About Kerr County, TX

If you are new to real estate and have a burning desire to learn how to be effective and start making money quickly, find a mentor that will teach you one on one. Follow that person around like a puppy dog and listen to all that they say and do. Be their shadow. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more effective is teaching when it is on the job instead of in the classroom.

I enjoy teaching my agents like this. I give lots of lecture time but the actual experience of being in the room when a listing presentation is done and the documents are signed is invaluable. It makes all the words make sense and suddenly new agents realize how it is all put together.

The best thing for me is seeing the new agents succeed. I can tell when the lightbulb has come on and they are ready to jump out there alone. They always know they have a safe place to retreat to if they come upon obstacles they cannot handle yet.

A teaching broker is worth much to the new recruit. This can save you years of fumbling and wasted time. Many brokers in large firms do not have the time to train new agents one on one and neither do the trainers in the large franchise offices. An experienced salesperson can do the same for you. Their knowledge may not be as deep or varied but this will help if you are in a large office and the broker cannot teach you individually.

For those of you in small offices, this can be a benefit that can take you far in this business. So, dont feel like you are not getting as much from your office as agents in large offices. You may be getting more!

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

511 Junction Hwy Kerrville, TX 78028 (830)257-2520

Some of you are following the progress of my remodeling project and we are coming down the home stretch now. The new front door is in but the trim is not painted yet. Originally, I had intended on leaving the original doors but they were too bad to try to remodel so we went with new.

The primer was sprayed on the walls today and it looked weird to go in and see everything bright white. The windows are covered with plastic and the floors covered with paper. Yes, the floors are finished but you will have to wait to see them after the painting is complete. We have new tile and refinished hardwood floors under all the paper.

The painting should be finished this week and on Friday the electrician will come and put up the lights, the ceiling fans and the outlet covers.

The kitchen will look completely different once the countertop and sink goes in.

The plumber will return to set the fixtures and faucets. A little clean up and voila! Ready to lease or sell! The neighborhood already looks better.

I'm excited to almost have it finished. Cold wet weather has slowed our progress some but it will be finished for Spring! It's been fun to do this project and share it with you. Post 4, The Job Is Complete will follow in a few weeks. Come back to see the finished pictures.

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

511 Junction Hwy Kerrville, TX 78028 (830) 257-2520

For those of you who love to cook like I do, it's another Sunday dinner. Here's the Steak and salad. But it's the dessert that made this one special. Easy and superb, Strawberry Pie.

Fresh whole strawberries immersed in a thick gel and covered with whipped cream in a flaky pie shell. What can be better than that!

If you've never made Strawberry pie before, it is so easy.

Almost no cooking at all.

The only cooking is in making the gel. Take 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water. Dissolve and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt. Mix cornstarch and water to make a thin paste and slowly add to syrup, stirring constantly to avoid getting lumps. Add red food coloring ( more than I did here to make it redder), and if you like 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir and put in baked pie crust. Refrigerate and top with whipped cream before serving.

Hope you like this one! Eat healthy and eat well.

(You can pick your own fresh strawberries in the Spring in several different locations here in the Kerrville and Fredericksburg areas.)

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

511 Junction Hwy Kerrville, Texas (830)257-2520

Many of you wanted to see the finished results of my remodeling project, so I thought I would take you through the steps. This is the second post about my complete remodel of a small house here in Kerrville.

We've had a good week even with the holiday, we've accomplished quite a bit. The roof is now complete even though these photos were taken during the roofing process. I used a "weathered gray" color to go with the light beige color on the exterior walls. White trim on the doors, windows and porch. We will add a little more color later.

The new electrical wiring is now completed as well. Sheetrocking is in progress as well as insulating the walls. This home was built in 1935 and has never had insulation in the walls. It did have some rock wool insulation blown in the attic but most of that is coming down as we remodel. The surprising thing is that through the middle of the house at the bottom of the inside walls, there is nothing. I mean nothing! It was open to the outside. Therefore, the air could come in underneath the house and up through the walls into the attic. Can you imagine how cold this home must have been in the winter? We are correcting this problem.

The wood is good. It was built when 2 x 4's were really 2 inches by 4 inches. The foundation has sat for 75 years on cedar posts. These posts are so much larger than most beams we would normally use, we decided to continue to use as many as possible. A little old and a little new and soon we will have a completely remodeled, recycled home, energy efficient too.

Hope you enjoy the photos and the update. Next week we start on the plumbing and floors and continue with interior walls.

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com

Looking for a remodel project for yourself? Check our website or let us help you find the perfect property.

I love to remodel old homes but I rarely get a chance to do this with my business being so busy. Recently however, I bought an old house in a good commercial/residential area. We are ripping out and remodeling almost everything. Thought I'd give you a look at the before pictures and in a few weeks I will give you the after pictures.

This is the lovely kitchen. I hesitated to even show you the bathroom.

Kitchens and baths are the most important rooms for remodeling. Wait until you see the transformation.

The front porch had been enclosed and we took all that off and replaced it with railings. It is in the process of being painted right now and all the windows have been replaced. Actually the window to the left here used to be another door.

Remodeling is fun and challenging to stay within a budget so as not to put more money into the house than it can possibly be worth when finished. Watching your labor costs is the trickiest of all.

If you are thinking of remodeling, I would be happy to give you some tips. Realtors know the market areas and can help you not to "overbuild" for your neighborhood. We also have lists of people to help you accomplish your remodeling dreams.

Looking for a good house to remodel? Give us a call. We are happy to show you everything listed for sale in the great Hill Country area and Kerrville. Or you can just go to our website and search the whole area. You can even save your searches and come back later.

Serving the Texas Hill Country...

Ricki Eichler Real Estate, your Texas Hill Country connection www.reretx.com