Appraisal Featured Protesting Property Taxes It's that time again! Property values are being assessed by your local county! Let's talk about how to get those values down: Types of Value Let's start by establishing a few key terms in this discussion: Market Value: The amount a ready, willing, and
Austin Featured How The Balcones Fault Molds Our City Many Austinites do not realize that Austin actually sits smack dab in the middle of a fault line. This geological feature really shapes so much of the way Austin is.
home renovation What should I do to prepare my home for sale? The Pre-inspection The first thing you should consider is the fact that any potential buyer is more than likely going to want a home inspection. Any major warts that your home may have, they're going to find. That's why I will go ahead and recommend getting
Austin Date The Rate, Marry The House You probably don't need me to tell you this, but right now, interest rates are higher than they have been in recent history, and in particular, higher than they were over the last 10 years or so. What a lot of people may not tell you is that
solar Why you should probably not install solar panels on your home There are many reasons you may be thinking about installing solar panels on your home. Is it right for you? Probably not. But it depends, and if you want to know why and learn more, do continue reading. Also please note this post is about installing solar panels on your
Real Estate How to get a "good deal" on your home purchase What does "a good deal" mean to you? "Good" is a very subjective word. Context is needed. Generally I can consider a good deal to be purchasing a home at most in the thousands below market value, and it takes kind of a unicorn situation for
mortgate How much should I use as a down payment on my home? Federal incentives have helped, yet still the down payment remains one of the biggest hurdles to potential new homeowners.
Austin My home isn't selling, what should I do? Many sellers list their home for sale, and then shortly thereafter begin to stress out about how and why it hasn't sold yet. How quickly this happens depends on the seller, and often how motivated they are to sell.
Real Estate The 3 defining characteristics of a "bedroom" One question that I encounter often is whether or not a specific room can be listed as a "bedroom". Buyers are often disappointed when they walk into a home and find that one of the bedrooms is actually a "flex room", gym or office. But what
Austin The 4 "phase inspections" of new construction One of the benefits of purchasing a new construction home is being able to oversee the construction and head off major issues during construction that could be extremely expensive to repair retroactively. Often times the builders' representatives will tell you that they have their own inspectors, and that you
Real Estate Featured What does a buyer's agent actually do? People don't usually ask me this question directly. They're probably worried it's uncouth. I respect and appreciate it. It's a fair question. So let's talk about it. Let's start with some things people may think we do, that
