Elena Garrett - PropShop1

09/03/2026

08/30/2026

Confessions of a Photography Karen 📸😂

I recently discovered that I may have landed on at least one photographer’s unofficial “please don’t send me to Elena” list.

And you know what? If I were a photographer with six more houses lined up that day, I probably wouldn’t want to work with me either. 😂

Because at the beginning of every listing photo shoot, I explain my three rules:
Rule #1: At least ONE photo needs to be Southern Living magazine worthy. I want one picture that makes somebody stop scrolling and think, Wait. What house is THAT?

Rule #2: Every room needs to look at least a little bigger in the photograph than it did in the photographer’s first shot. There is almost always a better angle. Sometimes three feet to the left completely changes the room.

Rule #3: Fewer, better photos. I do not care if I paid for 25 photos and you only give me 14. I would much rather have 14 excellent photographs than 25 mediocre ones just because somebody feels obligated to fill the quota.

And this is where I apparently become Photography Karen.
“Can we try it from over there?”
“Can we move back 2 inches?”
“Can we try the other corner?”
“One more?”
😬

At one house, the best room in the entire property became something of a hostage situation.
We photographed it from roughly nine different angles.
I deleted seven.

The photographer was getting progressively less enthusiastic about our artistic collaboration. 😂 But it was the best room in the house, and I knew there was a photograph hiding in there that actually showed people why that room was special.
Eventually, we found it.
My sellers were thrilled.
The photographer... perhaps somewhat less so.
And I really can't blame him. He has his job to do, and I have mine.

I actually hate being difficult. I don't particularly enjoy being the Photography Karen who asks somebody to redo work they've already done.
But the sellers hired me to solve one very specific problem:
Make buyers want their house.
And I'm a pretty simple individual.
I see a problem.
I try to solve the problem.
Occasionally, this pi**es off a few people in the process. 😂

But if we're standing in the best room in your house and the photograph makes it look

08/28/2026

Home inspections can take 3–4 hours… and that’s a LONG time when you’re a dog. 🐶❤️

My sellers have several dogs, including a couple of seniors, and kenneling them or leaving them outside for hours would have been stressful.

So today, part of my job is officially dog babysitter. 😂

We’re hanging out inside, staying cool, calm, and comfortable while the inspection gets done.

So far, everybody is much happier. 🐾

Sometimes taking care of a home sale also means taking care of the family members who live there. ❤️

❤️

08/27/2026

Why should I pay for the 2nd inspection on a new construction home? I m already paying for one!

08/20/2026

The Facebook Contractor Trade-Off: Saving Money Without Losing Control

Hiring contractors through Facebook can save homeowners a significant amount of money, especially when we're trying to get a house ready to sell on a tight repair budget.
But lower cost usually means more management.
I go into these jobs assuming something may go sideways. I want pictures before final payment, I want to see the finished work, and I want enough control left to fix a problem if the contractor says, “I'm done,” and the house clearly says otherwise.
To me, it's a little like buying the cheapest seat on an airplane. You can't buy the bargain ticket and then be furious that it doesn't feel like first class.
Save the money—but understand the trade-off, protect your leverage, and make sure you still land the plane.
Part 3 of 3: Hiring Contractors From Facebook

08/18/2026

When a Facebook Contractor Job Turns Into a Standoff - HIRING CONTRACTORS FROM FACEBOOK PART 2 OF 3

Hiring Contractors From Facebook — Lesson 2 of 3

A homeowner was getting her house ready to sell, and we hired a repair guy through a local Facebook construction group to replace part of a damaged ceiling.

Simple job. Or at least it was supposed to be.

He finished the work, told her it looked perfectly normal, and wanted his final payment. She looked at the ceiling and knew something wasn't right—but she was so uncomfortable confronting him that she called me from another room and started whispering because he was standing in the hallway.

That's when I got involved.

What followed was a fairly heated argument over whether the job was actually finished, an accusation that I was trying to scam him, more money sent for supplies…and then the contractor left.

And didn't come back.

One hour. Two hours. Three hours. Eventually four and a half hours.

This is Part 2 of my little three-part experiment in what hiring contractors from Facebook can actually look like.

And yes…there is still a contractor, a ceiling and some money unaccounted for when this video ends. 😂

08/16/2026

2 HOUSES TO SELL. 2 FAMILIES TO MOVE INTO 1 HOUSE

I met someone at an open house today who is trying to do something that sounds simple at first: combine her household and her aging parents’ household into one multigenerational new-construction home.

But there are two houses standing between them and that new home.

Her parents own their house in Garland outright, but it needs some repairs and updating before it would normally be sold. Their mobility is becoming limited, they have frequent doctor appointments, and they really do not want buyers walking through the house while they are still living there. She actually started our conversation by asking whether I knew anyone who might buy an unupdated house in Garland.

Then she asked about getting a HELOC on the paid-off house to make the repairs before selling. At the same time, she owns a home in Benbrook that she purchased fairly recently, and that house also has to fit into the plan.

So now the question is no longer simply, “How do we sell two houses?” It becomes: Do we repair the parents’ house first or sell it as-is? Do we need a HELOC? Do the parents move before we show the house? When does the Benbrook house go up for sale? And at what point can the family safely commit to the new-construction home?

This is exactly why buying while selling can get complicated very quickly. Sometimes the most important thing is not deciding WHAT to do first. It is sitting down and figuring out the ORDER in which everything needs to happen.

I’ve been having several versions of this conversation lately, so I created a Buying While Selling Workbook to help people put all of the moving pieces on paper before making decisions.

If you’re trying to buy your next home while you still have another house to sell — or you’re trying to combine households with aging parents — message me and I’ll send you the workbook.

08/16/2026

Just came homes from a long day of open houses. Hubby said Bear boy was quiet whole day. He comes out of the kennel and start throwing cardboard boxes around like a possessed animal. Poor bored thing. I wish I had more time rlto socialize him

08/14/2026

One of my relocation clients is investing Flower Mound, so i m looking deeper into that sub-market.
Flower Mound zip codes 75022 vs 75028?
Why they have a different appeal? I m investigating.

#75022 #75028