As we begin 2020 we want to thank everyone for your business and your referrals in 2019. We hope 2019 was a great year for you and wish you a happy and prosperous 2020!

Be Careful Listening To Predictions And Interpreting Data

This is the time of the year when everyone wants to make predictions about the real estate market and the economy. Do you remember this time last year? Everyone was predicting the Federal Reserve would increase interest rates 3 times and a recession was almost guaranteed to happen. Both of those predictions couldn’t have been any more wrong!

We will also see more end of the year statistics and projections for next year. Inside this issue we talk about one particular company using statistics to influence your behavior. In…

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This is a great story about how being afraid of low-ball offers when selling your home winds up attracting low ball offers. The figures in this post have been changed to protect the innocent.

Whenever we talk with someone about selling their home, we go over the 3 strategies to price your home. We emphasize that it is YOUR home because we will give you professional advice, the same advice I would give a member of my family, and the final decision is up to you.

Occasionally we have a client who wants to price their home above the recommended market value. When we are in that situation, we do everything we can to get that price and the truth is sometimes the owner of the house is right and a buyer pays a higher price than expected.

What…

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Open Door is a house flipping company that buys homes at a low price and then re-sells the homes at a higher price. I think it’s great that consumers have more choices today when it comes to selling their homes.

It’s great as long as consumers are informed and not being misled about the real estate market and the true expected sales price of your home. What I’ve found when testing an offer for my own properties is the offers were very low. Because I’m working in the real estate business I know their offers are low. My fear is Open Door is preying on people who are less financially savvy and the people who can afford to lose money the least.

Because I previously requested an offer, yesterday I received this email from Open Door saying the Austin…

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Because we hold so many open houses, we see the same potential buyers over and over. They often tell me their struggles and frustrations about their home buying process.

Many of these struggles and frustrations are self-inflicted due to how they choose their Realtor. Buyers often think all Realtors are the same. As a result, when buying a home they will work with their friend (everyone has a friend in real estate) or hire an agent based on which agent gives you the largest rebate.

Especially in a low inventory real estate market like ours this is a huge mistake because you are not getting the most important things you need from a Realtor which are perspective and advice.

The average Realtor only sells about 1-2 homes per year. As a…

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Are you planning to sell a home with a solar system in the Austin area? Follow these tips to maximize the sales price for your home.

  1. Put Together A Package Of Information About Your Solar System

Think back to when you purchased your solar system. What information was important to you? Chances are the buyer of your home will want to know the same things.

When we are selling a home with a solar system we will put together a package of information including…

  • Original cost of the system
  • Age of the system
  • KW size and number of panels
  • Warranty
  • Current utility bills compared to before solar system
  • Is the system owned or leased

It is important to have this information in the document section of the MLS as…

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