Some gated communities require you to use one of their list of approved builders. In others, all the available lots are already owned by builders so if you find a lot you like, the builder who owns it will usually only sell it to you IF you enter a contract to let him build the house. In still others (like mine), you can buy a lot and then choose whomever you want to build it for you. Please be aware that Texas is a wonderful place to live BUT there if very little regulation of the building industry here. Every town/city/county has its own building code... and in many place there are no building codes at all in effect except those governing septic systems which are required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. There is no statewide regulation of builders at all. No requirement that builders be licensed, bonded, insured, or show that they have any knowledge of home building or even of common business practices. At one time, Texas had the Texas Residential Construction Commission "TRCC" which was supposed to regulate builders and ensure some level of consumer protection for homeowners. However, to become a licensed builder under the TRCC, all one had to do was fill out a one page form (basically swearing that one had never been convicted of a felony) and pay a $500 fee. A week later, you were a licensed builder! Kind of getting ordained in some bogus online church so that one can perform marriages...except that the potential HARM is so much greater! Anyway, the TRCC was totally hijacked by unscrupulous builders who turned it into a "builder protection agency" that forced homeowners to jump through additional legal hoops before they could bring suit against a builder that ripped them off. The TRCC had no teeth to require builders to actually FIX any defects in a house but they could make the homeowner withdraw a lawsuit if the homeowner hadn't gone through all the TRCC hoops before filing suit. And TRCC often dragged its feet until the homeowner's right to sue the builder for building defects expired due to statutes of limitations. The TRCC was such an embarrassment that even Republican Carole Keeton Strayhorn said "if it were up to me personally, I would blast this TRCC builder-protection agency off the bureaucratic books." . Well, the Texas finally legislature got the message and closed TRCC down a couple of years ago. TRCC has not been replaced with anything so today, Texas builders don't even have to bother gettin a "mail-order license". As far as the building industry is concerned, Texas is still totally the "wild, wild west." Anyone can be a builder! Go get a magnetic sign to stick on the side of your pickup truck, print up a few business cards and start handing them out and VOILA, you're a Texas builder. Yes, there are some marvelous builders in the state but, I fear we also have far more than our share of the fly-by-night rip-off artists plus an overwhelming number of good-ole-boys who probably got into the business with the best of intentions (at least initially) but who simply don't have the brains to handle the complications of building. Or running any other kind of business for that matter. They make bad decisions, get in over their heads, start trying to cut corners to stay afloat and pretty soon, some poor customer is left holding the bucket on a very expensive lemon! And, while there are some very minimal laws in Texas regarding the warranties that a builder must, by statute, give you - be aware that, if at any point after building your home, your builder decides to declare bankruptcy, those statutory warranties will do you absolutely no good. The builder's statutory warranty obligations are wiped clean in the bankruptcy along with all other debts he might owe...including any legal judgment you might have gotten against him UNLESS your legal judgement recites that the builder defrauded you and the judgment is for damages flowing directly from that fraud. I tell you this as a way of saying that you need to be be very cautious when hiring a builder in Texas. Make absolutely sure that the builder has been in business quite some time, has an exemplary reputation, and is financially stable. Insist that he be bonded and insured with a reputable company. Do not allow the builder to disturb a single blade of grass on your property until you have documents showing that he is bonded and properly insured IN YOUR HANDS. If you are thinking of hiring a small builder, ask him for the names of every previous building-related business he has ever held an ownership interest in or been an office in. Then check with the TX secretary of state business filing section for the names of all businesses that he has ever had an ownership interest in. You can do the search online at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/index.shtml. I think searches run $1 each. If you find out that your builder didn't mention all the company names he has built under...BEWARE! Also, have a background check run on the builder personally and find out where he has lived/worked for as far back as you can find. Then, check at the county courts in your area (your county and all surrounding counties within a reasonable driving distance) and in any other areas where he has lived to find out if he has ever been sued by a homeowner client. If you find evidence of such a suit, get copies of the petition and answer and read them...maybe even contact the homeowner who filed suit and get his/her side of the story. Then decide for yourself if you want to proceed with that builder. Also, go to the county land records to find out if any subcontractors have filed liens against any of the houses he has built due to nonpayment. If your builder doesn't pay his subcontractors, you could wind up on the hook to pay them again. This will be a two step process because you'll first have to look for filed documents where the purchasing homeowner enters into an agreement with the builder to build the house and give the builder a lien against the property for that purpose. These can typically be found by searching on the builder's name as "grantee". Then look for liens filed against the property address by subcontractors. Here you'll probably have to either search by the legal address of the property. Also, go online to the federal bankruptcy system (www.pacer.gov) and search to see if the builder has ever filed a personal bankruptcy or any company that he has ever previously held an ownership interest in has ever filed bankruptcy. Bad builders are notorious for filing bankruptcy then picking a new business name and starting over. They'll claim the "experience" of all those years of building under other names, but they won't tell you how many disgruntled customers they left in their wake. Of course you should check with the BBB but frankly, I've never found that they have much info on builders that is helpful or up to date. Builders change names too frequently or don't bother to join the BBB so a BBB search is unlikely to pull up anything relevant. A better source of info is Angie's List (well worth the cost to join in my opinion.) You might also want to visit the HOBB (homeowner's for better buildings) to see if anyone has posted a complaint about the builder you are considering. Unfortunately, I don't think their complaint section is searchable so it is not as helpful as it might otherwise be. When you do choose a builder, insist that your contract NOT include a binding arbitration clause. If you get into a dispute with the builder and decide that arbitration is the route to go, you and the builder can always make the decision THEN. To agree to binding arbitration up front is, IMHO, extremely stupid. Also if you are building in an area where there are no building codes in effect, have it written into your contract that the builder will follow the codes effective in the nearest large metro area or some other defined building code. AND make sure your contract gives you the right to hire an independent third party inspector to determine if something is/is not up to the code that you and the builder have agreed to...and that if it is not, the 3rd party inspector's decision is determinative and will be binding. (BTW - If you are building anywhere in the central Texas area, I can recommend a fantastic inspector. Just email me by clicking on the "my page" link after my name in this post.) Final piece of advice: I would NOT recommend building in Texas while living at a distance. You want to be able to be onsite at least every couple of days to keep an eye on things. Good LUCK!

Too many photos. You only need 1 photo of the dining room and don't need to photograph every bedroom and only 1 or 2 of the front of the home. The living room photo, move that orange/brown leather chair before you take the next photo. It hides the room. You can slide it back after the photo. Also, you need contact info and asking price on the web site. Also, you need several bullet points that describe the house and/or area on the web site. Maybe talk about the square footage and lots size also. maybe taxes and age of house and major features (new furnace, roof, fireplace, x bedrooms, 2 car heated garage, etc)? Don't list small crap that everyone has, like garage opener and such. What made you BUY the place? Often that is a selling point as well that you can market. List on craigslist.com as well and post 4 photos and write about a paragraph or so. And repost on craigslist about every 10 days. Don't get lazy and not post the photos, thinking the web site link will do. Folks need to see the pix on craigslist or they won't go to your web site. Also ref to your web site from craigslist. Get a custom made For Sale sign for your front yard. Go to a sign shop. They make them for under $100. It is well spend. You pick the color, font, sign size. I usually go bigger than the standard R.E. sign. Pick a color that will stand out against the green grass or white snow. I like electric blue and yellow. You can even use an icon, such as a golf club if that was the type of home you were selling. Put major features (finished basement? acre lot? waterfront?)on the sign and # bedrooms, bathrooms and your phone number. Get flyers for the front yard. Keep them in the little box that you put next to/on the sign. Keep the flyers stocked. realize neighbors will take them, especially the first week. Don't worry, it is natural curiousity. Also reference the web site on the flyer, saying for more PHOTOS go to www.sitexyz. Make sure you have at least one front photo on the flyer. Have price and address in bold either at the top or right below the photo in large/bold. Have your contact info easy to see on flyer. I sold several FSBOs, so am giving you advice that truly will help you. Also, I suggest a discount broker to get into MLS. But then you have to pay an agent that brings the buyer (2.5-3%). If you do this, you need to be able to not pay this commission if you sell to someone that doesn't have an agent. In my case, this occurred and I simply paid the $400 or so to get the listing into MLS, and nothing more. Good luck. it is hard work. Then screening the callers is not easy either. Neighbors might lie to get in to see the place. they say their uncle(or mother, brother, etc) is looking to move and they are looking for him. BS 97% of the time. Return all calls pronto. Good luck.

I would amend the previous poster's advice: If you have patience -- and cash reserves -- THEN you can wait for the right buyer to come along. In the meantime, you're pouring money down a deepening well. We sold our home four months ago, at a price only slightly higher than we paid for it 13 years ago. The loss of value was a shame, but we were ecstatic to find a buyer (a demanding and difficult one, like most these days...), as the process of selling took us over 15 mos. all together and with my husband out of work we had virtually zero $$ left in the bank to pay the mortgage on the day we signed the contract. As 2010 winds down, we find even more reasons to feel lucky. Home prices in our city -- B of A's headquarters, no less! -- have dropped steadily since we closed, as unsold inventory has grown. I don't know what kind of economic factors you must weigh in your area, Phoggie, but if our recent experience is anything to judge by your best bet is to price your house as low as you think you can bear economically (and be prepared for the buyer to offer well below that), and get out of this killer-market quickly. A jaw-dropping price will generate a straight-up offer, and you can avoid contingent contracts. They can be a total nightmare and don't always result in a deal, as we found out on the first house we sold. Meanwhile, while waiting on the buyer to come through, you've lost time and opportunity. Good luck with this situation. You say you have an 'interested' buyer. Yes, in all fairness and justice, your buyer should come up in price now that you've chopped your asking price. But in order to sell your home you may have to drop your idea of what's fair and go for what's effective -- what's going to get you to the closing table. If it were me, I wouldn't dither!

@Rai Kai … I did learn so much!! Thanks for your contributions! @Beckysharp haha. I will be doing more research with the lawyer. I think overall my realtor was good—but I am not sure if overall we were the right fit. We will see if we stick with her. I know she put a lot of work and time into it --- so I do feel bad about us not going through with it. I will be doing more research and googling, and reading and using all my resources! Promise! @PitrateFoxy – I’ll probably be doing some research on a lawyer to have “on call” when we are at that point. You all were so right about all the other things – and I’m sure a few extra hundred bux (what like 500? ) will put me more at ease as I don’t like surprises unless they flowers, chocolate, or kisses :D @bellburgmaggie – isn’t that the truth. Alos.. Houzz app isn’t going anywhere! I love your story about finidng the right place! Man.. 3.5x your investment!! AWESOME!!! Were you ever concerned about over improving? That’s my biggest fear, especially if we buy very low… You know I always imagined buying the house with the crappy wall paper, shag carpet and pink or green tile in the bathrooms a horrible kitchen and then putting in my DREAM kitchen (or as im learning from houzzers, my 99% dream kitchen!). I think that’s something I was struggling with buying new. Even though I got to make a few selections… it wasn’t tailored to me really. So asking my husband in 3 years to redo the layout of the kitchen wasn’t going to fly :D Location location location is so hard for us. We are transplants – with family in the area, but are having a hard time finding the “right” home town. Everywhere we look is “safe” but I really want that neighborhood feel. I moved to Texas because I love saying yes sir, no ma’am, and I want to raise my kids like that. Sweet tea on the porch and waving to your neighbors. I want to make meals for new moms, or help out my grandparents when they need it. I may not have the Texas accent, and as the saying goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could!” @jannicone – I’m not deleting Houzz!! Just Realtor, Trulia and Zillow :D It may only last a week, but I need some distance! But I will use it as a resorce to keep an eye on the market and see what really happens during “selling” season. Happy to be sorta liked! @Denita , I should know better. I’m a firm believer that EVERYTHING is negotiable and if you aren’t willing to make any changes (they may not have lost me if they let me go to the design center and let me have 2 extra days – would have cost them nothing) I’m not inclined to play ball. Especially in an industry where negotiation is nearly expected. Looks like I have some more homework and research to do! I may need to find a new realtor. Not that she wasn’t good. I felt like she was doing a good job – but I’ll never know if she asked the builder for things. She did make us feel like her only clients, and she was very attentive and listened to my concerns. But I did get a slight feeling that she was “building” up the home a little more than she should have. We signed a contract for 6 months with her. She led with “if at any time you are done with me, I’ll just rip it up.” Who knows if that will come back to bite me in the butt. But, also thought we were going to end up with the first house and it would all be over. Again, lack of experience on my part. I've done some research on how you should select a buyers agent... and I did kind of do it all wrong.