You’ve taken care of all the preliminaries. You’ve listed your needs, wants, likes and dislikes. You’ve found your Realtor, you’ve even gotten pre-qualified on your mortgage loan. The time has come for you to start the search for the best home to meet your needs. What factors do you keep in mind before heading out the door to look at properties? 

Many home buyers make the mistake of focusing solely on price when searching for a home. Though price is worth considering, it shouldn’t be your central focus when looking for your home. The location and quality of your home should bear equal weight in your final home choice.

Location, Location and Location

Location is very important when choosing your home, though choosing where to live is often difficult for home buyers. Where to live is such an important decision; plus there are so many options! A good location to one, can be horrible to another. But a bad location, is usually a bad location to all. Experts suggest that you sacrifice something inside the home rather than sacrifice the location.

Here are some factors to consider when thinking about the location of your new home:

• Your Job: How far away from your job are you willing to be? Are you interested in commuting for over an hour per day? Are there convenient routes to and from your work? Will you be changing jobs in the next few years? Is there a chance for you to work at home? The location of your job is what most people consider first when choosing where they will live.

• Lifestyle: Would you prefer a busy area with the convenience of shops and entertainment venues? Or, would you be more content in a rural area, farther away from local amenities? If you decide you want to be close to much activity, are you willing to fight the traffic such busy-ness brings? If you choose the quieter route, are you prepared to drive farther for shopping and local services? Again, a good location to one family may be bad to another.

• Schools: Do you have school-age children in public school? Then, to you, the quality of the schools in the area is important. How are the schools rated with the state? Are the schools well kept? If the schools in your chosen location are not adequate, are there good private schools within your price range nearby? How will your children get to school? Check out our school page on the navigation buttons to the left to learn more about the schools in our area.

• Neighborhood: What type of neighborhood do you want? Do you prefer new construction, or a more established neighborhood with mature trees? If you have children, you would likely want a more family-oriented neighborhood so you kids can play outside. Would you rather live close to the main thoroughfares, or are you bothered by noisy traffic? There are so many decisions to make!

• Resell: Is the location of the home good for more than just you? Is it conveniently located to major companies and other places of employment? If there are some negative issues with the current location, and you get a discounted price, you will likely end up having to pass those savings along to the buyers of the home when you eventually sell.

Home Quality

Now that you’ve decided on the general location of your new home, it’s time to go on a some tours of available homes in that area. Make your time in the homes count by bringing with you a notepad, pen and tape measurer. If you are viewing the home, chances are you already have a sales sheet with a floorplan and general information about the house. Even though you’ll want to get a professional inspection on any home before buying it, there are things you can check for now in deciding if the home is right for you:

Exterior

• Is the exterior finish of the home in good shape?
• Is there any rotted siding or fencing?
• Are the roof and gutters in good condition?
• Does the air conditioner seem to be in working condition upon first glance?
• Is the lot attractive for your purposes?

Interior

• Are the appliances up-to-date?
• Is the flooring adequate for your needs?
• Are there obvious cracks and fault lines in the ceilings?
• Does the interior need painting?
• Does the home seem well kept?

Looking for a home is exciting, just make sure you don’t get overwhelmed by all the choices out there. If you want to find a home, give me a call, I can help! 

Posted via email from dotjenna’s posterous

The 4th of July is said to be the Birthday of the United States. It is a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 which declares our independence from Great Britain. This special day is often filled with fireworks, parades, bar-b-cues, fairs and picnics, not to mention concerts, baseball games and political ceremonies.

4th of July Ideas

• Decorate a Flag Cake
• 4th of July Parade Wear for the Kids
• Fourth of July (government site)

Patriotic Hymn

Posted via email from dotjenna’s posterous

Perfect strangers peaking into every cranny of your home. Sounds blissful… NOT! As unpleasant as showing your home may be, it’s a necessary part of the selling process. If you’re serious about selling your home, better hunker down and get ready for the showings.

-Make sure your home, inside and out is beyond reproach.  Clear away debris, clean your house from top to bottom. Nothing is more important than curb appeal and first impressions.

- Declutter your decor. You want the potential buyers to think of your home as theirs, not yours. Often personal momentos and cloud the view. You don’t want someone to not choose to buy your home because of Aunt Sylvia’s photo.

-Gather materials about your home for viewing. Locate owners manuals for appliances and floorplans or drawings from your home’s purchase and place them in a convenient location for those viewing your home.

-Bake cookies or another good smelling food in the oven to give your home an inviting aroma. Cinnamon sticks placed in boiling water offers a faster way to get that homey-smell.

-Try not to be home. It is best for you to be gone when your home is being shown. Potential buyers may not feel as comfortable with you there.

-If you must be home, refrain from giving the “guided tour.” Retreating to another room after a polite hello is the best way to give the home shoppers their privacy.

-Play soft music in the background. Some sources recommend playing soft music in the background while others say “silence is golden.” You and your Realtor can be the judge.

-Open your windows wide. Let the sun shine through the windows giving the appearance of openness and friendliness. Light pouring into a room will enlarge the space and brighten the home overall.

-Remove pets from home. If possible, remove your pets from the home while it’s being shown. Pets are a nuisance to potential buyers as they are determining if they feel at home in your house. If you can’t remove them, cart them. At the least, keep them outside.

This blog post was created by http://www.dotjenna.com/

Posted via email from dotjenna’s posterous

The architects of Fort Worth have gone public, making themselves more accessible to the community. After years of being reclusive to the point of near invisibility, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects has opened the Center for Architecture on Seventh Street in the old Strings location, and they welcome visitors. Really, they want you to drop by.

“The center is a place to show how architects can help people with a wide range of design opportunities,” says Joe Self, whose Firm817 designed the new facility.

The center opened on Gallery Night with the show “Cross Section — What Architects Do,” an exhibit of models and architectural drawings by chapter members. The simplicity of the show title indicates how earnest the group is in trying to be accessible and understood.

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Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — New U.S. home sales may jump 30 percent next year, buoyed by low mortgage rates and a “greater than 50 percent probability” that Congress will extend a tax credit for first-time buyers, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

New home sales in California will lead as property values rise and transactions climb to more than 525,000 nationally, analysts led by Joshua Pollard wrote in a note to investors. The firm raised its recommendation for D.R. Horton Inc., Meritage Homes Corp., Toll Brothers Inc. and M.D.C. Holdings Inc.

“Phrases like ‘the worst is well behind us’ and ‘things remain encouraging’ capture the mood of many constituents we met with on residential real estate,” Pollard said after visiting California. “The mood was much more negative on commercial real estate.”

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FORT WORTH — Composer, producer, and trumpeter Freddie Jones will turn the spotlight on a Fort Worth ISD student musician on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009.

Jones will select a student to receive a trumpet for the student’s personal use — if the student agrees to Jones’ conditions: Jones will ask the student to agree to continue to study music while in school and to play several times a year for children.

The trumpet will be presented by Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Shula’s Restaurant, 1701 Commerce Street (inside the Sheraton Hotel).

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FORT WORTH - One of the premier developments in downtown Fort Worth, Le Bijou, has gone under. But, foreclosure is not necessarily the new face of the city.

The Texas Pacific Lofts on the south end of downtown is 95 percent sold. Some experts say the lofts’ success is a more accurate picture of downtown Fort Worth real estate.

Villa de Leon is the newest high rise in downtown Fort Worth. It has 23 luxury condos overlooking the Trinity River. Prices range from $780,000 to $2.2 million.

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Looking for a new running route to shake up your long run? Head out to Fort Worth for a day trip. The city has a number of running hot spots, but few are as scenic or popular as Trinity Trails. These biking and running trails wind their way throughout the city and are not to be missed if you are visiting the area. With nearly 30 miles of trails throughout the city, you can see something new and shake up your running routine.

The majority of the trail system runs along the Trinity River, with mostly paved paths — although some sections are crushed limestone. For the most scenic view of some of Fort Worth’s attractions, pick up the trail at Overton Park and continue north past the Fort Worth Zoo, Botanic Garden and Trinity Park. If you need a long run, you can start down in Pecan Valley Park for a longer route. There are numerous water fountains along this section of the running path, and lots of trees along this route provide welcome shade in the summer. Other areas of the trail system are less shaded, so bring sunscreen.

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With one successful location on Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth, Hartland, Wis.-based Batteries Plus is charging up to install four to six new locations in the Fort Worth area in coming months.

Batteries Plus, a franchise battery retailer, has targeted the greater Fort Worth area for expansion plans and currently is searching for qualified franchisees.

“Fort Worth is primed for additional Batteries Plus expansion,” said CEO Russ Reynolds. “Our track record in similar markets, coupled with a significant and growing consumer demand for battery products and services, makes Batteries Plus a lucrative opportunity for ambitious entrepreneurs in the Fort Worth area.”

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Bell Helicopter has a new three-year contract with a union representing about 175 engineering workers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The company said the Bell Production Engineers Association ratified the contract Sunday night by a three-to-one margin. The contract includes a cumulative wage increase of 10.4 percent over the three years of the deal, and each union member will receive a $3,000 cash ratification bonus.

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