Ki's Austin Real Estate Blog

Home building costs can often be a challenge to control when you've got so many variables in the building or remodeling project. You can avoid overages or, at least, keep them at a minimum if you are armed with some valuable advice. When planning your build, pad your budget with a 15 percent Cont...

In need of a loan to buy a house, make repairs on your home or buy a house and make repairs on a home? Are you thinking you might not qualify, though, so you've not started the process? You just might be surprised. The federal government currently has a variety of 18 federal mortgage assistance p...

No matter what profession you are in, you will be impacted by real estate in some form or another. Whether you own, rent or sub-let, your life is impacted by real estate and the professionals or individuals that sell, manage or own it. With that in mind, it would make sense that you just might be...

Now that long hot summer is over, it's time to reset the thermostat. While there are still plenty of warm days ahead--one of the great things about living in Austin--we hopefully won't be breaking any heat records. Cooler weather means resetting the thermostat, which saves both energy and money. ...

Mortgage Rates Fell yet again this week. The 30 year fell from 5.04 to 4.94. This marks the 5th week in a row where mortgage rates have either fallen or held steady. For the most part rates have been slowly falling. In fact this week accounts for half of the total fall in the last five weeks. So ...

Marshalls are preparing to put Madoff's mansions on the market, and victims of his ponzi scheme are hoping to cash in big time. Based on court records, the FBI is revving up to sell an estimated $30 million in real estate and property, all of which will go to his victims. The three homes on the w...

Foreclosure City has created the perfect storm in many major cities in the U.S. - the perfect storm for investors to find great real estate deals, that is. Large inventories, low interest rates and homeowners hungry to sell all make certain cities ideal for picking an affordable home or two. Befo...

Mortgage rates remained steady this week. The 30 year again was at 5.04 which is a low for the summer. The other mortgage products remained relatively stable this week except for the 1 year arm which fell from 4.58 to 4.52. Below are rates for the last few weeks. As we can see overall for the las...

While Congress debates healthcare reform, there is no debating the results of recent studies on Americans' health. In the last few weeks studies have shown that Americans are not living as long as they should be, our health continues to be undermined by our bad habits and new cases of Alzheimer's...

Although the rich and famous are rich and famous, it doesn't mean that they are impervious to the popping of the real estate bubble. Many have succumbed to real estate woes as of late. Ed McMahon had tabloids a talking when his real estate troubles became front page news last year. The now deceas...