I’m sharing a bit about myself and my real estate experience.

I noticed that I’ve been sending you videos asking for your business, but I haven’t even properly introduced myself to you! Today I’d like to change that by dating myself a little bit. Remember the days of AOL Instant Messenger? Back then, A.S.L meant “age, sex, location,” so here’s my A.S.L:
My name is Nick Good, the team leader and owner of the Good Home Team with eXp Realty, and I’ve been in the business since 2005. I was born in Dallas but grew up in Plano, and I currently reside in McKinney, Texas, with my wife, two children, and a golden doodle.
Before I got into the real estate industry, I was delivering pizzas in college. At the time, my brother and I wanted to get involved in the real estate investment game, so when I saw a job posting for a real estate assistant, I applied and got the job. That job opened my eyes to the huge opportunity to become a Realtor, the kind of person who could help clients buy, sell, and invest in real estate.

" Let’s go back to the days of AOL Instant Messenger for a minute. "

Typically when people buy or sell real estate, they’re going through some kind of life event. That could be just being tired of throwing money away on rents; studies show that homeowners have 44 times the net worth that renters do. It could also be that people are getting married and want to start a family, meaning they’d need to upsize their house. The opposite could also be true, in the case of those whose children have moved out and they no longer need all the space in their home. That’s what we love about the real estate business—being able to help people through whatever situation they’re in at the time.
I just wanted to make sure that you all got to know me better before I ask for your business. If you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home, please let us at the Good Home Team know. If you’re interested in learning about how to invest in real estate, we’d love to help you get started.
P.S.: We are currently hiring for real estate agents, so keep an eye on our blog for a video where we’ll explain our hiring process!

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About six months ago, a buddy of mine told my wife and me about Wyze, a company founded by people who used to work at Amazon. He said that they have great quality cameras for a fraction of the price of other brands: just $19.99. Since I’m a frugal sort of homeowner, I was naturally very interested to hear about Wyze security cameras.

To set them up, you only need three items: the camera itself, a mobile phone, and an internet connection. The camera we bought shoots video in 1080 full HD and has two-way audio, meaning you can both hear and talk through the camera. Along with the clear night vision feature, this makes the Wyze camera good for both indoor and outdoor use. Additionally, the camera has 14 days’ worth of free cloud recordings, so you can buy an SD card to record and save footage.

Wyze security cameras are compatible with both Amazon’s Alexa feature and Google Assistant, which makes automating your home much easier.

" With a 1080 HD resolution, night vision, and two-way audio, the Wyze cameras are good for both indoor and outdoor use. "

Wyze also has other affordable products like automated light bulbs that can be turned on and off according to a schedule you set for them or brightened/dimmed through your smartphone. The Wyze smart plugs can turn any plug-in device into a smart device that can be turned on and off with your phone as well.

Wyze front door locks are only $89, though we haven’t tested them yet. They’re not battery-operated; if you’re using them for exterior camera use, you’ll need a long USB cable to plug in somewhere inside the house. For just another $15, you can buy a weather-proof case to set it up outside without fear of the elements.

What sort of home security products do you use? I would love to hear about them. In the meantime, if you have any questions about buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to help you, no matter your real estate goals.

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It’s the beginning of a new year, and today I’m going to discuss how to prepare your home for sale. We get asked this question quite a bit: What do I need to do to get my home ready to sell? This is an excellent question, and I love to answer it. I’m breaking down a simple game plan so you’ll know what to do to get the most amount of money from your sale. This plan has helped many of our clients, and it can help you too.
Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure: 
0:30: Introduction to today’s topic
1:05: #1- Interview top listing agents
2:25: #2- Fix any deferred maintenance
3:35: #3- Declutter
4:10: #4- Brighten up your home
4:55: #5- What to do if you have pets
5:35: #6- Budget to upgrade
6:15: #7- De-personalize
7:35: #8- Curb appeal—the first impression is key 
8:45: Wrapping up today’s topic
If you’re considering buying, selling, or investing in real estate, we would love the opportunity to work with you. Call us and set up a no obligation consultation. Also, please reach out by phone or email if you have any questions. We would be glad to help. 

We’re looking to do a quick study about what people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area think the future holds for their housing market, and you can help. 
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Can you believe that 2019 is almost over? Now that another great year is wrapping up, I have a special request of you—one that could win you a $100 gift card. 
First, as always, if you’re new to our channel, please hit that “subscribe channel” button for real estate news from the Dallas-Fort Worth market; we typically release one to two every week. 
I’m excited to announce that we’re finishing up our 2019 Homeownership Survey. I’ve personally just tested it out and it takes less than a minute to do. It’s only six questions long. Once we get these results, we’ll share this Dallas-Fort Worth data with established real estate publications. Click here to take the survey! 
The survey questions include things like, “Do you think home prices are going to go up in the next 12 months?” and “Are you thinking about selling your home or refinancing in the next 12 months?” “
It’s only six questions long!
”
Since we appreciate your commitment to participating, we’ll enter you into a drawing for that $100 gift card. 
Feel free to contact us and let us know if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in 2020. It’s an election year, so we’ll have plenty of reasons to discuss where the real estate market and the rest of the economy are headed. 
If you have any real estate questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you any way I can.

Should you live in a multi-generational home? Let’s discuss.
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Multi-generational living has existed since the dawn of civilization, but this trend has only recently re-emerged here in the United States in the form of multi-generational properties. If you’re considering buying or building this kind of home, there are a few points to keep in mind before you do so. 

Cited below for your convenience is an outline of our discussion, with timestamps so that you can skip ahead to the section(s) that interest you the most:

0:00 - Introducing today’s topic 

0:55 - What multi-generational living is and why it has recently surged in popularity

2:09 - Is it better to buy a multi-generational home or to build one?

2:44 - The most significant factor many multi-generational buyers look for: size

3:35 - The second most significant factor many multi-generational buyers look for: privacy

6:04 - A few common challenges of multi-generational living

7:13 - Wrapping things up and explaining how we can help you find a multi-generational home

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Contrary to popular belief, the holidays are a great time to sell your home. Here are six reasons why.
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The holiday season is quickly approaching, and many would-be home sellers in our area have been asking whether there’s still time to sell in 2019. A lot of these people believe that their chance has passed and that selling during the holidays is not a good move.
 
Actually, though, selling during the later months of the year can bring incredible results. Did you know that December tends to be the third-best time of year for home sellers in our area to put their properties on the market? It’s true, and today I’ll be sharing six key reasons that selling over the holidays is such a good idea:

1. Buyers who look at homes during the holidays are very serious. Very few “tire-kickers” turn up during the holiday season. 

2. There are fewer competing homes on the market during the holidays. Many sellers fall for the common myth that you shouldn’t list at this time of year, so those who do choose to list can benefit from this decreased competition. 

3. Supply is low, which means demand is high. Buyers are much more willing to pay top dollar when there are fewer available homes on the market. 

Tasteful touches of holiday decor can really make a difference in how buyers see your home.
4. You can strategically restrict showings around your schedule. The holidays are a busy time of year, but sellers should be aware that they have the option to schedule showings around whatever parties, gatherings, or activities they have going on. 

5. Buyers have more time to look at home. Many buyers get off work for the holidays, which gives them a larger window of time to look at your home. 

6. Holiday decor helps homes show better. There’s nothing like the holidays to make people feel sentimental, so tasteful touches of holiday decor can really make a difference in how buyers see your home. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
 

We had a great time at our Back-to-School Movie Event, and we hope you did too.
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Our Back-to-School Movie Event was an absolute blast, and it wouldn’t have been the same without you. We appreciate you coming out and helping make this event such a great time, and we hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did. Without your continued support, the Good Home Team wouldn’t be where it is today. So for that, we thank you. We’d also like to thank our great sponsors, who made this event possible. We truly appreciate Lawyers Title, Capital Title, Align Foundation, and Crest Exteriors, as well as Michael DeBacker with The CORE Team at USA Mortgage. We look forward to more fun times with all of you in the future. If you missed this event, don’t worry: There will be plenty of other great opportunities in the future. As always, if you have any questions about real estate, upcoming events, or anything else going on in our community, please reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you soon. 

The Federal Reserve has done something they haven’t since the recession of 2008. Here’s what you need to know.
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The Federal Reserve just announced that they would cut the key interest rate for the first time since the recession of 2008. What does that mean for homebuyers and home sellers? That’s what I’m going to explain today. 

Right now, this news doesn’t mean that much for anyone. We won’t actually see an immediate decrease in rates like consumers think. A lot of times, the mortgage industry is already prepared for what the Fed is going to do and has been lowering their rates to get ahead of it. We’re starting to see the economy slow down a tad now. 
For homebuyers, this is the perfect time to get into a new house. Rates are at two-to-three-year lows. Our mortgage professionals are predicting a slight increase in rates throughout this year and into next. 
For home sellers, you should know we have seen a 2.2% increase in inventory through the end of June in Collin County. This is your competition. The more homes on the market, the more choice buyers have and the more aggressive they’ll be with their offers.
  Days on market have increased by 25.6%.

Days on market, meanwhile, have drastically increased to 54 days, a 25.6% increase. We have already exhausted a lot of our pent-up buyer demand. Homeowners were pricing their homes at top-level pricing and that’s just not the case today. At the same time, our average sale price continues to increase steadily. The number that I track the most is the month’s supply of homes for sale. We saw this number increase by 12.5% to 3.6 months. If no other homes came on the market, this means it would take about three-and-a-half months to sell all the homes we have here in Collin County.

We’re still in a seller’s market, but you need to be careful with your pricing. It’s better to price right at the beginning than to price too high and have to come down. You’ll get more money with the first option.
If you have any questions for me about buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What does it take to find the right agent for your real estate experience? Today we’ll share a five-step guide on how to hire the right Realtor.
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What’s the best way to find (and hire) a high-quality Realtor? Actually, it’s simple. All you need to do is follow these five tips:

1. Check out their online reviews. Any agent can tell you they’re great, but reviews don’t lie. Reviews allow you to see feedback from people who have worked with a given Realtor or team in the past. This can offer valuable insight into what your experience would be like if you chose to hire them.
  2. “Stalk” them online. Visiting an agent’s social media pages will help you see how this person conducts themselves, in general.

3. Find out if they’re tech-savvy. Unfortunately, not too many agents barely know how to work their cell phones, let alone leverage the latest real estate technology. So check out their website, read their reviews, and study any other materials they’ve made available for signs of their technological competency.
  4. Ask for proof of their track record. If an agent tells you they’ve sold a certain number of homes in the past 12 months, for instance, ask them to prove it. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average real estate agent sells 11 houses or fewer in a given year. Here on the Good Team, we sell well over 200, and we’d be happy to prove it to you.
  5. Ask how they plan to market your home. The right agent is one who will be proactive, rather than simply placing a sign in your yard and praying that your property sells. They must have systems and strategies in place to expose as many buyers as possible to your home.
Any agent can tell you they’re great, but reviews don’t lie.
If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are curious about how we can serve your real estate needs, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

iBuyer companies have become increasingly common in our market, but this supposedly convenient way to sell is actually more trouble than it's worth.
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You’ve probably heard of companies like Opendoor and Offerpad, which claim to offer a fast and convenient alternative to the traditional home selling experience. However, is working with one of these “iBuyer” companies really the best way to go about selling your property?

Actually, there are some significant drawbacks to this arrangement. 

One of the most obvious disadvantages is that you’ll earn less for your home. These companies use automatic valuation tools, like the one behind Zillow’s highly inaccurate Zestimate feature, to determine the price they’ll pay for your home. Usually, this figure is between 10% and 20% below your home’s fair market value.

So why would anyone work with an iBuyer? Well, in fairness, selling outright to one of these companies can be a more expedient option than listing on the open market. Sellers in urgent need of a fast sale may look to iBuyers as a convenient solution. At the end of the day, iBuyer companies are nothing more than glorified house flippers. ” This sounds great in theory, but there is a catch. Even if an iBuyer’s initial offer seems reasonable at first, you’ll find that they compensate for this by charging a 6% to 13% “convenience” fee. In other words, not only do iBuyers offer less than you could earn by listing with an agent, they also charge more than a typical Realtor’s commission.

To give you an example, take the story of one of my past clients. This client had a home worth approximately $325,000. The iBuyer company they were thinking of working with came in with an initial offer of $318,000, which, at first, my client was thrilled about. It was only when they noticed the fine print in their contract that they learned this is not the figure they would ultimately earn. Not only was the iBuyer going to charge them a 7.5% convenience fee, but they were also going to knock the price down based on issues found in the home inspection. When all was said and done, this would have amounted to a $33,000 reduction from the initial offer price.

At the end of the day, iBuyer companies are nothing more than glorified house flippers. If you truly want a fast, convenient deal, then reach out to my team and me about our guaranteed home sale program. Essentially, we guarantee we’ll sell your home in 39 days or less, or we’ll buy your property ourselves. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Before selling your home, it might be necessary to make a few improvements. Here’s where you should be spending your money.
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I recently sat down to answer a few common questions I’ve been hearing as we head into the busy season of the year.

We’re really seeing buyer demand pick up in the last few weeks, especially in the first-time buyer market. We’re also getting a lot of feedback from our buyers that they really prefer a move-in ready home and they’re willing to wait even if they can’t find one right away.

Because of that, we wanted to go through a few ideas for updating your home if you’re thinking of selling it soon.

The first thing that works well is bringing more light in. You can do this through lightening up the paint colors of your walls and ceilings, cleaning your windows, and throwing open the drapes.

Buyers also want to see updated kitchens. New counters, backsplash, and stainless steel appliances are also worthy of your consideration. Just one new stainless steel appliance in the kitchen can do the trick. Buyers want uniform flooring. ” As far as the bathroom is concerned, you should probably make some updates there too. Changing out the vanity is a good idea, as is modernizing the light fixtures and mirrors. A simple wood-framed mirror can work wonders. A frameless glass shower is also considered an upgrade over the standard bath and shower. Buyers really want the upgraded bathroom look.

Having one style of flooring throughout the home is also huge. Buyers don’t like having different floorings in each room. They want more of a uniform look. Either hardwood floor throughout, or hardwood and carpet just in the bedrooms.

Finally, spend some time on your curb appeal. Trim those bushes, replace any faulty door knockers or handles, and repaint and recaulk around the windows in your home. Having great curb appeal gives buyers greater confidence that the home is taken care of.

If you have any questions for me in the meantime about preparing your home for sale or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.