Meeting tomorrow!

Any business professionals or self-employed folk who want the chance to network over lunch are welcome to come! Premier Network Group meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month at Salerno's in Flower Mound from 11:30-1. You have the opportunity to meet other like-minded members of the community who have a true interest in getting to know you and supporting your business.
Lunch is $10 and includes tip and a drink. Can't beat that for Salerno's fine cooking! See you there!

Is It Any Wonder People Don't Vote?

I am proud to say that I have voted since I was 18 years old. I would get my absentee ballot while in college in Iowa and have voted in every presidential election.
I haven't, however, voted in all my city and local elections mainly because of ignorance. I don't want to vote on something I don't feel educated about and to be honest, I didn't really take the time to learn what the issues were and what the consequences would be.
But, I did vote in this past city election in Highland Village. The current city council makes me wish I had voted in previous years. With what has been going on the past few years, mainly speaking of the dismantle of our quiet community to make way for a 4-6 lane highway right through our neighborhood, it's a wonder people even vote at all. For a city of 15,000 people to only have just over 1100 voters turn out is pretty sad. No, not pretty sad...SAD. We have early voting for over a week and the regular voting is from 7am-7pm on a Saturday! Can't stop by at some point?
The major issue in our city for the past 7+ years now is the extension of 2499. There was overwhelming displeasure for this to go through. The Marcus HS gym was stuffed to the gills and people waiting outside to let their displeasure be heard. Even though there was so much support to block this, the Council went forward with it. Vested interest in the project completion? What else could it be? No right-minded person wants to see hundreds of mature oak trees replaced with concrete walls and Hummers!
So with an over 80% of approval of the communities to do something to keep traffic to a minimum on this 2499 expansion, what does the Council do? Sends an attorney out with the results that sorry folks, we don't care what you think. We are going to do what we want. Thus, my argument. Even at the lowest level of civic government, there is more than meets the eye. Do council members truly care about what their citizens want? I am not on a witch hunt nor do I think that EVERY city is like this, but with two glaring examples of flat out not listening to concerns for safety, security and continued low crime, what else can you say? Maybe low voter turn out isn't just apathy...it's disgust!

Weather is always a talking point

Whether it's the once a year snow storm we get in North Texas, the blazing hot weekend coming up, or the spur-of-the-moment storms that plague us, weather is always a topic of conversation.
I was watching an old episode of Family Feud (I know, GSN is a guilty pleasure of mine) and the question was "What is a topic of conversation that you think is boring?" Surprisingly enough, the number one answer was weather. I admit, weather isn't that exciting to really talk about. Doesn't everyone mostly agree? "It's hot". Yep. "It's cold today." Uh huh. "Boy, that wind sure is rough today." Sure is. It's pretty much a topic that isn't off limits at parties like religion or politics.
I remember the looks of amazement and confusion when I was in college in Iowa that I was from California. "Why the heck did you come to Iowa?" Believe it or not, I was sick of the sunshine and 70 degree Christmas mornings.
I found it funny that on Wednesday night when we had some killer storms roll through the Dallas area, that any of my North Texas friends that updated their Facebook status mentioned something about the weather. Maybe it isn't so boring after all!

What is Value?

It's not surprising that much like good help, good comps are very hard to find! I don't envy appraisers right now.
With our market on the rebound from a small downturn, comps from the past 3-6 months stink. Well, at least for sellers it does. Trying to establish value is difficult because what exactly does a person value? Someone may see improvements as a waste of money because they don't like specific paint colors, granite selection, or magenta carpet. Some people like to be able to make the changes they want and not have the price of the house increased.
One of the interesting things I see being considered is the replacement cost of the dwelling as well as the land. One of the "problems" I have with that is a true value of the replacement cost of land. If your house burns to the ground, you lose the house, not necessarily the land, right? So in the absense of good quality comps, is the value of the land being increased to overcompensate the lower house price?
Over the past year or so, I have seen more and more appraisals coming in right at contract price. How convenient! I even had one deal done that was a desktop appraisal with an older home renovated that wasn't even close to the comps as far as upgrades and it came in right at contract price. So, in essence, the appraisers are allowing homeowners to set the value of their homes by using what they believe is "fair and just" and they are appraising it for that set value. I find that quite interesting! What do you think?

Best Deal in Town

As I sit here anxiously awaiting a buyer for my listing in Little Elm at an open house, I decided to go ahead and take this opportunity to update my blog.
I have sat over 100 open houses in my four years as a real estate agent. I actually have procured a sale twice because of my efforts and picked up one or two clients along the way. They aren't very productive but when a seller wants one, why not do one!? All in the name of customer service!
Now getting to the best deal in town. I don't usually get balloons for my signs for many reasons. Cost, pain in the neck to transport and putting out the sign in the wind with traffic all around is bad enough. Add in some unruly balloons on a windy day and there's a task that has embarrasment written all over it!
A few months ago, I came across a service at Wal-Mart that is an absolute steal! Instead of going to Party City or Tom Thumb for my latex balloon needs at 89 cents or more a pop (no pun intended!), I buy a package of 12 or 15 balloons for $1.35 and they blow them up for me. What a bargain! So before you spend more than you have to, take advantage of Wal-Mart for their hot air and save yours!

So hard to do!

I am trying to figure out why it's so hard to update my blog. I look around my house and see clothes, shoes, dishes, toys, you know, the normal clutter that accumulates! Work is really busy. Trinity is now out of school. I guess it's not surprising that my blogging life would head down the toilet. Oh, and being pregnant trying to get two baby rooms updated is another project.
I really want to be more consistant with my blogging so if you are reading this and haven't completely given up on me, please feel free to drop me a word of advice or encouragement!