Thomas Johnson's (tabjohnson) Blog

OneWest Bank Releases Their First Year Profit Statement $1.6 Billion- You Won't Believe This One! Kudos to Scott Reckard with the LA Times.  He wrote an article today that is sure to open some eyes.  The article, titled "OneWest Bank Profit: $1.6 Billion" does an excellent job of pointing out som...

The concept of getting your website to the first page of Google seems like an almost impossible task to many.  People spend months writing more and more content for their site, getting backlinks, and editing things without ever getting your website to the first page of Google.  You feel defeated ...

    It used to be that internet savvy buyers would spend a few weeks looking and learning, and then once they targeted their desired area/price/style, they’d view a handful of homes, maybe 3-5, submit an offer, get into escrow and actually close escrow within about a month. Now if you’ve done you...

  Many real estate professionals are using Craigslist as part of their overall real estate marketing plan.  Today was the first day that I have noticed that one of my Craigslist advertisements has been indexed by Google.  This was a total shocker because I have always been under the impression th...

  In the Houston housing market, we are beginning to see more short sales. Amy Jones brings some great tips on saving time dealing with short sales.   We qualify our buyers before showing them a home, right? But are you qualifying the short sale listings you're showing them? If not, you may be wa...

Here are the new changes for FHA borrowers. It looks like they go into effect about the same time the tax credits fall off.  If you are thinking about a home purchase in the Houston housing market, get on the stick! you have less than 100 days to make your move and be eligible for Uncle Sam's fre...

My clients ask me all the time "is it really necessary to do all this work to prepare my home for sale?" "Won't the buyer look beyond this or that...?" Buyers and their agents will usually book several viewings in one day.  So they have a lot to take in and remember. First impressions, are usuall...

The joy of our profession and the season. Merry Christmas!One of the joys of the season is in the Christmas cards I receive from clients that I have worked with over the years.   Many of these cards include photos of families or at least of their children.  (And being an animal lover, I also enjo...

Have you thought about getting that bigger, better house in a better neighborhood?   NOW IS THE TIME! Whether you need more space, want to upgrade your location, or for any other reason, the current real estate market presents a unique opportunity to capitalize by trading up!  5 reasons why this...

The key metric in this buy now mania is rent equivelency.  Can you buy as cheaply on a monthly basis as renting something equivelent?  Factor an adjustment for the down payment, the tax credit, and don't for get the income tax advantage of writing off your interest and property tax-does anyone th...