Once again, its house of the day Monday! This home happens to be in Austin, Texas on Lake Travis. I was just in Austin for Keller Williams Mega camp and would have loved to have seen all the beautiful homes around Lake Travis... alas Mr. Gary Keller kept us pretty busy!
This home is a ultra modern cement home with fantastic views. The decor is full of whimsy and color to add life to the concrete walls. The kitchen is so simple, I love it!
Click HERE to see the slide show! Happy Monday Everyone!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
21 Eco Friendly Home Improvements
Casasugar.com is one of my favorite blogs. A couple years back they did a post on eco friendly home improvements. The buyer of today is looking for "green" home features more than ever. Some of this stuff is so inexpensive and easy and can make your home stand out from others on the market.
Little personal example: My husband and I were trying to choose between 2 homes. We loved them equally but one had an extra bedroom that we really wanted. Well when it came down to it, we wanted the house with the double pane windows and the newer more efficient ac unit. This ended up being the smaller house.
These things can make a difference! I'm just going to highlight a few things here. Original post link is at the bottom!
Roof Improvements
The color and type of shingles you use can make a big difference in temperature control with in the home.
Install a Storm Door
This can save on energy costs and can come in handy when a hurricane blows through!
Service Your A/C unit
This can make a huge difference! We forgot to get ours serviced this spring and we paid for it BIG TIME this summer. This should be done once a year (especially in Houston).
Install Ceiling Fans
In Houston, these aren't optional. Its so hot here you have to have them. I always try to hold off turning on the A/C as long as possible. We run the fans instead until it gets too hot that we can't stand it. We save tons on our energy bills, so its worth it!
Consider a Tankless Water Heater
This saves on energy bills for sure. The bigger, and in my opinion, better reason to get one is for flood hazard. In Houston, most water heaters are in the attic or on a higher floor. If that puppy explodes or leaks, that could be some serious damage.
Original Post by Casa Sugar: http://tinyurl.com/greenimprovements
Little personal example: My husband and I were trying to choose between 2 homes. We loved them equally but one had an extra bedroom that we really wanted. Well when it came down to it, we wanted the house with the double pane windows and the newer more efficient ac unit. This ended up being the smaller house.
These things can make a difference! I'm just going to highlight a few things here. Original post link is at the bottom!
Roof Improvements
The color and type of shingles you use can make a big difference in temperature control with in the home.
Install a Storm Door
This can save on energy costs and can come in handy when a hurricane blows through!
Service Your A/C unit
This can make a huge difference! We forgot to get ours serviced this spring and we paid for it BIG TIME this summer. This should be done once a year (especially in Houston).
Install Ceiling Fans
In Houston, these aren't optional. Its so hot here you have to have them. I always try to hold off turning on the A/C as long as possible. We run the fans instead until it gets too hot that we can't stand it. We save tons on our energy bills, so its worth it!
Consider a Tankless Water Heater
This saves on energy bills for sure. The bigger, and in my opinion, better reason to get one is for flood hazard. In Houston, most water heaters are in the attic or on a higher floor. If that puppy explodes or leaks, that could be some serious damage.
Original Post by Casa Sugar: http://tinyurl.com/greenimprovements
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Housing Market Report for August 2009
AUGUST - 2009 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter
Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.
The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.
Please click here to view the AUGUST - 2009 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter.
If you are interested in determining the value of your home, click the Home Evaluator link for a free evaluation report.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Future of Fliers?
We've all seen information fliers attached to for sale signs. I usually pick up every flier I can find and when I get home I pour over the grainy pictures and decide which homes are worth looking up on the MLS. My husband can't stand the mess I leave in the office but I can't resist a good flier. Now, technology has taken over (to my husbands delight).
While lunching with my mentor, Cindi Blustein, we met a gentleman who has started a company that texts home information to your phone. Brilliant.
This is how it works: Instead of a box of fliers on the for sale sign, there is a rider that says "for more information text (insert unique number here) to 32075. In a few seconds, the MLS data on that home (including photos) will be sent to your phone. And here's the kicker ITS FREE!!! Yes people. You read that correctly. Its a free service to both real estate agents AND the texters!!
Now, I'm a big texter, anyone will tell you. But the best feature about this service is that all that MLS data can be saved to your phone for future reference. No papers cluttering the office. No cost of printing a bunch of fliers just to have them be ruined by rain or the neighborhood kids.
What do you guys think? Do you think this is a better alternative to fliers? Do you think Realtors should use both texting and fliers? Let me know what you think in the comments.
PS here is the link to the website of the company: EvoMLS
While lunching with my mentor, Cindi Blustein, we met a gentleman who has started a company that texts home information to your phone. Brilliant.
This is how it works: Instead of a box of fliers on the for sale sign, there is a rider that says "for more information text (insert unique number here) to 32075. In a few seconds, the MLS data on that home (including photos) will be sent to your phone. And here's the kicker ITS FREE!!! Yes people. You read that correctly. Its a free service to both real estate agents AND the texters!!
Now, I'm a big texter, anyone will tell you. But the best feature about this service is that all that MLS data can be saved to your phone for future reference. No papers cluttering the office. No cost of printing a bunch of fliers just to have them be ruined by rain or the neighborhood kids.
What do you guys think? Do you think this is a better alternative to fliers? Do you think Realtors should use both texting and fliers? Let me know what you think in the comments.
PS here is the link to the website of the company: EvoMLS
Monday, August 17, 2009
House of the Day Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal
I wish there were more than 7 photos in this slide show. Its quite clearly a large home but I don't feel like its over the top like some huge mansions can be. I love this house! The kitchen is beautiful and the back yard is breathtaking. And for a cool $14.85 million, this beauty could be yours!
LINK:Home of the Day (Wall Street Journal)
LINK:Home of the Day (Wall Street Journal)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Short Sale vs. Foreclousure
Since I've been asked this a couple times in the last week, I'm going to take my first blog post to explain the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure. A foreclosure is when, once a homeowner defaults on their mortgage, the bank takes possession of the property and sells it to pay off the debt owed. A short sale is another option to pay off a defaulted mortgage.
In a short sale situation, the bank or lender has agreed to accept less than what is owed on the property. When an offer is made, it must be presented to the lender for acceptance. Why would a bank decide to do a short sale over a foreclosure? Foreclosures cost money. Legal fees, title cleanup, and marketing fees stack up and can actually lower the total take home for the lender.
The difference, credit wise, is that with a short sale, you are eligible to apply for a mortgage backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae in a short period of time. With a foreclosure, getting a mortgage short term is difficult.
Hope this clears up some confusion with short sales and foreclosures!
In a short sale situation, the bank or lender has agreed to accept less than what is owed on the property. When an offer is made, it must be presented to the lender for acceptance. Why would a bank decide to do a short sale over a foreclosure? Foreclosures cost money. Legal fees, title cleanup, and marketing fees stack up and can actually lower the total take home for the lender.
The difference, credit wise, is that with a short sale, you are eligible to apply for a mortgage backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae in a short period of time. With a foreclosure, getting a mortgage short term is difficult.
Hope this clears up some confusion with short sales and foreclosures!
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