I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome New York Times best selling author Nancy Taylor Rosenberg to Frisco. Ms. Rosenberg appeared on the literary scene in January, 1993 with the publication of her first novel, Mitigating Circumstances. The novel went on to become a New York Times best-seller. Ms. Rosenberg's subsequent novels have also appeared on the New York Times best-seller list: Interest of Justice, First Offense, California Angel, Trial by Fire, and Abuse of Power. Her most recent novels include Buried Evidence, Conflict of Interest, Sullivan's Law, Sullivan's Justice, and Sullivan's Evidence. Ms. Rosenberg relocated to Frisco from California and is currently working on a new best seller. Ms. Rosenberg was a pleasure to work with and will offer a needed literary touch to o... 02/13/2007

Starwood's master plan is comprised of 550 acres of breathtaking north Texas landscape, with lush creeks, stately Spanish Oaks and dramatic hilltop views.Starwood's village concept offers a diverse selection of residential options distinguished by homesite size and price. Homes designed my North Dallas' finest builders range from the $400's to over $4 million, giving residents just the lifestyle they want and deserve...including low-maintenance luxury patio homes, traditional executive residences and heavily wooded, lush creek side estate homes.You can visit http://www.starwooddev.com/master_plan.htm and select any village shown on the masterplan to learn more about that village and the homes offered there.    02/12/2007

Come home to Christie Ranch! It's set in a relaxed, country atmosphere with excellent schools and entertainment nearby. Christie Ranch is convenient to major roadways and shopping facilities. The homes at Christie Ranch are geared towards the needs of today's familiesContact me about gettting your best deal on a Grand home at 214-234-6901 or http://granthowell.comCommunity Amenities : Two amenity centers with pools and cabanasPlaygroundGreenbeltsSchools : Frisco ISDBoals ElementaryGriffin MiddleWakeland High School-New, 9th-11th, will grow to 12thFrisco High-12thTax Rate : 2.262Parks/Recreation : City of Frisco rec/park facilities offer golf, fishing, baseball, tennis, basketball, volleyball, soccer leagues and swimming. The Alumni Fitness Center, on the Collin County Community College ... 02/12/2007

I was wondering how other agents feel and have you had any goog or bad experiences when you used the "charm" pricing technic. For example, pricing a home at $129,690 instead of $130,000, Do you think the home homes tends to sell closer to the listing price than if the home is offered at a rounded price. I have been using this method and here is what I have found:Charm pricing could be an indicator that the seller is not open to negotiating the price. That there is some formula used to arrive at the priceThat the price is closer to the lowest price the seller will considerAny feedback would be great, Thanx! 02/12/2007

Crown Ridge Frisco is an award winning community offered by K.Hovnanian Homes and Grand Homes in Frisco Texas. Crown Ridge is located just a little north of Eldorado Parkway on Panther Creek Road. Crown , east of Preston Road. Some of the unique Crown Ridge homes feature radiant barrier decking, carbon monoxide detectors, custom crown moulding, thick 3 1/4 inch base board trim, built-in desks, butlers pantry and wet bars. Many three-car garage properties are offered for the community. Crown Ridge is mainly developed in two phases. There should be approximately 120 homes in each phase with a total of 244 homes upon completion. Crown Ridge offers a pond with picnic tables and fountain, jogging and biking trails for the outdoor lovers and a community pool at the heart of the community. Cro... 02/11/2007

The luxury community  - Latera Frisco is the newest gated community offered in Frisco Texas. Latera Frisco is located off Preston Road on the Northeast corner of Preston and Eldorado Parkway in Frisco Texas. Latera is a gated and guarded community nestled within the lush landscape and heavily treed cozy community. There are 2 custom builders for Latera Frisco: The Holmes Builders and Ken Fox Builder. Buyers who are looking for a truly unique custom builders will find it at Latera. Inspired by Europe, Latera showcases luxurious homes with French and Italian architecture with strong presence of details and flair. They start in the $600,000 and go up from there. Upon completion, there will be between 50-60 homes. For more information about this community, please contact me. I'd love to giv... 02/11/2007

Hello.  I am proud to announce that Reliable Appraisal is sponsoring the DFW - AMP Networking Social on February 21.  The event is held at Carson's.  http://www.carsonsdallas.com/Click here to learn more on the event.  Hope to see you there...http://www.dfwamp.com/network.htmI invite you to visit my website at http://www.reliableappraisalonline.com/   Please let me know if I can assist with an appraisal in Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, Denton or Rockwall counties....   02/11/2007

I thought it will be a great idea to share different thoughts/ views on style of houses from various parts of the country. With so many people constantly moving from places to places, state to state, I thought it would be great to compile a variety of homes and their prices where we are at so that we are better-informed agents for our clients knowing where they come from. Please remember to insert photos too! Since I started this blog, I will chime in first.I worked primarily in the Collin County and North Dallas County areas. The houses in our metroplex are primarily traditional architecture. We use a brick facade and newer homes use stone to accent parts of the elevation also. Dallas and Collin counties range from lower-priced homes to multi-million dollar properties. However, our typ... 02/07/2007

The 1st month of 2007 in the Dallas DFW metroplex has proved to show that the outlook looks very promising. While the real estate prices have dropped due to sluggish sales in the late 4th Quarter, buyers are coming back strong in January to seek good buys. Interest rates continue to stay at an all time low. There are a large selection of properties to select from. It is definitely a buyer's heaven to shop. With the activities and showings increasing, houses will move. Hence, the  market may suggest a very strong Spring, Summer and Fall 2007. So, if you are in the market to purchase, now is a great time to buy before the prices slowly increase.After all that being said, this is NOT a pressure to buy. As always, be ready for the homeownership. The worst thing that can happen is to purchas... 02/07/2007

Frisco is bursting with new residents everyday! About 32,000 people called Frisco home in the late 90s, now, we have grown to over 92,000 residents. With the new growth comes timely websites such as Localism to help promote local businesses. One of my top promotion is my home church: Hope Fellowship, located in Central Frisco Texas. Our senior pastor is John McKinzie. If you are searching for a great bible church with no fluff, you will find that Hope really brings the Word alive not only on Sunday mornings but everyday of the week. Hope Fellowship started in 2000. It has used several smaller facilities in Frisco and eventually opened its own doors on Christmas Eve, 2004. We have grown from 300 people in mid-2004 to over 1,100 attendees each Sunday. We are a casual church (yes, our past... 02/06/2007

Panther Creek Estates Frisco Homes located in North Frisco are selling good in early 2007. Our sales record is soaring through the roof! From approximately 560 houses in late October 2006, we have now over 860 homes (as of January 2007). Panther Creek Homeowners Association has recently turned over to resident-controlled. This means that there are ample opportunities for residents to serve and take this community to a higher level. The HOA Board is active and constantly meeting to discuss various projects/ strategies to make PCE an even better community. PCE also has smaller committees ranging from Beautification, Architectural, Communications, Social and Safety Committees. More neighborhood activities include Book Club, Mother's/ Couple's Night Out, playgroups and much more. Owning a h... 02/06/2007

  http://www.1548idlewild.comClick the link above to see a website I set up for each property I list.*This home just went on the market and I am not quite done adding the pictures or room measurements*Clink all the links to see how much information you can give people with just one web page. Once you set up the webpage template, you can use it over and over again. If anybody is interested, I can email the template and explain how to add your pics to the slide show and everything else you need to make it your own. I can't stress how easy this is........Also, the sign rider can be used over again. I just take it back to my local sign shop and they just redo the address. It costs about $9.00.I should also mention that you can track the number of visitors, the links they click and pages the... 02/02/2007

Some people just have too much money!!!!  This home is a 53,000-square-foot stone and wood mansion at the Yellowstone Club, the members-only, Blixseth-developed residential ski and golf resort near Bozeman, Mont. Price tag: $155 million.  I wish I had this listing, but I would be just as happy to sell it!!!!! In Pictures: World's Most Expensive Home Click the Link to view picturesSource     Forbes.com     02/01/2007

Real estate prices in other states have soared far above prices for comparable properties here. Investors from those states now see Texas prices as bargains. They are coming to Texas to buy and bringing plenty of cash. Many institutional investors have set portfolio diversification goals that require real estate acquisition. And current economic conditions have some investors anticipating inflation. Those concerns drive purchases of tangible assets, such as real property.In 1966, Texas per-acre land cost was $73.43 (in 2006 dollars) per million Texans (Figure 3). By 1974, the price was $99.12, an all-time high. In 2006, the cost of an acre of Texas land per million Texans was $73.39, a return to the 1966 level. This suggests that rather than being overheated, Texas land markets have sim... 02/01/2007

I thought I would post this. It is from Frobes.com. This is exciting after many years of very marginal appreciation rates here in Texas. I grew up in the Dallas area, and then moved to Washington, DC for grad school. While I was there I bought my first home and rest was history. Most people will quote the 3 L's of real estate, but I am a firm believer in the 3 T's of real estate, TIMING, TIMING, TIMING...... Fortunately, I was able to take the "equity ride" when the DC market exploded right after I bought my home. I lived in my DC home for 2 years and 3 months and when I sold, I was able to avoid capital gains. I moved back to Frisco, Texas with money in my jeans and was able to purchase a great house in a wonderful subdivision with a mortgage payment lower than what most people pay to... 01/31/2007

I have been asked many times "why are there so many foreclosure and for lease signs in my subdivision". I have also had clients refuse to view homes in subdivisions where they see too many of these signs. What is going on just might surprise you. The most obvious reason for the foreclosures is overextended homeowners with ARM's and rising property taxes. This situation is very common in Collin County, where foreclosure rates have often led the nation. What might just surprise you is another major contributor to unoccupied homes and foreclosure signs; the new home builder....and here is how it happens.                                    Builders construct the homes, but can't sell them to real home buyers. This usually happens with builder using antiquated elevations and floor plans. Slu... 01/30/2007

I am always looking at the market and seeing a new way to utilize technology in my career. The real estate industry is becoming this high tech field, and it wasn't considered that way in the recent past. Internet and mobile technologies have transformed the way I do business. I use my tablet PC to display and retrieve documents my client's can sign directly on the screen. I can write an offer on the spot then fax and email it directly to the listing agent. I don't have to lug around heavy files or explain why I don't have the right documents on hand.  When I want to list a home, I register a domain name for the property at godaddy.com based on its address, and then create a Web site that demonstrates its marketing effectiveness. After I list the home, I hang a rider on the For Sale sign... 01/30/2007

Looking like a Million Dollars since Saturday afternoon at 5pm on January 27 2007has a whole new meaning to me. To some, it may be clear, but unfortunately like some lessons that I learn, it may not be that obvious for me. I went from my highest point in my real estate career (thanks to Active Rain, I got my first lead - my biggest by far) in a low point in 3 very short days. One of my qualities that I feel that I strongly hold about the way I conduct my business was that I was real. I was not a fluff, I know my stuff and that was what will drive my business to success. Today, just very painfully I learnt that I wasn't quite enough. I met with this "lead" looking like the way I normally do - a plain, down-to-earth me with a sweater and jeans. I know, I know, it's a "duh" light bulb mom... 01/28/2007

When I first heard of Dave Ramsey, it was Spring of 2005. He was screaming on the radio at this poor little lady about borrowing money. At this time, I believed in the Principles of Using Other People's Money and It's better in my pocket than in yours. So, needless to say I quickly turned to another station. 6 months later, I stumbled onto Dave Ramsey again. This time, he was calming and the advice he gave this man about whose debt to pay back first would have been exactly what I would do too. So, he's not too bad after all. I continued to listen, then I borrowed his book from the library. By this time, God has prepared my heart through Pastor John's (senior pastor at my church) sermons about financials..... Oh boy, it wasnt as rough as I had imagined. I wished we had found this book ri... 01/24/2007

  There are more to just listing a property on MLS and sticking a For Sale sign in the yard (for the most part, this remains true in most of the country). Depending on our business model (Jennifer Allan's Blog on Discount Brokerage - Is it for you?), it is how much we net. After all, we are in the business with intentions of making more than we spend. First of all, the house has to speak for itself. Hence, a new word: STAGING. Staging transforms an ordinary house into a warm and inviting home that awaits a new beginning. Saging brings out the features of the house. Staging also displays the maximum potential of the property. Most of all, a well-staged home invokes buyers to imagine life in this new home. (It's a fact that buyers SHOP with emotions). Eventually, it motivates them to put ... 01/13/2007