buyers agent: Beautiful Barton Hills home is showcased as my favorite house of the week - 02/11/09 04:01 AM
My favorite home pick of the week is located at 2501 Wilke Drive in Barton Hills close to downtown Austin Texas. This tastefully updated home has every luxury: granite, open floor-plan, and self closing drawers in the spacious open kitchen. This home also has: four roomy bedrooms,  two full baths, two living rooms (or one living and one family/media/game-room) all on a huge .31 lot in scenic Barton Hills. This home is close to everything Austin has to offer and yet it is nestled into a quiet street just moments from downtown. The fact that this home has been well maintained and loved shows … (6 comments)

buyers agent: Whats happening around Austin from your Austin area Relocation Realtor - 02/11/09 03:52 AM
 
Let your fingers do the walking and find out about Austin on-line. Here are some sites to help you find out about your new home town. Of course if you need help finding your next new home, please call me. I work primarily as a Buyer's agent and I can help you to relocate to Austin or the surrounding area. Relocation is about 50% of my business. I am a fifth generation Texan and a twenty year Austinite. I have the knowledge and experience to help you find the perfect new home in Austin!
Betina
 

All about Austin … (3 comments)

buyers agent: My 78704 house of the week is in the desireable Barton Hills neighborhood! - 02/11/09 01:00 AM
My favorite home pick of the week is located at 2501 Wilke Drive in Barton Hills close to downtown Austin Texas. This tastefully updated home has every luxury: granite, open floor-plan, and self closing drawers in the spacious open kitchen. This home also has: four roomy bedrooms,  two full baths, two living rooms (or one living and one family/media/game-room) all on a huge .31 lot in scenic Barton Hills. This home is close to everything Austin has to offer and yet it is nestled into a quiet street just moments from downtown. The fact that this home has been well maintained and loved shows … (3 comments)

buyers agent: 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)

buyers agent: 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)

buyers agent: 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)

buyers agent: Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries and Shakes now open in south Austin!! - 02/03/09 12:40 PM
Recently we had a brand new burger joint open up in Austin and I just had to go try it. Now I have long been a fan of Hut's Burgers, The Tavern and Dan's and Fran's. I avoid the fast food burger places, because I am not a fan of big chain stores. I prefer to spend locally. The new kid on the block is Mighty Fine Burgers.  They chose their name well because they really do make a mighty fine burger. They are 100% pure Coleman beef (antibiotic free and hormone free) and hand pressed fresh each day. They make their shakes by hand … (15 comments)

buyers agent: 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)

buyers agent: Austin Texas Real Estate Details for December 2008 - 01/30/09 06:29 AM
People often ask me what the Austin Real Estate market is doing now. How is Austin different than any other home market? All markets are the same in the respect that each real estate market is unique and constantly changing. Here is a snapshot of what happened in Austin in December of 2008 and how it relates to December 2007. So you may judge for yourself if you feel our market is depressed. in my opinion since the prices are still moving up we are not a depressed market. Certainly the number of homes sold did go down slightly, but the value of … (9 comments)

buyers agent: Improved safety in southwest Austin as of January 29th, 2009! - 01/30/09 04:33 AM
As a Realtor in central Austin, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs I drive quite a bit. Yesterday while showing property I saw something amazing on Highway 290West. The city of Austin had the street blocked off to traffic on highway 290 heading towards Dripping Springs. If you drive in this area, you know getting into the Scenic Brook neighborhood or Covered Bridge neighborhoods from highway 290 is like playing Russian roulette. There is no light, the street curves a bit and is a little hilly and the oncoming traffic is doing around 60 miles per hour. Did I mention there is no street light, … (4 comments)

buyers agent: Austin Calender of local events for 2009 - 01/27/09 12:31 PM
As an outgoing, music loving person I am always looking for interesting things to do. Luckily central Texas has a plethora of diverse music events, some are national events drawing musicians and attendees from all over the world. So here is a short list of events that interested me. Perhaps some of them will interest you as well. Maybe I will see you at one of these events in or around Austin?
January 31, 2009 Carnival Brasilaro www.SambaParty.com. This is the best Mardi Gras/Carnival celebration for the last 32 years in Austin.
Feburary 14th 2009  The International Guitar Festival is held in Round Top … (10 comments)

buyers agent: One of Americas great authors, John Updike passes away - 01/27/09 11:43 AM
Today marks the end of a brilliant writing career, as John Updike passes away. Many of you know me to be an avid reader, so this news really hit home. John was the recipient of numerous Pulitzer Prizes and various other award over the last fifty years. He was a prodigious author, penning over 50 books and uncounted short stories. Most of his work dealt with the issues of the 70's and 80's. A good portion of his work (short stories and poems) were published in the New Yorker and he was considered to be the voice of the magazine by many. … (6 comments)

buyers agent: Local Austin Texas Trivia Part VI - 01/27/09 08:06 AM
Our local neighborhood Tarrytown mentioned in the New York Times. Yes, its true. A few years ago a Houston woman named Jeanne Daniels inherited the neighborhood shopping center in the middle of Tarrytown. Now Ms. Daniels is a vegetarian, so she did not want any of the tenants to sell meat or leather. So sadly the lease was not renewed for the Holiday House. The Holiday House made the greatest hamburger and was the local coffee hangout long before Starbucks. The new tenant in Holiday House's spot was the totally "vegetarian Nu-Age Cafe" which bit the dust after less than a … (6 comments)

buyers agent: Is your home ready for a minor face-lift? Here are some ideas to increase the value and appeal of your home. - 01/25/09 11:56 AM
Are you looking for an effective way to add value to your home? We live in our homes on a daily basis so often we stop noticing the little things around the house. You might ask a friend to walk through your home and make some suggestions as to what would perk up your existing home. Today I will do that walk through with you on a virtual tour. Here are a few suggestions that may breathe life into a tired home.
Add a deck or redo/expand your existing deck. Adding a deck adds a virtual new room to your home … (8 comments)

buyers agent: Go Fly A Kite in Zilker Park! - 01/23/09 12:37 PM
 
… (9 comments)

buyers agent: Austin is in the top five once again for growth in: population, employment and overall growth! - 01/23/09 12:29 PM
 
Austin is in the top five once again for growth in: population, employment and overall growth!
Once again Austin is listed in the top five cities for population growth and future job growth. Even with the erratic national economy these five cities have flourished. These cities were also listed as the top cities back in 1990, so they are consistant top performers.
According to the report Las Vegas is still number one because it was the quickest growing market for: population, individual income and employment growth. Overall growth score: 37.95  Population growth:21.08%  Employment: 26.86%
#2-Raliegh NC has an over all growth … (0 comments)

buyers agent: Gardening tips for vegetable lovers... Frienemies in the garden. - 01/23/09 12:24 PM
Gardening tips for vegetable lovers... Frienemies in the garden.
Many of you know I am an avid organic gardener in Texas. There is nothing as sweet as a home grown heirloom tomato plucked off the vine and eaten in the hot Texas sun. So I have some tips for others with the same garden oobsession. My Nana and my Mother taught me these valuable tips while I helped them with their gardens over the years. The called it "the Frienemy  List". It explains which veggies are friends and which are enemies. I feel it is only right to share that knowledge with you here … (2 comments)

buyers agent: Open House Sunday January 25th 1-4pm in Regents neighborhood - 01/23/09 12:17 PM
Come see this wonderful home in Regents is close to downtown Austin this Sunday from 1-4. There is a lovely pool and waterfall style hot-tub with a separate cabana in the spacious one acre yard. This stunning home has four living rooms, two dining rooms, five bedrooms and four and a half baths in 4884 square feet. This is a fabulous custom on almost 1 full acre with CITY VIEW! Numerous Custom finishes throughout: venetian plaster, custom finishes, custom antiqued cabinets and granite counters in kitchen. The yard is fully landscaped, there is a circular drive for extra parking when you entertain. Custom flagstone … (0 comments)

buyers agent: Whats happening around Shady Hollow, a monitored/controled vegetation burn. - 01/23/09 07:51 AM
As a resident of Shady Hollow I try to keep up with whats happening in my neighborhood. Recently I got a letter telling those of us in Shady Hollow and the families just south of us in Southland Oaks about an upcoming prescribed burn in our area. The Water Quality Protection Lands Program is going to set some fires along MOPAC and Upper Bear Creek. The burn will be managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and Austin's Water Utility's Wildlife Division. The fire is to help restore this land to grasslands and savannas. These are the most … (4 comments)

buyers agent: 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)