Amanda Stanford

I love it when neighbors drop by my open houses! Often neighbors know potential buyers and will pop by to preview it. Some have been honest and said they just love seeing people's decor. That's fine for me as well. The more eyes we have on the house, the more conversations we generate. Those conversations lead to business. Come on by!

I love testing price point with a private listing -- especially while it's being prepared for market. Private gives us the ability to gauge how the price will be accepted. I do believe that to truly test the market, you should take it live before you accept an offer. That's the only way to know how to overall market will respond. To get every penny out, I recommend pushing to public at some point. If you are well prepared and priced right, you shouldn't be inconvenienced for too long.

In Texas, buyers' earnest money is held in an escrow account by the title company (or sometimes the broker) during the transaction. What happens to it at closing depends on how the deal wraps up: If the sale closes normally: The earnest money is applied toward the buyer's closing costs and/or down payment. It's basically a prepayment that reduces what the buyer needs to bring to the table at closing. If the contract terminates under a valid option or contingency (financing, appraisal, inspection, etc.): The earnest money is usually refunded to the buyer, assuming they acted within the contract deadlines.

Great questionaEUR"this one comes up a lot in Texas real estate! Short answer: No, Texas does not have a statewide law that requires a closet for a room to be called a bedroom. Texas Law & Building Codes -- Neither the Texas Property Code nor the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) requires a closet for a bedroom designation. Building codes (like the International Residential Code, which many Texas cities adopt) focus more on safety requirements for sleeping roomsaEUR"such as minimum square footage, ceiling height, ventilation, heating, and an egress window or door for emergency escape. Sometimes you'll see it marketed as a " flex room,aEUR? " office/guest room,aEUR? or " optional bedroomaEUR? to set expectations. If a room has: - A legal egress (window or door to outside) - Adequate ceiling height and square footage (typically 70+ sq ft, with at least 7 ft dimension) - Heating/ventilation aEUR|it can count as a bedroom in TexasaEUR"even without a closet.

This is such a smart questionaEUR"because the numbers on overpricing are pretty sobering. Here are the key statistical disadvantages of overpricing a home, backed by what's been studied in real estate markets nationwide (and reflected locally in Texas Hill Country trends too): 1. Longer Days on Market (DOM) Overpriced homes sit longer. National Association of REALTORSA(R) (NAR) studies show that homes priced even 10% above market value can take twice as long to sell compared to properly priced homes. The longer a listing lingers, the more buyers wonder, " What's wrong with it?aEUR?aEUR"leading to a stigma that hurts negotiating power. 2. Lower Final Sales Price Ironically, overpriced homes usually end up selling for less than if they had been priced correctly from the start. Data shows homes that undergo one or more price reductions sell for 5"10% less on average than homes priced right at listing. 3. Fewer Showings & Offers Buyers shop by comparison. If your home is overpriced, it won't stack up well against others in the same range. Zillow's research found that overpriced listings get ~50% fewer views online in the first two weeksaEUR"when activity is highest. 4. Missed " Golden WindowaEUR? The first 2"3 weeks are critical. That's when the pool of motivated, qualified buyers will see it. If you miss this window by overpricing, later price drops often can't recreate that early buzz. 5. Appraisal Problems Even if a buyer agrees to pay the inflated price, their lender's appraisal may not support it. That can force renegotiation, delays, or even kill the deal. 6. Narrowed Buyer Pool Buyers using financing (the majority) are more constrained by appraisals. Overpricing shrinks the pool to mostly cash buyers willing to gambleaEUR"and that's a much smaller audience. Bottom line: Overpricing statistically leads to fewer showings, longer time on market, multiple price cuts, appraisal headaches, and ultimately a lower net price than if the home was priced competitively upfront.