Homes in Richardson Heights don’t stay on the market long. The average home is on the market 35 days in the Richardson Heights area. If the home is priced right it could sell in less than 2 weeks!  Richardson Heights is a great place to look at if you plan on moving to the Richardson area. It has a mix of younger couples and then people who are the orginal owners of the home. It has a wonderful park that has baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball court, running trail and playground. Check out this great community on the west side of 75. Here is a list of some homes that are for sale in the area. Please give me a call for all your real estate needs! My team and I are here to help!

Active

613 Ridgedale      1,311 sqft     3bedroom 2bathroom        $158,000

614 Newberry     1,613 sqft     3bedrooom 2.1bathroom  $160,000

620 Lockwood      1,554 sqft     3bedroom 1.1bathroom    $159,900

Choosing the right neighborhood is very important when it comes to buying a home. I always encourage my clients to pick a couple of area’s they like and drive around the neighborhood in the morning and at night to get a feel of the neighborhood. Below is an article about how imporant curp appeal is to buyers. So if you are a seller…make sure the outside of your home looks as clean and nice as the inside!

Survey: Well-Kept Yards Most Important Factor in Determining Neighborhood Safety

RISMEDIA, November 16, 2010–A new survey conducted by Relocation.com finds that 75 percent of Americans believe the most important factor in determining a neighborhood’s safety is the up-keep of surrounding homes, especially the conditions of the front lawns, which trumps even Googling neighborhood statistics to get a feel for a community.

The latest Relocation.com survey finds that 74 percent of respondents indicated they would select a neighborhood based on “word-of-mouth” or its local reputation over any other reason, while 67 percent of the respondents say they pay attention to local crime reports and statistics as reported in the local media. Less compelling, according to the survey, are “a gated community with security patrols” and “proximity to a police or fire station” when determining the safety of a neighborhood.

“It’s interesting to see how home buyers determine neighborhood safety based on the neighborhood’s appearance and not as much based on police statistics or crime reports,” says Relocation.com Chairman and Founder Sharon Asher. “Our findings suggest that some home sellers who are struggling to generate interest may want to go the extra mile and help their neighbors with landscaping needs in order to create buyer interest.”

The Relocation.com survey was conducted in mid-October, 2010, in a continuing effort to provide information on lifestyle factors that drive moving and relocation decisions in the U.S.

If you are planning on selling your home and need some curb appeal idea’s give me a call…my team and I would love to help!

Check out this article from blog.kw.com

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Return to Record Low Territory

RISMEDIA, November 9, 2010–Mortgage rates revisited record lows this week, with the average rate on the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate returning to 4.42 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.37 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage hit a new low of 3.81 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate did as well, sinking to 5.04 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mostly lower, with the average 5-year ARM falling to 3.57 percent and the average 7-year ARM retreating to 3.87 percent. 

Mortgage rates fell back into record low territory this week. The Federal Reserve has announced another injection of $600 billion over the next 8 months, but it remains to be seen if this is enough to push Treasury yields and mortgage rates lower, and if so, by how much. Even if the Fed is successful in pushing rates lower, it doesn’t alter the fact that many would-be borrowers are upside-down, living on a reduced income, or concerned about a lack of job security.

The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.42 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,003.89, a savings of $238 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

SURVEY RESULTS

• 30-year fixed: 4.42% — down from 4.51% last week (avg. points: 0.37)
• 15-year fixed: 3.81% — down from 3.90% last week (avg. points: 0.28)
• 5/1 ARM: 3.57% — down from 3.67% last week (avg. points: 0.34)

Yes winter is almost here, BUT if you are willing to brave the cold…now is the time to buy in Richardson!  This video talks about how homes sales are up from last month and why buying is better than renting. If you have been renting for years and have been scared to make the jump to home ownership please watch this video and contact me. I specialize in first-time home-buyers and would love to walk with you through the process.  Now is the time to buy…eventually the interest rates will rise and you will be wishing you would have taken advantage of the low rates when they were around. Give me a call today!

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are wondering if it is a good time to buy…take a look at 5 reasons why buying now is a good idea. As a real estate expert in Richardson and surrounding cities I would love an opportunity to talk with you more to find out what price and area is best for you!

1) House prices tend to rise over time, so a house is one of the best investments you can make. Home prices in the U.S. have risen three percent to six percent a year for the past 20 years. That trend is likely to continue. So if you buy a home now, you’ve put your capital in a safe investment where it is likely to grow.

2) You’ll pay less tax. You can deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage from your taxable income. The value of this tax break depends on factors like your personal tax bracket, the size of your mortgage, the rate of interest you pay on it and how long you’ve held the mortgage. As a rule, the newer the mortgage, the greater the amount of interest you pay each month and the bigger the tax break. Therefore, recent buyers with young mortgages tend to get the greatest benefit.

3) You’ll be buying a piece of real property rather than putting money in a landlord’s pocket each month. The real cost of renting is higher than the monthly payment. There is also an opportunity cost equal to the amount you would gain by using the money to purchase a home instead. Even if the house you purchased did not appreciate in price, you would be able to sell it and recoup some of the money you put into it.

4) Interest rates are still historically low. This makes it relatively inexpensive to take out a mortgage. The lower the interest rate, the less you actually pay for your house and the sooner you can pay the mortgage off.

5) You’ll be able to use the equity in your home for low-cost loans for other purposes. You can access the paid-up equity you accumulate in your home in the form of a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. Because they are secured, home equity loans and lines of credit generally carry a lower interest rate than other types of consumer loans, such as auto loans. The interest on them is generally tax-deductible, as well.

Info from www.lendingtree.com

Rent or Buy? This is a big question and the answer is different for everyone. If you are renting and want to buy, but think that you could not get pre- qualified…you might be surprised! If you need a lender to talk to let me know I would love to refer you to someone.  Interest rates are at a record low and they won’t be this low forever …now is the time to buy! If you need to talk to a professional about the pro’s and con’s to buying give me a call I would love to help you!

Click here to view the embedded video.

After watching the news I am sure you are freaking out about what is happening with all this Foreclosure mess. Here is a great article from Trulia that might help you understand more what is going on.

1.  What is robo-signing is, and what all the fuss is about?  The phrase robo-signing refers to what we’re now realizing has been a very common practice in the banks’ foreclosure document processing divisions, where one person was essentially given the job of signing as many 10,000 foreclosure documents per month, by hand.  These individuals were supposed to be reviewing the files, making sure grounds for foreclosure actually existed, signing the docs in front of notaries. But because of the volume of documents, what they actually did was just sign thousands of documents at a time, without even reading them, and ship them off somewhere else to be notarized.

If you do the math on an 8 hour workday, you’ll see that that only gives the staffer 1.5 minute to review each file and documents to make sure the foreclosure is warranted.  That’s not humanly possible, which is how these staffers got the nickname “robo-signers”
   
Government regulators are very concerned that the banks may have been taking people’s homes without following the proper legal procedures.  As a result, 40 states’ attorneys general are teaming up to launch a multi-state investigation, and the federal Comptroller of the Currency and federal attorney general may also get involved in investigating this issue.

2.  Will the freeze will make the banks cancel buyer contracts on REO properties? Currently, the freeze impacts bank-owned properties that are owned and/or serviced by Ally Financial/GMAC Mortgage, JP Morgan Chase, and some properties that were owned by Bank of America. Generally, contracts to buy these homes are being put on hold and extended for 30 days.  As well, the banks are often reaching out directly to buyers and offering them the option to cancel their contracts and recoup their deposit money.

3.  Is it safe to buy a foreclosed home? There’s lots of talk right now about the “clouds” that this scandal will create on the titles to homes that were foreclosed by the banks’ foreclosure mills. And that makes sense: if the home wasn’t properly foreclosed on in the first place, then the legitimacy of the bank’s resale can be called into question.  Normally, I’d say: Don’t worry about it, buyer – that’s why you’ll get title insurance!  But last week, 3 of America’s largest title company insurers declared that they will not offer title insurance on a number of the homes that may have been involved in this scandal.

In the vast majority of cases – when the foreclosure was justified and a bona fide purchaser, someone who was not involved in the bank’s wrongdoing, has purchased the home, courts will not reverse these foreclosures or their sale to buyers.  But if you’re in the market for a foreclosure, get clear on which bank owns the place as soon as you can, and run the property past your title insurer before you get too far into the transaction to make sure they can write a policy of title insurance on the property before you spend too much money on inspections and appraisals.  (And see my Bonus Buyer Advice at the end of this blog post!)

4.  How the foreclosure freeze will impact American home values, say after you buy.  In the short term, these freezes might cause prices to stabilize, as we expect to see the supply of foreclosures for sale start to shrink.  However, if these freezes stretch out for a long period of time, they could simply be delaying many inevitable foreclosures, which could delay the recovery of the housing market and home prices, over time.  I wouldn’t expect to see the freezes cause prices to drop much beyond where they are now, but if they stretch out, they could keep appreciation flat for a longer period of time.

Article from http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2010/10/4_things_buyers_need_to_know_about_robo-signing_and_the_foreclosure_freeze

Please call me for all your Real Estate Needs. My team works in all the surrounding Dallas areas and we would love to answer any questions you have about the market!

Dallas homes are undervalued by 27%. Buyers this is good news for you. Interest rates are still at a record low (under 5%) and homes in the area are undervalued, this allows you as a buyer to buy a home that a year or two ago you could not afford!

If you are new to the Dallas area here are some surrounding communities to check out: Richardson, Plano, Allen, Garland, North Dallas, Farmers Branch, McKinney. For more information on surrounding cities give me a call or e-mail me.

We were recently voted as Best Real Estate Agent by the Star Community Paper, this award is voted on by the community! So listen to your peers and give us a call for all your Real Estate needs! We are here to help.

Check out the video below for more information on what is going on in Real Estate

Click here to view the embedded video.