If you’re looking to boost the resale value of your home, landscaping is a good place to start. While it’s hard to pin down an exact number, studies estimate that landscaping upgrades can increase your home’s value from 5.5 to 12.7%. So what’s hot on the Fort Worth outdoor design scene? Here are a few of the latest trends appearing in backyards near you. Outdoor Living Spaces Outdoor areas for relaxing with family and friends are still hugely popular. Homeowners see these as an outdoor oasis and an extension of their home. The yard can include everything from patios and decks to outdoor kitchens, televisions, and audio systems. Retractable screens and shades are an emerging trend. The screens add privacy and help keep out bugs and summer heat. Fire Pits     These remain a top trend because they add warmth and ambiance to any outdoor space. They also extend the use of your yard through fall and winter. Fire pits are usually less expensive than fireplaces, and they can be built-in or portable. Integrated technology Younger home buyers, in particular, are attracted to “smart landscaping”. A few examples are cell phone-controlled pools, robotic lawn mowers, and apps that control lighting and sprinkler systems remotely. Pergolas     Pergolas are decorative garden structures made of vertical beams and cross beams. They provide shade and protection from the elements. Adding drapes, latticework or screens adds privacy. They’re also affordable and add beauty to your outdoor space. Metals Metals are making a significant mark in landscape design. Iron and steel are especially prominent in water features, furniture, and accessories. While metal will rust, it can be easily painted and restored. Water Features     You can bring a touch of serenity and natural beauty to your yard by adding a water feature. It’ll attract birds and animals, and the sound of flowing water is soothing to the soul. Popular choices are fountains, small brooks or burbling ceramic pots. Low-maintenance Landscapes     Homeowners and homebuyers of all ages don’t have a lot of time to care for their yards. That’s why low maintenance landscaping is a big trend. Replace grass with mulch or stones, use native/drought resistant plants, or consider a hardscape design. Outdoor Lighting     The biggest trends in outdoor lighting involve technology and LED lights. More homeowners are going with lighting systems controlled by smartphone apps (no more timers!). These smart controls allow you to dim or brighten your lights and change the lighting schedule. Outdoor lights make your home safer for nighttime guests, and they tend to discourage intruders. You can even set up distinct lighting areas with individual settings. LED lights are smaller and more energy efficient and have come a long way in the past few years. Even more exciting? They can change colors, which is a fun option for prominent features like fountains or statues. A Well-maintained Lawn No matter how intricate or beautiful your landscaping installations are, they won’t matter if the lawn surrounding them is not lush and green.  A well maintained lawn is not something that happens overnight; rather it takes years of following proper lawn maintenance routine that includes regular mowing of the grass, annual lawn aeration, and regular fertilization.  If you’re short on time and your lawn isn’t quite up to snuff, sod installation is another option, which will yield faster results but will cost a few thousand dollars for most lawns.   Landscaping investments like these are a good bet for upping your home’s resale value. You may like the upgrades so much, you decide to keep the home and enjoy them yourself.   Kath Meryl Johnson is a landscaper and freelance writer who enjoys working on handy projects around the house. She and her children recently helped build a neighborhood gazebo next to the community pool.

Realtor.com Published Our Advice in One of Their Recent Articles http://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/are-you-ready-to-buy-a-home-first-time-buyer-questions/   There's a certain point in the lifecycle of renting where you say to yourself: I just can't do this anymore. Maybe it's the upstairs neighbors, who relentlessly stomp across their apartment into the wee hours of the morning. Maybe it's the numbingly dull white walls you've stared at year after year. Or perhaps it's that bitter pill of knowledge that your hard-earned money is circling down the drain—en route to paying someone else's mortgage. No matter the reason, most of us eventually hit a breaking point with renting, and vow to become homeowners once and for all. But just because you want to buy a home doesn't mean you should buy a home. Even if you've already evaluated your finances and told yourself, "I can swing a down payment," there are some additional key questions to ask to determine whether you're ready. Here, we unveil some oft-overlooked, soul-searching inquiries that you really should ask yourself before you make the biggest financial commitment of your life. Ready? 1. Have I recently experienced a loss? If you’ve recently gone through a breakup, lost your job, or suffered any other kind of negative life event, you might feel like the answer is to start over. A reset can indeed do you a world of good, but taking on a mortgage probably won’t be the fresh new beginning you’re looking for. “The most challenging time in someone's life to buy a home is during a time of loss—and that can be many kinds of loss,” says Tyler Whitman, real estate agent with TripleMint in New York. “If it's truly a high-stress moment, adding a move on top of that only makes things worse." 2. If I get a new job, will I have to move? Even if you think you're in a good place, emotionally speaking, Whitman warns that stress might cause you to subconsciously make your housing decisions out of fear. It's better to wait until you’re past a situation and can know you’re making the best choice for you. The job market has changed drastically since the days when your parents bought a home, and you should know how that will affect you before you buy. “Previous generations planned to get one job, keep it forever, and retire. Buying into a house because they were looking for a permanent living situation made a lot more sense,” says Chandler Crouch, broker for Chandler Crouch Realtors in Fort Worth, TX. “Now, job-hopping is prevalent.” Changing jobs won’t be a big deal if you can keep—or raise—your salary, and your new gig is in your current city. But if there aren’t a ton of jobs in your industry in your area, you may find yourself having to relocate a year after you bought your home. “It honestly isn't a good idea to buy a house unless you plan on staying there for at least five years,” Crouch says. If you sell earlier, you may end up taking a loss on the deal. 3. Am I ready to write (a lot) of checks beyond the down payment? Here's the good news: Mortgage requirements have been loosening since the credit crunch, and you may very well be able to buy with less than 20% down. But the bad news is that won’t be the end of your upfront costs. Hire a mortgage broker and you could pay a 1% to 2% fee on the amount of the loan. A home inspection will cost you a few hundred. Your closing costs could add up to 7% of the total cost of the home. And then there’s the Murphy’s Law of it all: If something can go wrong, it probably will. “If the air conditioner breaks a month after you close, or the dishwasher gives out, that's now up to you,” Whitman says. If you don’t have the funds to cover your closing costs and a separate emergency account for the inevitable “just moved in” headaches, it might be better to wait until you do. And don't forget about the additional costs of things like homeowner insurance and taxes. (Although you'll likely be eligible for some pretty sweet tax deductions for being a homeowner, you'll still have to pay property taxes—and that can mean a bit of sticker shock for long-term renters.) 4. Am I OK with owing the bank lots of money for a long time? One of the biggest benefits of homeownership, of course, is the equity. Instead of handing all your hard-earned cash over to a landlord, you're putting it back into your home—which you (hopefully) will sell for a profit down the line. But that equity doesn't happen immediately. In fact, for many buyers, it takes time. Sometimes a long time. Unless you pay for your house in cash, you'll be on the hook for not only your monthly mortgage payment but the interest on the loan as well. Stretching out your payments over more years—as with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage—can help reduce (and stabilize) your interest charges. But it can be hard to pay down your principal when you're constantly trying to cover other costs. It's part of being a homeowner, and you need to decide if you’re good with it. “Anyone considering buying needs to look at an amortization schedule to see exactly how much out of their monthly payment will be going toward paying off the house,” Crouch says. 5. Is buying truly cheaper in the long run? This one depends quite a bit on where you live. So do the math. Understand that when you're buying, you'll be taking on a big down payment and all those additional costs. On the other hand, you'll want to take a look at your local rental market. If your rents are increasing steadily year over year, you might be shelling out more on temporary housing then you would on your own home each month. And you may find yourself with your savings too depleted to buy. “On average landlords raise rent 7% per year," Crouch says. "This is a compounding increase in expense.” That could mean that buying, while a punch to the wallet now, will be more affordable in the long run. But if you live in a more stable rental market, it could be better to sock away some cash and wait a few more years to purchase a home. You can use our handy Rent vs. Buy Calculator to crunch the numbers and decide what's right for you. 6. Am I secretly trying to talk myself into it? Your co-workers don’t understand why you’re still renting. Your friends are all buying their first homes. You've been saving for years specifically so you can buy a house and become a key-carrying member of the Great American Dream. It may seem like you should just buy already, but try asking yourself: Do you really, truly want to? Even if it might make sense on paper, Crouch still recommends asking yourself three questions before you finally decide: Am I trying to sell myself on the idea of buying a home? Am I trying too hard to justify it financially? Do my reasons to buy outnumber my reasons not to buy? After all, buying a home is arguably the biggest financial (and, sometimes, emotional) commitment you'll ever make. You need to be sure it's right for you—no matter what anybody else says.  

Dave Ramsey Real Estate ELP and Advice | Fort Worth Texas If you're thinking about buying or selling a home, it would be smart to do your homework and make the best decision you can for your finances. Any real estate transaction you have is going to be among the largest financial transactions of your entire life. The funny thing is, some people actually put more time into thining about what they're going to have for dinner than they do about planning to enter the real estate transaction with a smart financial plan.  There are plenty of financial advisors that will give you advice on how to buy a house. From Suze Orman, Clark Howard, David Bach, Robert Kiyosake, to Dave Ramsey. Everybody has an opinion. I've studied them all. These people are full of wisdom. I tend to think, if you are the kind of person that is going to research and submit yourself to the authroity of a set of guiding principles, you're going to probably be ok no matter who you listen to. The folks that really get themselves into trouble are the ones that don't seek any kind of guidance whatsoever. With that being said, I am quite partial to Dave Ramsey. He teaches based on Biblical principles, which is important to me, and he just doesn't give advice that is questionable. He is very conservative, and for this reason, it's difficult to fault him for anything except being too conservative. I'm ok with this. In December 2007 I found myself in a position, as a result of paying a LOT of dummy tax, in debt up to $300,000, much of which was revolving credit (business unsecured lines of credit). It is only because of adhearing to the principles that Dave Ramsey teaches that I can now say I'm on baby step #7 and I'm DEEEEEEEEEEEEEBBBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! (he features callers on his radio show yelling "I'm debt free." That was my version of yelling in text). Where to begin? The best first step would be to just call my office. There is far too much to share on a blog post. We can tailer a plan of action according to Dave's principles as demanded by your specific uniqe situation. Our number is 817-381-3800 or email at hello@chandlercrouch.com If you'd like to self study, these are good resources to begin with:   Dave Ramsey Mortgage Do's and Don'ts  You’ve got plenty of options when it comes to financing the purchase of your home. Dave doesn’t recommend most of them, but it’s a good idea to know what’s out there and why you need to avoid some of the more popular mortgage options. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) ARMs hook homebuyers with a low initial rate, then, after a designated period, the rate fluctuates for the remainder of the life of the loan. This kind of loan actually transfers the risk of rising interest rates to you, the homeowner. Right now, interest rates are incredibly low, and they have been for some time. But once rates start to adjust, there’s only one direction they can go: up! This risk makes an ARM one of the worst mortgage options available. Do not finance your home with an ARM. Federal Housing Administration Loan (FHA) FHA mortgages are backed by the government, which means the government insures the bank so it won’t lose its money if you don’t make your payments. You can qualify for an FHA loan with a down payment as low as 3%. But new regulations require you to keep private mortgage insurance (PMI) for the life of the loan. PMI can cost around $100 a month per $100,000 borrowed.   Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Loans designed to make it easier for our country’s military veterans to purchase homes are a great idea in theory, but the program falls short in practice. VA loans are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and allow veterans to purchase a home with practically no down payment. VA loans also have lot of fees, and interest rates are usually higher than those for conventional loans. Buying the Right Way The best way to buy a home is to pay cash for it—the 100% down plan. It sounds unrealistic, but people do it every day. And not just those with super-deep pockets. Many save for years to achieve their goal. If you’re going to buy a home with a mortgage, you need to be on Baby Step 3, debt-free with a three- to six-month emergency fund in place. In Baby Step 3b, save up your down payment—at least 10%, but 20% will allow you to avoid PMI payments. Your home loan should be a conventional, fixed-rate mortgage with a 15-year (or less) term. Do not get a 30-year mortgage! A $175,000, 30-year mortgage with a 4% interest rate will cost you $68,000 more over the life of the loan than a 15-year mortgage will. That’s a lot of money you could use to build up your retirement fund or save for your kids’ college.   Your monthly payment should not exceed 25% of your take-home pay. Any more than that will tie up too much of your income and slow your progress through the remaining Baby Steps. House Hunt With a Pro Once you have your bases covered financially, it’s time to start house hunting. Talk with a professional agent about your financial goals so they can help you find a home that fits your budget. (Call Chandler Crouch Realtors at 817-381-3800)   Take Control of Your Money One Step at a Time Building a new future with money is a lot like building a home. You don't add the roof until you've finished framing, and you don't frame until the foundation is secure. Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps are designed to help you out of debt and stress and into a life of saving and giving. We're all in different places with money. Start right where you are and get where you want to be. Know-how is 20% of the equation. Behavior change and self-discipline make up the other 80%. You can do it! Just follow the steps. Here's The Process: $1,000 to Start an Emergency Fund An emergency fund is for those unexpected events in life you can't plan for. Whether there's a plumbing issue and everything but the kitchen sink is draining, or your brakes are squealing at every stop sign, you can be ready! Pay Off All Debt but the House List all debts but the house in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don't worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that's the case, then list the higher interest rate debt first. 3 to 6 Months of Expenses in Savings This step is all about building a full emergency fund. It's time to kick debt for good, with 3–6 months' worth of emergency savings. Sit down and calculate how much you need to live on for 3–6 months (for most that's between $10,000–15,000) and start saving to protect yourself against life's bigger surprises like the loss of a job. You'll never be in debt again—no matter what comes your way. Invest 15% of Household Income Into Retirement Now it's time to get serious about retirement. With no payments and a full emergency fund, put 15% toward the retirement of your dreams. Between your 401(k), Roth IRA, and Traditional IRA, you have a lot of options. Find the fit that is right for you. The money you were using to attack debt can now help build your future. College Funding for Children College tuitions and housing expenses continue to rise. Don't let college sneak up on you. Saving now will put you ahead of the game when your kids graduate from high school. Two smart ways to save for your kids' college are a 529 college savings fund or an ESA (education savings account). These are both tax-advantaged savings vehicles that let you save money for your kids' education expenses. Pay Off Home Early It takes the average family five to seven years to pay their home off early. Just imagine life with no mortgage. There's only one more debt standing in the way of freedom from all debt! Apply all the extra money toward paying off your home. Not only are you paying off your home early, you'll be saving tens of thousands of dollars in interest fees. Build Wealth and Give This is the last step and by far the most fun. It's time to live and give like no one else! Build wealth, become insanely generous, and leave an inheritance for future generations. You know what people with no debt and no payments can do? Anything they want! Now that's leaving a legacy. Great, So Where Do I Start? The first step in taking control of your money is to create some cushion between you and life's little emergencies. Start by getting $1,000 in savings. It's easier than you think, and it's absolutely worth it. Most people can do it in a month or less, and these tools can help you get started.   Dave Ramsey Background and Bio - Dave's Story   

As detailed as this video is, it is not meant to be comprehensive and still only covers a fraction of what you need to know when using the 1-4 family residential resale contract promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. To discuss negotiating techniques and best practices of how to use this contract, please call our office to talk with an expert Realtor today. As with any legal document or major decision, it's always best to consult an attorney for legal advice, don't rely on this video: (for time stamps for each paragraph, scroll down below the video)     TREC 1-4 Residential Resale Contract (20-13) explained one paragraph at a time, line by line. This is the best and most comprehensive Texas real estate contract tutorial you can find. See time stamps below to jump directly to any section of the contract. Please like this video and share. Please comment, like, share, or contact us at http://www.chandlercrouch.comBonus Video: 3rd Party Financing Addendum explained one line at a time: https://youtu.be/y3PSLq-VUFESee below for time stamp of each paragraph: What is covered in this video 0:08When to use and when not to use 1:15Why it's important to learn 3:04Mindset 4:40How to use the contract 7:05Why Words Matter 9:21Addendum vs Amendment 10:15General information about the contracts 11:31Overview 14:09Contract Changes: 15:281. Parties 18:412. Property 23:583. Sales Price 28:004. License Holder Disclosure 33:085. Earnest Money 34:056. Title Policy and Survey 38:286. C. Survey 45:356. D. Objections 51:006. E. Title Notices 54:177. Property Condition 1:01:257. B. Seller's Disclosure Notice 1:03:327. H. Residential Services Contracts 1:12:278. Brokers' Fees 1:15:009. Closing 1:15:2910. Possession 1:17:2411. Special Provisions 1:21:1012. Settlement and other Expenses 1:23:4813. Prorations 1:30:3314. Casualty Loss 1:32:2015. Default 1:32:4416. Mediation 1:34:3517. Attorney's Fees 1:35:2518. Escrow 1:35:3619. Representations 1:40:3720. Federal Tax Requirements 1:41:1321. Notices 1:41:2922. Agreement of Parties 1:44:3223. Termination Option 1:45:3323. Changes to Paragraph 23 1:59:3624. Consult an Attorney Before Signing 2:00:57Executed Box / Effective date 2:03:34Signature lines 2:06:24Page 9 2:07:45Option Fee Receipt 2:11:10Contract and Earnest Money Receipt 2:11:28For questions, contact http://www.chandlercrouch.comTo get a copy of this contract, go here: https://www.trec.texas.gov/agency-information/forms-and-contractsPlease consult an attorney before using this contract. This video is not meant to be legal advice.Tags: Texas real estate commission sales contract    

An offer is made when a buyer fills out the actual purchase/sell contract (blank TREC contract templates) with a price and terms that the buyer would be happy to agree to and delivers it to the seller. To “accept” the offer, the seller simply initials and signs the contract without making any changes to the price or terms. If the seller wishes to “counter offer,” he/she just marks out (single line strike-through) the terms that are not acceptable, writes in the new terms beside the old terms, and sends it back to the buyer. The buyer will either accept the new terms proposed by the seller or the counter offer process will continue until all terms are agreed upon or it becomes clear that an agreement cannot be reached.