We took one final look in the mirror.  Our ensembles looked spectacular and we smiled at each other as we  left our home for the event.  We waited for this night since the surprise announcement during our sales meeting back in August.  It’s not like we counted down the days.  We weren’t necessarily watching the calendar.  We were just excited because we love our city and the good folks in it.  We were excited because we love what we do.  We were excited because we love each other.

We drove out of the Villa’s of Legacy West and made our way to the Chamber’s Best of Plano Gala.  We reflected on what this honor meant to us.

When you look at the bits and pieces of our life together, a fascinating story comes together.  It’s a happy and most definitely a blessed one about how our personal and professional lives successfully entwine.

We’re a happily married couple navigating the real estate business for over 25 years.  We experience the extreme highs and lows the industry endures, together.  We’ve seen the best and worst of times in the lives of homeowners.  First-time buyers, career promotions, families relocating, people receiving cash windfalls, and more are all events we’ve celebrated.  Then there are divorces, the partner disillusions, those moving because of illness or the inability to take care of one’s self and the saddest of all, estates.

That’s why celebrating these happy moments together mean more than the awards on a shelf.  We are each other’s cheerleaders, accountability partners and best friends. Now, on this night, our wonderful city said, “We appreciate you.”

It just doesn’t get better than that.

It’s a Party!

The Chamber really put on a great event at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center.  We had a fantastic time catching up with friends we know and meeting some new friends. The awards went to so many great people.  One great example was Marbie Jackson,  Medical City Plano Board of Trustee Member, who was honored with the ‘Athena Award;.  The Hendrick Scholarship Foundation won as ‘Community Partner of the Year.’

We want to thank so many folks!  We would love to thank Plano’s Chamber of Commerce and everyone who made the award ceremony possible!   We could take up the internet listing them all!  Let us just say, if you’re reading this, we thank you!  We know you’re wonderful!

Caught on Camera

We have some great photos of the night that we wanted to share.  There’s some pics of the program so you can see some of the winners.  Do you have some photos of the night?  We’d love to see them!  Just check out Facebook page and share them.  We’ll add them to this post and share them as well!

You can feel it in the air, that change of season that isn’t weather related.  It’s spirit related.  We’ve put Halloween behind us and at this point people fall into two groups.  They are the folks who are waiting till Thanksgiving to get into the holiday spirit.  The other already have their trees up, have their holiday shopping done or almost done and their ugly sweaters already picked out.

The second group of people are the reason stores stock the shelves with holiday decor as soon as they take down the Halloween decor!  They are also the reason the Hallmark channel is already playing Christmas movies and we love them for their spirit.

Okay, we’re close to being them!  We love the holidays!!  Our great city of Plano is a fantastic place to enjoy some holiday events.  We’ve gathered up some wonderful ones to share with you.  We know there are probably many more going on and we’ve included links to our sources.  Feel free to search on as throughout the season so you, your family and friends can have the greatest season ever!

Oh!  One more thing, if you have an event you’d like us to promote, please send it to us here.  We’re happy to share family-friendly holiday adventures happening in and around Plano!

Holidays Happenings in November

Custer Park Holiday Tree Lighting

See Facebook Event Here

Plano Christmas Market

When is Plano Christmas Market?

The 2019 Christmas Market will be Saturday, November 23  from 9 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, November 24 from 11 am – 4 pm.

What is Plano Christmas Market? 

Plano Christmas Market is a fun and free event that showcases handmade holiday gift items made of fabric, wood, ceramic, and glass. Other exhibitors have jewelry and clothing for adults and children, along with candles and soaps. There will also be a wonderful selection of salsas, jams, nuts, and dips for gifts or holiday parties. In addition, Collin County seniors will stock the Hip Hip for Gray booth with a variety of crafts including quilts, baby items, ornaments, and more! Follow our event on Facebook.

Where is Plano Christmas Market?

Plano Christmas Market is held at Carpenter Park Recreation Center.

6701 Coit Road
Plano, TX 75024
Map Opens a New Window. 

Overflow parking and shuttle service is available at Robinson Middle School.

6701 Preston Meadow Drive
Plano, TX 75024
Map Opens a New Window. 

Sponsorship Opportunities

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or commercial vendor for Plano Christmas Market, please contact our Special Events Coordinator. Our vendor applications for 2019 are now closed. To be added to our vendor list for Christmas Market 2020 contact:

Jacque Vargas
Special Events Coordinator
972-941-7740

Event Website

Custer Park Holiday Tree Lighting

The Nutcracker Opera-Ballet presented by the Ballet Foundation

Gingerbread House Making at Harrington Library

The Lights at Legacy 2019

FAIRS & SPECIAL EVENTS, FAMILY FRIENDLY, HOLIDAY, PET FRIENDLY, SHOPPING

Shigeru Kawai Chamber Series: Holiday Concert with members from DSO

References:

Link to Our Google Event Search

Thanks to:

The Lights at Legacy 2019

https://shopsatlegacy.com/events-promotions

https://plano.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=25674

New Search

We’re over half-way through our list of. ’12 Real Reasons Why Your Home Isn’t Selling’.  These ugly truths are things that you may or may not here from professionals involved in your home sale.

We went over reasons things like smell affect sales in our first installment.  Advice that’s tricky to maneuver like severing yourself and your emotions can be found in part two. 

Here in part three, things start to get real.  We’re going into some profound reasoning and how you can make a difference in the sale of your home.  Then we take it a step further.

We answer the question:

How much does selling my home, now, really affect my life?

You may be surprised.  Read on to find the answers.

Download Here

7.  The Effect of the Interior on a Sale

Ever wonder how the interior of your home will affect your bottom line or time spent on market?  Realtors, investment firms and appraisers have studied home interiors and how buyers perceive them psychologically.

The home that gets the coolest response has always been empty homes.

Now, that seems to go against what we were talking about in our earlier post, The 12 Ugly Truths Part I and The Twelve Ugly Truths Part II we spoke about de-personalizing your space but empty pushes the needle too far over.

Empty homes are sad homes.  They are.  We feel for them but don’t necessarily feel good about them.

They speak of abandonment and that can equal a lack of care.  This isn’t always the case, in fact it rarely is but we can’t help where our thoughts go.

The next home that makes us think of neglect is the very messy home.

We’re not talking about the kept home with piles of mail from the day before and couple of dishes in the sink.

This home has messes that are out of control.  The smells are pungent.  The garbage is visible.  This act needs to be straightened up and quick because it’s keeping you from moving on to the  next stage of the life you need/want to lead.

Buyers won’t believe you’re just a ‘messy family’.  They’re going to believe that messy, out-of-control home equals poorly maintained home.  You’re home will be one of the last to get an offer in your area and in your price range.  This is especially true if the outside matches the inside.  They’ll pull away before you have chance to even show them home’s potential.

The home with a good chance of getting an office is well-kept home with an interior that’s clean and has been well-maintained.

How old are is your refrigerator?  Your living room set?  Your front door?

Take a look at these items and see if it’s time to repair/replace/repaint any or all of them.  A little bit of care goes a long way.  Get service records for all your infrastructures. such as your heating

The most important thing to note is that you need to make a great first impression.  You only get one chance.

The last one is the staged home.  This neat tidy gem that has been dressed for the market is the front-runner for an offer!

Here’s a very specific answer to a question about staging from a 2015 article on Forbes.com::

Are stages homes selling for more money?

So an average home with a $400,000 asking price will be reduced by $40,000 to $80,000. “Staging can save you from a costly price reduction.  A staged home will sell for  (app)17% more on average than a non-staged home, and (app) 95% of staged homes sell in 11 days or less.

Okay, they’re very specific and that is from 2015, but the tone is still the same – staged homes are selling faster and for more money than empty homes.

Bottom line:  When buyers come up to your home, they are going to take a look around and get a feel for your home before they even go inside.

8. You didn’t get a pre-listing home inspection

These are relatively new to some markets and others have seen them for years.

Pre-listing home inspections are ones a seller has completed before listing their home.  This is a full home inspection done by a state licensed home inspector.  Pest inspections, radon inspections and even lead inspections can be done too.

These pre-inspections give them a full x-ray of the home. They tell prospective buyers what is working great, what may need repair down the road and what needs immediate repair.

A buyer knows exactly what the home needs and can go into the deal with their eyes wide open.

Do buyers sometimes want another opinion?  Yes, but that’s okay.  Everything is negotiable.  This a point to talk over with your Realtor ® and come to the best decision for you.

Is not having one of these inspections a reason your home isn’t selling?  Not really.  It might be something to think about, though, if your home lingers on the market.

9.  Numbers don’t lie

We’re at number nine on the list.  This one is probably the hardest one for any homeowner to hear.  It’s also the most crucial and without correct it, your home won’t sell.

Say you have gone through this whole list and put each you can honestly say none of these apply to you.  Yet your home isn’t selling during a healthy market.

Why hasn’t it sold yet?

Have you had plenty of showings, open houses with good turnouts and great website activity on your house?  Has your Realtor® given you feedback from them?

Then you have few factors left.  One is location, which you can do nothing about.  The other is pricing.

Pricing a home requires knowledge of the market, experience and strategy.  The price range you fall in for your home/area will determine if and when you get a sale.

It’s rare that these numbers go askew, but it does happen.  There’s  a system of checks and balances to try and keep that from happening.  This is done to help keep down on the type of fraud that used to cheat home owners out of thousands of dollars.  This same type of fraud even caused some homeowners to  loose their homes.

You can’t price a home too high and expect it to sell right away.  It doesn’t matter that you have the best kitchen upgrade in all of the land.  Your home can be the prettiest, well-kept, most-updated, best-staged, jewel of the market and it still will sell within a certain range.

Most buyers know this.  They’re pretty market-savvy and are being coached by a market professional, who’s being backed up by a bank and so on.

When homeowners find out that their home is priced too high, they have mixed reactions.  Some already know it and accept the change.  These folks lower the price and get offers.  Some get upset.  They decide to wait or take other drastic action.  They’ll do anything from additional remodeling to firing their agent to taking their home off the market.  They might decide one of the following.

• .I don’t need to sell right now.  I’ll wait till the market recovers.
  • Our first question would be, ‘are you planning to buy another home?’  This is where a homeowner must stop and think about their life, and the reason they’re selling.  Are they moving to a new place?  Is it for a new job, retiring or are they following a dream?  Whatever the reason, a homeowner has to decide if the market will recover in time.  It wouldn’t be wise to turn down that promotion because of a few thousand dollars on a home sale, especially if there were thousands waiting in a new salary to make up for it.
• Are you buying another home?
  • No?  Then
  • Yes?  The  home’s going to sell in for a price within the current market.  It’ll be within an already established range.  The same will be true when they buy.  Another big factor will be the mortgage rate.  Circling around all of these factors that climb up and down is the salary of the average homeowner.
  •  Salaries usually don’t fluctuate.  They stay pretty constant.
  • Let’s say you qualify in Year A for $500,000 at fixed rate of 4%.  You decide your going to wait on selling your home.  Now, it’s 2019 and rates are at a fixed rate of 7%  You may now qualify for much less now at around $300,000.  There’s a big difference between those homes.  Yet your mortgage would be the same as if you had purchased the $500,000 at 4%.
  • Long story short, time plays a vital role in home sales.  Listen to your Realtor’s advice on what you may not know about the market that may affect you.

Summary

We know that was a lot to take in, but know the details can be the difference between a home sale and one that sits on the market.

Our next and final installment will deal with the last three crucial reasons your home may not be selling.

Do you have questions from anything we’ve written so far?  Please feel free to contact us to discuss your situation.  We’re here to help!