Are you ready to Sell?

When you are ready to sell, you'll want to maximize the emotional appeal of your home. People who are enchanted with your home the moment they walk in are most likely to buy the home, and at a fair price.Here are some tips to help enhance the emotional appeal of your home:
* Turn on the lights to create a warm glow and remove the shadows.
* Make sure the windows are clean and open the curtains or blinds.
* Keep the kitchen and baths clean and sparkling. Don’t leave dishes in the sink.
* Remove all clutter, make the beds, and pick up toys.
* Pack away items that may detract from a buyer’s ability to mentally move into your home such as family pictures or teen posters.
* Make the closets look bigger by packing up the clothes you are not using.
* Create a relaxing atmosphere with soft music.
* Make people feel at home with homey scents such as freshly baked cookies or bread or good potpourri.
* Check for pet odors and keep pets safely out of the way when your house is being shown.
* Clean out your basement and garage and neatly stack boxes you have stored there.
* Add charm and appeal with fresh flowers and plants.Set the stage to show your home to its best advantage.

Please call or email me if you have any questions or would like me to provide you with tips on how to prepare your home for sale.

San Antonio Golf Course Home

This beautiful home with pool and spa sit on 1/3 acre and back up to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort Golf Course. The live oaks give lots of shade and privacy, the pool is flanked by 2 decks and the spa has a waterfall feature.

Inside, the 4 bedroom 3 bath home boasts 2 eating areas, 3 living areas and a cooks kitchen. A butlers pantry separate the large dining room from the kichen. The game room upstairs has a beautiful pool table that is available. Set in the NW part of San Antonio, the gated community of The Fairways at Legacy Trails is close to shopping and several major employers.

Contact me for more information!

The Fed helps Home Buyers

The Federal Reserve has taken significant action in the last few weeks due to the credit crunch. To date, over 120 mortgage companies have closed their doors due to reduced liquidity. The result: Borrowers who want to take out non-conforming loans have fewer, more expensive options. Many media outlets have incorrectly added fuel to the fire by stating that mortgage lending has stopped altogether and that borrowers can't get a loan without a 20% down-payment. This is not true. Conforming interest rates and loan programs, those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have not been significantly impacted by recent events. While this is good news, the market is experiencing unprecedented volatility and changes could come at any time. Borrowers need to act swiftly and decisively in today's climate. The Fed's decision to cut the discount window rate provides stability in the financial markets and this can be good for all of us. It's important to note that the discount rate is different than the Fed Funds Rate, which directly impacts interest rates that you pay for Home Equity Lines of Credit, credit cards, and automobile loans. Most importantly, the discount window rate cut does not directly impact mortgage rates. What should you do now?Information, knowledge, and expertise are the building blocks of sound financial decision making. You need to work with a Real Estae Broker who can help you understand that there are still attractive financing opportunities in today's marketplace – but they might be a little harder to find. Call me and let's discuss how we can give you the information you need to make the best decisions.

As always, your Real Estate Consultant for Life!

Selling Your Home? Must read!

The following are 7 costly mistakes Home Sellers make as they are ready to put their homes on the market. There are many more but these 7 are the most common. Sid Davis' book "A survival Guide to Selling a Home" goes into more detail but here's the points to remember and avoid:

• Mistake #1 Putting your home on the market before it is ready. The street appeal and the interior freshness will either turn on or turn off a home buyer_ make it sparkle.
• Mistake #2 Over improving the home for the neighborhood. Every community has a sales price range_ don't exceed that range with improvements.
• Mistake #3 Pricing the home based on what the seller needs to net. This is the most common. Buyers offers are based on what they see in comparison to your house. If priced properly, it will sell for top dollar in the shortest time.
• Mistake #4 Hiring an agent based on non-business factors. A professional is extremely important in the transaction especially when one of a hundred things go wrong. I work with you and for you through out the entire process.
• Mistake #5 Getting emotionally involved in the sale of your home. When you put it on the market, it changes from your home to your house_ a comodity. People may not love it like you did so don't get upset if they express a dislike.
• Mistake #6 Try to cover up problems with the house or not disclose them. Texas requires a Sellers Disclosure of Condition. Use it properly as the most common cause for a seller to be sued is failure to disclose an issue or condition with the house.
• Mistake #7 Not getting your ducks lined up before trying to sell. Make sure you know what and where you want to buy and the cost before you put your current home on the market.

The costs are high and the frustratiopn great in making these mistakes. I can help you avoid these and many other mistakes. Contact me for a free consultation.

Home Foreclosure looming? I can help.

Overextended homeowners in San Antonio area markets combined with stagnant employment opportunities in some job fields increase the odds that individuals will find themselves in desperate mortgage situations. Despite the trauma foreclosures impose on homeowners and communities, real estate professional Thom Perdue, a foreclosure specialist—can make a difference.
When homeowners fall victim to economic circumstances and face losing their homes, the properties can sit vacant and incorrectly priced for months or even years as lenders try to unload them, leading to a decline in property values at best and a rise in crime at worst.
If enough homes in any particular area enter foreclosure, the fabric of the neighborhood can change as homeowners move—sometimes flipping the properties to investors who flip them again, perhaps without anyone ever moving in. The problem can affect any neighborhood of any economic class in the state.
As your real estate professional, I can help turn the tide against declining neighborhoods by finding stable buyers and helping them locate reliable lenders, contractors, landscapers or repair professionals to restore these properties if needed. Although, many foreclosed homes in today’s market are in good condition, the street appeal is usually degraded at the very least.
I can help homeowners become aware of the financing options available to them to help save them from the many downsides of foreclosure within the often-strict deadlines to close the transaction. The back-and-forth nature of offers generally doesn’t apply with foreclosures. You usually have one shot—win or lose.
Learning to handle foreclosures with grace and expertise has come with time and experience. The process can be frenzied, but it also can be personally and financially rewarding for everyone. If you need help with a pending foreclosure, now’s the time to contact me before it's too late. To learn more about foreclosures, contact Thom Perdue, ABR, CRS, Texas Real Estate Broker.

Builder Spotlight_ Mercedes Homes

Mercedes Homes
"A Family Builder Building Homes for Families"

Mercedes Homes is a perfect case history story of how a small, family-owned builder has grown to become one of America’s top builders without losing its family roots and values.

It all started in 1983 when Howard Buescher, with 23 years of experience in the home building industry, formed his own company in Florida. He named it after his wife, Mercedes. In that first year, Buescher built 35 homes. Since then, the company has built over 40,000 homes, ranking the company as the 16th largest builder in the nation. They are the second largest privately owned builder and largest 100% employee owned builder in the United States.

Employee ownership in Mercedes Homes is a major contributor to their positive atmosphere. From an ownership position, this sense of responsibility and pride translates into customer service and satisfaction.

Rapid expansion also saw the company not only expanding throughout its home base state of Florida, but into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Yet, because of the managed growth of Mercedes Homes, the company has been able to keep the friendly, family atmosphere.

San Antonio is the newest expansion market for Mercedes Homes with two communities open for sales with more on the way. The Renaissance at the Vineyards and Mountain Lodge in North Central San Antonio are master-planned communities. Because they are a design-oriented builder, they tend to not be in the lower price points. Mercedes built homes are starting in the mid $300’s in the two newest communities in San Antonio.

Adam Wilson, Division President and veteran in the building industry, heads the San Antonio Division. “We spend a lot of time researching products and working on the latest trends and try to incorporate them into our designs,” says Wilson. “Our homes in San Antonio have features such as rotundas, courtyards, large covered patios and unique exterior designs. Our Mediterranean, Tuscan, Old World, and Mission exteriors are a result of our research of the trends in the San Antonio market.” Large, expansive kitchens adjoining family rooms are also important. High bath count, luxurious master baths, media and game rooms are also considerations that are made in their designs to satisfy the latest trends.

Although one of the nation’s largest builders, Mercedes Homes has managed to keep the family-owned and operated, personal touch culture. It is a family building homes for families.

If you would like to see their model and see the quality in person, contact me and I'll set it up.

PS: Thanks David Trever for info on your company!

Almost overnight, San Antonio is a Buyers market...

As Builder inventory continues to rise and fewer Buyers visit the neighborhoods, the incentives get more and more bold! At the same time, pre-owned home Sellers are putting their homes on the market with school now out and what we have is called a flattening of the market or shift to Buyers Market. This spells more time on market for home Sellers and careful analysis of pricing. The homes must look GREAT from the street now more than ever. Are you ready for the professional services of a Real Estate Broker who has seen this market condition several times before and knows how to Market homes in a changing climate? Contact me for a free consultation.