August 2010 Dallas Real Estate News You Can Use!

J.D. Powers collected 3,000 evaluations from 2,817 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2009 and April 2010. Overall satisfaction with the buying experience is determined by rating satisfaction with the practitioner, the office they represent, and a variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the home-selling experience: the quality of the practitioner’s performance, marketing, the office they represent, and other services.

On a 1,000-point scale here are the scores in the home buyer segment:

1. Keller Williams, 817
2. Prudential, 811
3. Coldwell Banker, 805

Dallas "Must Do's" for Getting Your Home Ready for Market ...

You only have one chance to make a good first impression on a prospective buyer.

If you are planning on selling your home, implement as many items as possible from my list of PROVEN listing enhancers. I guarantee your home will sell for more!

1. CLEAN and DE-CLUTTER. Reduce "stuff" everywhere.
2. PAINT. Interior first. Exterior second.
3. CARPETING. Have it cleaned if realistic or replaced.
4. SPRUCE UP YOUR LAWN AND LANDSCAPE.
5. RE-ARRANGE. Stage your home like a model.
6. UPDATE. Kitchens and baths.
7. INSTALL HARDWOODS. It's "the" hook.
8. LET IN THE LIGHT. Open up the drapes and blinds.

Please feel free to give me a call if you wish to discuss the specifics of your remodeling plans or need the name of a good contractor. I am always glad to help and there is never any obligation!

My Dallas Listings in the Future Might Have a Granny Pod Out Back ...

Fred Kunkle in the Washington Post has turned me on to the NBT (Next Big Thing). Officially called a MedCottage, detractors are already calling it a Granny Pod and a likely place for depraved off spring to stash their elders.

The portable, high-tech dwelling designed to provide temporary shelter for sick or elderly relatives in backyards could revolutionize the way Americans care for aging family members.

Its detractors call it the "granny pod" and worry that the structure could lead to cases of neglect.

On Monday, N2Care, a company formed by a Methodist minister in Salem, Va., showed off its first MedCottage, a 12- by 24-foot prototype filled with biometric technology that would allow a family and health care providers to monitor the condition of an aging or disabled relative. The cottage contains air filtration systems, video links, devices that allow the remote monitoring of vital signs and sensors that could detect an occupant's fall.

Even before the prototype was trotted out, the company's concept had received an important endorsement: The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this year that supersedes local zoning laws and allows families to install such a dwelling on their property with a doctor's order. AARP, the lobbying group for aging Americans, has said local zoning laws pose one of the biggest obstacles to making such dwellings a practical solution to caring for aging family members in what it calls "accessory dwelling units."

The bill passed almost unanimously, and Gov. Robert McDonnell signed it into law. However, detractors worry that the setup could lead to cases of neglect involving forgotten elderly or disabled occupants of the dwellings. They also believe the "granny pod" could create conflicts with neighbors who find the dwellings unsightly.

Read the whole story in the Dallas Morning News.

Does Real Estate in Dallas interest you? Let Me Email You a List of the 53 Most Common Mistakes Dallas Homebuyers Make. This Could Result in Your Saving $1000's on the Purchase of Your Home!

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