Things every Austin real estate buyer should know

We’ve recently started providing an additional form to all of our buyers. It’s a notice provided by the Texas Association of Realtors called “GENERAL INFORMATION AND NOTICE TO A BUYER“. Though I like to keep paperwork simple and minimal, this form is helpful in bringing to the attention of buyers some of the things that may need further explanation or discussion.

Like anything in life, those of us who do something evey day can sometimes forget or become disconnected from nuances that others may not know about. We assume everyone knows about insurance, inspections, property taxes, etc., but that’s not necessarily the case with many buyers. Providing a buyer with this information brings these important items to their attention so they can ask questions and seek further information if needed.

Here is the content of the TAR Form 1506 (7/15/05)

Be an informed buyer. Make sure that the property you want to purchase meets your needs. The following information may assist you during your purchase.

ANNEXATION. If the property you buy is outside the limits of a municipality, you should be aware that the property may later be annexed by a nearby municipality. You may find information on the boundaries of nearby municipalities by contacting the municipalities directly.

APPRAISAL. An appraisal is a valuation of the property. An appraiser renders an estimate of value as of a certain date under assumptions and conditions stated in the appraisal report. Typically, a buyer’s lender requires an appraisal to verify that the loan is secured by property that is worth a certain amount. An appraisal is not the same as an inspection.

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Deciding against tankless water heaters for our new home

Sylvia and I are in the process of building a new custom home in SW Austin. This will be our second custom (and new) home. All other homes we’ve owned have been resales. On the first one we built in 2003, we went $50K+ over budget by adding too many upgrades and making too many additions to the home, including an expanded second story. It was our first time building a home and we somewhat lost control over ourselves.

This time we’ve sworn to be more disciplined and to stay within budget, or to go over ONLY on things that are important to us or that add value to the home. We actually have a pre-established “over budget” amount that we’ve put into place mentally.

One of the items that remained undecided up until now, was whether to have tankless water heaters in the home instead of the traditional water heaters. After a lot of research, we decided against the tankless water heaters.

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Austin Rental Market – July 2007 stats update

The Austin rental market continues to see rising rents. The mortgage problems in the sub-prime mortgage loan market are helping rental markets in all parts of the U.S., as renters who should not be qualified to purchase a home are indeed remaining renters, as they should. Austin has the added benefit of a strong job market, which is bringing new renters into the Austin area. These newcomers are often qualified to buy a home but do not want to commit to a home purchase immediately, so they rent for a year or two while deciding where they want to buy, and making sure the new job works out. Thus, there continues to be an influx of quality renters.

Austin Rental Market Stats July 2007
Previous Month and Year Comparison
All MLS Areas – Houses Only

 
June 2007
July 2007
July 2006
Yr % Change
# Leased
750
791
832
-4.9%
Avg List Price
$1370
$1385
$1324
4.6%
Median List Price
$1250
$1250
$1200
4.2%
Avg Leased Price
$1364
$1378
$1313
5.0%
Med Leased Price
$1250
$1225
$1200
2.1%
Avg Size SQFT
1897
1848
1904
-2.9%
Median SQFT
1810
1761
1799
-2.1%
Avg $ per SQFT
$0.72
$0.75
$0.69
16%
Avg Days on Mkt
41
37
47
-21%
Median Days on Mkt
28
29
36
-19%

Stats Summary:
Average rents are up 5% this July over July 2006.
Average Days on Market for July 2007 was 37 days, which is a 21% decrease from July 2006.
Median Days on market is 29 days for July, which is a 19% decrease over last year. This means more than half of all homes leased through the Austin MLS rent in 29 days or less. This marks a return to a good landlord’s market, though there are still plenty of homes that do not rent quickly, either due to overpricing, poor condition, poor marketing by the agent, or all three.

Below is a breakdown of stats for YTD 2007 compared to the same period 2006.

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