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Where did you grow up? I grew up in Friona, a small

farming and ranching commu-nity located 100 miles northwest of Lubbock.

Why do you live in the Lub-bock area? What do you like most about it?

Having parents who graduated from Texas Tech helped in devel-oping an excitement and desire to become a Tech Alumni myself. Becoming a part of the Texas Tech Red Raider Community has been a wonderful gift. After living in various West Texas communities, I was drawn back to Lubbock because of the people. Strong family values, high standards, diversity of the city, wonderful educational institu-tions and medical facilities make Lubbock a community everyone is proud to call home.

How long have you worked in real estate?

I completed my real estate requirements and began my real estate career 27 years ago when interest rates were more than twice as high as they are today. Before I got into real estate, I was an all-levels art teacher.

What is your specialty?I specialize in bringing a cre-

ative commitment and colorful approach in helping sellers get the most for their properties in the least amount of time and helping buyers know they are not paying too much for their home.

What are the most gratifying aspect and the most challeng-ing aspect of what you do?

The most gratifying aspect is building lasting relationships that go beyond and last longer than just selling a property. Every transaction brings its own challenges, which helps make me a more knowledgeable agent for transactions in the future.

What tip would you offer someone looking to buy or sell a home?

It is important when selling a property to remove your “person-al emotions” out of the process. The greatest gift a buyer can give themselves is to pre-qualify and stay true to their budget.

What is the most unique property you have listed or sold?

The property with the fondest memory was a listing that raised exotic animals – kangaroos, wal-labies, llamas, swans, peacocks and alpacas. It was a wonder-ful and educational experience

learning about the natural fibers derived from the alpaca’s coat. Seeing the energy and hours it took to care for the alpacas was

amazing. The opportunity to be around the animals and getting to hold and feed a wallaby is one I will treasure forever.

What charities and organiza-tions are you involved in?

The charities I hold dear to my heart are the Lubbock’s Children Home and a fund raiser support-ed by the Lubbock Association of Realtors – “ Walk With Pride” – which raises funds for children in need of shoes. I’m also a mem-ber of the National, State and Local Real Estate Associations, Texas Tech Alumni Associa-tion, West Texas A&M Alumni Association, Lubbock Symphony Guild, Wolfforth Chamber of Commerce, South Plains Church of Christ, and the Lubbock Board of Realtors.

What do you enjoy when you’re not working?

Being with family and friends is the greatest gift! Working on any art project is where I gravitate when I have extra time. Being outside with my two dogs and working with my flowers is a wonderful and rewarding time.

Why should someone select you as their Realtor?

My priority is to provide knowledge of the local market, experience and dedication in treating every client as if they are the only one. Continuing to develop a one-on-one relationship with buyers and sellers comes with being a good listener and observing one’s wants and needs. I strive to be creative and flexible in providing a solution to every person’s wants and needs.

Real estate Produced ByAdvertising Editorial Staff

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LINDA CHAPMAN RE/MAX LUBBOCK806-781-0503 lindachapman542@gmail.com

Realtor Revealed

Linda Chapman, RE/MAX Lubbock

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011SATURDAY

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To Advertise

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Katie McKinney806-766-8646

Jason Whittle806-766-2196

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Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to be confronted and perhaps overwhelmed with numbers: in-terest rates, days on market, loan terms and many more. They’re all signifi-cant in the transac-tion, but what do they mean?

This column is not the place for in-depth analysis of real estate math … that would be a tall order. I hope to convey two things: the importance of understanding what the numbers mean and that there is help available to decipher it all.

Should You Go With a 15 or 30?Many buyers are able to shorten their

financial obligation by choosing a 15-year mortgage instead of the 30-year va-riety. The payments on 15-year mortgag-es are certainly larger, but not, as it may seem, twice as large. If you can handle the bigger monthly expense, you’ll build equity faster because a greater portion of each payment goes toward principal rather than interest. Additionally, the lower rate and shorter term lessen the overall interest due.

With a longer loan term, you have a higher interest rate and build equity more slowly, but you get the benefit of lower monthly payments and, perhaps, increased buying power. You also still have the option to shorten your loan by making additional payments when possible.

time iS moneY

When negotiations between a buyer and seller stall, each party should think about what the difference in the offers actually means.

To a seller, it means more money at the time of sale, of course. But there could be more to consider. Has the house been on the market a long time? If you decide to stick to your guns on a number, do a little math to be sure it makes financial sense. Should the home linger on the market another two or three months, the cost of keeping the house may be close to or even surpass the amount you’re holding out for. Your move may be delayed and you could end up paying two mortgages, two utility bills, two landscaping bills and so on.

As a buyer, plug the numbers in to see the difference on your monthly pay-ment. It may be that the extra money each month pushes the home beyond your budget, or it could just be a few dollars per month – an amount you may decide isn’t worth it to lose the home.

that’S not What i heard on the neWS…

Don’t be confused by national num-

bers that have little to do with our market. Texas never saw the rapid rise in property values that parts of Cali-fornia, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and a few other states did. Nevertheless, the national media and even some reporters in Texas continue to paint a doom-and gloom picture for the real estate market here. The truth is that Texas has many of the healthiest real estate markets in the nation, and that is especially true for Lubbock.

Also keep in mind that in most cases real estate investments hold their value quite well, appreciating consis-tently over the long term. Even many homeowners in the states mentioned above aren’t in as dire straits as the media would have you believe. Think about it this way: If you bought a home four years ago, and its value increased $80,000 over the first three years but dropped $12,000 in the fourth, are you down $12,000 or up $68,000? Unless you’re bought in the third year and are

selling in the fourth, that $12,000 drop is not as bad as it sounds.

to the reScue

There’s more to real estate math than this column could possibly explain… we didn’t cover buy-down points, fixed-rate vs. ARM loans, tax implications, credit scores, loan ratios and many other concepts. The intricacies of a transaction this large, along with your specific situa-tion, call for extensive knowledge about numbers in the real estate world.

Realtors work with these figures and concepts regularly and can help you navigate the financial waters and make sense of the numbers. Don’t just rely on your Realtor though, talk to some of the great local lenders here in Lubbock, they can walk with you step-by-step through the transaction.

For more information on buying and selling real estate, or to find a Lubbock Realtor, I encourage you to visit Lub-bockRealtors.com.

For many Americans, getting married, buying a home, having children and providing them with an education, then being able to retire comfortably without financial worries is the embodiment of their American Dream.

Homeownership has long been the foundation of a family’s ability to achieve their American Dream. For more than a century, Americans have counted on their investment in their homes to be able to pay for their children’s education and to enable them to live where and how they want to after they retire.

But those expectations are in jeopardy for the nation’s 75 million homeowners. Policymakers seeking to reduce the federal deficit are con-sidering eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction. Changes to the deduction would not only harm home owners who current-ly rely on it to manage their household expens-es, it would also hurt millions of seniors who no longer claim the deduction but still depend on its existence to secure their future.

According to most economists, eliminating or scaling back the mortgage interest deduction would trigger a drop in home values. This would cause more home owners to be saddled with

mortgages that are larger than their property’s value, which would lead to even more foreclo-sures and place even more downward pressure on home prices.

Seniors looking to use the proceeds from the sale of their home to relocate to a different part of the country, to move into a retirement community, to help defray health care costs or to fund other long-term obligations would find they have a much smaller retirement nest egg than they’d planned on. They may be forced to keep working for many more years, or to post-pone or cancel moving to a new home because they can’t afford or are unable to sell their cur-rent home.

Changing the rules now by eliminating or cur-tailing the deduction would be unfair. It would take money out of the pockets of those home buyers who counted on the deduction being there when they needed it, and it would penal-ize millions of baby boomers nearing retirement and seniors who own their homes outright.

Seniors have played by the rules and made sacrifices to get where they are, and they don’t deserve to have the rug pulled out from under them. Learn more about the threat to the mort-gage interest tax deduction and find out how you can take action to protect it at www.SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com.

Nationwide housing starts declined 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units in August, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Sept. 21. The decline was primarily on the more volatile multi-family side, with single-family housing production edging down just 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, permits for new construction posted modest gains in both sectors.

“At this point, most builders are only looking to replenish their depleted inventories of new homes for sale, but otherwise holding off on new proj-ects,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “While we would like to get more crews back on the job, we need to see solid improve-ment in consumer demand, greater access to credit for both builders and buyers, and a reduction in the number of foreclosed properties on the market be-fore we can ramp up new production.”

“Today’s numbers are completely consistent with NAHB’s forecast for the quarter, and are in keep-ing with the anemic economic and job growth we are seeing across most of the country,” said NAHB Senior Economist Robert Denk. “That said, we con-tinue to anticipate modest gains in new-home pro-

duction through the end of this year with greater momentum building into 2013, and some pockets of improvement are already evident in about a dozen metros nationwide.”

Single-family housing starts declined 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units in August, while multifamily production – which tends to display greater volatility on a month to month basis – declined 13.5 percent to a 154,000-unit rate. Regionally, combined starts activity was mixed in August, with the Midwest and West post-ing gains of 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent, respective-ly, and the Northeast and South posting declines of 29.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

Building permits, which can be an indicator of future building activity, rose 3.2 percent to a sea-sonally adjusted annual rate of 620,000 units in August, their highest level since last December. Single-family permits gained 2.5 percent to 413,000 units, while multifamily permits gained 4.5 percent to 207,000 units.

Permit issuance rose in three out of four regions in August. The South was the only region to post a decline, of 1.3 percent, while the Northeast, Mid-west and West posted gains of 3.3 percent, 6.3 per-cent, and 11.3 percent, respectively.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 50+ Housing Council is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Best of 50+ Housing Awards, which honor excellence in building, design and marketing of housing for boomers and beyond. This year, the program has added more than a dozen new categories, including “Best Integration of Technology,” “Best ‘Green’ Community,” “Best Streetscape or Neighborhood,” “Best Fitness and Wellness Program” and “Best Universal Designed Home,” among others.

“The Best of 50+ Housing Awards are this indus-try’s most influential national awards” said 50+ Housing Council Chair, Ken Simons. “The awards not only recognize the best of the country’s top builders and developers in the 50+ housing sec-tor, but also show the public the newest and most

innovative housing trends for mature buyers and renters.”

All builders, developers, marketers and design-ers of 50+ housing are invited to enter this presti-gious awards competition. Previous winners have included a continuum of care community in Osaka, Japan, an affordable rental community in Walkers-ville, Md., an active adult community in Torrance, Calif., and an artist’s colony in North Hollywood, Calif.

The 2012 winners will be announced at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 9, 2012.

Information on entry applications, payments and all other materials can be found on the 50+ Housing Council Awards Web page at www.nahb.org/50PlusAwards.

Representatives from Lubbock Land Company, developer of the Trails community, presented An-thony and Jessica Villarreal with a painting at the West Texas Homebuilders Association (WTHBA) luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The patriotic painting from artist Dan Dunn is to hang in the couple’s new home, recently built and donated to them by the WTHBA.

During the luncheon, Lubbock Land Company also presented a donation check for more than $31,000 to benefit the new Lubbock Homes for He-roes. The charity was started to help construct fu-ture homes for local military and first responders injured in the line of duty. The money was raised at the Trails party hosted during the annual Parade of Homes.

What do those real estate numbers mean?

Homeownership tax change would harm seniors

National trends: housing starts decline, permits rise in August

NAHB calls for entries for the 2012 Best of 50+ Housing Awards

MURFEE

LocaL REaL EstatE NEws – LUbbock associatioN oF REaLtoRs

LocaL bUiLdiNg NEws – wEst tExas associatioN oF bUiLdERs

BY Joe L. Murfee, III, PresidentLubbock Association of REALTORS®

BY Robert Wood, PresidentWest Texas Home Builders Association

Special preSentation – lubbock homeS for heroeS

Pictured (clockwise from left): kate and charlie hamilton, anthony Villarreal, conrad and carson hamilton

%page_number% LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL %DAY_OF_WEEK_DATE% homes.lubbockonline.com

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Progressive design, attention to detail, and high-end finishes characterize this beautiful home

built by Cole Thomas Homes in the new Brooke Heights subdivision. Located in the heart of the Cooper School District, this 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home with study, spacious basement, laundry, mud-room, and two-car garage embodies the design-driven, custom-built approach of Cole Thomas Homes.

An elegantly landscaped entry court-yard focuses on a custom entry door awning, as well as a dramatic steel and cedar trellis over French doors. The doors provide access to the courtyard from a versatile dining room that can be utilized for formal or informal dining. The indoor-outdoor living theme is also carried to the back patio, where high cedar tongue and groove ceilings, decorative brick wall in-serts, patterned concrete, accent lighting, landscaped planter, and preparations for a BBQ area make for an inviting space.

Inside, you’ll find an open concept plan geared around the impressive custom kitchen with a massive granite island that can seat up to six, custom wine rack, glass tile backsplashes, and pantry. Arch-ways throughout frame the views inside, and the great room boasts a beautiful nat-ural stone fireplace surrounded by custom stacked stone walls that make a dramatic impression. Off the great room, the study with built-in desk and stylish cabinets can serve a variety of purposes from its location between the front bedrooms.

Above the granite countertops at the master bathroom vanities, stacked stone walls are highlighted by custom mirrors and lighting. An under-mount soaking tub in granite deck, mosaic stone and glass tile, beautifully detailed shower, and awe-some closet with built-in shelving and 10-drawer dresser complete the master suite.

Additional details include: travertine wainscot in powder room, custom mud-room cabinetry, lots of storage, custom cedar beams in the dining room and entrance gallery ceilings, granite and oil-rubbed bronze fixtures and hardware throughout, 8’ tall interior doors, 6” exte-rior walls, 5 zones of in-ceiling audio, and a basement that is wired for a theater and includes an in-wall sub-woofer.

One unique approach is that all Cole Thomas Homes come with an iPad Owner’s Book full of owner’s manuals, pictures, scheduled maintenance, supplier and subcontractor contacts, and more!

This week’s Featured Home, presented by the West Texas Home Builders Associa-tion in cooperation with the Avalanche-Journal, is located at 4018 125th Street. The home features 2,872 square feet and is priced at $335,000.

Please call Cole at 853-8585 for a pri-vate tour; visit them on the web at www.colethomashomes.com, and “Like” them on Facebook by searching for Cole Thomas Homes.

“We are excited to get you into the home of your dreams!”

4018 125th Street – Brooke Heights

FEatUREd FLooRpLaN – coLE thoMas hoMEs

Basements, infinite possibilities

hoMEs.LUbbockoNLiNE.coM’s picks oF thE wEEk

This week’s featured picks from homes.lubbockonline.com are homes in the Lubbock area. These homes vary in price, style, and location.

1. The first home is an exquisite new Parade home by Jim Elliott Construction in Lakeridge South. This luxurious home features open concept living with hardwood and travertine flooring, Jenn-Air stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, walk-in wet bar, an incredible open gourmet island kitchen with sit-up bar for five-plus people, and a butler’s pantry. Outside you will find a fully landscaped yard with large trees, an outdoor kitchen and fireplace, and a three-plus car, rear entry garage. This beautiful 4,750 square foot home is located at 4508 102nd Street and is on the market for $669,950. MLS# 9977856

2. 10503 Utica Avenue is a stun-ning home in Southhaven. This home greets you with beautiful curb appeal,

a lead glass door, entry with stunning design and unique ceilings through-out. The home has a spacious formal dining, two living areas, a double sided fireplace, open kitchen, gran-ite tops, gas cooking, four bedrooms, three baths with lots of details, an media basement room, and a three car garage. This 3,620 square foot home is priced to sell at $399,000. MLS# 9980381

3. A warm and inviting home on a corner lot in the Ravenwood Subdivi-sion awaits you at 3915 100th Street. It includes a formal dining room, a half bath off of the breakfast room, and a two-way fireplace with a remote control between the family and living rooms. Hardwood floors, granite, and tile fill the home. The backyard is a nice size and has a privacy fence. The roof was redone only two years ago. A sprinkler system waters the yard, and the garage is rear entry with automatic doors. This home has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a

two-car garage. It is 2,736 square feet and is $275,000. MLS# 9981385

4. A beautiful, well-cared for home in Day Estates sits at 6010 94th Street. This home offers three bed-rooms, two and a half baths, a rear entry two-car garage, plus an office and basement. The spacious kitchen has granite counters and travertine floors and opens to the eating and living areas, which both have gor-geous hardwood floors. This 2,689 square foot home has a great location across from a future park and is only $259,000. MLS# 9981584

5. 10004 York Avenue has a great layout with three bedrooms, two baths, and a two-car garage with a basement. It boasts a large kitchen and dining area, an office space in the hall, and a loft area in bedroom with cable hook-ups and electricity. A great built-in dresser and shelf sits in another bedroom, while the master closet holds a makeup vanity. It has

beautiful stained concrete floors, shut-ters on all the windows, a breakfast bar, a gas range, antiqued cabinets in the kitchen and bath, lots of storage, and a huge master shower. This 2,157 square foot home is yours for only $187,900. MLS# 9978065

6.This outstanding property at 307 Raider Boulevard will qualify for USDA 0% down. Enjoy three bedrooms with a basement, a large kitchen and dining area, decorator colors, and faux painting. The family room comes with a wonderful natu-ral stone fireplace. There is a perfect backyard with lots of covered patio, as well as a slab for building an add-on which includes plumbing for a future bath. This 1,919 square foot home is well maintained and ready for new owner for $160,000. MLS# 9981194

For more information and photos of these and other homes, please visit homes.lubbockonline.com and enter in the MLS# provided.

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