How to Make Your House Stand Out, Dallas TX

IF you had a 3.5% mortgage on your current home and were buying another home, transferring your low interest rate mortgage WOULD be ideal. Unfortunately, lenders don't allow that.

BUT, here's a fabulous idea & another PLUS to buying a home today ...
IF you purchase a home with a FHA or VA loan, the present advantages are that these loans are priced competitively and are a little easier to qualify for than conventional loans, not to mention rates are crazy low right now!  The Future Advantage is that FHA and VA loans are ASSUMABLE at the original note rate for qualifying buyers.


There's more to sell than the home itself when you have an Assumable Loan. How so you ask???  For one, the mortgage payment for the potential buyer could lower their cost of housing significantly. Secondly, it could help grow the equity faster in the house for the potential buyer.

When Buying a Home Today, it would be smart to Think About Selling it in the Future. To have a good home with unique features makes it marketable. To have attractive financing that could be assumed would add to it's salability! Below is an example of how an Assumable Loan makes a difference. If you have more questions about how this works or are interested in Buying or Selling a home, please contact me ... I'm here to help, refer you to someone who can (lenders, ect), and would love to work with you or your referrals!

Get Ready Dallas,TAX FREE SHOPPING Weekend is Here, Aug 19-21, 2011

It's here ... It's here ... TAX FREE SHOPPING WEEKEND!!!

That's right ... there is NO Sales Tax my fellow Texans on a good number of items this weekend, Aug 19th-21st! This "shopping holiday" comes just in time for most Dallas/Ft Worth families as a majority of area schools around the DFW Metroplex First Day of School is Monday 22nd.

In this economy, we've all learned to really stretch the dollar and Back to School Shopping is no exception! In addition to getting items without paying the 8.25% Sales Tax, many stores are offering Special Sales and Coupons. So channel your inner Extreame Couponing fabulous~ness and 

• Plan out your School Supply/Clothes Shopping for the year, or as much as possible 
• Partner Coupons & additional Store Sales to really get more bang for your buck all while Not Paying TAXES
• Don't do all your shopping in 1 store ... buy the deals at the store then move on to another store and buy their deals. Yes, this means your going to have to do a little "recon" 

So just WHAT is on the TAX FREE SHOPPING LIST? More than you'd think! Baby & even Adult Diapers, School Supplies, Computers, Pajamas, & even Neck Ties! Unfortunetely, most sporting items like football cleats, volleyball knee pads, ect are NOT included in this Tax Free Shopping Holiday. Click here to see the what is and isn't included on the TAX FREE SHOPPING LIST. 

Oh, and 1 more thing, NO, you don't need to take your kid shopping with you or fill out any forms proving you have kiddos. However, just make sure you don't pay with a Company Credit Card or Company Check.

BACK TO SCHOOL Dallas/Ft Worth

The First Day of School for many of the School Districts in the Dallas/Ft Worth area is Monday, August 22nd!

The Cheers of Parents are growing to a roar and 

The Boos and Tears of Children are escalating day by day.

Are you a Parent with a child in the Garland ISD? If so, here are a few informative articles about GISD that will help gear you up for the 1st Day of School.

• GISD 2011-12 School Schedule & Calendar
• GISD School Dress Code / Uniform
• GISD 2011-12 School Supply Lists

Do you have children attending the Rockwall ISD? If so, here are a couple of info packed articles to make sure you're ready to rock the 1st Day of School!

• RISD 2011-12 School Schedule & Calendar
• RISD 2011-12 School Supply List

Are you a Parent of a McKinney ISD student? If so, here are 3 great articles about the MISD that you'll be glad you read. They're packed with useful information from my fellow D+B Realtor, Friend, & McKinney ISD Mamma, Kim Daugherty.

•  McKinney ISD launches misdGo! (aka - Your Own MISD 911 Resource on your PHONE!)
• McKinney ISD - Back to School - Start Times 2011-2012 - Don't Be LATE!!
• It's Back to School Time in Texas! McKinney ISD 2011 - 2012 School Supply Lists!

What is Home Equity Dallas TX?!?

OK ... so really, What the heck is EQUITY and Why is it Important?!?

Equity is simply the difference in an owner's unpaid balance and the value of their home.  Amortization and appreciation contribute to the equity over time.  The equity is usually realized when the home is sold but it can also be accessed by a home equity loan or a cash out refinance.

Most people think that it takes years to significantly pay down a mortgage and they're partially correct.  A five percent interest rate on a mortgage takes approximately 20 years to pay down half of the original amount borrowed.

A mortgage is like a forced savings account because each payment is first applied to the interest due on the borrowed money but another part pays down the principal.  On a $188,175, 5%, 30 year mortgage, the first payment of $1,010.16 includes $226.10 principal reduction.  In the first year, the owner would have increased the equity in their home $2,776.24.

 

As an example, if the buyers paid $195,000 for a home that is estimated to appreciate only 1% per year for 7 years.  With a 3.5% down payment, the equity in the home at the end of 7 years would be $41,921.  55% of the equity would come from amortization; 29% would come from appreciation and 16% from the down payment.

If you'd like to get more information on Equity & how Owning a Home can be YOUR Savings Account, contact me to discuss further. I also have great Lenders who have a fabulous wealth of information to share on the subject.

Triple Digit Heat Wave Rocks Dallas ~ Lake Ray Hubbard to the Rescue

Triple Digit temperatures have rocked Dallas for 34 straight days with most of those days being over 105*! Woo Wee, Dallas is well on it's way to break it's record of 42 consecutive days at 100* or higher that was set in 1980! So how does Lake Ray Hubbard play into this???

With all this heat, it's only natural that more people are staying indoors and running their air conditioners for longer amounts of time. All of this extra energy usage is really packing it on the Power Grids ... so much so that yesterday, Dallas was put on Energy Emergency Alert Level 2, where companies are paid to temporarily shut off their power during the peak usage times. 

To help ease the stress on the Power Grids, power companies like Luminant, are pulling in all their facilities, even the 40 year old 921 mega-watt Lake Ray Hubbard Power Plant! Though Lake Ray Hubbard's Power Plant is dormat for most of the year, it has enough power to take care of 200,000 homes! A Luminant spokesperson, Scott Diermann, said it best in a WFAA News 8 Interview yesterday, "It's vital that that unit be there, it's the difference between meeting all the customer demands and having to interrupt customers." 

With help from Power Plants like our very own Lake Ray Hubbard Power Plant and voluntary reduction of electricity usage from residents and companies, Dallas should be able to avoid the Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 of the dreaded Rolling Blackouts!

Should I RENT or BUY in Dallas TX

Have you heard the saying "Whether you RENT or BUY, you pay for the house you occupy"? Well it's true, you must live somewhere and there's a price to pay for it. 


The real question you need to ask yourself is ... Is it's cheaper to Rent or to Buy?

Some people don't have any choice but to rent because they don't have the means to qualify for a loan. But for those who do have a down payment and good credit, the Cost of Owning a Home might be significantly LESS than Renting!


Rentals are in high demand in many areas of Dallas/Ft Worth because of the growing number of Foreclosures & Distressed Sales and Rents are going up! 


After you look at whether the house payment is lower than what you'd have to pay in rent, Take a look at the other Benefits that Home Ownership has ... such as Principal Reduction, Appreciation and Tax Savings. 


If you're Renting right now, your decision really isn't whether to Rent or Buy but it's Do You Buy it for YOU or for your Land Lord? Because again, whether you RENT or BUY, you Pay for the House you Occupy!


Are you currently Renting but thinking about Buying, I'd love to work with you. Below is a sample comparison sheet that I can put together for you to see if right now really is the best time for you to buy.