May 2009

Recognizing Common Insect Infestations

It’s that time of year: lawn care, gardening, and — bugs. No matter how diligent you are and how hard you try, when it comes to lawns, insect infestation is a likely possibility. Just like weeds, insects can turn your lush green lawn into an embarrassing eyesore. Following are some common infestations:

Ants — We might think ants are a natural part of the yard, and they are, but be aware that ants can kill your lawn too. If you see lots of large ant hills in the same area as your dying lawn, there’s a good chance the hills are smothering the grass or an ant nest below is smothering the roots and prohibiting growth.

Sod Webworms — This insect prefers new lawns and feeds on the grass leaves at night, leaving ugly brown spots or patches across your lawn. If you notice new brown patches quickly taking over your yard, sod webworms may be the source.

Mites — If your grass leaves appear spotted or blotchy, it may be because mites are sucking the sap and damaging your lawn. If several of your neighbors lawns are dotted with brown spots too, mites could be the problem.

Leafhoppers — If your recently planted lawn suddenly takes a turn for the worse, or your older lawn starts getting whitish patches, consider the leafhopper. With an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 species, this insect sucks the sap from your lawn’s stems and leaves. The leafhopper is very small and green, gray, yellow or brownish in appearance.

Ticks — OK, ticks don’t kill your lawn, but they can stop you from enjoying your yard. If your property is adjacent to a heavily wooded area or you have lots of deer, dogs, rabbits, or other small critters running through your yard, be sure to check for ticks as they can cause various health problems, including Lyme disease.

These are a few of the most common insect infestations, though there are dozens, if not hundreds, of other possibilities. The good news is that if you can identify the infestation you can go down to your local gardening center and purchase the solution.

Common Closing Costs

If you have ever bought or sold a home, you’re probably aware of the costs associated with a real estate transaction. If you’re a first-time buyer, however, you might want to know what “closing costs” to expect. Keep in mind costs and fees vary from state to state, and there may be unique costs to your locality, but the following are pretty common:

* Escrow fees
* Property taxes
* Interest
* Loan origination fee
* Loan discount points
* Title insurance
* Survey fee
* Recording fee
* Document preparation fees
* First payment to escrow account for taxes
* First payment to escrow account for insurance
* Homeowners insurance
* Homeowner association fee
* Home inspection report
* Property appraisal

Once you pinpoint the home of your dreams, ask Phil and he will be able to give you a good estimate of anticipated costs.

Home Sales Increasing in Many Areas

According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), historically high housing affordability and low mortgage interest rates, combined with buyer opportunities in the distressed sales market, have increased home sales in many areas of the country.

“There has never been a better time to buy,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who presented the report at a recent Economic Issues and Residential Real Estate Business Trends forum. Yun commented on a convergence of favorable buying conditions while emphasizing how important it is for home buyers to stay within their budgets.

“Housing affordability is at an all-time high, mortgage rates are historically low, and interest rates are the lowest they’ve been since the days of Eisenhower,” said Yun. “Now that buyers will be able to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment, we should see additional buyers enter the market.” Yun said he doesn’t anticipate an immediate pickup in the coming months, but believes early summer will be a critical indicator of how home buyers are responding to the tax credit.

“The stimulus and falling inventory levels will help stabilize prices,” said Yun. “My projection is home sales will be 10 to 20 percent higher the second half of this year than last year and we will come out of this recession in 2010.”

Cleaning Your Home the Green Way

Everybody’s going green! Whether you’ve jumped on the bandwagon or not, it can’t hurt to make an attempt to use less toxic household cleaners. Many detergents, fabric softeners, ammonia and bleaches have negative affects on your health and the environment.

One solution is to start making your own cleaners using non-toxic, ecologically safe products. This can be done pretty quickly with products you probably already have around the house: white vinegar, baking soda, borax, baking soda and a spray bottle.

* All Purpose Cleaner — Mix together 1 quart warm water, 1 teaspoon liquid soap, 1 teaspoon borax and 1/4 cup white vinegar. Put it in a spray bottle and use on floors, counter tops, walls, carpets and upholstery.
* Glass and Mildew Cleaner — Mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, spray on glass or mildew to clean. If you are sensitive to the smell of vinegar, try this alternative: mix 1 quart warm water with 1/4 cup white vinegar or 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
* Drain Opener — Dissolve 1 cup baking soda and 1 cup white vinegar in boiling water and pour down the drain. Continue to flush with hot tap water until the clog breaks. Flush drain with boiling water weekly to avoid buildup.
* Scouring Powder — Sprinkle borax to get stains off porcelain sinks; baking soda effectively removes baked-on food from a dishes.
* Linoleum and Tile Floor Cleaner — Mix 1 gallon hot or warm water with 1/2 cup vinegar.
* Toilet Bowl Cleaner — Put 1/4 cup borax in toilet bowl and let set overnight, scrub the next day.

Another solution is to buy “green” cleaning products or cleaners that avoid toxic ingredients like corrosives, chlorine bleach, ammonia, phosphates and petroleum products. You may not be able to eliminate all your cleaners but even small changes help make a difference.

Remove Any Favorite Items Before Listing

Obviously, sellers want their home to look its best when an agent is showing it to a potential buyer, but be careful not to put too much emphasis on anything that is not included in the sale price, for example, custom window coverings, chandeliers, audio-video equipment, the backyard playhouse, pool table, or the high-end washer and dryer you just bought a week ago.

If you pack up and store any important personal property before your home buyer knows about them, it won’t become a negotiable item, or worse, a deal breaker. So, before the showings begin, take a look around and consider what furnishings you want to keep. If it’s something you definitely want, remove it.

If your home doesn’t show as well because you removed the fancy light fixture over the dining room table or the kitchen looks empty because you took all the appliances, you might want to consider renting or buying an inexpensive replacement to fill the void.

First-Time Buyers Responding to Incentives

According to the National Association of Realtors®, existing-home sales eased in March but first-time buyers are responding to low mortgage interest rates and tax credits.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units in March from a downwardly revised level of 4.71 million in February, and were 7.1 percent lower than the 4.92 million-unit pace in March 2008.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the market appears to be stabilizing with modest monthly ups and downs, and that first-time buyers are driving the market. “The share of lower priced home sales has trended up, indicating a return of many first-time buyers, which we also see in a parallel member survey,” he said. “Sales in the upper price ranges remain stalled because of higher interest rates on jumbo loans.”

Although prices rose from February to March, the national median existing-home price for all housing types was $175,200, down 12.4 percent from March 2008. The price increase from February to March was 4.2 percent, which is much higher than the typical 1.8 percent seasonal increase between those two months. Distressed properties, which accounted for just over half of all transactions in March, typically are selling for 20 percent less than traditional homes.

A NAR practitioner survey in March showed first-time buyers accounted for 53 percent of transactions, based largely on contracts offered before the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit became available. “Buyer traffic has been rising, and real estate offices are getting phone inquires about the tax credit,” Yun said. “By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales from record-low mortgage interest rates in addition to the stimulus provisions.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 5.00 percent in March from 5.13 percent in February.

1213 Denise Ct, Lewisville TX

1240 Denise Ct, Lewisville, TX

2701 Fountainview, Lewisville, TX

542 Continental, Lewisville, TX

Next Page »