Drywall work.  Lots of us call it by the name given it by the first manufacturer of the stuff, Sheetrock.  It's supposed to replicate plaster in appearance and functionality, but it is not as expensive or time consuming to install and maintain. It's molded gypsum sandwiched between two pieces of heavy paper.  Most home applications are 4' x 8' x 1/2" sheets nailed or screwed to the wall and ceiling framing members.  The seams are then covered with a somewhat pasty gypsum with heavy paper tape pressed into the gooey mess. After they completely dry out, those seams are sanded smooth.  In some areas this process is called "tape and bed," in other areas it's referred to as "tape and float."  Whichever you choose to call it, hanging and finishing drywall is both labor-intensive and an art. A... 08/20/2008

Before lending you a large sum of money to purchase a piece of Dallas real estate, it is understandable that your lender will want to know a little bit about you and your ability to pay back the loan. If you are a first-time Dallas homebuyer, or if it has been a while since you last spoke with your lender, it is helpful to be prepared for some of the questions you may be asked and to have some responses in mind. Below are some general examples of questions you may expect to hear when applying for a home loan: Employment and income · Where do you work?· How much do you make?· How long have you been at your job?• How is your income derived - steady salary or irregular income? (if it's the latter, plan on providing more details so that you get a favorable interest rate)  Outstanding debts ... 08/19/2008

Finding competent contractors and repair people in any large town is a serious task.  Dallas is no exception. As I explained in a recent post, Patty and I have had to have some major repairs and updating done to our home,  Uncovering contractors and repair people who would live up to our expectations was difficult at best.  In yesterday's post, I passed on to you the name of an excellent electrician.  Today, I want to tell you whom we chose for our air conditioning and heating contractor, and why, For the past three years, our central air compressor has had a freon leak, and about every three months we've had to have it pumped back up.  Either none of the repair people we called knew how to repair the leak, or they didn't want to.  I don't know which.  However, we even dropped our Amer... 08/18/2008

Those of you who have read my pieces over the years know that my real estate career started by accident.  For those of you who don't, here are the Bill's Cliff Notes: I was a young banker and my wife was an accountant.  Adding our salaries together, we were barely getting by.  I found a book in the library by William Nickerson, "How I Made $1,000,000 In Real Estate," read it and then we decided the advice there would be our meal ticket to a better financial life. We began by buying, renovating and selling or renting the large 19th Century homes of Galveston. That required us to not only learn about construction, but to also learn which electricians, plumbers, carpenters, air conditioning mechanics and trim men were competent and fair with their charges, and which ones weren't. That's a ... 08/16/2008

In the current Dallas real estate market, there has been a lot of buzz around "short sales." What is a short sale, exactly? A short sale is when a lender agrees to accept a mortgage payoff amount less than what is owed in order to facilitate a sale of a property by a financially distressed owner - in essence, the lender forgives the outstanding balance of the loan. There are pro's and con's to short sales on both sides of the deal. For the seller, credit history is seriously damaged, but not as badly as it would be by foreclosure. Sellers also walk away with no profit, which makes it difficult to purchase another home. For the buyer, the property comes at a reduced price, but it also generally comes with its fair share of problems, and there is a considerable amount of "red tape" to get... 08/15/2008

Do your clients have clutter in their home?? If so here is a FREE resource that is every stagers (or every person's, really) dream. I started "flying" 3 years ago just before my second child was born, and let me say - IT WORKS!!! Check it out at www.flylady.net. I don't get anything for posting this, but I just wanted to share a very valuable tool that has been a blessing to our family. We don't have a housekeeper, and even with a growing family of 5, our home is ALWAYS ready for dinner parties, overnight guests and even unexpected visitors.   - ALL beds are made EVERY morning - There are NEVER dishes in the SINK - I wash, fold and put away at least one load of laundry everyday - Bathroom is cleaned DAILY   Think I am crazy??? Just check out the website and you can live like this, too. ... 08/13/2008

I just returned from 3 very long hours at Dallas City Hall. Today's topic was the Board Of Adjustments Hearing regarding a property recently built at 6159 Oram. Yea, that one. The four story building that was illegally built in a residential neighborhood using a ridiculous loophole in Dallas' building code that only a syphalitic moron could think was the intent. (Hello, Mr. Richmond?) So after listening to some crazy people arguing over killer dogs, front yard fences and video cameras for 2 hours, we finally got to the case on Oram. Dallas building code is simple and straight forward. In a residential area, the maximum height of a structure is 36 feet measured from grade at the four corners of the building to the centerline of the roof. That means for all practical purposes, that 3 stor... 08/12/2008

As of July 2008, the market is looking pretty good for us old house owners, ok for new construction owners but not so great for those living in or holding on to tear downs. One thing I always have to explain to people is that "the market is down (or up)" means two very different things. What they mostly want to know is "Is the value of my house up or down?" But what about the question "How many homes are selling?" Right now we are in a strange place where the number of homes being sold is down, way down but prices are up. We're Up And We're Down Everyone knows Lower Greenville is the Austin of Dallas so a little weirdness is to be expected but for the last several months, we have flat-out defied the laws of economics. The law of Supply & Demand says: As the supply increases and demand g... 08/12/2008

You have probably heard, last week President signed into law the Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act. This is the most comprehensive housing bill to be enacted in over a decade. The bill is designed to help more buyers of Dallas real estate realize their dreams, as well as, boast the struggling housing and mortgage markets. One of the biggest benefits, and probably one of the most talked about provisions in this legislation, is the $7,500 tax credit to first time home buyers. Tax breaks are all well and good, but they have to be paid for somehow. While first time home buyers are getting a break, second home sellers will be paying for the $15.1 million dollars in tax cuts. Up until the new legislation went into effect last week, homeowners could exclude up to $250,000 taxable p... 08/12/2008

Hey everyone! I have just staged a room in order to be certified through Center Stage Homes...are any of you a HSE? I know that certification is not necessary in the Home Staging Business, but I chose that route because I needed a business plan and marketing outline laid out for me since I am just a little busy with 3 kids under 4 :) So the challenge I chose was to create a focal point in a room that didn't have one and voila...   FROM THIS: TO THIS: This was all done with items found within the house. What would you rate this on a scale of 1-10? Here are a few more pictures... MESSY BED BED WITH THE SAME QUILT, JUST FOLDED AT THE END SO AS NOT TO OVERWHELM THE ROOM ONE LAST LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF THE FINAL LOOK, IS IT TOO BARE?   So there you have it my first official staging / redesign... 08/08/2008

President Bush signed into law this week The Housing and Economic Recovery Act. This is the most sweeping change to housing reform since the New Deal of 1934. It is designed to assist more Americans invest in home ownership and shore up the faltering housing and mortgage markets. Like any legislation, it comes with the good and the bad. I encourage you to write your Congressmen to see if we can get legislation to revoke some of the bad. For example, effective October 1, 2008, FHA will increase the minimum required down payment from 3% to 3.5% for Dallas home buyers. The legislation also calls for the elimination of seller down-payment assistance programs such as AmeriDream and Nehemiah by October 1, 2008. As of July 14, 2008, upfront MIP premiums became risk-based on credit scores and t... 08/07/2008

Bent Trail is located in the north Dallas prime real estate location off Preston Road and Bentwood Trails, just south of the George Bush Tollway and Preston. Bent Trail is a fairly large community with a variety of homes for buyers of most budgets. Bent Trail offer traditional brick homes, comtemporary modern as well as colonial architecture homes. They are placed strategically within its own "style", so the community looks pleasant and dramatic. These houses typically range from the low 2,000 square feet, even though once a while, you could find some three-bedroom houses for around 1,800 square feet. Price range of these houses (at time of print: August 2008, they are starting in the low $200,000). Some larger houses are closer to 4,000 square feet with lots of landscaping to attract a... 08/07/2008

 First Time Homeowner Tax Credit: (Available for homes purchased April 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009)   The new law will extend a tax credit of up to $7,500 to first time homebuyers. The tax credit is for 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,500, but phases out for higher-income homeowners. This is a tax credit, not a deduction. It reduces the homeowner's tax bill by up to $7,500 for the tax year in which the purchase was made (please note that taxes must be filed). It is a one time credit.   There is a catch in that the money has to be repaid over 15 years, starting two years after the home is bought. The tax credit is truly an interest-free loan. If the tax credit is taken, the individual's income tax bill will increase by $500 a year for 15 years.  If the house is sold before the mon... 08/05/2008

If you have been trying to sell your Dallas real estate recently, you probably have realized that this is not the ideal time to try to sell a house. With a struggling economy and negative media surrounding the housing market, homes are staying on the market for longer and longer as fewer buyers are making offers on them. So - what do you do if you find yourself in a situation that requires you to sell your home in a hurry? The Wall Street Journal offers the following tips that I hope you'll find helpful: 1. DON'T WAIT AROUND.Even in the better housing areas, it's taking a long time to sell houses; so, don't try to sit out the market. That's what hundreds of other timid sellers are doing, each of them hoping - somehow, some way - that hanging on the sidelines will improve prices and, ult... 08/05/2008

WE ARE the co-sponsor for the first annual East Dallas Movie Night, taking place Friday August 8th under the stars at Tietze Park on Skillman and Llano.  Please join your neighbors and friends for a FREE family night at the movies featuring Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The movie begins at sundown, but please come early and enjoy great local music featuring the bands Sibling Rivalry and Modern Relic.  The bands will begin at 6:30, so bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and enjoy an evening in the park.  Studio Movie Grill will be providing the audio visuals, and all proceeds from the event will benefit The Friends of Tietze Park Foundation and the Advocate Foundation.  Keller Williams Dallas City Center will have a booth set up at the event, and will be blowing balloons for the kids, providin... 08/04/2008

I have been on a bit of a dining adventure lately and one of my recent stops on this world food tour was an exciting restaurant in the heart of Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood called Bengal Coast.  Bengal Coast is located in the Centrum Plaza building at the corner of Cedar Springs and Welborn and features food and flavors of what they describe as "the other Asia". The other Asia consists of India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and the foods and flavors that these countries have inspired at Bengal Coast make for delicious dining.  The food is a flavorful combination of meat, poultry and seafood items served in a variety of ways from wraps and kebobs to curries and stir frys.  There are also several menu options for those seeking a vegetarian meal. The food combines with an exciting and... 08/02/2008

Source:  Forbes.com   Real EstateBest Cities To Buy A HomeMaurna Desmond, 07.14.08, 6:00 PM ET Houston, we don't have a housing problem. The city's $152,500 median home sale price is up 6.6% from 2005. It boasts a low vacancy rate and an oil-rich economy. Throw in a bubbling entrepreneurial tech scene, and you've got four factors that put Houston on the top of our list of best places to buy a home. San Francisco, Charlotte, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla., and St. Louis, Mo., are other areas buyers can feel safe investing in. In Depth: Best Cities To Buy A Home We examined the country's 40 largest metropolitan areas and looked at where home prices have appreciated over the last two years. We also measured tightening vacancy rates. These metrics indicate places where buyers are investing in ho... 08/02/2008

Tax Free Weekend is coming up!  This year, it is August 15-17 as school is about to start. This is a great weekend.  I don't like to shop, and I really don't like shopping at peak times when so many others are shopping. However, I take exception to this weekend.  Even though you only save 8.25%, most retailers have huge savings on top of that, so if someone is offering 40% off, it's really 48.25% off which is almost 50% off!  That means, you could almost look at your purchases as buy one, get one free. This year is also exceptional because the state has included big-ticket appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.  As long as they are energy efficient with the yellow Energy label on them, they qualify for tax free. That's a huge savings when you're talking that dollar amount.... 07/31/2008

Photo GalleryDescriptionThis 2,040 sq. ft. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath is located in sought after Parkway Village. Interior of home is light and bright and features ceilings, carpet and ceramic tile. Kitchen features granite counter tops, ample cabinet space and breakfast nook. Upstairs loft can be used as gameroom or 2nd living area. Bring your bath salts and enjoy the master bath garden tub or relax with a book on the patio of the master suite. Easy access to George Bush and Dallas Tollway.FeaturesBedrooms: 3Bathrooms: 2.5Parking: 2Year Built: 1993Subdivision: Parkway VillageGarage Size: 2School District: Plano ISDSquare Footage: 2040Agent Name: Nancy Nolet ShawBroker: Keller Williams PrestonwoodMLS #: 11035785Location18836 Voss Rd Dallas Texas 75287Powered by vFlyer.comvFlyerId: 1750415 07/31/2008

Since we've been contemplating the move to Austin, it's given me an opportunity to see how other parts of the state, possibly even the country, do things.  One of those things is the Fence around a property.  This might not seem like a big deal, but in all actuality it is a fairly big deal as it's an aesthic thing... Look at this picture.  What do you see?  I see a confused fence that doesn't quite know which way it was supposed to be put up.  Are the "climbing bars" supposed to be facing in the backyard, or facing the other way?  I think this is a horrible look, and I can't believe this is called "Good Neighbor Fencing."  I had never even heard of Good Neighbor Fencing until reading the MLS listings for the Austin area.  I often wondered what it meant, and then a builder explained it t... 07/30/2008