Homes cost a lot of money to maintain. But are you spending extra money unnecessarily on upkeep? Here are the 10 most expensive mistakes you could be making in your home. 1. Using Traditional Light bulbs If you still have incandescent light bulbs in your home, you could be throwing a lot of money away every month on inflated electric bills. Over its life span, an incandescent bulb can use $180 worth of electricity. A CFL will only use $41 worth of electricity over the same time period. Even better is the LED bulb, which only uses $30 per bulb. Think what replacing every light bulb in your home could do to your home's bottom line. 2. Ignoring a Leaky Faucet A leaky faucet that drips one drop per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year, which is enough water to take more than 180 showers. Some of us live in areas where water is plentiful, but for those of us in areas plagued with drought, this could be costing you a fortune. Fix or replace your leaky faucet and save a ton on your water bill. 3. Using the Wrong Air Filter Size We all sometimes forget to change out the air filters for our HVAC systems or accidentally buy the wrong size. But using the wrong filter or a dirty filter can increase your power bill and cause expensive problems for your furnace down the road. Use the correct filters for your system, and set a reminder to change them after the recommended amount of time. You won't regret it. 4. Not Customizing Temperature Invest in a customizable thermostat. If you're away at the office all day, you can program your heater to shift down a few degrees while you're gone and then shift back up shortly before you return home. Heating or cooling an empty home wastes a lot of money in energy costs. 5. Not Adjusting Air Vents Properly Is one room in your home hot, while the others are cold? Oftentimes homeowners will crank up the air conditioning in the whole house to combat hot temperatures in one area. Instead, adjust air vents to direct the flow of air more evenly throughout your entire home. Professionals will come regulate this to ensure that your entire home is receiving the same amount of air conditioning or heating. 6. Over Watering Lawn Many homeowners have their sprinkler systems programmed to come on in the early morning hours for optimum lawn health. This can become a problem, however, if you're never around to see what you're actually watering. A broken sprinkler head could be causing a fountain, or the trajectory of your sprinkler may be directed at a fence instead of your lawn. Periodically run your sprinklers during the day so you can see how they are performing when you're not around. 7. Water Heater Temperature Set Too High Unless you have a tankless water heater, your water heater is keeping the water in its tank hot 24/7. If you don't keep an eye on the temperature as each season changes, you may be paying too much to heat your water. Decrease the temperature in the summer, and bump it back up when winter comes. 8. Leaky Windows and Doors Leaky windows and doors are great places for cold, winter winds to enter your home. Many homeowners simply ignore them and crank up their heaters. Caulk leaky windows and put rubber seal around doors to keep winter winds out and warmth in. 9. Paying a Handyman Don't pay a handyman for a job that is simple enough to do yourself. If you're unsure of how to do something, look up video tutorials online. Doing simple tasks yourself can save you a lot of money. 10. Ignoring Curled Shingles It may be easy to ignore problems on your roof, but it will only lead to bigger problems later. If you see any possible issues with your roof, repair them as soon as possible, as this will save you significant costs later. Use these 10 tips to cut maintenance costs on your home today.
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When you're thinking about making a move, the first steps in the home buying process are:
- Deciding where you would like to live
- Considering how much money you would like to spend
- Thinking about what type of home you would like
- Deciding when you want to make your move
As a local real estate professional, I can help you along the way with all of these decisions, including finding the perfect neighborhood for your needs. Here are three of my favorite tips to see if an area or a particular area is right for you:
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Dallas real estate market offers some great profit-generating opportunities to all types of real estate investors. Whether you’re buying your first income property or just adding another one to the portfolio, Dallas real estate market is a great place to do so as it doesn’t get any more “location” than this. Dallas has a strong economy and a constant population growth and will make your pockets bigger. As rents goes up smart investors should invest in Dallas real estate.
Purchasing an investment property in the Dallas real estate market, whether it a single family home or a multifamily apartment is an investment that can pay out some huge benefits in the event that you have some experience and education in real estate investing. You have to know the best places to put your money in real estate so you must do some extensive research to find out the best neighborhoods in Dallas real estate market.
Dallas Real Estate Prices & Rents are rising fast. According to Zillow.com, the median home value in Dallas is $192,300. Dallas home values have gone up 14.0% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 12.2% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Dallas is $205, which is higher than the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro average of $138. The median price of homes currently listed in Dallas is $399,000 while the median price of homes that sold is $298,100. The median rent price in Dallas is $1,650, which is lower than the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro median of $1,700.
In 2018 is shaping up to continue the trend of the last few years as one of the strongest markets in the United States. Despite some fluctuations in the Dallas housing market, demand and sales have continued to climb at a feverish pace for more than two years and show no signs of stopping. The median sale price for a house in Dallas-Fort Worth rose 6.31 percent from $236,100 in November 2016 to $251,000 in November 2017, according to the latest data from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Dallas-Fort Worth homebuilders started 33,891 houses in 2017, an increase of 4,488 houses or 15.3 percent above 2016 home starts of 29,403, according to a report from the housing analysis firm of Residential Strategies.
In Dallas housing market, 0.6 homes are foreclosed (per 10,000). This is greater than the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro value of 0.4 and also lower than the national value of 1.6 The percent of delinquent mortgages in Dallas is 1.3%, which is lower than the national value of 1.6%. With U.S. home values having fallen by more than 20% nationally from their peak in 2007 until their trough in late 2011, many homeowners are now underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than their home is worth. The percent of Dallas homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 5.7%, which is higher than Dallas-Fort Worth Metro at 4.4%.
When looking for real estate market opportunities in Dallas or anywhere in the country, the generally accepted standard is to purchase a property that will give you a modest but minimum 1% profit on your investment. An example would be: at $120,000 mortgage or investment cost, $1200.00 per month rental. That would be the ideal equation example. Even with rent increases, buying a $500,000 investment property in Dallas is not going to get you $5000 per month on rent.
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5 DIY Improvements to Make Your Home Classier
Jun 14, 2016
Category: Home Improvement
It may seem that homebuyers and sellers don't agree on much, but they share one important concern: that the transaction is successful. This comradery is never more evident than during the appraisal process. It's only natural, since the results of the appraisal can send the deal spiraling out of control. Updating your home to be more chic - without looking cheap - is completely doable on a budget. If you're looking to add more class to your home, taking on a DIY project can give your house that extra sense of style while saving you money. No need to cringe at those three little words: "do it yourself." There really are fast, easy and affordable projects you can do on your own. Here are five relatively easy ways to enhance your home. 1. Replace Your Light Fixtures Switching out an old or basic light fixture for a more elegant one is an easy way to shift the ambiance of a room. By adding a sophisticated light fixture, you can control the intensity of the light and character of your room. And you don't need to pay a pretty penny for expensive new fixtures - you can buy used fixtures online. 2. Add Floating Shelves Installing floating shelves in your home combines the functionality of extra storage space with a bit of style and personal flair. Floating shelves can be mounted on walls in many different patterns, and they come in various materials to give your rooms a unique touch. For a small room choose shallow shelves to display framed photos; for a larger room you can afford to use deeper shelves to hold vases, books and unique trinkets. 3. Paint an Accent Wall Painting an accent wall can add a pop of color and showcase your personality. Usually a low-risk project, a homeowner of any skill level can tackle this project in a day. You just need some painter's tape, a brush and the color that suits you! Just make sure the color you choose is complementary with the other colors in the room. Stay consistent between warm and cool tones. 4. Install Decorative Molding Adding decorative molding around your home can add an extra touch of elegance. Install molding to the ceiling by capping walls, columns and cabinets, or add chair molding lower to the ground. With detailed molding you can add character to your rooms while also making them feel taller and more finished. 5. Build a Stone Fire Pit  Take your sophisticated style outside by building a stone fire pit in your backyard. Completed in only a few hours, take uniquely shaped rocks or large stones and put them together to create a functional and stylish fire pit. Before starting the project, be sure to check your local fire codes or homeowners association to ensure you are safe and allowed to start building. Adding a touch of class to your home doesn't have to break the bank! Just be sure to start with one project at a time, allowing yourself to complete one before starting the next. Otherwise, you'll fall victim to chronic project incompleteness syndrome - not a good look! Now that you know about these five inexpensive DIY projects, which will you try? |
You pronounce it “FIZZ-bow.”That’s FSBO: For Sale by Owner, and it’s the Road Less Travelled by area homeowners bent on selling a home in Plano as economically as possible. It does seem to make common sense, after all. It’s the homeowner who knows the ins and outs of their own home best—so who could be more qualified to show it off to the buyers who’ll be lined up, waiting to take a look?
And even more to the point, why lose any part of the sale proceeds to some Plano real estate agent? It can’t be rocket science to fill out the paperwork and complete the sale. Isn’t that just common sense?
For those considering selling a home themselves, even cursory research is likely to result in one nagging question. The latest sampling from the NAR shows that the vast majority—88%, in fact—of today’s successful sellers are assisted by a real estate agent. That proportion has been growing, lately, too: it’s up 19 percentage points since 2001. This has to give rise to the nagging question: “If it’s common sense, how come the vast majority eventually wind up going with a real estate agent?”
What actually happens in a sale plays a large part, starting with an examination of the bottom line of actual sales. It reflects the fact that the customary commission percentage that goes to real estate professionals is split in two, with half going to the seller’s and half to the buyer’s agent. So the net “savings” a FSBO seller stands to realize is half of the usual initial assumption when the buyer is professionally introduced by the buyer’s representative.
Unless the buyer just appears on his or her own.
Which brings up a couple of other potential problems. If the buyer shows up on the seller’s doorstep, who has qualified him or her? (Short answer: nobody). It’s awkward and practically impossible for a homeowner to interview every prospective buyer in depth before showing the home, but having strangers in your Plano house with no outside record of the event is at best an iffy prospect. The fact is, most qualified home buyers see the advantage of teaming with a licensed Plano real estate agent, whose market knowledge is up to the minute, and who will assist them every step of the way at no cost to themselves. Those qualified buyers stand to be a FSBO’s likeliest prospects, in which case the potential ‘savings’ from a do-it-yourself strategy are halved.
But as a working reality, FSBO sellers run a substantial risk that those hoped-for calls from active agents may be slow to materialize. It is often the case that local agents, noting that the home is a FSBO, place it low on the list of properties their clients have time to tour. Among other indicators, a FSBO listing on the MLS signals to the Plano real estate community that the owner is not truly serious about selling the home—else why is it not part of a professional office’s marketing package? Too, buyers’ agents work to protect their clients from difficult situations, and many FSBO sellers are not well-versed and experienced in negotiating and selling houses. Problems can erupt. All things being equal, it means that FSBOs get few showing requests.
Plus, any advertising costs will be paid for out of the owner’s own pocket—an expensive strategy.
It’s pretty clear why almost 9 out of 10 homeowners selling a home go with a qualified real estate agent. I hope you agree—and decide to give me a call!
A few of Plano's professionals operate as one-person enterprises, but that’s unusual. Even a one-doctor medical practice has back-up staff. Most lawyers, even if they aren’t in a partnership arrangement, have at least one assistant or secretary to help. Small commercial businesses are called ‘mom and pop’ operations because…well, you get the picture. Almost any serious enterprise takes a team effort to get anywhere—especially in this day and age.So it’s no surprise that when they set about buying a Plano home or selling their own, most Plano folks don’t take on the project all by themselves. Even though the average American family buys a new home every 7 to 10 years, constantly changing state and local regulations make keeping up with them a professional-level challenge. And even though the first part of the buying process—finding the most likely listed properties—can be started from your computer, as soon as the winnowing begins, the knowledge of a Plano real estate agent—someone who lives and breathes real estate—soon becomes crucial.
As we wade deeper into the 2016 election cycle, one of the themes that keeps coming up is “leadership”—the ability to recruit and direct expert help. When buying or selling a Plano home, it’s no different: you want the team you assemble to be as strong as possible. That will free you for your most important leadership role, the decision-making. The first order of business is to find an agent who will not only assist with all the real estate transactional details, but also help identify and recommend other reliable professionals you will need in successive steps of the process. Since finding that agent starts with you, here are some tips to help focus your selection:
- Everyone responds differently to differing personalities. What type of person do you click with? Do you envision a real estate agent who is a straight shooter—who will deliver realistic advice, a bubbly personality full of optimism—or perhaps a bit of both? Jot down the personality traits that you would like to see in your agent.
- Identify needs unique to your situation. If you’re house hunting on a tight budget and need a home fast, you want an agent experienced in finding affordable options. If you’re selling an expensive home in a much-sought-after neighborhood, you might want a Plano real estate agent who’s sold high-end properties in the neighborhood.
- Ask colleagues, neighbors, and friends for recommendations. Don’t collect referrals from just one source. Everyone in your neighborhood might use the same agent, but a colleague might have another recommendation. You want to shop around for an agent, so don’t rely on just one referral.
- Check credentials. A credentialed real estate agent is absolutely essential. Of course, nix any agent who isn’t licensed in our state.
- Interview your short list. When you meet with potential agents, ask for a list of recent sales completed near your price point. See if you are comfortable with how the agent prefers to communicate: phone, email, text, or a mix. Finally, request the contact information for a few recent clients to check references—and then check them!
Finding your perfect real estate agent starts with the effort put in by the leader: you. I hope your search includes this real estate agent…in fact, why not start by giving me a call!
If you’ve ever had the kind of neighbor who is apt to borrow something (like your hedge trimmer), only to later complain about how it performed, you know how much patience it takes to hold your tongue. The Mortgage Bankers Association would be justified if they felt that way about me: I read their website, and sometimes quote it in posts about current Plano mortgage rates—but it sure makes for dull reading!Anyway, with apologies to their (undoubtedly hard-working) writing staff, last week’s blog about national mortgage rates was as numbers-heavy as usual, yet still held a contradiction…but one that actually makes perfect sense. It also flags what could be seen as a bellwether that Plano home buyers and sellers would be hard-pressed to ignore.
The apparent contradiction was that mortgage rates were on the increase: national mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans rose to 4.17%, which is the highest they’ve been since November. This is for conforming loans; the jumbos (greater than $417,000) went north as well, up to 4.15%.
As everyone knows, low mortgage interest rates are terrific for our Plano residential home sales. The low monthly payments that they create make homeownership more affordable for a greater number of buyers. So when rates increase and monthly payments go up, it should create a drag on the market. The apparent contradiction in the MBA release was that the increase in rates was accompanied by an increase in mortgage applications. And it was a big one: up 8.4% from the week before.
Most commentators were united about the phenomenon, and it’s hard to disagree. In addition to the natural surge that comes with the season (spring and summer are always expected to be quite active), consumers are seeing the uptick in mortgage rates and suspecting that rates will head higher. That’s nudging them to action, causing them to jump in now, while rates are still attractive—especially compared with historical averages.
CNBC’s Diana Olick agreed that such sharp increases actually help the home-buying market. She quotes one lender’s take about the buyers: “They understand that ‘wait a minute, rates are at an all-time low, let’s react now, let’s react before they go higher.’”
It’s far from a certainty that rates will continue to take off. Lots of us remember last year, when almost all the experts predicted a rise, yet mortgage interest rates headed in the opposite direction…and stayed there! But you can hardly blame area buyers if they go with the national trend and decide that locking in today’s rates is a prudent move: it’s a bird in the hand.
If you have been thinking along the same lines, I hope you will give me a call!
A Plano listing can be a smash hit when the pictures show a property that’s cosmetically appealing, the copy rings true, and the details hit the sweet spot where features and value are a match for the best the area has to offer. But it still might not be as effective as it should be if one other detail is a little bit off. It’s a detail that can cause qualified buyers—the ones who should be a home’s most interested prospects— to miss the whole show.I suppose that calling that part of a Plano listing a “detail” is like calling the end score of the NBA’s final playoff a detail—or calling the final vote count in an election a “factor.” It may be just one element of many, but it is uniquely important. In a Plano listing, it’s often the first element that shoppers specify when they’re picking which area homes they will consider. If it’s not thoughtfully calibrated to fall within the parameters they name, the results may suffer considerably.
Of course, the “detail” we’re talking about is the price on the listing, and choosing the “right” one is the object. We’re looking for a number that will help a home sell quickly at the highest price possible. If the neighborhood comps—the prices paid and asked for nearby area homes with similar features—were all that mattered, coming up with the most suitable listing price would be a cut-and-dried affair. But there are other factors that need to be taken into account. Some are easy to determine, some…not so much.
- the Plano residential market is a moving target, sometimes building from a lower level, sometimes echoing the latest transactions, sometimes losing momentum.
- competitive Plano listing prices reflect either other sellers’ best estimates of that market for their properties, or else their personal opinions of what they think the market should be--but there’s no way to verify which!
- the final selling price of any home is determined not only by the seller’s situation, but by the buyer’s, also, which is a factor which cannot be determined in advance.
That’s why there is no universally agreed-upon formulas to rely upon, and since there is no way to determine what outcome would have resulted if a different price had been chosen, there’s also no way to verify after the fact if the absolute “best” one was chosen—even if everyone considers the sale a great success! Web titan Zillow says, “if the home sells within a few days of listing, chances are you listed too low” yet if a higher price had been chosen, causing that home to linger for months on the market, it wouldn’t have been listed too low. On the other hand, if the listing price were set to court multiple offers, a quick sale could mean a higher selling price was achieved. There’s simply no way to know for sure.
Put it all together and you have to figure that arriving at the right listing price is really more of an art than a science. I help clients by pooling my extensive Plano experience, up-to-the minute market knowledge, and detailed examination of the property’s unique attributes to suggest the range of listing prices I judge most likely to achieve the Holy Grail—a quick sale at top dollar!
If you’d like, we can get together for a no-obligation discussion of your own property’s listing prospects. It’s a great reason to give me a call!
You want your approach to finding a new home in Plano to be at least somewhat hard-headed and businesslike. The financial stakes are certainly major, and to some extent, much of what your future lifestyle will be like will depend on making a good choice.This is not to totally discount the emotional component that’s inevitably part of finding your new Plano home. You do want your family to feel good about the final choice—you’ll be moving to the dwelling that will become everybody’s center of operations.
So if your repeat visit begins to convince you that this really is the place you’ve been hoping to find, it’s the appropriate time to take a step back to do your most hard-headed, businesslike projection. This is beyond the back-of-the-envelope kind of calculation (the one that originally guided the price range you gave to your Realtor). This is time to take everything into account to see how well this new Plano home truly fits—on a number of counts.
A new home’s true affordability begins with the banker’s basic price formula—purchase price, mortgage, insurance and taxes. You should also contemplate the cost of having the property inspected and the closing costs (your Realtor® can give you a close estimate). But that’s not the whole picture—a new home’s true affordability also incorporates the difference between your family’s current expense profile and any factors that will change it.
For instance, if the square footage of the new home greater, you can expect that simple maintenance costs will rise proportionately (unless the new home’s condition is a good deal better than your current one). Utility costs may rise, too, if the living space is greater—unless more efficient systems are in place.
If the location will necessitate a change in driving distance or other transportation expenses, they should be taken into account. Does the new place have a significantly larger lawn or other landscaping features? If you have a green thumb and enjoy getting that kind of outdoor exercise (IOW, mowing), that won’t have much effect. If not, you’d better factor in a gardener’s bill.
There is one other element that’s easy to overlook, but accounting for it can eliminate the possibility that the whole move results in an unexpectedly depleted bank balance. Most people who are moving into a terrific new home forget to fully account for the few changes they’ll need to make before the place is perfectly suited their family. These could be minor, like changing out a light fixture that doesn’t fit the dining room table. Or they could be major, like addressing wholesale décor clashes that call for choosing between repainting the walls—or reupholstering— or even purchasing new furniture!
Helping you make sure your new Plano home is a comfortable match for your family’s needs is a large part of the service I provide my buyers. If you are ready to take a look at the latest crop of Plano new home offerings, I’ll be standing by for your call!
