As a Realtor, you're going to be tested throughout your career. You'll have to make a judgment call whether to do something that benefits you or your client. It's inevitable. Very early in my career I was tested. It was at a time I really needed the sale and I was dealing with a shrewd investor. I had two choices, keep my mouth shut, not worry about explaining to the investor there might be a problem, and let the transaction play out. OR, I could do the right thing, make sure the investor was aware there might be an issue and give him a chance to terminate the contract. I did the right thing and made sure he knew there might be an issue. As it turns out I never made the sale and to make matters worse, the investor held a grudge against me because he lost his earnest money. But there was a silver lining. I had proven to myself at a very weak moment in my life that I would always do the right thing and never be tempted to place my interests ahead of my client's. And I never have.

Fairview's new mayor, Henry Lessner, was nice enough to sit down and discuss things like the ongoing water project, Lincoln Properties and the Fairview Town Center, the new Billingsley development at 75 and 121, road updates and his vision for Fairview, Texas.

Appraisals are often one of the great mysteries of real estate. If you're an agent, you understand how important it is for a property to appraise, yet we have no say where the value comes in. Ironically, we often know the market much better than the appraiser. A poor appraisal will kill a transaction and we've all had them. So what are the rules appraisers have to follow? How much latitude do they have when comps are difficult to find? What happens when you get a poor appraisal? Is there any recourse? Karen Beaty with Beaty Appraisal here in Fairview will tackle some of the questions I put to her. She's an excellent appraiser, highly regarded, and I've had to rely on her in the past when I needed help with an opinion of value.

On September 1st, 2019 the Texas legislature has mandated that homeowners must pay the insurance deductible for a new roof. It cannot be "absorbed" into the cost of the roof by the roofing company. This has been a "wink, wink, nod, nod" way of doing business in Texas for as long as I can remember. But that's all about to change.

Have you ever been curious about the differences between commercial and residential real estate? Are you a new agent trying to make a decision between the two career paths? I can tell you first hand, these two disciplines are as different as night and day. I spent my first 14 years of real estate working strictly commercial and my past 20 years have been strictly residential. You might be surprised at some of the differences and it might give you some food for thought about the path you'll take.

Have you ever been curious about the differences between commercial and residential real estate? Are you a new agent trying to make a decision between the two career paths? I can tell you first hand, these two disciplines are as different as night and day. I spent my first 14 years of real estate working strictly commercial and my past 20 years have been strictly residential. You might be surprised at some of the differences and it might give you some food for thought about the path you'll take.

Lovejoy ISD is a school district serving parts of Allen, Fairview, Lucas, and McKinney Texas. It's considered one of the top three public school districts in the entire state of Texas, year in and year out so this was an important hire by the Lovejoy school board. Dr. Goddard was previously with Lovejoy ISD and was very highly regarded among parents, teachers, and fellow administrators. They are all thrilled to have him back as their superintendent.

Darion shared with me some of his successes as mayor of Fairview, some of his unfinished business, and his vision of what Fairview will look like in the years to come.

Darion shared with me some of his successes as mayor of Fairview, some of his unfinished business, and his vision of what Fairview will look like in the years to come.

This is an interview with Tony Prutch, one of the most popular builders in the Fairview, Lucas, and Celina area. In four years, Tony has built his company into a well oiled machine. He shared how he started out, built his company, what he has working right now, and where he thinks the future is in the custom home industry of north Dallas.