Monthly Archives: January 2010

What’s New?

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So, what’s new?

It’s a simple question that can be answered in a variety of ways; from long explanations to one equally simple word “nothing”.  The same holds true in real estate.  When I am on a listing appointment, I have the Seller take me on a tour of the home.  In every room, I ask ‘What’s new?’ or ‘What have you done, since your purchase’.  Did you paint, install new fixtures, whatever it is – I want to know.

Understand, improvements that a Seller has made will often be translated in a Buyer’s mind, as improvements that won’t need to be done for a while.  When a Buyer walks through a house or sees a list of new things, the Buyer internally says “Great new water heater, so I won’t have to worry about that for a while.”  Even the little things that are done to a house can add up and appeal to a Buyer.  The perception is that the house has been maintained, as needed, all throughout the Seller’s time owning it.

As a Listing Agent, I always print a list of improvements to leave for potential Buyer’s Agents and Buyers.  I even go the extra step and post it online.  It instantly answers the question ‘what’s new’, so buyers can enjoy their visit, without wondering what has been done.

What’s new in Austin Real Estate?

What’s new in real estate for the housing market now in Austin and Central Texas?  Go to my main page for the latest articles with current housing market data.   Need more real estate news?

Find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/supportlocalaustin/ and on LinkedIn.

You can learn more about me on my Linkedin home page, I post on both sites 5 days a week.

Time Travel

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There are certain areas of Austin that cannot be ignored when it comes to attracting families, and Circle C is certainly one of them.  The top reasons it remains one of the most family friendly master planned neighborhoods are its well rated schools, easy access to the highway for commuting, great recreational area and a golf course.  Did you know it has the only heated Olympic sized pool in Austin?

I pointed these fun facts out last week on a listing appointment, because sometimes owners forget what they have when they are selling a home.  Remembering why they bought the house from the inside is usually easy. The area amenities are often forgotten though, and are just as important.  Sometimes, it’s just like anything else – you’ve been driving by that recreation center for so long – that you just kind of forget it’s there.  The same holds true with the pool; no one in the family uses it anymore; so again, it’s just not important.

I even went on a listing appointment last year at a house on Lake Austin and I mean with a 180 degree view of the channel.  Do you know the owner said to me, “you know Doreen; I don’t even see it anymore”.

Amenities, like everything else, are often desired more at certain times in your life.  You tend to gravitate to these things as a Buyer, more than you do when you are a Seller, because you are buying into the lifestyle that the amenities are going to afford you.  When you are the Seller, those same things just aren’t as important anymore, because other things are more important. This is where time travel comes in.  At the closing table the buyer and the seller are typically very similar, but just at different points in time.

I support local Austin; after all I think it’s only neighborly.

Don’t procrastinate with your credit score

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The procrastinators for home buyer credit are starting to appear and for some, it is a rude awakening on how the world works now.  In order to qualify for an FHA loan, you need a minimum credit score of 620.  Sometimes, raising your credit score can be a simple fix – and sometimes it can’t.  Believe it or not, most of my clients don’t even know their credit score until they are ready to shop for a house.  If there is a problem with your credit – you really need to know before, shopping for a house.

I had one client last week who found her dream home and now can’t buy it because she won’t qualify for a loan.  Fortunately, she can raise her score by paying down some debt.  Her changes though, won’t be reflected for 30 days.  So, we really need to wait.  The house that she wanted is now under contract, because like I’ve said before, her dream house appeared in someone else’s dream.  I told her what I tell everyone.  When it’s meant to be – it will be.

I support local Austin; after all I think it’s only neighborly.

Real Estate purchases from friends and family

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I had a call last week from a former client considering purchasing a house from a good friend. He just wanted me to advise him on the pros and cons of buying a house from someone you know. The best advice I could give him, was to pretend like he didn’t really know him.

When you are buying from or selling to someone you know, its best to keep the emotion out of it. I don’t care if it’s grandma’s house or your Dad’s. At the end of the day, a house is the biggest investment you are probably going to make. Even when I know someone’s in love with the house, I try to remind them that someday, we are going to have to sell it.

If we take the emotion out and look at the facts, including price and condition; it will be easier to assess if it’s a good investment and lifestyle choice for you. Try to remember, when you go to sell it. Nobody is really going to care that this was your dad’s house, or the best man’s at your wedding. They are going to be looking at it from the same eyes, as I described above, so it is prudent that you do the same.

Selling between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Disaster Movies and Central Park

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Sellers who have their homes on the market between Thanksgiving and Christmas typically need to move, which makes this a triple threat season to buy. Interest rates are low, for one.  In addition, sellers who need to move have their homes priced well.  Lastly, not only is there a first time home buyer credit, but now a second time buyer credit as well.

Hey, have you heard the world is supposed to end in 2012?  That gives us 2 years to go!  Here’s a list Austin is not on…of the worst places to live if you are in a disaster movie, click here.

Last week I went on a tour of a new subdivision being built in South Austin, called Central Park. Located off of Stassney Lane, this 42 unit subdivision offers 6 floor plans, of which one plan is a 1-story.  Base prices start at $188,999 and go to $236,999.  Here’s a peak

Tis the Season to Sell

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When I teach my Selling a Home class, I ask my students to explain to the difference between a ‘house’ and a ‘home’.  Most of them don’t consider the difference in those terms before I ask the question, but once posed, I start seeing light bulbs going on, and the tone becomes set to teach the class.

Sometimes, its easier for people to list a home during the holiday season.  People tend to shy away from it because they don’t want to move, but forget they are only marketing the house for sale.  Nobody said anything about moving.  There are lots of ways I can keep someone home for the holidays – not to mention, most buyers need a loan, which takes time.

People often find it easier is keeping their house cleaner in the holiday season.   This is a social time of year and with friends and family visiting, so you tend to keep up with the household choirs.  The house also tends to be naturally staged, from holiday decorations, to baking treats. Even the yard becomes low maintenance.

Those four walls generate the feeling of home this time of year, more than any other.  So, its not a bad time to market your property, after all it’s a home people are looking for, not a house.

Markets are Local

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I had 5 people come to my open house on Sunday, which is 5 more than most of my colleagues.  Most were surprised since the house I was holding open listed for $649,000,  in comparison, their properties were priced much less.  As I have noted in the past, markets are local.  

Within the ‘market’ I was in, my home was the exception – not the rule.  

In another area of Austin, that same house may be perceived as expensive, but in Rollingwood and Westlake Hills combined, I was in the 4th lowest priced house out of a total of 16 available for purchase.  In fact, my house, was one of only 8 homes listed for under a million dollars.  

So, for my market, this house was a bit of a head turner because of the price, which led to my open house traffic on a rainy, cold afternoon.