When Your Relo Client is Yourself

As a Realtor, one of the things I specialize in is relocating individuals, families, and others, from across the country to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. I assist them with their transition from "there" to "here", ensuring that it go as smoothly as possible, with as little stress as possible. In addition to my client's real estate needs, I do my best to handle most, if not all, of the little details that my relo clients might forget or not think about during that stressful time that is known as relocating. From utilities to public transportation to school attendance zones, I make sure that no stone is left unturned.

But what is a Realtor to do when faced with the task of relocating himself or herself to an unfamiliar area? That is something I must determine, as I will be relocating from Dallas to Houston in August or September 2007. I know nothing about the area, so suggestions from other Realtors are greatly appreciated.

If ever I could relate to my client's concerns, reservations, and fears, it is now. So if anyone has some feedback or input, please let me know. Thanks!

New HUD Sales Incentive Program

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new Sales Incentive Program for Owner Occupants beginning December 8, 2006. Designed to increase opportunities for homeownership over the Holiday Season, the ''FHA Brings the Holidays Home'' campaign is designed to assist low- to moderate-income families by offering special incentives on the sale of HUD-owned single-family homes across the country.

During the December 8, 2006 – January 5, 2007 sales event, homebuyers who purchase a HUD-owned home and finance the purchase with an FHA-insured loan are entitled to new sales incentives. Homebuyers must sign an Owner Occupant Certification that they intend to occupy the property as their primary residence for at least 12 months and must not currently have an FHA-Insured Mortgage. The incentives are:

*$2,500 Holiday Home Improvement Allowance
*$500 Selling Broker Bonus
*Minimum Required Downpayment of Only $100

The incentives may not be combined with other HUD discount sales. In addition, certain exclusions may apply.


For more information about the new Sales Incentive Program for Owner Occupants, call 1-800-CALL-FHA or click here to view HUD’s information: "FHA BRINGS THE HOLIDAYS HOME WITH A SPECIAL HOMES SALES EVENT"

Provided by Bidselect.com, December 10, 2006

Women Pay More for Home Loans, Study Finds

A new study by the Consumer Federation of America found that in 2005, about a third of women took out mortgages with interest rates over 7.66 percent (well above the average prime mortgage rate of 5.87 percent) compared with about a quarter of men.

The study, which examined 4.4 million mortgage originations throughout the country where borrowers identified by their gender, also found that women with high incomes were 46.4 percent more likely than men with comparable incomes to have the more expensive mortgages.

Although women earning below the area median income were 8 percent more likely to receive subprime loans than similarly earning men, women earning more than double the area median income were 50 more likely to receive subprime loans than men with similar earnings.

Critics say the research suggests that lenders are taking more than stated risk factors into consideration.

“The high levels of subprime lending among women compromise their ability to steadily accrue equity by paying off their mortgage – one of the easiest and most effective pathways to building wealth in America,” said Nancy Register, Associate Director of Consumer Federation of America and National Director of America Saves, a social marketing campaign to encourage lower- and moderate-income households to save and build wealth.

California Mortgage Bankers Association spokesman Dustin Hobbs defended the lending practices of the industry, stressing that Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data cannot explain everything. "It will show there is a disparity but not why there is a disparity," says Hobbs.

Source: Consumer Federation of America; Inside Bay Area, Eve Mitchell (12/08/06)

Low-Cost and No-Cost Ways to Save Energy

Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends more than $1,600 a year on home utility bills?

Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. Electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. And as for the road, transportation accounts for 66% of all U.S. oil consumption. The good news is that there is a lot you can do to save energy and money at home and in your car.

- Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer.

- Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.

- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

- Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.

- Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

- Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use, as TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power.

- Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120°F.

- Take short showers instead of baths.

- Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.

- Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.

- Look for the ENERGY STAR® label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Preventing the Most Common Insurance Claims

In 2005, the most common property claims reported to Nationwide® were related to:

1. Wind
2. Water damage (non-weather related)
3. Lightning
4. Theft
5. Water damage (weather related)
6. Ice – sleet – snow
7. Hail
8. Fire
9. Other physical damage
10. Liability and medical payments.

If you’re buying a new home or preparing your home for sale, here are a few simple things to help you reduce the likelihood of a claim, lower costs and keep you safe.

Trees: Inspect trees near your home for health. And make sure they are not growing too close to your roof. If in doubt, have a bonded, licensed and insured arborist examine them.

Roof: Make sure your roofing shingles and flashing are in good condition. Broken or discolored shingles may need to be replaced.

Gutters: Clean, level gutters are a sign of good roof maintenance. Make sure that down spouts deliver gutter water away from your foundation.

Siding: If your home has aluminum or vinyl siding, inspect it for missing pieces or disjointed interlocks. Also, make sure it fits flush to your home.

Foundation: Check your house’s foundation a few times a year for cracks and other signs of settling.

Deck: Check your deck or porch for signs of age including wobbliness, splintering or warping of planks and exposed nail heads.

Garage: Inspect your garage floor for evenness. If you have an electric garage door, check the obstacle sensor to make sure it’s operating properly. Install a carbon monoxide sensor and test it periodically.

Plumbing: Consider having a professional plumber inspect all pipes, fixtures and water heaters. Sinks and tubs should drain rapidly. Any pipes in the crawl space or basement should be properly insulated to prevent bursting during a freeze.

Weather-strips and Caulking: All windows and doors should have weather seals properly fitted. Caulking around tubs, toilets and sinks should not be excessively dried or cracked.

Electrical Outlets: Verify that your electrical receptacles have faceplates and are properly grounded. Outdoor, bathroom and kitchen outlets should be equipped with ground-fault circuit interrupter outlets.

Smoke Alarms: Be sure to have at least one smoke alarm per floor. Test each regularly. Some smoke alarms can be linked so that people on one floor are alerted if there is smoke detected on another floor.

Security: All doors accessible to the outside should have deadbolts or similar locking systems. Keep track of all house keys. Make sure spares are in a secure location – not under a flowerpot or doormat. Consider enrolling in a subscription-based security monitoring program.

Get Flood Insurance: Many people live in a potential flood zone! However, flood damage is often not covered by traditional insurance policies. Purchase flood insurance from a trusted insurance partner participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Keep these tips in mind when moving in or moving out. Because preparing for the unexpected can help protect you from the unimaginable.

Provided by:
Nationwide Insurance & Lowes

Real Estate Increases Risk of Infection

I am a workaholic. I get up at 7 a.m. and there I go . . . work, work, working away. This behavior continues on until as late as 2 or 3 a.m . . . EVERY DAY!! Needless to say, I work so much that only a couple of hours are set aside for me, myself, and I. This can be exhausting and wear on a person's health.

Back in June or July 2006, I was eating at the best pizza place in Dallas, Angelo & Vito's located on Frankford Road, just west of the Dallas North Tollway. My husband and I are sharing a Greek Salad, but he doesn't like olives, so he pushes them aside and I eat them. I bite into one of the salty calamatto olives and instantly, I felt one of the molars on the left side of my mouth crumble. It didn't hurt at all, which was a surprise to me. Now, anyone who really knows me knows that I have very white teeth and I do not bleach them, use any whiteners, or get any cosmetic dentistry done . . . I just take care of my teeth . . . or so I thought. So 2 or 3 months pass and all is fine with my cracked tooth. But then I got this brilliant idea to chew my gum on that side of my mouth, which caused my somewhat okay tooth to break up even more! Within a week, I had a slight infection in my gum, and I absolutely could not use that tooth for anything, not even to bite into ice cream.

At the time the tooth broke, I had no insurance (I was a single Realtor, so no spousal insurance and no health benefits from my job). So in September 2006, I got married and acquired some insurance. I went to the dentist and was asked if I had time for a nice little root canal. That would be the first of three trips to the dentist to have the root canal completed. I told myself that I had to take better care of my teeth, as it occurred to me that I had not been to the dentist in 4 years, prior to getting my license and while I still had a 7-4 job and health insurance. I had forgotten that the dentist had found a little cavity, and that I would need to take care of it sometime in the near future . . . 4 years later! My dentist found another cavity on my last root canal visit, which I had filled about 3 weeks later, while there for a cleaning. And guess what? He found another cavity!! He told me that this one was on the tooth in front of my wisdom tooth and was the result of my impacted wisdom tooth pushing against the other tooth, and that my wisdom tooth would need to be extracted so that he could fill the cavity in the other tooth. So, needless to say, I have been delaying getting that wisdom tooth removed. Some fools never learn . . .

So I woke up Sunday morning (11/26/06), after having slept with the windows open all night, and had a slight earache. I assumed it was due to the cool night air. As the day progressed, the pain from my earache increased and I began having a toothache. I looked in the mirror to see why my tooth was hurting and got a surprise! On my wisdom tooth I could see a HUGE cavity! Was my dentist mistaken in thinking the cavity was on the tooth next to the wisdom tooth? To make matters worse, my wisdom tooth appears to have chipped or cracked. Great! By the time Sunday night rolled around, I was in excruciating pain from the earache and toothache. I found some broad spectrum antibiotics I had left from when I was sick last winter and I took them. Approximately 12 hours later and after having only 2 hours of sleep that night, I felt much better. But now I have to take care of this tooth, as I am certain that the infection in my mouth was the cause of my sudden ear infection.

So what does this have to do with real estate? Because I work so much, I have, at times, neglected my health. There never was enough time for me to go to the dentist (and the lack of insurance didn't help either). So now, I have no choice but to make time to go and get my wisdom tooth removed. This is not going to be the highlight of December, I know that much!

Take care of yourself or spend lots of money at the dentist's office!!

Real Estate and Emotion vs. Reason

If you are selling a home, Real Estate Agents tend to refer to the property you're selling as a "house." If you are buying a house, agents will often refer to it as a "home." Why is this? Because when you are buying a home, it is more than "just" a purchase. It is where you go "home" after a hard day on the job, where you raise your kids, where you watch the Super Bowl, barbecue in the back yard, or plant flowers each year to admire their blooms. You aren't buying a space to eat and sleep, you're moving into your private "safe haven" - a place you'll call "home" for years to come. Someday, you will sell that house, and when you do - someone else will call it "home". If you're still thinking of it as your home, selling is more difficult.

How do you let go?

It is very difficult, but necessary. To sell your home effectively, you need to make rational decisions. You need to let go of all the little touches you've added to the property and not be connected emotionally. Most "home improvements" don't add as much value as you might think -- they might not have as much appeal to a potential buyer as they do to you. The buyer is looking at your house and imagining it as his or her home. You need to help them. Take your photos off the walls. Remove the sports trophies from the fireplace mantle. Clean the "junk" out of those drawers in the kitchen. Remove whatever you may have accumulated in your garage, basement or attic. If you want to keep it, put it in storage and pick it up when you move.

Sell a house. Help someone else find a home.

Home Builder's Incentives

Thanksgiving Day my husband, Chris, and I decided to drive to Houston to check out some area home builders and find out what, if any, incentives they were offering (both buyer and Realtor incentives). What we found were a few nice floor plans, a handful of knowledgeable and polite sales representatives, a handful of inept and/or unprofessional sales reps, miserly incentives, and inflated prices just about everywhere we went. Why do new homes cost so much more in the Houston area than they do in the Dallas Metroplex? And why are the builders so stingy with their buyer and Realtor incentives? And what is up with those detached and/or tandem garages?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I'm going to be cliche and tell everyone what I'm thankful for. So here we go . . .

-I'm thankful for my family.
-I'm thankful that I have a roof over my head, clothes to keep me warm, and food to satisfy my hunger.
-I'm thankful for the education I have received.
-I'm thankful that I'm loved by others and am able to reciprocate that love.
-I'm thankful for not only for having a job, but also for the ability to perform that job.
-I'm thankful that some people truly appreciate things I have done to help them.
-I'm thankful for my health.
-I'm thankful for having all of my senses (touch, sight, sound, etc).
-I'm thankful for the freedom to speak my mind and act on my thoughts.
-I'm thankful to be alive.
-I'm thankful for Christmas . . .

I hope that each of you have at least one thing in your life that you are thankful for! Feel free to share it here for others to see!

Enjoy the turkey and dressing!!! Yum!!!!

Pre-foreclosure

I continue to be amazed at the number of foreclosures in this county. What amazes me even more is that more than half of those individuals and families did absolutely nothing to stop the foreclosure process. Maybe it's because they didn't know they had options available to them or maybe they let pride make their decisions for them. Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is that foreclosure can be prevented, in certain situations. I'm talking about selling a home via short sale. And while it's something many real estate agents claim they know how to do, very few actually do. So, it's important for homeowners to choose the right agent to list their home, and going so far as to check references beforehand. This will save valuable time, which is something that a homeowner does not have when faced with this situation.

"Will You Cut Your Commission??"

I regularly visit Yahoo! Answers and there is always someone out there who asks how they go about getting an agent to cut commission. Why does he/she need to know? I understand that people like to save money, believe me . . . I do, too! But let me ask you this . . . do you work? You do? Well, you know that person that owns the company at which you work and who pays you? Not the Payroll Clerk--but the person who REALLY pays your salary or wages. Now answer this: Do you think that person has a burning desire to pay you the money that you think you'veearned?

NO! Your boss doesn't want to pay you, anymore than you want to pay your agent! So, why does your boss pay you? Because you earned the money . . . You showed up for work & did what you were hired to do (hopefully)! If your boss would've asked you to take a pay cut, would you have? Not likely! So why is it okay, in a seller's mind, to ask an agent to take a pay cut? Because you want to save money, right?! I'm sure your boss wants to save money, too, but he/she hasn't cut your pay (at least, not yet).

Real Estate is one of the few industries in which people work, and if they don't do what they were hired to do (sell homes), they do not get paid. Can you say the same for your job?

Tips for Making Your Home More Secure

You can make your home much less attractive to them by taking a few simple steps to make your home more secure. Most of these security measures are easy tasks and only require a few simple tools. A little free time is a small investment for your peace of mind.

1.) Installing a quality lockset not only adds to your home's beauty, but it also sends a message to would be intruders.

2.) Deadbolts are an inexpensive and effective way of adding security to exterior doors, and make great supplements to standard locksets.

3.) Adding a peephole allows you to see who's knocking before you open the door.

4.) To make your sliding patio doors more secure, cut a piece of closet rod to fit in the track behind the sliding door and adjust the track clearance so the doors can't be removed from their frame.

5.) Install keyed sash locks on your windows to make them more secure. If you like to let in fresh air, look for locks that also have a vent locking position.

6.) Low voltage lights are easy to install and provide an excellent, low-energy light source to highlight areas you don't want in shadow.

7.) Lights with motion detectors are a convenient and efficient source for outdoor security lighting. Well-positioned motion detectors make it virtually impossible for anyone to sneak up on your home.

8.) Security cameras are great for keeping an eye on children playing in the yard and they allow you to see who's coming to the door from inside your home.

9.) A storage shed with a good lock keeps your outdoor items organized and safe.

10.) Keep your hedges and foundation plants pruned so they don't hide potential entry points to your home. Overgrown plants offer intruders a place to hide while they attempt to break in.

5 Things To Do Before Listing Your Home for Sale

1.) Get estimates from a reliable handyman or technician for items that need to be replaced or repaired soon, such as a roof or worn carpets. Either have the items replaced or repaired before listing your home or offer to give the buyer a repair or decorating allowance, in an amount that is equal to that of the estimates provided to you.

2.) Have a termite and wood-destroying insect inspection. If the home is not infested, attach the inspection report to the Seller's Disclosure Notice, as provided by your REALTOR. Potential buyers will see firsthand that the property is not infested, giving them peace-of-mind and confidence in submitting an offer on the property. However, if the property is infested, have the infestation treated and any damage to the property [resulting from the infestation] repaired by a professional.

3.) Be pro-active and get a home inspection (separate from the inspection the buyer may get). If any items do need to be repaired, you can have them repaired prior to listing the home for sale and reduce the chance of a buyer backing-out of a contract due to the condition of the home or need for repairs.

4.) Gather all user's manuals, warranties and guarantees on the furnace, appliances, and other items that will remain with the house.

5.) Fill out a disclosure form provided by your REALTOR. Take the time to be sure that you don’t forget problems, however minor, that might create liability for you after the sale. And remember, honesty is the best policy, so answer each question with an honest answer, even if you're worried that some buyers may lose interest in the property.

Build a Plan of Action Before Searching for a Home

Buying a home will probably rank as one of the biggest personal investments one can make. Being organized and in control will contribute significantly to getting the best home deal possible with the least amount of stress. Is important to anticipate the steps required to successfully achieve one's housing goal and to build a plan of action that will get you there. Before building a plan of action, take the time to lay the groundwork for your personal decision making process.

First, ask yourself how much you can afford to pay for a home. If you're not sure on the price range, find a lender and get preapproved. Preapproval will let you know how much you can afford so that you can look for homes in your price range. Getting preapproved helps you to alleviate some of the anxieties that come with homebuying. You know what you qualify for and what rate to expect, you know how large your monthly mortgage payments will be, and you know how much money you will have to put toward the down payment. Once you are preapproved, you avoid the frustration of finding homes that you think are perfect, but are not in your price range.

Second, ask yourself where you want to live and what is the best location for you and your family. Some things to consider are:

1. convenience for all family members
2. proximity to work, school
3. local transportation
4. proximity to retail and grocery stores
5. city and state parks that are nearby
6. types of homes in neighborhood, for example condominiums, town homes, new construction, existing homes

Before you know it, you will be ready to hit the ground running in your search for a new home!

10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Real Estate Agent

Before selecting an agent to list your home for sale, you should ask certain questions to ensure that the agent you do decide to choose will give you the best possible representation, place your interests above that of his/her own, have integrity and ethics, and work hard to market and sell your home. Here are 10 questions that you should ask before hiring a real estate agent.

1.) What sets you apart from other agents that will help sell my home?
2.) What's kind of reputation does your company have in this area (and others, if applicable)?
3.) How do you intend to market my home?
4.) Has your company ever sold homes in my area/city?
5.) Are you solely responsible for the advertising you do or does your company pay for and oversee all advertising?
6.) On average, how long do your listings remain on the market before finally selling?
7.) On average, what percentage of the list price do your listings actually sell fore, when your listings sell?
8.) Do you work with buyers and if so, how many are you currently working with?
9.) Do you have references?
10.) Can I terminate the listing early if I am unhappy with your performance? If so, what fees, if any, must I pay?

These questions, or any that are similar, will help you decide which agent will be suit your needs! Good luck!

Just Starting My Real Estate Blog

I just created my real estate blog and this is my first post. I know very little about blogging, but a lot about real estate. Over the next few days, I hope to learn more about blogging, so that my blog is informative and not some snooze-fest, like this first post. This is a big step for me, so bear with me over the next few weeks!