Selling Your Home: Creating Curb Appeal

1. Green up the grass. If your house has a front yard, you don’t want bare spots, sprawling weeds, or an untrimmed appearance.  It’s so simple to go to Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it.

2. Get sod. If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. According to the National Gardening Association, the average cost of sod is 15 to 35 cents per square foot. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30 percent to 50percent to the total cost of the project.

3. Substitute turf grass for sod. Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses. Turf grasses are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 square feet of lawn area.

Foreclosures Sell @ 30% Discount

Foreclosures accounted for a third of all sales — and sold at a nearly 30% discount — during the first three months of 2010. According to a new report from RealtyTrac, the marketer of foreclosed properties, 31% of all sales were foreclosures. And homebuyers purchasing those properties paid a whopping 27% less, on average, compared to sales of non-distressed homes.  These stats courtesey of NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) 

These foreclosure sales include properties sold in short sales or after a bank repossession, known as REOs in industry terms and it does not include transfers from borrowers to banks, as in a sheriff’s auction.

REOs (Real Estate Owned), those homes already taken back from borrowers, commanded lower prices than short sales and other pre-foreclosures. The average REO sold for 34% less than conventional sales while pre-foreclosures averaged only 15% less.

Part of the reason for the bigger price cut for REOs is that many of them come to the market in poor condition, their previous owners either unable to or unwilling to maintain them.  Foreclosures have become a dominant feature of many real estate markets, finding willing buyers among young bargain hunters and savvy housing market veterans.

Lenders have been trying to manage their inventories of foreclosed homes to prevent them from flooding the market and dragging down prices.  For the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex you can expect multiple waves of foreclosures to hit throughout the rest of 2010 and then beginning to level off for 2011.  For a list of REO properties discounted 30% + in the metroplex do not hesitate to contact me. 

Dallas-Fort Worth Foreclosures

Turning Lowball Offers On Southlake Homes Into Potential Sales

Receiving another too-low offer on your home in Southlake?  Turn your frustration into a potential sale by using these tips on fielding lowball offers:

1. Put your emotions on check.  This is the most important thing to remember.  An offer to purchase, even a lowball offer, means someone wants to purchase your home in Southlake.  Unless the offer is ridiculously low it deserves a response, that response could be a counteroffer or a rejection.  Be patient, remain calm and discuss the many ways you can respond to a lowball purchase offer with your agent.

2. Respond with a counteroffer.  Unless you have multiple offers on the table, the best thing to do is to counter the lowball offer with the best price and terms you’re willing to accept.  Most buyers make a low offer because they think that’s the standard, they’re afraid of overpaying, or they want to test your limits.  A counteroffer signals that you’re willing to negotiate.  One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions such as seller assistance with closing costs, or features such as kitchen appliances you’d like to take with you.  Once the buyer sees the lower price right off the bat it will make them feel like they are getting somewhere.

For more tips on getting the deal done visit Southlake Real Estate Tips

Our Comprehensive Approach to Showcasing and Selling Your Keller Home and Community in the Marketplace

While the internet is now the Keller real estate information source of choice, if you want to maximize the number of serious buyers, showings and offers you get on your Keller home for sale it is necessary to employ a broad spectrum of advertising in a coordinated manner.

Me and my team have a wide range of options for maximizing a property’s exposure to the marketplace, including but not limited too:

• Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
• REALTOR.com®
• Company website(s)
• Personal website(s)
• Social media sites like Facebook®  and Twitter®
• Craigslist
• Local Keller Real Estate paper
• Direct mail and email campaigns
• Notifying all potential buyers and referral sources in their database
• Home Highlight info to all agents in their company’s local Keller offices
• Notifying the Keller area’s top REALTORS®
• Open houses
• REALTOR®  tours
• For Sale sign
• Networking within the Keller community and beyond
• REALTOR.com®  Real Estate Search iPhone®  application
• 800 # 24hr recorded information line

Such extensive Keller home market exposure will not only generate more interest from motivated buyers. It will also ensure that you don’t sell your Keller home to just any buyer, but to the right buyer – the one who fully appreciates what they’re buying and will pay top dollar for it.  My team and I are not just Keller real estate ”listing agents”; in other words we don’t JUST list your home on the MLS and wait for the buyer to come to us.  We are marketing strategist; a good marketing strategy is key to getting your Keller home sold for top dollar and as quick as possible.  Give us a call today for more information on selling your home in Keller, TX and to schedule an appointment to see our unique marketing strategy.

Dallas-Fort Worth Home Selling Tips: Cheap Kitchen Remodel

Looking for a cheap way to spruce up the kitchen in your Dallas-Fort Worth home and make the old feel new?  Check out these easy do-it-yourself ideas that add class and charm without breaking the bank.

Update your backsplash
It’s a quick,easy way to dress up an old kitchen.  If you’re not quick to mess with mastic and grout, consider Aspect Tile’s new peel-and-stick metal tiles.  Available in copper and stainless steel, they’ll give the kitchen a clean and updated feel.  Even though the metal finish can look fairly modern, these tiles come in a traditional three-by-six-inch subway-tile format, which fits in with a variety of décors.  The tiles which are available at Lowe’s Home Improvement or www.aspectideas.com, go up as easily as address labels but stick ferociously to the existing backsplash.  Oh yeah and your contractor can reuse them later (with some added glue) if you decide to do a full remodel at some point in the future.  Cost is $500 and can be done in one day.

Reface old appliances
Buying new appliances may not make sense but a fresh coat of white, black, or silver paint on old refrigerators, dishwashers, and ranges (make sure you use high temp paint) will give them — and your kitchen — a cleaner, new look.  Here’s how to do it: Lightly sand the surfaces so the paint will adhere. Cover handles and hinges etc. with masking tape. Spray on two coats of Krylon’s Epoxy Appliance Paint or Stainless Steel Paint.  Done.  Cost is $40 and can be done in one day.

Concrete Countertops
Old Formica, tile, or butcher block make your kitchen look not so good. But spending big bucks for granite or even $2,000 for new laminate makes no sense if you’ll be reconfiguring the kitchen in a few years.  A solution: polished, colored concrete. It has all the burn and scuff resistance — and visual appeal — of granite but is pricey if it’s professionally installed.  In my opinion polished is the way to go.  Buy a do-it-yourself kit at www.concreteexchange.com.  You’ll get everything you need to cast, polish, and install your own countertops, including a customizable mold and detailed instructions.  Cost is $800 and can be done in a couple of weekends. 

Painting Cabinets

Swapping Old Knobs and Pulls

Replacing Ceiling Lights

Individually and in combination these cheap changes can really spruce up a kitchen.  Good luck and send me some pictures of the completed projects!

Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings North of 820 8/18/10

Looking for current Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings?  Quit looking for hours on end at out-dated sites that promise “free” Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings only to then ask for your information to continue.  Welcome to Jon Sutton’s Fort Worth Foreclosures resource, the site where you can find a wealth of information on foreclosures, the foreclosure process, and truly free Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings.  In fact all of our foreclosure buyer services are free as we are paid by the banks to help you purchase their properties.  Check out our ”Foreclosures” page at www.JonSutton.com you will find numerous Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings as well as other foreclosure listings in surrounding cities.  Want the Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings to come to you?  The best way to stay current in this foreclosure market and beat your competition to the purchase is to sign up for our foreclosure notifier.  These are the same properties that you will find while browsing our website except the difference being they will come to you instead of you browsing for them.  We can take it one step further and narrow down the Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings to what area, price range, and type of foreclosure you are looking for which will help save a lot of time.

One of the most sought after areas in Fort Worth is an area North of 820 and located within the Fort Worth city limits and Keller ISD, an exemplary school district.  This area includes the zip codes 76244 and 76137.  There are currently 48 Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings as of 8/18/10.  The average listing consist of a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2 car garage home built in 2000 with a 2,200 sqft size and selling for $134,000.  With that being said and looking at similar homes for sale in the same North Fort Worth area you will find that average listings are going for $154,000.  It is safe to say on average when purchasing a foreclosure home in Fort Worth North of 820 you will be saving about $20,000 from what you would be paying retail.  Feel free to email us at foreclosures@jonsutton.com for your list of foreclosures.  If you would like additional information on any of these homes such as pictures or comps, or if you would like to view them in person do not hesitate to call.    

To check on the status of any of these foreclosures and to view additional Fort Worth Foreclosure Listings please visit www.JonSutton.com

Flippers and Investors Boosting Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Market?

I came across an interesting article today on the National Public Radio website that suggested flippers and investors were contributing quite a bit to the current market.  Before the downturn, the National Association of Realtors reported that less than 10% of sales were cash transactions.  In the current market the report states that nearly 1/3 of home sales consist of all cash transactions.  That is a big statement.  Real estate investors understand that when others are fearful, it is time to be greedy and cash is king. 

With so many investors snatching up properties for all cash, you start to realize their confidence in the market here locally.  When you purchase a home all cash there is no ”walking away” to let the bank deal with the loss if the property depreciates.  It comes strait out of your pocket.  The most important thing to remember is you make your profit on the buy, not the sell.  Right now it is very difficult to find a bank who will finance flip deals.  The cash coming from the investors is definitely having an impact on the Dallas-Fort Worth market and competition is stiff on REO properties while banks continue to move their portfolios of foreclosed homes.  You can find these deals all day long priced on average about 30% below market value. 

I think the flippers are definitely doing the community a service.  Getting the lower priced, dilapidated properties out of the pipeline as quickly as possible and adding value to neighborhoods which in turn stabilize and motivate appreciation.  I mean come on even the government is on board with this and has ceased the 90 day anti-flip rule for buyers using FHA loans.  As long as the bank’s inventory keeps on coming prices will stay flat and investors will continue to pump cash into the market.  The question is will they be able to keep up?

Hard Money: A Hard Look At Investing With Little Cash

What is this hard money and where do you find it in the DFW metroplex?  Getting hooked up with a hard money lender is key if you have limited resources of cash and are looking to purchase and rehab flip deals.  Private individuals and companies back this hard money with the loan qualifications based more on the property and not as much on the individual.  Money is loaned on a short term basis at the individual’s or company’s discretion for acquiring and rehabbing investment homes.

Now hard money might not be very hard to come by but the terms usually are.  Right now institutional banks are offering interest rates at record low 4.25%.  Compare this with the hard money lender who will charge you in up wards of 12%.  Don’t let this scare you because even though interest rates are high on these types of loans, they are great for beginner investors who have little cash to get started with.  As long as you find the right deal there will be profit left at the end of the day.  Some additional criteria for hard money loans include low loan to value’s, upfront points, and prepayment penalties. 

You can expect to get a loan for about 50% – 70% of the fair market value, also called the after repair value.  All lenders have different policies so just like conventional lenders shop them.  Points paid upfront might range on up to 6 for closing costs.  Really scrutinize the terms when shopping around because everyone will be different. 

If you are looking for several good contacts in the DFW area for hard money lenders, shoot me an email or give me a call and I will be happy to send you my Rolodex.  I also have access to their favorite properties and together we could build a great portfolio.  There has never been a better time to get started as a real estate investor.

Southlake, TX Welcomes 2010 Kaleidoscope of Homes

Southlake, TX is proud to be hosting the 2010 Kaleidoscope of Homes luxury home tour.  The tour is scheduled to kick off October 9th and it will continue to run for 3 weeks.  You can find the four featured homes in one of Southlake’s newest luxury development, Shady Oaks.  Shady Oaks began as about 100 acres of farmland owned by one of Southlake’s recognized founding families.  The name comes from the huge Oak trees providing much shade to the acres of rolling hills and meadows landscape features. 

Featured homes by builders Simmons Estate Homes, Harrell Custom Homes, and Venetian Custom Homes.  The styles of the homes include Spanish colonial, Tuscan Mediterranean, and English Tudor.  Prices range from two to three million for these 7,000 sqft plus homes appointed with the best of the best materials and amenities.

Directions to the tour:  From Southlake Blvd (FM 1709) take N Shady Oak Dr (just west of White Chapel Blvd) North about a mile to the Shady Oaks subdivision on the left.   

All profits from the show benefit the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children!  Pick up tickets at your local Tom Thumb or directly at the 2010 Kaleidoscope.

Keller ISD Boundary Changes

As you may have heard, the Keller, TX ISD School Board is proposing a plan to alter the school attendance zone.  At recent meetings residents affected by the change presented a signed petition by 150 of 206 homeowners in the neighborhoods.

Proposed school zone changes include Bear Creek Intermediate, Keller Middle, Keller High, Trinity Meadows Intermediate, Trinity Springs Middle, and Timber Creek High.  Officials will present the new plan to the School Board on November 18th, 2010 and are planning to hear resident’s comments afterward.

The Marshall Ridge subdivision is expected to add 400-500 children to the district many of which will be 5th grade and older.  This new school will welcome kids from the West side of HWY 377 and the East side by about 50/50. 

It has been difficult for the School Board to keep up with the population growth.  Administrators are also looking for a way to relieve crowding at Lone Star Elementary, Parkwood Hill Intermediate, and Hillwood Middle school in addition to the boundary for the new elementary.  Just to give you an idea of the growth of the district…since 2000 Keller ISD has added 22 new campuses and Marshall Ridge elementary is the 2nd to last school planned.  There is a 1500 home development in the works by Pulte Homes near Basswood Blvd and 35W and the final school planned will probably be built near this area.