Whenever I go out and talk to people about what I do for a living (BTW I am a Realtor), I always get asked if this is the right time to buy or sell a house.  My answer to these people is always the same.  YES!  It has never been a better time to purchase a home... Interest Rates are still at an all time low!  A lot of seller's who did not choose me to sell their home are having to pay buyer's closing costs because their home has sat on the market for too long (in this market price is the biggest factor consider when selling your home!). After I tell these people yes it is a good time to buy a home, their next question is if they need to put a lot of money down... And my answer to this is NO!  There are still programs out there for 100% financing (Ask your lender for more details about t... 09/08/2008

Many of the Gulf Coast evacuees started driving towards higher ground in their own cars. For those people, Richardson has open their Huffine's Recreation Center for these people.  They are already full to capacity at 95 people. Until further notice, the rec center will be closed to the public while they allow the evacuees to stay there.  The city is also teaming up with the nearby Junior High school to allow the evacuees to use their facilities for showers and such, but only before and after school hours. The evacuees who are staying there have also consented to background checks, and they must check in and out each time they need to leave or reenter the building. Richardson was one of the many school districts that welcomed Katrina victims three years ago, and would be more than happy ... 09/01/2008

The Richardson Public Library is hosting an "Ask a Lawyer" day on September 13 in the basement.  The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program in conjuction with the Dallas Area Young Lawyers Ask-a-Lawyer Committee will be providing answers to all your legal questions from 2-4pm. There will be Attorneys with all kinds of backgrounds like criminal, family law, estate planning, bankruptcy, and more.  If further assistance is needed beyond the scope of this free clinic, a list of free and low-cost legal resources will be provided. I'm not sure if this is a question and answer session, or if there are different groups around the room and you go ask your question to a specific person, so if you have questions, come prepared to ask them in front of everyone.  With only a 2 hour time slot, I'm sure th... 09/01/2008

The biannual Cottonwood Art Festival is coming up on October 4-5 from 9am- 6pm.  As always, this is a FREE event.  We like FREE!  This year, there will be 240 artists and craftsmen featured.  There will also be some music and entertainment. It's fun for the entire family!  Many people even bring their dogs, but please only bring yours if it's VERY friendly as there will be lots of dogs and we don't need any attacking each other.  Leashes are a must. The festival is located at Cottonwood Park in Richardson TX at Coit and Belt Line.  Have fun finding a parking space, as it's always packed.  They are offering a Free Shuttle service, so check out their website at www.cottonwoodartfestival.com for more information on where to park. 09/01/2008

Every year, since 1994, Richardson TX and the Richardson City Council hand out awards for residential and commercial properties that have revitalized the city.  Revitalizing consists of enhancing the community by making some significant changes and improvements to a property. The nomination deadline for 2008 is September 19.  You can contact the Development Services department at 972-744-4255 or Susan Smith at susan.smith@cor.gov. Since the start of the awards in 1994, there have been 143 recipients of the awards.  Keep Richardson looking nice by keeping your properties looking nice. 09/01/2008

Today should be a Day of Gatherings and Rest. Hopefully you get the opportunity to do as little as possible today. If not, don't worry about it, you're not alone. Most people are going to run themselves ragged with Entertaining, Cooking, Cleaning, Yard Work, Errands, and Honey Dos.Agents Resting? Forget about it. Sellers and Homebuyers' Free Time becomes Agents' Scheduled Time. *There's Calls from Fellow Agents*Open Houses*Going on Listing Appointments*Lengthy Showings for Out-of-Town Buyers*Catching up on Paperwork*Revising Marketing StrategiesAnd so on and so onIf you are one of the few and laid back to watch a little of the US Open, spent time Reading a Good Book, or ate Heartily in between naps, Here's to YOU! Either way, whether you decide to make it a Labor Day Holiday or a Day o... 09/01/2008

Local Handyman Company's business has grown exponentially as they are recognized for being affordable and honest    Richardson, TX-Keith and Debra Paul of Canton, Michigan started out as a local handyman referral service in 1993.   Their business has grown and they are opening up franchises across the US.  HandyPro provides many services including carpentry, drywall, paint, minor plumbing and electrical, some masonry repairs, kitchen and bath remodeling, insurance jobs, and home renovation for new homeowners.     Well known in the Dallas area as an honest and affordable home repair and improvement service, HandyPro is a member of the Better Business Bureau with no complaints.  One satisfied customer wrote, "Just a note to say thank you to Philip who recently did a great job on some home... 08/28/2008

GO!   No Wait.  Writer's block.  From an All Day long Chatty Cathy to.... Umm, Well, Errr. Eagerly awaiting the "fuel" to shoot off like a rocket, but finding it to be a slow, more time consuming ordeal. How can this be? At the end of a Typical Day, 5 blogs minimum, should flow effortlessly; And yet Nothing.  Maybe revising the allotted blogging time from late night to first thing in the morning will help.  That could work if the more creative juices would flow in the morning and a typical day wouldn't start before 6am.  Lunch time? What lunch?!  Lack of Inspiration? Absolutely not! The benefits of Blogging can be found in numerous Articles, Newsletters, and of course, Blogs. It's taken quite a while (4 years from the first remembrance) to get fired up enough to begin blogging but neve... 08/15/2008

Parents generally are overprotective when it comes to their Children.  Especially when we Know in our heart of hearts that something just isn't right with their prospective mates.  In this Mother's case, her suspicions have been confirmed for ALL to see.  The upcoming Holiday Season is sure to be Interesting.                               Buyers or Sellers, if you or Someone you know, is Thinking of Buying or Selling a Home in Richardson or surrounding areas, give me a Call. Experienced Out-of-the-Box Thinking Realtor with Guaranteed Results. Richardson, Plano, Dallas, Garland, Rowlett, Irving, Mesquite, Dallas County, Collin County   08/14/2008

This is unbelievable.  For years, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) has been trying to up its ridership.  They even had to increase their prices because not enough people were riding.  Now that gas prices have increased (though they've come back down quite a bit), people have started to park their cars in order to ride the DART rail. And guess what... Now, DART wants to start charging for people to park in their parking lots because they're too full and they want to weed people out!  Isn't that ridiculous!!??  They finally get people riding the train though they haven't been able to get people to ride it in years, and now they want to penalize people for riding it, and in essence, stop people from riding it who don't want to pay to park. But get this, the cities where the DART goes throu... 08/14/2008

Mindy & Jay Robbins | Robbins Real Estate Group | 972-638-9800 (office) 303 Thompson, Richardson, TX 4BR/4BA Single Family House offered at $450,000   Year Built 1957 Sq Footage Unspecified   Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 4 full, 0 partial   Floors Unspecified Parking Unspecified   Lot Size Unspecified   HOA/Maint $0 per month     DESCRIPTION You CAN have it all: Here's a stunning 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home on the creek with unbelievable views. Whether you're a nature lover or a homebody you'll never want to leave! The home is updated with a modern kitchen, two jetted tubs, two master suites, gorgeous oak floors, & the amenities of new construction. The house sits on almost half an acre of the most sought after creek property in Richardson. It's absolutely immaculate see it today!   see additio... 08/13/2008

Time To Move    Now that you're Selling your Home, don't forget about Your attic.  It's hard to believe how many Families forget or elect to leave their Personal items in the Attic.  Attics are generally HOT and cramped, making the desire to Organize and Clear it out an unwelcomed and gruelling event; And if you do manage to Clear it out, where else could You put its contents. So usually year after year, Attics grow into bigger forgotten piles of Memory. Whatever happened to those Old Precious Love Letters you haven't been able to find? Check the Attic. Remember those Heirlooms, Collectibles such as Stamps, Magazines, and Records, plus your adult son's favorite Childhood Toy.      Yes, the attic is filled with much more than Christmas Decorations.  Whether you decide to sort through the... 08/07/2008

Hello, Happy Seller. You finally have a contract offer in your hand.  Before you take a closer look at it, you know you're on your way to Selling your beautiful, price-perfect Home in Richardson. This is it, right? Maybe.  After discovering the offer's nearly 20% less than Market price, you start to panic.            Before you hit the Panic Button, remember: Don't make it Personal.  It's a Transaction, not an attack on what Buyers feel your home is actually worth.  Or what they'd actually pay for it. With so much Media attention towards Foreclosures and Short Sales, some Buyers are shooting a Hail Mary and hoping for the best.  You'll need to find out if your Home is the Home for them by starting Negotiations.  Reply with an offer that says I'm Listening, But You Have GOT To Do Better ... 08/05/2008

We've all walked through a Home where Smoke & Pet Odors, Rancid Hampers, Musty Carpet, and even some cooking smells have extremely limited our stay. Once you get it in your head that nothing's crawling on you, You start feeling like you need a bath and become so distracted, it's hard to keep up with the conversation. You can only hold your breath so long. You just want to GET OUT OF THERE!             Buying a home is still a very Personal and Emotional experience. From the moment a Home is entered, the Selling begins. The easier it is for Buyers to imagine themselves Living in Your Home, the easier the Sell. Appeal to the Senses! Before entering Your Home into the Market, discontinue any Smoking inside the Home for at least 2 weeks leading up to showing it, find a pet-sitter for a few ... 07/28/2008

We all get in a hurry from time to time. Slow down. Don't let this happen to you.     For The 2007 Women Drivers Award 10th Place Goes to:9th Place Goes To:8th Place Goes To:7th Place Goes To:6th Place Goes To:5th Place Goes To:4th Place Goes To:The Bronze Medal Winner:The Silver Medal Winner: Her helmet is being worn backwards..... and finally, here is our 2007 Women Drivers Awards*** Gold Medal Winner ***WOW ! ! How the heck...?!?Oh never mind... CONGRATULATIONS ! !This concludes the 2007   Women Drivers Awards Ceremony.Thank you to all contestants for giving us all a reason to laugh & smile    Buyers or Sellers, if you or Someone you know, is Thinking of Buying or Selling a Home in Richardson or surrounding areas, give me a Call. Experienced Out-of-the-Box Thinking Realtor with Guara... 07/26/2008

Everyday something happens that can cause your Clients time, convenience, or money. It's in those moments that opportunity presents itself for You to become Memorable and "Referral" worthy.  Recently, stamps increased from .41 cents to .42 cents.  As usual, people are not too thrilled to stand in the postal lines for a book of .01 cent stamps.  So I will.  I send them out to all of my previous Clients and every one of them will contact me to send a brief thanks.  Some will even remember that "So and So" was talking about buying or selling. Gas prices Encourages some to be less mobile, so I offer to pick up Buyer Clients from home or work instead of meeting at the office.  Not everyone takes me up on it, but Everyone appreciates the gesture. It's hot as.... well I'm in Texas, enough said... 07/24/2008

My community, Woods of SpringCreek in Richardson, TX finally received the turnabout they've been talking about for years.  Telecom was a dead-end street, but it was never finished off because the plans were to make it a through street.  With enough support from the homeowners, we convinced the City of Richardson to not allow it to be a through street and to keep the traffic away from our small, quiet community.  They then agreed to connect two different streets in order to make traffic flow from Plano into Richardson, Los Rios and North Star. Here is a view from above showing how Telecom stopped at some trees, and how North Star made a pretty sharp turn west in order to connect to Los Rios. Now, we have a turnabout at the end of the street and much needed landscaping has been put in pla... 07/21/2008

Last June, I blogged about Richardson TX becoming the new Cancer Hub for the area.  Well, it's a year later, and they're almost done with the buildings.  Each time I went in for my pregnancy follow ups last year, I would watch out the window as they were working.  At that time, it seemed like they were moving so slow, but they were just putting in the infrastructure like the new parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks.   The last couple of months has seens a huge transformation.  Once these buildings get complete, it's not only going to be a huge complex for Richardson to be proud of in order to help those in need, but, not to be selfish, but I think it's also going to bring a lot of doctors and others to the area and help boost our appreciation a bit more.  That's always a good thing! R... 07/21/2008

CNN Money Best Places to live - Richardson http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL4861796.html   If you are looking for a real estate broker in Richardson, Dallas, or the North Dallas suburbs, call the company that will exceed your expectations. Call Mindy and Jay Robbins with Robbins Real Estate Group. Call us direct 214-563-4584 or visit us at www.TeamRobbins.com   07/20/2008

Real Estate is the only Profession that EVERYONE is an expert in. Imagine watching a late night infomercial on purchasing foreclosured properties for Zero Down and pennies on the dollar.  Sounds good.  No credit required. What? No job necessary. Wow! No license, No experience, No altering your current schedule.  As most Victims say, "SIGN me up!"  You order a couple of instructional videos, scan the internet for (what you believe is) current market value and now deem yourself an expert equipped with a Steal Estate License. Now you're able to find a $500,000 home for $50,000 by requesting REO Lists from banks or driving through neighborhoods discovering abandoned property or super negotiating Sellers to concede.  And you'll NEVER enlist the services from Agents because they'll just mess... 07/15/2008