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Austin, TX Real Estate News

By Stephanie Zellous (512) 971-4875, Stephanie Zellous
(Keller Williams Realty)
Months of inventory explained. Months of Inventory estimates how many months it would take to sell all of the current listings. Months of inventory under 6 months means that you are in a seller's market, anything over means that you are in a buyer's market. Price range is a factor as well as location. If you would like statistics for your area contact me.  
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By Stephanie Zellous (512) 971-4875, Stephanie Zellous
(Keller Williams Realty)
The City of Austin Shared Equity Program was developed as way to help school teachers qualify to buy homes, the program was later made available to all home buyers who met the criteria. The Shared Equity Program provides assistance up to $40,000 in the form of 0% interest loan that you can add to your buying power. Example: You qualify for $100,000 but the home that meets your needs costs $140,000, the program would provide you with the additional $40,000. Do you have to pay the money back? Yes. This is a loan and it is due when you sell the property along with a percentage of the equity. $40,000 is 40% of $100,000 so when you sell you will have repay the City for the Shared Equity loan plus 40% of the equity. If you don't make any money on the sale the Shared Equity loan will be forgiv...
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By Betina Foreman, Realtor, C.N.E., with WJK REALTY
(WJK Realty)
There are LOTS of volunteer events on the Austin Parks calendar, just click on this link www.austinparks.org/volunteer.php. There are a couple of high priority and ultra fun park cleanup and restoration opportunities coming up very soon. They need crew leaders and more volunteers for the November 1, 2008 ClifBar Green Notes Barton Creek Greenbelt Clean-up and Concert. The specifically need crew leaders only for the November 8 Project Build a Park at Country Club Creek Trail. If you are interested please contact Austin Parks Foundation.  Nov 1 - Barton Creek Greenbelt Clean-up and ConcertLocation: Zilker Park Polo FieldsSponsored by: ClifBar Green Notes and Austin Parks Foundation, REI, Keep Austin Beautiful and the Austin Chapter of the Sierra ClubHours: 10 am to 2 pm (clean-up) 2-3 pm:...
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By Robin Scott, Broker, REALTOR® - Austin Texas
(Robin Scott, REALTOR®)
This party was a long time coming because my daughter, Molly,  and her husband, Bryan, got married in May. They eloped (with everyones knowledge) to Hawaii and got married on the beautiful island of Kaua'i, Hawaiian style by one of Don Ho's exdrummers. We have beautiful photos. Last weekend, they threw a Laua at their home on Lake Travis for all their family and friends. It was untraditional but so much fun for our friends and family to come from all over the country for this special event. And because networking is invaluable on many  levels Molly had help from a client of mine who is a wedding/event planner, Tammy Goral who did an outstanding job of arranging for tent, tables, chairs and cateering which included a roasted pig and Carole Stockton of Hawwaiian Kona Ilse provided amazing...
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
A good friend of mine in California emailed this story to me today.  In yet another vote of confidence for the Austin, Texas real estate market, HousingPredictor.com has ranked Austin #6 on its list of Top 25 Appreciating Markets! I hadn't actually heard of this site before, but here's the description I found there for their service/research:  "We examine more than 20 micro market characteristics in each market place, including income levels, employment trends and changes, school enrollment, business trends, regional political influences, real estate sales history and current housing market velocity. The factors are all considered to come up with each local market forecast." They are predicting that Austin will experience 4.0% appreciation in 2008.  This may prove to be an optimistic es...
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By Perry Henderson, Your Austin REALTOR
(The Perry Henderson Group at Berkshire Hathaway Texas Realty)
To show you what to expect at a the title company on the day you close, I had the people at Alamo Title show you that its not that its not that scary walking into the office and closing on your home. The Live Well Team at Prudential Texas Realty highly recommends its clients use Alamo title. They also have great resources for relocation prospects. You can find a lot of information on thier website that helpful when considering a place to live in Austin Click here to begin your search for home in Austin Texasclick here
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By Robin Scott, Broker, REALTOR® - Austin Texas
(Robin Scott, REALTOR®)
The International Residential Code which sets the minimum standard for building will mandate that all single- and two-family houses and townhomes must have a fire sprinkler system for homes built after January 1, 2011. Evidence shows that sprinklers save lives by giving people more time to exit in the event of a fire by preventing a room from getting so hot that flammables catch fire. Although The National Association of Homebuilders and Habitat for Humanity opposed the mandate because of the increased cost of construction, the change in code was adopted and Texas plans to follow this code change. If you are interested in finding out more about Austin, living in Austin, real estate or buying or selling a home, I want to be your REALTOR. Call or email to find out how I can help you. 512....
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
I had to run some errands earlier this evening and I went by to see a friend of mine briefly.  He lives in a neighborhood that inspired this post, truth be known.  When you are looking to buy a home, there are a few items which may not come to mind immediately, so I thought a short list of reminders might be helpful: STREET LIGHTS Does the area where you are purchasing have streetlights at all?  How many?  Are there any near the home you are specifically considering?  My friend's house is in a neighborhood with ZERO streetlights, which makes evening walks an impossibility unless you are a daredevil. SIDEWALKS Again, this particular neighborhood had no sidewalks at all.  This is not bad if the area is really rural and has little traffic, but if you have small children, it does make it le...
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By Perry Henderson, Your Austin REALTOR
(The Perry Henderson Group at Berkshire Hathaway Texas Realty)
360 Nueces, Austin, TX 78701 unit #3807 is a 1 bedroom at the 360 Condominiums. This downtown Austin Condo is brought to you by www.livewelldowntown.com, a local realtor at Prudential Texas Realty. Look at that 38th floor view over the Capitol of Texas. The Live Well Team would like to represent you as a buyer’s agent. Click here to search for a downtown Austin Condo at the 360 Condominiums or another high rise project in Austin click here 38th Floor View at the 360 condominiums The layout
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By Shay Hargus Webb
(Austin Avenue Real Estate Company)
Voting in this election may prove to be one of the most vital ballots you will ever cast.   No matter where you stand on the issues and the candidates Your Vote is powerful.  Early voting will begin on Monday in Travis County . An early vote may be cast between Monday, October 20 and Friday, October 31, 2008. Early voting allows you to vote conveniently at a time that works best for your schedule. If any of the times and locations do not match your schedule, then be sure to clear your calendar and vote on November 4th! Your vote counts not only in this very important presidential election, but also in matters affecting our state, county and local matters. Most polling locations will be equipped with electronic voting machines. Personally, I think the new machines make voting easy. When ...
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
Not that it matters, but this post has pretty much nothing to do with real estate.  It's just something that bugs me, and I thought it warranted mentioning. Today, I was out with my family for awhile - we had lunch at a new Mexican restaurant, then went to Fry's Electronics to return a couple of items and buy better versions.  "You get what you pay for" appears to still be alive and well with regard to electronics.  Note to self: a $20 webcam may seem like a stellar and wise purchase, UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY USE IT. At any rate, when we were approaching Fry's, we stopped at a light and I looked over to see a guy holding what appeared to be a large cardboard poster of an oil can.  It had some stuff written on it for the oil change/lube place behind him and he was shaking it around and gesticu...
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
  Rich Jacobson strongly recommended that I take my wife to see "Fireproof" a week or two ago.  I think his actual words might have been, "I will slap you around when I see you in Houston later this month if you don't go."  Fair enough - he thought it was worth seeing, so I took Pam to see it about a week ago. This film is about firefighters on the surface and in a couple of previews that I saw, but it is essentially a movie about faith, marriage, and relationships.  Kirk Cameron stars as Caleb Holt, a firefighter with a bit too much pride for his own good.  His marriage is dying on the vine, for a number of reasons.  Neither he nor his wife is the sole party to blame in this case.  Caleb's father approaches him with a proposition that he feels may save his son's marriage.  He asks if ...
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By Perry Henderson, Your Austin REALTOR
(The Perry Henderson Group at Berkshire Hathaway Texas Realty)
Here's what $10,000 and a little imagination can do to upgrade the kitchens at Castle Hill Terraces. This downtown Austin Condo is brought to you by www.livewelldowntown.com, a local realtor at Prudential Texas Realty. I’m looking at Castle Hill Terraces, a really cool live work space with outside entertainment areas that overlook the capital of Texas and downtown Austin. The Live Well Team would like to represent you as a buyer’s agent. Click here to search for in 78703 or a downtown Austin Condo click here
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By Perry Henderson, Your Austin REALTOR
(The Perry Henderson Group at Berkshire Hathaway Texas Realty)
Want to know what is going on at the Mueller neighborhood in East Austin? It has the Dell’s children’s hospital, UT medical center and several Medical support office buildings. There is also the UT film school, Austin Studios and Mosaic at Mueller. www.livewelldowntown.com team is realtors at Prudential Texas Realty. The Live Well Team would like to represent you as a buyer’s agent. Click here to search for homes in East Austin's hip new green community Muellerclick here
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By Stephanie Zellous (512) 971-4875, Stephanie Zellous
(Keller Williams Realty)
Get preapproved for a loan in advance and tell your lender that you plan to bid on a HUD, then ask them how many of these transactions they have completed. It is imperative that your lender knows what they are doing as HUD is notoriously thorough and if your lender misses anything or doesn't meet HUD's deadline you will have to pay for extensions not the lender! Search For HUD Homes! Contact Me. I am HUD approved and can access HUD Homes at any time.
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By Kathy De La Cruz, Realtor®, ABR, CRS, SRES
(RE/MAX Austin Associates)
I recently completed energy, environmental, and marketing training and became certified as an EcoBroker.  EcoBroker is a program that trains real estate agents to help clients take advantage of energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design in real estate properties. My goal is to grow my client base by attracting other green-minded consumers like myself and providing each and every client with valuable energy and environmental information.  In the training program, I learned about things like how to address potential environmental issues in real estate transactions, such as radon, asbestos, lead, water, mold, and indoor air quality. I also learned how energy ratings and energy efficiency can put dollars in the pockets of my buyers and sellers. I hope to apply all of my energy a...
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By TIM MONCRIEF, Over 2,000 homes sold…..
(Tim Monciref)
 Disclaimer: This is not meant for politcal purposes or for exploiting Joe the plumber.   I love this country.  Where can an average joe walk out on his yard and ask a question and the entire world reacts.....either positively or negatively.  This is a great lesson that one single ordinary person can make a difference in the world.  I have no idea how far the effects of Joe will go....but for me, it says that you, me.....anyone can make a difference.  Yes, one person can make a difference in our world.  Maybe that is you. Though the odds of this situation is not high, you can make a start by keeping up your blogs, your replies, your letters, your contacts to your TV stations, you governmet representative, your schools, etc... I was once a bit like Joe....where I was in a funk going thro...
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By TIM MONCRIEF, Over 2,000 homes sold…..
(Tim Monciref)
The concern that we often hear from clients moving from other parts of the country are the property tax rates in Texas.  What non-Texans do not realize is that we made a constitutional amendment preventing a state income tax.  Thus, in lieu of a state income tax, property taxes are the main focus for state revenue. As we are getting so many people moving from California, alot of this is based on Californians, but is applicable to most.   The great news is that school tax rates have dropped, in most cases, quite dramatically throughout the state.  Thus, the tax burden has been substantially improved.  Total tax rates will fluctuate widely due to the school district and if the home is in a heavy populated county and/or city.  In the Austin area, figure total tax rates from around the low ...
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