Plano Texas Real Estate Blog
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When is the Best Time to List Your Home?

Obviously, the best time is only when you're ready.  However, it's good to know certain market conditions which change daily to know your chances of actually selling and moving on.  I once had a client tell me she was going to wait till June to list.  To be honest the spring market starts now and there is pent up demand. 

Buyers are out there especially below 350K price point.  The chart below shows an opportunity for selling in 75093, Plano, TX.  Homes for sale are 18% below last year.  When inventory shrinks there's not as much competition on the market and really pristine homes will sell for top dollar.  And median sale price is up over 8% from last year in 75093.  Days on market is around 100 days but could be much shorter, some properties are going under contract in less than a week.

Sounds like the perfect storm to test the market, competition is not as fierce now as it will be in a couple of months.  Multiple contracts are seen quite frequently now on excellent properties and yes there are still low ball offers but you don't have to sell unless they really want the house and it does work that way.  Buyers will play hard ball just to see and some will pay the price but your home has to be on the market to play.  The tide right now is turning for sellers with the low inventory in West Plano.  Enjoy the weekend and any questions, let us know.

Defective Foreclosures and How to Avoid Them

Every two years I have to take a legal and ethics updates class to renew my brokers license. Besides being apprised of all the new real estate forms and procedures taking place you need to  keep a score card as far as what the banks are doing in controlling the market.

You've heard about the robo signings in main stream media but have you heard how it applies to real world real estate?   The course I took was a two day class and a big brand brokerage who will remained anonymous declared they had experienced 3 defective foreclosures this year.  What does that mean?  The explanation was the bank didn't do it right!  What! How can you not do a foreclosure right?  That's robo signing at its finest.  Probably a clerical, hourly - "nit wit" determining whether you stay or leave your home.
Sounds bad and it is....

So what happens in a defective foreclosure?  The new buyer that spent months and lots of money looking for that perfect home gets kicked out.  The original owner probably had filed a suit against the bank and because the bank couldn't proved they owned or much less found the note, the foreclosure was declared defective.  Yes, it's happening all over America.

What can you do to avoid the whole experience?  One way is not to purchase a foreclosure.

But because foreclosures are attractive to many buyers that's not going to happen.  One way is to investigate the lending process history and sales of the property.  The amount of information that's available to brokers is amazing if only agents would use it.  Seems like the title companies would find out who owned the property before it was sold again, don't you think...

One call out of a robo signing foreclosure would be the absurd number of times a property changed hands during the past 8 years.  The other "for sure thing you can do" is ask the bank to prove their ownership by providing the note.  Alas, that's a different department...imagine that!  One county of Ohio actually has a certificate of readiness that the bank must prove they own the note before the judicial process can start, Texas is a non-judicial state.  That process should be a given to protect the consumer.

The point being is there's a tremendous amount of information out there so as not to waste a buyers time or money!  I can't imagine buying a home and then being told you had to move out because it was a defective foreclosure.  And so it goes...it ain't over yet!

Home Selling 101 - 2 misunderstood facts about real estate...

You have to admit there's alot to do and know about selling and buying a home.  The process can be overwhelming if you don't know how to do it or get expert advice.  Once you've been through the process once or twice you'll feel more comfortable with your decisions.  However, no real estate transactions are ever the same, ever.  All present different case scenarios and human behavior decision and emotions.  There are many factors in a real estate transaction that are common but you may not understand the process.  Two factors that are often overlooked are the difference between a listing agent and a selling agent. 

1.  The selling agent (buyers agent) actually brings the buyer to the home 99% of the time The agent who lists the home and has the sign in the yard does not actually bring a buyer most of the time unless on rare occasion they have a buyer.  It's the buyers agent and buyer that find and selll the home.  Most sellers think the listing agent sells the home and that's not true, they list it on the MLS.

2.  The internet does not sell your home, buyers are able to find and contact an agent to view or just take a look-see.  The MLS is a home search tool for buyers and a proprietary tool for the agent with tons of accurate data and statistics.  The MLS is actually a cooperative between brokers to market listings and determine how everyone is paid.  Real estate is 100% commission driven so the MLS is much more than a search tool, it's the backbone of the real estate business.

West Plano Market Statistics

I just love numbers, accurate numbers that is and the MLS doesn't use algorithims from public data.  They use real local data of private sales reported by the real estate industry.
I frequently get the question:  How much can we get off the home price?  Above is a chart for sub-area - 20-1 which is technically West Plano.  It shows you roughly 10% off the list price for the last 3 years.  Of course, there are many variables but you can use this as a guideline for a property that is priced correctly according to location and condition.  And if you got it for alot lower, well then you know you got a really sweet deal!

As a sidebar, the legislature decided to keep home sales private again so the only way to find out the selling price is through the MLS, if the buyer wanted it disclosed.  You still have that option despite what you might hear.

Don’t Let Your iPhone Go Off in the Middle of the New York Philharmonic
http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/12/dont-let-your-iphone-go-off-in-the-middle-of-the-new-york-philharmonic/

Found this using the zite app on the iPad, great read and be glad it wasn't you!