came out. Researchers followed 55,000 properties in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. The averages of these properties showed an average days on the market at 90 days and an average … (0 comments)

Full Service Listing Verse Limited Service - 06/29/06 06:14 PM
One of the things I have to explain to sellers when I'm on a listing appointment is why I can't take a reduced commission to sell their home. My first response is, weren't you paying attention to all the marketing I do for your house to get it sold and do you not understand how much time, energy, and money it costs to do that? Asking a Realtor to take a reduction is like asking you to work a full 8 hour day at the office, with your full duties, and then asking you to only work for 1/2 your salary … (1 comments)

Understanding Your Credit - 06/28/06 01:35 PM
There are many myths when it comes to your credit.  I'm not a mortgage person, so I don't know everything that goes into what can be ignored on a report and what can't, but I've learned quite a bit over the years and here are some of the important things to remember.
If you have several credit cards, do NOT close your accounts, even if you're not using them.  Keeping these accounts open show a longer length of credit history which increases your scores.  Also, your credit score is based off what you're allowed to borrow verse what you are borrowing.  If … (0 comments)

Shopping for a House before a Mortgage - 06/27/06 10:11 AM
Are you trying to shop for a house before a mortgage?  Do you find that you keep ending up in neighborhoods that are beyond your price range?  How did you come up with your price range?  And do you even know what your price range means?  These are just some of the questions I ask people when they call to want to look at one of my listings, and I won't show them the house until they can answer these questions to my satisfactory, which my sellers love.  Less unqualified people walking through their home.
To start with, if you haven't talked … (1 comments)

Pre- Qualified verse Pre-Approved - 06/26/06 08:16 PM
Are you Pre-Qualified or are you Pre-Approved?  Do you know the difference?
There are many ways to differentiate the difference between being pre-qualified and being pre-approved.  The easiest thing to ask yourself is, "Did I just make a phone call and talk with someone?  or Did I turn in any paperwork like bankstatements, W2s, and paycheck stubs?"
If you said that you just made a phone call or maybe you just did a quick mini-loan application online, you're only pre-qualified.  In today's market, a pre-qualification gets you no where with a seller if you're trying to write a strong offer on a house.  … (4 comments)

 
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Donna Harris, REALTOR®, CDPE & ASP - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes

Donna Harris, REALTOR®, CDPE & ASP - Hill Country

Austin, TX

More about me…

Regent Property Group

Address: 7035 Bee Caves Rd #204, Austin, TX, 78746

Office Phone: (512) 592-7127

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This blog is to help educate Buyers, Sellers and even other Realtors across the country.  Each market is different and the way Real Estate is done is different.  Austin Real Estate is completely different than Dallas, California and Florida and everywhere else in between.  Some times there will be other things besides real estate as I like to rant and rave as much as the next!!  Come back often!

Donna Harris, REALTOR® with RE/MAX
Donna Harris, REALTOR® with RE/MAX
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