san antonio: Advice for the Cheapskate Homeowner: How to Wash Your Driveway - 07/23/10 02:29 AM
Lots of people seem to be on a pressure washing kick right now. This time of the year in south Texas, hackberries and wild persimmons fall and get mashed on driveways, staining them. From Judy Chapman in Orlando, here's more advice on making your driveway look nice again.

Here in the land of palm trees, summer afternoon gushers, and high humidity, our driveways tend to get gray with mold and mildew.
When it gets yucky enough, our kindly homeowners association sends love letters letting us know it’s time to pressure wash our driveways.
Once, I did it myself by borrowing my neighbor’s very … (3 comments)

san antonio: Dragonfly day Friday - 07/23/10 02:06 AM

Here are some more facts about my favorite beneficial insect, the dragonfly:
Although it has six legs, just like other insects, a dragonfly can't walk, but just uses its legs for grasping. A dragonfly has multifaceted, compound eyes made up of around 30,000 separate lenses. People who love to spot dragonflies go oding, similar to those who go birding, for Odonata. Oding aficianados (oders?) can keep busy in Texas: nearly half of the 457 US species of dragonfly live in Texas. A dragonfly might look scary, especially to a mosquito or termite, but it won't bite or sting you. In fact, if it … (10 comments)

san antonio: Foreclosure postings in San Antonio, Texas - 07/12/10 02:38 AM
More and more distressed home owners in the San Antonio area are seeing their home values falling below their mortgage balances: in other words, negative equity. According to Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc., there were 7,721 foreclosures on residential properties posted in Bexar County from January to June 2010. At least 20 percent of them were on homes in which the loan amount was more than the appraised value.
In the same period last year, the percentage of upside-down homes was 13. Going from 939 to 1,552 upside-down homes is not a good sign. It's an increase of 65%. This puts the San Antonio … (1 comments)

san antonio: How to make an offer and get the home you want - 07/05/10 11:45 AM
You've looked and looked, and you've finally found a lovely home! What's the best way to go about making an offer on the home that you've chosen to buy? Here are the three methods that have been successful for my clients:
1. The best way to get the home you want is to make a full-price offer. If the home is in good condition and/or is well priced, there is no shame in offering full price. Before you make an offer, I will check on the most recent comparable sales of similar homes, the same ones that an appraiser would use.
If … (32 comments)

san antonio: Have you been scammed lately? Check out this realistic fake ID. - 07/05/10 01:23 AM
 
Sometimes this scam, the old Nigerian 419 advance-fee scheme, works. It did in San Antonio recently. But Broker Bryant caught on right away. Don't let it happen to you!
 
 

Hi folks. There's an old scam that's floating around again. "Buyers" that contact agents via Trulia and other sites wanting to purchase a property without seeing it for full price.  Normally properties in the $500K range. The "Buyers" are mostly from out of the country and ask that the deal be run through their Attorney. It seems pretty legit on the surface. The Buyer will place a $5,000 … (6 comments)

san antonio: A qualified home buyer just contacted me and he's rolling in money! I will be, too! - 07/02/10 03:51 AM
Just this morning, a prospective buyer contacted me with this information about what he is looking for in a home and his qualifications to purchase one.
He is very polite. He greeted me with Esteemed Compliments , and then gave me details in his message:
 
--------Firstly, I am a happily married man with 3 kids and therefore I would not want to jeopardize this opportunity to change my financial status that will give my family a secured future. I am Dr Raphael Boating the branch manager of the Eco Bank Of Ghana Limited, First Light Branch Accra. I am 48 … (14 comments)

san antonio: More wordy fun on the MLS - 06/30/10 06:16 AM
Over the last few months, I've happened on a few more humorous descriptions of homes for sale on the MLS. Listing agents seem to have gotten better with spelling, at least.
Here are some of the gems I've uncovered recently:
Enjoy views of the park while sitting on your orginal hardwood floors. THIS IS STIMULATING! Priced very low, but bring an offer. Beautifully landscaped front yard with steps leading to the front door … KITCHEN W/VEGETABLE SPRAYER&DISPOSAL BUILT IN WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE  
I love the images that these descriptions bring to mind! Enjoy!

(10 comments)

san antonio: Wordy fun - found on the MLS - 06/30/10 06:07 AM
In the remarks by agents who belong to the San Antonio MLS, it's common to find descriptions of "parklike" back yards and "immaculant" or "emmaculate" homes for sale by the omnipresent "Mrs. Clean."
In the last few months, I've also discovered these gems written by listing agents:
This will not last long-Snooz you louse! ("won't last long" is a personal favorite; it practically guarantees the listing will stay on the market for months)
SUPPER OPPORTUNITY
GREAT PRICE CHANGE (according to the listing history, the price went from $695,000 to $795,000 one month later)
Owner:   Withheld at owners expense
 
(6 comments)

san antonio: San Antonio, Texas, turns the corner and adds jobs - 06/25/10 03:19 AM
For the first time since December 2008, San Antonio posted a drop in the annual unemployment rate.
The San Antonio metro area added 3,400 nonagricultural jobs in May 2010. This lowered the unemployment rate slightly to 7.1%; it was 6.3% a year earlier. The industry that added the most jobs--2,400 in May--was leisure, travel and hospitality. Three of the top tourist destinations in Texas are located in San Antonio: the Alamo, the River Walk, and Sea World. In addition, the nearby Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels is a huge draw in the summer months.
The retail sector added 500 jobs, education … (8 comments)

san antonio: Are you thinking of remodeling your bathroom greenly? (Is that a word?) - 06/23/10 03:32 AM
I'm thinking of remodeling my bathroom. I want to replace the carpet with a hard surface floor, since it's not a good idea to have carpet in wet areas. I also want to replace some or all of the white subway tiles in the shower, a couple of which are cracked. I also want to add some storage space, which will be at the expense of counter space that we don't use. The cultured marble countertops will be replaced, too.
The master bathroom is fairly typical of those in 20-year-old homes in the north San Antonio area, so I would like to update it, but in a … (6 comments)

san antonio: Feedback from home buyers and selling agents: is it useful? - 06/17/10 03:19 AM
A couple of years ago, I created a feedback survey to try to get more information from buyers' agents after they have shown one of the homes I have listed for sale in the San Antonio area. I wanted to get more out of the agents than the usual "showed well, but buyers still looking." 
Many agents still don't send feedback or complete the survey (they click the link and send it back blank, which seems strange). But most of the time, I now receive more detailed feedback than when I used the standard request form supplied by the showing service.
Sellers want to know if there is anything they can do … (5 comments)

san antonio: Craigslist deleted my ad! Although I don't even remember posting it - 06/16/10 06:13 AM
To my surprise, I got this polite but firm reprimand in an email from Craigslist yesterday:
Item flagged & removed: 1447138227 (cars & trucks - by dealer) [2000 Toyota Tundra SR5 4WD]
Your posting has been flagged for removal. Approximately 98% of postings removed are in violation of craigslist posting guidelines.
Please make sure you are abiding by all posted site rules, including our terms of use:
http:/www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.htm
If you need help figuring out why your posting was flagged, try asking in our flag help forum. Include posting title, body, category, city, how often posted, any images, HTML markup, etc.
If … (4 comments)

san antonio: San Antonio's real estate market had a good start this spring - 06/15/10 10:41 AM
The Spring 2010 real estate market in the San Antonio metro looks set to be a good one for the history books. According to the San Antonio Board of Realtors, there 3,706 homes were sold in the San Antonio metro by March of 2010. This represents a 12% increase for the same time period a year earlier. Sales include both new and existing home sales, single-family homes and condominiums.

April saw a total of 1,772 home sales, a 20% increase from the same month in 2009, getting the second quarter off to a good start.
Much of the frenzy of activity can be attributed to … (5 comments)

san antonio: Pricing your house to sell means pricing it right the first time - 06/13/10 12:51 PM
 
Judy has an excellent graphic illustrating the ratio of sales price to asking price and the days on market. It's so important to get it on the market at a reasonable price right away. The longer it sits, the more it will be discounted. The home in San Antonio shown below went under contract in one day mainly because the seller priced it correctly.

 
If you’re trying to sell your house, price it right the first time ... and save yourself a whole lot of time, money, and grief.
As a real estate agent who keeps up with … (3 comments)

san antonio: Some thoughts: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the just random - 06/13/10 09:08 AM
I thought I would generously share what has been running through my mind lately. If you feel similarly inclined, please comment!

One of the nicest things about Windows is the keyboard shortcut that increases the text size. As I'm reading a webpage, I just hold down the Control key, and roll the mouse wheel up a couple of clicks. I wish it worked on thumbnails of photos in Windows Explorer, too.
I just discovered that Costco offers a Concierge Service, as they call it. It's a tech support line for TVs, computers, cameras, and other things you've purchased there. I … (4 comments)

san antonio: Look who came out of her shell in my garden in Cibolo, Texas - 06/12/10 05:57 AM
I discovered this Gulf Fritillary butterfly in my garden recently. It had just emerged from its chrysalis, which was attached to a bottlebrush tree. It was a windy day, and it was struggling to hang on while its wings dried. Gulf fritillaries lay their eggs on passionflowers so the caterpillars can feed on the leaves. We planted a passionflower vine against the back fence of our garden. It doesn't have many flowers, because it's in the shade, but it does provide the caterpillars a home and a meal.
 
 
You can see that the butterfly's hindwings are somewhat blurry in this photo. That's because they … (11 comments)

san antonio: Guess what I like to eat for dinner? A visitor to our garden in Cibolo, Texas - 06/11/10 02:56 AM
Not all butterflies feed on nectar from flowers. Some of them get their nourishment from rotting fruit, dead animals' remains, and even dung. Yuck! How can something so pretty and delicate eat that?!
Enter the Hackberry Butterfly, also known as American Emperor (somewhat incongruously). These butterflies lay their eggs on hackberry trees and saplings. We practice organic gardening, and not only do we have lots of hackberries, but plenty of other plants and flowers that attract butterflies and other beneficial insects. We also have plenty of dung, courtesy of a resident raccoon.

 
This Tawny Emporer was sipping water splashed on the flagstones … (11 comments)

san antonio: The information you have been waiting for: how to copy photos of your cats from the computer to your iPad - 06/04/10 12:21 PM
 
I haven't gotten in iPad yet, but a couple of my friends have one. When I was over at their house for a (fabulously delicious) dinner a few weeks ago, they showed it to me. I wasn't smitten, but eventually I will get one. And when I do, I will refer to Cheryl's step-by-step directions for copying photos of Miles the Cat onto it.
 
It's taken me a week to figure out the simple process of copying photos from a desktop computer to a new iPad; mainly because most of the instructions I found online left out a one obvious … (1 comments)

san antonio: Spacious home for sale in Woods of Encino Park at 2831 Sierra Salinas, San Antonio, Texas 78258 - 06/02/10 01:05 PM

 
If your web browser doesn't display the Real Estate Show above, you can still view it by clicking here. Also, be sure to check out the Details tab for information on the home's features and neighborhood amenities. The price has been lowered by $10,000, and it's ready for new home owners to move right in!
(6 comments)

san antonio: I hate criticism! I hate being wrong! However. . . - 06/02/10 01:54 AM
I hate being criticized or having someone even imply that I am wrong about something. (I know--this is an unusual character trait.) I will drop everything to spend hours researching the subject to get the right answer. I sure do hope I'm right!
There are two reasons why I often go into a frenzy to make sure I am correct about something I write about on ActiveRain or my website. One is that, like almost everybody else, I have an ego to protect! I love giving advice and information, often without even being asked, so I hate having to admit I'm wrong.
For … (10 comments)

 
Robin Rogers, CRS, TRC, MRP - Real Estate Investment Adviser (Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas)

Robin Rogers

CRS, TRC, MRP - Real Estate Investment Adviser

San Antonio, TX

More about me…

Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas

Address: Cibolo, TX, 78108

Mobile: (210) 602-5402

Fax: (210) 764-5702



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