New Driver License Design Coming To Texas - 04/23/09 12:25 PM

photo courtesy of the Texas Deaprtment Of Public Safety Press Release
Expect new look when you renew.
On April 15, the Texas Department Of Public Safety began producing a new version of the Texas Driver License (shown above).  Redesigned in an effort to combat counterfeiting, photo swapping, tampering and other types of fraud, the new license design contains several new security features, which the Texas Department Of Public Safety would not discuss.  Expect to receive the new license with the Austin Skyline at the top when you renew your license or if you're getting your first one or replacing a … (8 comments)

ActiveRain Introduces New Feature - You Heard It Here First! - 04/23/09 10:15 AM

photo courtesy of kimberlyfaye
ActiveRain is consistently adding new features.
I never quite expected this one, but the fact is ActiveRain is always on the cutting edge - giving us new technologies to toy with and working to improve and grow our businesses.  I applaud their efforts and love logging in to find some new feature, gadget, or gizmo for me to adapt to my own use.  Today was no exception.  And best of all, I was given the opportunity to test it first and be the one to introduce it!
Introducing ActiveRain's Love Router.
Why spend countless hours on … (88 comments)

San Antonio Market Update - 4/20/2009 - 04/20/09 10:19 PM
What a difference a zip code makes.
While doing my weekly market reviews, I saw somethings that I thought I'd point out.  While the city of San Antonio is experiencing a decent flow of properties being bought and thereby decreasing our inventory, not every zip code performs the same.  While overall knowledge of San Antonio markets is important, specific knowledge of varying areas allows you to truly narrow down your research and pinpoint markets that are outperforming others.  Let's take a look.

Overall, San Antonio's inventory of available homes has been declining as of late.  Although we have a long … (0 comments)

San Antonio Real Estate App On Your iPhone - 04/16/09 09:07 PM

photo courtesy of William Hook
Introducing the newest App for San Antonio.
If you have an iPhone, you know the joys of the iPhoneApp Store.  Unfortunately, I don't own one.  I have serious iPhone envy, especially considering I've been an Apple user since the early days of the II and IIe.  Yeah, I know...I need to get one.
Now, for the first time in San Antonio, comes an app just for the iPhone user looking for a new home.  Call me, email me, check out my blog or search for homes - right one your iPhone.  Like the area you're … (12 comments)

31 Days To Build A Better Blog Challenge - Day 9 - 04/15/09 09:07 AM

photo courtesy of Eustaquio Santimano
Forums, bulletin boards, and message boards.
Today's task (well, yesterday's as of this post) was to join a forum in our niche and get involved.  The theory is that its a great way to connect and grow your sphere of influence as well as "be yourself" and attract others to your blog.  I did the task, but I have some mixed thoughts on it.
Realtors® Not Welcome.
I find most community forums are not super Realtor® friendly.  I don't blame them either.  Given the chance, most agents would flood the boards with their listings, advertisements … (6 comments)

An Activerain Secret...Shh, don't let Bob know I am letting the Secret out early! - 04/13/09 09:55 PM
 
If your name is Bob Stewart, please click here.
Alright, now that Bob is gone, we can talk.  Apparently, Jeremy Blanton likes to stick his tongue out and say "Pfffffft" to ActiveRain authority.  I applaud him in his cause.  Keep it quiet, don't tell anyone, and whatever you do - keep Bob Stewart occupied so he doesn't get tempted to read this blog.
P.S.  Jeremy gets my vote for best video of the week on ActiveRain.
 
Via Jeremy Blanton (ActiveRain Corp.):

As soon as I get more details on this, I will pass them on to everyone! But, in … (10 comments)

Two Sides To Every Story - KB Home In San Antonio - 04/13/09 10:28 AM

photo courtesy of INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero
KB Home in San Antonio.
There has been a lot of whispering and questions about KB Home here in San Antonio lately.  With controversy over Sundance Ridge and Sundance Trails and Quarry at Iron Mountain, a site was formed by some of the homeowners called kblies.com.  Because of my open houses at Woods Of Alon, I have come across them several times, both in comments on my Woods Of Alon posts and in the form of a car with a kblies.com sign parked outside while I was doing open houses.
I've read through the … (3 comments)

Nine articles you should read before you sell your home. - 04/12/09 02:11 PM

photo courtesy of stevoarnold
As a real estate blogger, I read a lot of other blogs.
Although all real estate is locally based and every market has its own trends and peculiarities, the fact remains that many great agents out there are giving solid advice that can be used in any market.  Although some of these posts specifically point out markets many miles away from us here in San Antonio, they are posts that you can glean information from when selling your home.  Of course, no list would be complete without something I wrote (since I'm here in San Antonio), … (12 comments)

Stage 1 Water Restrictions Go Into Effect - 04/10/09 03:56 PM
Friday April 10, 2009 - 3 PM - STAGE 1
Today Stage 1 water restrictions have been enacted by SAWS and city officials.  Because of our drought, I think I knew this day would come, but I had hoped we would hang in there.  As of today the reading at the J-17 monitoring well (near Ft. Sam Houston) for the Edwards Aquifer dipped below 660.0 feet above sea level (it dropped to 659.6 feet above sea level) and triggered the restrictions.
Once the Stage 1 water restrictions have been put into place, we will remain in them for a minimum of … (8 comments)

Realtor® Speak 101: Pre-Approval (from RErockstar.com) - 04/09/09 02:09 PM

photo courtesy of jm3
From a post on RErockstar.com:
If you’ve been in contact with a real estate agent lately (or even spent some time on a real estate website), you’ve probably seen a lot of talk about “getting pre-approved” or “you need a pre-approval.” A pre-approval is vital in today’s market (and in any market in my opinion) to finding the home you want, the home you can afford, and the home you can get under contract without losing it to someone else.RErockstar.com - Your "all access pass" to San Antonio real estate. | RErockstar.com, Mar 2009
You can … (3 comments)

Tips For Selling Your Home at RErockstar.com - 04/08/09 04:30 PM

photo courtesy of striatic
Yesterday was for the buyers, today is for the sellers.
Yesterday, I wrote a post to help buyers, "Thinking of buying a home in San Antonio?  Ten things you should consider."  While writing it, I thought perhaps I should write something for the sellers too.  So I sat down in front of my site, RErockstar.com, and thought about things from the seller's point of view.  Since I had just finished telling the buyers that now was their time to buy, I wanted to be sure I also helped the seller's meet those buyer's needs and help … (3 comments)

Thinking of buying a home in San Antonio? Ten things you should consider. - 04/07/09 03:55 PM

photo courtesy of striatic
"It's a great time to buy!  There's never been a better time to buy!  Buy now!"
You've heard the phrases, they're tossed about by Realtors® everywhere and printed on every blog I can find.  What you need to ask (and get answers to) is - why?  Any real estate agent worth their salt will be able to give you a brief summary of the things that make this a "great time to buy," but I've decided to boil it down to ten simple facts that you can't avoid.  These ten factors, especially when combined, do indeed … (14 comments)

Open house Saturday and Sunday - 2903 Zurich - Woods Of Alon - San Antonio TX 78230 - 04/04/09 09:51 AM

 
April 4-5, Open House 12-3 PM - 2903 Zurich, San Antonio TX 78230
Once again I will be holding an open house this weekend at 2903 Zurich in KB Home's Woods Of Alon (just south of Wurzbach on NW Military).  There won't be any Spurs players or free ice cream this weekend unfortunately, but I'll be there, so stop on in and say hello.  This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home is situated on a green belt on two sides with great views of the community's lake.  A 1.5 story (the Overland floor plan), this home has recently been reduced … (4 comments)

Methodist Stone Oak Hospital - San Antonio, Texas 78258 - 04/04/09 09:14 AM

image courtesy of Google Maps
Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is open for business.
Its been 19 years since the last full-service hospital opened in San Antonio.  With the entrance of Methodist Stone Oak Hospital into San Antonio's medical system, a new choice has been opened to residents of the ever growing population of the Stone Oak area.  With 87 private rooms and a focus on outpatient services, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is prepared to take on 20,000 emergency cases in its first year and is prepared to handle up to 75,000.  Because of the ever expanding nature of Stone Oak, … (2 comments)

"For Sale" Signs - Getting the phones to ring. - 04/02/09 08:52 PM
I wasn't until recently that I got into listing homes.
For those of you that don't remember, I didn't start listing homes right away when I began my career in real estate.  I felt I needed to be prepared to do so.  Because of this, I didn't join the listing game until the market was full of inventory and things had slowed.
When things are slow, listing a home can be frustrating work.  You find yourself trying to sound upbeat to the seller while banging your head against a wall and feeling like there must be something more you can do.  … (6 comments)