HOME BUILDER BARGAINS ARE HERE!

CALLING ALL HOME BUYERS - - - It's that time of year again! 'Tis the wonderful season when home builders seek to close out existing inventories and models, They offer incredible buyer incentives, reflected either as a sales price reduction on the new home of your choice, material upgrades, and/or closing costs paid by the builder. Indeed, this is the best time to purchase a new subdivision home.

HOWEVER, just a word of warning to the wise...don't go into a home purchase unrepresented by a professional! You see, that helpful and friendly on-site sales representative is an agent of the builder. His or her loyalty and duty is to the builder, not to the buyer. Their job is to get the best deal they can for their client, thereby producing the greatest net dollar amount possible to the builder. They will not freely offer up options to protect you, the buyer, as it costs their client money. There are things you need to demand at the time of contract negotiations, for your own protection. Some things will save you money when you are ready to resell the house, but you must get them up front. Oddly enough, many people still believe that if they purchase a home without a Realtor, somehow the commission will be credited back to the in the transaction. This couldn't be further from the truth. The Realtor's commission is built into the price of the house as the cost of doing business and, if not used, remains in the builder's pocket. So why not benefit from professional advice and representation since it costs the buyer nothing? My buyers also benefit from many other services I provide, like annual equity reviews, property tax protest assistance, referrals to contractors/service providers, and more.

If I may be of assistance in a new home purchase for your or someone you know, I can be reached at 512-767-5733. Let's get moving together!

I Wish I Could Take This Back

It's more something I DIDN'T do. The last time I saw my BFF of 49 years I forgot to squeeze her real hard and tell her I loved her. As she drove away I thought "oh, it's ok. I'll tell her later on the phone." But I never got the chance. She was killed by a drunk driver. Now I make sure to tell her every day, praying that she hears me. Lesson: Don't take a single moment or loved one for granted. It's gone in the blink of an eye.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD HINTS: #1

Okay. Although I enjoy reading useful household hints, I seldom remember them and rarely share them. But in this case, I feel compelled to share something I learned the hard way.
GARBAGE DISPOSER CLEANERS - Several months ago I purchase a package of Plink Garbage Disposer cleaner & Deoderizer. They are little yellow balls with some sort of rubberized or silicon coating, filled with a lemon scented liquid. Supposedly, it cleans the food and greasy residue in your garbage disposer, leaving a fresh lemon scent. The key is that you must run hot water into the disposer while using the product. I did, in fact, follow instructions carefully. But I guess my disposer is too old and dull to chop up the rubbery coating. The little goobers became lodged in the disposer and randomly hang up the machinery, causing it to make this loud, haunting shriek, like its possessed by a banshee! When that happens the disposer may be out of order for several days at a time until I can get hot water to shift the little boogers enough to use temporarily. What a pain this turned out to be!

The moral: If you want fresh lemony smell in your garbage disposer, use fresh lemons. But remember to take out the seeds!

Do You Skype?

DO YOU SKYPE?
OK, so I'm an old dog, slow to learn new tricks. www.skype.com is awesome! If your computer has a webcam you can have LIVE video & audio conversations with friends and family. Just download it for FREE, add your contacts, send out invitations and TALK FACE TO FACE! It only costs if you make phone calls. No charge for computer conversations. Try it!

Check me out at my new location, RE/MAX 1 in Cedar Park, TX. I'm very proud and honored to be a part of the winning team of Tim Kress & Associates where YOU ARE #1!
Call or text me if you or someone you know is thinking of moving! (512) 767-5733

RED SHIRT FRIDAYS

Show your support for our troops. Wear a red shirt on Fridays! Without fanfare and by word of mouth, help start a national movement of strong, visible support for our military. Regardless of how you feel about the war, you gotta respect and appreciate the troops who sacrifice so much in the name of Freedom. I'll be looking for your red shirt...look for mine!

Disaster Aid for Haitian Quake Victims

What a catastrophic tragedy in Port au Prince, Haiti, which was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake yesterday. They are now saying there are 1/2 million dead and 9 million in need of help with another 1/2 million or so missing. Haiti was already a poor, primitive country with unbearable living conditions. Running water was a luxury. Now these poor folks don't even have a corrugated shelter to call home and most are frantically in search of loved ones.

No matter what your political views, most Americans are compassionate and giving people who genuinely want to help others. DO YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP THESE QUAKE VICTIMS? You can text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross Int'l Relief efforts or visit www.redcross.org. Also, NBC Nighly News is actually on site, broadcasting their pleas for help. They've put together a long list of things you can do to help. Visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835099/ns/nightly_news/ for more info. God Bless Us All! We are all one world, after all.