Blog

2009 School Ratings for McLennan County

I was on the Texas Education Agency website and saw that the 2009 school ratings are available! Crawford – for 2009, all schools in Crawford ISD received an exemplary rating from the State of Texas. Last year Crawford’s elementary school and middle school received exemplary ratings while the high school received a ‘recognized’ designation. Midway ISD received an overall ‘academically acceptable’ rating for the school district. All the elementary schools in Midway received an ‘exemplary’ rating, Midway Intermediate received an ‘exemplary’, Midway Middle School got a ‘recognized’ rating and Midway High School got an ‘academically... [Read More]

Waco Real Estate Update – The Swimming Pool Factor

With the Texas Summer officially here, I usually get more phone calls from people asking about homes with swimming pools. It’s not surprising with the warmer temps. The temperature in Waco today, I think the weather guy said, was 738 degrees! With the heat index, it feels like 1,216 degrees. Often though, some of those folks who are asking me about homes with pools are often surprised how ‘rare’ they are. You would think with the Texas heat every year, more homes on the market would actually have a cement pond! I decided to do the math and analysis of homes on the market that actually have a pool. What I found was actually kind of interesting… well at least to me, but... [Read More]

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Home Buying

Are you looking to buy a home? Especially if you’re a first time home buyer, you need a guide on what your obligations are (as a home buyer) to your Realtor! “What? I have responsibities to my agent’? You bet! Most agents, it seems, are either afraid (or don’t know) to tell you that they have certain expectations too. But if you can follow this guide somewhat… It will make your whole experience of buying your first home, just THAT much better. Honestly… Have I steered you wrong yet? Yeah, I know… The title is cheesy and I ripped it off from the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, but nevertheless… You need a guide. Hopefully this article... [Read More]

“Oops…I Called the Agent on the For Sale Sign”

What? You called the real estate agent off the sign in the yard? What the heck are you thinking? Come here and let me slap you with a trout (an old IRC joke back in the “old days” of the internet – early to mid 90s). You may not even know why you should be afraid (be very afraid… Okay, now I’m just trying scare ya’). Actually, I’ll give you some info that you may not be aware of. If you’re a serious home buyer, then the first thing you need to do BEFORE you begin looking at homes (well, after you get pre-approved for a loan) is to find a buyer’s agent! NO JOKE! Whatever you do, get your own agent and don’t call the agent on the sign. Don’t... [Read More]

Researching Waco Real Estate (And More)

So you’ve decided to buy a home or maybe you’re relocating to the Waco area. Either way, you’ll want to do your research about Waco real estate and the area. Where do you start? I hear ya… searching on the internet can be a daunting task. Forget about the tons of information that’s available online, but trying to find RELIABLE information can be a pain too! If you’d rather look around online instead of talking to a Realtor first (really, we’re not scary people! Okay, well maybe some of us, but not all of us), I’ve got some cool tricks, tips, and websites fer ya. You’re relocating to Waco? GREAT! We’d love to have ya here (especially... [Read More]

Over Priced Home Listings – What Are They Thinking?

We’ve all seen it – over priced homes on the market for sale. Not just a little over priced, but REALLY over priced! Not a home that’s maybe $4,000 or $5,000 too high, but more like $40,000 – $50,000 too high. It makes you wonder what the seller is thinking. Makes me wonder what the Realtor is thinking. I know it’s a numbers game. I know that a lot of Realtors (especially those agents who are brand new to the business) will take an over priced listing in hopes that they will get a few phone calls from the for sale sign (or Realtor.com or the newspaper, etc…) and be able to convert the caller to an appointment and eventually to a buyer. According to statistics... [Read More]

Castleman Creek Elementary – Hewitt, TX

I drove by the new elementary school that’s under construction in Hewitt today – Castleman Creek Elementary. Wow! Construction looks like it’s almost completed. I knew it was time, but didn’t realize that it was getting so close to being finished. Where has the year gone so far? The new elementary school is located on Hewitt Dr., next to Hewitt Park, in front of Indian Creek Estates. Completion for Castleman Creek is set for the end of July with classes starting on August 26th. If you have a child attending the new school then you may want to know that a couple of days before school starts (August 24th) a “Meet the Teacher” will be held from 6:00 p.m.... [Read More]

Property Taxes – Glitch to Blame for Sky High Home Values in Areas of Waco? – Info to Protest Your Appraisal

By now you may have received your 2009 Notice of Appraised Value from the McLennan County Appraisal District. And by now some of you are back home from the emergency room after having a mild heart attack! No kiddin’! I was told that there was some sort of ‘glitch’ that caused well…. the total market value on some home appraisal notices to ’sky rocket’! Straight out of the ionosphere bouncing off the moon and headed out of the milky way at faster than the speed of light, to put it mildly. Heck, MCAD (McLennan County Appraisal District) had my own home appraised value at over $94,000 higher than last year! My first thought was…. “?!*%!”... [Read More]

Bad MLS Photos – A Home Seller’s Problem

I know you’ve seen them. Heck, maybe even the photos of your house could win bad photo of the week! Not a good thing. Actually, there’s a few different emotions I experience when I see exceptionally bad MLS photos. First, there’s the comic relief. Some of those photos are just down right hilarious! But also, I feel for the home sellers because I think they may not even know how bad those photos are. Then there’s the disappointment in the agent that actually took the photo. When I say a bad MLS photo, I’m not talking about a professional’s opinion of right lighting, white balance, use of HDR, color saturation, contrast, focal length, etc.. When I say bad... [Read More]

Best Resources for Researching Waco Real Estate Information

I have a lot of clients that move into the Waco area from out of town and of out state, which is great, I love that the Waco area seems to be growing; Especially in the past 3 or 4 years. Of course, those folks who are new to the area want information about it. No surprise, many people decide to hit the internet and read about Texas and the Waco area. Unfortunately, in their search for information, they may stumble across some websites that either have outright false or very outdated information. I’m not trying knock those webistes. I have nothing against them, but I’m trying to keep you informed. I’ve had several out of town clients requestion more information sold prices... [Read More]

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