Charlotte Stilwell's Blog

THE STAR OF THE BLOG:

16810 Indigo Hills Drive


MLS# 43945984 
$449,900 (that's ONLY $117.71 per square foot!!!!!!!!!)
3822 sq ft
3.303 acres
4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 2 car detached garage, study, game room, master suite (downstairs), screened porch.......wait.....this will help....

Before I tell you more about this house, check out the virtual tour....you are going to want to see this - trust me.  Here's the link:  http://vt.realbiz360.com/MLS-674442.html
It's ok.  I'll wait.  Go look.  No, really.  I've got time.



Almost done?  No prob....



Ok, now!  Were you sitting with your mouth open saying "WOW"?  I know.  Me, too.  And I've seen a lot of homes.  Thousands over 10+ years.  But I walked in, was very impressed  - the stairs...the wood floors...the paint colors...the high ceilings...the windows....the lay out...and then I got to the kitchen and was stopped in my tracks and nearly rendered speachless save one word.  WOW.  I wish I could post more pictures in the blog!

The master bath almost made me want to ask the seller's to leave so I could have a soak.  I think they might have been bothered by that!!  But seriously, it's breathtaking! 

The details.....suffice it to say, nothing has been overlooked.  Here's a partial list of upgrades...

CAT 5, CAT 3, and cable wiring in all rooms except formal dining room.

Surround Sound wiring in living room, kitchen, and back porch.

Whole house water filter system.

Water Softner system in house.

Special upgraded blown-in insulation in entire house, as well as upstairs attic.

Sprinkler system in all landscaped areas and grass.

Main water line ran to back of house that can be tapped in to for additional sprinklers or pool.

Wiring and conduit has been run through all landscaping areas to add outside lighting if desired.

Garage slab and framing were reinforced and designed so a second floor/apt. could be added if desired.

3 Zoned A/C.

2 tankless water heaters (master bath has own)

Large opening to the dining room is framed for French doors and the small opening from the dining to the kitchen is framed for a regular door should someone ever want to close that room off.

The game room upstairs is situated so a door could be installed.

French doors in family room could be removed if someone wanted to add a downdraft fireplace.

The side patio has a gas lead for a grill or if someone wanted to make an outdoor kitchen.

Outdoor lighting

Under cabinet lighting in kitchen

Washer/dryer negotiable

Light switch in entry that is for Christmas lights - outlets on 2nd floor soffets

Floor outlets in family room and study

SO, I suggest you come see this home very soon.  It is one of a kind - a true custom - and no detail has been over looked.  Call me!!  281-935-2055

Charlotte

Sellers, how realistic are you?  This is a very different market than what we've seen in years past.  Real estate is evolving and old school strategies are no longer working.  My advice for a quick home sale is to know your numbers and hire a professional who knows their stuff. The days of sticking a sign in the yard and expecting a home to sell are long gone.  Here are some things to think about:

What do you owe?  Naturally, this means the total mortgage you still owe on the home but make sure there are no penalties for early payoff.  Do you have a second mortgage or a pool loan?  Are there any other liens on the home?  Those will have to be paid off as well.  What will your closing costs and commission costs be?  Know your bottom line.

How much do you have invested and can you recover that in TODAY'S market?  Have you done renovations to improve the home?  Have you over-improved for your area?  Or, on the flip side, is your home in need of updates?  These all add to or subtract from the overall value equation and while putting in solid gold fixtures seems like it would add value (I mean, it's gold, after all!), it might actually do the opposite.  This is where an experienced agent is invaluable.  A thorough market analysis takes all that into account.  Have your agent SHOW you not just the comparible homes, but the competition as well.  Knowing your market is much more important than listening to your well meaning buddy at work.  When you have a professional Realtor who knows their stuff, you've got the advantage of having all the information needed to make the best decision.

Do you HAVE to move or just WANT to move? In other words...what's your motivation?  There was a time when sticking a house on the market with a higher than recommended price just to see what the response was happened more frequently.  In this market, that's the worst thing a seller can do.  Well priced homes sell faster.  Over priced homes don't get shown as much and eventually, even after the price is lowered to where it should be, become stale on the market.  Buyers get the perception that something is wrong with the house and what commonly happens is the house ends up selling for less than market value.  The sellers feel beat up over the price where had they priced it correctly in the first place, they would have made more in the long run.  Price your home very close to where you expect it to sell.  Testing the market backfires much of the time.

What's your marketing strategy?  Is your agent showcasing your home on the internet because THAT is where the buyers start a huge percentage of the time.  Gone are the days of print ads.  If your agent is spending marketing dollars to ensure a strong internet presence for your home, you are in good hands.  Are the pictures perfect?  Is the description perfect?  It's a beauty contest, my friends, and your home has to look the absolute best.  There are almost 8 months worth of inventory in the Houston MLS currently - yours MUST stand out!  Listings with few pictures and poor descriptions get passed over. 

Now is not the time to have a number in mind and not have the facts to back it up. A market analysis or appraisal from a year ago is irrelvent. The market changes constantly and what you need are the most current numbers available. Sadly, this may be lower than what your appraisal showed a year ago.  And again, motivation comes in to play here, as well.  If your value has dropped, can you live with the new value or is it better to stay put?

So, is the market bad?  No.  We are seeing buyers who are better qualified so while the buyer market may be smaller than it used to be, they are more able to buy.  That's a good thing.  Are mortgages hard to get?  Harder than before, but for qualified buyers, they are available.  They have a lot of choices, so your house must stand out.  Build a team to assist you and start with a professional Realtor.  You will be glad you did!!

 

Good luck!

Charlotte

I listed a new lot today in Saddle Creek Forest (MLS# 38678456) and it occurred to me that this hidden gem of a community deserved to be blogged about.  So here it goes......

When my family was looking to move to this area, we had a heck of a time finding a lot.  We wanted a community where we could build, have a little land, be protected by deed restricted but still feel like we were living in the country.  We found it in another Bluegreen development and have lived here happily ever after.  I know from the calls I get that people are still looking for the same thing.   Enter Saddle Creek Forest!

This Bluegreen developed master planned community starts with a beautiful gated entrance and leads to a smartly designed neighborhood that makes the most of the spectacular nature and land here.  A community pool, playgrounds, basketball/tennis/sports court, volleyball court, several fishing lakes, 7.5 miles of riding/hiking/bike trails, day stables, and a large covered riding arena - this neighborhood has it all!  Far enough away to be in the country but close enough to shopping, entertainment, schools - what else could you need?

So, come take a look at this awesome lot (MLS 38678456 remember?) and see what Saddle Creek Forest has to offer.  Let me know what you think!!!

With home values staying pretty steady, sellers with little or no equity tend to think about selling by owner in order to save commission costs.  Is it really worth it?  Let's take a look.

The number one mistake FSBO's (For Sale By Owner) make  is overpricing the home, which is one reason many Realtors don't bother showing them (that and some FSBO's won't pay the buyer's agent commission... if the buyer won't pay it, then the Realtor works for free.....not right and not going to happen...it's a JOB, not a hobby!).  People tend to say, "Ok, the house down the street sold for X, these in my neighborhood are listed for Y and Z, so mine must be worth whatever the highest priced one is plus, oh, say $10,000."  Or, they look at the tax appraisal value and use that (after adding 10-20K just for good measure).  OR, they say, "we paid X and added these upgrades so add that all up, throw in a good 10-20K because that feels right...".  No, No and NO.  Let's talk about pricing homes.

In order to determine the value of a home, an appraiser looks at the homes that sold, typically within a mile of the subject property (ie: your home), and as similar to the subject property in size, age, condition, upgrades, etc. as possible.  The appraiser uses comparible SOLD homes within the last 6 months as well so what your neighbor sold their house for a year ago is irrelevant.  The hard, sad truth is your home may not be worth what it was when you appraised it two years ago for refinancing, what you bought it for, and even harder to swallow, the upgrades you did may not add any value if what you did only brought it up to what's average for your area.  There's also the flip side of that last point where someone over builds for the neighborhood and don't get anything close to what they expected to get when they did the upgrades.  Pricing is CRITICAL!  

There are a lot of FSBO's who are what we call "Realtor Friendly" meaning they will pay the buyer's agent 3%.  Even then, many Realtor's won't show them because they know they will be essentially doing the work of both Realtors for 1/2 the price (3% versus 6%).  Does a seller know the contracts necessary, the latest changes to contracts, basic real estate law, etc.?  Most don't.  Contracts and forms change from time to time and it's so important when you are selling something so expensive that you have done it right.  A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing when it comes to something as important as legally binding contracts.  It's a lot of work that most people never realize.

Do you have the flexibility in your schedule to show your house at a moment's notice?  Do you want to do what  people who watch HGTV think sells homes and hold open house after open house letting perfect strangers off the street into your home with no pre-screening whatsoever?  That leads me to my next point...

Be aware of who you are letting into your home. Don't let appearance put your guard down - well dressed, well spoken individuals are criminals, too!
 
One thing to be cautious of is people calling to see when they can see the house, asking lots of questions about the house (like is there an alarm), for the sole purpose of trying to find out when the house is empty so they can rob you.  Don't tell them your work schedule.  Just offer a time or two and leave it at that.  

A Realtor can pre-screen buyers and show the home to only pre-qualified buyers with a letter from a lender, etc.  FSBO's are basically letting strangers in their homes with no prequalifying screening at all.  I'm not trying to discourage you or scare you - I just want you to be aware and prepared.  Most people are good, but the bad apples are the ones I'm warning you about.

People do sell their own homes, though, so it can be done. Title companies are pretty helpful with the contracts, etc.  It's just something you should think long and hard about. 

So, is it worth it to save the commission? 

I was reading a blog this morning that really hit home.  It was about how this agent went on a listing appointment (keep in mind he is a top agent in his area with many, many years of experience) and the appointment went really well - he felt really comfortable with the sellers and they seemed on board with him.  Come to find out later, they listed with someone else.  Ok, this happens.  It's part of the business and I've learned over time that it's typically not a personal thing, (well, sometimes, it is - sometimes personalities don't click.  That's ok.  We're all different.) but it happens for a variety of reasons.  But back to the story...

So, this agent later came across the listing and was disgusted to see that the home was way overpriced, had the absolute bare minimum pictures, bad ones at that (my favorite are the ones that include the side mirrors of the car - the agent was just too bothered to even get out of the car to take a picture of the front of the house?), no descriptions, no virtual tour, just not a job well done.  The agent called the sellers for feedback to find out why he didn't get the listing (I like to know as well because how can I improve my work if I don't know the problem?) and they said the listing agent they went with cut the commission.

Money.  Sometimes you really have to look at the bigger picture when it comes to dollars and cents (sense?). 

I wonder how long that overpriced home sat on the market with it's sad MLS listing (we all know in this day and age people go to the internet to look for homes and in my humble opinion, the MLS listing has to be STELLAR to attract people to them).  I actually wonder if that listing ever sold.  The agent who wrote the blog is in a different state so I can't see for myself but I'm betting the time it took to sell the house, if it sold at all, cost more than if the sellers had just paid the commission the original agent asked and actually marketed the property the way it should have been. 

There is no set commission for Realtors.  It's negotiable.  My point is, KNOW what you are getting for your money before listing with the lowest bidder.  If someone is quick to lower their commission, how effective of a negotiator will they be when it comes to negotiating on your home sale?

Thoughts to ponder...

Indigo Ranch 2009 Year In Review

 

It's always helpful to take a look at how a neighborhood is doing, especially in a year like 2009 where the housing market was considered to be in a "crisis".  While Indigo Ranch and this area in general have not been hit as hard as many places across the nation, it was a slightly slower year than in the past.  However, values did not drop and even increased in some cases.  So, here's the overview:

 

Properties Sold in 2009:

Lots:

*27327 Winding Creek (lot 73) 1.497 acres $40,000 ($26,720/acre)

27102 Stagecoach Crossing (lot 109) 2.846 acres $53,000 ($18,623/acre)

 

Homes:

*17203 Gold Panning Ct. (lot 87) 3351 sq. ft. 4.57 acres $318,000 ($94.90/sq. ft.)

17511 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 32) 4096 sq. ft. 2 acres $415,000 ($101.32/sq. ft.)

 

Rentals:

27003 Bridleway Circle (lot 131) 3007 sq. ft. 1.795 acres $2100/month

 

Properties currently Listed:

Lots:

 

272303 Hitching Post Ct. (lot 62) 1.765 acres $44,900 ($25,439/acre)

17819 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 41) 2.009 acres $45,000 ($22,399/acre)

16826 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 101) 2.444 acres $45,000 ($18,412/acre)

17719 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 38) 1.856 acres $46,000 ($24,785/acre)

17827 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 42) 2.923 acres $50,000 ($17,106/acre)

17403 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 29) 2.018 acres $50,000 ($24,777/acre)

*27018 Spotted Pony Ct. (lot 123) 2.002 acres $60,000 ($29,970/acre)

*17210 Gold Panning Ct. (lot 85) 3.784 acres $64,900 ($17,151/acre)

16811 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 105) 2.349 acres $69,900 ($29,757/acre)

27226 Stetson Circle (lot 51) 7.895 acres $149,000 ($18,873/acre)

27127 Bearclaw Ct. (lot 136) 19.40 acres $227,714 ($11,738/acre)

27126 Bearclaw Ct. (lot 137) 24.48 acres $287,286 (11,736/acre)

 

Homes:

26918 Spotted Pony (lot 125) 2672 sq. ft. 1 acre $250,000 ($93.56/sq. ft.) *27108 Bridleway Circle (lot 4, blk 2) 3428 sq. ft. 1.259 acres $365,000 ($106.48/sq. ft.)

27403 Winding Creek (lot 74) 3400 sq. ft. 5.15 acres $449,900 ($132.32/sq. ft.)

17811 Indigo Hills Dr. (lot 40) 3992 sq. ft. 1.988 acres $479,000 ($119.99/sq. ft.)

*27111 Bridleway Circle (lot 143) 3645 sq. ft. 7.04 acres $485,000 ($133.06/sq. ft.)

 

Statistics:

For the 2 sold homes in 2009, the averages are as follows:

Days on market: 332 Square Footage: 3724 Sold price per sq. ft. $98.42

 

For the 2 sold lots in 2009, the averages are as follows:

Days on the market: 214 (the lot on Winding Creek, however, sold in 20 days so this is a little skewed) Acreage: 2.171 Sold price per acre: $21,419

 

As always, please feel free to call or email me any time with any real estate questions—I’m always glad to help. Here’s wishing you health and prosperity in 2010!

 

Charlotte

 

 

 

* denotes properties listed/sold by me

So yesterday I did something I never do.  I returned something weird to a store. Twice.  Let me explain.

 

Firstly, I bought mascara at Walgreens, HATED it and decided, "what the heck - I'm taking it back".  I had already thrown away the packaging on Wednesday (trash day) so all I had was an open, slightly used (2 days) mascara and a receipt.  I had my doubts. 

 

I went in and spoke to the cosmetics lady and explained the situation.  She asked about the packaging and I explained why I didn't have it so she called the manager who came right over and approved the return.  Even better, she helped me pick out a new mascara that was much cheaper.  Even better still, I had a $2 off coupon from when I bought the original mascara that I was able to use and the whole thing cost me $3 and some change.  I was SO pleased with the customer service I called my mom and told her what happened.  I told a few of my friends, too.  How often does good information spread?  We know not nearly as quickly as bad news, right?  Oh, and the new mascara?  Used it this morning and so far, I LOVE it.

 

The second thing that happened involves those little tiny pumpkins.  More than a week ago, I bought 12 tiny pumpkins to give to the kids in my son's class today.  Yesterday I noticed three of them had rotted.  I figured no biggie, I'll just get 3 more.  So I went back to the corner pumpkin stand I originally bought them from and picked out 3 new ones, never saying anything about the ones that rotted.  The man told me it was $1 and I was happy about that and mentioned I had been there a week or so ago and bought a bunch of pumpkins and he said he thought he recognized me.  I told him what had happened with the 3 that rotted (NOT their fault, by far - it's produce, it happens!) and he INSISTED I take the three for free.  Now, it saved me a dollar -no biggie on the financial scale, but his instant willingness to help me out just earned him a customer for life. 

 

It doesn't take much to make me happy these days as far as customer service is concerned.  We have so many bad experiences that common sense transactions become big deals when good customer service shines through.  It reminded me how much the small things do matter and made me think about my clients and how I can incorporate what I learned into my every day business, even though I do provide good customer service already!  I was a Customer Service Manager at a large, nationwide bank before going into real estate - I've had training like nobody's business!  But I can still do better.  We all can.

 

Go out and "WOW" somebody today!  Earn a customer for life.  Be the good you want to see in others.  The little things DO make a difference.

A number of years ago I had a client who was relocating to Houston and like most of my relo clients, they were not all that familiar with the Houston area.  Anyone who is knows how big the "Houston Area" covers will understand what I mean when I say that  I literally spent a solid week showing the wife homes. I saw areas of Houston I hadn't seen in ages.  We took the grand tour of the entire city and surroundings, mainly suburbs, and I drove about 1000 miles.  When I say we saw at least 100 homes, I'm probably underestimating.  She and I hit it off and it was an enjoyable time (and are still friends all these years later) but I was so frustrated.  She was frustrated as well.  Make no mistake - I asked questions, we discussed at length location desires, wish lists, must haves, and so on and so on and so on.  Nothing we saw was ringing her bell, so to speak.

On the last day, her husband came with us.  I think he was frustrated that the process was taking so long.  He was ready to put the whole house hunting thing behind them and get a move on.  I was running out of things to show them. 

In the huge stack of MLS sheets,  there was one house that we had kept putting to the bottom of the stack.  This house met all their needs on paper.  It was in their price range, in a golf course neighborhood, was large enough, new enough...in other words, perfect.   Finally, we decided to go there just to rule it out.  Let me tell you friends, when I drove up to that house, I passed it, drove back around, passed it, and finally pulled over across the street.  I had the MLS sheet in my hand as did they and we were looking at the picture, then looking at the house over and over.  I checked, double checked, triple checked the address.  The husband said, if this was my house, I would have fired the agent.  Back then, things didn't stay on the market for months and months like they do now.  This house had been on the market for a loooonnnnng time.  No wonder.

The house in the picture was, well, ugly.  UGLY.  The house in front of us was BREATHTAKING.  We went in, were completely wowed by the whole thing, went to my office wrote an offer that was accepted and they still live there today.  The house was, and is, stunning.  STUNNING.  To date, that is one of the most expensive homes I've sold.

So, how important are pictures? 

When I was exclusively working as a buyers agent on a relo team, I showed at least a hundred houses a week much of the time.  Most of the time, they were suburbs and let me tell you, I had my choice of homes to show, many of the same floor plan over and over.  In order for me to come up with a reasonable, doable amount of homes to show, I had a lot of weeding out to do.  If someone was looking for a 3/2/2 under $200,000 in Katy, for example, I may have had 300 choices at that time.  99% of the time, what weeded out listings for me was the first picture.  I don't show houses as much as I used to, but to this day, if the pictures stink, I usually move on unless inventory is down and it's slim pickins!

Again, I ask: How important are pictures???  This isn't new.  Anyone who has read anything real estate related in the past 10+ years knows that pictures are a big deal.  When we have the access to inexpensive digital cameras, reasonably priced virtual tours we can do ourselves, the ability to put comments under the pictures in the MLS - why, WHY don't agents do it?  I list properties in different price ranges, but even on my high dollar listings, I use my $250 camera and take my own pictures.  I take about 200 pics on every listing so I KNOW I can get 16 excellent pictures for the MLS and 50 more to use in the virtual tour (as a side rante, virtual tours are completely worthless when it's just the same 16 MLS photos set to music - SHOW THE HOUSE).  The technology is so easy...WHY don't agents use what's available and do their job?  I guess that's a rant for another day, but I think my point is made.

Look at your listings and look at the listings you come across in the course of your business and ask yourself, are pictures important?