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Texas Independence Day

Happy Texas Independence Day fellow Texans!!!

A Rant: SPAM Spam spam spam....

Spam.

I hate spam.  Who doesn't?  What I really hate is the "Unsubscribe" option.  Listen, Bonehead, I never subscribed to your digital detritus and have no interest in it at all!  To unsubscribe, one MUST have subscribed.  It is an absolute law of our language!  Now, if you want to offer me the opportunity to un-spam myself, or "To reject our unsolicited marketing crappola, click here" then you might win my respect--but not my business.

I can only think of one spam solicitation I have ever attended to and grasped hold of in a transactional manner.  That spam email was for a unique product.  Dear Gussie, there is another word.  Can we all agree that unique means one.  Not rare, nor unusual, but singular.  One.  Only.  So, this unique product caught my eye and I continue to trade with that service provider today.  But the sea of spam I am awash in is all very common.  Are there any shortages of mortgage lenders?  Is the MLS down?  Then why are you sending me e-flyers of properties for which I have no actively shopping buyer-clients?  If you need a CE class in your field, could you find 20 to choose from without the aid of a spam concierge?  Yet I get 3-4 slices of spam a week telling me about every school for real estate brokerage continuing ed. options--ironically, I don't get any spam from the one source I will always use for CE.

Ok.  Enough.  One last confessional defense against a charge of hypocrisy.  I do send out a lot of postcards, letters, and real estate information to fill the mailboxes of my friends and acquaintances. Ah-ha!  In that confession lie three defenses against prosecution. 1) I use the post, not the email.  Isn't there a level of urgency with email that snail mail lacks?  2) I send out material that is intended to either inform or amuse, not merely solicit your dollars.  And, 3) I only mail to folks with whom I am acquainted or at least live near.

I now release you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Getting Good Photos of Your Home for Sale?

Does their photography stink,
or does the house need major foundation repair?

Seriously.
It's a real one right off the MLS.
Are you buying the house or the lamp?

"Your Broker Matters"  


That's just my latest clever marketting tag line, right?  WRONG.  Maybe it shouldn't be so, but it is very true that the level of expertise and commitment to quality that your broker brings to the table is very relevant to your selling and buying success.

So, I guess the used shampoo is included?
This tub makes my neck hurt.

To prove the point: this is a list of photography tips I just saw, written for listing agents.  Take a quick look....

Photography tips for listing agents

You will need: A camera, a towel, a table or sturdy flat surface, a hammer, a phone and a room that needs to be photographed.

1. Remove camera from case.
2. Remove battery from camera and put it in your pocket.
3. Place towel on flat surface.
4. Place camera on top of towel.
5. Fold towel over camera until it is completely covered.
6. Pick up the hammer and hit the camera at least 10 times. When the camera is flat you have hit it enough times.
7. Use the phone to call a photographer.
8. Carefully pick up the towel and keep it folded and toss it in the trash (this part may take some practice).
9. Take the battery to a recycling center.

Ha!  JTOden Realty has worked with a professional photographer for listing images for years now.  It seemed OBVIOUS to us.  To read the whole of Teresa Boardman's article at Inman News click here.

Meagan Block Photography... done the RIGHT way.

Your Broker Matters.  Really.

To Build On or to Move? That's the question.

So...

You've found a nice little home and you like the neighborhood, the schools, the location and the house.
You have plans for updating it and improving as you go.
After a while you realize that the only thing your home needs to be perfect for the rest of your lives is another bedroom, or a game room, or a larger master bath.  So, what do you do?  Move or remodel?

The objective analysis of this choice will come to you after your call your REALTOR and get a good referral for a general contractor.  He'll do an analysis and produce for you an itemized bid estimate for your project.  In my area, the cost for adding a game room could be as much as $105 per square foot.



A REALTOR can also tell me that my home would likely sell for less than $105 per square foot.  Furthermore, and this is important, there is a diminishing return per square foot.  If your home sells for $100 per sq. ft. and you add 550 sq. ft. you do NOT necessarily add $55,000 to the value of the home.  Nevertheless, adding a room to a house adds more than just price-per-sq.-ft-value to a home and your REALTOR can help you evaluate that potential gain.

Let me divert for a second here and say out loud, please, please don't turn your garage into anything but a garage?  Garages are garages and rooms are rooms.  Don't use the toilet for a planter and don't rent out your master closet to migrant workers, no matter how big it seems!  Garage conversions are almost always a negative value characteristic.




Now, the subjective analysis is the second important part of your decision making.  We started out saying this was your perfect home, neighborhood, schools, location, and yard.  Those things can't always be replicated by moving.  For example, if you live in a cul-de-sac, those are hard to come by and finding a cul-de-sac home that cures your other issues may be unreasonable.  If you have 0.3 acres in an area where everything is 0.15 acres, or if you have a nice view, a creek, or a greenbelt you will have a greatly reduced selection of for-sale homes in any given area of town.  Now, you have entered into the *Amenities Zone*!


If the amenities of your property are more dear to you than the temporal value of the home, you may be ready to do an expensive remodel.  If you have looked and can't find your present home + whatever you think it is lacking, then you may be ready for a remodel.  Again, your REALTOR is a vital asset here.  He can tell you how much house is too much for your neighborhood, what your add-on is likely to do for the over all resale appeal of your home.

Remember, an independent broker REALTOR gets paid to be objective, not conciliatory.  When folks ask me about their remodeling ideas, I first tell them what I would want as an agent selling their home.  "Well Mr. Jones, I'd have a tough time selling a home with a master bedroom add-on meat packing plant."  Or, "Yes, Mrs. Smith, granite countertops are a super idea and a real value-add should you ever decide to sell this home."  Then it occurs to me, "And you'll really enjoy them whether you sell in 6 months or 6 years."  Oh yeah, "No Mr. Jones, I'm not at all certain that a meth lab would be any better."

Well.  As you can see, there are powerful objective AND subjective elements to this discussion.  You and your family have to decide if you are moved to action by either.  No one reason is usually enough to make the decision to remodel, build additional room(s), or pack up and move.  Either way, the friendly advice of a REALTOR should be a premium asset to your plans.

Oh, one more thing, if you find yourself just wanting to wipe the lot clean and build one from scratch--just the way you want it--I can help with that too!

TEXAS' NOVEMBER HOME SALES DOWN, PRICES UP

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – More than 13,700 existing homes were sold in Texas last month, according to newly released data from Texas Multiple Listing Services (MLS). That's a 24 percent drop from November 2009.
Meanwhile, the median price for an existing home increased by 3 percent last month to $146,700, and there was a 7.6-month inventory.
November 2010 MLS data for many Texas cities (current as of Dec. 21, 2010) are available on the Real Estate Center website. Here is a sampling:

	Sales	Change from Last Year	Median Price	Change from Last Year	Months' Inventory
Abilene	121	down 7%	$85,700	down 25%	6.4
Austin	1,345	down 22%	$181,300	up 3%	6
Beaumont	150	up 9%	$150,700	up 21%	11.2
Brownsville	49	down 21%	$95,000	down 5%	--
Dallas	2,736	down 27%	$156,100	up 3%	6.9
Fort Worth	577	down 24%	$106,800	down 7%	7.1
Houston	3,905	down 23%	$151,000	No change	7.8
Killeen- Fort Hood	160	down 39%	$125,700	up 1%	7.9
Longview- Marshall	142	down 30%	$122,900	up 2%	9
McAllen	150	up 7%	$106,000	up 3%	13.9
Midland	88	down 17%	$180,000	up 11%	5.8
Port Arthur	38	down 14%	$95,000	down 24%	12.7
San Antonio	1,249	down 22%	$152,900	up 8%	8
Texarkana	55	down 10%	$102,500	up 3%	9
Waco	146	down 6%	$129,200	up 24%	8.9
Texas	13,745	down 24%	$146,700	up 3%	7.6

Finally! En Fuego Cigars opens in Murphy!!!

En Fuego Murphy is just hours away from opening and they want all of us to come and help break the store in properly. They will be having an opening party Thursday night. Feel free to grab your friends and come on out and party with us.


In Murphy 


Excellent!
   

HAPPY Holidays?

Humbug!

I'm very disappointed in my beloved Murphy: there are scant few homes with Christmas light displays! I can find whole streets, half a mile long without one single decoration. What's the deal people??? Has Scrooge won? 


To combat this lackadaisical holiday spirit, we are announcing the JTOden Realty Christmas Lights Decoration Competition.


Winner get's $100 gift-card medley. Post your address here for evaluation, or email me if you are afraid that Jack Frost will ID-theft you. Outdoor displays only. Not at all limited to Murphy only but I'm not driving to Fort Worth or Florida. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


(PS Runner up gets maybe a slice of pumpkin pie)

Foundation Repair Sucks! (Well, actually, it blows*)

*One of the most common methods out there--thet BLOW a high pressure jet of water into the whole straight down to create a sloppy channel for the concrete piers to push through until they hit a terminal resistance.

A few years ago, we had foundation repair done to our 23 year old Fox and Jacobs home in Rowlett, Texas.  It was a textbook repair job that required a set of piers along the eastern perimeter of our house.
Three years prior we had done the same to the western perimeter.

Now, if you live in Rowlett and own a 20+ year old home built by F&J you WILL repair the foundation if it hasn't already been fixed.  That's it, I am a prophet.

Thankfully, our Murphy home is on slightly more stable soil--but some day, who knows..

Piers usually cost between $350 and $500 a pop.  You seldom will get away with stretching them out further than every 5-7 feet.  So, for a 20 ft. wall, that's likely about $1,600 bucks.  Ouch, right?

• If you ever think you need foundation repair call me.  Your Broker Matters (TM).  
• I have seen dozens and dozens of homes that need foundation repair.  
• I've overseen more tan 10 repairs.  
• I talk to agents frequently about the pluses and minuses of this company and that company.
• I've witnessed the estimates of over 15 different companies.  Hopefully, you'll have to do this repair once or less!

I can help.

En Fuego in Murphy -- UPDATE

Check out who was the first En Fuego customer to enjoy the new patio?

J.T. enjoying his pipe on the new patio.

That's J.T. Oden the Real Estate Man enjoying his pipe on a small pile of bricks.  Something tells me that's not the final seating design but it's going to be nice.  See why Your Broker Matters (TM)?  Yup.

Construction on the patio proceeds on...

So, I'm getting ready to run away from home.  The best coffee house of all: Saxby's in Murphy, is a scone's throw from the new En Fuego location.  Sweet.

The Moore guys reported on Facebook that the wood floors went in Tuesday.  That's going to be a lovey value add.  Nice.  I suspect that there are Murphy residents who are occasional pip and cigar  fans who have never been inside an upscale cigar establishment like En Fuego.  They're going to love it.

Customer Service Post #54

Mozy.com

It's an online backup service. No CD's, no external hard drives, secure, fast, easy---or so they said.

Guess what, it broke. It wouldn't work on my computer. Now, at only $5 a month, I didn't expect a lunch with the company president. I didn't get it. I did get a refund! Not only that, but 2 free months should I chose to stay with their service. Grand total cash we're talking about? $25. My 3 months paid when the service failed plus they gave me 2 more months free. But money isn't the point for either of us.

Customer service is what moved them and makes me willing to stay on as their customer.


Hey, you gotta give props when they're due.  I like www.mozy.com

10 Reasons to Buy a Home

Time magazine is being overly pessimistic [because Time magazine is largely edited by idiots --Ed.] in its recent cover piece that called into question the benefits of homeownership. In fact, now is a great time to buy. And, what's more, tomorrow will be a great time to own, because the fundamental strength of homeownership hasn't changed [and because Time magazine doesn't remember that there is more to the USA than California and the East Coast--Ed].

Why is now a great time to buy? Here are 10 reasons:

1. You can get a good deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average. They're at a level that makes sense for people's income.

2. Mortgages are cheap. At 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, your costs to own are down by a fifth from two years ago.

3. You can save on taxes. When you add up the deductions for mortgage interest and others, the cost of owning can drop below renting for a comparable place.

4. It'll be yours. The one benefit to owning that never changes is that you can paint your walls orange if you want (generally speaking; there might be some community restrictions). How many landlords will let you do that?

5. You can get a better home. In some markets, it's simply the case that the nicest places are for-sale homes and condos.

6. It offers some inflation protection. Historically, appreciation over time outpaces inflation.

7. It's risk capital. If the economy picks up, you stand to benefit from that, even if you're goal is just to have a nice place to live.

8. It's forced savings. A part of your payment each month goes to equity.

9. There is a lot to choose from. There are some 4 million homes available today, about a year's supply. Now's the time to find something you like and get it.

10. Sooner or later the market will clear. The U.S. is expected to grow by another 100 million people in 40 years. They have to live somewhere. Demand will eventually outpace supply.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Brett Arends (9/16/10)

Murphy is SMOKIN! ---UPDATE

En Fuego Murphy Update

I describe En Fuego as an upscale cigar shoppe (with two p's). This is no discount tobacco store. This is as delightful a location as you could imagine for sharing a cocktail, a cold beer, coffee, and sitting with friends to chat and catch up----provided you enjoy cigar and pipe tobacco smoke. We look forward to their grand opening!

En Fuego is expanding to Murphy! We anticipate opening in November. We will keep you informed of their progress.