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austin tx real estate: Can I Back Out of My Contract? Texas and the Termination Option Period - 05/31/12 12:44 PM
Can I back out of my contract? In the Texas Residential contracts, the answer is, "It Depends..."
Are you the Buyer or the Seller? The simple answer is that Buyers have ways out of the contract. Sellers do not have ways out of the contract.
Buyers have many ways they can terminate a residential real estate contract in Texas. I'll go over a few in a series of posts.
The Termination Option Period is very important. Many states have an instant "inspection period", but Texas does not. Don't get me wrong, in Texas, you can get inspections on any property whenever … (11 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Austin TX - #9 for Population Growth - 151 People a Day! - 05/30/12 12:51 PM
Are there really that many people moving to the Austin area? YES!!
Austin TX is currently ranked #9 for population growth. There are 151 new residents every single day. Not 151 people a week or a month, but a DAY!
Between July 2010 and July 2011, Austin TX added 55,272 people. Why? Many reasons, but Austin's unemployment hit below 5.5% last month, so I'll say the answer is J-O-B-S!
Austin also hits the top of many "Best of" Lists so that factors in as well.
To compare, Dallas gained 126,037 people during the same period of time, which is one person … (2 comments)
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austin tx real estate: When Do You Remove a Purchase Contingency? - 04/25/12 06:54 PM
I was visiting a real estate forum yesterday, and the questions asked are always an interesting bunch, especially when they come from uneducated real estate agents. There is this new agent who posed this question to an online forum instead of reaching out to his broker for the education. Bright RED flags are waving right there! The scenario: This agent has a buyer who has a contract on a property to purchase. This purchase is contingent upon the buyers' current house closing. The agent asked when he should remove the contingency as the listing agent told him he needed to. The … (23 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Austin TX Ranked #2 - Best Cities to Buy a Home Right Now - Forbes - 04/17/12 06:56 AM
Forbes has another new list and Austin TX is ranked #2 for The Best Cities to Buy a Home Right Now. It's so true! Our Austin Real Estate Market is really pumped up. In many areas, there are multiple offers on most homes, in all different price points. Just this month, I had a multiple offer on a house listed at $112,000 but also on $485,000. The one at $485k had 40 offers! I have one right now that is listed right below $250k and there are 9 offers. We have to submit the multiple offer addendum today to stay in … (7 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Sellers - Are You Prepared to Respond When You Receive a Real Estate Offer? - 04/12/12 11:47 AM
As a Realtor, when I go on a Listing Appointment with a potential home seller, I go over the entire selling process. I discuss the current market, how long properties have been staying on the market, how properties are priced, how properties are selling as a percentage to their asking price, how to show the house, what companies are relocating to the Austin TX area that would effect an influx of buyers to the market, etc... I try to cover everything I can possibly cover so my sellers are not blind-sided during the process.That also means that we talk about what … (20 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Can Consumers Trust Market Data Received in the Mail? - 04/11/12 09:03 AM
I really hate receiving real estate marketing flyers in the mail, especially when the data is wrong. They are usually not factual and the average consumer doesn't know that they shouldn't believe what they read.In yesterday's mail, I received a marketing piece from an agent that claimed he can "save my sellers and buyers thousands of dollars." He never actually says how he can save them money, but he then talks "facts" about the immediate area. He claims that in the "Lake Travis Southshore Area" that there are currently 552 active listings and 64 sold in February. He's trying to tell … (7 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Appraisers Need to Stay in Their Market Areas! - 03/07/12 11:00 AM
Austin is looking at changing their MLS program, and they've asked the membership for help in the decision. There are 3 programs we're looking at. I attended the meeting on Monday to go through the overview of the systems. The meeting was open to anyone who is a member. The gentleman in front of me was asking question after question about a system to share data in the different MLSs in the state, which was not what we were there to talk about. At one of the breaks, I find out that he's an appraiser. There's this program called Data Co-op … (12 comments)
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austin tx real estate: FHA Increases Their Up Front and Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premiums April 1 2012 - How Does it Effect You? - 03/01/12 05:04 PM
In today's real estate market, many buyers are opting for the FHA route for obtaining their mortgage. FHA loans are different from Conventional loans in many ways, mainly an FHA loan is a Government loan that only requires a 3.5% down payment and a Conventional loan isn't, and it requires a minimum of 5% down payment. Last year, the fees and Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) had a change in their calculations. This caused many home buyers to be priced out of the market with their payments going up considerably.As of April 1, 2012, FHA has yet again, changed their fees and … (53 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Kiss These 10 Once-Popular Home Features Goodbye - I disagree with the Market Watch List - 02/20/12 03:28 PM
I saw this article from Market Watch over the weekend, and I was just dumbfounded by it. In today's market, I don't see how something so market specific and so general could be published to say it's a national trend. This Market Watch article is called "Kiss These 10 Once-Popular Home Features Goodbye". I had to laugh when reading this list.
Outdoor Kitchens Outdoor Fireplaces Sunrooms 2-story Family rooms Media Rooms 2-story foyer Master Planned developments Luxury Master Bathrooms Formal Living Rooms Whirlpool Tubs If you're in the Austin TX market, or Dallas or Houston or San Antonio or other popular … (71 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Lake Pointe Gated and Custom Sections - Bee Cave Austin TX - Market Report 2010 vs 2011 - 01/13/12 03:41 PM
Did you know that Lake Pointe in Bee Cave has a Gated section as well as a Custom Home Section? It does, I have just never included those areas in my market reports in the past! If you drive down Resaca, the main street in Lake Pointe, it dead-ends right into the Gated Section called The Pointe. Right immediately before the gates, on the left, is a Custom section where there are actually still lots available to build whatever house you want to build. Those houses are a different breed of house in a different price point, so I did not … (2 comments)
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austin tx real estate: PT50 Finalist Donna Harris Releases the Austin Rocks Video - Texas Surpasses All other States with Job and Economic Growth - 01/12/12 09:01 PM
The "Austin Rocks" video is now available for viewing. This is also a "Texas Rocks" video as it starts off by showing all the great things about Texas and how Texas has surpassed the rest of the Country with job and economic growth.
If you're a fan of Texas, please reblog or "share" this video with all your social media outlets to get the word out.
**Are You Packed Yet?**
Donna Harris, REALTOR®RE/MAX Austin Skylinewww.DonnaHomes.comDonna@DonnaHomes.comaustin-texas-homes-for-sale.com
Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in … (6 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Lake Pointe - Bee Cave Austin TX - Market Report 2010 vs 2011 - 01/06/12 04:47 PM
Lake Pointe in Bee Cave Austin TX has some great year-end sales for 2011. People always ask if the real estate market is getting "better". What does "better" mean? It's very subjective... I decided to pull up sales data in Lake Pointe for all of 2010 to compare it to all the sales data for 2011. For full disclosure, the charts and data below do NOT include the custom section in the back nor the gated section of Lake Pointe. Here is the data for the Days on the Market:
The big blue sections in both charts show … (4 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Austin TX Makes National News on Fox Business - 12/21/11 04:26 PM
Austin TX real estate makes National news on Fox Business. They didn't just talk about Austin for 30 seconds and then move on. They actually talked about Austin for a good couple of minutes and gave some great information.
Highlights:
Texas is sucking people in from all over the country One of the best run cities in one of the best run states Tight government Unemployment is low Cost of Living is low Music scene is hot **Are You Packed Yet?**
Donna Harris, REALTOR®RE/MAX Austin Skylinewww.DonnaHomes.comDonna@DonnaHomes.comaustin-texas-homes-for-sale.com
Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West … (8 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Spillman Ranch - Falconhead - Bee Cave Austin TX- Market Report - 12/20/11 10:17 AM
The community of Spillman Ranch, more commonly known as Falconhead, has shown some fairly good sales this year. The community is almost completed with just a couple of inventory homes from one builder left. Look at the sales data from about September through November of 2010 vs 2011.
In 2010, homes were selling, for the most part, in under 60 days. After that, there was a gap in sales and homes stayed on the market over 120 days and selling less of their asking price. Compared to the same period in 2011, priced well and showing well, properties sold … (0 comments)
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austin tx real estate: ActiveRain Meetup in Austin - 12/15/11 03:20 PM
We had an ActiveRain Meetup in Austin today. It was/is a very drury, raining day, so I'm sure that kept many people away.
We had 5 people there, and one on the phone in spirit as he wrong a contract for a client.
We caught up on some local real estate office gossip and compared notes on who everyone knows... I actually like smaller groups so there is only one conversation going on at a time instead of having to pick and choose which conversation to be a part of.
Thanks for coming Dorie, Gwynn, Lainie, and Russell!
**Are You … (9 comments)
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austin tx real estate: The Buyer that Got Away - 12/14/11 11:33 AM
I have been a REALTOR® for more than 11 years now. If I told you that I sold a house to every buyer I worked with, I would be lying. There are many reasons why a buyer doesn't end up buying with me, and the biggest reason is that some buyers just like to rent. They like to know if something goes wrong, they can call the landlord or management company and have it taken care of. We call those people, "the eternal renter". There have been a handful that went another direction for other reasons, like personality conflicts. If someone … (15 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Austin TX Ranks #8 for Best Business Communities by MarketWatch - 12/13/11 01:59 PM
Austin TX hits another top 10 list. This one is ranking #8 for Best Business Communities according to MarketWatch. Here is the criteria used:
1. Per-capital sales volume, based on revenue of S&P 500 companies in a metro area, divided by the population.2. Per-capita sales for Fortune 500 companies in the area.3. Per-capita sales for Forbes Private Companies in the area.4. Number of Russell 2000 companies per capita in a metro area. (For those cities with no S&P, Fortune 500, Forbes or Russell companies, the largest metro area with a zero total in those categories finishes last.)5. Census Bureau data from … (4 comments)
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austin tx real estate: When Do You Meet Your Buyers - At the Closing Table - 11/14/11 04:53 PM
When do you normally meet your buyers for the first time? Is it (A) at a pre-qualification interview when you want to know what they're looking for and their time frame? Is it (B) after they've spoken with a mortgage person to get pre-approved? Is it (C) at the closing table?
A couple of weeks ago, I met my buyers for the very first time at the closing table! No, they were not out of town buyers, as I've worked with those kinds of buyers before and buying a house without seeing it is not a strange situation. This particular situation … (50 comments)
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austin tx real estate: Austin TX Ranks 5th - Best Place for Young Adult Relocation - 11/08/11 03:16 PM
Where are today's Young Adults, aged 25-34, moving to? Austin TX is ranked 5th! Personally, I think they would be ranked higher if they included the ones who moved here first for college and then stayed here, but alas, that wasn't the criteria used. Brookings Institution studies where young adults are moving. They say that prior to the current recession, from 2005-2007, people were moving to places like Phoenix, Arizona and Riverside, CA. Since the Recession, from 2008-2010, young adults are picking different cities, and what they termed "cool cities".
Austin TX isn't just a "cool city", but we have … (9 comments)
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austin tx real estate: House Sizes Are Not Bigger in Texas... Ranked 5th in Size - 11/01/11 08:36 PM
Not everything is bigger in Texas... Inman News published a story this morning with the top ten states with the largest houses, and Texas was only Fifth on the list! That means there are 4 other states that feel it's better to be bigger.Just a reminder that these are "Median" numbers and not "Average" numbers, so they do skew information a little. For Texas, it says the Median size home is 2031 sqft while the Median for all of the U.S. is a mere 1761 sqft. Personally, I feel that the U.S. number is skewed in the fact that places with … (13 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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