What's a Guy to Do? Silly Sunday - 07/25/10 03:35 PM
We see the strangest things as we drive through San Antonio neighborhoods.  I always notice this home as their neatly trimmed and shady yard and the brick of the home juxtaposed against the black shutters always looks so appealing, but this time there was something new in the yard...
 
A Porta Potty, and next to it a man opening what looks like a bathroom window of the house. 
Do you suppose there's no paper in the plastic convenience???

--Sara
… (15 comments)

Just Sold for $105,000 in Universal City, Texas - 07/25/10 02:58 PM
Here in the greater San Antonio, Texas area the market is moving! 
This great 3 bedroom 2 bath Universal City home (right next to San Antonio and convenient to both Randolph AFB and Brooks Army Medical Center/Fort Sam Houston) just closed escrow this week and the new owners will be ready personalizing it. 

The home sold at $105,000. and the Seller contributed to the Buyer's closing costs to make the sale happen. 
There is some minor repair to be completed and the home needs repainting and caprpeting, but that work can be completed quickly and at a great price here … (4 comments)

Foundation in Place on Lot - San Antonio Home Building Project - 07/25/10 02:35 PM
Chronicling the continuing progress on a home built from the ground up. 
After the Builder has completed setting the forms for the foundation, then completing the foundation infrastructure and the rough plumbing for water and sewer, they are finally ready to pour the slab. 
We go from this:

To this view from the back to the front of the lot.  Notice that the form boards haven't yet been removed.

Here is the view from the front of the lot, once those form boards have been removed:

Next up: The framing panels will be delivered and the walls will … (2 comments)

Is This a Fair Housing Violation? - Just for fun! - 07/23/10 09:54 AM
Today, as I was posting a listing as "sold", I cruised through the new listings on the San Antonio MLS as is my daily habit.  They had the usual amusing turns of a phrase, overused hyperbole, unusual sentence structure and typos: 
 
PERFECTLY BALANCED ARCHITECTURE MAKING QUITE A STATEMENT.  (I can't diagram this to save my life)
HARDWOOD FLOORS TO DIE FOR,  (Trees may have...)
HUGE WALLS OF CLASSES (Classic typo)
 
But this one is my favorite of the day!

KITCHEN IS A CHIEFS DELIGHT, 

It made me wonder: Is the Agent specifically advertising to tribal chieftains? … (14 comments)

What Will You do for an Offer? - 07/18/10 11:59 PM
As many of you know, Steve and I decided to sell our residence this year and move to a different neighborhood. 
Although our current home was but in 2004 and is very nice, we wanted to have more downstairs space for entertaining and more of the "look" of our prior home - dark cabinetry and a larger kitchen.
As this is a particularly challenging market (and being from California originally, we have seen and sold in plenty of those), we wanted to do some additional upgrades from what was standard in this price range when we purchased: So, we changed … (11 comments)

How to Think "Cool" - 07/18/10 07:26 PM
It has been such an unusually hot day here in San Antonio and I felt a little cooler when I happened across this photo of one of our new Buyer's backyard. 
The shade will make it a cool summer spot for entertaining - especially after the cedar is cleared from the lot. Unfortunately, the landscaping is not yet in.  
If you look closely, you can see see the beautiful blue pool set in the clearing and the patio area around it, the neatly trimmed boxwood and yellow Lantana set in pots in the foreground, and plantings of yellow and … (10 comments)

It Helps to Have a Great Foundation! - 07/17/10 11:08 PM
Chronicling the continuing progress on a home built from the ground up. 
After, the home is "sited" (positioned(, on lot, the the lot is cleared and initial grading takes place.
The Builder begins setting the forms for the foundation.  San Antonio Buyers are sometimes surprised to find that there is a technology to foundation building.  A slab of concrete is not simply poured into the form.
We go from looking like this:

To seeing the foundation completely formed and "bagged" (filled with rock which forms the base of the foundation. 
The areas between the bags form the beams of the … (4 comments)

Wierd Window? - A Bit of Friday Fun - 07/16/10 11:56 PM
There is always something interesting to see when we are on a building site here in San Antonio, Texas. 
On this project, nothing is really wrong, but the Sheetrock was not yet cut out for the window.  It can be a heart-stopping moment for those who aren't used to the construction process
I'm grateful a Buyer didn't see it, or there's a good chance that my phone would have rung! 
"Give it another day," I would have said, "and it will be cut to fit the window perfectly."

… (11 comments)

Is Your Toilet Cold? #5 Tip for Sellers - 07/15/10 09:06 PM
We receive some interesting comments to this series of posts that explore little known facts for Home Sellers in San Antonio, Texas (and other great towns), so here's another scintillating fact or two: Unless your Toilet is cold (or sensitive about balding), it's time to remove the fuzzy lid cover (don't even tell me that it's PINK!). While we're at it, let's really consider your bathroom's size...Palatial isn't it?NO?Then let's stop making this dinky space look even smaller by covering up your nice flooring with a bathmat - or worse, 3 or 4  tiny, old, colorful  "nice" bathmats. Now that we've … (11 comments)

HELLO! Happy Hour !!! - 07/13/10 09:27 PM


I just received an e-mail from a former client who writes for a newspaper in another city.  Periodically, this individual writes articles about San Antonio, Texas;, so they sent me a note inquiring about our "insider knowledge of the city" and the "secret, special places" that we take clients.  The Riverwalk restaurants were of particular interest.
The writer was so disappointed when I told her that with our work schedule in the current market; dining out (especially at 10pm when we have finished negotiating deals, searching properties and producing ad copy), with our clients isn't always possible - especially … (17 comments)

Is the Key Still in the Lockbox? - 07/11/10 11:59 PM
Is the key still in the lockbox?  The Buyer needs to do some lender-required repairs"
 
Realtors dread getting text messages like this because they are full of presumptions that the Buyer is free to, in any way, alter the Seller's real (property) estate.  Hmmmm.  That doesn't sound right does it?
The Buyer would need to have the Seller's permission to do the repairs, (lender-required for an FHA loan, or not), and that would have to be accomplished by a change in the contract - one of many things not done by text message.
Just remember: All items in real estate … (17 comments)

Is This is Your Dream Property? - 07/11/10 11:58 PM
 
Seems like every day we get calls from prospective Buyers who want to talk about purchasing their dream home, outside the city, but "not too far" out. 
The description of this dream home is eerily the same on nearly every inquiry:
The home has to have acreage  "at least 3 or 4 acres", and "a feeling of the country, with elbow room", and always: "I don't want to see the neighbors". There usually are just a few other 'wants': "minimum 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, Mediterranean style, tile roof, large island kitchen, open floor plan, tile and hardwood floors, 3 car … (2 comments)

New Home Built from "Dirt" - 07/11/10 11:57 PM
 

 
Here is one of our new San Antonio , Texas building projects: 
We wanted to share with you what stages the home goes through as it is being built. 
Initially, there is work that is done in clearing, grading and "siting" the home on the lot and for these, we usually just see some brush cleared and some markers set and lines strung.
The siting of this house managed to save some great Oak trees!
The first real excitement comes when the form boards show up on the lot and begin to be set in place for the … (1 comments)

#4 Tip for Sellers - It Costs A Buck! - 07/11/10 10:46 PM
Caulk is it's Name!
A much overlooked and easy-as-pie 'fix' is caulking or re-caulking in areas where the old caulk is missing or discolored, usually in baths and kitchens.  I know, it sounds like work and not much fun, but in a short while your bath or kitchen can go from "Ick" to "Wow"
What do you want for a buck? 
No matter how much you scrub tile or solid surfaces, and no matter how sparkling those surfaces are, the potential Buyer will be turned off by missing or discolored caulk--- might even turn you in to Good Housekeeping for failing … (7 comments)

WOULD YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW GIVE YOU THIS ??? - 07/10/10 11:00 PM
Spotted in the local super market parking lot- in San Antonio, Texas:
 
We drove past this parked car, could not BELIEVE the license frame, so I went back to take a picture.
Just as I clicked the photo, the car's owner showed up with two kids and her shopping cart of groceries. 
"Do you like it?" she asked with a smile.  ...."Uh, very interesting", said I.  "My mother-in-law gave it to us- she has quite a sense of humor" said Marcy (one of the "M"s)..."my husband's name is Mark", she continued. 
 


Pretty much at a loss for … (11 comments)

Ever Find Yourself at This Intersection? - Speechless Sunday - 07/04/10 11:59 PM
Steve and I were driving along today and suddenly I said "Stop! Go back to that last intersection!"  For some reason, I had never seen it before. 
We joked about how people would tease, if they found that we lived on this street...

 
Of course, we had to see what else the neighborhood would bring and here is the next cross-street
I am NOT making this up!
 

 
At this point we were intrigued.  What other streets or intersections would we run across? 
A little further in the neighborhood, we came across the finale!

I love … (17 comments)

San Antonio Home on a Greenbelt for Sale in Gated Neighborhood Stone Oak San Antonio, Texas 78258 - 07/04/10 11:27 PM
This Stone Oak home backs to the 13 Acre Hornbeak Preserve and has just been reduced!
 
… (0 comments)

Speechless Saturday- Doe-See-Doe? - 07/03/10 01:00 AM
We have some little girls coming to town soon. 
3 year-old triplets to be exact.  They arrive in San Antonio next weekend with their parents to move into the new  house that they have had built over the past few months.  I thought of the girls today while we were out checking on their new home and spied these tiny fawns out walking with their mom.
 
These fawns are so little that it took 12 shots with a 10 mega-pixel camera to get even this wide shot.
Why do they never pose when I am just trying to photograph … (6 comments)

My Revenge Fantasy Becomes Fun Reality - 07/02/10 09:56 AM
There is very little revenge in real estate and we happily make do without it 364 days of the year; but after having my time royally wasted by a rude agent and her penny pinching Buyers who were trying to buy my personal residence which has a gorgeous view of the 13 acre Hornbeak Preserve and Camp Bullis
 
I had a Glorious Moment
An Epiphany
A Stroke of Genius
A Flash of Impatience

I stopped being a Realtor for a moment.  Instead, I became a home-owner who isn't desperate accept an unacceptable offer: 
Steve and I declined the … (8 comments)

How to Accelerate Your Offer and Move to a Great House. - 07/02/10 08:58 AM
Today I was calculating the difference in a payment for a Buyer on a  5 bedroom 3.5 bath home in a gated community.  The home cost with NO down is $245k (VA loan) but the buyer's dream is a $230k loan.  The house is WORTH the $245k.
At 4.5% interest rate (today's Texas Vet rate),
the PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance) on a $245k loan is $1925 a month.
The PITI on a $230k loan is $1843 a month.
That's $82 a month- or $2.73 per day, about the cost of one gallon of gas. 
 
Can you drive less … (10 comments)