Judith Abbott's (judithabbott) Blog

In our area, if a property goes into MLS this week, it will be on MLS Tour next week.  Not every area has MLS Tour every week.  I live and work in areas that do.  I go to Tour on two different days,  on Tuesday (Park Cities, North Dallas) and Wednesday (East Dallas, Lake Highlands, Uptown and Oak...

A fair number of my personal friends are real estate people.  They are the people I have worked with over time, prior offices as well as my current office.  Real estate people move around.  My license has been with 3 different offices since 1998 when I began selling real estate in Dallas.   Some ...

A top Listing Agent recently said that owners need to price their home to set the market rather than chase the market.  My rule of thumb with listings is to price the home in the bottom quartile of current listings price for the neighborhood.  Owners sometimes respond that they don't want to "giv...

Poison Ivy was the bane of my childhood.  Bugs have never bothered me but Poison Ivy is another matter altogether.  As an adult, I get it much less frequently.  My personal theory is that I self-imunize.  I'll get a rip-roaring bad case of it one year and then I won't get it for 5 or so years aft...

When a Buyer Client gets a house under contract, the very first thing that happens is that we get the house inspected.   The purpose of the Home Inspector is to tell the client what it is that they are buying.  The inspector is an independent source of information for the Buyer.  I think it is im...

After my Buyer Clients get a Home Inspection, we proceed to negotiate Seller Repairs.  In Texas, there are 3 outcomes possible to that negotiation process.  1.  The Seller does nothing.  2.  The Seller does some (or all) of the requested repairs or 3.  The Seller offers the Buyer cash in lieu of ...

I sell real estate.  I am good at my job.   I am not in the furniture business or the large appliance business.   I have no expertise in furniture and large appliances although I negotiate for those things all the time.   However, buying or selling the stuff located in the house, the "personal pr...

A whole lot of what I do reminds me of the work done by a Midwife.  Babies get born when they are ready to be born and not a minute before.   Real Estate deals close when they are ready and not a second before.  The closing date in the contract is a target and not an absolute.  Things happen, alm...

Open Houses have to be scheduled at least 10 days to 2 weeks in advance.  That it takes at least that long to get the information in MLS, out on the Internet, into Craigs List.    During the week before the Open House, I get graphics done for the house I am holding open.  About Thursday, I check ...

I was driving down Jupiter Road this afternoon, taking a friend back to her office after a delightful lunch of Vietnamese baguette sandwiches (Banh Mi) we had found at a bakery up on West Walnut, when I spotted this place out of the corner of my eye. It was hard to find the front door. The place ...