Author Archive
YouTube – DFW Homes Buyer/Seller Testimonial
Posted by: | CommentsHelp With Cleaning When Selling Your Home
Posted by: | CommentsI’d love to have you join me as a friend My Facebook Profile I have some interesting discussions with people about buying and selling homes, as well as other topics of interest to me. A few days ago I was talking with a mom of a bunch of little kids. She is in the middle of selling her home. Of course I sent her to my article on Selling Your Home With Small Children In the House. She reminded me that she has Lyme’s disease and needs more like four hours to get her house into shape. As we talked, she found some great Youtube videos on cleaning your house in a hurry. Most of these use Don Aslett’s methods. A long time ago I had read all his books and even bought a VHS tape (yes, that long ago!)
Here are some of the best videos on cleaning your bathroom in a hurry. Whether you have your house on market, or you just want to save some cleaning time, these are great. Oh yea, be sure to have your older children watch these videos too! Great training tool!
Cleaning the bathroom isn’t just about the toilet. Take a look at this one too.
If you do this consistently – your home will always be ready to show in just a few minutes!
Want some more cleaning tips or to purchase any of the products shown in the videos, visit The Clean Report
I’m not trying to sell you on anything in these videos and I don’t get compensated for any sales. I just know they’ve worked for me — and I’m pretty sure they would work for you too.
The Victory Carry
Posted by: | CommentsI love this photo.
Joyful new home owners
Jared and Rachel purchased a foreclosure in the DFW Homes area. Sometimes purchasing foreclosures can be a difficult process. This one was no exception. Jared and Rachel hung in there and were finally able to walk (or be carried) victoriously into their new home!
Jared and Rachel – Pick One
Posted by: | CommentsAfter viewing fifteen houses in the Mesquite and Forney area, Jared and Rachel have narrowed it down to three.
The results are in – well, really Jared and Rachel decided to see one more house.
Here it is:
Which one do you think they will choose?
#1 is a house in Mesquite in the Hills of Tealwood. It is 4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms with a huge backyard that backs up to a woodsy area.
#2 is in the subdivision of Honeysuckle Meadows in Forney. The house features 4 bedrooms and a game room. Looking out the back, you can see much country side.
#3 is a foreclosure in the subdivision Falcon S. Lair in Mesquite. It is the largest of the three at 2768 sq ft. The home has 4 bedrooms plus a study. The study is downstairs. The rest of the bedrooms and the game room are up.
Watch the videos and the comments by Jared and Rachel, then chime in about what home you think they should choose and why.
Listen to Jared and Rachel share what they love and don’t like on house #1
House #2
And now – Jared and Rachel chime in. Sorry about the wind noise, we decided to sit outside for this one.
House #3
Downstairs
Upstairs
Jared and Rachel share some great thoughts on this property.
Some aspects that are very important to Jared and Rachel: Safe and secure feeling, Rachel likes the idea of sitting outside and loves the idea of a peaceful location. She works from home and needs a workspace. Jared will work from the high school in Mesquite and doesn’t want too long of a commute. Rachel likes the idea of a nice community feel. As far as the home itself, Rachel likes to spend time in the kitchen, yet wants to be connected to the rest of the people in the house. They want a bathroom with a separate shower and enough space for both of them to get ready at the same time. Jared and Rachel like to entertain their friends by having poker nights, which means plenty of space inside for 4-6 tables.
Now it’s your turn to sound off on what house you would choose, or what house you think Rachel and Jared should choose.
The Short Answer to What a Short Sale Is
Posted by: | CommentsI did a quick Twitter poll (you can follow me on twitter @tadahmom) and found out that most people don’t understand what a short sale is. The majority of people think it means the house can sell quickly – hence the word “short.” Do not let this word confuse you into thinking it will be a fast sale. It likely will not be fast.
A short sale means that the seller is accepting offers for their house that will likely be less than what the seller owes on the property. The seller will approach the lien holder with the offer and ask them to accept less for the house than what is owed. It sounds simple, but it isn’t. The process can take anywhere from 30 days to six months, and the bank still might not approve the short sale. If you’re going to be purchasing a short sale property, you have to be willing to wait and you must have a pro-active agent. Patience could be a great reward if you’re able to purchase a house for less than fair market value.
Often when you’re looking through the MLS you will find a house with a price that is “amazingly low.” It’s probably not that the seller is willing to give away his house, but that he is wanting to get offers for a short sale property. The bank won’t even begin the process in most cases, until an offer has been presented.
There are a few positive reasons to buy a short sale:
a) The house usually sells a bit below fair market value
b) You’re helping to keep the seller from foreclosure (I don’t really think this should be a motive)
Now for some of the negatives:
a) There are no guarantees you will be able to buy the house
1) The bank may not accept your offer even after working on it for several months
2) Offers are often accepted continuously – you won’t know if your offer is the one that will be ultimately accepted even if you’ve been told it is. (this part has been getting better recently)
b) Rarely will the sellers make any repairs on the property – what you see (and maybe what you don’t see) is what you get.
c) Sometimes you have to deal with sellers who are not happy with their situation and may be difficult to deal with.
If you are needing to move by a certain date, I usually don’t recommend looking at short sales, but if you are in a place where you can stay until the process completes and you want to get a good deal, a short sale might be just the ticket for you. Unfortunately when you are looking through listings on the MLS there is no way for you to really know if a house is a short sale or not. You have to check with an agent to see if the sale is short or simply a great deal.
One final word – if the price in the MLS makes you think, wow, this is a great deal — look closely.
Foreclosure in Cedar Hill
Posted by: | CommentsThis four bedrooom three and a half bath home only needs a few cosmetic touches and it will be a showplace! The lighting in this home is fabulous! You’ll love the gourmet kitchen with stainless appliances, refrigerator, six burner gas cooktop, and a wine cooler. The media room is amazing! All of the bathrooms are state of the art with dual shower heads, glass bowl sinks, and designer touches.
The round dining room will make dining in a pleasure.
Tax value on this property is nearly $600,000. Asking price $323,000. At this price and in a gated community with high end custom homes, this home is bound to go quickly.
New Foreclosures in Tarrant County Texas
Posted by: | CommentsNew foreclosures on the market – April 5, 2010
At the time of this post, these foreclosures have been on the market for less than 8 days. They are located in Tarrant County, TX. Tarrant County includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Keller, North Richland Hills, Southlake, Colleyville, etc.
Be sure to give me a call (817-914-4987) to check on the availability of these homes. If you don’t see something you like here, you can search the entire MLS system ——> over there.
Foreclosures in 76137,76131,76179,76244
Posted by: | CommentsBe sure to call me for availability on these homes – 817-914-4987
More Information on $25,000 Fort Worth Program
Posted by: | CommentsThere is still money in the Fort Worth Fund! Call today for more information!
You can get more information by going to http://www.fortworthgov.org/hed/housing/default.aspx?id=61060.
Selling Your Home With Small Children in the House
Posted by: | CommentsOne common question I get asked is, “How am I going to keep my home presentable for showings when I have small children in the house?”
Oh Honey! I feel for you. Being a mom of 8, having sold a few homes myself, I know what it’s like. I was/am one of those moms who likes to play with my kids more than I like to clean around them. So I know the stress that goes into it. We don’t want to be upset with our kids for making messes, but we have that underlying thought that their messes might prevent the next person who sees our house from seeing it at it’s best.
Here are some tips for you.
#1 Ask your Realtor if you can have at least 30 minutes prior to a showing. If you implement my ideas, you should be able to get the house sparkling within 30 minutes.
#2 Have a written plan! Who is in charge of what during the 30 minutes? Little Susie picks up toys and puts them in the toybox. Johnny gathers all the dirty laundry he can find and tosses it into the empty dryer (little ones can reach the dryer). Baby Jenny sits quietly in her high chair eating a non messy snack.
#3 Clean as you go – For those of us who weren’t taught this nearly life saving skill, it can be tough to remember to clean up the spilled apple juice now!
#4 Do “Someone’s Coming” Drills with the kids. Practice the drill. Make it fun! You could come up with a little song that you all sing as you are cleaning the house for a showing. 
#5 Have all non-essentials packed! This is especially great for toys. Get some plastic tubs and pack away all the toys. Bring out a different play tub each week. Usually the messes come because the kids have too much and get overwhelmed and bored. When there is a little bit, it seems to go much further.
#6 Have only enough dishes for one day. This will force you to keep the dishes clean and will make your cabinets look very spacious.
#7 Don’t leave the little niceties out when you aren’t showing the house. Have one cabinet that holds the “staging” items. After the house is all picked up and you’re ready to go out the door, go to the cupboard and pull out the staging items, running them around to their final locations.
#8 HIRE SOMEONE! Hire someone to clean the windows and do a deep cleaning of the house before you put it on the market. This will give you only spot checks to do rather than trying to bleach the grout 30 minutes before the showing.
#9 Baskets hide stuff My rule of thumb is that every flat surface should be clutter free. Walk through your house and find all the flat spaces that gather clutter. Now, assign a basket for each area. You can do a quick swoop of the clutter into the basket and hide it beneath a bed or place neatly in a closet. After the showing, you can put all those things back – if you really must!
At least three times a day, take 20 minutes to do a quick clean up. It’s amazing how much you can get finished in 20 minutes.
Any other ideas?