Austin Real Estate ... Texas Realtor®

Many people who want to buy a home in the Austin, Texas area (including first-time buyers) need to know more about the steps involved in buying a home. Here are some notes (most describing the process for buying a resale home) that are intended to help you understand what you need to do and might expect when you set out to buy a home:Choose a ...

The program hosts and guests on the CNBC network know a lot about the financial world. I often watch some of the shows to see what is happening and to see what I can learn. The terms they use show me how little I know! However, when the Dow is headed up, I know that is in the right direction. If it is going down, I understand what that ...

In an earlier blog, I discussed the cyclical nature of the Austin Texas real estate market. When viewed over a several-year period, the market cycles are predictable in many ways. What cannot be foreseen from the historical data is what will happen in the future—what the highs and lows of the market will be. Just a year or so ago, homes in ...

Do you wonder what the typical cycle of business activity in Austin real estate looks like? The graph below, published by the Austin Board of Realtors® in a February 2009 report, shows that listing and sales activity follows a pretty repeatable pattern every year. What varies the most is the height and depth of the cycles. (Based on ...

Being close to jobs, shopping, and downtown Austin is important to lots of homeowners. But how do you do that if you can't afford a home in Tarrytown or other expensive areas?  There are a number of options available to you in SW Austin, including the neighborhood called Legend Oaks. If you are looking for a nice home in a quiet, ...

          The old song from my growing-up years told of an ant that thought it could move a rubber tree plant. Because it had “high hopes, high apple pie in the sky hopes,” it kept on pushing on the plant. Against all odds, the ant finally succeeded!The song’s message: Persevere ...

        The contract for purchasing your home in the Austin, Texas area is coming to a close. You and the seller are anticipating and getting ready for the closing. The buyer’s lender has prepared the final loan documents, and has sent them to the Title Company, which completes the closing papers and ...

        The use of a "Mulligan" is often a feature in casual golf. A golfer is allowed to hit a second tee shot (the "Mulligan") from the first tee box. If the second shot produces a better result than the first, the first is forgotten and is not counted in the score for the round. ...

Perfection is rare in this world. Just look around at people, cars, and simple things like coins. The coins we use in our daily lives, especially after they have been in circulation awhile, are far from perfect. If you want a perfect coin, look for a specially-minted proof coin that is graded MS70 … and expect to pay a lot for it. It seems ...