Preparing to sell your home in the Dallas / Fort Worth area?  Spring is the start of the selling season for real estate so this is a good time to start planning for it.  Before you talk to an agent, here are some things you should consider doing to your house’s exterior to improve your houses’ curb appeal.
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Does the Realtor’s Code of Ethics and the Texas Real Estate Commission’s Canons of Professional Ethics and Conduct Conflict with a Realtor’s Fiduciary Duties to their Buyer Clients?  This discussion focuses on an agent’s participation in a buyer client’s potentially discriminatory request, and how strictly observing the Code of Ethics and TREC Canons may conflict with an agent’s fiduciary duties to that buyer client.  None of this discussion pertains to the selling client, which I consider to be a different situation entirely.

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Two of the most common questions we receive at AgentHarvest is “how is the real estate market doing in my area” and “at what point in today’s real estate market should I sell my house?”  Depending on whom you ask, answers may vary.  Ask a real estate agent and they’ll all say “NOW!”  If you read the press releases from the National Association of Realtors, you’ll detect a “glass half full” optimistic spin on the market whether it’s going up or down.  If you read the newspaper or watch the news, they love to put a negative spin on it because disaster stories make great news, even if they have to sensationalize it a bit to increase ratings.  All three venues have their own motivation for their slant or spin so who should you believe?   ME of course!
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The real estate market fluctuates every year regardless of the state of the economy or the current condition of the real estate market.  These cyclical fluctuations have traditionally fallen along the seasonal calendar year.  Spring and summer are the best times to sell, fall is okay and the winter months are usually the slowest time of the selling season.  Another way to look at this cyclical selling season is by comparing it to the seasons of flowering plants and convertible cars.  The time of the year to sell your house is when plants are blooming and pretty, and when you have the urge to drive around in a convertible. Continue reading » »

Most people will tell you that real estate agents are all the same so it really doesn’t matter which one you decide to hire.  If you practice that philosophy, you are guaranteed to have a hard time selling or buying a house.

Top producing real estate agents know the market and know how to position your house to sell in that market.  They sell houses like chefs prepare exquisite cuisine in high-end restaurants.  On the other end of the scale are real estate agents that overprice their listings, don’t market them correctly and don’t aggressively sell their listings, relying solely on fate to sell their listings.  Bad agents are like cooks, shoveling greasy food in fast food restaurants.  Do you want to hire a chef (top producing real estate agent) or a cook (bad real estate agent)?  You should focus on hiring chefs. Continue reading » »