The PRICE Is the Same, But the COST Is Less

There is more and more research coming out showing that it makes great financial sense to purchase a home today . Whether it be rent vs. buy ratios, income-to-price ratios or income-to-mortgage payment ratios, purchasing a home right now is

via The PRICE Is the Same, But the COST Is Less.

Make A Wise Real Estate Purchase

In this video we explore some tips for making a wise real estate purchase.

• Save For A Big Down Payment
• Don’t Overextend Yourself
• Consider the Work Involved
• Really Shop Around

Paws In The City – A Great Charity!

Paws In The City is a no-kill animal rescue organization in Dallas; it is the charity I volunteer with and one I encourage everyone to support.

History
In June 2005, the mission was to rescue dogs and cats from the City of Dallas shelter who were being euthanized at a rate of almost 30,000 a year. We made

arrangements for the City shelter to bring animals for adoption to our events in September 2005. Our mission was sidetracked by a much bigger crisis – Hurricane Katrina. We helped evacuate 22 dogs and 40 cats from a no-kill shelter in New Orleans. Founder Becky Haisma went to Louisiana to work at an intake station as animals came in from flooded areas. A special puppy stole her heart, but when it arrived in Dallas, it had become ill with lead poisoning from swallowing gasoline in the waters. We scrambled to raise funds for the medical bills and were able to save a young life. Tara Harper, another founder, arranged for a private plane pilot to fly to Mississippi to rescue 10 dogs from a shelter that was overloaded due to the storm. Within weeks, we had almost 35 dogs and 12 cats.

The first month incubated what would become the Paws philosophy:

We are willing to share our resources with like minded groups,
We stand ready to assist in a crisis and
We will not abandon animals that need help the most – we work harder for hard-to-place pets and we find ways to raise additional money when necessary to help animals that have no where else to turn.

We have grown from a handful of exuberant volunteers to over 150 dedicated volunteers. We are now one of the largest and most respected animal rescue groups in the Metroplex. Our success is due to: committed volunteers, a sound fundraising philosophy, and strong marketing. Our fundraisers are some of the most unique and fun in town! In our current recession, when most charities are suffering through a drop in donations, our funds have nearly doubled along with our volunteer base and the number of animals saved.

Want to adopt a dog or cat? Click Here to Help Us Save an Animal!

Want to Donate when you buy groceries? Click Here for Tom Thumb. Our Charity Number is 11528.

Should I Buy or Rent?

Always Remember!

There is no other way to describe this as anything but BRILLIANT !

We rarely get a chance to see another country’s editorial about the USA 
Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper …  The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title ‘C’ntarea Americii, meaning (‘Ode To America ‘) in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ‘  The Daily Event’ or ‘News of the Day’.

~An Ode to  America ~

Why are Americans so united ? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color!  They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

On 9/ll, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart..   Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.   Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. 

Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.

After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting onT-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.  They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing.  On every occasion, they started singing: ‘God Bless  America !’ 

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being ?  Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.  What on earth unites the Americans in such a way ?   Their land ?   Their history ?   Their economic Power ?   Money ?   I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion… Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu

(This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever.) It took a person on the outside – looking in – to see what we take for granted ! 

Should I Buy A Short Sale?

Should I Buy A Short Sale?

Frankly, Short-Sales are one of the best deals in the marketplace. These homes sell for 5% to 10% BELOW bank owned homes; which helps to make them the best deals on the market. If you are not paying cash and you are doing more of a typical “normal” financing, then you are going to get a better deal on a Short Sale because a lot of the bank owned homes are going for cash. Only make an offer on a Short Sale when you are certain that the agent who is selling the home and your agent as a buyer both know the process involved in Short Sales. Otherwise, you are going to be stuck in the process for 6 months or more. If your agent understands how the Short Sale works and what’s needed to complete the entire process, it can be as short as 60 days for you to complete a Short Sale purchase.

So what are the key steps to getting into a Short Sale?

Key Step 1 – Do you have the time? Short Sales take longer, plain and simple. Short Sales will take 60-90 days. They should never take more than 120 days in a normal situation. This is, once again, where your agent knowing what they are doing and understanding the entire process of a Short Sale is important. Now keep in mind not every situation is “normal”; about 70% of situations are “normal”. You also have to also keep in mind that Short Sales are up from 8% in 2010 to 28% in 2011. That means that Short Sales are definitely going a lot faster, but you still have to make sure that you have a little bit of time.

Here’s an example of what happens with a Short Sale; a home that sold 3 years ago for $727,000 sold in a Short Sale for $275,000. That same home, if it were bank owned, would have sold for about $350,000. So Short Sales are definitely the best deal out there; but you have to make sure you have the time that it’s going to take to do the process and do it right. So why do they banks do this? Once again, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. They want their money and they want it as fast as possible.

Key Step 2 – Work with realtors that KNOW Short Sales. Be blunt; ask them right up front to show you their track record with Short Sales. Tell them to give you proof that they know Short Sales. A good realtor makes the process easy and simple. As a buyer, you’re not paying for the fees, the bank is, so you want to make sure you get a realtor that is good and is going to work for you. The listing agent does 99% of the work, so make sure they have experience. Ask your realtor to search the MLS and see, has the listing agent closed the Short Sales in the proper amount of time? Ask about what the listing agent’s process is to handle short sales. Do they have a system and a process that they go through to get the Short Sales through?

Key Step 3 – Be open minded to a counter-offer from the bank. Most of the time a bank will make a counter-offer. Be willing to consider it. The banks are willing to work with you, they’re just NOT willing to give the home away. They go off the BPO (Broker Price Opinion), so that is why it’s so important for your Realtor and the listing realtor to be at that meeting. Again, your realtor should know and understand this process and the listing realtor definitely needs to know.

So why do banks do Short Sales? Frankly, banks make more money on a Short Sale than they do on a foreclosure. They make 10%-13% more money on a Short Sale. The home stays in better shape when they’re making a Short Sale because the owner lives in it until the closing. There are no added costs of maintenance and upkeep for the bank if the owner remains in the home. It’s a more solid deal for the bank than allowing the home to go into foreclosure. If they can get it done in a Short Sale they’re better off financially.

It’s all about the money. That is why your offer needs to be a fair offer and not 40% to 60% below the market value. Have your realtor run a market analysis for you before you make the offer so you have something to back you up. So if you want to make an offer at 40-60% below the market value, then be prepared to wait 12-20 months for you to get to a final deal. It comes down to being realistic.

So why are we offering this information on Short Sales free of charge to you? Honestly? We want to make sure that YOU get a good and fair deal, no matter who you work with as your realtor. We know that if we get this information out into the marketplace then everybody wins! Knowledge is power. Don’t get me wrong, we make a living by selling homes and we would love to help you with buying a Short Sale. We are knowledgeable and we have that track record to prove it. We love what we do and selling homes is our passion but it also is what pays our bills. If we can help you make a Short Sale please give us a call or drop us an email. Most of all, we want to make sure you understand what you need to do in order to buy a Short Sale and understand what you want to look for in a realtor. We can definitely offer our services and be that realtor that makes your Short Sale run as smoothly and happen as fast as possible.

Time to Buy? Texas Pre-Existing Home Sales Jump 27% in August 2011

Record low interest rates may be stoking the housing market in North Texas.

Sales of existing homes in the region made a huge jump in August, rising 27 percent from a year ago, the Texas A&M Real Estate Center reported Thursday.

Buyers in the 29-county region purchased 6,822 homes last month, the report shows.

This week, mortgage rates reached their lowest levels in six decades, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage falling to 4.12 percent.

Although home sales are still down year-to-date, compared with the same period of 2010, the percentage gap is narrowing. Between January and August, 43,879 homes were sold, down 4 percent from last year. The median home price rose 2 percent in North Texas to $154,000 in August, but remained flat at $148,000 for the year, the report said.

This report includes material from The Associated Press.

The Other Football

The Other Football
If football doesn’t excite you but soccer and rugby do, then The Londoner is where you need to be to watch the games. Even the really important ones that get you out of bed at 6:45a.m.. The English Premier League has started and the Rugby World Cup is about to, so check out the schedule at www.londonerdallas.com. The menu is full of British favorites, but if that’s not your cup of tea they have American fare as well. They also offer $4 Harp and Guinness for all away FC Dallas games.