September 2009

What you need to know vs. what you want to hear

September 30, 2009

If an investor or buyer wants to purchase a home and is ready to write up the offer and move forward, what should a good Realtor do? Unfortunately, many will of course write up the deal immediately and mentally deposit the commission, and perhaps already have it spent. This isn’t the type of Realtor you [...]

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Texas Economic and Real Estate Market Update Sept 2009

September 26, 2009

Here is Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center Chief Economist Mark Dotzour speaking at the TAR Convention in Dallas earlier this month (Sept 2009). He explains the Texas Economy and real estate market in a funny yet informative way. The video is about 24 minutes long and well worth watching. <http://recenter.tamu.edu/video/videoPlayer.asp?vid=71>

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Austin Rental Market Update – August 2009

September 25, 2009

The Austin rental market continues to be strong.Average and monthly rents continue to rise. Days on market is low. But, even with recent gains in prices, we are nearing the end of a decade in which rental prices for landlords will have remained virtually flat. Let’s check the historic graph below before we get into [...]

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What if Realtors were Ranked from White Belt to Black Belt?

September 23, 2009

Imagine your grandmother needed to be escorted through a dangerous part of town, and you had to select from available bodyguards. One is a White Belt, a part timer with very little experience, but he returned your call in less than 10 minutes. Another is a Black Belt with 20 years experience and hundreds of successful [...]

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Austin Subdivision Smackdown – Circle C vs. Avery Ranch

September 20, 2009

Buyers often want to know which areas of Austin are more likely to hold value and/or appreciate over time. Not just investors, but home owners who want build home equity. My standard answer to this question is usually “stay as close in to Austin’s core (downtown) as you can afford, in neighborhoods that are established [...]

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Austin Real Estate Market Update for August 2009 Sales

September 17, 2009

Austin Real Estate values for August 2009 are down about 5% from the same month last year. Average sales prices for the 1,657 houses that sold are down 5.12%. Median sold prices are down 4.80%. The number of houses sold is down 15% from August 2008, which is less of a decrease than we’ve seen [...]

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Wanna Pay for a Big Tankload of Someone Else’s Poop?

September 10, 2009

When purchasing a home with a septic system, who should pay to have the contents of the septic tank pumped out so the buyer’s inspector can properly inspect the tank and system? I’ve written two offers in the past week for homes with septic systems. The septic system has to be pumped out at the [...]

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Rental Moveout Walk-through in South Austin

September 2, 2009

Yesterday, September 1st, I walked through a rental property in South Austin that had been vacated the day before. I had my Flip Mino Video Camera with me so I decided to make a short video of the walk-through and share a few things about what I look for when walking a vacant rental property [...]

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Travis County Appaisal District Tax Protest Update 2009

September 1, 2009

I just received a letter from the Travis County Appraisal District with regard to my upcoming property tax protest hearing. Instead of having the hearing, they want to just offer a lower value now, by mail. If I agree, I can just sign the letter and mail it back. The value will be lowered and [...]

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