About TIme...

Palestinians are firing rockets at the Israelis, who are attacking the Palestians, who are supported mainly by Iran, who is also supporting the Iraq and Afghanistan bombers, who are also occupying Pakistan, whose suicide fanatics attacked India, the latter two nations of which have nuclear weapons.

And we are really concerned about the economy and an Illinois governor who has an extremely bad haircut and worse judgement about when and where to plan shakedowns, right? Heck, the economy hurts us right here and right now, and that other stuff is sort of like tsunamis, or massively overloaded ferrys that overturn and drown hundreds of people. Great conversation starters, good for head-shaking, but nothing we can do much about, directly. Well, I don't have a plan for avoiding future ocean-borne disasters either, so isn't the state of real estate a real mess?

Here in Texas we are apparently doing pretty well compared to most other areas. That's what we hear, anyway. You tell a seller, someone who bought a property from you just a couple of years ago, who needs to get out from under that now-anchor pulling resources and credit ever deeper, that even with new paint and fixing-up, that house with ugly carpet and no-bathtub-only-a-shower has little chance to sell anytime soon. Prices are dropping steadily in most places here, and unless a property is clean and 'special', price is all there is to compete with. In a market with so many foreclosures and pre-foreclosures and just-rented-to-hang-on-as-long-as-we-cans, both sales and leasing prices are affected, and not in a owner-favorable way.

Of course, the best option is to hold the property if possible, continue to occupy it, until real estate recovers. When not possible, and a lease is not the answer either, a seller absolutely needs the advice and assistance of an experienced individual to help make the decisions on preparing the house and grounds for market, within the sellers' available budget, priced very competitively and targeted at the most likely buyers for that property. This process will determine the chance for successfully selling the house within a reasonable time frame.

Usually this advice will be obtained from an active real estate agent who knows something about the area, has had experience with different markets, who can explain various ways to increase the appeal to buyers, and who has some skill in estimating the costs of property preparation and how such work would affect the sales price. Not all agents have all of these skills and abilities.

Since 1983, I have been active in Austin real estate, and that includes every market cycle, up or down. I have been a residential appraiser, and although I am not currently licensed as an appraiser, I certainly retain that knowledge. I have owned an investment-property management company since 1986, and have long experience with house repairs and their costs. Over 25 years worth of clients have taught me what buyers look for and what they must have before they will make an offer. When it's time to negotiate, I excel at advising clients on their options at every stage. I personally follow each pending deal through the maze of timelines and important deadlines, to a successful close. All of my clients are important, and all get my full attention.

Since we can't solve the world's most serious problems from here, let's focus on your real estate issues. We can deal with those.

Jack Josey Newman