plano: Buyers Still Settle for SubStandard Service
- 06/17/08 12:45 AM
Why are Buyers still settling for substandard services when they don't have to? I'm all about educating and letting people know how things could and should be done. I got a lead in on my website a couple of days ago. He marked that he already had a realtor, so I sent back a message asking what kind of services his Realtor offers if he's needing to use another Realtor's site for information.
Part of his response was, "Your updates have been more help than any Realtor in the Dallas area. Thanks again!" He went on to tell me exactly what … (9 comments)
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plano: National verse Local Opinions
- 06/12/08 07:22 AM
I couldn't believe my ears. Barbara Corcoran, The Today Show real estate expert, is talking in general terms again and it is so frustrating. She went on "national" tv and told people they needed to list their homes at 10-15% below their values in order to sell the homes fast. WHAT?!!
If you take the Dallas average of about $185k, that's like listing the house at $157k. Do you really think the person in this price range has that type of equity in their home to be able to sell it for at that price? Probably over 95% of buyers would … (70 comments)
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plano: Percentages verse Dollar Amounts- Are they Equal?
- 06/12/08 07:05 AM
I sell a lot of new homes. Each builder offers different "incentives" to build with them. Even the same builder, in different communities, offers different incentives. How the builder words their incentives can make or break a deal.
I'm currently working with some buyers to build a brand new home, from the ground up, not an inventory home. When we originally met with this builder, the incentives were 30% off upgrades and the builder would pay 3% for closing costs. That means, if you put $100k worth of upgrades into the house, you get $30k off the price, plus about $10k … (0 comments)
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plano: 6627 Highgate Ln, Dallas TX 75214 ONLY $210,000
- 06/09/08 07:51 AM
This is a Great House that was brought back to life & priced below comparables and ready for new owners!
3 Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths, 3 Living Areas, & 2 Dining Areas. Many updates include, refinished hardwood floors through the formal living, dining, hall & bedrooms.
Travertine in the Kitchen, Baths, & Fireplace surround. New Frieze carpet in the Gameroom & 2nd living.
New Granite counters, Stainless Steel Appliances, Vanities, Master Shower, 2 Blinds, complete AC unit & more!
The floorplan has been opened & ready for your family. It's almost 2000 sqft, pier and beam foundation, and priced at only $210,000 with … (0 comments)
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plano: Fight Your Dallas area Property Tax Appraisals
- 05/27/08 07:25 AM
I'm sure you have received your 2008 Property Tax Appraisals by now. If not, you need to call your county appraisal district. Some areas only send out the noticed if your value has changed. If you are planning on fighting your value, you have less than 1 week, as you need to send notice by June 2, 2008.
If your value increased by more than $5000, it would be a pretty smart idea to inquire about the increase. If you would like specific information going on in your neighborhood, I would be more than happy to help you out. In most … (1 comments)
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plano: 5200 Martel Ave #11K, Dallas, TX 75206
- 04/22/08 06:40 AM
What a great condo in the heart of the Popular Dallas M-Streets with many updates & a view of the beautiful Glencoe Park.
2 story condo with the main living on the second floor and the bedroom upstairs on the third for privacy.
Tile floor throughout the downstairs. Newer Interor Paint, Light Fixtures & Fans, 2" Blinds, Hot Water Heater, and Exterior Paint & Balcony by HOA. Features include Breakfast Bar, Window Seat with View of Park, Wood Burning FirePlace with Mantel & Hearth, Full Size Washer & Dryer Closet, Security, Underground Parking Garage with assigned parking, & so much more. … (13 comments)
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plano: Texas Ranks 1st for Most Fortune 500 Companies
- 04/22/08 06:04 AM
It's no wonder that Texas is getting so much relocation from across the country these days. We're the place to work, which means we're the place to live. Texas has finally beat out New York for the most Fortune 500 Companies across the state. Texas has 58, New York fell to second with 55, and California has 52.
Some of those companies are Frito Lay, Blockbuster, JC Penney, Exxon Mobil, Brinker International, Michaels Arts & Crafts (my previous employer), AT&T, Dell, DR Horton, Centex, and many many others...
WalMart, in Arkansas is ranked #1 while ExxonMobile, in Irving, TX, is ranked #2.
Here is … (4 comments)
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plano: Foreclosure Rates are Dropping
- 04/16/08 01:13 AM
Foreclosures are going down! It's true! It was on the news last night, and I had to pause the TiVo to make sure I wrote down the numbers correctly.
The Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex area had a 16% DROP in foreclosures compared to last year. WOW! They compared this to the National foreclosure rate that INCREASED 57%. That is a huge difference.
To put the number into perspective, approximately 10,700 houses started the foreclosure procedures last month.
For those of you who follow my blogs, this just reiterates what I keep saying, that it doesn't make sense to compare your local market to the … (5 comments)
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plano: 2413 Princess Ct, Carrollton TX 75006
- 04/08/08 04:25 AM
Great Carrollton 3 Bedroom home with a POOL, Study, 2 full baths, Large Living Area, and 2 Dining Areas all for ONLY $219,500.
Ask about your FREE Travel Vouchers to the Bahamas, Mexico, Dominican, or Hawaii given at Closing!
Fabulous house with thou$and$ of dollar$ in updates & upgrades. New Water Heater, Appliances, Granite Sink, Fixtures & Fans, & Perimeter Fence for Pool. Extended Backyard Patio & Pool is great for entertaining. New Radiant Barrier in Floored Attic lowers bills tremendously. Oversized Master is split & has sitting area. Kitchen 'island' will remain with the house & provides extra pantry storage. Light & Bright! … (3 comments)
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plano: Real Estate Activity is Regional, not National
- 04/01/08 01:39 PM
WOW! Can you say B-U-S-Y?? I feel so sorry for other parts of the country right now, but in the past 4 weeks, I have contracted 9 properties!! Yes, 9!! Seven of them were in March, and I contracted two today. It's only April 1, and I already have 2 contracts. Granted, I don't count my chickens before they hatch, especially since one buyers' financing already fell through on one of the properties (going through Banco Popular in case anyone is familiar with them), but their agent is going to get one of her investors to buy the house and seller finance … (20 comments)
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plano: Employment Opportunities Changing in Richardson TX
- 03/12/08 01:42 PM
Richardson TX has been known as the Telecom Corridor since the 1980's. This is because Richardson housed some of the major Telecom companies like Nortel, Ericcson, Fujitisu, AT&T, and many others. Since Telecom took a downward spiral a few years ago, many of the Telecom companies left as well. Many others downsized their office spaces.
Because of many buildings becoming vacant, Richardson decided to start recruiting other companies into their mix. Fossil makes Richardson their home. Countrywide took over much of Nortel's space. It's a whole knew world as you go up 75 Central Expressway.
Here are some of the larger employers throughout … (0 comments)
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plano: 2717 Bissell Way; Wylie TX 75098
- 02/16/08 08:15 AM
Ask about your FREE trip to The Bahamas, Mexico, Dominican or Hawaii when you buy this house! Great 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home with Gameroom upstairs. Looks barely lived in & Move-in Ready. Some updates are 2" blinds, new fixtures, new oven & stove, new disposal, & extended patio in pool-sized backyard which is great for entertaining. Master is down split from the others. Master bath has double sinks, garden tub, separate shower & large walk in closet. Sprinklers, security system, gutters, & so much more...
CLICK HERE for the Visual Tour. All this can be yours for ONLY $164,500 at 2799 sqft!!
… (0 comments)
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plano: Dallas Fort Worth Area Foreclosures Ranked 11th Nationwide
- 02/16/08 07:49 AM
The latest report is out and it shows DFW has a surge of 27% in foreclosures going up for auction in March. However, the number 27 doesn't mean too much in an average. I say that because it takes into consideration Denton County that had a 42% increase. But, at 42%, there were "only" 464 foreclosures for the entire county. When you look at the number 464, you think, that's a lot of homes. It's not really that many homes when you look at the population (2006 estimated population of 584,238) and how 464 is a very small percentage of properties … (0 comments)
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plano: Dallas/Ft Worth 2007 Final Numbers
- 01/18/08 01:06 AM
Here are the final numbers for the Dallas and Ft Worth areas for 2007:
Number of Sales: 80,740% Change Year Ago: -7%
Average Price: $202,338% Change Year Ago: +5%
Median Price: $149,900% Change Year Ago: +1%
Active Listings: 47,668% Change Year Ago: +7%
As you can see, the number of sales might be down, but prices are NOT down. Stop watching National News statistics because we aren't following the National trends. Buyers aren't getting 70 cents on the dollar. Prices are still very competetive as an average.
Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, … (4 comments)
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plano: Tollways Not Accepting Cash- Electronic Payment Only
- 08/15/07 08:57 AM
The NTTA, North Texas Tollway Authority, has agreed to move forward with their plan to get rid of all the cash booths by 2010. Instead of the people without TollTags to pay cash, the booth will take a picture of the license plate and mail the owner a bill for driving through.
This sounds like a great way to get traffic moving smoother, and in that aspect, it's great! The downside to this is that when they mail the bill, there is a service fee tacked on including the amount it costs to mail the bill. Does that make sense? Instead of it … (17 comments)
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plano: Extended Summer in North Texas
- 05/25/07 07:30 AM
For many years, the start of the school year would creep sooner and sooner into the beginning of August. When I first moved to Richardson back in 1984, I thought it was weird that school started in August right before Labor Day, but it was ok because we would go to school for a couple of days, because school never started on a Monday or Tuesday, and then we would have a long weekend to adjust to our new teacher and new classmates, and then we would come back in September.
Those days have long past. As I got into Junior High … (4 comments)
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plano: 1817 Swan Dr Dallas TX 75228
- 04/02/07 01:03 PM
What a house,WOW! Open Floorplan with several unique features throughout. There are three bedrooms and 2 full baths with two Living areas and two Dining areas. Many Big Ticket Updates: New Sewer Line, Gas line, AC, Furnace, HWH, Paint, Decor lights, & Fans. Features include Hardwoods, Storm Windows, Tile Counters in Kitchen w Island, Built in Breakfast Table (can be removed), Kitchen & Bath with Italian Tile, many Closets and Shevles. Wood under carpet in the Family Room. Wood Deck, great for entertaining! Attic Fan, Vinyl siding...
Click HERE for the Visual Tour!
Remember, I can show you any listing property in … (2 comments)
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plano: My Brand New Website LAUNCH!
- 03/24/07 07:14 AM
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 … (26 comments)
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plano: What's Hot and What's Not
- 03/01/07 06:43 AM
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 … (10 comments)
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plano: Dallas Real Estate- Price is Key
- 02/19/07 11:53 PM
According to a recent report, nearly 82% of potential buyers use the Internet to refine their home search. Broker Web sites let buyers browse by house size, style, area, and price.Because many buyers look only at those homes within their price range, it's important to accurately price your home for the market. The higher a home's price above market, the fewer the number of interested buyers, and the longer it will take to sell.The key to selling your home quickly at the greatest return is to price it at market value right from the start. A fairly priced home will capitalize … (0 comments)
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Why are Buyers still settling for substandard services when they don't have to? I'm all about educating and letting people know how things could and should be done. I got a lead in on my website a couple of days ago. He marked that he already had a realtor, so I sent back a message asking what kind of services his Realtor offers if he's needing to use another Realtor's site for information. 
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