Stovall Realtors

My parents celebrated their 55th anniversary last week. My, how times have changed. Back in 1953 the world was a kinder, gentler place, and Abilene was a small town. The center of cultural affairs in Abilene was the old Municipal Auditorium, which regularly featured entertainment of all types, from wrestling to gospel quartets (not at the same time of course).

On one such occasion the Imperial Quartet was performing, so my Grandparents, the Williams, got their two girls all gussied up and hitched up the wagon. Well, they might have driven, or walked, but they got there and they were looking good. There was a large crowd that night, which included several boys from Abilene Christian College. During the concert, the Williams sisters noticed one of the college boys looking their direction. In fact, he was staring at them all night. After the performance, he ran to open the door for them and walked backward all the way to his car.

This college boy, a smart, sophisticated young man from the big city of Dallas was smitten with the younger of the sisters, and whispered to his roommate that he was "going to marry that girl." She was the girl he had been praying for. The next day, the college boy, James, drove over to Abilene High and ended up in the Yearbook office. After finding a picture of the girl, and her name, he proceeded to the lunch room to ask the sister of one of his friends if she might happen to know this Williams girl. She said, "Oh sure, that’s Flossie and her family goes to church at 14^th and Vine."

The next day, James placed a phone call to the Williams’ home. He asked Flossie if she would go with him to Wednesday night church services at… where else but 14^th and Vine! Well, the rest is history, and they were married in 1955. In those days, what my father did was considered highly romantic. Today, it would be considered highly illegal!

Dad saw what he wanted and he did what was necessary to get it… not to say that Mom didn’t have a choice in the matter. The point is, sometimes obtaining something that you want requires a strong desire, a little research, and occasionally some divine intervention.

Buying a home is a little like that. First, buyers have to want. We hope that your home search and transaction will go smoothly, but the road can get a little rough at times. If you don’t have a strong desire, you may bail at the first sign of trouble. You’ve got to keep the goal in mind. Sometimes, "doing whatever it takes to get what you want" means offering full price or more.

Next, buyers should do their own research on the market. Because of the internet, today’s buyer is the most educated in history. A few web sites can provide you with a lot of ammunition you need to make good decisions. First www.stovallrealtors.com can provide you with the entire market, and www.taylor-cad.org is the web site of the Central Appraisal District. Many times, buyers come into our office knowing exactly what houses they want to see, and which homes are already bargain priced, because they have done their research.

Lastly, sometimes divine intervention makes things "fall into place." I am not saying that you can blame God if you don’t get a property that you make a low offer on. Too many times people make bad offers and bad decisions and then say, "It just wasn’t meant to be!" But, if you have a strong desire, do your research, and say your prayers, maybe things will work out… like it has for my folks, for 55 years.

On a side note, I have developed a little cul-de-sac just off Chimney Rock and West of Buffalo Gap Road. The little development of patio homes is called Stovall Estates www.stovallrealtors.com/stovallestates and the street is named James Court to honor my father. Dad served as a public school administrator for over 40 years. He was a church Elder, a mentor to many, and respected by everyone who knows him. Today he is retired and still lives in the house where I grew up. He is not as strong as he used to be, but to me he is still my father and my friend. If you’re in the market for a patio home and would like to live on the street named after my Dad, give me a call.

 Steve Stovall

                        Broker/Owner

It was a perfect day, and a perfect time. The sun was shining, the kids were out of school, and all of the conditions were right so I decided to take a day off to take the kids fishing. We intended to get out of town first thing in the morning. We had not taken the time to pack on Thursday night, so we were doing it on Friday morning. After about 18 phone calls and a personal visit at my front door, I started packing. It took me exactly 6 minutes. It usually takes me 4, but I couldn’t find my suitcase. My needs for a weekend can usually be packed in a shoebox. The girls however, are another story.

After filling the back of the Suburban, we were off… to Wal-Mart. An hour and a half later, we were off… back to the house because we forgot something. Finally, around lunch time, we were off! About 30 miles south of town, it happened. The temperature was around 100 and we were going about 70 miles an hour when there was a LOUD noise and our car started rocking violently. I was able to keep it under control and pull to the side of the road. It seems that one of my treads decided to release itself from the rest of the tire and wrap around the axle. I had to act like I knew what I was doing – for the sake of the family of course. So I climbed over all the stuff in the back to find the tire changing tool things.

After reading the directions, I figured out how to use the jack and get to the spare. The problem was that I couldn’t get that dang tire tread untangled. I tried the pliers, the hammer, and a pair of scissors, but nothing worked. I reluctantly had my wife call AAA. I thought they would come faster if a woman called. Not so. We waited for a couple of hours by the side of the road. Several people stopped to offer assistance. One guy in a ’72 pickup with a confederate flag in the window offered to "wrap a chain around it and pull that sucker out!" I could just imagine my rear axle being dragged down the highway, and then he’d spit and say "woops!" So, I opted to wait. The good news is that we had plenty of food, water and the shade of a tree. The bad news is that it brought back horrible memories of a motor home experience gone bad. (I’ll tell you about that some other time when I figure out how to work it into a real estate article).

You’ve heard that all of the conditions are right for selling. Rates are low, the market is good, and other homes are selling like hot cakes. (What makes hot cakes sell so well anyway? Sorry, just a thought.) You’ve priced your home within the range that your Realtor recommended. You’ve planned, painted, planted and the house looks great. Everyday you leave the home "show ready" and every night you check the sheet to find that no one has shown your house.

It’s so frustrating! You’ve got places to go, things to do, other house payments to make. Blame the market, blame the Realtor, blame the neighbors, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way that you would like for them to. What can you do?

There are only five factors that cause a home to sell or to sit. Those are: Price, Terms, Condition, Location, and Marketing. There is nothing you can do about the location, unless of course you have a mobile home… and if you have it listed in MLS it is getting at least some degree of marketing. You may be able to come up with some creative terms, but I have a little secret that you need to know. If you are getting showings, but no offers, the problem is probably the condition. If you are not getting any showings, assuming that the buyers can find it in the marketing, the problem is the price.

Even in this good market, when the conditions are right, your house may not sell as quickly as you would like. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t take advice from a guy in a ’72 pickup. You may not be able to change the location, but we can work together to create attractive terms, a price that the market will bear, and marketing that will get your house noticed. You have to work with us to make the condition of the home what buyers are looking for. We control the marketing, but you control the marketability.

We did eventually reach our destination and we even caught a few fish. Have patience, get good advice from your Stovall Realtors professional and you too will reach your destination!

 Steve Stovall

We depend on road signs to tell us where to go, but sometimes they don’t point us in the right direction. There’s one intersection near where I used to live that became my pet peeve. It’s the intersection of Robertson and Buffalo Gap Road. The problem is that Robertson does not line up exactly with the road that goes into the Mall. In order to go straight into the Mall you have to be in the left lane on Robertson directly facing oncoming traffic. Since most people have an aversion to head on collisions, they stay in the left lane and try to go straight. There is a small sign by the signal light but it is not very obvious. The problem is that the right lane is for right turns only, and the green light to go straight doesn’t come on unless you are in the left lane. Sometimes people sit through 2 or 3 green arrows waiting for a green light to go straight. This causes much distress to those of us parked behind the poor unfortunate souls who don’t realize that they are in a turning lane. I think there should be a big sign that says "Right Turn Only, Stupid!" But they didn’t ask me.

A mortgage lender can be much like a street sign. A good local lender can save you from embarrassing delays and roadblocks, while out-of-town lenders, such as those you may find on the internet or television, can take you down a painful road of detours.

One problem with using an out-of-town lender is they don’t know the market. Even though you may be getting a standardized government loan, local markets vary widely. The choice of an appraiser is another item to consider. Local lenders know which appraisers to call for various types of loans and are familiar with comparable sales. An out-of-town lender may not even have a local appraiser on their "approved list."

Another problem with out-of-town lenders is that you never know what you are getting. Promises of cheap rates may be offset by fees that are higher than are customary in our market. Be sure to get all of the facts in writing on a standardized "HUD-1" which is a federally required Good Faith Estimate form. Usually our local lenders can meet or beat any "deal" you can find elsewhere when you compare apples to apples.

One other problem with the out-of-town lender is that you may never be able to speak to the same person. Often you are just a number while your loan gets passed from clerk to clerk. Many times important terms of your contract, such as the projected closing date, may be ignored, causing delays and friction between you and the seller of the property. Sometimes lenders can actually cause buyers to be in default and risk their earnest money. With a local lender you can discuss your loan with an actual person that, if necessary, you can reach across the desk and strangle if there is a problem. Usually problems can be worked out in time for closing or at least in time to get the closing date extended.

Lastly, our local lenders support our community. I believe that whenever possible we should "Buy Big Country." Not all out-of-town lenders are bad and not all local lenders are good. It’s a good idea to listen to your Stovall Realtors team member and choose a lender who is an affiliate member of the Abilene Board of Realtors. Seek the advice of your agent. We does this every day. Like a good road sign, a good lender will take you where you want to go.

 Steve Stovall

You’ve got a house to sell. You’ve got inside pets. You’ve got a problem. I understand your dilemma; I’m a pet lover too. I have something that I need to tell you. It’s something that your friends won’t tell you, but you need to hear it. Ready? Ok, here goes: your house has pet odor. Deny it all you want. It’s a smell that you are probably used to, but trust me, there is an odor. At best your pet may distract your potential buyer. At worst, it may turn them off on your house completely.

When I was a brand new baby Realtor I went to preview a house with my sales manager. We called for an appointment but no one was home, so as agreed, we let ourselves in to check out the house before bringing over a potential buyer. As I was trying to find the light switch, my associate stepped into the hallway. That wasn’t all he stepped into. It seems that the owners had a cat who apparently couldn’t find the litter box. Being a new agent, I was eager to help my sales manager with this problem. I went on ahead of him into the bathroom, turned on the light and raised the commode lid while he removed the "offense" from his shoe with a tissue. With a flip of his wrist he tossed the tissue toward the commode, but he missed and it hit me in the leg. Yuk! I had to go home and change pants but I smelled that stuff the rest of the day. What if that would have happened to a potential buyer?

There was another time when I listed a house where a vicious dachshund stayed inside. He too had a problem knowing where to do his business and as an added attraction he would follow potential buyers and bark the entire time we were trying to show the home. It’s a little hard to carry on a conversation over a barking dog while trying to watch your step.

Not every buyer is offended by inside dogs. I once had a listing that was owned by dog trainers who kept three Shelties in the house. When consulting with the owners, we decided that the home might show best if it were vacant. After the owners moved, the smell remained. I did everything I could to get that smell out of the house. I cleaned the carpets, I used Lysol, I baked cookies. Finally I got a chemical from a local store that promised to remove the smell. It did not remove it completely but kind of gave it a "fruity dog" smell. Well, there’s a house for everyone and the home did eventually go under contract. The buyer’s agent told me that the buyers were not bothered by the smell, in fact she heard the woman say, "oh, I like this poop-pourri!"

Good Realtor, Good Realtor!

 Steve Stovall

While that’s a great idea, you need to be aware of the differences between getting pre-qualified and getting pre-approved for a home loan — because they are not the same.

"Pre-qualified" means you may be eligible to borrow a certain amount, but "pre-approved" means your financial documents have been checked out and the amount you can borrow has already been verified by a lender. Getting pre-approved tells you how much money you can borrow from a particular lender, and makes the next step — applying for an actual mortgage loan — relatively fast and easy.

Your Realtor can help you find a competent lender who can assist you in this process, plus help you determine which type of financing is best suited for your needs. Be smart & take steps to secure your finances. Soon you’ll be in the home you’ve always dreamed about — with financial peace of mind you deserve.

For more information on Buying a home go to www.stovallrealtors.com/imabuyer

Kay Spiva -  Broker Associate

It’s a story of missed opportunity. The opposite of choosing between the lesser of two evils; it’s choosing between two goods. It’s like when you are enjoying some television show, then during the commercial you flip to another channel to find that you have just missed your all-time favorite movie. It’s like when you returned from a fun-filled family trip to the Metroplex only to find a message on your answering machine from a friend who would have offered you four free tickets to a Carrie Underwood concert. She was playing at the Cotton Bowl on that very weekend – and you love Carrie Underwood! It’s the "I could have had a V-8" syndrome.

If you’re thinking about refinancing your home, which is good, you may need to consider another option which may be better. It might be the right time for you to take the equity out of your existing home and apply it toward the purchase of another home. By doing this you would get a cheaper rate and a better house.

The decision to refinance or re-purchase isn’t always as straight forward as you may think. Refinancing is an attractive option because you can often lower your payments, use the equity in your home to pay for the closing costs, and sometimes even shorten the term of your loan. You stay in the same house and have lower payments. What could be better than that? Nothing, if you plan to stay in your present home for at least three years, but did you catch the part about using your equity to pay for the cost of the refinance. Many people are not aware that there is actually a cost to refinance, and it’s about the same, and sometimes more, than the cost to set up a new loan. When you refinance you are actually buying your house from yourself. My point is that if you are in the market to buy your house back, why not look around?

This is an excellent time to reposition, particularly if you are moving from the middle price ranges where supply is scarce to the upper price ranges where supply is ample. You may be in the enviable position of being in a seller’s market as a seller, and a buyer’s market as a buyer! While this may not be true for every price range and area of town, it is something to consider. So, before you run out and refinance you need to check out the rest of the market.

Also, consider the Opportunity Cost of refinancing. You can either roll the fees into your loan, which increases your loan balance and reduces your equity; or you can pay the costs up front – which does not lower your equity position. If you roll the costs into your loan, calculate how long it will take to recapture the fees in the amount of your payment reduction. This is your breakeven point. If you need to sell your house before your breakeven point then you will lose money because the reduction in your payments caused from your lower interest rate was not enough to pay for the fees involved in the refinance. If you decide to pay the costs up-front, your breakeven point remains the same but you also need to factor in what else you could have done with the cash (i.e. interest bearing loans, etc.)

Refinancing is a good thing, but I would hate to see you look back in a year or two and say, "I could have had a V-8!" (or a four bedroom.)

Steve Stovall

Have you heard the expression, "It’s like pulling teeth!?" We usually utter these words in a negative tone but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact it seems that the loss of a tooth is quite a status symbol in the primary grades. When my daughter Stefani was six years old she lost one of her front teeth – as six year olds do. It was quite an ordeal. She began by proclaiming that she was in fact the proud owner of a loose tooth. Then the wiggling began. She became so proficient at wiggling her tooth that she became the tooth wiggling expert of her 1st grade class. During a conference at school her teacher said that all of the kids would come to Stefani for her to wiggle their teeth to see if they were loose. (We told her to stop doing that.)

After weeks of wiggling with movement so slight it could only be measured by NASA, one night I finally felt a slight movement with my own bare fingertips. The tooth was finally going to come out soon. However, I found out that soon is a relative term. Wiggling, wriggling, and jiggling. More wiggling. It seemed that the thing was never going to actually come out until one night with Kleenex in hand and thoughts of pliers, I got a good grip on the little sucker and twisted. The crying didn’t start until she saw the blood. Then she wouldn’t let me get my hands back on that little tooth. I was banned.

There it was, hanging by one little root. You wouldn’t think a tooth could hang by a root for long, at least I didn’t. Well, guess what? It can hang on for as many days as it takes to get the kids to spend the night with the grandparents. Did you know that the Tooth Fairy actually leaves the tooth when it comes out at Granddad & Gama’s house? So, the Tooth Fairy actually came twice. Funny how that works.

The decision to buy a first home can be a little like the process of pulling a tooth. First-time buyers often put themselves through weeks, months, or years or wiggling, wriggling, and jiggling while trying to decide if it is the right time to buy. Many go through the process of looking and looking and looking, watching rates, over analyzing, and creating paralysis by analysis. The real reason they are delaying has nothing to do with the market and has everything to do with fear. If they would just take that step, grab a Kleenex and pull, they would stop throwing money away on rent and begin to build equity in a home of their own.

The decision to become a homeowner can be painful at times. It can involve blood, sweat, and tears, but once the decision is made, just think of how proud you will be. Just like my daughter wanted to show everyone, even strangers, the hole in her mouth, you will be so proud of your new home that you will want to show it off.

Now is the time. First our first ten callers we will double the offer! No, really it is the right time because if you go under contract before April 30, 2010 you may be able to get an extra $8000 from the IRS. How about that – it’s like your own personal tooth fairy. Homeownership may not be for everyone but it is the best option for most people. To find out the pro’s and con’s you should consult a Stovall Realtors team member. We can tell you what to expect from ownership, and what will be expected of you. With the help of one of our team members, the experience of buying can be much easier than "pulling teeth!"

 Steve Stovall

Have you driven down Buffalo Gap Road lately? It’s great to see people working on sidewalk ramps. It’s such a wonderful use of our tax dollars. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until they are completed. Just the thought of a nice walk along FM 89 with the sound of 4 lanes of traffic buzzing by and the taste of sand in my mouth just makes me tingle with excitement.

And then, to be able to walk up a sidewalk ramp as I cross each street… I just can’t tell you how exciting that is! Some of the sidewalk ramps are actually large enough for you to take a couple of steps! How electrifying! I just can’t wait until they are finished, I would imagine sometime in mid 2037.

I haven’t yet figured out what I’m going to do once I leave the little ramps. Maybe I’ll just walk from ramp to ramp, or maybe I’ll walk in the drainage ditch, or maybe in the street! I might have to cross a mud pit or a creek. Maybe I’ll walk along the top of a pipeline. Oh well, I’ll figure that out later. At least we have those ramps… and don’t forget, they are handicap accessible.

Sometimes things don’t make sense. We see a lot of that in this business, but that’s why we’re here. At Stovall Realtors we keep up to date with the latest in government regulations – even those that don’t make sense. If you are considering selling your home, give us a call first. We’ll be glad to come out and help you muddle through the mountains of paperwork, some of which are actually for your protection.

Steve Stovall