By Tom Branch, on August 31st, 2012  As the Texas summer gives way to cooler fall temperatures, the North Dallas real estate market is staying hot, hot, hot!
The average Days on Market for properties under $500k is down to just 71 days–a level we have not seen locally since 2005. We listed a property in west Allen on Friday and had seven offers by Monday.
Last year we were telling sellers that it was a price war and a beauty contest. While pricing is less of an issue this year (as long as it’s not above market value), it’s still a beauty contest. Properly prepared and show-ready homes are flying off the market in days.
This is a great time to sell a home. There are plenty of buyers looking for homes and with a short supply of inventory, buyers are “all over” a good-looking property.
We have many resources on our website:
Home Value Request – What’s my home worth?
Seller Tips
Are You Show Ready?
Looking for an experienced team of agents with a proven track-record to sell your home? Click here.
Feel free to contact us if you have questions or need more information.
Base Photo Licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on August 31st, 2012  Lately, many buyers have experienced the “multiple offer” notice after making an offer on a home. The notice usually asks the buyer to make their “highest and best” offer by a certain date.
One of our clients has been through this on three homes and by the time they received notice that the home was sold to another buyer, their second choice was also under contract. Talk about frustrating!
The buyer finally asked, “Can I make offers on more than one home at a time?”
Buyers can make offers on more than one home. While less experienced agents will argue that it’s not legal or the buyer could get stuck with more than one contract, there’s nothing illegal about making offers on more than one home.
The logical follow-up question was, “What happens if both are accepted?”
In Texas our state promulgated contracts contain a paragraph that allows a buyer to purchase the “unrestricted right to terminate the contract” for a certain number of days for a nominal fee. This paragraph is the key to buyers making offers on more than one property at a time. If more than one offer is accepted, the buyer can simply “opt out” on the property they do not wish to purchase.
While this is not a technique we encourage, in a hot seller’s market or when time is very limited making offers on more than one home may be a good idea as long as the offers include the unrestricted right to terminate.
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on August 28th, 2012  I was out staffing a model home yesterday. As I sat in the kitchen eating lunch, I noticed the builder had installed a special outlet that contained a pair of USB charging ports. I thought this was a nice way to avoid the little “wall wart” transformers that come with many of the newer devices.
Being a “techie” of sorts I wanted them for my own kitchen so I was off on the hunt. I stopped into the local Lowe’s store and scored three of them for about $23 each.
It took me about 30 minutes to install them in my kitchen and I was ready to go. While this is a simple task, you may want to consider hiring a handyman to install them properly and safely.
Click here for a list of local Handyman service providers.
Photo Copyright 2012 Imaged2Sell
By Tom Branch, on August 28th, 2012  CB JENI Homes recently broke ground on the three last buildings in The Chateaus of the Settlement at Craig Ranch. It’s hard to believe that they had their grand opening last October and are already closing out. Close out incentives range from $10,000 to $15,000 that can be used towards upgrades and/or closing costs.
These upscale single-level town homes are wonderfully appointed with site-finished cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops (kitchen and baths), crown moldings, tall baseboards, rounded corners, and many others.. We often say that these town homes prove, “that you don’t have to down scale in order to down size.”
But the beauty is more than skin deep with lots of energy efficiency built in including 16 SEER HVAC, polysealed joints, and radiant barrier in the attic.
These homes have a back patio and fenced backyard. Perfect for entertaining or your pets. The HOA includes use of most facilities, full exterior maintenance, blanket insurance, reserves, sprinkler system, and lawn care. I’d rather be golfing or at the pool than doing yard work any day!
Click here to see Town Homes For Sale in The Settlement at Craig Ranch.
Photo Copyright 2012 – Imaged2Sell
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Purchase a new home through us and we'll help you with your closing costs! We'll give you a credit of 1.5% of the price of the home at closing to use towards your closing costs.
Click here for our New Home Rebates page.
By Tom Branch, on August 21st, 2012  Some good news from Washington today. According to the Daily Herald:
“A bill that would extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act through 2013 has been passed by the Senate Finance Committee and advanced to the full chamber for possible action next month. The law spares homeowners who receive principal reductions on their home loans from being hit with hefty federal income taxes on amounts forgiven, extends tax write-offs for mortgage insurance premiums, and continues some energy-efficiency tax credits for remodeling and new home construction. The extension could affect millions of homeowners who are underwater, late on their payments and headed for foreclosure, short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.”
This is great news for homeowners facing foreclosure or trying to complete a short sale of their primary home.
Photo Licensed from iStockPhoto
The Act has been extended. http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2013/01/02/mortgage-forgiveness-debt-relief-act-extended/
By Tom Branch, on August 21st, 2012 
We were out working with a buyer on Sunday who was purchasing a new home in Richwoods, a master planned community in Frisco, Texas.
The builder we worked with that day has at least 30 homes under construction with 30 or more waiting to break ground. Sales have been brisk with the builder offering a number of sales incentives and upgrade packages to encourage early contracting. As the development matures, these incentives tend to be decreased or eliminated and price tend to move upward.
The developer states, “Richwoods brings a unique opportunity to live in a gated community in Frisco TX. Encompassing more than 500 acres of pristine Texas farmland, Richwoods is positioned to become the only gated community of new homes in the entire southeast quadrant of Frisco, Texas.”
View Larger Map
Children will attend Frisco Schools and the community offers easy access to major highways, shopping, recreation, restaurants, and all that the northern suburbs of Dallas have to offer.
Click here to search Richwoods Frisco Texas Homes for Sale.
Photo Copyright 2012 Imaged2Sell
New Home Rebate
Purchase a new home through us and we'll help you with your closing costs! We'll give you a credit of 1.5% of the price of the home at closing to use towards your closing costs.
Click here for our New Home Rebates page.
By Tom Branch, on August 18th, 2012 
About 40 REALTORS® from the Collin County Association of REALTORS® (CCAR) attended a City Council Budget Meeting in Plano this morning to express our concerns about a proposed registration and inspection program for single family homes being leased within the city.
The Mayor and the City Council members were very receptive to our concerns that this was a “solution looking for a problem” and about private property rights. One Council Member stated, “…it does not seem fair to put a program in-place that impacts the 99 percent of owners who take good care of their rental homes to go after the 1 percent who do not…”
After listening to CCAR members and some discussion, the Council removed the proposal from the 2013 budget.
Photo Copyright 2012 Tom Branch
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