austin homes: Good morning Austin. How clean is your drinking water?? - 02/09/09 01:08 AM
With the influx of bottled water and "designer bottled water", we are putting more plastic into landfills. So what can you do to help prevent this crisis? For starters you can drink more tap water. Yes, I said tap water. Austin has some of the cleanest water in the country. We have strict environmental laws in effect over the Edward's Aquifer to protect our drinking water sources. If you want to know exactly what is in our drinking water simply check out the City of Austin's site: www.ci.Austin.tx.us/water/index.html. In fact Forbes Magazine rated our water as the second cleanest water in the … (7 comments)

austin homes: Pulte Homes is running a special in Feburary! - 02/07/09 09:14 AM
I just wanted to let you know about a special promotion that Pulte Homes is running this month. Two of the Pulte new home communities are having a special from Feb.20-22. The special allows the public to save up to 10% on select new homes in Summerlyn and Highpointe. They are calling it the "America's on the move" program. The Summerlyn community is in Leander and prices start in the $150's. Highpointe is located in Dripping Springs and the home prices start in the $210's.
If you are not presently working with a Realtor, I would be happy to assist you with … (6 comments)

austin homes: Shady Hollow updates... - 02/05/09 02:06 AM
Those of you that live in Shady Hollow are familiar with the Diamond Shamrock on the corner of Brodie Lane and Slaughter. They have long been a great neighbor providing a quality service to our community. About a year and a half ago it was purchased by Valero. The new owners did not change anything at the time of purchase, but now they are changing the store in a big way!
They have temporarily closed the store to give it a big face lift. They are updating the entire store. They have ripped out the old gasoline tanks and have installed new huge … (2 comments)

austin homes: Loose Llamas?? Yes it happened in Shady Hollow. - 02/03/09 11:47 AM
Our monthly Shady Hollow newsletter tells residents about the events happening in the neighborhood. In this months news we had the usual reports of teenagers "parking", the occasional speeders on Brodie passing through Shady Hollow too fast and loose llamas.... wait!?! You heard me right. There was a llama that got loose and was wondering around Shady Hollow before being captured and returned home in January. All in all this excitment is happening in a great neighborhood to live in. We only have the occasional llama and plenty of deer roaming around your spacious quiet front yard.
 
      
 
If you are … (4 comments)

austin homes: Referrals and honesty among Realtors - 01/23/09 02:27 AM
One day while sitting at Phone Duty I got a call from another Keller Williams agent in Houston. She had a client looking to lease a condo close to the University of Texas campus. She asked for someone that knew the area well. I told her she was in luck as I had lived there for about six years and was very familiar with the neighborhood. She and I connected because I grew up in Houston in a neighborhood close to hers.
I called the potential client and we chatted about what they wanted and I set up a search for … (9 comments)

austin homes: Check out what the Top Ten "most searched cities" are on Trulia.... - 01/21/09 12:33 AM
There are several sites that the public can search for homes online. One of the most popular with consumers is Trulia. I have often wondered where consumers are looking at homes. Recently I saw that Trulia had started compiling records of where people are searching for homes. So they have created a list of the top ten cities that consumers searched in 2008. Please note they did not release the actual number of visitors to the site for each city, they only posted the list of cities in order of rank. As usual Austin is solidly in the top ten!
Betina Foreman-Realtor … (9 comments)

austin homes: Listing photos can make or break a sale. - 01/04/09 03:17 AM
Let me tell you a little story about a Realtor how she saved her client (Buyer) from a multiple offer situation. A house in the perfect neighborhood (Zilker) in the right price range gets listed on MLS with zero photos. So do we look at it or skip it? If you were searching on a www.findmytruelove.com type of website would you read the profiles with no picture? Usually not, it is much the same when house hunting. In the back of your mind you think it must be pretty ugly if they won't even show you a single picture of the house. I feel the same … (15 comments)

austin homes: Angie's List is giving Realtors a gift this holiday season!! - 12/07/08 07:55 AM
If you have not heard of www.Angie'sList.com, brother you are missing out! This is a great website to find a contractor o to work on your home. What makes this site different than any other is the contractors have to be nominated by customers to be listed. You heard that right, contractors get on the list because satisfied clients nominate them to be included. The contractors are graded on a variety of factors: punctuality, price, quality of work, time to project completion on time or not. When a contractor really goes above and beyond some customers nominate them for a "Page … (4 comments)

austin homes: New Blog Auto Save feature!! AR IT guys I totally love you!! Thank you AR Gods!! - 12/07/08 02:33 AM
I blog a little and as a newbie I was so excited by the "posting" or publishing of my ideas . To think somebody wanted to read my thoughts was kind of thrilling. I love to share so putting my thoughts out there was very gratifying. As a Realtor I feel it is part of my job to help first time home buyers learn the process. I loved that I was helping others be more prepared to buy or sell a home.
The thing is sometimes I would slave over writing the blog in AR format and include some pictures and spell … (17 comments)

austin homes: Refinance now or wait for the interest rates to drop to 4%?? - 12/05/08 02:21 AM
 

In these challenging economic times more people are trying to save money. If you are a homeowner one way to save is to refinance your home. You may be able to save a few hundred dollars a month by utilizing this option. Some homeowners elect to take some cash out to pay off credit card debt or school loans.

 The interest rates have dropped all summer and are between 5-6% for most. The Fed is talking about dropping it to 4% which has not been seen since the 1960's! this could be a great thing for every homeowner... … (2 comments)

austin homes: My favorite house of the month in beautiful Travis Heights!! - 11/30/08 02:00 AM
My Favorite House of the Month in beautiful Travis Heights!
This amazing modern home has a ten year builders warranty and too many upgrades to mention them all. I will try to get most of them listed here for you. Take a look at the photos, the woven bamboo floors are both "green" and beautiful!

1. Faces Big Stacey Park and creek in sought after Travis Heights neighborhood.
2. No HomeOwners Association fees.
3. Stained Concrete floors and Strand Woven Bamboo floors.
4.Granite counters and KitchenAid stainless appliance package.
5.Enormous master closet opens to dressing area.
6. Separate Shower and spacious … (4 comments)

austin homes: The list you really don't want to be on!! The ten most dangerous citys in the USA from CQ Press. - 11/29/08 03:37 AM
CQ Press an independent publisher just released a list of the ten most dangerous cities in the US. Thankfully Austin Texasis not on this top ten! It seems to be the only one we are NOT on!  In this day and age we all want your families to be safe and it gets harder everyday. The weak US economy is making things difficult on more people. The holiday season intensifies things, as fewer people can afford necessities much less luxury items. the holidays also tempt thieves with cars full of shopping bags. Crime rates are on the rise across the country … (4 comments)

austin homes: How walkable is your home city? Zilker Park scores 82 out of 100 - 11/28/08 09:12 AM

My hometown is Austin Texas and it is fairly walkable, it really depends on what part of town you live in. If you live downtown or in Zilker or Travis Heights or Hyde Park neighborhoods it is very walkable. My house in Zilker is rated as an 82 out of 100 being a perfect walking city score. If you live in the burbs, you may require a car for those trips to the store. Here is a nifty website to see just how walkable your neighborhood is. www.WalkScore.com.

 
If you are in the market for a new home and are not … (7 comments)

austin homes: No good deed goes unpunished... and Lessons learned. - 11/24/08 03:39 AM
A good friend asked me to watch her dog over the weekend while she was away on business. Of course being a dog lover I said yes. Zoe is a sweet black Lab that loves just about everybody. On the first day of pet sitting I printed the email with the doggy instructions and most importantly the alarm codes. About nine thirty I went to the house and unlocked the door and ran to the alarm pad. I entered the numbers and nothing.... the alarm started beeping loudly. So I tried it again. Still nothing but louder beeping. I tried the … (18 comments)

austin homes: Quick Delivery/Inventory homes from KB Homes in Austin area - 11/24/08 01:30 AM
My associate at KB Homes just sent me a list of quick delivery homes in several neighborhoods in and around Austin. There are three homes in Circle C under $300K!! Please take a look and if any of these homes appeal to you, please give me a call and I will send you more details on the homes and take you to go see the homes in person.  Remember the Seller pays for my service as a Buyers Agent. So having a Realtor help you with your home purchase still costs you zero. Call me if you want to buy a new … (1 comments)

austin homes: Austin's Private Schools List - 11/20/08 09:10 AM
Some people love public schools and others prefer a private school for their children. I went to both public and private schools and somehow survived both. Since there are so many private schools in Austin, I thought I would make it easy on you by listing them here. I have included the phone numbers in case you want more detailed information from a specific school. The tuition fees are for 2008-2009 school year.

Austin's Private Schools
All Saints Episcopal - 29 West 27th, 78705  512-472-8866 Grades PK-K Tuition $3200-6800
Austin Jewish Academy- 7300 Hart Lane, 78731 512-735-8350 K- 8th Tuition … (0 comments)

austin homes: Interesting Austin Texas trivia..... - 11/20/08 03:33 AM
Here is a little local Austin trivia. I have had many of my relocation clients ask me about Austin and I am always happy to share what I know. Several clients say it makes them feel more like a local to know some of our history. This is the first installment of what I hope will become a regular blog topic for me.
Have you ever wondered who William Cannon was, or what he did that was so important that there is a major street named after him in South Austin? William Cannon fought in the Battle of San Jacinto and was considered … (0 comments)

austin homes: More good news for the Austin home market - 11/17/08 08:20 AM
  Here is the "Cliff Notes Version" of an article in the Daily Real Estate News regarding the best housing markets in the US. As always Austin is in the top 10. Surely we should get a medal for setting a record for being in the most top ten lists!?! 
Betina
Top 10 Most Promising Housing Markets According to the Housing Predictor, which provides housing forecasts for 250 markets. They have determined the top ten housing markets where regional economies are strong and have excellent potential for increased  growth. The following markets have avoided the national downward trend and remain solid. In fact they … (7 comments)

austin homes: Project Free- Check it out. It may be the salvation of our energy crisis! - 11/09/08 02:51 AM
Please take a moment to go to the Gen-We Project Freewebsite. This organization was started by  people born between 1978-2000 and they are often called the Millennials. (I am too old to be in this group, but I applaud their efforts). They are dedicated to reducing or removing our reliance on foreign energy sources. If Kennedy could put a man on the moon in ten years why can't we all get off the grid? I am hoping that Obama will help us take the steps Reagan was unwilling to do. We need to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels and move … (5 comments)

austin homes: Voting in the upcoming election? Do you need to know where to go? I have the answers right here! - 10/31/08 09:26 AM
As many of you know the presidential election is coming up on November 4th. In the city of Austin we also have several issues to vote on this year. Due to overwhelming interest in this election there has been great early voter turn out. On the first day of early voting almost 20K people voted. Today, October 31st, AKA Halloween is the last day for early voting. This year is already a record breaker for early voting. So get out there Austinites and early vote. 
Two of the best reasons for voting today are: Wear your Halloween costume and scare the beejeasus … (4 comments)