GrandPrairieBlog.com

The Home Inspection

I have found that many buyers and sellers—first timers as well as those with past home buying experiences – have a number of questions and misconceptions regarding the home inspection process. Buyers tend to think that the seller should take care of all issues on the inspection report. Sellers tend to fear that the buyer might back out of the contract or make numerous unnecessary and expensive demands. Neither of these should be the case. The inspection report is really just an objective 3rd party “snapshot” of the home’s condition at a given moment in time.

Buyers need to understand that the inspection report should not be treated as a “get out of contract free” card. It is also not a grocery list of items that the seller will automatically agree to repair. While it is not unreasonable to expect a seller to fix major problems that are wrong with the home, minor issues can easily be taken care of after the buyer has moved in. For example, a leaky roof is a major issue, but a faucet that drips is minor. Part of the duty of your Realtor® is to help you decide what is a major concern and what is not. Remember that you may probably do not want to lose the home of your dreams over a $100 repair. Even if there is nothing in the report worthy of bringing up to the sellers, an inspection is worth its weight in gold. This is a full “checkup” for your future home. It will help you prioritize your maintenance and improvement goals during the first few years in your new home. It will instruct you in the proper upkeep and care for your foundation, appliances, HVAC systems, roof, and more. I highly recommend that the buyers and their Realtor® should be present for the inspection. This allows the buyers to ask questions, learn about the home’s systems, and better understand the inspection report. Even on new construction, you should always get an inspection.

Sellers should realize that the inspection is not meant as an attack on the homeowner. It is generally best for the homeowner to not be present during the inspection. He or she may be offended by innocent comments and take a defensive position—killing any chance of a civilized negotiation. While the inspector will find numerous issues in your home that you have long ago learned to live with, work around, or ignore, this does not mean that you are a bad person. It also does not mean that these items HAVE to be repaired in order to sell the home. Unless it is a very major issue—one that will prevent the buyer from getting a loan or insurance—all repairs are negotiable. It is up to you and your Realtor® to go through the contract amendment and decide where you want to go from there. Keep in mind that anything that bothers this buyer would likely be a problem for any future buyers if you cannot come to an agreement. Would you rather replace that water heater for a buyer you have already agreed to terms with, or take a chance that this buyer may walk and you may never get another offer as nice as the one you already had under contract. Also remember that you are required by law to disclose any problems you are aware of in the house. The inspection process helps keep your liability lower by bringing to light issues which could come up in a lawsuit two years down the road. In fact, paying for a pre-inspection when you first place your home on the market could more than pay for itself by allowing you to take care of any items a potential buyer may be concerned with and providing written documentation of your home’s clean bill of health. When a prospective buyer is trying to choose between two relatively equal homes, that clean bill of health could be the determining factor.

Unclaimed Properties - Letter from Kirk England

October 10,  2007

Dear Friends,

There are hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property, some of which may belong to you, a family member, or a dear friend.  I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that  there is a way in which you can claim your property. On Sunday, October 21st, Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, will again publish the annual list of individuals with abandoned property in more than 30 Texas newspapers across the state.

If you are interested in searching for unclaimed property, you may do so at any time by calling (800) 654-3463 or (512) 463.3120. You may also use the online database at www.window.state.tx.us/up to search for your name and begin the claims process electronically.

Should you need any further assistance with this process, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards,

Kirk England

District 106

Grand Prairie Halloween Happenings

There are many things happening in Grand Prairie during October. Take your family out and have some fun!

Nightmare at the Wax Museum 2007 – 7 PM to Midnight every Friday and Saturday in October, and on Halloween night. The Palace of Wax & Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is located off of Beltline and I-30 at 601 Palace Pkwy. Admission is $18, but there is a $3 of coupon available at participating Whataburgers. For more info, call 972-263-2391.

Fall Festival – Hosted by the City of Grand Prairie on Saturday, October 20^th from 9 AM to 1 PM. Located at the corner of Main & NW 2^nd Streets in downtown Grand Prairie, this festival will include food, live entertainment, as well as activities and goodie bags for the kiddos. The Farmers Market will be open for fresh produce, and numerous vendors will be on hand displaying their wares. For more info, call 972-237-8036.

Farmers Market Pumpkin Patch – Beginning Tuesday, October 16^th, the Farmers Market will have a pumpkin patch at the corner of Main & NW 2^nd Streets in downtown. Open from 10 AM to 6 PM every day through Tuesday, October 30. For more info, call 972-237-8036.

Haunted Hayrides – Come on out to Loyd Park (3401 Ragland Road) on October 26^th or 27^th for a haunted hayride. Admission is $10 per vehicle and the hayrides are open from sundown to 11 PM. For more info, call 817-467-2104 or visit http://www.LoydPark.com.

Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre – The Grand Prairie Arts Council will be hosting “A Party to Murder” from October 26^th – October 28^th. Presented by Murder Mystery Players, Inc.,  this PG-13 audience participation performance and dinner will begin at 7 PM on October 26^th & 27^th, and at 6 PM on October 28^th. Tickets are $30 each or $100 for a full table of four. Follow the action, study the clues, talk to the suspects, and compare notes with your dining companions. Nokia Theatre will award a grand prize package to the best detective each evening. Grand Oaks Country Club, 3502 Country Club Drive. For more info, call 972-642-ARTS or email gpac@artsgp.com.

Haunted Hallway – The largest FREE spooktacular for kids in the DFW Metroplex will be at Traders Village (2602 Mayfield Rd) on October 27^th. Entertainment starts at noon, and the Haunted Hallway opens at 3 PM. Parking is $3. For more info, call 972-647-2331.

Pumpkin Pick & Paint – Join us at Kirby Creek Indoor Pool (3201 Corn Valley) from 1 PM to 6 PM on Saturday, October 27^th for the annual floating pumpkin patch. Swimmers can pick a pumpkin out of the pool, paint it up, and take it home. Admission is $2 per swimmer. Call 972-263-8174 for more info.

Howl-o-ween – Don’t forget your dogs this Halloween season! Starting at 6 PM on Saturday, October 27^th, there will be a costume contest for dogs at Central Bark—Grand Prairie’s new dog park. If your four legged friend hasn’t been to Central Bark yet, please make the journey to Warrior Trail, just east of Great Southwest Pkwy. If you don’t have a dog, be sure to stop by Prairie Paws next door to adopt one! For more info, visit http://www.GrandFunGP.com.

The Monster Mash – Universal Monster Fest & Halloween Carnival – 1 PM to 9 PM on Saturday, October 27^th at the Logos Youth Center (121 N. Center St). Admission is one canned good per person donated to the Grand Prairie Food & Clothing Co-op. Come out to see the restored classics of horror: Frankenstein, Dracula, and more! Special guest actors Burton Gilliam and Lar Park Lincoln will be on hand to sign autographs. Costume contests, concessions, trunk-or-treating, Dracula’s Blood Drive, and much more! For more info, visit http://www.scotomaevents.com or http://www.myspace.com/scotomaevents.

Free kids movie at the Main Library (900 Conover Dr) – 4 PM on Tuesday, October 30^th. This spooky animated feature film is rated PG. For more info, call 972-237-5700.

Halloween Carnivals: October 31^st.

-         Charley Taylor Recreation Center (601 E. Grand Prairie Rd) will host a FREE Halloween Carnival from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. Featuring a haunted house, games, arts & crafts, candy, and a costume contest. Call 972-264-6890 for more info.

-         Dalworth Recreation Center (2012 Spikes St) will host a FREE Halloween Carnival from 6 – 9 PM. Featuring a haunted house, carnival booths, a pumpkin patch, and games for younger children. Call 972-264-7670 for more info.

 Happy Halloween!

Dallas Cowboys Schedule Update

Wow! What a game last night!!!! If you went to bed early, you missed some of the most exciting football I've seen in a very long time!

But enough about the past....on to the future.

I have sent out hundreds of Dallas Cowboys football schedule magnets (with Monday Night Football schedules on the back). If you have not received one and you would like one, please let me know. I will get it out to you ASAP.

Unfortunately, there is a mistake on that schedule. It was not a mistake when the schedule was printed, but the schedule has since changed. The October 21st home game vs. Minnesota was originally scheduled for a noon kickoff. However, the powers at Fox Television want the kickoff moved to 3:15 to better accomodate their schedules. So, the schedule has been changed.

Additionally, three other noon kickoffs (November 18 vs. Washington, December 9 at Detroit, and December 30 at Washington) may also be changed at a later date. Stay tuned!

Listing Agent vs. Selling Agent

I would like to provide an answer to a recent question that was posted to my blog:

how do you know when you have a realator who is signing a contract to sell your house and not in the business to sit back and watch other agencies sell it and they get some of the profit, we had this experience. House did not sell, our agency only showed

Usually, but not always, the real estate agent who ends up providing a buyer for your home is not the same agent who lists your home for sale. When you place your home on the market, the agent you hire to market your home is referred to as the Listing Agent. His or her job is to market your home, help you make the home "show ready," assist you with the related paperwork, negotiate on your behalf, advise you regarding offers on your home, otherwise represent you and assist you throughout the real estate process.

On the other end of the spectrum is the agent who is assisting buyers. This agent's job is to help a buyer determine an appropriate price range, show the buyer houses online and in person, help the buyer find financing, insurance, and other such needed real estate related products, represent the buyer in negotiations, assist the buyer with the required paperwork, and otherwise walk the buyer through the home buying process. This agent is referred to as a buyers agent or a selling agent.

Generally speaking, a Realtor is competent at representing buyers and sellers alike--just not on the same transaction. Part of the marketing of your property is placing it in the MLS--a database accessible by all members of the National Association of Realtors. This database placement is what allows other agents to know about your house. Most agents are working with 6 or 10 or more buyers at any given time. To maximize the exposure of your home to as many buyers as possible, the listing agent shows your home to as many buyer agents as possible, who then show their buyers. The only way to get those buyers' agents to show the property is for the listing agent to pay the agent who finds a buyer. While it might seem like your listing agent didn't do anything, it is through his or her efforts that the buyers agents learned of the house. Perhaps the most important part of the listing agent's marketing plan is to sell the value of your home to other agents so that those other agents will want to show the home to their buyers.

I hope this explains how the system works. Please keep the questions coming!

About the foreclosure crisis

There has been a lot of recent news coverage about the "foreclosure crisis" that we are all experiencing. According to the news, our economy is suffering terribly due to recent foreclosures--especially in the sub-prime market. I would like to set that record straight. Have I mentioned before that real estate is local? That is still true. When the media reports the story about foreclosures, they never seem to do so on a local level. They only look at areas that are currently suffering, and then they act as if that news applies to everyone.

 Recently, Chief Economist Doug Duncan of the National Mortgage Bankers Association made an official statement regarding this ongoing "sub-prime mortgage mess." The news covered the negative aspects, but you really have to dig deep in their articles to find the following good news that was also present:

• The foreclosure problem in the U.S. is really only a problem in seven states: Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada.
• The problem in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana is related to their recent loss of manufacturing jobs. You take jobs away from an area, and the people have to move to where jobs exist.
• In each of the other four states, investors have dramatically and artificially forced real estate prices too high, too fast. As a result, builders have also inundated these areas creating an oversupply of available housing. The home prices rose too quickly for many people to keep up.
• In these four states, 25% of the foreclosures are on properties held by investors who were speculating, and then just walked away from their investment properties.
• 35% of homes in America do not even have a mortgage. Either the mortgage has been paid off or the home was paid for with good old fashioned cash.
• 98% of the mortgages in America are performing just fine. Only 2% are having problems.
• Less than 10% of all mortgages in America are in the sub-prime category.
• Even the sub-prime loans are mostly performing. Only 25% are not performing.
• In the 47 states not listed above, foreclosure rates have actually fallen from 2006 to 2007.

In the DFW area, homes are still selling. Our inventory levels are about half of the national average. This is not the buyer's market you keep reading about in the newspapers or hearing about on the evening news. Our sales numbers are stable. Our property values have continued to rise at a moderate rate.

 According to Forbes Magazine, Dallas is the 4th most stable real estate market in the United States with 5.45% price increase over the past year. The Fort Worth market is ranked number 10 in the nation at 3.09% average price increase.

Did I mention that real estate is local?

You have questions? I have answers!

I'm looking for some assistance with my Real Estate Blog. More specifically, I want to know what information you would like to see in this blog in the near future.

 Here are some sample ideas to get your thoughts flowing:

• Buyer's market vs. seller's market -- how to tell which one you are in and what it means to you.
• First steps to take when you are thinking about buying a home.
• Things every first time home buyer should look out for.
• Some simple and cost effective staging techniques to help your home sell faster and for more money.
• Questions to ask a real estate agent before hiring him or her to sell your house and/or to help you find a new home.
• How to get 100% financing, and do you really want to?
• Are foreclosures really a great deal? How about HUD?
• What are some special programs that the federal government offers through HUD?
• Grand Prairie specific news.
• Why use a REALTOR®?
• How to determine how much house you can afford.
• Why is REALTOR® always written in all caps?
• What are the main differences between FHA, VA, and Conventional Financing?

If you would like to know about any of these topics, just keep your eyes peeled. I will be posting them to my blog and/or in my newsletter over the next few months. If you have other ideas regarding what you'd like to see, please drop me a line! You can either post a response to this blog posting or send me an email at robert@GrandPrairieHomes.com. 

Grand Prairie is the 6th Fastest Growing City in the Nation

According to recently released Census Bureau statistics, Grand Prairie ranks 6th in the nation in terms of fastest growth among cities with 100,000 or more population. With our 6.6% growth rate between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006, we are 2nd place in Texas, behind McKinney who had an astoundingly high growth rate of 11.1%. Factoring in Denton's 9th place and Fort Worth's 11th place national rankings, the DFW metroplex area is growing like no other metropolitan area in the United States. More people means more houses, and more houses means a strong local real estate market ahead!

For more information, please see the Dallas Morning News article linked from the city's web site:

http://www.gptx.org/documents/growingcity.pdf

Also see Kathy Goolsby's article in the July 29th Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/grandprairie/stories/072907dnmetgpgrowth.2b8e48f.html

Grand Prairie News Release - Boat Ramps Open On Joe Pool Lake

NEWS RELEASE
JULY 2, 2007
CONTACT: Bob McGlothlin 817-467-2104

BOAT RAMPS OPEN ON JOE POOL LAKE

GRAND PRAIRIE—Joe Pool Lake is full, but boat ramps are still open at Lynn Creek and Loyd parks. Despite record rain this summer, the lake is just over 3 feet above normal, still great for boating, water skiing, wake boarding and fishing. “We receive lots of calls asking about our boat ramps and the lake levels,” said Bob McGlothlin, Senior Superintendent for Grand Prairie’s Lake Parks.  “Ramps are closed at many of the metroplex area lakes, but at Lynn Creek and Loyd Parks at Joe Pool Lake our ramps are open.”

Boat ramps are located at Lynn Creek Park, just east of Lake Ridge Parkway in Grand Prairie, and Loyd Park, located at 3401 Ragland Road east of SH 360.  The parks also have swimming beaches.  Loyd Park features campsites, air conditioned cabins and a meeting room available for rent.  Admission to the parks is $10 per car.  The annual fireworks display at Lynn Creek Park is scheduled for July 4 at dark.

For more information about Joe Pool Lake parks and boat ramps, call 817-467-4173 or visit www.lakeparks.net.

Natural Gas in Grand Prairie

Natural gas drilling has come to Grand Prairie, Texas. This is generally viewed as a positive to those who own the mineral rights attached to their real estate. However, those who do not own their mineral rights are concerned about safety and noise. On each side of this issue, rumors and misunderstandings abound.

Will those who own their mineral rights be able to retire to a life of luxury? Will area families be in danger of losing everything to an underground explosion?

The truth is that nobody knows for sure what will happen, but we do have some idea based on similar situations throughout Tarrant County and beyond. As is typically the case, most of the hype is just hype.

Is it possible that a gas well might explode? Yes. Is it likely? NOT AT ALL. Media reports of natural gas explosions do exist, but they are few and far between. Most of the explosions that have been reported relate to construction workers hitting an existing gas line. My web research failed to turn up more than a small handful of explosions related to actual gas wells, and only a couple which did damage beyond the well site. Grand Prairie put a lot of thought and research into our gas drilling ordinance. Technology has improved tremendously. Gas well explosions are extremely rare. The pipes below your house will be over a mile deep. In other words, safety should not be an issue.

Will homeowners get rich? Not hardly. The initial signing bonus on a typical residential lot rarely exceeds $500, and the royalty check for a typical single family lot generally ranges from about $25 to $50 per month. While this is nothing to complain about, it is hardly getting rich. It is also probably not worth it to base the purchase or sale of a home on the mineral rights of the property. As a seller, would you really want to lose a potential buyer over a dollar per day? As a buyer, would you really want to lose the home of your dreams because you want that dollar a day income? In the big picture, mineral rights should not be a determining factor in the purchase of a typical residential lot. The only people who stand to get rich from natural gas royalty checks are large property owners (hundreds or thousands of acres) such as cities, school districts, and DFW airport. My thought is that this could mean increased funding for our schools, parks, roads, and emergency services without increased taxes on we the people. I'm certainly in favor of that!

About the noise......
As I mentioned above, technology has come a long way as it relates to the drilling of natural gas. There are now methods being utilized today which have tremendously reduced the amount of noise. Here in the International Estates subdivision of North Grand Prairie, we are already used to some noise. We are in the flight path of DFW. We are close to I-30. The worst case scenario with these natural gas drills would be the "High Impact" drilling sites. These are sites within 600 feet of any homes, churches, schools, etc. Grand Prairie's city ordinance requires a limitation on the amount of noise a well can generate. In the case of these High Impact wells, the sound level "shall not" exceed 78 dB during the drilling process, 85 dB during the frac process, and 65 dB during the ongoing operation. To put this in perspective, 85 dB is approximately the same as listening to your iPod at about 75% volume level or the noise created by heavy traffic as heard from a distance of about 30 feet. This noisiest portion of the process lasts about a week. The actual drilling is the part of the process which takes the longest. Drilling can take months to complete and it is a 24 hour/day process. The 78 dB limit for drilling is somewhere between the noise level of a hair dryer and a garbage disposal. The 65 dB limit for ongoing operation (lasting up to 30 years or so) is about the same sound level as normal conversational talking or the TV set when watching normal shows. When we crank the surround sound for action movies, it is significantly more. So, the annoyance factor of the sound will not be insignificant, but once again, I do not believe it will have a strong effect on whether or not someone would want to move into or out of a nearby neighborhood.

The next subject people want to know about is "Where will the nearest well be located?"
Since I live in International Estates, I will speak first of the closest drilling permit to my house. As of mid-June, 2007, the only site with a permit to drill is located off of Wildlife, on the site of International Wildlife Park. The only other site which has been identified for North Grand Prairie is between Shady Grove and Rock Island. That site has submitted an application to the city, but has not yet received a permit as of the posting of this blog. In South Grand Prairie, there are two sites on the peninsula and one site near the corner of Polo and Great Southwest which have applications pending in the city. All drilling sites which have received a permit in South Grand Prairie are south of Joe Pool lake, near Mansfield and Cedar Hill. For a complete and up-to-date map of permitted and pending gas well sites, see the city's web site at: http://www.gptx.org/EnvironmentalServices/GasDrilling/PermittedandPending.aspx

For more general information about drilling for natural gas, see the city's Environmental Services Department at: http://www.gptx.org/EnvironmentalServices/GasDrilling/GasDrillingIndex.aspx