New home construction is something I’ve been around for a while and I’ve had the pleasure of helping lots of people build their new homes over the past several years.  It’s one of the areas I specialize in, allowing me to provide some guidance where others may get lost.

Along that vein, two friends and trusted local professionals in their respective field – Trey Bowden and Brodie Tucker – recently sat down together to discuss some of the finer points of successfully building a new home in Edmond, OK and I thought this would be great information for you, my readers, to commit to memory.

One of my favorite points in this article:

“It’s important to follow up with phone calls and to make only the promises you know you can keep. Then when those things come up that you can’t control, you have a relationship that can withstand the bumps in the road.”

That’s solid advice in any venture, and home-building is one that definitely requires solid communication and delivery on promises.

Don’t miss your chance to make this beautiful, unique place home.  Located in the sought-after master-planned Stonebridge community of SE Edmond, this one’s got it all.  Take a gander and the photos and you’ll be amazed that it’s priced at only $239,948.

Call me now to schedule a showing or, if you’re in the area of Memorial and Eastern this weekend, stop by the open house!

Did you know that LibertyFest in Edmond, Oklahoma was selected as one of the top 10 places to be in America on, July 4th by CNN & USA Today?

Pretty big props for the long-standing tradition of where to be during the week of July 4th.  This year, the festival runs from June 25th through July 4th, so if you’re looking for something to do, check out the LibertyFest schedule and I’m sure you’ll find something for everyone to enjoy!

It’s becoming a common theme through many stories nationwide; OKC is weathering the economic storm pretty well, but apparently the news has even spread overseas. The BBC published a story back in April about the economy in Oklahoma.

I guess good news not only travels fast, but also far.

Last week, I posted about the trend of Californians relocating to Oklahoma, so the timing couldn’t have been better for a letter to the editor, published Saturday in the Oklahoman:

Comfort vs. chaos

Regarding “Finding a California dream in Oklahoma’s heartland” (feature, June 16): Offering a fresh start to newcomers has always been an Oklahoma tradition. After years of poking fun at our state, it’s not just Californians who’ve recognized its beauty, values and opportunities. Having lived in California for 20 years before being adopted by the great state of Oklahoma, I can attest to the comfort of stability versus the chaos of California.

Stan Faulk, Pink

I love home-improvement projects. There’s just something about improving an area or feature of your home and enjoying the benefits of it when you’re done. Saving a little money on it might be another reason to do it yourself

Our back yard is one of our favorite places, and our pergola is just one of the many things that help it feel like an extra living space. In fact, pergolas may be one of the things I suggest most often to my clients who’ve just bought a house that really has no flair outdoors.

Here’s a great little do-it-yourself guide to building a pergola of your own. Now get to work expanding your living space without the expense of adding square-footage to your home.

These days, it’s no surprise to see OKC in a Top 10 list, especially when the topic of economic strength comes up, but it’s reassuring to see that trend continue, as OKC and Tulsa were both named among the Top 10 Best-Performing Cities in the US earlier this week.

We already know there are a ton of families moving here for the economic stability, but here’s a thought that hadn’t previously crossed my mind, that may further help our metro’s short-term growth:

“While some areas of the country have experienced only a shallow downturn, and may be emerging from the recession already, people living in metro areas that are now performing the weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recovery period.”

Yep, I’ll say it again, central Oklahoma’s a great place to live!

News 9 reported earlier this week that foreclosures are on the Decline in Oklahoma, and nationally. We’ve weathered that storm pretty well all along, as evidenced by this tidbit:

In Oklahoma, one out of every 1,851 homes faces foreclosure in May, compared to the national rate of one in every 398 homes

While the ‘experts’ will tell you that we’re not out of the woods yet, I’m not sure Oklahoma ever really stumbled into the forest.

We get a lot of questions about who does and doesn’t qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credit, so why not put it out here for everyone to find?

While there’s a lot of talk about Congress making some modifications in the future, this is a thorough resource for information about the Tax Credit as it currently stands.

Still have questions?  Give us a call any time.

About 2 months ago, we started warning our clients that rates were at an all-time low and wouldn’t stay that way much longer. From that advice, we got two very different types of reactions:

1. Some buyers acted quickly on that advice and took advantage of rates in the mid 4% to lower 5% range.
2. Other home buyers told us they were waiting for rates to hit 4% and they would act then (against our advice, of course).

Since then, 30-yr fixed rates have jumped 1/2 to 3/4 of a percentage point, so the buyers who locked in their rates are feeling pretty good, and the ones who gambled are feeling a little ill.
Here’s my next bit of advice: if you’re one of the ones feeling a little ill, don’t mess around any more… get locked in now and get a house under contract. Two things are happening that should be plenty of motivation:

1. Mortgage rates are now at a 7-month high.
2. Time’s about to run out on the $8,000 Tax Credit.

There’s actually a third factor at play also: Housing inventory levels in our market are decreasing at a rapid rate, which means that supply is down and demand is up.. any guess what that will do to your bargaining power?