Not Your Average Agent
What Makes Tom Different
He Operates on Christian Values
He Has 3 Times the Average Experience
He Prevents Unwanted Surprises
He Wrote the Book(s) on Real Estate
About Tom Jensen
Unparalleled experience
With over 35 years of experience in practicing real estate brokerage, Tom Jensen stands well positioned to serve your real estate needs. It costs you no more to Hire Experience© Tom has assembled a team of real estate practitioners that will turn your real estate challenges into choices. This team includes attorneys, appraisers, escrow officers, title companies, handymen, inspectors, lenders, loan officers, and investors to name a few. Over 100 years real estate experience is available to you. Together we can solve your real estate challenges
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As an Agent ..
Tom has gained valuable experience from working with a number of companies over 38 years and 2 different states. He builds on knowledge gained from RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21. He has been responsible for orchestrating over 500 transactions, and has managed scores of properties for his clients.
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As a Broker ...
Tom serves as Chairman of the Lewisville Zoning Board of Adjustment, and has served as Director of both the MetroTex Association of REALTORS® and the Greater Lewisville Association of REALTORS®. His expertise has also been sought after by the likes of Century 21, where he once served as Franchise Sales Director. Tom is the founder and Broker of Record for SunWest, REALTORS.
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As a Teacher ...
Tom has been the "realtor to realtors," having taught over 10,000 thousand hours to those entering the industry through through Nanci Hawes Real Estate School and Allied Real Estate School. He has been an approved Mandatory Continuing Real Estate Education Instructor for the Texas Real Estate Commission since 1990 and an approved Core Real Estate Education Instructor for the Texas Real Estate Commission since 1986.
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As an Author ...
Tom Has authored and co-authored more than 30 real estate courses, including but not limited to Real Estate Brokerage for Allied Real Estate School in Laguna Hills, CA, Financing Strategies for Changing Real Estate Markets, a 6 hour MCE (Mandatory Continuing Education) course, 2007 Texas Exam Cram & Video, a 12-hour film series and accompanying study guide and practice test, Law of Agency, published by March Press, and A Practical Guide to Texas Earnest Money Contracts, published by Sterling Press.
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YOUR Advocate
Helping you navigate all the appraisals, negotiations, contracts, and legalities ... every step of the way
Tom Jensen, REALTOR
Testimonials
Texas Real Estate Talk
Tom's thoughts on properties, purchases, people, & pretty much whatever peaks his interest ...
Death, Debt & Divorce
Death, debt and divorce—one of which is inevitable, the other two having great probability in our lives. I have learned during my 35 years in the real estate business that these are three of the most important issues that must be addressed when folks are buying or especially selling real estate. All three need to be planned for[…]
The 5 Documents You Must Have Before You Die
In the last three years, I have been involved in situations in which a seller of property was physically and/or mentally incapacitated, a spouse or other co-owner had passed away or a person had to make life and death decisions for a loved one. In the majority of cases, provisions had not been made in[…]
Duck and Run
I was reading an article in the Stratfor Global Intelligence column (highly recommended and free) yesterday about the FBI apprehending an aspiring jihadist in Chicago earlier this month. That got me thinking about disaster preparedness and how most of us are not ready for any kind of disaster. When or if disaster strikes, we may[…]
Saint in a Box
AOL Real Estate had an interesting article this week on “saint in a box.” It talked about using divine intervention to sell your home. (Hey, I’ll take all the help I can get!) Years ago I was in one of the MetroTex Service Centers and ran across figurines of St. Joseph for sale alongside the[…]
New Light Bulbs Cause You to Live Longer
What is the deal with light bulbs? A friend of mine was sent to the store the other day to buy light bulbs. As he perused the aisles, he was confronted with bulbs costing upwards to $89.00 a piece! Being the typical husband, he immediately knew when he was outclassed and relinquished the light bulb[…]
Memorial Day 2012
I spent part of my high school years in Wabasha, MN, home of Grumpy Old Men. (Now I am almost one!) Back then, there was no question about school days. You started after Labor Day and finished before Memorial Day (May 30). I played in the band and we were coerced to come back after[…]
1st Quarter Sales Report for Area 41 – Southeast Denton County
In previous issues, we talked about Area 41. If you remember, Southeast Denton County, in REALTOR® vernacular, is called Area 41. Years and years ago, BC (that’s Before Computers), area REALTORS® organized the various real estate markets in the MetroPlex. In doing so, Southeast Denton County became Area 41. (See the map below.) Roughly the boundaries are 35W on the[…]
10 Easy Spring Cleaning Hints & Updates
Ten easy spring cleaning hints and upgrades—that’s today’s topic. We are almost halfway through the spring season; summer begins June 20. Going by the daily temperatures, I always think that summer begins in May in Texas. (I’m from Minnesota originally.) Using these ten ideas, not much money and just a bit of elbow grease, you[…]
One of the Reasons I Love America
It’s Monday, already April 16, can you believe it, only 252 days until Christmas (I have an app for the number of days ‘til Christmas on my iPhone, so cool.) But that’s not the topic today. I was listening to my internet radio last week and found out that Grackle Days was happening in Winthrop,[…]
Free Pancakes !!
Who said TANSTAAFL? (There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch) You just have to know how to work the system A recent article I read got me to thinking about “hidden discounts.” They are kind of like the off the menu things you can order at Starbucks® or at IN-N-OUT Burgers. If you[…]
Does Your Etch a Sketch Need Shaking?
I suppose I got my first (and only) Etch a Sketch in 1960-61 just after they came on the market. I think that it was the forerunner of the iPad. Of course, the 12 year olds of today would probably disagree with me on that. As far as parents were concerned, it was a wonderful[…]
Metes & Bounds while Smoking!
“Go in a westerly direction for the amount of time it takes to smoke two cigarettes while riding a medium-gated horse.” Thus was an early Texan land description that we know today as “metes and bounds.” (measurements and boundaries) The idea behind metes and bounds is to use physical landmarks to identify the extent of[…]
How to Save Money on Property Taxes
Property taxes in Texas are due on October 1 and late after January 31st of the following year. Why should we be talking about them now you ask? Because very soon, in the next few weeks, you will receive a notice from the Central Appraisal District (CAD) of the Texas county in which your property[…]
Texas Property Taxes Demystified
Property appraisals are soon in the mail so… In many states property taxes are paid in arrears—you pay 2011 taxes in 2012. Not so in Texas. Here’s the timeline. January 1 – Your property is appraised as of January 1st. In order for a home to claim the homestead exemption, the owner must reside in[…]
While You Were Sleeping Your Credit Score Dropped!
I have a couple of clients that have credit score problems not of their own making. Seems that their credit card companies decided that they were no longer worthy of a $10,000 line of credit on their card even though they had never been late on a payment nor missed one. So their credit card company just[…]
The Best Economic Indicators
I had a client the other night ask me when I thought home prices would recover. I follow a lot of indices so I thought I’d share some of those with you. The Hemline Index suggests that as hemlines go up, the stock market goes up. The idea being that rising hemlines suggest a certain euphoric atmosphere exists[…]
Should You Refinance?
With the drop in interest rates, many people are again considering refinancing their mortgages. When this thought arises, the next question is always does it make economic sense to “refi” as we say in the industry. 30-year fixed rates this week are in the high 3’s (percents) and 15-year fixed are in the mid 3’s (percents).[…]
Real Estate: Here and There
Just some interesting factoids about real estate this week. Average House Sizes and Occupancy – USA Year Avg. Home Size Sq. Ft. Avg. Household Size-Persons 1950 983 3.37 1960 1,200 3.33 1970 1,400 3.14 2001 1,693 2.58 2006 2,394 2.60 2011 2,135 2.58 For years the average square footage went up while the number of[…]