Ok, I just received my iphone 4G in via Federal Express to my beautiful Frisco home.  The delivery man was very friendly and knew exactly what it was, but didn’t share my excitement. 

1.  The look - great looking and seems to be thinner, not as wide, and lighter.

2.  Camera - what an upgrade!  I love the way you can use the came toward you or at your subject.  Flash seems a little weak, but I am sure I will figure it out.

3.  Picture clarity - huge difference, makes even my old pictures off my 3G phone look good.  The numbers are clearer and the resolution is amazing.

4.  Speed - another great upgrade.  The phone was as fast as my 3G when attached to my wi-fi.  When I hooked it up to my wi-fi it was like a mini-computer.  I had one question, I found my display still reading 3G, so am I in 4G mode or 3G???

Overall with like 2 hours of playing with the phone I love it, but I am sure I will find even more to like.  Share you thoughts and let me know.  If you want to see it up and close call me and we can meet or I can show you a Plano home for sale or a Frisco home for sale.   After all I am in the real estate business!

Check out my real estate website Dallas Real Estate, or Call me at 469-644-3402

Ok, so I pulled a search in the MLS for golf course home under 300K, there were some, but nothing special.  I pulled another search for homes on golf course, swimming pool, and creek views.  So, how many did I find? 7 homes total and none were under 400K! 

So, why am I bringing this up?  I am proud to announce my new listing 12026 Shoal Creek Drive, in Frisco Texas.  This home has 4 beds, 3.5 baths, over-sized kitchen, large living spaces, closets, and best of all…this home sits on the golf course with a pool and creek views for under 300K!

I know this home will go extremely fast, so please call me today for an immediate showing on this one of a kind very rare home.  If this home doesn’t interest you, I can assist you with any other property in the Frisco real estate market.

VIP Realty DFW is your Plano, Allen, Frisco, McKinney, and greater Dallas real estate premier commercial and residential realtor.

Call us at 469-644-3402

Looking for a great home in Allen, Texas?  Check out our new listing at 812 Kipling Drive.  Nearly 3000 sf with 4 beds and 2.5 baths.  The home sits on nice tree lined street that dead ends into a cul-de-sac for low traffic flows.

Walk inside the home you will find wood floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, new stone fireplace and both main bathrooms have been completely updated with new counter tops and beautiful custom stone work in the bath and shower area’s. 

The home is below market value for the Allen Real Estate area and with great schools and easy access to major highways, there is nothing that is just minutes away.  Financing is easy with both FHA and conventional loans available for this property.  With interest rates being in the low 5% rate, you can get into this home for nearly nothing down and low payment per month.

If your family needs to get out of the rent race and start enjoying home ownership with a small monthly payment, please contact us today for a private showing.  VIP Realty proudly serves the Plano, Allen, McKinney, and Frisco real estate markets.  Call us at 469.644.3402.

I have recently been in contact with several couples that are moving from another part of the country to ours.  Some have been here and some have never stepped foot in Texas.  Some ask strange questions like how many Tornado’s a day, or does everyone wear cowboy hats?  I am here to say that Texas is a diverse state with mountains, rivers, plains, and BIG cities.

So, let’s narrow your search a bit.  Let’s say your employer has decided to give you the position you have always wanted, but you have to move to…Frisco, Texas.  What?  Frisco, Texas where’s that?  You go to google and search for Relocation Frisco, Texas.  You find that it’s a diverse fast growing upper-middle class city with shopping, dining, entertainment year round, and great schools.  Wow, this sounds good!  So, now you type in Frisco Real Estate and you see… Frisco Real Estate | Frisco Homes For Sale | Frisco Realtor and you click on it, you have just found VIP Realty DFW. 

So, here’s a little information about us.  First we are residents in Frisco, since 1998.  We have spent time with youth sports and helped with charitable foundations around the Frisco area.  Our children started and sadly some are graduating soon in the great Frisco School District.  However, what the most important information that you need from us?  We are Realtors, full time, dedicated, and concerned residents only wanting the best for our citizens today or in the future.

Making a move the the Frisco area is one of the hardest and most important decisions you will ever make.  We want to minimize your concerns and assist from beginning to end.  So, if you are moving to Frisco, McKinney, Allen, or near the Plano Real Estate markets, please make us your first contact for all your relocation needs.

Located about 10 minutes from Frisco, Texas and 15 minutes from McKinney, Texas is Prosper, Texas.  Prosper is a small rail town with city access and a country feel.  Currently there are around 8,000 people in the Prosper area with a final population estimate of 80,000.

The Prosper real estatemarket currently has 150 homes for sale.  Prices range from the $150,000 range in the Glenbrooke subdivision to the millions in Gentle Creek Estates.  If a subdivision is your idea of a perfect home, then try Lakes of La Cima.  With homes ranging between 250K to 500K, this subdivision offers custom home features at a low price and nice chunk of land.  Looking for a little more flair?  Gentle Creek Estates have homes priced between 300K to 2 million.  Gentle Creek Estate homes are custom built homes with acreage and a beautiful golf coarse cutting the subdivision down the middle.

Prosper schools are excellent and with new highways being expanded, Prosper is close to everything.  With a growing city comes business’s and the commercial side of Prosper is growing. 

There are plenty of Prosper homes for sale and VIP Realty DFW can help you find it.  We know Prosper and with an expanding economy, good school district, and access to the city, you can’t go wrong selecting this up and coming town.

That beautiful snow here in the Dallas area is gone and springtime is around the corner.  For many this is the time they get their house ready to sell.  So why should 2010 be any different?  For starters, those two tax credits ($8000 for new buyers and $6500 for existing) are going to expire in April.   Then we have the low interest rates which many are speculating will begin to rise when the government stops purchasing the Freddie Mac and Fannie May loans at the end of March. 

It seems the perfect storm is a lot closer than on the horizon.  Home buyers wanting to take advantage of the credit and rates are frustrated as there are few homes for sale.  Whether looking for dallas homes, plano homes or, there aren’t very many to choose from in the more popular price ranges and locations.  What this means for prospective sellers is - GET LISTED!!   When there are more buyers than sellers this puts the seller in a better position. 

Think of it this way, the height of the real estate market is typically summer as families scramble to find the new home, sell the old home, get through the closings and move… all before school starts.  They have a deadline.  Now the government has given us a new deadline and it seems that the sellers out there aren’t listening.  If you are worried about what the right price is to actually sell your house, this is the best time for you.  Get a realistic estimate from your realtor and get it on the market in time for those buyers to meet the tax credit deadline. 

Do not sit on the fence this year.  Regardless if you are downsizing, rightsizing or moving across county, this is going to be a year when winter is the new spring.  There are artificial forces at work providing incentives for the buyers.  This is not going to be your typical real estate season.

A hidden gem in Plano is the neighborhood of Glenhollow Estates.  Built in the early 1990’s it is nestled west of the Tollway and north of Parker Road.   The homes range in size from just under 3000 to nearly 4000 sf and are found listed from the low 300K’s to mid 400K’s.

If convenient living with excellent schools is what you are looking for - these Plano homes will fit the bill.   Glenhollow Estates location is minutes from the North Dallas Tollway which is home to all manner of dining establishments from 4-star to down-home.  Less than a mile west of the neighborhood is Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, a 200 acre park offering visitors 2.3 miles of paved pathways and vista points.  After a day at the park, Willow bend mall is also just around the corner which houses some of the more upscale department stores and boutiques.   

Glenhollow families are included in the Plano school district which rates with distinction not only in Texas but in the nation.  For example, twenty-three Plano ISD schools have captured the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence honor, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.  Every year since the award has been presented (1992-2009), Plano ISD has been selected for a “What Parents Want Award” by School Match, the nation’s largest school selection and consulting firm. Only 16 percent of the nation’s school systems have been designated for this honor. Also, “Expansion Management Magazine” named Plano ISD among 2,800 school districts across the U.S. to earn a “Gold Medal” rating through its 16th Annual Education Quotient ratings.   Furthermore, there are two excellent private schools nearby -  Prestonwood Christian Academy and Price of Peace Christian School. 

While there are many desirable Plano neighborhoods, Glenhollow Estates is certainly one to consider in the Plano Real Estate market.

What will it take for you to sell your home this season?   That is the million-dollar question on everyone’s mind this spring.  The tax incentive is expiring soon which creates that burning, anxious sensation at the bit of your stomach.  Will your house be picked for the dance or end up as a wallflower?

It is a lot like the spring formal in fact.  You need to pick the right date (realtor), the right attire (staging) and buy that corsage (curb appeal).   Getting the right mix is what will make it a perfect night.  So where to start -

 Realtors

There are lots of us.  Everyone claims to know all about Frisco homes for sale, but how to find the right fit for you.  Assess your situation - do you need to sell immediately, for a price higher than your neighbor, and pay no commission.  Just like the date, decide what characteristics are most important to you and find the match that you believe can deliver.  Otherwise you will forever regret your choice.

Staging

There are lots of Plano homes for sale.  Roll up your sleeves and make sure you go through the staging list.  Paint the walls, consider replacing the carpet, clean out those closets, empty the cabinets, and clean, clean, clean.   If you don’t have sophisticated, understated earth-tones, then get them.  It doesn’t matter if that isn’t who you are, they aren’t buying your house, they are buying their next house and you need to remove the possibility they say - “not my style”.   If you want a better price, don’t make them see past the carpet allowance.

Curb Appeal

First impressions are key. Park your car around front, walk to your front door and take off the rose-colored glasses.   So many times people tell me, “let’s not even bother going in”.    Drive the neighborhoods around you as this is where those comps are drawn from.  Will they remember your house with the manicured lawn and well designed flower beds.  Remember the pre-emergent this year and if you can’t then splurge for the professionals.  Use the edger, replace the cracked windows, wash the sidewalk, sweep the stoop.  If they can’t get past the walk those new carpets will be wasted.

The economy needs a bit of a boost and the stimulus package is there to be taken advantage of.  Hard work and a bit of luck should get you on to your new place.

Visit Frisco Real Estate for other blog posts.

Dallas top relocation spot

For those of us who live here in DFW there is no place like home, but for the folks on the Coasts and in the upper Midwest they are starting to think of relocating.  Unemployment in many places is in double-digits and the recovery is coming slower than many can wait.  BusinessWeek.com collaborated with Moody’s Economy.com to find out where the best cities for employment are for 2010.  They ranked Dallas in the top 10 cities for 2010 employment.  With companies like JCPenney, ExxonMobile and TXU Energy headquartered in the area this comes as no surprise that the recession hasn’t hit as hard.  Likewise, Forbes.com lists DFW as a top 2010 city for recession recovery listing similar reasons of strong employment from companies such as Texas Instruments and TXU and strong housing prices.   According to the much-watched Case-Shiller index of home prices, real estate in Dallas has fallen less from its peak than any of the other 19 cities tracked by the index. 

Dallas relocations often lead to employment in the surrounding cities where many of the businesses sited above are located.  Many result in home purchases in the northern suburbs of Frisco, Plano and McKinney where new subdivisions, golf course communities and strong school districts appeal to the needs of the families.  Singles and others not looking for the white picket fences are also finding an attractive development in these popular cities as well with the recent trend toward master-planned urban centers.   These centers provide an urban lifestyle incorporating condos, lofts, retail, restaurants and bars all within walking distance in master-planned design. 

One key aspect in making the transition a smooth one is that you find a professional realtor who can find the right home while you focus on more important matters in these tough times.  VIP Realty DFW has the resources and relocation specialists to make this a positive change in your life.  Whether you are looking for Plano real estate or McKinney real estate or Dallas real estate, VIP Realty DFW has a relocation specialist for you.