Janice Dowden

I actually did sell my house using their free MLS listing, but I don't know how to advise you about waiting or not. They haven't proven to be too reliable -- LOL. Something you might try if you decide to wait is to advertise on Craigslist.org in the meantime. Listings are free there, and you can post 4 pictures, too. Make sure you add a line that you are willing to work with a realtor, i.e. pay the 3% commission. Based on my experience, realtors cruise the site regularly. Best of luck to you! - Wed Jul 30 2008, 11:37

Iggy's web-site is indeed back up and active. I received an email notice from them, and went online and changed the status of my house to "Under Contract". Hopefully this is the end of this saga, at least for me. Of course, in this housing market, that depends on if we actually CLOSE on the house as planned! - Tue Jul 15 2008, 15:20

I received a copy of the email mentioned below. So, I guess they ARE still in business, or attempting to be, anyway. Good luck to them. They sure did let down a lot of people. - Fri Jul 4 2008, 18:21

Advice to those caught in the "Iggy trap". Contact your local MLS office. The Dallas MLS service was able to change the MLS status by attempting to contact Iggy's and waiting 48 hours for response (of course, they received none).
MY problem seems to be resolved. Look for a related article at REALTYTIMES.com on Monday. They might be interested in adding your details to the article if you want to contact them. - Thu Jul 3 2008, 10:50

This is the memo I received from Jean. I can't guarantee it's authenticity, but it sure sounds right. Best of luck.

From: Joseph Fox
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 7:38 PM
To: Joseph Fox
Subject: Important info
Dear Employees:
As a follow up to our conference call from Monday.
Iggys House has tried valiantly to complete a transaction to raise capital. But, as I stated
on the call we were unable to do so. The Company is shutting down.
The Company is simply out of money. Unfortunately, this means that:
1. The Company is unable to pay any back payroll or any future payroll.
2. The Company is unable to pay the premium for its group health insurance
policy for June 2008 or any later period.
3. The Company is unable to pay the premium for its group dental insurance
policy for July 2008 or any later period.
4. Here's the name and phone number at Plexus for anyone looking for individual health
coverage or for any 401(k) questions.
The Plexus Groupe Inc.
Terry White
PH: 847-307-6100
FX: 847-307-6199
5. You will not be able to get COBRA insurance through the Company, because the
Company is going out of business and will not be maintaining any group
insurance plans.
6. As I stated Monday, we are all unemployed at this point.
I thank you for all of your hard work and loyalty. Obviously, this was not the outcome
that any of us wanted.
Joe - Wed Jul 2 2008, 18:43

Jean, is there any way you could email me confidentially, and provide me with the former employee's name & phone number? I have actually sold my home the other day and have asked MLS to change the MLS listing to reflect it is under contract, but they keep wanting to clear it with Iggy's. If I could give MLS proof positive of Iggy's demise, it might make things easier here. Also, if YOUR house goes under contract later on, you will need to have your listing removed from MLS and it ain't easy, believe me.
My email: cmdowden@aol.com - Tue Jul 1 2008, 16:52

I have contacted the Metroplex Assoc of Realtors in Dallas, and they have someone working on it there. Iggy's is still listed as having a valid Texas broker's license. Will advise more if and when I find out more. - Tue Jul 1 2008, 15:45

Krishna, I have a house for sale in Burleson, TX. It is currently being remodeled. It got struck by lightning on March 31st!!! Anyway, it's a gorgeous 2,498 sq ft home on an acre of land with lots of trees. The inside will be just like new with wood floors, ceramic tile, hot tub, etc., all for $200K. You can't touch a new house like this for this price! Just get in touch with me if you would be interested -- if you buy soon, you could pick your own paint, tile, etc. - Sat Apr 19 2008, 03:08

Thank you for the information, Aaron. I even thank you, Gary, for your response because it was well thought out and an attempt to be helpful. As for JR - I think our good ol' "Dallas" always-ready-with-an-insult bad boy must have moved to New York City! And maybe, judging from the picture, he's even had a sex change. LOL. - Wed Feb 20 2008, 15:37

I beg your pardon, Kathy, I DID locate where the reservation of mineral interests is listed in the Farm & Ranch contract - 2F. Thanks. - Sun Feb 17 2008, 09:20

"IF it is over 10 acres, you should have used a farm/ranch contract. This particular form has the appropriate areas to address just this."
Kathy, I read the farm & ranch TREC contract, and I do not see anywhere mineral rights are mentioned(?) Am I missing something? - Sun Feb 17 2008, 09:18

Kathy, the house for sale has one acre. The standard TREC form is appropriate. And you're right, TEXAS is a whole 'nother country! LOL. - Sun Feb 17 2008, 09:08

To Gary in Pampa: I laughed a little in appreciation when I read your response, but please don't think realtors are the only ones who "don't get no respect", and are asked for free advice. I'm an accountant, and around tax time, I have all kinds of friends come out of the woodwork! Yes, we're all supposed to become tax experts every April, but as we all know, it ain't that easy.

Please accept my apologies if I've tromped on any toes here in this forum. I'm sure there are many good compitent knowledgable realtors around. It has just been my luck to not run into one personally. To be done right, I'm sure you can't just "dabble" in real estate. It's a profession like any other, with some good at it and some not so good. - Sun Feb 17 2008, 00:28

Yes to Naima, the previous owner transferred mineral rights. I'm not sure they even knew it! When we purchased the property, Barnett Shale was not active, and no one was concerned about mineral rights much, at least not in residential areas here in Texas (as you probably already know working in DFW). It was not mentioned specifically in the contract, either. What matters is the language of the Deed itself. I've worked in the oil & gas industry for most of my life, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't even know we owned the mineral rights until we were contacted by the party that leased those rights.

Unfortunately, we may lose our current sale because of this. Although I was upfront about this from the beginning of our negotiations, when they saw it in black and white, they want to "think about it" before signing the contract. I even gave them the addendum advising them to see a lawyer, but we'll see. It ain't over 'til it's over, thank goodness. I hate to jinx an offer in this lousy market, but, oh well, another will come along. Luckily, we don't HAVE to sell right now. That gives us a certain advantage, I guess.

I appreciate all the feedback. Maybe we'll ALL learn something! - Sun Feb 17 2008, 00:03

Another point, yes, the mineral rights we're discussing probably would pertain to the Barnett Shale play. The Pampa real estate agent is worng about shale not being able to produce without strip mining. It's being done as we speak all over Texas. There would be absolutely NO impact on the Buyer except possibly a little temporary noisy drilling a mile or so away from the address, not a major impediment in my opinion. - Sat Feb 16 2008, 20:20

I seemed to have stirred up some animosity from the realtor group! LOL. That certainly wasn't my intention. I'm sorry, but my experience with real estate agents AND attorneys is about the same ..... bad. I have sold three other houses without a realtor, and done well. My experience in buying two houses WITH a realtor made me question the whole group, but hopefully I just didn't choose well(?) And before you comment on that, yes, I'm aware the realtor represents the seller, but that wouldn't explain my experience. I'm sure there must be some compitent realtors out there, but haven't met one yet.

I did confirm that TREC has left all of us hanging out to dry where this matter is concerned. There should be a Yes/No place to check on the sales contract that would clarify this. Instead, TREC basically ignores the issue and provides no guidance whatsoever.

Another point, we have already leased the mineral rights to our little acre of ground. We could anticipate a return of around $6K per year for however long, too much to just unthinkingly give away.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply, but I am not convinced that a realtor could or would provide service worth $10K on my house. Everyone SAYS there is no price fixing in realtor fees, but just try and find less than 6%! I paid to have my house listed on MLS, of course, because the realtors have about got that market sewn up, and I would even pay 3% if a realtor brought me a qualified buyer, but to sign an "exclusive" 6% with a realtor, not a chance. - Sat Feb 16 2008, 20:09

We are currently in the process of selling our house in Burleson because the area IS booming! LOL. We are retired and have moved to the country. There are a lot of folks moving to the Burleson area because of the booming Fort Worth job market. Burleson is south of Fort Worth, and a quick 20 minute commute on 35W. If you work in Fort Worth, and want to purchase a home nearby, you run into the following: Homes in the city of FW are usually older with not very good schools; EAST of Fort Worth (mid-cities) is terribly congested and commuting is miserable; NORTH of FW is overpriced; WEST of FW - most homes are too far out. This leaves you with SOUTH of Fort Worth. Granted, the south part of Fort Worth itself is less than desirable, but Burleson is far enough out to be a very pleasant commuter town. It still retains the "small town" atmosphere, and you can buy a home on an acre or two for about the same price or even less than you would pay for a home on a small residential lot north or east of Fort Worth. What's not to like? - Mon Oct 29 2007, 11:31