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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 18 - 03/09/09 10:16 AM
If you're been following along with the previous 17 parts of this series, you'll know things haven't been going very well with the building process of my new home. Well, it looks as though things, they are a changing...
Yes, the wrong cabinets are in the house and yes, the windows were reordered 5 times and yes, the entire front elevation of the house was wrong and yes, the exterior material we chose to use was not allowed by the HOA...
Despite all these obsticales, we're moving forward. We met with the "new" builder on Friday morning, and I think we'll … (9 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 17 - 02/25/09 10:20 AM
Man, I want to scream!! My husband is in Austin right now to check on the house... the workers were there late last night, but you've gotta wonder why. Look at this picture.
First, the cabinets are wrong. That tiny tiny drawer, underneath the opening for the oven, is supposed to be a full-sized drawer. This was confirmed a few weeks ago when we saw the tiny drawer in another house. We were told that we were getting a full-sized drawer and not to worry. What got put in the house? And now that tile is in, it's going to … (19 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 16 - 02/14/09 12:35 PM
I was in Austin, TX for a couple of days this past week. Much progress on the house, yeah!
The biggest change is the exterior look of the house. To jog your memory, here is what the messed up version looked like. They gave us a squared opening, and the front top is flat, in one dimension.
And now, here's most of the corrected version. It's not a great shot as there were trucks and dumpsters in the way, but it definitely shows you the new roof line that was added along … (25 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 15 - 01/24/09 01:52 PM
Here are some of the latest pictures taken of our house. As you can see, the scaffolding has been put back up in the front to get ready to tear down the elevation and redo it. I can't wait for it to look correct!
We also have the new delivery of the rest of the brick so they can finish the back of the house and also redo the front porch area.
We also have our insulation throughout the house. We upgraded to insulate the entire garage since Mike uses it as a workshop year 'round too, … (9 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 14 - 01/22/09 01:26 PM
And the saga continues... it's pretty obvious we're not closing in January, which was our original close date. We're also not going to close early February which was our second date. We're now looking at end of March, possibly April.
My husband was in Austin last week looking at the house. He was so enraged about the "white" mortar that we paid to upgrade, that I went down last Friday to see for myself so we could figure out what to do. This is what they call "white" in Austin.
Does that look like white to you?
Below, is "white" in Dallas … (9 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 13 - 01/04/09 04:21 PM
I'm going to just vent for a minute, because I don't think I've done enough of that.
Look at these pictures:
Do I even have to explain what's wrong here? I want to scream. We sent my in-laws over to the house today because we had not heard from our new builder since we met with him over a week ago. We were afraid nothing was getting changed, and of course, we were right.
However, they did start to stucco and brick the house. What that did was make two HUGE mistakes scream out at me. Look at that squared … (20 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 12 - 01/04/09 12:36 PM
As many people know, I'm in the process of moving to Austin. Before that can happen, we need to sell our current house. To prepare for selling, we did many things around the house to get it in top showing condition. It looks very nice, if I do say so myself.
One of the things we decided to do was spread down some Rye seed as Rye likes to grow in the Winter. This will make for a green lawn and will have better appeal to people instead of the dingy looking yellowish brown, dead looking lawn as bermuda grass goes … (13 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 11 - 12/30/08 09:31 AM
We were in Austin again last week for the Holidays, but to also meet with our "new" builder so we can make sure everyone is on the same page. This is getting more and more frustrating by the minute.
Some of the previous framing issues have been resolved, but not all. The back door is now correct. We found out that the back of the house will now be stucco instead of siding. That's an upgrade we didn't pay for. Not that I like stucco, but apparently it's the "in" thing in Austin.
The shower heads hit my husband in the chest. … (6 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 10 - 12/13/08 03:44 PM
I woke up this morning to an email from my builder. He gave us an update of some unresolved issues like medicine cabinets, electrical outlets, and an arched wall...
He then ended the email with a statement to contact our sales rep because he was a victim of the most recent layoffs on Friday. What? This is horrible!
I just "trained" this guy to call with any and all issues and to keep us updated with everything, big and small.
Now, I have to start all over with a new builder... and I'll have to explain all the changes we've made … (14 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 9 - 12/11/08 08:52 AM
Man, I'm beginning to understand what sellers go through to get their houses on the market. 4 years ago, I sold my previous house. It was easy to get ready as there was only me living there. I could just pack up what I wanted and get it stored.
This time around, we're going to be moved by corporate relocation, so I can't pack everything I want to put up as they have to pack it for insurance reasons. I'm having problems finding places tucked away for everything. I packed basic stuff like books and folders since those can't break, … (12 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 8 - 12/04/08 08:48 AM
I was back in Austin for a couple of days this week. I'm so glad we went because there were SOOO many mistakes at the house. It's frustrating because it's hard to "babysit" these guys from Dallas. We have family in the area, but they don't know what things are supposed to look like.
Here are some examples:
These windows are supposed to be 24" across. See, they took out the "normal" window above the cooktop for some stupid reason, and decided to put a ventahood these instead. I demanded windows in the kitchen so it wouldn't be so … (14 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 7 - 11/30/08 11:46 AM
The house is coming along nicely. We're going to be in Austin Tuesday and Wednesday for some first-hand looks at the progress, but here are some pictures my in-laws took this week. As you can see, the plumbing is in and the duct work for the AC is in. The brick and the bathtubs have been delivered as well.
Look at the view! We have already talked with the builder about talking with the city to remove some of the dead tree in the tree line so we could have more of a view.
Things are coming along smoothly.
… (10 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 6 - 11/25/08 11:25 AM
Today, I spent a few hours on the phone trying to figure out when and how to switch my license over to a new broker along with a new Board. In Dallas, it's easy. You go to a new Broker, they fill out the forms for you, and viola, it's done.
Changing Brokers AND Board is much more complicated. I actually have to go in and sign a "Resignation of Membership" form. I find that very interesting. I also have to have my current board submit a letter of "good standing" in order to get my dues to transfer. That was … (6 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 5 - 11/20/08 02:26 PM
We have a FRAME! Yeah! And that "yeah" is said with a shrug, as I'm still not excited about the move. I can't believe how quickly they got this done after dragging their feet for months to get started in the first place. Windows should be in by now as these pictures were taken on Monday.
Look at that lovely 4 (FOUR) car garage!! And that is actually said with excitement!
The kitchen and nook look huge. The main kitchen is going to be darker than I want, but not as … (9 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 4 - 11/10/08 09:48 AM
Yes, we've got a slab, finally! We've been under contract for over 3 months now, and we've finally received a slab. Building in Austin, thus far, takes so much longer to get things rolling than anything I've seen in the Dallas area. Some builders can build a house start to finish in 90-120 days. Granted, those are lower end homes, but the process of getting permits and clearing the land in order to put down the footprint is all the same process. Why did it take more than 3 months?
People think Texas is all about "land". As you can … (8 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 3 - 08/27/08 09:10 AM
I got back last night from another trip to Austin. I really feel for the buyers who have to buy a home from out of town. It's a brain-fry! There is so much to do and so little time. Here's a picture of our lot. Look at all the trees... many will be chopped down, but the back trees will remain as a buffer.
We were supposed to have our design meeting on Monday morning from 8:30-11:30. We were there until 4:30 and then went back on Tuesday morning. We thought Tuesday morning would be "fast and easy", but we were … (18 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 2 - 08/18/08 01:11 PM
It turns out that I'm a little spoiled being in the Dallas market verse moving to a smaller market, Austin. In Dallas, we have a showing service called Centralized Showing Services (CSS). I would guess 99% of agents use this service. It's very inexpensive, and it's wonderful.
When I need to show 10 properties, I get to call one number and give them all the addresses and times. The showing service then turns around and calls the sellers to confirm the appts. The showing service is the keeper of the alarm codes, passwords in case the alarm goes off, and gate … (22 comments)
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relocation: Relocating- First Hand Experience Part 1 - 08/15/08 12:40 PM
Boy have I been busy... busy turning off my business! Since the move to Austin is definite, I can't keep building new business in Dallas, or I'll be throwing money down the toilet. I like to keep as much money in my pockets as I can as I have plenty of other expenses to spend it on.
This week, I stopped all my lead generation programs. Those were the hardest calls and emails to send. Oh no, I'm still going to be in Dallas for at least the next 6 months! Am I going to be able to continue my current … (9 comments)
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relocation: Texas Ranks 1st for Most Fortune 500 Companies - 04/22/08 01:04 PM
It's no wonder that Texas is getting so much relocation from across the country these days. We're the place to work, which means we're the place to live. Texas has finally beat out New York for the most Fortune 500 Companies across the state. Texas has 58, New York fell to second with 55, and California has 52.
Some of those companies are Frito Lay, Blockbuster, JC Penney, Exxon Mobil, Brinker International, Michaels Arts & Crafts (my previous employer), AT&T, Dell, DR Horton, Centex, and many many others...
WalMart, in Arkansas is ranked #1 while ExxonMobile, in Irving, TX, is ranked #2.
Here is … (4 comments)
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relocation: When to Part Ways with a Referral - 07/10/07 12:13 PM
I recently received a referral from an out of state Realtor. When she first mentioned the referral, I'm thinking "GREAT!" Then she mentioned the area, and I was like, well, I don't really work all the way over there. That's quite a drive, around 45 minutes to an hour away in good traffic. Over an hour during rush hour or any bad traffic. She mentioned the price range and asked if I would make an exception because of the price range. I agreed.
I spoke with the referral. Turns out the situation was a little different than what the agent had described, but … (50 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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