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?

Visit their website at http://www.gracefortworth.com/ and view their menu. Be sure to sign up for their e-mail newsletter so you can be kept apprised of their Wine Me, Dine Me selections each week.

Do you know about Open Table? If not, you should. You can make all of your fine dining reservations at one place. No more calling around to see if there are seats available, just go to http://www.opentable.com and make your reservations. I have a great time just looking at all the dining options in the Fort Worth and Dallas area. Check it out! You’ll be glad you did.

Even though I’m a Realtor and sell houses and land to people, this video encapsulates what I really want for my clients – I want for them to turn a house into their home. I love how she began right away adding light, but not just any light, the kind of light that makes her happy.  Everything she added to her space was something that gave her joy.

When you buy a house and begin to fill it with stuff, go slowly, adding the pieces that give you pleasure, otherwise you will wake up one day and realize you have a bunch of stuff, but you aren’t loving your surroundings.

You wouldn’t believe how many people want to sell their homes, but what they really need to do is just declutter all their stuff, keeping the pieces they like and getting rid of the rest of the stuff.

Of course if you do want to sell your home, it’s a great time to go through everything and have a giant garage sale. Keep what you love, and get rid of the rest! If your Great Aunt gave you something and you don’t like it, take a picture with your digital camera and keep the memory without keeping the stuff.

Fill your home with love – not just stuff!

When we first moved to the area, we didn’t bring our horses with us. But within a very short time, we found a place to board them. My girls who raise Arabian horses were able to keep them – even in the city.

There are many horse properties in this area. This is just a small sampling of what is available for sale. If you have other needs, please give me a call 817-914-4987. Use the scroll bar to view all of the properties in this sampling.

If you’re in the market for moving your horse facility to the South, yet you want city living nearby, call me to take a tour!

I wanted to address an issue that is one of the number one reasons why many Realtors quit the business. I’ve heard of many of some of the best who just couldn’t really take it anymore.

Realtors are one of the few people who work for someone without any pay – simply on the hope that there will be a closing with a paid commission. Most of the people who “hire” a Realtor for no pay, often treat them no different than a store clerk. Whichever one happens to be there when you’re ready to check out, that’s the one to use. Even if another clerk has been helping you all along. The difference here is that the clerk gets paid, regardless. The Realtor may spend hours and money, and doesn’t seem to receive the loyalty of the clients.

Allow me to use a real life example – hoping to give you a little of the bleeding heart.
A customer called me on one of my kids birthdays. She was ready to buy a house, had her financing in order, and wanted to see five properties that day. Since I’m a single mom trying to support my kids, I had to make the decision to show the houses. It meant a possible $4500.00 commission for me. As it turned out none of those houses worked. We met again a few days later…and a few days later…etc. Nothing was ever “good enough” for this client. We became friends while driving to the various properties. I probably spent a couple of hundred of dollars, just in gas for my car. That doesn’t count all the hours I spent researching “the perfect” property. I would call, e-mail, etc. Finally, she found the house that was “perfect.” It was a short sale, so I cautioned her about all the ins-and-outs with that. Well…somehow another contract came in higher than her very good offer and she lost the house. The next time I called she let me know that she was taking a break from looking. Too much heartache. A few months later I called to see how everything was going. She couldn’t wait to tell me how excited she was to be in her new house! I wanted to be happy for her. But part of me felt crushed. Not just at the lost commission, but because somehow I felt like a failure for not having sealed her loyalty.

I can see why Realtors want to walk away from the business when things like that happen. The good agents work really hard for our clients. And when they call an agent on a sign and use them instead, we feel defeated. … and used.

I heard of another Realtor who had a client from out of town. The Realtor had driven the couple around for three days showing them property after property, including all the countless computer work before the couple arrived in town. After the third day the Realtor dropped off the couple at their car with plans of meeting the next morning. The next morning the client called all excited. They drove around the night before and found “the perfect house!” They didn’t want “to bother” the agent again that night, so just called the agent on the sign and put in an offer, which was already accepted by the seller.

Is your heart breaking yet?

On one hand, the Realtor could have required them to sign the document for buyer representation. But sometimes, you just want them to have the common decency to use the person who has given their all to them.

If your Realtor is giving you great service (that doesn’t mean they are at your beckon call) – please be loyal to them.

One reason I decided to write this is because before I was a Realtor, I didn’t really know they didn’t get paid an hourly rate when they “worked” for a company. I could have easily used one Realtor one day, then called someone another. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I sometimes wish I could go back and tell that Realtor I’m sorry…although “I’m sorry” doesn’t quite make up for a lost commission.

I know there are agents out there who really don’t do anything about looking for the house for you, and you probably should find someone who will be pro-active in helping you to look. If you aren’t satisfied with the level of service your Realtor is giving you, send them an e-mail stating that. If they don’t pull up a notch, then you have ever right to go out and look for another.

My pledge to my clients is that I will do everything within my power to help them find the home that they are looking for, and then follow through to get their contract through to closing. I give all of my clients my cell phone number and encourage them to call me night or day with questions. All I ask from my clients in return is that they be loyal to me while we’re looking for homes.

One of these might be the home for you! If you need a video tour, give me a call and I will make it happen!

I haven’t been to this one yet, but if you want to see it — Let’s go!

One of these might be the home for you! If you need a video tour, give me a call and I will make it happen!

If you think you can’t get a foreclosure that isn’t a mess, think again. This house is completely ready to go! You won’t believe the master bath! It’s an award winner! — Oh yea, and so is the kitchen! One of the neatest things (oh, how can I possibly limit it to one?) is the theatre. It’s not a media room, it’s a theatre, complete with a concessions area.
Give me a call today, I would be happy to take you to see this one, or any of the foreclosures below.

One of these might be the home for you! If you need a video tour, give me a call and I will make it happen!

I would love for you to take a look at my newest listing. Even if this house doesn’t work for you, perhaps you know someone who would love this great home. Act NOW to close in time for the $8000.00 tax credit! Call Me! 817-914-4987

View the site for this listing www.5929bridal.com

Perhaps you would like to send a cute e-mail of this listing to a friend. Go ahead – just click play and there will be instructions to e-mail it to a friend.