I rode my bicycle with Lance Armstrong this weekend, and many of you helped me do that. This past weekend was the LiveStrong Challenge in Austin, TX that many of you graciously donated towards the team we put together to ride the event. Seven of us from the Frisco Cycling Club (FCC) raised $3310 and rode for our teammate's brother as he lost his fight to cancer 2 years ago. Our teammate is Jeff Ellis and he, I and a few others were the driver behind getting the FCC to where it is today- a community focused cycling club that has a larger goal than just riding a bike. Jeff's brother Tom was diagnosed with cancer but did not let that slow him down and he and Jeff road many miles and events together. I was proud to be part of this group and can't wait for next year, maybe you will join the club and ride with us?
Over the past few weeks, we've been talking about what kind of improvements can help add real value to your home in today's market. I'm not sure about you, but with four children ages five and under, Julie and I don't have a ton of time to figure out what will appeal to the masses.
So how do you figure out what's hot and not? Since we have still have an array of model homes in the area it's good to go check out the price range in which you would sell your house as well as one level up. For instance, if you think you'd want to sell your home for $250k, it would be a good idea to see what builders are offering in that range and the $300k range. This will help you understand what's standard at that price range and what you have in your home that would be noted as an upgrade. By looking at the next price bracket, it will also give you some ideas around what you can do to help make your home feel like a more expensive home helping to give you an edge over a new home.
Some great places to find the location of model homes in your area is move.com which includes a new home search engine that will help link you to builders' sites. Another way to see what homes in your range offer is by checking out what's currently listed on Realtor.com. Finally, home improvement and design sites, like those listed below, will help you give you ideas around current trends and some things you can do to improve your home.
That is the title of a documentary about this year's Leadville 100 bicycle race. You may remember reading the news that this year Lance Armstrong won the event. It will be shown on October 22nd at 7pm Cinemark Plano West location. Shown just a few days before the Austin LiveStrong ride and yes, you can still join the FCC team or donate to us.
The date this move is shown is a special milestone for Lance. His cancer was diagnosed on October 2, 1996. "October 2, 1996. The day it all changed. The day I started never to take anything for granted. The day I learned to take charge of my life. It was the day I was diagnosed with cancer." -Lance Armstrong
Tuesday, October 13th is a big day here in Frisco. It's the day that Frisco residents participate in National Night Out. Local residents are encouraged to get out of their houses, and into their neighborhoods, to connect and have some fun together. While we'd normally have our Tankard Fellowship on Tuesday, we're going to move this month's fellowship to Monday, October 12 at 8:30p. This way we can still connect with each other as well as participate in our local National Night Out activities.
Keith Cunningham is Live in Frisco, TX.November 12, 2009, 8AM - Noon. Keith is an internationally-known speaker who has appeared with industry giants including Harv Eker, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins and Robert Kiyosaki. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-selling Rich Dad, Poor Dad, acknowledges Keith in the forward for his "financial wisdom and inspiration."
Over the weekend we had an awesome event for the Frisco Cycling Club (FCC). A day at Frisco Fire Safety Town. If you have not been there yet you need to click here, find their hours and take your kids over. Also they will have a large trick or treat event on October 23rd from 6-9, a free event for the City of Frisco.
I feel compelled to share with you a new term Julie coined this weekend. It was before we left for the event and I had my FCC t-shirt on, she mentioned it would be a better for me to leave it untucked. Many of you might have heard the term, "muffin top" when your jeans are a bit tight. Julie called my look a "wrap around porch". Seams I have been away from the bike a bit too long and am an easy target. It was so bad I literally had a nightmare about that term last night. So if you see me eating unhealthy foods, please remind me to go and work out later.
Here are some notes from my friend and Frisco City Councilman's day on the bike. He made me a promise to be in a Frisco jersey the next time he rides a bike. I have some cycling friends (you know who you are Geoffrey Davis and Bill Woodward) who have been trying to get me out to join them in the Frisco Cycling Club. Problem is, I only ride a bike around the neighborhood with my kids and probably have never gone further than a few miles.
I was invited to represent Frisco in the Make-A-Wish 100 wish Bike Ride (Maher Maso was out of town....how convenient!). This was a first year event to raise money to grant 100 wishes and over 1,000 cyclists turned out. They had mapped out a 10 mile course for myself and Plano Mayor Phil Dyer and McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller. Members of the Legacy Riders club rode with us for encouragement.
After the 10 mile marke, my rider coaches challenged me to make the 30 mile mark. The last mile felt like it was straight uphill but well worth the struggle. It was a great event and I hope it can kickstart me to finally join the Frisco Cycling Club on some rides!
Last week I was able to attend a seminar featuring Steve Harney, one of the leading experts in the real estate industry. I was invited by one of my good friends - Sammy Garner. Sammy and I are in the same industry and have been friends for years. He was kind enough to not only invite me but to provide my ticket because he knew there would be information of value for us both.
A secondary benefit of the seminar was the opportunity to sit at the table with a Plano real estate legend - Mike Brodie of Keller Williams. Mike is not only a speaker and seminar presenter on real estate issues; he is also one of the best producing realtors in the North Texas market.
According to Mr. Harney, in 10 years there will be people sitting down and talking about the market of 2009...saying that 'I could have done it....I should have done it'...talking about 'if I had bought that house'....Basically he's saying that prices are at their low and at some point they will begin to head back up, maybe not tomorrow, but pretty soon. He believes that there are many properties that are very distressed and that now is one of those times that people should buy so that in ten years they can be looking at the investment that they made instead of a missed opportunity. He said that in six months agents will be looking back at the help they had in selling houses from the tax break the government has given and from the low interest rates. It is an unbelievable time to be in real-estate and the agents in the business today should see an unbelievable year.
In discussing foreclosures, Mr. Harney said that 20% of Texas homeowners' value is under water. In other words, one in five Texans' home value is below their mortgage amount. The percentage is even worse nationwide: in 35% of occupied homes the mortgage is now greater than the value. He spoke at length about foreclosures and said that he has found that 25% of the homes that have gone into foreclosure have been strategic foreclosures. In other words, these are people who have made their mortgage payments without a hitch for years but have recognized that they are now so upside down in their property that it becomes a good business decision to allow it to go into foreclosure. His studies are showing that the higher the person's FICO score is, the more likely that they will make such a strategic move.
Mr. Harney's advice for Realtors was that they should strive to be the 'expert' in their market and be able to answer the questions about foreclosure, short sales, etc. Although it will be a challenge to predict the future of real estate, it is important for them to be the people with all the answers. Steve's view is that Realtors and the housing industry will have the largest impact on the economy for 2010, let's hope he is right!
One thing you will learn when you go in for the test, they never really say if you have it- just that you tested positive for influenza and that is one of the strands. So we received an e-mail from Lucas school on Monday warning that many of the children at the birthday party that weekend were showing flu like symptoms. Sure enough, Tuesday evening comes along and he has a temp of 104 deg. Our pediatrician also gave a prescription for our 2 year old as a preventative measure. Lucas had a tough 1st day of us quarantining him in the upstairs game room but then came to love the freedom he had over the remote and his toy choices, always good to not have to share with your younger brother. All are well, healthy and awaiting the next new bug to hit the schools.
Last week I mentioned that Julie and I have a home that has hit the 10-year mark-which means that it's officially no longer a "new" home by Frisco's standards. We're making some maintenance related repairs in addition to considering several updates. I solicited feedback a few weeks ago and have received some great responses that I wanted to share.
Jeff Cheney of Keller Williams has some advice, as well as suggesting home owners reference available online resources, to help them understand the potential rate of return on various improvements.
According to HGTV, five improvements deliver the best returns:
*102%: Minor Bathroom remodel which includes updating such things as replacing flooring, reglazing the tub, replacing fixtures/lighting and updating shower doors. *100%: Landscaping *98.5%: Minor Kitchen remodel, which includes refacing/refinishing existing cabinetry and updating things like appliances, countertops, sink/faucet and wall finishing *95.5%: Exterior improvements, including paint, siding and updating an entry *93.5%: Attic space to bedroom conversion
One may ask that if you can't get all your investment back, why bother to even make the updates? Similar to good home maintenance, buyers expect well priced homes not to need a ton of work. If the perception is that it will take hours to remove Aunt Nellie's wallpaper, replace the shag carpet and refinish cabinetry buyers will be looking for a pricing discount commiserate with the effort and cost of updates.
Cheney offers words of caution to homeowners around what kind of return you can expect for your neighborhood. "Homeowners should keep in mind any home that is over-improved in relation to the surrounding homes is unlikely to yield a high rate of return. It's important to note that if you have the most expensive home on the block, your investment will probably not return as much as the upgrading of a less expensive home nearby."
This is right in line with last week's article that discussed that highly specialized, and often costly, improvements will not always deliver a strong return. Instead, consider the price range and general features of homes in your neighborhood before making any significant updates. While you should certainly makes changes to fit your lifestyle and preferences, it's always a good practice to take a hard look at what percentage of the money spent on these modifications you would see should you ever have to sell.
Next week, we'll talk about what typically does give you the best return on investment and the rate of return you can generally expect.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
;)
;)
