Texas compliance for IABS

I am reminded daily about our obligation to buyers and sellers to provide the Information About Brokerage Service here in Texas.  The legal parties of TREC state we need to provide this at our first conversation about real estate to a potential client. 

Many of us use email, web blogs, and websites for our first substantial conversation, I found a good link that will provide the IABS... its easy to copy and paste on your website, webblog or in your email signature. 

Please take it and include it with your technogoly based business.

www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/contracts/op-k.pdf
Texas Law requires all real estate licensees to give the above information
about brokerage services

Mega Camp August 25-26th Austin TX

Will you be there?  I think today I will spend an amount of my hard earned dollars to attend this year, It will be my first time to Mega Camp and I am excited.  I just made the decision today, get it now while its still a bargain.

I wasn't going to go because its my birthday, I usually take that day off and indulge myself in all the girly stuff, nails, hair, pedicure, movie with lots of buttered popcorn, so I am sacrificing this year, my day for something that should prove to be more valuable that I can predict.

MegaCamp, Austin Tx, will feature Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Diane K, and many more super producing agents, I think I will sign up for the technology camp too... I know it will help me with my webdesign.

I hope to see you all there, look me up or call and lets do lunch,  Gail Tassey 512-217-9482.

Dear Diary, I saw JOY face to face

Yes, I love this job, it has ups and downs and exciting times and joys unparelleled... and it has the great downtimes, the disappointing moments, the times you want to shake your head and wonder why are you here in this place at this time?

Last month I was lucky enough to see pure joy face to face, I had been helping a newly married (5 months) young couple search for a new home in our area, they were being relocated ...  so we searched and toured and previewed a number of homes and we saw a new development so we went to see it.. it was a nice new community with midrange priced homes.  Ultimately my young couple agreed to purchase one of the to be builts.

The builder was offering a huge incentive, $10,000 in upgrades, so my young Mrs was able to upgrade her kitchen and masterbath and other small items.  We picked out upgrades, paint colors and such, went thru the contract, paid the deposits and Viola...in a few months their new dream home will be ready.

We left the builders office, the smiles were as wide as the Texas sky, Mr and Mrs were ear to ear grins, I was very excited for them too, now here is the great part: on the sidewalk, outside the office, a beautiful spring day, Mrs started jumping up and down, like a 5 yr old at a circus, it was pure joy! I still smile ear to ear at the memory (like I am now while recalling this)... If only we had more moments of pure joy in our life.

Mamma Mia! what a show

Yesterday I went to see the much advertised MAMMA MIA!...  featuring Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronson, Christine Baranski and many other talented actors and actresses.   What a fun movie. 

My friend who went with me had seen it on Broadway and said the movie brought much to the story with the beautiful backgrounds of the ocean and island.

It was a totally enjoyable funny movie, it wasn't a creation to make you think about the world and its situation of poverty or greenhouse gases.  It was a musical about love and mistakes and hopes and dreams of a young girl meeting her father.

If your up for a musical with ABBA songs performed by Meryl Streep and cast, then you shouldn't miss this one.  Dancing Queen was the best for me, I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

Gas Prices dropped a smidge

Hooray!!!  Oh how I wish it were a real Hooray, gasoline prices dropped yesterday here locally, from $3.95 a gallon to $3.87 a gallon. It seems that was the first downward price movement in months.  We are all frustrated with the price climbing like a steady mountaineer .. trying to reach the top.. but where is the top?

Some speculators said $5.00 a gallon, some said $12.00 a gallon but that was probably a very off the cuff tongue in cheek retort to a shouted question?  I think $12.00 a gallon would collapse our way of life.

CNN has reported that prices are down nationwide but still national average above $4.00.  We have always been below the national average here in Austin Texas. 

So, while we have seen a tiny drop in prices at the pump we can only hope for more decline soon, as the crunch is trickling down thru our whole economy. 

the Open House that almost was

Wow, this weekend was something. Not all days are stellar, 100% glorious shining examples of life... some days you just take it on the chin and say ok.. tomorrow will be better.

I lost a listing, a mutual agreement between me and the sellers, they want a faster sale at a higher price than the market demands so we agreed they could be better off with another realtor.. I don't have a magic wand to change things here so .. pfffft .. and its done, cancelled listing and back on the market with another realtor.

Not a bad thing really, saves me money every month on expenses and I really like the folks so I hope the new realtor does have a magic wand or can pull that bunny (buyer) out of a hat.

After I unloaded the prior listing house of all my staging artifacts, 4 trips with boxes up and down stairs, in and out of the heat of 100 degrees, I rushed to my office to get balloons for an open house I was scheduled to do across town.  Thinking if I'm lucky and the traffic isn't too bad I can be almost on time.

Wow, the balloon gods were smiling on me, the new Marketing Group in our office had left a whole big bunch of balloons ready to go with a "please take me sign"  oh yeah!!  thank you CHAD PEEVY GROUP! Wtth this pleasant turn of events I knew I had time to stop at the supermarket and grab some water and Ice for prospective clients and viewers to the Open House... remember its 100 degrees outside.

Back to the car with balloons in hand, I am again smiled on, traffic is light and I made it in great time, first sign up.. yippeee, I'm truly blessed today, another KW agent has a directional at the main intersection pointing just my way!!  I won't have to do that one... on to the next street, ok.. its short and I only had to place 4 signs today.

Open the house, its sparkling, but warm, turn down the AC, put the ice in the kitchen sink and the small bottles of water around in the ice to cool, (this is a great trick because the ice melts right down the drain) all the lights on, set up my chair. Catch my breath. 

First prospect enters an hour later, gees its been slow today.... this lady has a huge ball of fur in her arms, that I see is one big fat siamese cat.  I don't think I've ever had an  Open house visitor bring her cat I'm thinking, wow, well ok.   You know how your brain thinks in nanoseconds, fortunately that time my mouth didn't catchup with it... I said Hello.. she said.. who are you and what are you doing here?

HUH?  I have open house signs all over the front yard, the corner, the streets leading in to this house... but I said, I'm Gail with Keller Williams... she said... who sent you , I didn't know we were having an open house today, how did this happen.. the lady was quite flustered.  Then she says, Im the owner, ok.. that makes a bit more sense now. After a bit of discussion the owner of this home says, I need to put the cat in the laundry room for today.  I agreed, not knowing the cat had the lungs of a 2year old child throwing a tantrum.

Minutes later Mrs Seller comes back  into the house and tells me, oh we need to use the garage to do a brake job on our car here today.  HUH? so now the cat is caterwauling and the garage will be a mechanic stop? I said, well.. thanks but I think I should come back another day. After a few moments it was settled that the open house wouldnt be open, so what about tomorrow? Well, Mrs Seller said, our home we live in is on the market too and it will be held open tomorrow so we thought we would spend the day here. OK... not tomorrow either.  Thank you for letting me know Mrs Seller.

I went home and emailed the listing agent and explained no open house today and please cancel the one for tomorrow, and henceforth notify this particular seller if planning future open houses on their vacant homes.

BONUS TIME, I got a day off!!!!  Unexpected but totally enjoyed, I met with my sister, we had a leisurely brunch, shopped, and goofed off all day.. what a treat!  So even when things are rushed and hurried and the course of the day changes in midday..  roll with it.. something good could happen to you.

Did you ever want to swim in an aquarium?

Snorkeling is an amazing adventure suitable for any age group

   Snorkeling in crystal clear blue water where the fish are a sight to behold and the temperature is moderate is an unbelieveable experience.  Be sure to wear enough sunscreen though, and put it on 30-45 minutes BEFORE entering the water.

Kahalu'u Beach State Park in Kona, Hawaii... its a large bay area surrounded by black lava rock with a reef of volcanic rock making it a shallow bay for fish and people.  The park  has multiple shade trees on one side and a pavillion with many tables for your picnic or party. 

 All ages can enjoy this beautiful setting where one can walk out into the mild temp water and just look down and see the incredible bright hues of fish that one normally only sees in small aquariums. Since the fish are in an open sea venue their sizes are impressive also... angelfish I have seen in most aquariums are 3 inches or so were 10 inches in their natural state.  Yellow tang as big as two hands put together.  I was so impressed with the ability to swim in a natural aquarium I'm sure this will be a life lasting memory for not just me but my grandchildren who were equally awed by the sights.

Yes, we did take underwater photos and when they are developed I will post a few here. Even an endangered green sea turtle came up to visit the beach.

Mahalo for reading todays post.

Gas prices got you down?

With the national average of $4.09 at the pump for a gallon of gasoline this week and the end of soaring prices not in our near future here is a concept .. Vacation at home this year.

Many communities have awesome community centers that are barely used... a pool, a tennis court, a barbeque area... some even have a night of movies in the park. 

Make it a theme day/night..  an idea or two..  and I bet you all could come up with a dozen more..

Aloha night, a luau, with barbequed pork or grilled fish, fresh pineapple slices, coconut cake, Kona coffee or MaiTai's for those adult beverages?  Easy to do and fun.  Give prizes for the best hula dancers.

Fiesta night... tacos, frijoles, Flan, papaya and mango plus Margaritaville drinks ... have a Pinada for all... here an Ideato serve for the whole family...

Chilled Banana Latte  INGREDIENTS

 11/2 Tbsp. crème de banana syrup

11/2 Tbsp. coconut syrup

1 c. Oak Farms Fat Free Milk

DIRECTIONS

So, stay close to home this summer and put some of that savings in a fun time at home...

if you would like help in the Austin Texas area of finding a new home to enjoy that luau call me.. I will help you find the perfect new home or sell  your current home!  Gail Tassey. Realtor, keller Williams SWMC, 512-217-9482.

gailnttexas@gmail.com

Vacation

When we are kids we look forward to every vacation, every extra day out of school.. Thanksgiving Vacation.. two days off .... yippee.. Christmas Break a whole 2 weeks off then various Holidays thru out the year are an excitement.  The  biggest of all was soon to come  summer vacation. 

It didn't matter if we had any plans to go anywhere, we just knew we would have fun doing nothing for days on end.  Sleeping late, staying up late, I recall sitting outside with a circle of friends looking up at the sky and trying to name the constellations.. the Big Bear, the Big Dipper the little dipper, so on.. and giggling because one of us couldn't find the man in the moon.  Simple times. 

This year for the first time in many many years I'm excited about my vacation, at the end of this week we all are going to Hawaii, now thats not a big deal to alot of folks, but I'm excited, maybe because at dinner every night for 5 weeks now the 4yr old grandson, Bryce, has asked "how long til Hawaii Mom, Grandma?"

Now he sees the suitcases come out of the attic, the swim goggles getting fit, the books of Hawaii destinations, planning tours, his excitement has spread thru all of us.  Truly through a childs eyes!

Now, I must make sure I have my clients affairs in order, I have a backup realtor-friend to see to anyones needs while I'm in paradise, Kristen Greenwade, the 2007 rookie of the year for our market center is taking care of business for me...Kristen is so very capable I know I can go on my vacation and feel secure that everyone is being taken care of. 

So, Aloha my friends at Active Rain, I will be back June 29 and probably here June 30... I wish you all an exciting vacation this year, if its a circle of friends sitting on the lawn at 11pm and looking at the stars. OH YES the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas!!  If you are relocating to the Austin Texas area give me a call.. I would love to help you ..   gail tassey 512-217-9482 mobile, keller williams realty austin texas  gailnttexas@gmail.com

Point of Sale retro-fitting your home

June 14th is voting day... a day that is important for anyone living in the City of Austin Texas, the City has deemed in their infinite wisdom to enact a POINT of SALE requirement for some "energy efficiency" in our homes.

This is a call for Austin Voters to make themselves heard. Its your home, your income, your future.

We need to support those City Council members who are ANTI POINT OF SALE,  hey, I'm not advocating being anti-GREEN.. or enviromentally unfriendly, I'm advocating the requirement that could lead every home owner in the City of Austin Texas to doing multiple costly retrofitting of their homes BEFORE they can sell it and the home would have to be inspected and approved by an official City of Austin Inspector... at a fee of course, before a house could close escrow.

Now if that isn't scary to you let us think about the WHAT IFs of the situation....

Implementing current codes for airconditioners, vents, waterheaters, plumbing, electrical, insulation all sorts of things, could break out banks individually...  how old is your home? Could it meet the standards of environmentially-friendly for today?  Folks, we aren't talking about changing a light bulb here.

Many of the houses in Austin were built pre-1980, most of those downtown , Hyde Park, Clarksville, So-Co and Tarrytown just to name a few are well before that age... how many of these can afford to sell if it requires retro-fitting?  What will a buyer do? Most likely look for some area outside of the city limits. 

So, Kyle, Dripping Springs, Buda,Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Hutto, Cedar Park will all benefit from the City of Austins new demands. Still, many folks want to live near town, for their jobs, the social activities, the lively electic feeling of downtown, but will they be priced out more-so than today? Will a seller be able to sell? at what price?

I know I don't have the answers to becoming environmentally friendly but this is NOT the way to do it people.  Point of Sale? Forced inspections by city official? Added fees for all the above?  Please lets all think about this in another way.

Your vote can count, June 14th.. or early voting now.  Show the city that you do care about this plan of theirs..  the only way you get to vote on it is to vote for or against the members and prospective members of the city council.. they are the ones who will decide how you sell your home in the future.

if you would like to read the resolution please check at the City of Austin's website..http://www.cityofaustin.org/edims/search_results.cfm

this is just one realtors opinion... not endorsed by anyone else... just be informed, look it up.. it could affect your future immensely.