Buying, selling and moving · 10 guides
Residential Real Estate: problems and fixes, explained by Andy
Andy Scott is the only residential real estate member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- You closed on a Dallas house: what to do in the first year so you are not caught out Closing day is the start, not the finish. Here is what I tell every buyer to handle in the first year, from the homestead form to the records that will matter when you sell. The first-year list in briefThe first week: keys, codes and paperworkThe homestead exemption: the most valuable form you will fileWhen the appraisal notice arrives in the spring
- What it really costs to sell a Dallas house, beyond the commission The commission is the line everyone watches, but title, taxes, repairs and time on the market decide what you actually walk away with. Here is how I estimate a seller's net. The short answer on seller costsBrokerage fees are negotiated, not setTitle, escrow and the papers that cost moneyProperty taxes and the gain on the sale
- The house is too big now: how to tell it is time to downsize, and how to do it well Downsizing is less about age than about fit. Here are the signs I see when a house has stopped serving the people in it, and how to sequence the sale, the purchase and the sorting. When a house has stopped fittingEveryday signals worth noticingThe money side, looked at honestlyWhat smaller looks like in close-in Dallas
- Selling your house yourself in Texas: what the law requires and where it gets hard Owners can sell their own homes in Texas, and some do it well. Here is what the job involves, the disclosures you cannot skip, and the honest math on whether going it alone pays. Yes, and here is what you take onThe paperwork Texas expects from a sellerOlder houses and the lead-paint ruleSetting the price without a second opinion
- Sell first or buy first? How to move within Dallas without carrying two houses Every move-up and downsizing client faces the same puzzle: two houses, two timelines, one family. Here is how I help people choose the order and close the gap between them. The short answer: choose the risk you can carrySelling first: a known budget, an open question about where to liveBuying first: the right house, at the price of overlapMaking an offer that depends on your sale
- Moving to Dallas: how Preston Hollow, the Park Cities and Lakewood really differ Three neighborhoods that are often mentioned in the same breath are actually very different places to live. Here is how I explain them to families moving to Dallas. Three different answers to the same questionThe Park Cities: two small towns inside a big cityPreston Hollow: room to spread out within DallasLakewood: character and the lake
- Lost three houses in a row? The mistakes buyers make competing in close-in Dallas When good houses draw several offers, buyers either lose them or win them on terms they regret. Here are the mistakes I see most often and what to do instead. Why good offers keep losingShopping before the financing is solidGiving away the option period to look strongReading the list price as the value
- Interviewing a Realtor in Dallas: the questions that separate good agents from the rest Most people hire the agent they met first or the one who named the highest price. Here are the questions I would ask in your place, and the answers worth listening for. The questions that matter mostCheck the license and the paperwork firstQuestions about where they actually workIf you are selling: what to ask a listing agent
- Buying in Preston Hollow or the Park Cities: what happens from first showing to closing Buying a house here moves quickly once the right one appears. Here is each stage from first showing to keys, what you decide at each one, and where buyers protect themselves. The path in briefBefore the first showingTouring with a purposeWriting an offer the seller takes seriously
- Selling in Preston Hollow or the Park Cities: how to price the house before you list The listing price is the one decision that shapes everything that follows. Here is how I arrive at it with a seller, what to do before the photographer comes, and where sales go wrong. The number in your head and the number on the streetWhy pricing a close-in Dallas home is harder than it looksHomework a seller can do before calling anyoneWhen waiting is the right decision