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austin tx homes: School Traffic is Horrible and Ruins the Entire Morning - 08/24/09 09:06 AM
Today is the first day back to school for the Austin area, including my district of Lake Travis ISD. My daughter's daycare is about 5 miles away. Not very far, right? It took me 48 minutes to get there and back this morning!
Why?
It took me 3 rounds of the light just to get out of my neighborhood. Then, it's fairly smooth sailing to the daycare because all the hundreds of cars are in the left turn lane to get into the schools. The Lake Travis Middle School, Lake Travis High School, AND the Lake Travis ISD Administration building are all right … (11 comments)
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austin tx homes: Real Estate - Buying a House - Austin TX- The Simple Steps to Follow- Part 2 - 08/15/09 03:03 PM
When buying a house in Austin TX, there are several steps to follow, but if broken down, it's much less intimidating. What else helps? Doing the steps in a particular order.
For example, Part 1 of this series talked about getting Pre-Approved for a mortgage.
The second step is Looking for Homes.
Many people think REALTORS® are tour guides and just drive buyers around to look at houses. This is so far from the truth. You, the buyer, need to learn the areas and decide where you want to live, and a Realtor can't do that for you.
Many buyers aren't … (5 comments)
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austin tx homes: What's the View Outside Your Window? - 07/10/09 01:00 PM
Do you have an office with a window? If so, what's your view?
And do you find yourself wasting time looking at your view? Or do you not pay much attention to it?
Here is my view right outside my office window left to right...
It's a vacant lot with a bunch of dead trees next to a house being built. I thought it would be really annoying trying to work with all the building going on around me, but I've actually found it to not bother me at all. They work "quietly" and I hardly know … (9 comments)
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austin tx homes: Kendra Todd is coming to Austin's DoubleTree Hotel June 26 - 06/23/09 02:02 PM
Kendra Tood is coming to Austin, TX on June 26.
Who is Kendra Todd? Kendra was the first woman to win The Apprentice with Donald Trump. Kendra is the host of My House is Worth What? Kendra was a top 30 under 30 winner a couple of years ago...
Kendra has a lot of real estate know-how, and she's coming to Austin with Real Estate Star Power!
On Friday, June 26 from 6-8pm at the DoubleTree Hotel, Austin Board of REALTORS® members have the exclusive opportunity to attend this free meet 'n greet!
On Saturday, there is a consumer-oriented event that … (11 comments)
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austin tx homes: Austin TX - Top 10 Awards Summary - 06/20/09 09:04 AM
In the past year, Austin TX has been on 10 Top Ten awards lists for various things.
If you're thinking about moving here, here are a few things to look into.
July 2008- CNNMoney.com - TOP 10 BEST PLACES TO LIVE- Ranked #7 July 2008- Forbes.com- BEST CITIES FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS- Ranked #10 July 2008- Inc.com- BEST CITIES TO DO BUSINESS- Ranked #2 June 2008- Kiplinger.com- TOP 10 BEST CITIES TO LIVE, WORK, PLAY- Ranked #6 February 2008- Popular Science- TOP GREENEST CITIES- Ranked #10 March 2009- Forbes.com- 10 CITIES WHERE AMERICANS ARE RELOCATING- Ranked #2 February 2009- moviemaker.com- TOP 25 … (2 comments)
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austin tx homes: Why Are So Many Homes Vacant & is it Good or Bad? - 05/21/09 03:15 PM
I was at the Women's Council of REALTORS® luncheon today, and I heard a very interesting statistic from the guest speaker. He said that, on average, 45% of the 11,505 listings currently on the market in Austin, TX are vacant.
Why are they vacant?
Two months ago, this number was 52%.
For the most part, "people" are saying they can't afford to buy a new home without selling their current home first, but is that actuality? Are people really waiting to sell their current homes before buying? If they are, why are there so many homes vacant?
Then, the question was how … (18 comments)
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austin tx homes: Woulda Coulda Shoulda Can Drive you Nuts! - 05/19/09 02:48 PM
Don't we all ask about the Woulda Coulda Shoulda every once in a while?
If I woulda taken this short cut, I coulda saved a couple of minutes...
If I coulda met with the buyer on this day instead of that day, they shoulda gotten an offer accepted...
If I coulda talked with this person, I woulda saved a lot of time and energy...
If I woulda locked in my rate on this day, I coulda saved so much over the life of the loan...
Every situation has a Woulda Coulda Shoulda, but you can't live your life always thinking back.
… (17 comments)
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austin tx homes: Why Should I Put Gutters on My Home? - 05/16/09 01:13 PM
Many people ask me why they should put gutters on their home. In the Dallas area, it's easy. The answer is because of the expansive, clay soils and the gutters help maintain a more equal balance of water distribution around the foundation.
In Austin, the answer is a little more complicated as most foundations are sitting on rock and not clay soil. However, you still need to have a consistant amount of moisture around the foundation to make sure the house is breathing and moving properly.
So, the easy answer to why you need gutters is because you don't want this … (15 comments)
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austin tx homes: Austin TX on the Top of Forbes' America's Best Bargain Cities - 05/15/09 02:17 PM
Released a couple of days ago, Austin TX tops Forbes.com's list of America's Best Bargain Cities. All 5 of Texas' largest cities made the top 10, Dallas, Houston, Ft Worth, and San Antonio.
Not a single Texas city made the most overpriced list.
Whhy did Austin TX top this list? Several reasons. The main one is that Austin has the lowest unemployment rate in the entire country at only 5.5%.
Not only is Austin the Capital, but it's also steered by the Technology industry and the University of Texas.
When I talk with people about the market in Austin, the biggest … (3 comments)
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austin tx homes: Falconhead West, Bee Cave TX, Drees Homes - 05/12/09 12:44 PM
I previously blogged about this fabulous new community in Bee Cave, TX called Falconhead West.
There are three different builders in the community, and I'll eventually get to talking about all of them. I already told you about Ryland Homes.
Now, here's what Drees Homes has to offer.
Drees Homes is a very high-end builder and the quality of their homes is no different in Falconhead West. Look at the kitchen in this house! If you like to entertain, you're going to love this island kitchen!
During the past 2 weekends, with the Falconhead West "Spring … (10 comments)
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austin tx homes: Falconhead West, Bee Cave TX, Ryland Homes - 05/08/09 02:32 PM
I previously blogged about this fabulous new community in Bee Cave, TX called Falconhead West.
There are three different builders in the community, and I'll eventually get to talking about all of them. I'm going to start with Ryland Homes.
Ryland is building all over the community and even has an exclusive section. Falconhead West is split into the 60's section, 70's and the 80's. Each section is unique. For example, the 80's section are larger homes, because the lots are 80 feet wide, and they HAVE to have a tile or slate roof. They are not allowed to have … (2 comments)
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austin tx homes: Falconhead West, Bee Cave's Newest Community - 05/08/09 01:22 PM
Bee Cave, TX was a place of 656 people at the last census. I'm sure when the census is done next year that there will be well over 1000.
Bee Cave is a great place in the South West area of Austin. It's directly West of Downtown Austin, and it's just South of Lakeway. Bee Cave is easiest described as being located at the intersection of 620 and 71 at the new Galleria.
Many people in Austin have no clue where Bee Cave is located, but if they've ever gone out to the Pedernales River, they've driven right through it as … (7 comments)
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austin tx homes: Are you Tracking your Website Stats? - 05/05/09 07:57 AM
I've heard from many people that their business is picking up and more people are getting off the fence. But, do you know by how much it's picked up over last month?
To seem busy doesn't mean you're busier than you were. Maybe you were busy, but it could have been a different type of busy. Some clients need their hands help more than others.
When you track your stats, you have concrete evidence that you're busy and that things are picking up in your market. And just because you get more leads doesn't mean your "busier" if your stats stay … (10 comments)
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austin tx homes: Can Being Asked Questions Turn You Off? - 05/01/09 02:05 PM
I received a new buyer from my website a couple of days ago. I saw she was searching for listings within my site and emailed her asking if I could help in any way.
She sends me an email that was very broad and just begged for further questions to be asked. Her email was, "I am looking for sandy loam property very close to the ABIA. Acreage of 12 or more. Doesn't have to have a house on it, but would be nice if it is 4 bedrooms or more."
With the above, I turned around and asked questions like, "What is … (15 comments)
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austin tx homes: Do We Take the Conveniences of Life for Granted? - 04/28/09 08:47 PM
I never thought having things being convenient could be taken for granted until now.
What am I used to? From my old house, I had 3 different WalMarts and Sams within 4 miles of my house, all in different directions.
Which way do I want to go today? To help with that decision, know that I also had 4 Home Depots and 2 Lowes in the different directions within 2-5 miles.
Where else might I want to go? There were 5 grocery stores within 2 miles, Super Target had 3 locations, all within 4 miles from my house. Do I want to … (16 comments)
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austin tx homes: Look for the Details and Demand Perfection - 04/17/09 01:14 PM
Many of you know that I'm building a new house. No, I have not closed on this house yet... we're only 3 months behind!
Here is a picture of the front of the house last week.
Here is a picture of the front of the house yesterday.
What? You can't see the difference? Is it only me?? Am I being too picky? Now, take another look.
Here is the front of the house from last week. Look at the middle. Do the bricks line up? Look at the nice, straight, red lines I drew. Do you see that … (19 comments)
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austin tx homes: Builder's Incentives Tied to Mortgage Companies No Longer... if passed - 04/12/09 02:03 PM
In my 9 years of real estate, I have helped clients buy their fair share of new construction homes. I'm with them through the entire process, no matter where we start in the construction phase.
Some buyers build from the ground up, and I'm there to help them pick the perfect lot. Things to think about is to help your buyers realize why no one has bought "that" lot over there, and why "that" one has a huge discount on it... I help them realize which lots within the community will have the better resale value.
Then, you have some buyers … (13 comments)
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austin tx homes: What are Triggers to Home Buying? - 04/10/09 09:56 PM
Earlier this week, I wrote a blog about Triggers called Why Does a First Time Home Owner Buy a House. I've had many comments about this blog and I just wanted to touch on a few points.
I want to make sure people understand what a "Trigger" is. A trigger is something that helps create an action. A trigger is not necessarily a benefit of doing something.
For example, a few people commented to me about the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Credit and also mentioned about the tax breaks. Those are benefits of buying a home, but those aren't triggers to buying a … (12 comments)
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austin tx homes: Why Does a First Time Home Owner Buy a House? - 04/07/09 01:16 PM
What makes that first time home owner finally take the leap to buy a house? Is it the responsibility of the maintenance? Is it wanting to plant their own flowers in their own garden? Is it because they want to buy a lawn mower and sweat in the heat of mowing every weekend?
There are many reasons why someone takes that leap, and below is a list of some common triggers that I often hear that helps them make their important decision.
Writing the rent check month after month- Instead of paying your own mortgage, you realize you're paying someone else's mortgage in … (20 comments)
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austin tx homes: Austin, TX Home Ownership is Lower than the Rest of the State of Texas - 03/09/09 01:57 PM
Here are some crazy stats for you. Did you know that Austin, TX is way behind the entire State of Texas in Home Ownership?
I figured that since Austin was considered the "richest" city in the state, according to Tierra Grande January 2009, with a median household income of $77,939, that the owner occupancy rate would be through the roof, especially with all the affordable housing in the area.
This chart shocks me. Granted, Austin could be considered a "College Town", however, those same college students are considered in the median household income numbers. You can't have it one … (10 comments)
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Donna Harris, REALTOR®, CDPE & ASP - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes
Austin,
TX
More about me…
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
Address: 4611 Bee Caves Rd #200, Austin, TX, 78746
Office Phone: (512) 592-7127
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