Jeanie's Real Estate Blog

 In my opinion and based on my experiences with sales in Lovejoy ISD, the

 best time of the year to list your home for sale and put it officially "on the

 market" for sale is no sooner than the beginning of Daylight Savings Time

 and no later than one month after that date.  This year in 2010, Daylight

 Savings time begins on Sunday, March 14.

 Typically, the majority of the homes that sell do so during the Daylight

 Savings times period annually, which ends on November 7 in 2010.

 There are always homes selling throughout the year, depending on

 level of motivation of sellers and buyers needs to do so and the pricing

 and market conditions, etc., but typically after Thanksgiving and prior to

 the beginning of Daylight Savings time is the off-season when prices are

 low due to the lower demand at that time of the year.

 With the Lovejoy ISD area, the timing of many home sales is influenced

  by the ending of one school year and the beginning of another.  This

  would most likely affect the type of homes that appeal to families with

  school age children as well as the most likely time for families to relocate

  from other areas of the country.

   Please call me for more information about the best time to put your

   home on the market.

   Regards,

   Jeanie Elliott, Broker/Owner

   Jeanie Elliott REALTORS, Since 1980

    972-612-2277  Direct

    "Celebrating Our 30th Anniversary In 2010"

   Happy New Year!

   January 8, 2009

    Although the economic news and real estate meltdown have affected

    many areas where values were overpriced and out of balance with

    marginal home buyers; some niche markets where demand does not

    exceed supply have not significantly been affected and still offer good

    long term investments in real estate for the small investor and/or 

    future home owner that wants to plan ahead and reserve that special

    home site for a new home build in a limited market area such as the

    Lovejoy ISD where the supply of acreage lots for new homes is

    both restricted by city boundaries and zoning within the market area

    which includes parts of the smaller communities, the City of Lucas

    and the Town of Fairview Texas.  Indeed with the development

    of both retail and commercial real estate that is now well underway

    in Fairview and the lack of new homes being constructed by

    builders for models and for sale, 2009 represents a great opportunity

    to invest in the purchase of a one to three acre estate home site

    while there is some supply still available in areas where market values

    have remained steady due to the surrounding properties and demand

    by families with children that want the exemplary Lovejoy schools

    and close proximity to Collin County cities such as Allen, Plano and

    McKinney and are within a reasonable commute time of the job

    markets in the Frisco, Richardson, Plano and North Dallas areas.

    With over 28 years experience in the Lovejoy ISD real estate market

    and a niche in the sales and marketing of residential estate lots and

    smaller land tracts for farms and ranches, I am still recommending to

    my clients to move forward with the best properties that are in the

    Lovejoy schools market areas.  Based on my experience and tract

    records of surviving, thriving, and staying abreast of two other major

    real estate downturns in the past 28 years as well as several minor

    recessions and correction markets, I would still recommend acreage

    estate lot properties in Lovejoy ISD; of more specifically at least

    one acre in Fairview and at least 1.5 acres in Lucas to any one that

    has the financial means to keep it for a minimum of 2 years and has

    an interest in living in the Lovejoy ISD at some time in the future.

    Of course, it pays to be selective and work with a knowledgeable

    broker that has the right kind of experience in the niche market

    and one that will guide you to make a good buying decision.

    This is where my specialized experience really pays off for my

    select clientele.   If you need my assistance and don't already

    have an established relationship with a broker that you trust really

    knows not only the area but the residential acreage estate lot niche,

    call me to discuss the availability of properties and the pros and

    cons of each as well as how they match up with your plans, goals,

    and needs for a residential acreage estate lot to build your future

    home to live in or resale as an investment.

    Also, if you have properties you are considering selling that meet the

    above criteria please call me to discuss, as not only do I have many

    potential customers and clients that are looking to purchase and own

    a special lot or land tract in Lovejoy, but I personally also have interest

    in the investment potential of these properties and would like to know

    before you actually put them up for sale.

    Thanks for visiting my blog, and feel free to respond back or contact

    me if you have questions, comments, or need experienced and qualified

    real estate marketing and sales assistance.   Best regards, Jeanie

  Need Some Help Selecting An Estate Lot Or Acreage Home site To Buy In

  Fairview, Lucas, Allen, Parker, McKinney, Prosper, Wylie, Lavon, Celina,

 Plano ISD, Frisco,  Collin County or the North Texas area?

   October 30, 2008

   By Jeanie Elliott, Jeanie Elliott REALTORS

   Specializing in Fairview Real Estate, Lucas Real

   Estate,  Allen real estate  and Estate Lots and Homes

    On Acreage in Lovejoy ISD Since 1980.

   What are some of the less obvious things to think about besides your

    budget before making your selection?

    Hello, my name is Jeanie Elliott, and for many years my clients have called

   me, "the residential lot lady," because I have bought and sold a great number

   of residential estate lots and acreage home sites and planned, listed, promoted,

   and SOLD OUT a large number of residential home sites, residential ranch estate

   developments and developed lots of all sizes for both small and large developers,

   both locally and internationally over the past 25+ years.  After a while, these

   experiences just produced that reputation from several, satisfied past clients,

   that called me for professional assistance with their projects when they

   were not getting the results they wanted on their own or simply did not have

   the time or needed to put their focus somewhere else.

    My MLS records estimate at least 1,300 estate or acreage lots in the last

    17 years, which is a great tract record of residential lot sales experience

    for an individual, independent real estate broker, when you consider that

   the first ten years of my real estate experiences was primarily focused on

   single-family homes sales, both preowned and new home construction

   in Plano, Allen, Parker, McKinney, Lucas, Wylie, and the North Dallas area,

   and I am currently sellling residential homes, new homes, and estate

   homes on acreage in those and surrounding areas today.  So, although the

   residential lot business is my specialty; it is not the only type of real estate

   business services I offer to our clients.

   However, over the years many of these established residential developers

   also shared their experience and knowledge with me, of which I am grateful

   to share with you if you are in the market to purchase a home site or

   estate lot, need some tips on what to consider, and plan to custom build a

   home for yourself or planning to build a custom model home for resale, and

   want a some experienced guidance on how to compare properties and

   what determines a lot's value, desirability, and influences future resale

   in these local real estate markets.

   So, the information I am about to share with you, is an accumulation of

   knowledge and experiences I learned from some very successful people

   and companies that specialized in residential home site land development

   and sales and marketing of single-family, new custom homes; and I

   know this information is still as valuable today as it was when I got

   it first hand, regardless if the market is increasing or decreasing in these

   areas of North Texas and Collin County, where I specialize, because the

   knowledge was accumulated over 25+ years and that included several

   boom markets as well as three major cooling down cycles or correction

   markets that lasted several years each.

   Again, this was not how I started my real estate career...I actually

   started selling houses like most other real estate agents in the area.

    I was trained to sell houses and match home buyers and home sellers

    in my early years from 1979 to 1985, by large national real estate

    companies that dominated the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex at that time

    and won a lot of top company awards as well as district wide awards for

    my sales and marketing achievements during that time working for some

    of the major real estate brokers in the area at that time and teaming

    up with them to get well rooted in residential home sales and especially,

    in new custom builder home sales which after those first 5 years awarded

    me the Top Residential REALTOR in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex by the

    Dallas Homes and Apartment Builders Association, called the "McSam

    Realtor of the Year award for 1985."  I must say, in all honesty, that I

    had some good mentors and teachers that taught me everything they

    had learned about traditional residential real estate sales and marketing,

    which meant at that time, primarily houses for sale and houses to buy.

    So, I was well grounded in the sales and marketing of residential house

    sales, and especially new custom homes, prior to moving into the land

    and acreage lot or estate lot sales part of the real estate industry.

    Also, because 20 to 25 years back, the training method used for new

    agents was frequently to assign a new agent to a veteran REALTOR

    with many years of experience rather than leave them to the "trial

    and error" methods that are commonly used when employing independent

    contractors today, which is what most real estate agents are today in

    these areas.  This strong mentor method of learning, especially over the

    first five years of my real estate career, enabled me to put a good

    foundation under my real estate profession, and equipped me to later plan,

    and establish my own company working independently to further develop

    an even deeper level of knowledge in an even broader area of the real

    estate business which included residential real estate planning and

    development of acreage estate lots.

     It was quite by accident, you might say, or as I like to believe it was

    really destiny that I "stepped into" selling plain, simple, developed lots, that

    really nobody wanted to buy or own at that time because they not only

    lacked trees, beautiful views and the right topography to be a hit with the

    buyers, but also were considered to be much too far out from the entire

    Dallas Metroplex because they were in the small, quaint, Town of Fairview

    Texas, which had a passion and slogan for "Keeping It Country."

    In any case, I was eventually given the opportunity to take over these

    listings of sixty, two to almost four acre, developed estate lots that had been listed

    for over 2 years with a local branch of a national realty company, one of

    the largest Metroplex residential real estate brokerage companies at that

    time, and not a single sale had been achieved, even though they were also

    listed with one of their top REALTOR producers in the Metroplex for that

    office then.  Also, the original land developers, Texas real estate

    brokers themselves, had tried to sell them on their own for about three

    years even before they decided to give their listings to that large Dallas

    area residential broker and listing agent, and had not had any success either;

    but since their main business was brokerage of large land tracts, not single

    lot sales, they were looking for someone that would make a commitment to

    focus on their project and get the momentum going and contacted me

    because I had recently sold a comparable lot, a single lot sale, just across the

    street from their project on Old Stacy Road, which is where today's Heritage

     Ranch  Development and Golf Course community as well as other new home

     developments are building today.  This area was basically, dormant in sales

     activity, and buyers that met me to see the properties used to joke that

     it was almost as far away as Oklahoma from their perspective.

    Although, the developers first listing agent was #1 in home sales, she had

    not been successful in the sales of these simple, plain, basic acreage lots.

    The sellers, experienced real estate brokers themselves, told me they

    believed their product was different from house sales, and they wanted

    a listing agent that would focus more on lot sales as market conditions

    were tough with no sales after several years, and the market was more

    of a buyer's market with many choices and fewer buyers, and when they

    saw my recent sales success across the street which was even at a higher

    price then what they were asking, they were confident I would be able to

    help them get their properties sold and offer something they could not do

    on their own, which was focus on the marketing of their project, as they

    had commercial clients they represented at the time and desired to

    devote most of their time in other areas of the Metroplex.

    Their prices were really low, if you can believe $15,000 to $25,000 for two

    to three acre developed, estate lots; but they were not able to sell their

    own lots even at these low prices on their own, and needed a real estate

     broker that would focus on their project so they would be able to get a

     different perspective, understand why, how and what to do, and get

     someone to be a liaison between them and the buyers to generate the

     sales they needed. Not only was the economy in a housing crisis at the

     time, but the Town of Fairview was basically an unknown and not in

     demand because it was was too small to offer what the buyers wanted,

     and the majority of the buyers wanted to live closer into the Metroplex.

     Plano, Richardson, Addison and North Dallas were most desirable and

     both the cities of Plano and Richardson and their school districts were

     making the news as two of the top districts in the North Texas market,

     in addition to Highland and University Park, which were the leaders

     with the highest ratings by the Texas Education Agency.  The Lovejoy

     School District which is one of the two school districts that services

     parts of Fairview, where this subdivision was located, was almost

     basically an unknown at the time.  Most of the people that knew about

     it were living in Allen Texas, and the Lovejoy school district consisted

     of only one elementary school with all the higher grades attending the

     Allen Independent School District at that time.  However, even then,

     the original Lovejoy Elementary School rated the "exemplary" status

     by the Texas Education Agency that today has caused much of the

     growth and enthusiasm for both the Fairview Texas and Lucas Texas

     communities, where the schools of Lovejoy ISD are located.

     However, my own opinion is that the sales of undeveloped lots for

     custom homes requires a totally different approach from sales of

     preowned homes, especially when the development is pretty much

     in the beginning stages and there are few or no houses already

     built and occupied for the home buyers to be able to visualize what

     the subdivision will eventually look like when the area and all of the

     homes are built out.

     With preowned homes and new home developments that are over

     half built out to finishing up, it is easy to see what is for sale or

     being purchased and easier for the agent that is promoting the

     property for sale.  However, with those undeveloped lots, especially

     if they lack the natural boundaries of native tree rows and creeks,

     or perimeter fencing as often seen in more mature subdivisions,

     it is more difficult for both the REALTORS and home buyers to visualize

     what the property has to offer in terms of advantages and how it

     will look after the finished home is complete.   When there are many

    vacant lots to select from in a subdivision that have not already been

    built on, it is also difficult for many home buyers to decide between

    all the options, and in the case of this project, that meant over 60

     lots to choose from and buyers could obviously delay making a

     decision if they did not have an immediate need, as it did not appear

     that the development would be sold out any time soon.

     Sometimes if what you need to sell is just something simple, you

     might want to reconsider not listing with the top sales agent in the area

     unless they specialize mostly in what you need to get sold, because

     their focus and interests may be somewhere else, and efforts go

     toward homes or properties that are more in their "comfort zone."

     Also, if the agent is promoting mostly high-end homes, they may

     not have the time to commit to individual lot sales, as luxury home

     sales may take up most of their time and focus and most agents

     get a lot more excited about selling a million dollar home than just

     the sale of an individual home site which may take about the same

     amount of time and effort, especially in a slower market where

     builders are starting fewer speculative homes and models.

     So, consider an experienced broker for the assignment that has a

     long tract record for not only the kind of real estate you need to sell

     but also under similar market conditions, regardless if you need to sell

     a single-family home, a lot, new home, large tract of land, or a project

     of developed lots in a subdivision; and has the foundation to back their

      ideas, their marketing strategy, and knows the right steps to take to

      promote your property best, and on an individual basis.  As my years

      of sales experience in residential home sites has shown me that the

      process to generate estate lot sales is much different from that of

      marketing and selling single-family homes, both preowned and new.

     So, let's just say, my opportunity to represent this developer and sell

     their subdivision, was given to me because they had already tried the

     #1 top agent for home sales, who was the most recognized market

      leader, and had no success after 2 full years.

      As I had just sold another lot in Fairview for another client that

      was close to their project and similar in price range and size to

      their subdivision that had no activity or sales for several years,

       which was, Fairview Farms in Fairview Texas, they wanted a

       broker that was already familiar with the area and had been able

       to sale it and overcome the obstacles of the economic market

       conditions since sales were few and far between in the area.

      It is hard to believe, but in 1989, the Town of Fairview was almost

      dormant in real sales activity, which is totally opposite today,

      almost 20 years later as it is one of the fastest growing areas and

      in great demand by home buyers wanting the larger one-acre home

      sites in the convenient location with the "country feel" close in to

      the Metroplex shopping and businesses, and for the excellent school

      systems and beautiful neighborhoods.

      But, back in 1989, it just happened that my 3 acre lot sale on quiet

      Kentucky Lane in the Blue Grass Farms subdivision of Fairview Texas

      was the first lot sale reported to our North Texas multiple listing 

      service in about 3 years.  Some clients of mine from Plano had

      had purchased this lot in the Town of  Fairview with plans to

       build their next custom home.  But they moved to California after I

       sold their home in Plano as the Texas new home building market was

       in a crisis, and their home building experience was more in demand

       on the West Coast and their local building company had shut down

       its operation in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, forcing them to relocate.

       They had listed their Fairvirew acreage with a different broker, but it 

       did not sell after many months.  However, I had been successful in

       getting them a buyer for their exisiting home in Plano, which they had

       listed with me, and they found out I also sold country properties.

       So, they called and asked if I wanted to take on the selling efforts

        for their Fairview acreage lot as well.  I welcomed the opportunity,

        accepted their listing and sold it in only a short amount of time,

       and then the Fairview land closed successfully creating the first

       comparable sales value for that area in several years which also

       became a qualifying factor for the decision of agent selection for

       the Fairview Farms project which I agreed to undertake next for

       the land developers.

       At that time, Fairview Texas, was a quiet little community

       that nobody noticed, and the residents liked it that way.  Today,

       however, there is a lot of growth, the new "Fairview" has arrived,

       with both retail and office developments going in in addition to

        single family developments; and Fairview Texas Real Estate is

       basically a pretty "hot" commodity even with the market conditions

       we have been experiencing in 2008 with slower markets in many areas.

       However, the prices today are several times higher for both vacant

       residential  lots and homes than they were at that time, as homesites

       were listed for $15,000 to $25,000 for 2 to 3 acre tracts, and the

       large tracts of land where Heritage Ranch and Summer Hill Farms

       developments are located today were on the market for about

       $3,000 an acre at that time, and it took several years for those

       large land sales to be accomplished, even at the low price.

       So, believe me, in 1989 to 1992, Fairview Texas was anything

       but hot, and these undeveloped lots that were assigned to me

       were not popular to say the least and since there were only a

       few homes already built in the area, it looked pretty dreary with

       so much open range and very minimal trees on only a few of the

       lots and the few homes that were built really lacked any

       conformity, some were even unattractive as the covenants

       were not well enforced in the beginning years and there were

       almost no trees or landscaping shrubs to soften the view.

        So, how did I accomplish this task, that had been tried by many

        others that should have been more qualified than me but were

        not successful to even sell one lot in 3 or 4 years?

         I will tell you, I dug my heels in and decided to learn everything

         there was to know about developing, buying and selling just

         plain, flat, basic tracts of dirt with no trees or minimal trees,

         no owner financing to attract the buyers, and nothing near the

         project that would be a draw for people to want to live in the

         area.  There were more beautiful properties available in other

         parts of Fairview, but that is not where I started...I started

         with the properties that were not in demand or in areas where

         really beautiful homes already existed, such as the River Oaks

         community which was closer to Highway 75, and was a

          natural beauty with many native trees.

         I did not have any one to tell me or show me what to do

         when I first started selling vacant lots and developments,

         as the owners and developers were used to marketing and

         selling large tracts or developing land rather than selling

         individual estate lots, and their focus and techniques were

         those that were used for commercial real estate investors,

         not working on an individual basis with home buyers and

         sellers.  I basically had to do all the research,  develop

         my own selling systems and create a niche market for the

         project based on whatever feedback and comments I was

         able to get from interviewing residents and talking to

         prospective buyers.

         It was a challenge, but the lots sold in the order of which ones

         the buyers saw as the best from all those remaining down to the

         last one.  It was during this process, that I was able to determine

         what is was about these properties that was more desirable with

         home buyers and what they found to be less desirable.  Of course,

         all the lots sold, even the less desirable ones, because as they sold

         and homes were built, the law of supply and demand created the

         market for the less desirable lots to become more desirable.  Also,

         as homes were built, it became easier for later buyers to visualize

         what the area would look like finished out and what their neighbors

         home looked like, and the area eventually developed its own unique

         "personality."

         Over the last 20 plus years, I developed a niche for knowing

         what is important in purchasing an undeveloped lot, be it a

         zero-lot line lot or a mammoth size acreage lot, and how to

         put a value on trees, creeks, lots in gated areas, etc. versus

         those that did not have the most desirable features.

        At my age, I believe it is just good business to share with

        prospective home buyers what is needed to know, if you have

        a winner, and what are the "Top Five Things You Should Know

        Before Purchasing a Homesite or Estate Lot" for that "dream

        home" even if you just plan to resale it later and hope for a wise

        investment, you still should review these things in making your

        choice.

          I will now share over 20 years experience with you and give

          you "my experienced opinion" of what you should consider in

          the selection of a residential lot for purposes of building a

          single-family home, as I have sold about 1,300 developed

          lots, from acreage to small zero-lot, garden lots, and some

          were in packages of up to 50 at a time, although most were

          sold just one at a time to both individuals and home builders.

           "Top Five Things to Consider In Purchasing a Residential

            Homesite or Estate Lot For Building A Single-Family Home"

              Everybody knows that price is one of the most important things to

           consider, as well as the budget for the home project, but I will move

           on to other things that do affect the value and resale of the property

           as price and budget are basically an individual choice and affected

           by many factors in addition to the top 5 items below.

           1.)  Number One is the Deed Restrictions.  Are they

                 more or less restricted, and what they will or will not

                 allow.  Such as, do they allow large animals like

                 horses if this is acreage.  Also, can you resale or

                 build when you want or are there time limits to

                 your freedom.  Are you limited to use only a few

                 builders that have already been approved, or are

                 they flexible for you to interview and choose the

                 home builder.  What about the size of the home

                 in terms of living space?  And, what are the costs

                 for homeowner association dues, if any, and

                 likelihood of them increasing?  Of course, there are

                 lots of other things, but make sure you get a copy

                 and understand them BEFORE you go to closing.  I

                 would recommend that you make your purchase

                 agreement subject to receiving and reviewing the

                 deed restrictions (also called covenants) during a

                 specified time period and if you are not satisfied

                 reserve the right to cancel with no forfeiture of

                 earnest money.  If they do not allow this, then

                 I would not recommend you wait to purchase until

                 you fully understand if the covenants will allow you

                 to build what you have in mind and can afford.

            2.)  What is the surrounding area being used for, or if

                  it is vacant, what is it zoned for and most likely to

                  become.  Check this out with the City or Town, call

                  them yourself, and get as much information as possible.

                  If there is anything that distracts from the beauty of

                  the property such as water towers, high power lines,

                  unsightly commercial property or chicken sheds, etc.

                  near or next to the property it will affect the property

                  value indefinitely and resale value will most likely be less.

                   If there is a animal farm next door with more animals

                   than the land will bear, there will be a distinct odor,

                   that will be a turnoff.  What types of homes are

                   already built in the area and will they add or take

                   away from the property value.  For instance, if you

                   build a new $500,000 home next to a modular home,

                   you are less likely to see appreciation unless the

                   modular home is relocated in the future and another

                   modern custom home is built on that property.  For

                   that reason, if you find a property you like in this

                   situation, you might want to pass unless you can

                   afford to also purchase the adjacent properties and

                   try to get them rezoned.

             3.)   What is the topography of the property, sloped, hilly,

                    irregular shape, flood plain, etc.  Does the shape of the

                    property limit the design of the home's floorplan or make

                    it more difficult to lay it out in the most desirable way?

                    Are there trees in the wrong place that will have to be

                     removed, does a creek run though the property that

                     could make the home's location more limited due

                     to floodplain, or are there hills or valleys that may require

                     a lot of dirt work, removing or filling in so the land will

                     properly slope away from the home's foundation and it

                     will be secure.   Depending on the topography of the

                      lot, you might be faced with huge amount of dirt and

                      excavation work that will cost 5 to 10 times what

                      might be considered normal, if the property is not

                      feasible for building and requires extra engineering,

                      such as those gorgeous homes we see that are

                       on the side of a hill or down in a very low, heavily

                       wooded forest then be prepared to invest extra

                       money over and above what is typical and try to

                       get estimates before you make a purchase.

                       Sometimes the most expensive lots to built on

                       are in areas like these where there is a lot of extra

                       expense over and above the already higher price

                       tag to live in these areas and if a person does not

                       have all the facts they can not afford to build on

                       it after they have made the purchase.

               4.)   The location of the lot or homesite in relation to

                     the whole subdivision if within a development or the

                      area if not in a developed subdivision.  Typically

                      lots or home sites that were developed for building

                      single family homes are considered a premium property

                       if they are on the end of a cul-de-sac, next to a

                       park or green belt, backing to rows of trees that

                       do not interfere with the placement of the home, or

                       next to water, ponds, or community lakes.  These

                       are considered choice locations by most buyers and

                       requested most often in resale homes as well.  Also,

                       other features to consider that are of interest and

                       requested by many prospective buyers are if the lot's

                       location is on the corner of a cul-de-sac or if it is a

                       corner lot that offers a "more spacious feel" because

                        it is located in a way that provides unobstructed

                        views of the community, or extra space that some

                        people like.  In most cases, the perimeter lots which

                       are backing next to the street or are next to a main

                       street into a community are considered less desirable

                       and usually sell at a lower price and may be difficult

                       to resale in areas which attract families with children.

                       Also, lots that are next to undeveloped property that

                       the zoning and use may change are more of a risk

                       than those more interior to the subdivision.

                       There are also other good locations that might add

                       add to the lots value for a specific buyer for

                       resale, like walking distance to elementary school,

                       near community park, playground, pools, tennis,

                       or other recreational facilities.  Also, being located

                       in a more secure area such as the gated and/or

                       guarded neighborhoods that are popular today are

                        excellent choices if the price range is in limited

                        supply and you are not having to compromise too

                        much on the lot size for the size of the home to

                        be built.

                        Not to be overlooked is the orientation of the

                        property facing north, south, east, west, etc.

                        Although, most orientations can be adaptable

                        depending on the home's floorplan, elevation

                        and natural terrain of the property, I found that the

                         majority of the home buyers prefer a home that

                        either faces north or south. Also, although some will

                        occasionally request east, a western exposure is

                        usually the last to be chosen when there are a

                        lot of selections unless the lot that faces west has

                        a location that overrides the orientation like a more

                        desirable cul-de-sac or creek lot feature.  This is

                        especially true for our area with the long, hot

                        Texas summers, that a western exposure is less

                        desirable, and market time is longer for these

                        properties as some buyers will pass for that reason

                        alone.

                 5.)   Size of property in relation to others that are

                        available in comparable areas with comparable

                         price range, and is it a highly desired size (amount of

                        acreage) for the market  For instance if the majority

                        of the sales in MLS are for homes on one acre lots, then

                        a smaller lot such as a one-half acre lot will normally

                        take longer to resale unless there is something unique

                        about it to offset the size such as many mature trees

                        or next to a park.   Also, although a two acre lot may

                        appear to be a better value in terms of price per acre,

                         the extra acreage may put the price range above

                         what buyers will pay for the same size home if others

                         are available for less on one acre lots and that is

                         the better resale for the area.  Typically, if most

                         of the home buyers in the area buy for the school

                         district because they have school age children, the

                         larger lots may be the best choice.  However, if the

                         community is more geared to empty-nesters than

                         a garden home, smaller lot may be considered the

                         most desirable especially if in gated or guarded areas

                         and the typical home buyer may not want to purchase

                         or maintain all the extra land.  It is for this reason that

                         we often see smaller, garden lots in gated communities

                         of luxury custom homes priced higher than acreage lots

                         in other communities.  The location, price range and

                         size of the homes in the surrounding area also affect

                         the estate lots value and resale value.  If the vacant

                         property or estate lot is in an established area that

                         is pretty well built out, and the homes average 15

                         to 20 years old, then the owner that buys the vacant

                         property and builds a new home, may not see the

                         value of the property rise as much as if it were built

                         in another area where homes are more comparable

                         in age and size.  However, in Texas, the majority of

                         home buyers will choose a larger lot over a smaller one

                         most of the time, so normally the largest lots in a

                         community sell first and are in more demand.

      All of these things are good to consider when making a decision on where

      to purchase an estate lot or acreage homesite, and build your next home

      of project.  Of course, price, buget and location are always priorities as

       well.   If you need further assistance on determining the value of

       properties, please respond back to my blog, or call or email me,and I will be

       glad to answer additional questions on "how to choose the best estate lot

        or home site for your plans, budget, and needs."

         Interestingly, I just sold yesterday (October 23, 2008) one of the

       original estate homes on acreage in the Fairview Farms community

       of Fairview Texas, and the knowledge I learned from selling the

       development of estate lots originally as well as over the last 20+

       years was a big advantage in understanding the need for a new

       survey due to the fact that all the sellers had was a 22 year old

       survey that was done prior to new development behind the estate

       as well as the adjoining properties were not built yet.  This, in

       addition to the facts I have learned by experience on lateral

       line septic systems and other unique features of country estate

       properties, and methods of determining market values for homes on

       larger acreage developed lots in comparing them with properties on

       smaller acreage, were beneficial resources for the home buyers I

       represented, as it was obvious during the course of the process

       through the closing, that others in the transaction including those

       determining appraisals for the lender and the sellers agent were

       less familiar with marketing and selling acreage estates and county

       estate properties and the differences in making fair comparisons

       when working with limited sales information in the immediate area.

       For experienced and knowledgeable representation with Fairview

       Texas Real Estate, Lovejoy Independent School District, and

        Lucas Texas Real Estate, or for more information on the sales

        activity in the Fairview Farms community and surrounding area,

        give me a call, email me or respond to the blog if you prefer.

        Also, check back, as additional information will be added that will

        help today's home buyers compare the value and differences in

        selecting a tract of land and/or a residential home site or acreage

        lot in a deed restricted subdivision, and what determines market

        value and investment potential for real estate appreciation in the

        long term.  A lot of prospective buyers make the mistake of

        comparing a small tract of undeveloped raw land with a similar

        size acreage, estate lot in a developed, platted, and approved

        subdivision, and they are totally different even though it is not

        obvious what the differences are.  However, I will save that

        for one of my upcoming posts in the near future.  Check Back!

         Jeanie Elliott

         Broker/Owner

         Jeanie Elliott REALTORS, Since 1980

         "Celebrating 28 Years of Real Estate Service In Collin County, Fairview,

          Lucas, Allen, Plano, Parker, McKinney, Frisco, And North Texas In 2008"