No doubt every Austin Realtor has forgotten – or almost forgotten the electronic MLS key when showing a property. That really stinks when it happens. Me and Sylvia are still old school and carry around these horrible devices. The alternative would be to use an iPhone app that requires a small infrared stick that plugs into the bottom of the iPhone. The problem with that is if you lose your iPhone, or the battery goes low, you’ve also lost your MLS key.  I’d rather spread the risk to separate devices. I also don’t want to have the tiny plugin stick to keep track of or junking up my key ring.

Anyway, I drove way up northwest by the lake today, past Lakeway, to show some buyers who had driven up from Corpus Christi to meet me at a house. This was a 45 minute drive from my house. About 15 minutes away I realized I left my MLS key laying on my desk, where it had been charging.

I quickly assessed the options in my head while not panicking, but almost panicking. I checked the listing agent on the MLS printout and noticed it was a KW agent in Lakeway. I just happened to be on 620 not far from the KW office.

I called the agent and got ahold of the assistant. “I’m on my way to show your listing on {Street name} and left my MLS key at home. Is there a combo box on the property or is the MLS box the only way in?”, I asked cheerfully, keeping my optimism high. “No”, the well informed assistant told me, “there is no combo box”.

“OK”, I said. “Do you have a spare key in the office that I could come by and pick up? I’m not far from you” . There was no spare key either.

I was now about 12 minutes away. I could either:

a) Turn around and know for sure that although I’d be terribly late arriving (like, 75 minutes late), I could call and ask the client to go get lunch and show up later for the appointment.

b) Show up on time and deal with it, knowing I might not be able to get in.

c) Call a Realtor friend close by and beg them to meet me there.

I’ve always been lucky. I decide to give myself a chance to get lucky and proceeded to the appointment to face the music. I’d just have to figure out a way to get inside.

Showing up, the clients’ vehicle was there but they were nowhere to be seen. They were walking around in back I guessed. It was a big lot. I headed to the front door and tried the doorknob. No luck. I checked under the mat. No key. I ran my hand across the top of the trim above the door. No key. I looked around the porch for a nearby rock. There was one to the right, in the dirt next to the porch. A nice small flat one about 6 inches wide and looking completely out of place. Underneath there was a key. I tried it and it opened the door. Then I went and hunted around for my clients.

Disaster averted. I already had my script worked out. “I’m sorry but I forgot my MLS key. Have you guys had lunch yet? Let me buy you lunch at a great place down the road while I run and get my key. It will take me about an hour and a half”. Luckily, I didn’t have to make the embarrassing confession or the offer.

I’ve had agents call me from our listings when they’ve forgotten their MLS key. We usually also have a combo box on vacant listings, but not occupied ones. A few agents have been saved by that, and by having me luckily answer when they called (our office line rings simultaneous to our cell phones).

Once I showed a house and saw another agent’s MLS key laying there on the counter, but the people and the agent were long gone. Woops. Bet they didn’t get far. That would suck. I had no way of doing anything with it so I left it on the front porch and assume the agent came back and was grateful to find it mysteriously laying there. She would have had no way to go inside to get it had I not left it outside.

Even if you don’t forget the MLS Key, the battery can drain and it becomes unusable. These devices of ours really have us. Without them we’re helpless as Realtors. I don’t experience malfunctions that often, but I’ve heard about agents who have suddenly been unable to open a lockbox with a key, for no explainable reason. I heard one griping about it at the Board of Realtors office a few months ago.

But the moral of the story is about luck. I’ve been very lucky in life because I give luck a chance to happen. That often requires a leap of faith, and the ability to just trust that things will somehow work out. Think about that. If I had turned around and went to get my key, and called the clients with an apology that I was going to be late, I would have guaranteed myself a bad outcome, though a more predictable one.

Buyers often foreclose on the opportunity for luck by ruling homes out. Not making that lowball offer. Not loosening up the search criteria a bit. Or ruling out homes just based on internet photos, which can be very deceiving. As humans, the more we make ourselves available to be lucky, the more likely it is luck will bump into us, as it did me today.

Almost a year ago I wrote about the Austin Short Term Rental (aka STR, Vacation Rental, VRBO) issues surfacing in the Austin community. That blog article generated 57 comments and a lot of heated back and forth. I eventually had to close the comments for that article because I felt everything had been said that could be said at that stage of the process. This article is an update on what has happened with STRs in Austin since the last blog post, and what will happen next.

The issue has moved forward through a “Working Group” process which concluded last August. City Staff is currently reviewing a draft set of regulations. The full Planning Commission will consider the recommendation after City Staff finishes the review. From there, a Code Amendment and set of new rules will be sent to Austin City Council. That probably won’t happen until 2012.

The Working Group Process
I participated in the Working Group process in the role of a Government Affairs Committee member of the Austin Board of Realtors. The Austin Board of Realtors involves itself in any local issue which could affect the private property rights of home owners. In many ways, ABOR is somewhat of a “Silent Knight’” working for the benefit of Austin homeowners, though most home owners are probably unaware that they are served in this manner.

ABOR seeks to protect the rights of property owners and opposes rules or laws that would diminish the private property rights of Austin property owners. The ABOR position on Short Term Rentals in Austin is, in short:

The Austin Board of REALTORS® supports preserving the character of Austin neighborhoods and protecting the quality of life of its residents. ABoR also believes homeowners have a right to lease their homes, regardless of the length of the lease, without municipal licensing requirements or registration fees. We also believe that the City of Austin should hold formal stakeholder meetings to address the issues concerning short-term rentals and develop a solution that balances the needs of neighborhood residents and residential property investors.

The stakeholder meetings did occur, a middle ground was determined which, as predicted in my earlier article, didn’t give either side the warm fuzzies, but that’s how these things go.

The Board of Adjustments Decision
Meanwhile, those opposed to STRs in Austin used the Board of Adjustments process to have one STR in Allandale declared in violation of a newly made-up-on-the-fly 10-day rule. The Austin Board of Adjustments essentially decided, capriciously, that since the word “transient” was not defined in City of Austin Code as a specific number of days, it would make up a number. It came up with “10″. Meaning, the rental of an Austin home for 9 days would be a “transient” use of the property, whereas 10 days would not be “transient”.

The City of Austin ignored and continues to ignore that ruling. As reported in the Austin Statesman August 2011:

“The City of Austin is allowing short-term, or vacation, rental homes to operate for now in residential areas despite a city Board of Adjustment’s ruling that rentals for a period of less than 10 days violate city code.

The Adjustment Board’s decision, which overturned a city staff decision earlier this year, has triggered a lawsuit by five owners of rental homes who contend that if upheld, it would deprive them of constitutionally protected property rights.

Meanwhile, the city’s decision to defer enforcement is drawing the ire of critics, including some who live next door to short-term rental homes and who want the city to enforce the Adjustment Board’s decision now.”

The anti-STR group continues to press on, having now passed a reolution through the Austin Neighbors Council. That resolution was voted down by the Zilker Neighborhood, which contains the highest concentration of STRs in Austin. Other neighborhoods did sign on though. ANC states that the support of the resolution was better than 2 to 1.

The ANC Resolution for Short Term Rentals would impose an outright ban on STRs, except for homestead owners. The language is:

Be It Resolved that the Austin Neighborhoods Council supports the following Resolutions:

That the Land Development Code’s definition of permissible residential uses in single family zoning districts be expanded to allow properties that are homesteaded as defined above and are the owner’s primary residence to be rented on a transient, short term basis, defined above as a residential rental of between one and thirty days, for a maximum total of 60 days per calendar year.

That the City Council of Austin, Texas specifically enact an ordinance disallowing short term residential use in single family zoning districts as being a transient use, unless exempted by the property being homesteaded and the owner’s primary place of residence. This ordinance, by the definitions and wording above, would emphasize that STRs have always been and continue to be in contradiction with the permissible residential uses allowed in single family zoning districts, and that the current use of a property as a CSTR is not a legal nonconforming use and that this use shall not be grandfathered.

This proposal, which ANC is pushing at City Council (ABOR and HomeAway are also pushing our separate but similar positions as well) would shut down existing STRs in Austin except for homestead properties. So, if you owner-occupy your homestead, I guess ANC is OK with you renting it out to overnight guests 30 weekends a year while you leave town. The “strangers” that you rent to would somehow be “acceptable” or “different” strangers than the ones renting non-homesteaded houses, and presumably pose none of the problems or issues that are used as the basis of complaint for outlawing STRs in non-owner occupied homes.

Sorry, but I call B.S. on that. Come on. It’s dumb. Makes no sense. It’s intellectually indefensible to say that a class of renter can be split into “problematic” and “not problematic” categories based solely on the homestead status of a home.

Meanwhile, I’ve personally been drawn into the argument in another way via my previous blog article. Anti-STR people have taken to passing around and posting snippets of my earlier blog comments out of context. I guess this is as close as I’ll ever come to understanding what politics is like.

The first article I wrote was written intentionally to acknowledge the concerns and feelings of those opposed to STRs in Austin. It was written as a balanced presentation of both sides. For example, all things being equal, I said in the article that I personally would also prefer to have a family next door rather than an STR home. That’s still true. I’d also not want to live next to a fire station or a school, or a middle school tuba student, or a Harley owner who leaves for work at 5:30AM each morning. But I don’t want those situations banned or outlawed either.

To be clear, I would not object or complain if my neighbor converted his home to an STR. That would be his right as the property owner.

The anti-STR people apparently don’t understand that, as humans, we can hold nuanced positions about things. I can fully understand and even sympathize with the feelings of someone with whom I disagree. In this case, written expressions of that understanding and sympathy have been cut and pasted into cherry-picked excerpts used to exclaim, “Look! Crossland said he wouldn’t want to live next door to and STR!”.

What is this, Middle School? Good grief people. Context.

Yes, I understand your position. I agree with your right to feel upset. I get it. And I happen to have the ability to relate to your position and am willing to state as much. And I am 100% against the banning of STRs in Austin. Any quotes attributed to me need to be read inside the paragraph and article in which those quotes were written, not plucked out and used out of context in an attempt to discredit me and/or ABOR.

What’s Next?
We’ve (ABOR) met will all the Austin City Council members and stated our position, as summarized above. The other side is doing the same. We’re now just waiting to see what comes up from Planning Commission. At these meetings, my role was to point out, as I have all along, the lack of data to support any of the anti-STR complaints, and to relate some facts and realities about to STRs that can’t be ignored.

The 99 Percent
Short Term Rentals in Austin, in terms of property condition and appearance, are in the 99th percentile of homes in excellent condition. Want to drive randomly through Travis Heights or Zilker and try to pick out which homes might be STRs? You’ll be zeroing in on the prettiest, most well kept properties in those neighborhoods. Yard of the Month candidates. STRs make neighborhoods more attractive, helping support property values of the surrounding homes.

On the inside, these homes have to be in excellent operating condition, clean and safe with good furnishings. Guests will not tolerate anything less. The STR industry lives or dies by online reviews. Any owner trying to make a go at it with a subpar property in poor condition will be out of business quickly because they will get killed with bad reviews. In this way, the STR industry in Austin self-regulates and naturally weeds out the bad operators. Nobody will rent one of these places without first checking the online reviews, and if you want to be a successful STR owner, you better pull out all the stops to create a great experience for your guests.

No Evidence of Code Violation Problems
With regard to code violations, it follows that it’s statistically impossible that 1/10th of 1% of the single family housing stock in Austin (about 300 out of 330,000 homes in Austin are STRs) could be responsible for anything even close to a statistically significant portion of code complaints.

How could 1/10th of 1% of homes that are in the top 99% of good condition be deemed a “problem” that Code Enforcement needs to address through new laws or regulations? Existing Code rules and occupancy laws already cover STRs the same as every other home in Austin. STRs are not a source of Code problems.

No Evidence or Data Support Increased Crime
With regard to noise, crime, etc., if we ask Chief Acevedo if STRs are a source of problems for Austin Police, he won’t have a clue what we’re talking about. The guests who stay in STRs are less “vacationers” than we first knew. In fact, a great percentage of them are relatives of people in Austin who want to avoid a hotel during a visit. Many are families. As a subset of people coming to Austin, the ones choosing to reside in a Short Term Rental home instead of a hotel cannot be proven or characterized to be troublemakers or people here to disrupt the vibe of the neighborhoods in which they are staying.

So, neither the Code Violation or Criminal Troublemaker argument hold water. In fact, there is absolutely no data that describes any sort of problem that is not a universal issue existing in non-STRs. Giant parties, such as the Halloween Party every year in Travis Heights that drew 500+ people this year, are thrown by home owners, not weekend visitors. So there is no “party avoidance” to be had by banning STRs in Austin.

Finally, the city will probably want some sort of registration system identifying which homes are Short Term Rentals. While some of the STRs may remain STRs for many years, many more will phase in and out of that status rather quickly. Some may be placed into service only until the real estate market improves. Others are routinely rented alternately to long term renters. So, at any given time, the answer to “which homes are actually being used as STR?” is a moving target.

I’ll continue to follow this process. By early next year we should know what the Planning Commission is proposing. It will no doubt be “too much” and we’ll fight to par it down while the other side will fight to make it more restrictive, per the ANC proposal. But in the end, I do believe we have to fight these fights lest we allow the slippery slope of over-regulation to creep into the property rights we enjoy as property owners. That said, I do believe that both sides of this argument care about Austin and have chosen the position that they believe to be in Austin’s better interest. In that regard, we all want the same thing, a better Austin. But we’ll continue to disagree over what that looks like.

Sylvia and I recently installed new hardwood floors in our entire home. Bedrooms, closets, kitchen, hallway, etc. Everywhere except the laundry room and 2 bathrooms, which received new tile the month before. The process of doing this in an occupied home required a packing and moving of stuff not dissimilar to actually moving. Every part of the home had to be emptied out completely, just not all at once. So we migrated piles of stuff from one part of the house to the other as the new floors were installed. Meanwhile, we lived in a semi-construction zone for 10 days.

I learned a lot about wood flooring and the install process, but this article is about our stuff. I heard myself say at some point, while carting boxes out to the garage, and will now quote myself, “how is it possible that people who have gotten rid of so much stuff still have so much stuff?!”

No joke, our living space over the last 4 homes in 12 years looks like a bell curve. We’ve gone from 2,000 sqft to 3,700 to 3,300 and now down to 1,800 square feet. During each move, we’ve parted ways with what seemed like massive amounts of stuff. I’ve always enjoyed that aspect of moving. The cleansing and thinning out of the material barnacles that cling to us as we live life. We could fill a semi trailer with all the stuff we’ve given to Goodwill over the years. Especially on this last move going from 3,300 sqft down to 1,800.

Yet, here I am trying to move stuff out of the way for new floors and I just can’t believe we still have too much. How do people who’ve unloaded so much still have too much? By only getting rid of the easy stuff. Now it’s down to the emotional stuff, and that’s harder. Way harder.

Aria-pro II precise bass 1977

Today I sold my vintage 1977 Aria Pro II Precise Bass guitar. I don’t really even know how to play bass, but I’ve hauled this guitar around for over 15+ years. It’s a Fender copy, but a better made guitar than the original Fenders of that era. I kept thinking I’d take bass lessons and learn to play it. Yet it never happened and the bass actually survived 5 moves without getting let go. Today I did let it go.

We also let go of the piano. I’ve played it since I was about 5 years old – about 44 years. Mom gave it to me some years ago. I can bang out some old Beatles tunes and chop around on the keys, but with only one living room and the kids well beyond piano lesson years, that’s some pretty valuable living room space to have dedicated to a seldom used piano. We donated it to Sylvia’s 5-year old nephew.

I still have some vintage guitar amps and guitars. I may just keep the acoustic I bought when I was 16, and the Telecaster and 1 amp. The rest needs to go. Sylvia has a bunch of artwork and other knick knacks that could use thinning out. And we have boxes full of artifacts of our kid’s lives. Old school papers, art, drawings, etc. That stuff takes up a lot of space also, but will probably survive this latest culling.

Like many Americans, we’ve made the recent decision that we don’t want to live in a big home anymore. We value being in the urban core of Austin in a smaller house. The location is so wonderful. 6 minutes to down town. Austin feels small again when you don’t start every drive from 3 miles past the Y in Oak Hill. I can get most places I need to go in 15 minutes or less. I even walked to Zilker Park for the Shakespeare play one night last summer (though it took an hour).

The trend to smaller homes is not going to abate. People are downsizing. The corner has been turned and the Builders know it. But in order for the American Consumer to be happy living in a smaller home, some stuff is going to have to go – or not be bought in the first place. Theoretically, that’s easy to know and accept. But when you’re actually picking up your stuff and deciding whether it goes into the “keep”, “goodwill”, “sell” or “trash” pile, it’s not so easy.

I’m going to miss that bass. Even though it went untouched, unplayed for years at a time, I knew I still had it. I liked owning it. I’m sad it’s gone. But if we’re going to be “small house people”, we just don’t have the luxury of clinging to impractical sentimental possessions like that anymore.

Eanes ISD Boundary Shown in Green

Where exactly is “Westlake” in Austin? Well, it depends on which boundaries you use. In the broadest sense, “Westlake” is considered to be those areas which attend Westlake High School, or those areas within the Eanes ISD boundaries, as shown on this map.

So, in general terms, the area west of Austin known as “Westlake” is everything that feeds into Eanes ISD schools.

If a buyer tells us they want a home that attends “Westlake Schools”, we will restrict the search in the Austin MLS to homes where School District = Eanes ISD aka “Westlake Schools”.

Many people also think of “Westlake” as the 78746 zipcode. In fact, the entire 78746 zipcode is contained within the boundaries of Eanes ISD, except for a small southern portion that crosses Barton Creek into the Barton Creek Greenbelt and Austin ISD. None of that area is developed though, so all homes in the 78746 zipcode attend Eanes ISD schools.

The 78733 zipcode is also contained within Eanes ISD. This includes neighborhoods such as Barton Creek West and Cuernavaca. But if you ask people there where they live, they are more likely to self-identify with the neighborhood rather than say “Westlake”. See map below.

But isn’t Westlake a separate city? Yes, it’s the City of West Lake Hills. See the map below and the area in puple, which shows the actual boundary lines of the municipality known as West Lake (two words) Hills.

City of West Lake Hills shown in purple

Notice that the city of Rollingwood is also located within Eanes ISD. People who live in Rollingwood would probably self identify as “Rollingwoood” residents instead of “Westlake”, though they live in the “Westlake Area” and attend Eanes ISD. The blue area just south of the municipalities of West Lake Hills and Rollingwood is technically inside the boundaries of City of Austin. This is the area north and northwest of Barton Creek Mall and includes subdivisions such as Woodhaven and Bee Cave Woods.

Residents of Woodhaven and Bee Cave Woods live in “Westlake”, but not inside the municipality of West Lake Hills. Sylvia and I live in Woodhaven, in Westlake, just a few blocks from Westlake High School, but we are residents of the City of Austin. Woodhaven is within walking distance to three Eanes schools – Cedar Creek Elementary, Hill Country Middle School and Westlake High. Thus, the neighborhood is heavily populated by families, as is Bee Cave Wood. In fact, we moved here specifically to be walking distance from Westlake High, though we also enjoy the awesome west/central location.

Finally, where exactly is Westlake High School? Surely it’s in West Lake Hills, right. Nope. It’s actually not located within any municipality. See the map below.

Westlake High School Austin TX

See those white areas on the map, and where I type “Westlake High School” in red? Those are unincorporated areas of Travis County. So, any crime at Westlake High would fall under the jurisdiction of the Travis County Sheriff, not West Lake Hills or City of Austin. People caught speeding through the school zone at Westlake high will be issued a ticket by the County.

So, if any purists would wish to argue that “Westlake” is only those areas located within the municipality of West Lake Hills, they would also have to say that Westlake High is not in Westlake. I’m sure there is a tax, finance or other logistical or political reason for leaving Westlake High in Travis County instead of annexing it. I haven’t investigated that, but it does seem odd that it’s not located inside West Lake Hills.

Hopefully you have a better sense of where “Westlake” is now. To me, it’s easiest to just think of it as those areas with Eanes ISD, per the first map above,. When a buyer says “we want Westlake Schools”, that’s what they mean.

Most homes in Austin have fenced back yards. Most fences are built on the property line. The standard wood fence lasts about 8-15 years before it needs replacing (less if it’s a cheap starter home fence).

Usually, when replacement is needed, reasonable neighbors work it out and get it done, sharing materials and labor in a way agreeable to both, depending on who gets the “good” side and who wants the fence the most. Ideally, this is just an old fashioned handshake agreement and all goes well, and both neighbors are happy with the result.

But often things don’t go well. It only takes one unreasonable neighbor to make things difficult. Having managed and owned rentals in Austin for 20+ years, I’ve had many more “fence encounters” the past three months alone than most Austinites will encounter in 2 decades. What have I learned? … there are some very weird Austin kooks out there when it comes to dealing with fence issues.

Scenario #1 – Petulant ManBoy Brat and his Parents, Fiancee and Great Dane
I own a duplex in South Austin. I use to own the duplex next door as well. I purchased both in 1999 and sold one in 2003, keeping the other. There had never been a fence between the two duplexes, though there had always been fences along the surrounding lot lines in back and the outer sides. I’ve never rented to tenants with pets at the duplex, so I never needed or wanted a fence for each individual yard.

At some point, the new owner next door, without my knowledge or permission, installed a chain-link fence connecting the front corners of the two duplexes, thus creating a large combined “shared” fenced yard in back encompassing the back yard of my Unit B and their Unit A. Apparently, the tenant (daughter of the owner) asked my tenant at the time if it would be ok for them to have a dog. My tenant, as I’m told by the neighbor, said it would be ok. I never knew of this. Besides, the tenant wasn’t the proper person to ask as they don’t own the property.

Recently my new tenant reported to me ongoing problems with the neighbor, now the owner’s son, and dogs roaming the back yard, crapping in it, and making the yard a health hazard for her small kids because of all the dung.

At this point, and perhaps I expect too much of people, one would think:

A) Good pet owners don’t let their dogs run loose and crap in their neighbor’s yard.

B) it should take no more than a simple request to keep someone else’s dogs off my property.

That’s not how it went.

Upon talking in person with the ManBoy/tenant, a petulant college punk with no common sense, he took the brazen position of “if you don’t want my dog crapping in your yard, pay me to build a fence”.

Reason and logic failed to persuade the young man, so I gave him my business card and asked him to have the property owner, his father, call me. I never received a call. I eventually mailed a Certified Demand Letter to the owner address listed in the County Tax Records stating, in short, “keep your dog off my property and pick up your dog feces”. No response, the letter was never signed for. I explained to my tenant the steps I had taken and told her to let me know if the problems continue.

Next, another email letter from my tenant:

Neighbors Dog Poop Picked up from My Property

“So sorry to be a bother again.  I try so hard not to complain .  The dogs next door, or more correctly the neighbors next door, are just too much.  They are back to two dogs and double the poop.  I’ve included a pic of the amount I’ve picked up in the last three weeks just from our side of the yard.

I guess I’m thinking that if you have the contact info for their land owner and if you felt comfortable with me contacting him, I would like to ask him to take care of the yard problem. I think it is worth a shot, especially considering my kids have to play in this backyard that is just covered in poop.

If you don’t think this is the right approach let me know what you think might work. I thought that leaving a mountain of poop by their back door step would give them the hint but they simply don’t seem to care”.

(Landlord/Tenant Legal Sidebar: The above represents notice from my tenant that a condition exists on my property that constitutes, as Texas Property Code terms it, “a threat to the health and safety of an ordinary person”. The average person may read it as a polite request from a frustrated tenant, but experienced landlords will see the red flags and understand that there are legal ramifications if I don’t take immediate steps to address the problem, regardless of who caused it.)

Having attempted to resolve this through conversation with the ManBoy/tenant, and finding him to be a recalcitrant moron unwilling to even admit that his dog’s poop doesn’t belong on my property, and having received no response from the letter sent to the owner, I felt there was no reason to attempt further dialog.

I sent my fence guy to my property the next day and had him simply remove the portion of fence on my side of the property line. This eliminated the existence of the enclosed yard and meant that the dog-owner neighbor would no longer be able to let the dogs out, lest they leave the yard and run off. It’s illegal to chain dogs outside in Austin, so a dog owner has the obligation to provide a fenced yard for the dog, or only let it outside while being walked on a leash.

I also called the City of Austin Health Department, which resulted in a visit the same day and a citation for accumulated dog feces. I even received a call from the health official updating me. He said “yeah, it was a significant amount of accumulation … and lots of flies”. Tell me about it. ManBoy thinks it’s all cool though. I’m the jerk.

Removal of the fence from my side, along with the health violation notice, got the attention of the neighbor/tenant. Starting the same day, I received separate phone calls from his Father, his Fiancee, the ManBoy/tenant himself, and finally his Mother. The content of all these conversations was essentially about their dismay at how unreasonable and rude I am and how a “good” neighbor would have simply offered to pay half for a new fence to divide the yards.

These conversations were truly bizarre, to any normal person. I mean, bizzare might not even be a strong enough word. Here’s an example:

Me: What I want is simple; keep your dogs off my property and pick up your poop. How you accomplish that is up to you and doesn’t involve me.
ManBoy: The dogs aren’t even mine, they’re my Fiancees’.
Me: Then tell your Fiancee to keep her dogs off my property and to pick up the poop.
ManBoy: She’s 6 month’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be out in the heat picking up Poop.
Me: Then do it for her.
ManBoy: But they’re not my dogs. I don’t see why you won’t just pay me half the cost to build a new fence. That would solve everything.

The above is just an example snippet of the mindset I was dealing with. Astoundingly stupid, self-absorbed people. Would I have been willing to pay half under different circumstances? Maybe. But I never could, and still can’t, get past the fact that I’d have to be willing to do business with people who think like this and can’t understand much less accept the concepts of responsibility, accountability and responsible pet ownership. Paying for half a fence isn’t going to cure that core problem. It would be no different than giving an alcoholic more booze in exchange for a promise to not act drunk anymore. Sharing the cost, in this particular case, is not something I would consider a good and wise investment, and it was an easy conclusion to arrive at.

The saga resulted, nevertheless, in me agreeing to come look yesterday at where ManBoy staked out his new fence line. He wanted me to “approve” it. A simple glance instantly revealed a crooked (diagonal) line splitting the fence line about 1/3 my side and 2/3 his side, between the units. Clearly off-center and improperly placed. Even a kindergartner could make a straighter line down the middle of two buildings.

“That’s obviously not the middle” I said, thinking silently that the stupidity of this kid knows no bounds. “These side lot lines are 5 foot setbacks, you need to measure it properly and put the fence in the middle”. He wanted instead to attach the fence to the remaining part of the existing fence on his side, which still extended a couple of feet across my lot line. I said “no, build it in the proper location, you can’t have part of my yard inside your fence line”.

I asked him if he smelled the strong stench while we were standing there. Literally, it smells like a pig farm. Not just slightly, but a strong putrid odor of dog shit. The kind of smell that causes a normal person to wince and wave her hand in front of her nose while saying “peeww”. These are Great Dane turds remember, many dozens of them peppering the yard in the hot 100 degree sun. Baking there every day in the hot grass, attracting flies.

Not responding to the smell question, he again started in on how rude it is of me to not pay for half the fence. I calmly listened as this escalated into a full blown verbal assault as I simply kept saying “no, it’s your dog, your fence”. He progressed to shouting, complete with expletives telling me “F… You. Build your own damn fence”. I thanked him for his input, told him I heard what he was saying and that we just don’t agree, and I left.

He followed that encounter up with the following emails:

ManBoy: You are a terrible person. Your mother should be ashamed of herself. I was trying to be a peaceful person this morning but your rudeness has no end, I regret my outburst. But seriously Mr. Crossland, you are a very terrible person. Either build your own fence or pay me both labor and half for the materials to do it. We are out.

My Reply: Thanks for your helpful note. I think you’re making the wrong move here. Since you’ve left the ball in my court, and seem unwilling to take responsibility for your situation, I will be taking the appropriate next steps legally.

I’m sorry you’re not able to see the absurdness of your position and how your failure to be a responsible pet owner and good neighbor has created this entire scenario. I won’t try to convince you further but will instead allow that to happen through the legal system and through City of Austin Code Enforcement.

ManBoy: You shouldnt try to be convincing us to build the fence on our own, it splits our property so we should be splitting the costs. Just split the cost for the materials and ill put up the damn fence. I guarantee you would be saving a lot more money splitting the cost than dealing with lawyers. Be a good neighbor and stop being an asshole.

My Reply: Thanks again for another kind and helpful note. My previous email stands. I’ll allow the authorities to educate and inform you regarding your obligations and responsibilities as a pet owner in the city of Austin.

I next heard from the Mother of the ManBoy, who called to apologize on behalf of her son. He’s under a lot of stress with school work, his job, a pregnant fiancee, and now having this fence issue “thrust” upon him “out of nowhere”, by me.

Incredible. Mom thinks her precious boy does no wrong and, like her son, thinks the only problem is me. If I would simply act right and agree to pay for the fence, all of this strife could be avoided. She was just as incapable as the boy of understanding the basic facts of the case and why I removed the fence from my side of the property. To the Mom, I was just an unreasonable person causing undo stress on her poor, sweet boy, which caused him to lose his composure and curse at me and send nasty emails.

I had previously heard from the Fiancee as well.  She wanted to lodge a complaint that my tenant’s small boys (2 and 4) were allowed to play naked in the back yard. This, she explained, was illegal and prevented her from being able to grill in her back yard with friends, because of the offensive sight of naked little boys frolicking in the grass (the grass from which my tenant had picked up the Fiancee’s dog’s pile of turds pictured above).

This was helpful for me to know. That a 6-month pregnant fiancee of ManBoy feels deprived of her right to relax with friends in her stench-filled back yard – surrounded by dozens, if not 100′s, of human-sized festering dog turds and swarms of flies – and grill up some tasty burgers. I guess I can see how the sight of the young naked boys could completely ruin the carefully established ambiance that the poop, flies and odor provide to the outdoor burger grilling experience. Frankly, I’m suprised a pregnat woman could be exposed to that back yard odor without vomiting.

In case you’re wondering, the conversation with the father was no less absent of reason than the conversations with ManBoy, Mom and the Fiancee. I’m still wondering if I might hear from the Grandparents next.

As it stands, these dog-owner neighbors are either going to start acting like responsible Austin pet owners or I’ll just keep sending City Code Enforcement to the property each week to write citations. If the fence is built improperly or substandard, code enforcement will be sent. If it’s not where it’s suppose to be, it will have to be moved. The dog poop must be picked up and not allowed to accumulate or attract flies. Unfortunately, with some people, anything less than a firm, unbending stance, including involvement of City of Austin Health Department is required. When reason fails, forced compliance becomes the only effective tool.

Scenario #2 – Neighbor Doesn’t like Instant, Free Repair to Fence

On another fence episode this past summer, high winds blew down the fence at a rental home I manage. Tenant reported it to me. I immediately sent my guy to replace two snapped posts and put the fence back up and make sure it’s stable. On small repairs like this, I just get the job done and don’t drag my feet trying to find the neighbor and have discussions. This was less than a $100 repair, not worth the logistics of asking for a shared expense.

The adjoining neighbor called to complain that the the new wood posts and the one new top stringer added doesn’t match the old wood and looks ugly. (her side has the exposed posts and framing). There was no thanks for simply handling it quickly at our own expense. No offer to share the cost. Just complaining. I told her my efforts were complete and that I’m sorry she is unhappy with how it looks, but that new treated lumber looks like that and it will eventually fade and blend in. She said she was going to get a bid to “make it look right”, but I never heard back and it ended there.

Scenario #3 – Petulant Home Owner Angry We Won’t Split Cost on Unneeded New Fence

Finally, last month, owner adjacent to another rental property calls and wants me to split the cost of replacing a 6 year old fence. It was supposedly “falling apart”. I sent my guy, he evaluated the fence, tightened up a couple of spots and replaced one broken picket. He reported back to me “the fence is in really good shape, is stable and isn’t even close to needing replacement”.

I informed the neighboring owner of this and explained that we won’t be doing anything further, that the fence is in good shape and performing as expected.

He responded with an email with photos showing his side of the fence. The photo reveals dog damage on his side from the dogs knawing and scratching and jumping on the fence. In fact, the broken picket we replaced was broken from the other side by the dog, as indicated by the manner, height and direction from which the slat was split.

The photos also reveal that his mal-adjusted sprinklers were soaking the fence, as evidenced by the arc-shaped degraded and faded areas where the water sprays directly on the fence. His side does visibly look worse than ours, but it’s because of his dogs and his sprinkler. I explained that to him and advised that he should keep his dogs away from and off the fence and adjust the sprinklers to prevent further deterioration of his side of the fence.

His email response:

“I have all the evidence I need to provide efficient information to ensure you take responsibility for your property. I don’t need or asked for your opinion, just fix what is clearly your responsibility and in a timely manner. I will take whatever action is necessary to ensure it happens.

Now you say that it’s my fault. I don’t think making excuses or coming up with theories of the dog and sprinklers being the cause. I’ve been willing to work with you but now I will make sure you fix your own problems.”

I didn’t respond. I did notify my client (the owner of that property) that if he hears from a concerned neighbor regarding my unwillingness to spend my owner’s money to replace a perfectly good fence, just refer him back to me and I’ll handle it. The owner was perplexed as well, having occupied the home not long ago and knowing the fence is in really good shape.

Conclusion

For those lucky enough to rarely encounter unreasonable people and situations like these, count yourself lucky. Those of us in Real Estate and Property Management in Austin have interface with hundreds of strangers every year under all sorts of scenarios. We have to learn to set boundaries with others and make decisions about things. Learn when to stand ground and when to give in. When to be flexible and reasonable and when to go hard core straight by the rules and law with no give at all.

Fences create these scenarios more than any other issue. Trees are right up there also, when they are on property lines and/or have branches hanging over, but fences have much less of an easy outcome than trees, and there are clear laws controlling trees whereas fences are, unless in volation of code, mostly a neighbor-to-neighbor issue.

If you’re a home owner with a fence, you have to have the proper mindset and expectations, depending on which side of the equation (or yard) you’re operating from. Splitting things 50/50 is what happens in an ideal world, but we don’t live in an ideal world. Fences are highly subjective with regard to appearance and condition. One neighbor’s “needs replacing” might be another’s “looks great and has plenty of useful life remaining”. Fences are subject to dogs abusing them, digging under them, kids throwing balls against them, climbing and breaking them, trees falling on them, blowing down in high wind, water damage from sprinklers, posts snapping off, boards curling, nails popping, and just plain aging and falling apart.

If you want a new fence real bad and your neighbor doesn’t, then you buy yourself a new fence and move on.

The burden of cost  falls primarily on the person with the greatest need or motivation. No neighbor can force another neighbor to pay anything whatsoever. The law isn’t set up that way. This truly is one of those “reasonable people will work it out” things in life. If you build a new fence at your own expense, then think you can bill the neighbor half the cost and sue in Small Claims Court if they refuse to pay, you will lose. Your neighbor’s obligation to participate financially in your new fence simply does not exist.

In the ManBoy scenario above,  had the owner approached me at the beginning, prior to obtaining a dog, and said:

“We’re thinking about getting a dog. Obviously we can’t have it running loose in your back yard and crapping in your grass, so we’re going to build a fence before we get the dog so we can provide it with its own private yard. Are you interested in participating in the design and cost of the fence? If not, we’ll take care of it on our own since it’s us who wants a dog and we know you never rent to tenants with dogs, but we just wanted to see if you’re interested anyway”.

Under that scenario, the neighbor would have found me to be an extremely reasonable and willing neighbor, ready to work out a fair deal. I love making win/win deals. I like to make improvements to my properties. I would have shared in the cost. I was never given that opportunity though, to come to a reasonable agreement with reasonable people. Thus, plan B ensued.

If you want to build a fence, give your neighbor a chance to help, but don’t act bitter or offended if they don’t. Life isn’t fair. I explain that to my kids constantly. Life doesn’t owe you fairness. Take responsibility for what you want and don’t expect others to act in your best interest. In the end, what comes around goes around. If I want to build a new fence at a property I own and my neighbor doesn’t want (or maybe can’t afford) to help, it’s ok. Not a problem. My expectation is already that I’ll pay the entire cost if I really want the fence. Something good will come my way in some other way in life, and it all balances out in the end.

I recently read the autobiography Keith Richard’s Life. In it, Keith Richards, of Rolling Stones fame of course, talks about becoming a songwriter and how it changed his perspective on life. It caused him to more closely observe people and how they behave. To more closely listen to comments and phrases people use, always keeping an ear tuned for that next catchy song line. Explaining how the songwriter part of him is always active and aware, “never turning off. Unconsciously constantly running.”

I totally understand. It’s like that for me as a real estate person. Not that I’m literally “always thinking about” real estate, but I easily connect real estate concepts and the behaviors I observe in people to things outside real estate. It happens automatically, whether I want it to or not. When I go into a house I’ve never been in, such as a friend’s house, I notice things about the house automatically. Not that I judge good or bad, I just notice. If I was quized later about ceiling height, flooring, layout, updates, etc., I’d probably be able to recall whereas a normal nRealtor wouldn’t pay attention to those details.

I also take note quite often of how people make choices and decisions. This can happen in line at Amy’s Ice Cream, in the parking lot at Barton Creek Mall (it’s curious the effort people go through to get a closer spot, or “better location”), or even eating out and observing the phenomenon of how often “I’ll have the same thing” is selected. Decision-making just interests me, which is why I like working with and helping home buyers so much.

Thursday night last week I escorted my youngest daughter and her friends to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II. We arrived about 8:45PM, waited in a line for a while, then we were let into the theater at 10:30PM, an hour and a half before showtime.

As we were about middle in line, the best seats were already taken, but there were plenty of good ones remaining in the top section, though they were filling fast. Our group of kids stalled at the bottom entrance as they scanned the remaining supply of seats. I said bluntly “Don’t think, just go”. and one of the boys said “good idea” and they immediately hauled it up to the third row from the top where they claimed 5 seats in a row, relegating me to sit a row below on an end seat (most likely to the delight of my 15 year old daughter, who would have preferred an even greater distance I’m sure). This actually proved to be an excellent vantage point from which to observe the slow stream of remaining viewers enter the theater and look for seats.

Latecomers to theater seating exhibit almost the same behavioral attributes of buyers in a sellers market, where there are no easy pickings. Here’s what I observed.

Theatergoers arrived at the bottom left of the seating section and quickly looked up to the right to scan the available “inventory” of seating. Several different behaviors were repeated.

The Doddlers
I’m not a professional lip reader, but “Oh no!” and “Oh sh*t!” are pretty easy. Groups ranging mainly from 2 to 6 kids would arrive, see that there were no easy pickings, then stand, frozen, not moving while they processed the options. Those options were to head up to investigate whether some of the empty seats were truly available (as some in fact were), perhaps split the group into two smaller groups, or head down to the dreaded front section, just below the screen, which is generally considered “too close” (bad location). As these indecisive doddlers stood contemplating, others arrived, made quicker decisions, and eliminated what would have been the best available choices had the doddlers not doddled. Eventually they made a move, but an uncertain one, and the delay cost them by reducing the available choices.

This is just like buyers in a tight Austin real estate market, or the somewhat overpriced market we currently have. They arrive in Austin, are surprised to find the pickings not as easy as they were expecting, and often fall into a trance of inaction, not wanting to settle for lesser pickings, but observing that it’s not getting better while they wait. Eventually they make a decision, but waiting has not necessarily benefited them as others more ready to decide select the best homes available.

The Investigators
These kids also expressed “oh, no!” upon glancing up at the seating, which deceptively had some open spots, most of which were already “saved” though. Unlike the doddlers, they take immediate action, moving tentatively toward the unavailable seating just to make sure. Asking politely “are those taken?” as they move up the rows. Some got lucky, but only the first groups. After confirming that all the rows of 3-5 empty seats are “Pending” (being saved), they reluctantly move down to the available seating in the less desirable section near the screen. Some made this assessment and moved on quickly, others remained in denial a bit longer, paying an opportunity cost for delay as the lower sections continued to fill with the next group of arrivals.

This behavior is just like the buyer who wants a nice, charming cottage in central Austin with a remodeled kitchen and bath for $200K. We tell them it doesn’t exist, but they need to see for themselves and check it out a bit. See firsthand. They email listing after listing. “What about this one?”. We’ll go see it tomorrow. It’s a dump, you don’t want it, trust me. Eventually they accept reality, make search criteria adjustments, and expand the search.

The Decisive Opportunists
Another type of theatergoer would arrive, look up at the mostly full seating, look down at the less full lower seating, and immediately, without delay, head toward the best remaining lower seats and take them. Not much time was spent thinking about this. Literally, just seconds. Maybe some of those empties up higher might actually be available, but they don’t care, they want a quick, sure thing and to be done with it. Usually there was a leader commanding the others to follow. “Let’s go .. come on!”

There are buyers like this. They size things up rather quickly, scan the adequate choices and make a decision. Oddly, as I’ve written in past blog articles, including this one back in 2007, these are often the happiest buyers. Much less stressed. Perhaps slightly disappointed there wasn’t more to pick from, but unwilling to torture themselves agonizing over improbable long shot efforts. They go for the low hanging fruit and seem satisfied to a higher degree than those who search endlessly for the “perfect” find.

The Researchers
Finally, there was one young couple, about 15 years old each, dressed in costume. The girl, dressed like Hermione was trailed by a young Harry. She arrived at the same location as the others, looked up and started scanning seats. They only needed two together. Using a combination of eye contact and hand motions/pointing, she located a lone empty seat and started straight toward it, with Harry right behind. This was about three rows below me. “This one is available?”, she confirmed. I was surprised. I thought at that point everything was full. Then glancing down about 8 seats to her left, she located another lone seat. She walked straight to it, Harry in tow.

Alas, it was taken. But I knew what she was trying to do. Had the second been open, she would have orchestrated an 8-person shift to the right and created a 2-seat spot for her and young Harry. She gave one last glance at the other options, then immediately marched across the rest of the row, down the other side to the very front of the theater, and again scanned the entire theater top to bottom, ending up identifying what was probably one of the last remaining sets of two seats on the edge of the second row from the front, and securing them immediately. That young girl is going to be a leader some day, if not already.

There are buyers like this too. They don’t settle for first and easiest, but they don’t waste a lot of time sizing things up either. They methodically explore all options quickly, then make a decision. Most commonly, these are the investors we use to help back in the 2005-2007 boomlet we had in Austin. Fly in on a Thursday night, look on Friday, make an offer Friday night or Saturday morning, wrap things up by Sat night then fly out Sunday. Occasionally, an owner-occupant on a 1-trip purchase visit will do the same, but these buyer-types were usually investors unencumbered by emotion.

The funnest thing for me though, in killing an hour and a half watching teenagers and young adults demonstrate their assessment and decision-making skills in a “market” of an ever shrinking ‘supply” of seats, was witnessing how hard it was for some, and how easy it was for others, to size things up, accept reality, and make a decision.

This is exactly what we see in adults buying houses. Some really, really, honestly have a very difficult time making a decision. Others are very quick and sure. Most are somewhere in between. In this way, the young Harry Potter fans are not much different than adult home buyers. All eventually learn, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need.

One Last Thing

Finally, at the end of the night, at 3:30AM as my younger daughter and I pulled up to the house, my older daughter and about 6 of her friends were sitting out on the driveway still talking. They had attended a different theater. On the ride home, my younger daughter had explained to me why this Harry Potter movie “wasn’t one of the best. It was ok, but not that great”.

She recounted scene after scene that departed too much from the book, in her opinion, or was left out. It wasn’t the right two guys (Crab abd Goyle) in the scene with the fire. The scene with Griphook the Goblin didn’t explain enough. The final showdown with Voldemort was all wrong, and anti-climactic. She liked the movie despite all that, but, as she explained to me in great detail, it had a lot of room for improvement.

We greeted my other daughter and her friends on the driveway. “What did you think?” I asked. She said, “it was the best movie of them all. My favorite”. All her friends agreed.

Had they seen the same movie as my other kid?

The next day we drove to Padre Island for a short weekend vacation at the beach and, along the way, the two girls debated in the back seat whether Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II was a good movie or not. Finally, the older daughter nailed the younger with the following truth:

“The reason you don’t like it is because you let yourself be annoyed and upset by small things that don’t matter and aren’t important to the big picture. All the important stuff was perfect, line for line just like the book. Snape’s memories were perfect. Your just choosing to focus on little things because you don’t want to like the movie”.

Whoa! This is exactly like a lot of buyers. “I don’t like the color of the garage door”. “The front porch seems small”. “I don’t like brick”. Even homes in the perfect location, the right price and with a good, decent floorplan are not good enough because the minor items are not up to snuff and are allowed to become important factors.

This fault-finding plagues a lot of buyers, the jumping out to them of small imperfections while the overall greatness of the things that are most important – location, price and layout – go unrecognized because of the “noise” of minor and curable imperfections. It’s a human condition, really. Not everyone has it, but a lot of home buyers do. It makes it really hard to fall in love with a house, because all homes are imperfect in some way. Even brand new homes.

I’ll leave it at that.

I’ve been working with buyers recently looking in Central Austin neighborhoods. A recurring scenario always develops. Buyers are in love with neighborhoods such as Allandale, Travis Heights, Zilker, Barton Hills, Hyde Park, East Austin, etc., but cannot find an acceptable home to purchase in the Central Austin areas they love.

A couple of months ago we did get lucky and find a newer home in an older Allandale area and my buyers got exactly what they wanted at the price they wanted. More recently though, after exhausting all available inventory in Allandale, a different set of buyers finally gave up. We eventually found a great house in a Northwest Austin “family subdivision” of cookie-cutter homes that is now awaiting closing. The buyers are, however, very, very happy with the home they are buying, having decided against being hard core Central-Dwellers.

This is a common outcome for buyers who start off in love with Central Austin. Many end up in a newer subdivision further out because the just can’t handle the Central Austin housing stock.

This morning, I received a call from an agent about a lease listing I have in East Austin. “Will the owners consider selling instead of renting?” she wanted to know. “Let me guess”, I responded. “Your buyer wants East Austin but you’ve shown all the available inventory and it’s all either over priced or too ratty, or you keep losing out to multiple offers”.  Bingo.

The buyer, I was told, has lost out on multiple instances of multiple offers, losing the last one even after bidding $14K over list price. Ouch. Been there, done that with buyers myself. Very frustrating. Welcome to the Central Austin home buying experience.

So, the Austin everyone falls in love with – the non-cookie-cutter central areas with charming homes on tree lined streets close to everything, walking distance to the funky little coffee shop and the hip new restaurant and 6-12 minutes from work – contains these older Austin homes that are actually not suitable for the majority of buyers who fall in love with the neighborhoods in which they are located. That’s the reality of it.

It’s sort of like being enamored by the aura and ambiance that cool, funky hippy chick you met at the party last Saturday night. The conversation was great and you had the time of your life! You think about her constantly for three days and you’re certain it’s real love. Then over lunch in the light of day three days later you realize she has some deal breaker “issues” going on that you’d really rather avoid dealing with.

Central Austin is that cool hippy chick and you’re just some poor dude with good credit who wears Dockers, works in a cube and wants desperately to be anything other than a bland, normal person. You want to be a cool Austinite, or that cool couple living in Central Austin, near a park where your dog can run. But when you and/or your wife get inside that charming Craftsman in Hyde Park and get your first look at that grungy small bathroom, you immediately feel repulsed and rule out that house. Could you really be expected to get by in a 5×8 master bath with a commode, standard tub and a one pedestal lavatory sink? “Who can wake up to that every day?” you might wonder.

And this continues until frustration and deflation cause a rethinking of either your price range, home size/condition and/or location. Suddenly, Circle C, with big soaking tubs and separate showers, separate commode closet, double vanity sinks and huge master closets seems much closer to downtown than before, especially when you walk into a $350K home in Circle C and compare it to what you get for $350K two blocks from the cool coffee shop.

So how does one actually find a suitable home in Central Austin? You have to either lower your standards or raise your price. One word: Compromise.

From my experience, something has to give. You have to compromise on something. First on the list would be decor and finish-out, or the visual appeal of the inside of the home.

Be Less Picky
For Sylvia and I, location trumped everything when we super-downsized a year ago from our nice big 3,300 sqft custom home on 1 acre in Oak Hill to our cramped little 1800 sqft 1970′s tract house in Eanes ISD. For us, being walking distance to Westlake High School and the local shops, and a short easy drive (or bus ride) to Zilker and Downtown overcomes everything else. This is the best location for school-aged families in Austin, in my opinion. The house is livable, but I’ve helped many buyers who would walk in to our very home if it was for sale and say “no thanks, needs too much updating, too small, no 2nd living room, etc”.

So, we’ve given up on space and the quality finish-outs we’ve become accustomed to the past decade-plus, and we are happy with the decision. We are going to update and upgrade eventually, but we’re durable old Austinites who know how to rough it in a fixer-upper for a year or two. We lived in Travis Heights for 5 years in the early 1990s without A/C, we both had frugal upbringings, so living in a 1970s track home with popcorn ceilings, old bathrooms and thick wall texturing is not a big deal for us.

By default, we are less picky than 90% of the buyers we work with. Because of that, we got a great deal on a house the seller previously had been unable to sell.

If you can become less picky, you open up a lot more options.

But some buyers just can’t get there. They just can’t do it. If you’re that buyer, then your candidate pool of Central Austin homes just shrank big time. By well over 70%. You have very few suitable properties to consider, unless you can swing my second suggestion and raise your price range.

Raise your Price Range
For some buyers, raising the price range $50K to $100K will do the trick. Going from $350K to $450K opens up a lot of options. Oddly, many buyers have already raised their price range in a round-about way, but are not aware they have done so. I’ll show an older house with dated kitchen, baths and decor, and watch and listen as the buyers walk through and muse about how they would need to redo the kitchen, baths, etc. and I’ll mentally be adding up those costs and say “you just rattled off about $50K in updates and upgrades to the home”. And they’ll say, “oh, it will cost that much?”. Yep, it will. And if you’re willing to spend that much on a fixer-upper, why not raise your price rage and find something already fixed up?

For example, on a 1,500 sqft home Central Austin 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, let’s run through some rough numbers:

New engineered wood flooring throughout, with tile in the wet areas = $8 per sqft = $12,000
New kitchen cabinets and countertops, another $12,000-$18,000.
Update master and Hall baths, $3,000 + $6,000 = $9,000.
Scrape all popcorn ceilings = $1.50 per sqft = $2,250
Custom two-tone paint throughout, walls, trim and doors = $2.50 per sqft = $3,750
Misc Repair and updates to fixtures, ceiling fans, etc = $2,000
Mechanical updates if needed to HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing = $5,000 +/-

So, on a typical walk-through of a home that cosmetically is sound but “needs everything” with regard to updating, you can easily get to $40k to $50K before you even start talking about  moving walls and making structural changes such as opening up kitchens, adding arched openings to closed in formal dining rooms, etc. And if you’re going to do all that – and do it right – you might as well replace all the trim and doors and do the exterior and landscaping as well.

In a blink of an eye, you’re at $80K to $100K in improvements before even factoring in the costs/value of lifestyle disruption and possible displacement from the home during the work. But you’ll end up with an awesome home.

That said, it would be easier for most to simply find the home that has already had all of this (properly) done and pay more for that home. Often, these are the homes that attract multiple offers though, because there are more buyers who are unwilling or unable to imagine or complete a remodel project to a home do to time constraints or they just don’t want to deal with it, than there are buyers willing to take on a rehab project. Thus when a nicely done remodel appears on the market in Central Austin, it receives a lot of attention if priced right.

Expand your Geographic Boundaries
There are a lot of really super nice people living in Circle C and Steiner Ranch. Many are old Austintes who grew up in South Austin, got real jobs, got married and have two or three kids. I assure you they are still very cool and young at heart. But they are living the parenting phase of life. Also, many transplants, so you get a good mix. They want good schools and more home for their money, and in Circle C or Steiner Ranch, you get a great house for about $120-$135 per sqft as opposed to $200-$300 per sqft in Central Austin. And your kids will have more kids to play with than in Central Austin. That’s not to say Zilker or Travis Heights isn’t a great place to raise kids, but it’s a statistical fact that families in Central Austin are a dwindling demographic.

Yes, some buyers  have their sensibilities offended by the production builder subdivision look and feel of these type of planned unit neighborhoods, but I can tell you a lot of our buyers end up there after getting Central Austin Fatigue. It’s not the cool “Austin Hippy Chick” neighborhood, but rather it’s the “Sensible Mom in the MiniVan” type neighborhood. We all find the right blend of wants and needs, cool versus bland, sensible versus exciting in our housing selection. For some, forcing themselves into a small central Austin home just doesn’t survive the reality check of two days of looking.

Don’t give up on the great Central Austin house until you have to, but many of you will in fact give up and move further out. For those who swing it, enjoy your cool Central Austin ‘hood!

Would I love a Travis Heights Cottage with wood floors and a giant oak tree in front? Sure, but it wouldn’t make sense at this stage in life. A 1970s home in Eanes does make sense because of the schools and the location. If Sylvia has her way, this is our last house. We’ll see.

Popcorn Ceiling

As I was suffering with allergies last month, praying the medicine would work, and wishing I could at least start to half-breath again, I took respite on my living room sofa and laid there for a while, like a zombie, staring at my ceiling, meditating and trying to will my sinuses into operation.

As I did so, I made an odd observation. “This is one of the nicest popcorn ceilings I’ve ever seen!”, I thought. I continued examining the ceiling, from corner to corner. Not a blemish, stain or evidence of previous repair or patchwork anywhere. No discoloration around the A/C vents. No defects at all. The popcorn ceilings in my house are, in a word, pristine. Not bad for a late-1970s ranch-style home that’s spent over half its life as a rental.

Many home owners scrape their popcorn ceilings (aka Acoustic Ceilings). If you hire someone to do it, it costs roughly $1.00 per square foot to remove and re-texture, depending on various factors such as the ceiling height, the type of paint that’s been applied to to ceilings, and whether it has asbestos (as much popcorn did up until the 1970s).

When we list homes in Austin with popcorn ceilings, and seek feedback from Realtors who show the home, we’ll often hear “the buyers didn’t like the popcorn ceilings”. Often, a listing in 1970s Austin neighborhoods will boast of the popcorn removal. In our Austin MLS right now, there are comments in listings that say (actual quotes):

… popcorn removal & paint 2007
… NO popcorn here
… ceiling popcorn removed
… owners have gone through the trouble to remove the popcorn ceilings
… NO POPCORN ceilings
…etc.

People hate popcorn ceilings. But as I look at my own vintage 1978 popcorn ceilings, and how perfect they are, I wonder what all the fuss is about.

I mean, really. What’s the big deal? Sylvia and I are getting ready to install hardwood floors this summer, and I know the popcorn ceilings will drastically reduce the echo noise produced by hard surface flooring. This sound dampening provides a more pleasant acoustical experience in the home, being much easier on the ears. This, in fact, is why it is technically called an “acoustical texture”. The term “popcorn” came into use because it describes the appearance. But have you ever been in an all-tile or all-wood home where the ceilings have been scraped flat? It’s noisy and echoes badly.

So, when you’re up watching Letterman, your spouse shouts from the bedroom “turn down the TV!”, and you respond “it’s already down to number 4, and I can barely hear it”. You have your scraped ceilings and wood or tiles floors to thank for this unwelcome sound travel throughout your home. Throw rugs will help a bit, but are not nearly as effective as popcorn ceilings at dampening sound.

Some people think the popcorn ceilings have asbestos and are dangerous. Partially true. Some of the 1950s and 1960s popcorn had asbestos, but these ceilings emit no vapors or fumes that can be inhaled. As long as they are covered with paint, and you don’t disturb and breath the dust, you are not exposed to anything toxic.

I do agree that once the ceilings have had a few roof leaks, been painted, and start to look funky, the popcorn can become unattractive. But so can a flat textured ceiling that has suffered the same fate.

That all being said, Sylvia dislikes the popcorn. When we replace the flooring, she’ll probably say “shouldn’t we go ahead and scrape the popcorn while we’re doing the floors anyway?” (Project Creep) My response, “remove this perfect, pristine popcorn?! Are you crazy?! I love these ceilings!”

Please, somebody agree with me and let’s admit that this obsessive neurosis about the texture and appearance of a popcorn ceiling is nothing more than “texture snobbery”.

My 14 year old daughter and I like to catch lunch at Rudy’s BBQ on Sundays after her volleyball practice. I love everything about Rudy’s, especially having one two minutes from the house.

Yesterday was a typical Sunday at Rudy’s on 360. Great cross section of Austinites, young and old and of all stripes, including a table of bikers. More on that in a minute.

One of the cool features of Rudy’s is the really nifty hand washing machine. Think of it as a hand jacuzzi. You stand before this contraption which has two cylinders into which you put your hands. Upon doing so, a swirling cascade of warm water starts spraying on your hands, for about 30 seconds, then stops automatically. You then remove your reinvigorated wet paws, shake them dry (or use a paper towel if you have manners) and then place one of the provided “I Have Clean Hands” stickers on your shirt. Sort of like the “I Voted” stickers you get after voting, but for some reason the “Clean Hands” sticker provides a greater sense of accomplishment.

So it was this Sunday, that my daughter and I treated our sticky BBQ stained hands to the epidermal delight. I went first, then she, and as we stood there, a biker in full dress stepped up behind us. What happened next ought to be illegal in a Texas BBQ Joint.

The biker was a newbie at this particular form of hand washing. He asked us hesitantly. “you just stick yer hands in there?” “Yep”, I responded.

Upon doing so, the biker seemed startled. “Whoa! That’s hot water…really hot…Ahh!…Woooo …Yikes … Oh, Jeez that’s hot … Oh man…Whoa Mamma …” No exageration, I’m not kdding. At this point I said, “Oh come on Dude, you’re a tough Texas Biker. You can handle a little hot water can’t you?!”

He smiled and said, “Oh yeah …thanks for reminding me”.

He was probably an Orthodontist or a middle manager at Dell. Every Sunday is Halloween in Central Texas as weekend warriors trade in their Dockers and Polo Shirts for their Biker Get’up. They get on their Harley’s and take a 3 or 4 hour spin through the Texas Hill Country, stopping somewhere for the requisite BBQ lunch, then return home and park the trusty steed in the coveted indoor garage bay while the Accord bakes in the hot driveway sun.

I have to admit, I wanna be one of those guys, but it’s hard to tell who’s a real Biker in Austin anymore. These aren’t your 1980′s Austin bikers, but they try to look like them. All in fun I suppose, and nobody thinks twice. These are not scary people. They are to real bikers what Pergo is to solid Oak flooring.

I’m almost 50, gone grey mostly. I need a Harley real bad. Or a red convertible. Or something. I see these guys, accompanied by their saggy ‘ol ladies in complementary attire, out living the real pretend biker life, and it looks like fun. But also a joke. I’m conflicted.

Middle aged men of Texas, if a 14 year old girl can handle the hot water in the hand washer at Rudy’s, and you can’t, take the Harley home and park it, take off the leather, shave the scruffy face you’ve been saving since Thursday to look the part, and go get a manicure. But don’t dishonor the mystique of the true Texas Biker by squealing like a stuck pig at the hand washer in Rudy’s.

If you’re currently searching for a home in Austin – not online but physically touring homes with an Austin Realtor – you know that one of your biggest limitations is available daylight time. That’s about to change over Spring Break as we move to daylight saving.

Starting in Early November each year, sunset happens before 6PM. That makes looking at homes on weekdays after work nearly impossible. Buyers don’t like looking at homes in the dark. Tonight, sunset will be around 6:30PM but, starting tomorrow, you’ll have an extra hour of daylight to view homes with sunset after 7:30PM. By mid April, sunset moves to around 8PM and by mid-summer you have until 8:30PM.

We all know the real estate market in Austin is better in the Spring and Summer. The accepted reason is that Spring/Summer is a more convenient time for making moves, especially for families with children in school. But I also think there are secondary factors.

One of the main secondary factors is the notion of “daylight shopping hours”. It’s just easier to buy a house when you have more daylight to work with. Also, I think buyers actually feel more like buying in warmer weather with longer days.

If you are in Austin right now, on the cusp of Spring Break with this nice weather we’re having, don’t you just feel happier and don’t you want to get outside and do something? I’ll bet half of us are going to start wearing shorts again this weekend, for the first time this  season. We sort of wake up in the Spring and something inside us  within our Psyche – is activated by sunny long days. Perhaps it’s a primal gene related to shelter and physical movement. We’ve been hunkered down for the winter, with short days and colder weather. Now we want to get out and move around, go places, work on our houses and yards, plant trees, trim hedges, etc. Drive through your neighborhood this weekend, you’ll see it happening in Circle C, in Legend Oaks and in Westlake neighborhoods. Everywhere in Austin.

In doing these things, we start noticing whether or not our current homes are suitable and we start thinking about things we’d like to have that we don’t. For many, one thought leads to another, and next thing you know, you’re online browsing Austin real estate listings, for no particular reason. It’s not like you’ve decided to move. You’re just curious. Then you see a house you really like, and you mutter to yourself a seemingly harmless, “Hmm”. Then “Hey honey, come look at this”.

Should you resist this stirring inside? A sudden and mild dissatisfaction with your house and a yearning for something bigger and better, maybe a different location? For most people, yes. You should resist. You don’t need to move. You don’t need a new house. The house you have is perfectly fine. You’re tricking yourself into thinking you need more. You really don’t need more, you just want more, or you simply want something different.

For others, yes, it’s time to think seriously about the pros and cons of a move up, or a move down, or a lateral move to a different location in Austin. Your stage of life, age of kids, opinion of schools, new job location, extracurricular interests and many other things will factor into this. When Sylvia and I downsized to Westlake (is that an oxymoron?) last year, it was specifically because of a life-stage decision. We have one child heading to college next year and another starting at Westlake High School. We also wanted to live closer in, have a smaller home and be walking distance to Westlake High, the Westbank library, and area shops. Budget cutting was also a factor. We achieved all of those outcomes by moving. These were good reasons to move.

So, if you catch the Spring in Austin house hunting bug, even if just window shopping online, try to write an actual pros and cons list of the outcomes that will result from a move, both financial and lifestyle related. This will help you determine whether you’re having nutty thoughts based on emotional impulse, or if there are in fact actual measurable improvements to your life that a move will bring about.

Anyway, go put on some shorts and get out in the yard with a rake, or start going around the exterior of your house with a caulk gun and see where you’re thoughts lead you. If it’s back inside searching Austin homes online, then you might prove my point.

Last week I attended the VRBO “stakeholder’s meeting” held by the city of Austin. The meeting was the first in response to growing complaints from neighborhood groups and individuals about the burgeoning VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) business in Austin. There were over 100 attendees representing both sides of the debate, as well as some just there to listen, like me. The discussion was lively.

The Anti-VRBO Point of View
Imagine living next to or across the street from a VRBO house in Austin. This home is essentially a guest house for vacationers, year-round. You’re nowhere near a lake or vacation spot. You live in Allandale, or Barton Hills or Travis Heights. Each year, you witness a parade of 50 or more different groups, in and out of the home – every weekend – coming to enjoy UT football, ACL Fest, South by Southwest, and any number of other Austin attractions. Even if the visitors don’t cause problems, have loud parties, or otherwise bother you, you’d still probably rather have a family or other permanent residents living in the home. You’d rather have actual neighbors in your neighborhood instead of a constant stream of strangers on vacation or visiting locals.

The Pro-VRBO Point of View
Imagine you own a home, well located in central Austin. Perhaps you inherited it from a parent, or you purchased it many years ago and kept it as a rental when you moved to the suburbs. For whatever reason, you’d like to hang on to it. Because of the high property taxes, it doesn’t work well financially as a long term rental anymore, with taxes and insurance alone eating up more than half the gross annual rents.

You’ve learned about this new way of making money on a rental property called short term or “vacation” rentals. You decide to fix up the house, make it pretty, furnish it with nice stuff, and you post it on a website such as Austin-based HomeAway.com as a vacation rental. You start booking stays for $600 per weekend or $900 per week, with a 3 night minimum. You visit the house every turnover, keep it looking good – in fact one of the nicest looking houses in the neighborhood now. You’re not breaking any laws (though this is debatable – more on that later) and you’re paying the required state hotel tax to the comptroller. Thus, you want your neighbors to mind their own business and stop griping. You don’t want others telling you what you can and can’t do with your property.

That’s both side in a nutshell, though it does get more complex than that.

“Non-transient” use of residential property is forbidden by city zoning rules in Austin, except for Bed and Breakfasts, which are strictly regulated. The term “non-transient” seems unambiguous, and most would agree that anything under 30 days is a short-term stay in a residential home. This 30-day standard is accepted nationwide.

Yet the city is clearly not moving to enforce this nor is it trying to shut down VRBO homes in Austin. Instead, it has embarked on this study, starting with the 1st stakeholder forum, to try to figure out what to do and how to do it. So, for now, the operators of these vacation rentals are, interestingly, either breaking or not breaking a rule that may or may not exist because it’s up to the city to interpret how it wants to treat the definition of non-transient. If I owned one of these, I’d hold tight and keep doing what I’m doing. If I was thinking about investing a lot into one of these, I’d hold off until I knew what the rules are going to be. There may or may not be amnesty for existing properties, depending on what the rules become.

Having heard from many of the VBRO owners themselves during the forum, it’s clear to me that the majority are clean operators conscientious of potential impact on neighbors and careful to enforce their own rules such as not renting to people under age 25, restricting the number of vehicles, and having written contracts that spell out the terms and conditions of the stay.

Having also heard from some neighbors of VRBO properties, it’s clear that these homes are a terrible nuisance in at least some cases, creating parking issues, noise and excess trash and debris. Calling 911 doesn’t solve the problem. Neither does reporting the property to city code enforcement. So these neighbors are angry and, in some cases, just want these homes banned entirely.

But an outright ban didn’t seem to be the consensus rising from the general comments, nor does it seem to be the direction the city wants to take this.

My prediction

This will probably take 18 months to 3 years to sort out, as Austin city government is slow. But, eventually, vacation rental homes in Austin will be regulated. Owners will be required to register the properties, collect the proper hotel taxes, and adhere to some new code standards specifically addressing VRBO homes. These standards will most likely include parking restrictions, occupancy limits, and the requirement that the owner be local or have local management handling the home so that there is always someone nearby to handle problems should they arise. There might also be a restriction, similar to Bed and Breakfast zoning, that prevents too many of these homes from clustering together on one street. B&Bs in Austin can be no closer than 1,000 feet from another. This “no clustering” rule, which I think would make a lot of sense, is why I’d hold off before jumping into this business.

There may also be tiers of use and exemptions. For example, if I want to swap my home for 2 weeks with a home owner in New York City, but I’m not advertising or operating a full VRBO home, that should NOT be regulated. Also, in Boulder for example, anyone renting their home out for less than 15 nights a year is exempt from Boulder’s VRBO regulations. This would allow people who want to clear out and rent their Zilker condo or home home just once a year for ACL Fest to be able to do so without having to conform to the VRBO regulations (though the comptroller may still want to get paid a hotel tax). I know there actually are people who opt in to this sweet “payday” every year, but have no desire to be in the VBRO business per se.

These are just my guesses and I’ll be following this and attending all the meetings as it unfolds.

As with many things, the Internet has made this business more possible to more people than in the past. Also, Austin has become a serious entertainment destination due to the amount of live music nightly, the number of big events such as ACL Fest and SXSW, and numerous other lesser known events that draw fairly large numbers of visitors to Austin.

Also though, as was pointed out by many of the owner/operators of VRBO homes, a large number of the clientelle is not entertainment related. Many families come to Austin for weddings and other events. Some talked about high tech workers who take frequent recurring assignments in Austin. One has had a high tech guy stay 1 week 6 different times in the past 6 months. He’d simply rather not stay in a hotel and wants to do his own cooking. Another woman had brought her autistic child to Austin for a 6 week therapy, and having a home environment to stay in was very important to her and her child.

So, VRBO homes in Austin serve a very apparent and legitimate market need. Do I want one next door to me? No, I’d rather not. Do I want them to be banned? No, that would be stupid. Austin would be dumb to interfere with this legitimate market niche. Hopefully as the process continues, a solution can be found that doesn’t hinder or hamper the clean operators but puts into place minimal and reasonable regulations sufficient to protect the rights of home owners who are next to or near these homes.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. ~Chinese Proverb

I ran across this quote on Facebook about a week ago and it struck me how true this is! Especially now, in the cold of winter in Texas, it is time to plant your trees.

All my clients know that I constantly tell them “plant trees”. This is the least expensive way to add value to your home, but the pay off is several years, so do it now!

Trees add shade and beauty to your yard and when you sell, buyers will appreciate the care you took to plant these beauties.

For more information about earthwise landscaping, go to: www.growgreen.org. I recommend that you stay with native varieties that need less water and can survive in our 100+ degree months in the summer. Some examples are Bur Oak, Texas Ash and Pecan.

I also like the fast growing varieties like Cedar Elm and Chinquapin Oak. These are less prone to disease and live a long time.

For more information and to buy some good trees to go my favorite place, the Natural Gardener on Old Bee Cave Rd. in Oak Hill. The people there are very helpful in choosing the right variety and in providing information on how to plant, how much to water, etc.

Another good website for exploring different trees that do well in Central Texas is Texas Tree Planting.

If you have any other questions or recommendations, give us a call. Grab a shovel and happy planting!

Austin was recently featured on the CBS Evening News as the city with the strongest job growth in the U.S. This is somewhat of an “all sunshine” puff piece, but it nevertheless highlights some of the good things happening in Austin. Job growth drives real estate demand, so if this year keeps heading in the right direction with jobs in Austin, we should see the Austin real estate demand start picking up as more job seekers move here and more companies relocate to Austin.

One of our buyers closed last month with a 3.87% interest rate. We saw many sub-4% loans the past several months, though rates have now climbed back above 4.6%.

Let’s imagine hypothetical first time buyers with a toddler who closed this year with an interest rate below 4%. Fast forward 5 years to 2015 and imagine they now have a 6 year old and a 3 year old. The career is going well, income is up, savings account is healthy, cars and student loans are paid off, the economy is good and the house is starting to feel a bit small.

This is the profile of a typical move-up buyer in Austin. Move-up buyers play an important role in the real estate market by providing resale housing stock for first timers to buy and, simultaneously, providing demand for the mid and upper range homes in Austin. We need this “move-up churn”. It’s good for the real estate market and Austin’s economy.

But now let’s also imagine that in 5 years from now that the best interest rate available on a new mortgage is an unfathomable 6.75%. Don’t think it will go that “high”? That’s not ever a “high” interest rate! And yes, it will get that high again – eventually. How hard will it be for a move-up buyer to let go of that 3.75% loan on the current home? Very hard, I’m going to bet.

I think the psychological urge to hold onto that loan is going to be very strong.  And I think it will factor into the move-up decision more than we may currently realize.

We now have a large percentage of the home buying population who’ve never seen an interest rate above 7%. I’m still paying 8% on two loans I have from 2001. I thought 8% was a good rate at the time, for investment property. Historically, for most baby-boomers, anything below 7% or 8% has been a decent interest rate, because those are the rates we’ve always known – up until the mid-2000′s. Now, the “new normal” for interest rates is below 5%.

Moving up from a home with a 4% interest rate to one with a 6 or 7% interest rate creates a different math equation than making the move with an interest-rate-neutral new loan, or as in recent years, getting more house while also dumping a higher interest loan in exchange for one at an historic low rate.

Let’s see how it looks on a chart and how the math worked out for a recent move-up buyer, going from an interest rate in the high 6′s to an interest rate of 4%.

Under the above scenario, a buyer gets a home that is 33% better (measured by market value) but does so with only an 18% increase in monthly payment because the principle + interest portion of the new payment is only 10% ($108) higher than the old payment. Of course the taxes and insurance are 33% higher because they are a function of value. Still, not a bad deal from a monthly budget standpoint, right? The buyer get’s a way better home with barely a $300/mo. increase in total payment.

But let’s see what the same scanario might look like in 5 years, with interest rate on the new loan increasing instead of decreasing.

For our hypothetical 2015 move-up buyer, in order to get a home that is 33% better, the buyer will have to be willing to accept a 75% increase in monthly payment (PITI), and a whopping 104% increase in the principle + interest portion of the payment. That’s almost a $1,000 increase in the monthly payment whereas our 2010 buyer accomplished the same move-up with only a $108 bump in monthly payment. What a contrast.

If I were this future move-up buyer, I’d be comparing a move-up to another option. How about a home remodel with $50K loan at 8% on a 15 year note that will increase the monthly payment by only $478?

Finally, if the belt tightening of Americans continues, and baby boomer go on a housing diet as empty-nesters, more people might be moving down instead of up. Sylvia and I relocated to a smaller, cheaper home in Westlake this year. In doing so, we paid off our $400K loan on the old house which had a 5.95% interest rate and obtained a new $270K loan at 4.75% (we missed that 4% bubble as we locked in last June). Thought we were mostly motivated by getting into the Eanes ISD, the financial effect of the move-down was turbo-charged by the accompanying drop in interest rate. Future move-down people, if leaving behind a 4% interest rate – even on a higher loan amount – will realize less of a budget advantage than we are enjoying.

Of course time will tell, and nothing can be accurately predicted, but I do think those Austin buyers who were fortunate enough to obtain loans at or below 4% are going to covet those loans and find themselves feeling resistance toward doing a trade up such as the one outlined above.

We have a listing that is a good candidate for a Group Home, and we’re marketing it as such. This has earned the ire of some of the individuals living in the University Hills neighborhood in NE Austin. Let’s have a look at an emailed received from one of the concerned neighbors:

Do NOT advertise the property for sale at 3403 Loyola Lane as a “group home” in your listing. You are contributing to a major problem that exists currently in Austin and more specifically our neighborhood. Do you advertise other properties in your listings as potential “group homes?” No you don’t—I went and looked at your Crossland Team website. Your website says that you’ve been “Serving Austin since 1993,” I’m sorry, but what you’re doing isn’t serving Austin—it’s serving yourself. My assumption is that you have no idea what actually goes on in these group homes, you’re simply trying to make a quick buck. I’m betting that you wouldn’t list a property on your street as a potential “group home” would you?

It’s appalling that you would consider putting that under this listing—it shows that your concerns aren’t about making the University Hills neighborhood a better place. Your name was posted in an email circulated through our neighborhood listserv as the agent on this listing. I kindly request you revise the description for the property and remove that portion of the listing. What you are doing is devaluing the properties in the University Neighborhood and that is not good business for someone in the real estate industry. Especially someone that may hope for repeat customers in the area.

And my reply:

Thank you for expressing your concerns about our listing at 3403 Loyola. You obviously care about your neighborhood and fear that a group home would have a negative impact on your community.

This particular property is unique in that it has 6 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 3 living areas, plus a screened rear porch and an enclosed garage. It’s so large in fact that it doesn’t draw interest from the type of buyers who typically seek smaller homes in the University Hills neighborhood, and who have no use for a 6 bdrm, 3 bath home. Also, the home’s proximity directly next to an apartment complex and on a busy street near a busy intersection makes it less appealing to the typical buyer.

Due to these factors, and the excellent proximity to a bus stop and walking distance to HEB, the home is a good candidate for group home use, possibly by a church group, assisted home care, artists co-op, vegan co-op, etc. Also potentially a transitional living home for those with cognitive challenges such as mild retardation or autism who need a middle step toward integration into society and independent living. These sort of living arrangements are in fact beneficial and important to the social fabric of all communities.

I know that Austin in general, and more specifically the “Cultural Creatives” that are drawn to the older transitioning neighborhoods, are sympathetic to and supportive of inviting diverse and different types of people into their communities and lives. You, as an individual, obviously feel differently, but I will assume you don’t speak for your entire neighborhood.

Ultimately, it is up to the potential buyer to determine whether the proper zoning changes can be obtained which would permit group home use under the rules and codes of the city of Austin. We will continue to market the property as a potential group home.

The neighbors I’ve heard from thus far simply want the phrase “potential group home” removed from the comments in the listing. However, as listing agents, our fiduciary responsibility to our seller requiers that we use our best efforts and experience in marketing the property. That would include trying to attract potential buyers based on a specific use.

There are in fact improperly operated group homes in Austin that are not properly zoned and/or not in compliance with the requirements of operating a group home. These type of rouge establishments or illegal boarding houses represent a code enforement issue that can be reported on the City of Austin Code Compliance website. If there is illegal activity originating from any property, whether it’s a group home or not, that is a law enforcement issue to be handled by the police.

From what I can gather, the angry neighbors assume that, as “greedy selfish Realtors”, we’d gladly sell the home to someone intending to establish an illegal setup that will harm the neighborhood. That’s not the case, and our seller would certainly not want that either. We do, however, assume that legitimate operators of group homes have difficulty finding suitable candidate properties, and we’d like our listing to be easier to find by a legitimate operator seeking candidate group home properties, thus the inclusion of the keywords “group home” in the listing.

I don’t know if the several University Hills neighbors who have shared their ire with us thus far are just the tip of the iceberg or if they represent just a vocal few and that will be the end of it. I sort of hope it stirs up a lot of attention because we’re getting NO SHOWINGS on our listing and any added exposure and promotion would be appreciated. Those of you in University Hill, call your friends and family and help us find a buyer! That would be a win/win.

Bad Tile Job - note the poor layout, bad spacing in the corner, cracked tile, and horrible grout lines

I’ve been showing and previewing lots of homes in central Austin neighborhoods lately, and taking note of some of the horrendously dumb things people do to their house. Often, these are do-it-yourself remodel projects or (apparently) paid projects that fall into one of 2 main categories.

Category 1: What in the world were you thinking?
Category 2: Cart before the horse and/or, blind designer?

In the first category, I saw an added bath with a tub and a commode. Anything missing from that list? Yep, a sink. Someone added a half bath to the house that has a tub, commode and NO SINK! There is no space to add one either.

Still in the “what were you thinking?” category, someone cut out a door directly from a bedroom into the kitchen. This took me and my buyer a while to figure out because we first walked into the kitchen and noted that there was a bedroom door located in an odd place. It just didn’t seem like the right placement. Upon entering the room, a second door to that room led to a hallway. Standing in the hallway, all the rooms seemed like normal hallway rooms and we surmised that, for some reason, someone just wanted a quicker way from that particular bedroom into the kitchen. Luckily, as weird as that was, it would be an easy fix to restore the flow of the home back to the original layout by returning the wall to a wall in both the kitchen and bedroom.

Finally, in the first category, the add-on with the 6′ 8″ ceiling. I know it was 6′ 8″ because the standard-sized door frame allowed the door about a half inch of clearance. I’d need to check with City of Austin code, but I’m petty sure the minimum ceiling height for residential dwelling space is 7″2″, so that room addition is totally out of code and would have to officially be considered a closet or “storage”. This one’s a head scratcher because someone would have had to cut the 2×4 wall studs down to the shorter size on purpose when constructing the add-on. I checked the exterior and there was no roof-line issue that would have forced the shorter ceiling height. Someone just built it that way as a short add-on. That entire room is worthless from a price-per-square-foot price standpoint. Not only that, if I was doing a market analysis for a buyer, I’d subtract out the demolition costs of that add-on and/or a rebuild/fix. But for most buyers, why bother. Just move on to the next house.

On to Category 2: Cart before the horse and/or, blind designer?

Example 1: If your slab foundation is obviously settling, crooked and out of whack, don’t lay ceramic tile on the entire ground floor without first making a permanent repair to the foundation. This house had a sloping foundation, cracked bricks on the exterior, but what appeared to be a rather recent installation of all new tile flooring throughout. All that tile is going to crack when someone someday repairs the foundation. The tile job was a complete waste of money and devalues the home because removing it (which costs about $1.00-$1.50 per square foot to demo) is much more difficult, costly and time consuming than ripping up carpet.

Example 2 – making each room “its own”. This one is Sylvia’s, remarking on a house she saw in which the owner intentionally picked a different bright colored carpet and wall paper for each of the 4 bedrooms. Not a good idea. Homes should have a consistent theme and decor throughout, accent areas excepted.

In summary, the most important thing to remember when you decide to make changes or upgrades to your home is that you don’t want to create something that will make no sense to future potential buyers, and be costly to undo. You want buyers to be falling in love with your house as they walk through, not trying to figure it out, and especially not mocking your design choices and bad remodel job.

On remodels, there is an order of operation to observe. Fix structural/mechanical issues first, then the cosmetic and optional items next. Don’t lay ceramic tile on a bad foundation. In fact, don’t do anything expensive to a house that needs foundation work. Fix the foundation instead.

Don’t add on a room, bathroom or living area without getting a reality check from at least a few friends, and maybe even a designer or architect if you’re spending a lot of money. Poorly conceived and/or executed add-ons are pure deal killers for most buyers and their agents.

And if you’re a buyer looking in central Austin at homes built in the 1960s and earlier, expect to see a lot of these kinds of bad decisions. If you come across a defect in a house you otherwise love, figure out if it’s a curable condition or a chronic condition. By chronic, I mean it ain’t going away with some paint or minor repairs.

Almost everything can be reduced to a dollar amount, though not always. Multiple chronic conditions should be walked away from. But usually, if you really love the house, you just convert the curing of the defects to a dollar amount and factor it into the price you’re willing to pay. Many of the homes 50+ years old in Austin have had something done to them over time that you might not like or wish hadn’t been done that way. But just think of the great location you’re getting and make sure you don’t go into denial about the severity of any defects and you should still be able to find a home you can love.

As we’re all bombarded for one last night on radio, TV and our mailboxes with the offensive and intellectually insulting ads produced by maggot politicians seeking our votes, I thought it would be interesting to see what the world would be like if these scumbags had to follow the same Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics that we do as Realtors.

Article 1
When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client.

This means instead of seeking power and wealth for yourself, Mr. and Mrs. Politician, you work toward the best interests of your “clients”, those being the constituants whom you are suppose to serve and represent.

Article 2
REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.

Stop telling lies about your opponent, about yourself and about the issues. You’re all worse than a bunch of 5 year olds. It’s embarrassing to watch your ads on TV. You all should be ashamed.

Article 3
REALTORS® shall cooperate with other brokers except when cooperation is not in the client’s best interest.

Work together to solve common problems, not to feed your ego, your personal aspirations, and your pet projects.

Article 4
REALTORS® shall not acquire an interest in or buy or present offers from themselves, any member of their immediate families, their firms or any member thereof, or any entities in which they have any ownership interest, any real property without making their true position known to the owner or the owner’s agent or broker.

Article 5
REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide professional services concerning a property or its value where they have a present or contemplated interest unless such interest is specifically disclosed to all affected parties.

Article 6
REALTORS® shall not accept any commission, rebate, or profit on expenditures made for their client, without the client’s knowledge and consent.

Article 7
In a transaction, REALTORS® shall not accept compensation from more than one party, even if permitted by law, without disclosure to all parties and the informed consent of the REALTOR®’s client or clients.

Article 8
REALTORS® shall keep in a special account in an appropriate financial institution, separated from their own funds, monies coming into their possession in trust for other persons, such as escrows, trust funds, clients’ monies, and other like items.

Stop your back room dealings, lining your own pockets, padding your campaign coffers, taking of special gifts, favors and bribes. If you or someone close to you has a personal stake in something you’re involved with, disclose it up front or recuse yourself. Stop trying to make your personal fortune from public service.

Article 9
REALTORS®, for the protection of all parties, shall assure whenever possible that all agreements related to real estate transactions including, but not limited to, listing and representation agreements, purchase contracts, and leases are in writing in clear and understandable language expressing the specific terms, conditions, obligations and commitments of the parties.

Quit writing bloated, unclear legislation that nobody can interpret or understand. Keep it simple stupid.

Article 10
REALTORS® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. REALTORS® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Quit playing the race card on everything. Treat everyone like an equal and with respect.

Article 11
The services which REALTORS® provide to their clients and customers shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected in the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage …REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide specialized professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside their field of competence unless they engage the assistance of one who is competent on such types of property or service, or unless the facts are fully disclosed to the client.

Stay out of stuff you don’t understand. Your incompetence can harm others. Stick to what you know, admit when you don’t know, and get help if you need help understanding something.

Article 12
REALTORS® shall be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations.

Does this even need commentary? Realtors can be hauled in front of an ethics hearing for the slightest fib in the description of a property or its attributes. But look at the advertising allowed by these maggot politicians. It’s despicable. A disgrace. You should all be ashamed.

Article 13
REALTORS® shall not engage in activities that constitute the unauthorized practice of law and shall recommend that legal counsel be obtained when the interest of any party to the transaction requires it.

The spirit of this again goes to competence and fairness. Understanding that the upper hand and/or best advice is always owed to the client.

Article 14
If charged with unethical practice or asked to present evidence or to cooperate in any other way, in any professional standards proceeding or investigation, REALTORS® shall place all pertinent facts before the proper tribunals of the Member Board or affiliated institute, society, or council in which membership is held and shall take no action to disrupt or obstruct such processes.

If you make a mistake, or are caught doing willful misconduct, take your medicine and submit to the processes in place and allow yourself to be held accountable. Don’t run and hide or try to blame others.

Article 15
REALTORS® shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about competitors, their businesses, or their business practices.

Again, does anything more really need to be said? Wouldn’t it be nice if truth was a requirement of these people?

Article 16
REALTORS® shall not engage in any practice or take any action inconsistent with exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other REALTORS® have with clients.

Mind your own business. Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business when not invited.

Article 17
In the event of contractual disputes or specific non-contractual disputes as defined in Standard of Practice 17-4 between REALTORS® (principals) associated with different firms, arising out of their relationship as REALTORS®, the REALTORS® shall submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the regulations of their Board or Boards rather than litigate the matter.

Settle disagreements honorably, in a proper forum.

Odd, isn’t it, that Realtors and other professions have Standards of Practice and Codes of Ethics that mean something and are meant to protect the public against bad behavior, lies and self-serving actions. Yet we don’t hold out elected officials to standards anywhere close to the ones adhered to in the business world. Yes, there are bad Realtors, bad Lawyers, Doctors, etc. But come on, the politicians are so far removed from what can be honestly that it’s a wonder anyone decent would even want to become one.

It all ends tomorrow, until the next go ’round.

Sylvia and I stopped by Randalls in Westlake yesterday for early voting. Upon presenting my voter registration card to the lady who checks ID, she reprimanded me for having trimmed it to a size that fits into my wallet.

The voter registration cards in Texas are the size of a standard postcard. This makes it inconvenient to carry in a wallet. So I trim the excess off the top and bottom with scissors, making the card the same height as a drivers license. Then, when folded in half sideways, it fits perfectly in my wallet, with the relevant info intact.

Anyway, the election worker proceeded to inform me NOT to trim the card next time because I chopped off the bar code that the scanner reads and now she has to enter the info manually into her laptop instead of just scanning it. I told her I’d never been told that. She then proceeded to tell me that if it takes an extra minute to enter my info, I’m holding up the line and causing other people to wait longer than they should have to. I said “oh, would you like to scan my drivers license instead?” She said “no, I already have you up here” (on the laptop screen).

This was all spoken in earshot of at least the first 3 or 4 people in line behind me. I considered saying “hey, Old Lady, shut up and just do your freaking job”, but I instead apologized for having trimmed my card and causing her the extra effort of typing my name into her screen.

Is it the polling worker’s job or duty to issue such reprimands and lectures to voters? No, it’s not.

When voting, your ID and its condition are pass/fail. You either properly identify yourself and are in the right place, or you are not. There is no “A+” or “C-” grading system regarding the ID preasented. So, if a construction worker shows up with a tattered and worn out drivers license, it’s not the place of a polling worker to say something like “you need to get that replaced” or “wow, looks like you’re ready for a new one”. No, it’s either proper ID or not. Period.

Same with the voter registration card. It’s either a valid one or not. There is no requirement to leave the barcode intact, no rule against trimming it to fit a wallet. If it’s the official card, it’s valid, period.

So, what’s the big deal, really? Well, it caused me to think about how sacred our voting rights are, and how we interpret things that are said to us. I don’t personally feel like anyone was trying to deny me my right to vote, or to sway my vote, but, on some level, I did feel harassed at the polling place. It makes me more aware of how thin the line might be for voters in a more sensitive position than me, a middle aged white guy. I wondered how I might have felt if I was a blue collar guy in work clothes, or a single mom with a toddler on my hip, or a minority voter.

Thus, the next time I see a news story about people complaining about something that’s happened to them at a voting place, I won’t be so quick to dismiss them as crybabies making a big deal about nothing. I can’t say I know how it feels to be discriminated against, but I can say I know what it feels like, in this instance at least, to feel unwelcome at a polling place and to be treated rudely by a person of authority at that polling place.

To the old geezers manning these voting booths – thank you for your service and contribution to our voting process. Without your volounteer time and efforts, voting would be more time consuming and costly.

But we don’t need your reprimands, lectures, comments or suggestions. Just shut up and do you job. Be nice. The documentation people show up with is either sufficient or not, it’s pass or fail, and your commentary about the condition or state of a voter’s ID is not part of your training or your job, and you just might create an impression that was not intended.

I’ve taken an informal poll of a certain group of long-time Austinites, and 4 out of 5 surveyed desperately want to leave Austin .. before September 2011. Who are these crazies? High school seniors who are born and raised in Austin.

My own kid is one of them. Born at Brackenridge hospital, schooled for eight years at the Austin Waldorf School, and now a soon-to-be graduate of Westlake High. She’s an Austin native through and through. But she and her Austin-native friends can’t wait to get out of here.

As she puts it, “it will be lame if I go to UT and, when I finish college, I will have only ever lived in Austin”. Doesn’t sound “lame” to me, but what the heck, I’m just the Dad paying for all this.

OK, I do get the point. The grass is greener and all that. Birds flying the nest, coming of age, exploring the world, being independent. Getting away from the “parental units”. I get it. But this is Austin. I could see aching to get away from Bismark, or Tulsa or Abilene. But Austin? Everybody else is trying to get here!

And where is the grass greener? Waco. Go figure. Yep, Baylor University is a fine institution and I have to admit I was impressed with the visitor tour. But Waco? That’s the big escape from Austin? Yes, because it’s the “perfect” distance away.

If you have a high school senior, you know what I’m talking about, and the mindset of a Senior. We’re right in the mix of college visits, applications, etc.

Maybe she does have a point though. Many UT grads never make it out of Austin. Those who do can’t wait to get back. Austin does that to people. Maybe college is the best and only time to fly the coup for those who are born and raised here. But they’ll be back.

More than one buyer has told me me, “I attended UT and have always wanted to come back to Austin”. I’m sure people fall in love with other places, but Austin has a seductive power that really puts the mojo on people. Some people get it real bad. One visit and they’re sold. That’s what happened to me. One visit and I gave my two week notice and headed here with no job at the ripe age of 22. That was 1985. I graduated UT Austin and didn’t think twice about limiting my career options to things that kept me in Austin.

Others wait until the time is right, but the yearning is still there. We’ve sold plenty of investment property to baby-boomer buyers who are staking a claim as much as investing. Buying a place they hope to someday call their permanent home. Having an excuse to come visit once a year, or more.

But what is it about Austin? What is the secret sauce? I mean, it’s certainly not the only cool place to live. All I can say is it’s just a certain blend of something. The right combination of people, vibe, amenities, activities, music, mystique, history, affordability, politics, festivals, food, recreation and lifestyle. It’s laid back but not lazy. Weird and quirky, but productive. Imperfect but in a lovable way.

At an economic update I attended a few years ago, the economist said, in describing Austin’s powerful lure to business and employees, that if “Austin” was a “brand name” its “positive” rating and name recognition would be the envy of any retailer. We experience this when we travel and people ask where we’re from. “Austin”. And the response is always a happy “Oh, cool”. Sylvia and I plan to (not) grow old here. I can’t imagine a better place to be.

Why do you love Austin? If you’re here, why do you stay? If you hoping to come here, what draws you?

Sylvia and I attended a friend’s birthday party last night at a local restaurant. We were among the oldest people there, but we blended in just fine. I met a college guy who just recently graduated McCallum High. Our friend is in his mid 30s and the crowd of guests ranged from young 20s to late 40s/early 50s. The music being played was 1970s “Go Go” music, of which our friend is a fan. It was a typical Austin get-together of a diverse group of friends and acquaintances having fun.

My 48th birthday was last week. I’m either in denial about aging, or Austin is just a place where we don’t really feel like we’re growing old. I still feel the same youthful exuberance I did when I first moved here in May 1985 at the age of 22, only I’m a bit wiser and more financially responsible now. The hard-partying days are behind me. And I have 14 and 17 year old kids and, thus, a different set of worries and priorities.

But Sylvia and I were with a more age-homogeneous group of friends the night before. This was a bunch of her old real estate pals from the 1980s. She was an outside sales rep at GranTree Furniture back then and did sales calls at apartments, lease-locator companies and real estate offices in Austin, trying to sell furniture. She became friends with a large group of real estate agents. They would eventually talk her into getting her real estate license, which she did in 1988 (in the middle of the worst real estate market in Austin history), and she became a Realtor instead of an interior design specialist.

Anyway, as I looked around the table at these dozen or so veteran real estate people, I thought that I certainly can’t look as old as they all do. To me Sylvia looks the same as she did when I met her at age 29. We all certainly act about the same. Why is that? Why aren’t we all members of an Elk’s club, or the Moose Lodge, as our parents were at the same age when we were growing up, playing bingo on Saturday nights and showing up for $1 cornbread and beans on Wed nights? Drinking bourbon and water and playing darts and shooting pool? Why weren’t the women at the table wearing “old lady” clothes instead of the good looking outfits they had on? And us guys were all wearing what any 20-something would be wearing in Austin on a night out.  Yep, we live in a town where a 20-something could borrow clothes from a 40-something, noone would be the wiser.

Aren’t we supposed to dissolve from the Austin lifestyle “scene” once the grey hair starts coming in. How dare us show up at ACL Fest next week, wearing sneakers and jeans. Who gave us baby boomers permission to invade and take over Facebook and to learn how to Text? Why don’t I own a recliner-rocker and drive a Buick 4-door like good Dads my age should?

Because I live in Austin TX, where growing old is not an option, and staying cool is easy.

So, is it just me and my imagination or is there in fact something uniquely ageless about Austin, it’s lifestyle and vibe, and its people? I think there is, though as I type, I’m wondering if I’ll be able to put it into words. Perhaps, in fact, people my age really are old, boring and out of the loop of all things wonderful and cool about Austin. Perhaps it’s just my constant interface with people moving here, many who are younger than me, that keeps me connected and plugged into to the vibe and vigor Austin offers. Maybe me and Sylvia are in the minority. Thus, maybe the premise of this blog article is invalid. Hmmm.

Or maybe Austin really does have something going on that other cities lack. I think it does. Live music for one. It’s everywhere, and it’s good music. Even at a ratty little BBQ joint like Green Mesquite on Barton Springs Rd, there is free live music in the beer garden out back. We have UT and other area universities and colleges which provide a constant influx of youth culture and vibe, which bleeds out to the rest of us in, at minimum, an indirect way. Austin offers outdoor amenities and activities that preserve youth, or youthful feelings, such as swimming at Barton Springs, Deep Eddy or Twin Falls. Heading out to the Lake Travis, or tubing down the Guadalupe. Of course, one has to avail themselves of these activities to receive the benefits, but I think many Austintes do.

Also there is the quirky “Keep Austin Weird” vibe which, I think, gives us permission to loosen up and relax and not take life so seriously. Indeed, there are exceptionally few restaurants in Austin where shorts, tee-shirt and sandals would not be welcome, if not normal, attire. It’s as if the entire aura of Austin is one that says “you don’t have to act and dress like you’re all grown up”. We are free to “ChilAx” (as my daughter calls it) in Austin, and it’s ok.

An exhaustive research into this topic would look into the percentage of “boring old people” stuff that sells in Austin to see if it’s substantially less than what sells to similar age demographics elsewhere in the country. For example, do Sears, JC Penny and Bealle’s sell the same product mix in Austin as they do in, let’s say, Oklahoma City, where “hip” is something that breaks when you slip coming out of Luby’s? Or does the JC Penny apparel line have to be adjusted for Austin because people here dress differently, more casual and relaxed? How many Mercury Marquis sell per capita in Austin versus Des Moines Iowa? It would be interesting to know.

I don’t have the resources to do the proper research so I’ll have to go with my gut instinct and say that Austin is in fact a place where we all remain younger longer, and we enjoy a more youthful lifestyle and a broader mix of social activities with a wider range of people than do those in more traditional, fuddy duddy cities in the U.S.  And that, among other things, is what makes Austin a great city in which to live and not grow old.