From the category archives:

Living in Austin

How to Get Your Address Corrected on Google Maps

November 18, 2009

Anyone who spends a lot of time looking for addresses knows that the GPS systems and various online mapping softwares have errors and omissions. Newer neighborhoods, even those 3 or 4 years old, often don’t appear in GPS systems. Google Maps often doesn’t have these addresses either. Or my favorite, the GPS systems show streets [...]

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Travis County Tax Protest – My Formal Hearing Results

November 12, 2009

Like many other Travis County residents, I found myself staring at property tax appraisal bills this year that were over-valued. In September, the Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) unilaterally offered a lower adjusted value for one of the properties before I even attended the informal hearing. I signed off on that and mailed it back in, [...]

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Prices Now Higher at the South Austin Dump

November 9, 2009

I made a trip to the south Austin dump this weekend. Aside from my own personal small dump load that I had from my recent garage cleanup, I had a small amount of debris that I had tossed into the back of my truck from one of my rental properties. Just some scrap lumber and [...]

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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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Steve and Sylvia Leave Keller Williams – Go Independent Again

August 26, 2009

Sylvia and I are excited to announce that, as of today, we have reverted back to the business structure under which we operated from 1993 through 2004 as Crossland Real Estate. Sylvia is Broker and Head Honcho and I just do what she tells me. We are no longer with the Southwest Market [...]

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Has Austin Become a Sub-Category of Itself?

August 23, 2009

Two weekends ago I was running errands that took me from my home in Oak Hill in SW Austin, to my bank in South Austin, then to drop my daughter off at KidsActing in East Austin off East MLK. Then up to preview a house in North Austin, then up to Round Rock to see [...]

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Fussy garage door reminds me I’m not young anymore

August 12, 2009

Our garage doors have been acting up at home. Sometimes they won’t close but instead do that blinking light thing, even though there is nothing obstructing the safety beam. When this happened to me today, I had to walk into the garage, hold the wall button down so the door would close all the way, [...]

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How does your Austin lawn look in the 100+ degree drought?

July 4, 2009

We just had 12 16 days of 100+ degree heat in June 2009 in Austin, and we’re in the middle of a severe drought. As I drive around, showing and previewing homes in Austin, I see a lot of brown lawns. Even well watered lawns are suffering with brown spots, fungus, sun burn, thatching, grub [...]

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I am NOT Austin’s Coolest Dad Apparently

June 24, 2009

A mere two days after Father’s Day my 13 year old daughter informed me that, although I’m a really good Dad, I’m not the coolest. She was having a sleepover last night and, again, the issue of when “lights out” shall occur came up.
She begged me “please Daddy, don’t come in and make us go [...]

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City of Austin Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Program

May 15, 2009

The new Austin Energy Audit ordinance is in play now, and we’re already starting to see it affect some deals. The official start date of the ordinance is June 1, 2009, but that means any home subject to the ordinance that is closing on or after June 1 will have to comply.
Covered homes must be [...]

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