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Plano Blog

Plano Blog
Being Resident and Realtor of West Plano, TX for 15 years, this is a bird's eye view of current Real Estate market conditions and analysis of a close in location of Dallas that has yet to explode.

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Open Houses for Sunday
2008-05-17 21:42:00
Open Houses for this Sunday in West Plano Check out these beautiful properties in 75093. 16 gorgeous homes with photo, info and times of the open house. Info is from the MLS and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Enjoy the tour and the weather, it's about time for some sun! [where:75093, Plano, Open Houses]
More About: Open

Friday's Foreclosures in West Plano
2008-05-16 09:19:00
Foreclosures for 75093,75024 and 75025 Check this out! Friday's list is here. All West Plano . 24 Properties for your review... There are a few new ones that have come on the market, prices are 144K to 2.9M....neighborhoods include: Villages of Russell Creek, Fountain Creek, Kings Ridge, Cross Creek, Estates of Forest Creek, Hills at Prestonwood, Townhomes at Legacy, Indian creek, Windhaven, Cypress Creek, Greens of Gleneagles, Meadows on Gleneagles and Ridgeview Ranch are some listed. (yes, one at Shops at Legacy) Buying a foreclosure today is much different from two years ago - It's harder and longer - be prepared to be patient, it could be worth it. And know today's market value. Enjoy the weekend! [where:75093, 75024,75025, foreclosures]
More About: Foreclosures

Friday's Foreclosures in West Plano
2008-05-16 09:19:00
Foreclosures for 75093,75024 and 75025 Check this out! Friday 's list is here. All West Plano . 24 Properties for your review... There are a few new ones that have come on the market, prices are 144K to 2.9M....neighborhoods include: Villages of Russell Creek, Fountain Creek, Kings Ridge, Cross Creek, Estates of Forest Creek, Hills at Prestonwood, Townhomes at Legacy, Indian creek, Windhaven, Cypress Creek, Greens of Gleneagles, Meadows on Gleneagles and Ridgeview Ranch are some listed. (yes, one at Shops at Legacy) Buying a foreclosure today is much different from two years ago - It's harder and longer - be prepared to be patient, it could be worth it. And know today's market value. Enjoy the weekend! [where:75093, 75024,75025, foreclosures]
More About: Foreclosures

Will Builders be Giving Away Homes Next?
2008-05-15 03:02:00
Can You Guess the Builder on this Promotion? Everyday I get millions of blast emails, well, not quite that many, but way too many to read. Don't most people know they only have an opening rate of 5%? Anyway, I do pay attention to all the builders promos all over the city and watch the additional incentives to bring in a "live" buyer. Who? YOU! Buy a New Home Now and The Drive is on the House. What? They keep giving more and more away, this time a $25. gas card***. Free gas is good. What all all the asterisks? The first asterisk is you have to pre-qualify with their lender, the second doesn't say in the ad, but I'm sure you need to buy a house...before they pay for the gas. The third asterisk is for the special financing you get that expires in days. Wonder what the rate is? Oh, you also get a refrigerator or blinds or washer and dryer. Be Brave, ask for all three. Or wait until they are actually giving the houses away. Starts with an "L&quo...
More About: Builders , Homes , Giving

Upcoming Loan Level Price Adjustments
2008-05-14 14:43:00
Mortgage News - Loan Adjustments Just as real estate is a day in day out business, so is the mortgage business. After all - you are probably going to have to get some money - somewhere. It's good to stay aware of changes in the mortgage industry, Fannie Mae will make adjustments May 31. Long story short, if a borrower has a credit score under 720 they will be affected by the price adjustments on conventional loans. You will need a better credit score to qualify for the best rates. Period. Make sure you talk to your lender if your in the process of doing a loan or definitely get pre approved before hand. [where:75093, home mortgage, new rates, credit scores]
More About: Price , Upcoming

12 Things You Need to Know About Plano
2008-05-13 16:00:00
12 Insider Things About Plano It's the little things that are good to know before you relocate from a different part of the country. Here are are few things to know about Plano before you move here: Plano is located 20 miles North of Dallas, it's an easier commute compared to other areas. There are lots of Trucks and SUV - still, even with gas prices up, that could change though... Far East and Far West Plano is rolling terrain, pretty topography - 200 year old trees and horses. There are few gated communities. West Plano neighborhoods were built early 80's through the late 90's, homes are older but quality is well known, there are a few new home communities. Luxury Homes abound. Great Schools and a Great Place to raise a family, folks move here for this reason. Affordable. The wind blows a lot - all year. Turbulent weather from April through May. Really hot in July and August, in fact, it's good to plan your vacation ...

New Listings 75093
2008-05-12 19:57:00
New Listings Every Monday -5-12 37 New Listings for your review in 75093. Only been on the market for 7 days or less. 135K to 1.5M, includes all single family residences including condos. Neighborhoods include: Hills at Prestonwood, Lakeside on Preston, Willow Bend Polo, Gleneagles, Enclave of Willow Bend just to name a few. [where:75093, New Listings]

Open Houses for Sunday
2008-05-10 22:25:00
Open Houses for Sunday Happy Mother's Day! For some reason there were only 2 Open Houses in 75093. So, I expanded the list to include Frisco, 75034. Mom's must be entertaining at home. 7 properties for your review in a handy PDF file. If you are interested in the Park Cities and Vicinities, there are 22 open houses here. Just in case Mom wants to go for a drive. Enjoy! [where:75093, 75034, 75205,75225, open houses]
More About: Open

Friday's Foreclosures in West Plano
2008-05-09 15:26:00
Foreclosures in 75093,75024,75025 It's Friday and that means foreclosures, I'll be glad when there aren't so many. List this week is for 75093,75024,75025. 27 properties for your review in some great neighborhoods. One thing about foreclosures is you need to know the real value of a home. Many lenders still have properties priced too high. Others have come down in order to sell. You should be buying a foreclosures at 20%-30% off market value. Many new homes were targeted by lenders and others because you could bump the appraisal value up, that is all over the country and that's why there are a lot of foreclosures in Kings Ridge. Enjoy the great weather and Happy Mothers Day! [where:75093, 75024,75025, West Plano , foreclosures]
More About: Foreclosures

Real Estate Update and Plano Numbers
2008-05-08 19:01:00
April Real Estate Stats for Plano Big numbers for April came out today from NTREIS (North Texas Real Estate Information System) that's the official name for the MLS. The big picture is Dallas sales were down 11% from last year, dollar volume down 12% and pending sales down 26%. Not so tragic, compared to past 4 month but the pending sales are the future sales that are in escrow to close, so you can figure that May is going to be off too. Let's look at Plano - much better shape...Area 20 is Plano. What's important to look at: Dollar Volume up 3% over last year, Average Price up 18% and Median Price up 12%. Even though sales were down 12% - the value of real estate has increased in the eyes of the buyer! This supports the theory as real estate has increased south of LBJ for the last 4 years, appreciation will continue North as your dollar will buy more house in Plano, plus Plano ISD is a major attraction. This is happening in a down market! Pending sales are...
More About: Update , Numbers

Learn about Money at FHA Mortgage Center
2008-05-08 02:56:00
Check out FHA Home Loan Now Real estate is one process and finding the money is another. One thing I do on this site is provide educational information about real estate and the processes to help you with the complicated decisions that are involved. If you're not familiar with FHA homes loans you can find out here. This is another alternative for conventional loans and they have recently raised the loan limits and it's good for first time home buyers. (they have money to lend) Refinancing is available too. The link is always on the right hand sidebar of this site. [where:75093, Plano, FHA, Mortgage s]
More About: Money , Center , Learn

How's the Market in Plano?
2008-05-07 15:13:00
Inventory, New Listings and Days on Market Stats come out on the the 8th of each month for the previous month. That's tomorrow - but let's look at these charts today to get a bearing on what's happened in the last year. So here's some Altos charts regarding the market in Plano for single family homes and all zip codes from an historical point of view. You can see from this chart when the market started changing - last Sept. but you have to take into consideration that's typically when the market slows down too. Inventory is around 400 units off from last June, that's substantial. Even when the selection of homes is lower it does make pristine homes more valuable, even in a buyers market. New listings are down more than 50% - so if your targeting a certain neighborhood your choices could be limited. This is good for every seller, less competition... It's going to take about a month longer to sell your home from last year. In this market ...

Buying Online
2008-05-06 17:28:00
Buying Online is Efficient and Private It's becoming more the norm that people are buying homes online. Here's a note from a seller we just received: Dear Mr. Smith, "Thank you for bringing me a very good buyer. Hope we have the chance to work again in the near future." Thanks Shelia This particular buyer bought in two weeks! Now that's unusually fast but it does happen. Most online buyers are either immediate or 3-6 months out. Usually buyers search for homes, call or email from Plano Homes and Land. There are many ways to start your hunt. Some buyers will ask to see properties that they have selected. Sometimes we set up a separate search from the MLS to specially target needs. With the MLS TAX mapping capabilities we can edit out bad locations without even going to see the properties, see more in photo above - you can also get the Solds and Pendings on the Microsoft Virtual Earth. Then take a google street view for a close in look. When bu...
More About: Buying

New Listings 75093
2008-05-05 18:24:00
New Listings 75093 Lots of good eye candy this week. These listings are the freshest in West Plano, from the last 7 days. There are 25 brand new properties, prices are from 159.9K to 5.4 Mil. Most are in the community of Willow Bend. Here's the list. Subdivisions include: Willow Bend Country, Creeks of Willow Bend, Willow Bend Lakes, King Court of Willow Bend, Lakeside on Preston, Willow Bend North, Shepards Glen, Parkbrooke and more... [where:75093, Plano, New Listings]

What's Your Walk Score?
2008-05-05 08:00:00
Forget about the car and just walk... With gas prices here to stay wouldn't it be nice not to have to drive! So here's a new tech tool that rates how walkable your neighborhood is. Dallas is a lot like LA, it's very spread out, so NO car is really NOT an option. But if you live at The Shops at Legacy and work at EDS, you really don't need a car. Take a look at walk score, it's fun, not always right but gives you an idea of what the available amenities and life styles are offered in any U.S. neighborhood. Something else to bookmark. Shops at Legacy is the starting point on this walk score. var ws_address = "5800 Legacy Drive Plano, TX 75024"; var ws_width = "450"; [where:75093, Plano, Shops at Legacy]
More About: Score , Walk

What You'll See in Plano
2008-05-04 22:28:00
Horses, Highways, Houses and Shiny New Buildings If you wonder what Plano is like, here's a typical site in West Plano. Still open land, this is at Corporate and the tollway on JCPenney property. Beautiful horses and their foals, about 25 horses and 10 babies, I think we kind of take this for granted. In the distance is the Dallas North Tollway and Shops of Legacy - a stones throw away. Just so you know there are lots of SUV's and pick up trucks too but most the cowboys are in Ft. Worth. [where:75093, Plano, Shops at Legacy]

Open Houses for Sunday
2008-05-03 20:09:00
Open Houses Sunday - 75093 Here's the Customer Open House list for Sunday May 4th. 14 properties in West Plano include the subdivisions of: Windhaven, Hills at Prestonwood, Preston Ridge, Willow Bend Estates, Willow Bend Lakes, Creeks of Willow Bend, Lakeside on Preston and the gated Cliffs of Gleneagles. Times and locations are available with a photo, brief description and stats about each property. All info is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Enjoy the nice cool weather and your open house tour! [where:75093, Open Houses]
More About: Open

Friday Foreclosures
2008-05-02 09:06:00
Foreclosures in West Plano Friday again! And Fridays are for Foreclosures. List for this week is West Plano Zip Codes 75093 and 75024. This report has the cumulative days on market - you can see there are new ones as well as properties that have been on the market - a long time. Like 387 days... You can base your offer on this info but be sure to check the house out thoroughly - it's probably going to need a lot of work. There are 24 properties in this PDF file and neighborhoods include: Willow Bend, Shops at Legacy, Hills at Prestonwood, Cypress Creek, King Ridge, Indian Creek, Shoal Creek and more... DallasHomesCenter has lists on Fridays as well for various zip codes inside the loop. And due to the market and the amount of foreclosures watch for luxury neighborhoods in Frisco to be available in the near future. Have a great weekend and remember all info is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. [where:75093, 75024, Foreclosures]
More About: Foreclosures

ATTN: Seller's Charge Your Broker for the Listing
2008-05-01 19:22:00
The Truth about Home Searches and Real Estate Online Got your attention...read on... Let me ask you a question? When you go look for real estate online - where do you go? Might be Realtor.com. Zillow, Trulia, Remax or many other brokers site. The truth is if you are looking at a national site nobody has all the listings, except the brokers who are actually licensed to buy and sell real estate. Even then you are probably going to get their listings first, before you see other brokers listings. Might be wrong on that but just a hunch. Now I love all the new web 2.0 technology, like demographic info, mapping, Zestimates etc. What I'm talking about is just really being able to get the best and most information about a property with the fewest clicks. For example, Trulia only has one photo then you are redirected to the broker or agent site. But the community info, street views and walk the neighborhood are awesome. Realtor.com used to be the only game in town, even th...
More About: Charge , Listing , Broker

Plano May Flowers
2008-04-30 21:20:00
May Flowers Photo by: SKWomack All the rain is giving us an awesome spring, despite the rough weather. Photo by: SKWomack [where:75093, Plano , May flowers]

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