By Tom Branch, on March 16th, 2012  I dropped by The Preseve in Allen today. Things have really started to take shape.
The two model homes near the west side enterance are just about complete. We have been told that they will be complete and open for business by the end of March.
As I drove the neighborhood, I noted the lake is full and about six homes are well on their way to being completed.
When I last spoke to Ashton Woods, I was told that pre-sales have been brisk and many of the premium lots are already reserved.
Click here to read all our posts about The Preserve in Allen.
Photo Copyright 2012 Imaged2Sell
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By Tom Branch, on March 12th, 2012 
I was out finalizing a lease for one of my clients yesterday. The listing agent was not available so I met with the owner of the property. My clients got stuck in traffic so we had some time to chat. The conversation turned to investment homes.
Many investors confuse rental rates with cash flow assuming that getting the maximum amount of rent equals maximum cash flow. I’ll argue the opposite is usually true.
There are at least two hidden costs that need to be factored into the cash flow equation. The first is vacancy rate and the second is the cost to lease. Both subtract from long-term cash flow.
Any time a property is vacant it’s not producing revenue. Limiting vacancies should be a factor in rental pricing. Let’s assume I have a property rented for $1500 a month on a single year lease. If the tenant vacates the property after the lease ends, I incur the loss of revenue while the property is vacant and I have the cost to lease it. The other “cost” is realizing that most damage to a home happens during turnover. If I can get a good tenant to renew, I avoid all three losses.
While you may need to raise the rent on a renewal to cover increased expenses, this increase may cause our tenant not to renew. If I raise the rent on my $1500 property to $1600, I hope to generate another $1200 a year in cash flow. If the tenant moves out and the property takes 30 days to lease, I’ve lost $1500 plus I have the cost of leasing the property. The best time to consider raising rental rates is in between tenants.
The other place to consider this concept is when a tenant is asking for a reduced rental rate on a multi-year lease. On my $1500 rental, I will often reduce the rent to $1450 for a two-year lease. Why? Long-term cash flow. I know I will not have any downtime after a year and I will not have the cost to lease it again. The $50 a month reduction is $1200 over the two-year lease. If I have 30 days of vacancy and I have to lease it, my loss of revenue and expense to lease it can reach $2400 in my market. Additionally, I have to pay for utilities and lawn maintenance while I’m leasing it.
Maximum rent does not alway equal maximum cash flow.
Want to work with an experienced team of agents on your next investment property? Contact us at 214-227-6626.
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on March 8th, 2012  We spoke with CB JENI Homes this afternoon to get an update on the Brick Row Townhomes being built to the east of the Spring Valley DART Station in Richardson, Texas.
The builder should be breaking ground on the first two buildings in the next two weeks. Each of the buildings has four townhomes. The builder will use one for their model home and sales office. The other seven will be available for presales.
The Brick Row Townhomes will range in size from 1200 to over 1900 square feet. Prices will start in the high $140’s. Standard features will include site-built cabinets, granite counters in the kitchen and baths, stainless steel appliances, and ceramic tile flooring in the wet areas.
If the weather cooperates these units will be ready in late July or early August 2012.
We hope to have the builder’s sales slicks with floorplans in the next couple of days. We’ll post them here as soon as we get them.
Click here to see all our posts about the Brick Row Townhomes.
Photo used with permission
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Purchase a new home through us and we'll help you with your closing costs! We'll give you a credit of 1.5% of the price of the home at closing to use towards your closing costs.
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By Tom Branch, on March 4th, 2012 
I’m often amazed at the things sellers unknowingly do to make selling their homes more difficult.
I was scheduling showings for a buyer today. We have 9 properties to view and we are starting at noon. The order was set and showings were scheduled through our showing service.
About 2 hours after I set them all up, I get a call from the showing service. The last home of the day wants us to move our showing. The want us to show it before 12:30 or after 3:30 as their baby naps every day between these hours. Sadly I was not able to accommodate their request and simply did not show the property. I was not willing to rearrange an entire showing schedule and change 8 other showings to accommodate one seller.
If you are a seller, please let your agent know about these types of scheduling issues. The agent can add remarks to the MLS so agents working with buyers are aware of these issues prior to scheduling an entire day. You cannot expect agents to rearrange their schedules around a single showing. It takes time to lay out routes and schedule showings.
Buyers are moving quickly on homes lately so make it easy to show your home. If you have a unique situation, ask your agent adds it to the MLS.
Photo Licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on March 4th, 2012 
3 Bedrooms | 2.1 Baths | 2 Car Garage | 2354 SF/Tax
Great home with 3 living areas and 2 dining areas zoned to Frisco ISD. Stacked formals lead to the kitchen with black appliances, breakfast area, and family room. Massive master suite with plenty of room for a sitting area, master bath has garden tub, separate shower, and a walk-in closet. Game room has plenty of space for a full-sized pool table. Open patio overlooks large back yard perfect for entertaining. Enjoy the Creekside at Preston community amenities.
Click here for more details, photos, virtual tour, status, and pricing on this Frisco TX Home For Sale.
Click here to see all homes for sale in Creekside at Preston, Frisco TX.
Contact us at 214-705-2470 for more information or to schedule a showing.
Photo and Video Copyright 2012 Imaged2Sell
By Tom Branch, on February 26th, 2012 
The past couple of months have been crazy! Homes that are in good condition, show ready, and priced right are flying off the greater Dallas market. It’s almost like the good old days. Two of our recent listings had multiple offers within a week of going on the market and several of our buyers had to pay list or above in order to secure a contract. The buyer’s market in north Dallas area is over in the under $200k price range.
There’s been a lot of speculation as to the reasons but many first-time home buyers have been sitting on the fence waiting for rates to bottom out or the economy to stabilize.
This may last well into the normal spring sales season unless something bad happens to the economy. The run-up in oil prices and the impact on fuel prices could send them back on fence.
If you’ve been thinking about selling your home and moving up this may be one of the best times in history to do so. Homes under $200k are moving, prices are likely at the bottom, and interest rates are insanely low. We closed a home a couple of weeks ago with a 15 year mortgage at 3.00 percent and another recent closing had a 30 year FHA mortgage at 3.875 percent.
We have many resources on our website:
Home Value Request – What’s my home worth?
Seller Tips
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Looking for an experienced team of agents with a proven track-record to sell your home? Click here.
Feel free to contact us if you have questions or need more information.
By Tom Branch, on February 25th, 2012 
This is always a hot topic and so many people are not aware of the laws and rules which govern it.
Texas attorneys can represent both sellers and buyers. Given that few attorneys are also brokers or salespersons, they don’t usually represent sellers who need to have a property marketed. The most common situation is an attorney representing a buyer. While the attorney can represent them, it is illegal for a Texas broker to share a commission with an unlicensed person or entity (other than a party to the transaction). Texas attorneys can collect a fee from the client they represent or even the seller if the parties agree (TRELA §1101.651(a) and §1101.652(b)(11) respectively). Listing brokers can reduce their commission so that the seller can pay the attorney directly without violating the Act.
The same rules apply to the referral fees. Brokers cannot pay referral fee (valuable consideration) to unlicensed persons or entities. There is an exception found in TREC Rule 535.20(a) which allows brokers and salespersons to provide gifts of merchandise with a retail value of $50 or less. Such gifts are not considered valuable consideration.
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
Originally posted at http://www.referralagentsoftexas.com/2012/02/25/can-texas-attorneys-collect-referral-fees/
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I dropped by The Preseve in Allen today. Things have really started to take shape.
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