DR Horton Headed Out of College Station?

Early this year DR Horton headed into College Station with a splash. Signs went up and promotions abounded. Their first subdivision they built in was called Dove Crossing. On December 19th KBTX, one of our local TV stations ran a story about DR Horton and how they have attempted, largely unsuccessfully, to compete in the Bryan/College Station market. Out of the 78 lots they purchased in Dove Crossing, only 35 have been built on, and many of those 35 are still for sale. Currently they are offering steep cobroker fees and paying closing costs for consumers.

What went wrong? Randall Pitcock, our local Homebuilders Association President, asserted that he believes they weren't able to offer the personal service that many of the homebuilders around this area do. He went on to state that the builders here see the consumers at community functions and that builds trust. Interestingly enough the article also stated that we have more builders here, per capita, than anywhere else in Texas.

I hate to disagree with the estimed Mr. Pitcock (who by the way does offer a fine house and good follow through!), but these same builders who go to church with the consumers and see them at the grocery store, in many cases don't seem to think that follow through, or warranty issues are of great importance and cause grief to their clients in the end. I don't feel that it has anything to do with building trust, after all one of the nations largest homebuilders is likely to stand by their product.

DR Horton, in my opinion, entered the market without studying it enough first. Dove Crossing is a neighborhood with homes priced in the middle of our range, 140-155K. One problem with that is their is competition galore in that price range. The homes that they built had a minimum of amenities, lacking common features such as bull-nose corners, crown moulding and ceramic tile. The next subdivision down is obviously a low cost subdivision with only one side brick to each home and extremely small yards. To add insult to injury the subdivision is located across from a heavily student oriented neighborhood with duplexes galore. In fact, in one of the homes I showed the master bath features a large window (with no frosted glass, or glass blocks) that faces these duplexes across the street. DR Horton, apparently had another subdivision in mind when they moved here, and that one was right next to the highway. We are small town America here. In Houston, Dallas, Austin, or other extremely populated areas buyers may be accustomed to living near a freeway or duplexes, but not in our area.

I believe that DR Horton could have made it given an intense study of the area and talking to clients as well as agents to see what is needed in the area. Too bad they didn't.


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Aggieland First Time Buyers Make 2007 Your Year!

Real estate for me is more like a calling rather than just a profession. The pleasure I get by handing first time buyers their keys is one of the biggest thrills of my life. I've had the pleasure this year of working with three families, who, through different circumstances never grew up in a home of their own. Either it was apartment living, mobile homes, or relatives homes that their families stayed in. There is no satisfaction greater than finding these people, and working with them to help their dreams become a reality.

First time homebuyers are often nervous or afraid of rejection when it comes to buying a home. Nervous because they might make a mistake and afraid of rejection because they are concerned no lender would want to touch them. I've had people with perfect credit walk into my office worried that they would never get approved for a loan.

The way to calm your nerves about making a mistake is simple. Choose a Realtor that you believe will work hard for you, not just the commission that the seller pays. Find one that will go out of their way to educate you about the process and negotiate hard for you. Go ahead and interview agents. Many years ago when I got into real estate a very wise person told me that you don't make money when you sell a home, but rather, when you buy it. This is how I would want your agent to negotiate for you, as if every penny counts.

The way to calm your fear of rejection on credit issues is to talk to your Realtor or financing source. I have a team of people that can help. Anything from credit cleansing to advising you how long to wait to avoid negative items on your credit and some unique programs that can lower the interest rate. Don't worry about no money down or any issues. Talk to a good financing source or a Realtor first and let them tell you what can be done. Saving for the perfect downpayment can set you back. If you save $2000 a year, but the average home price is rising 3% per year and you look at a $150K home, the next year that same house is worth $154,500 and you've saved $2000 towards the down payment. At that rate you can't afford to save.

Make 2007 the year you get into a house of your own!!!!

Join the College Station's "Citizen Congress" Monday, Dec. 4th, at 6 pm.

Residents of College Station can voice their opinions about College Station growth, traffic and restrictions Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 6 pm, in the Oakwood Room of the College Station Hilton. Residents will be broken into focus groups, transportation, economic development and community character. There has been quite a bit of interest in this, as citizens want, and need, to be a part of the comprehensive plan. Sugar Land consulting firm Kendig Keast Collaborative is in charge of rewriting the city plan documents, complete with citizen feedback.

The city received over 100 applications for its earlier advisory committee. Forty people actually serve.

Earlier analysis showed some of College Station's strenghts and weaknesses. Strengths included our airport, arts, culture and university amenities, and an adequate cost of living. Weaknesses included lack of economic diversity, sprawl, failure to plan thoroughfares for growth and neighborhood degradation.

Holiday Fun in Aggieland!

Well, it's time for hot chocolate and caroling in the Brazos Valley. Are you new to the area and needing to know the hot places to go?

November 28th- Christmas by Candlelight, Christ United Methodist Church. Holiday benefit with music and great food ( the desserts are supposed to be heavenly!). Call (979)690-4673 for ticket information. College Station

November 28th&30th-Holidays in the Rotunda-George Bush Library with local musicians, crafts and refreshments. Admission is free, so join them from 6-8 pm. The library is always a great place to visit and the extra lights and Christmas cheer makes it especially wonderful! College Station

November 30-MSC OPAS-The Irish Tenors 7:30 pm. Irish Tenors with full onstage orchestra for holiday music. Visit www.mscopas.org/irishtenors.htm or call (979)845-1234 for tickets. College Station

November 30-December 2, December 7-9, 14-16 7:30 pm. Inspecting Carol: A Christmas Comedy Written by Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Theatre. http://www.stagecenter.net/ or call (979)696-2787 for more information.

Santa's Wonderland Now through December 31. Millions of lights and great shopping. Go to this website for pictures of this awesome attraction. Guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit! http://www.santas-wonderland.com/ (979)696-7212 College Station

Christmas in the Park Dec. 1,2,8,9,15&16. Kicks off with a tree lighting ceremony December 1st in Central Park. Lots of free entertainment, past years have included Aggie Wranglers, pet contests and caroling from local groups, free hayrides, hot cocoa. (979)764-3486 College Station

Bryan's Holiday Magic December 1st at 5:30-8:30 pm. Sue Haswell Park. Free event with "snow" covered hill for sledding, light displays, snacks, live music and a clibing wall. Polar Express train rides ahte the ever-present Santa with lots of photo opportunities. Bryan

Jingle Bell Jubilee, December 2nd all day event in Bryan. Brunch With Santa December 2 9-noon at the Children's Museum. Holiday arts and crafts, playtime and photos with Santa. $20/each. http://www.mymuseum,.com/. Rudolphs 5K Fun Run and Walk 9 am. Downtown Bryan. $15 to register, $20 for 5K Run/Walk and Brunch with Santa. Live enrertainment at the Palace Theatre and car show to follow. Parade begins at 6 pm and tree lighting ceremony at 7 pm at the Carnegie Library. Evening events include carriage rides and a rock concert. http://www.mymuseum.com/ Bryan

A Victorian Christmas Stroll December 2nd. Hosted by ther Brazos Heritage Society through Heritage Park and a living history tour of the Cavitt House from 6:30-8:30 pm. Entertainment and snacks provided. Tickets $2 each, free for children 12 and under.

Breakfast with Santa December 2nd 9-noon at the Lincoln Center. http://www.cstx.gov/ (979)764-3779 College Station

25th Anuual Christmas Shoppers Arts and Craft Show December 2-3 10a.m - 5 pm at the Brazos Center 3232 Briarcrest Drive. Awesome shopping opportunitie with unique gifts, handmade jewelry and woodwork, gift baskets and more! Bryan

Bryan-College Station's Holiday Parade December 3rd at 2 pm. Sponsored by the Eagle. Starts on University Drive and ends on Villa Maria and Texas Avenue. Floats from all over Brazos Valley and free candy tossed from many floats! (979)776-4444. Bryan & College Station

Messina Hof: Big Reds for a Winter Evening December 5th. 7 pm. $25 class fee. Red wine class and tour of winery with gourmet foods. http://www.mesinahof.com/ (979)778-9463 X 34 Bryan

Food for Families Food Drive December 7th. The largest fundraiser for Brazos Valley Food Bank. Drop off non-perishable food items at The Brazos Center in Bryan, the Kimbro Center in Madisonville, or the Mid South Synergy office in Navasota.

Christmas Carnival at the Lincoln Center. December 8th 6-9 pm. (979)764-3779. College Station

Mistletoe & Merriment Concert, December 9th 7:30 Brazos Valley Chorale presents their holiday concert. Tickets $15 adult/$6 student. College Station.

2006 Christmas Favorites from Around the World Ice Show December 15-16 5:45 pm. Artic Wolf Ice Center, College Station. (979)694-3900 for tickets.

ChildreNinos Mexican-American Workshop December 18th 10 am. Bilingual stories, games, songs and activities. Children's Museum, Bryan (979)229-5625

Don't stay home this holiday season!!! Get out there and enjoy some of the fun, Brazos Valley Style!!!

Negotiating From a Strong Point, What Your Agent Needs To Know

An agent called me on Saturday and said she was bringing me an offer on one of my listings, she warned me that it was low, but that she thought it was good..."considering"

Considering what? Was my comeback... This is a lovely four bedroom home in an awesome community built by one of the better builders and across from the community pool. Her response was that the fourth bedroom had been made into more of a study area (my clients were empty nesters and needed a study more, they did minor modifications to enlarge the door, but left a small closet in the room) and it wasn't a "true" fourth bedroom.

I told her that we would take a look at the offer and get back to her. The offer came in 20K lower than the asking price. I was already armed and dangerous with information. I, of course, presented the offer to my client. My client had recently received a report from me detailing sales in the neighborhood and price per square foot with a notation where her house fit into the scheme of things. We together discussed the fact that her $91/per square foot was a median for the neighborhood and that we felt it was definately worth it. I cautioned my seller not to allow emotions to get in the way.

In calling the other agent back I was able to tell her that 34 homes had sold in the neighborhood since Jan. 1, 2006 and of those only 3 had sold for the price per square foot she was offering ($82) or below. I mentioned that three bedroom homes, if that was the concern, had sold robustly in the area as well, with no resulting hit on the price per square foot. After discussing each house that had sold in the neighborhood I was able to my discussion off with the fact that, of her five current listings, none were listed at the $82 per square foot level or less and that they weren't built by as desirable a builder, or in as desirable a neighborhood.
Finally she stated that they were just looking for a deal....

Let's talk negotiating for a moment here....

All agents should know their clients strenghts and your opponents weaknesses. A far greater weakness for my client is the fact that we are at the slow time of the year, not the lack of a fourth bedroom. The agent should study each strength that you have and ensure that you are using it for all it's worth. Diminish each weakness you have as best you can. One listing I have has a small living room on the first floor. We've rearranged the furniture to maximize the look of the floorplan and really made the upstairs gameroom a showpiece because it has all the room that the living room lacks.

Agents shouldn't bluff. It would have been far better for this agent to simply have stated, "it's a slow time of year and we we know it's low, but were hoping they were agreeable". I've had much success with this in the past. Simply admitting that the buyer isn't motivated to move unless the price is right has made more than one of my buyers an excellent deal. This point of negotiation is the ultimate trump card! As many convincing arguments that you might come up with if the buyer has the upper ground and isn't in love with the house, then the buyer has the upper hand. Trying to bluff instead risks insulting the other agent and the seller.

Your agent should know the statistics for the area and how to use them to your advantage. Are sales down in the area? Are foreclosures up? Are there a glut of homes for sale in the neighborhood? Any of these statistics can make a believer out of a seller. Point them out to the sellers agent and make sure that they know their clients weaknesses.

With a listing, the agent should know how to counter each weakness. Being able to say "yes, foreclosures are up in the area, but those were in the 300-400K value homes", is much better than stumbling when someone brings it up. Know your own weaknesses and plan counter arguments before the fact.

In short, ensure that your agent does the research, and, like a good chess game, they should plan their moves accordingly. It can save clients thousands of dollars!!

Cosmo and Real Estate

The media is constantly talking about real estate, sometimes doing much more harm than good. I've written about this many times. Here we are with the media again, delving into the area of real estate. Their wise editors dispensing invaluable tidbits of advice that the masses absorb like manna from the sky...
I'm in my doctors office the other day, and before she comes in I read a short blurb about real estate in Cosmo. That's right, good old Cosmopolitan magazine and their experts on real estate have truly contributed. The article was aimed, I would presume, at first time homebuyers because the title was something like "should you buy a home by yourself". We are seeing increasing numbers of singles investing in homes, so the article was certainly timely. The wisdom that they shared was along three main themes:

1. Don't get too excited in front of the agent, it would lead to a higher sales price.

Instead of dispensing the wisdom of getting a Buyers Agent, they are basically leading the potential buyer to distrust everyone in the transaction. Don't let the listing agent show you the property if you want to avoid this downfall and interview and trust the Buyers Agent that you pick. As a Buyers Agent I enjoy seeing your enthusiasm for the home. BUT it doesn't come into play when I negotiate the house price for you. As a matter of fact I feel like it's my role to take your rose colored glasses off and point out potential resale problems and maintenance issues. Typically the more excited you, the client, gets, the more I do this to ensure that you are making a wise decision.

2. Don't let an agent pressure you into making a decision on a house right away. Walk away if this happens.

In general I can see the wisdom of this advice. What they arent' taking into account, however, is that our first time homebuyers (their presumed audience) are in the lower price brackets as a whole. With my first time buyers I'm typically helping them with homes under 120K. This is the price range that we have the most buyers in and the fewest homes. Excellent homes in great condition are sold within hours sometimes. I typically tell my buyers on the good homes that they might want to make a decision, otherwise the decision will be made for them. As long as they realise that the house that this is a risk I'm OK. I just don't like those phone calls two days later that say "we've decided" and having to explain that the house is no longer available. I've also seen times when being the first to offer really pays off. Not too long ago I representated a buyer who put an offer on a house within a day of it being listed. The weather was awful during that time and I think that kept other potentials away. Our offer was negotiated and we got $2000 off list price. The listing agent later told me that she had four other agents want to bring her offers afterwards. (I knew two agents that tried to bring offers, so I don't doubt it!). If they would have waited it would have escalated into a bidding war and my client would have paid more for the house. BTW, if we're looking at 300K homes, I would have a completely different attidude!

3. If the home has been on the market 6 months or longer offer 10% less than asking at a minimum.

Again, here we have a generalization. Absolutely, if the house has been on the market for 6 months we have more negotiation room. We have to factor in several details though... Has the house had improvements in the recent month or two? If they were putting off adding new carpet, replacing old fixtures, adding ceramic tile and then they made the improvements this doesn't apply. Has the house had price reductions since it was listed, and how recent were those? If the price was originally $160K and they are down to $140K then we might find the 140K value to be good.
A far better strategy is to find out about the house first. What do the tax records say is the appraised value? Around here that tends to be running at around 90% of sales value so this might give us an indication. Pull comps and find out what other homes have been selling for in the area price per square foot. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples, look for square footage simularities, simularities in condition, finish out and age of the home as well. You might actually find that only offering them 10% less than asking could be overpaying, or that you are getting a fantastic deal in the first place because they stubbornly refused to paint that front bedroom and nobody liked the shade of purple they used.

Generalizations don't belong in real estate as a whole. My genuine belief is that Cosmo doesn't belong in it either!


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