Monday, February 28, 2011
How far away is everything from here?
Are you wondering what Austin has to offer? Want to know how close restaurants are? Movie theaters? Shopping? Parks? Well, you can get all the answers to your questions here. Walk Scores.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Austin's Bat Bridge No. 2
Did you know that Austin has 2 major bat colonies located under our city bridges? Of course, everyone knows about the Congress Street Bridge bat colony. But you may not know that there is also a huge colony of bats under the McNeil Bridge in Round Rock as well. You can stand just a few yards away, watch and listen to these little mosquito bandits as they fly out by the thousands every night on their way to protecting Greater Austin from the nuisance of flying insects.
The next time you are near Round Rock around sunset, drive just north of the I-45 tollway and when the GPS tells you that you are crossing over McNeil street bridge, you will notice that the traffic on I-35 is slowing down to watch these wonderful little creatures as they head out on their nightly adventure.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
How to Sell Above Market Value
In this current market, it is fairly easy to randomly find someone who will make you feel like your home will sell for more than any home around you, or for more than any home that is selling right now. However, listing a home above market value is not selling a home. In fact, listing your home above market value creates a series of problems for you that seldom lead to a contract to sell. Consider this: if you were buying a home, would you pay more for your next home than any home around you? or more than your Realtor recommended that you pay?
I have a fundamental belief that a seller should be told how much comparable homes are selling for in your community, before you list your home to sell. Your home may be worth more than the home next door, but if you are expecting to sell your home above market value in your community, and the house is not going to appraise or comp at that price, I can't afford to waste your time or my time. Buyers and Realtors are not dummies. If you were a buyer, would you pay more than market value for a home? Any home?
The truth is, it does not matter what I tell you your home is worth, it only matters what homes are selling for and what buyers are willing to pay. The comps are the comps, and no Realtor can change that. And no Realtor has an inside track on getting buyers to pay more than what buyers are willing to pay. Now, there are things that you can do to insure that you get the most for your listing, but selling a home for more than what buyers are willing to pay is not one of them. In this day of Internet shopping, everyone can see every house that is on the market, and every Realtor knows how much comparable homes are selling for or have sold during the recent past.
To sell your home, it must be priced right, it must show better than the competition, and it must get thousands of eyeballs on it. That is how you sell your home. Selling above market? Sorry. If that was ever possible, that day and age is gone.
I have a fundamental belief that a seller should be told how much comparable homes are selling for in your community, before you list your home to sell. Your home may be worth more than the home next door, but if you are expecting to sell your home above market value in your community, and the house is not going to appraise or comp at that price, I can't afford to waste your time or my time. Buyers and Realtors are not dummies. If you were a buyer, would you pay more than market value for a home? Any home?
The truth is, it does not matter what I tell you your home is worth, it only matters what homes are selling for and what buyers are willing to pay. The comps are the comps, and no Realtor can change that. And no Realtor has an inside track on getting buyers to pay more than what buyers are willing to pay. Now, there are things that you can do to insure that you get the most for your listing, but selling a home for more than what buyers are willing to pay is not one of them. In this day of Internet shopping, everyone can see every house that is on the market, and every Realtor knows how much comparable homes are selling for or have sold during the recent past.
To sell your home, it must be priced right, it must show better than the competition, and it must get thousands of eyeballs on it. That is how you sell your home. Selling above market? Sorry. If that was ever possible, that day and age is gone.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Team Thornton
Experience in Real Estate means having resources and knowing what to do with your resources. So much of what happens in Real Estate happens "behind the scenes" and you may not even realize what is happening until it is over. A good Realtor coordinates a Real Estate transaction so that as little stress as possible spills over into the life of the client. This does not mean that a buyer or seller is not still in charge and calling the shots--quite the opposite. The Buyer and The Seller are always calling the shots, but a strong professional Realtor who has an experienced team surrounding him knows who to pull in and when to give his buyer or his seller the greatest coaching and best possible information to make an informed decision.
Behind the scenes in every transaction are the Title Company professionals, the best possible lenders, underwriters, appraisers, and inspectors. And in some cases there are attorneys, surveyors, and builder/contractors, engineers and others who play significant roles in the life of a Real Estate transaction. Some buyers may not realize how much work happens between these entities to get from "contract open" to "contract closed", but this is indeed why a typical transaction takes approximately 30 days from beginning to end. It takes time because there are a lot of people in the back ground doing their work, and your Realtor should be right in the middle--orchestrating this group of professionals for you.
Team Thornton is a group of recommended professionals that I work with every week on behalf of my clients. Our job is to be problem solvers for our clients. Helping you buy your next home or investment property and/or helping you sell your Austin home so that you can move on to your next home. Buying or selling a home takes so much more time and effort than meets the eye, and having the right team of experienced professionals who do this every day of the week (not a few times a year) can be the difference between getting the house that you want to buy/selling the house that you want to sell--and the whole deal falling apart. Really.
The easy parts of the business are getting information online, setting a price point, and looking at pictures of houses on the internet. The hard part of Real Estate start when you start making an offer or accept an offer on a house. This is when the real work of Real Estate begins. Make sure your Realtor has more than just a good story about how long they have been in the business--make sure your Realtor has a team who transacts business every day of the week and the experience to use them to your best advantage. This will give you the leverage that you need to make your Real Estate aspirations come to life.
If you need a Realtor ®, I would be honored to assist you in your home purchase, search or selling your Austin area home.
Behind the scenes in every transaction are the Title Company professionals, the best possible lenders, underwriters, appraisers, and inspectors. And in some cases there are attorneys, surveyors, and builder/contractors, engineers and others who play significant roles in the life of a Real Estate transaction. Some buyers may not realize how much work happens between these entities to get from "contract open" to "contract closed", but this is indeed why a typical transaction takes approximately 30 days from beginning to end. It takes time because there are a lot of people in the back ground doing their work, and your Realtor should be right in the middle--orchestrating this group of professionals for you.
Team Thornton is a group of recommended professionals that I work with every week on behalf of my clients. Our job is to be problem solvers for our clients. Helping you buy your next home or investment property and/or helping you sell your Austin home so that you can move on to your next home. Buying or selling a home takes so much more time and effort than meets the eye, and having the right team of experienced professionals who do this every day of the week (not a few times a year) can be the difference between getting the house that you want to buy/selling the house that you want to sell--and the whole deal falling apart. Really.
The easy parts of the business are getting information online, setting a price point, and looking at pictures of houses on the internet. The hard part of Real Estate start when you start making an offer or accept an offer on a house. This is when the real work of Real Estate begins. Make sure your Realtor has more than just a good story about how long they have been in the business--make sure your Realtor has a team who transacts business every day of the week and the experience to use them to your best advantage. This will give you the leverage that you need to make your Real Estate aspirations come to life.
If you need a Realtor ®, I would be honored to assist you in your home purchase, search or selling your Austin area home.
tT
Tim Thornton, Realtor ®
Top Producer 2010, 2009, 2008
Century Club member
Zip Realty, Inc.
Austin, Texas
(512) 914.4665 mobile
Tim Thornton, Realtor ®
Top Producer 2010, 2009, 2008
Century Club member
Zip Realty, Inc.
Austin, Texas
(512) 914.4665 mobile
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Halter Beach Wedding Dress
Halter beach wedding dress design
Halter beach wedding dresses
Halter beach wedding dress
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Bridemaid Kids Wedding Gown
Bridemaid Kids Wedding Gown
Bridemaid Kids Wedding Gown design
Bridemaid Kids Wedding Gowns
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