Austin Real Estate, Kyle Real Estate Celeste Messer

If you ever questioned if Kyle Texas would ever have some of the conveniences of larger cities, wonder no more. It is growing exponentially. To give you an idea of what's to come I pulled a diagram of one aspect of the planned growth and copied it below. This portion of the growth is centered near the Kyle community known as Plum Creek, the master planned community that has a "Leave it to Beaver" quality complete with picket fences.

The diagram gives you a taste of what's to come, as many of us have said, five years from now Kyle will still be Kyle but better! We'll have the opportunity to live in a community that has a small town feel but with some of the conveniences of a larger city. As the mom of a teenage driver with another in the drivers permit stage, I for one love the idea that my kids will be able to go shopping, go to the movies etc and not have to drive more than a few miles from the house.

Some highlights of the growth include the coming of the 20,000 sq foot Austin Regional clinic and the 2,000,000 square feet of retail space that is underway at FM1626 and IH35. You heard me, 2 million square feet!

While it's not yet final you can note on the diagram where they may locate a Commuter Rail Station in Kyle. If Austin get's this commuter system up and running it would be such a great thing for people that live in Kyle and work downtown. They can save gas and skip the commuting frustration!

So rest assured there are a lot of dedicated people working on your behalf in the economic development group of the City of Kyle and the Hays County to make sure Kyle is a great place to live, work and play.

If you would like to check out all of the active homes for sale in Kyle go to Austin Home Search. Or if you have any questions about Kyle Real Estate, Buda Real Estate or Austin Area Real Estate just give a yell. Call us today at 512-449-6070 or email us at Info@Adkor.net and let us help you with your area Austin Real Estate needs. Find out why Adkor Realty is truly...A Different Kind Of Realty!

Home Price comparison in Kyle Texas 2003-first half of 2008

Did you purchase real estate in Kyle in recent years? Did you wonder how the prices of homes being sold today in Kyle compare to the prices of the last few years? I know I have. So I went into the Austin MLS system and pulled all of the homes sold in Kyle over the last five years and put it on the chart below.

Keep in mind this doesn't include all of the new construction. If someone walked into the builders office and asked to have a home built, the data would not have been processed through the MLS system. Even so this will give you an idea of what has been happening.

Note the line I drew across the 80% mark. In 2003 80% of all of the homes that sold in Kyle Texas were under $150,000.

Compare this to the first six months of 2008 homes where home sales under $150,000 represented just about 60% of the total homes sold! That definitely shows that prices are going up.

Also check out the % of home that sold for under $125,000...you can see it's getting harder and harder to find one these days.

So even though we keep hearing how the market it slowing down across the country and prices are dropping. This hasn't hit our fair city of Kyle. While homes may stay on the market a bit longer than the last couple of years, you can see by the chart that prices are going up. And once the new hospital is in and all of that new shopping we've been hearing about in recent months, we may be seeing some more dramatic price increases coming our way. Why? Well with all of the new jobs that will be coming, our supply of homes will be more in demand and as the demand goes up so will the prices!

If you would like to check out all of the active homes for sale in the Kyle or Austin area go to our Austin Home Search for daily updated listings. Or if you have any questions about Kyle Real estate, Buda Real Estate or any other area Austin Real Estate just give a yell. Call us today at 512-449-6070 or email us at Info@Adkor.net and let us help you with your Austin Area Real Estate needs. Find out why Adkor Realty is truly...A Different Kind Of Realty! We'd love to be your Realtor!

Call us today at 512-449-6070 or email us at Info@Adkor.net and let us help you with your Austin Area Real Estate needs. Find out why Adkor Realty is truly...A Different Kind Of Realty!

Most people know that if they are going to build a home they need a permit right? But did you know if you intend to enlarge, change or even place a water heater in a home in Kyle you may need a city permit as well? Well you better check before you begin.

The city is clear that if you are doing electrical, plumbing and/or mechanical work in your home a permit is required. So to be on the safe side, if you are planing to make any changes to your home be sure to check with the city of Kyle to see if the work requires a permit. The plan examiners and building inspectors lead efforts to protect you, the citizens of Kyle Texas, by educating you and reducing the potential hazards of unsafe work.

If this doesn't convince you then think about when you are going to resell your home, be it in a few months or a few years, or ten years. On the seller's disclosure you have to state whether or not you received the appropriate permits for any remodeling jobs you had done. If you state you did not do so, believe me it can be like throwing a bucket of water over the head of a hot buyer prospect (and not in a good way). I've had clients who will not consider purchasing a home that has had remodeling down without the appropriate city permits. They just don't want to go there.

But you argue that your Uncle Al did the work and he is a master electrician. He's paid to this work for others. Well unfortunately your word isn't good enough. The buyer doesn't know whether your Uncle Al really was a good electrician or not when he rewired your electrical box. They have only your word for it (and of course the word of your Uncle Al.) They are left to wonder...if he was good and did this for a living, why didn't he follow all of the city rules and get the permit?

Having a city inspector come out and approve the work is your protection that when you go to sell everyone will know the work was done right. That's because the city inspector will be giving you a permit stating the work was done according to code. Believe me that slip of paper goes a long way to making the prospective buyers more comfortable.

So even if it's a small project, check with the city to make sure it doesn't need a permit. The complete information on the Kyle Texas Building Permit Process can be found on the city's website www.cityofkyle.com or by calling the City of Kyle at 512-262-2110.

As always...have a good one!

Just a quick mention of the Code Red system that Kyle launched in April. This system could save your life or the life of a loved one, so take a moment and make sure your contact info is correct. The CodeRED Emergency Notification System is described at a "high volume - high speed Communication Service available for mass Emergency Notifications". This state- of- the- art system is light years ahead of the old siren systems used for years to notify citizens that a tornado has been sighted.

The idea behind the system is that it will be able to deliver messages to Kyle Texas residents in the case of an emergency (or other public notifications). Do you wonder how they got your phone number? The Code Red System uses the phone numbers and addresses stored in the City's utility data base. I for one am thrilled that our city has jumped on the technology band wagon. While I hope the system never has to use it for dangerous weather conditions, I still like knowing that the new technology is in place, tested and ready to work for us.

Imagine...the Kyle city officials find out that a tornado is bearing down on the city, they quickly get on the internet, punch in a few codes, give the message, and in matter of seconds all the citizens of Kyle are getting a recording on our cell phones, home phone, work phone or whatever number we entered into the system.

I've received two messages so far from the system. The first was an introductory call, kind of like a test you hear on the radio. The second was about the new city wide watering restriction program.

To get more information about the program, or to update your contact information, go to the City of Kyle webpage and click on the Code Red Icon. I recently went into the system and updated my contact information with another phone number. I wanted to make sure the system can reach me in the late night hours should anything be happening weather wise that I want to be notified of. I found the system very user friendly.

Kyle residents can also access the system to enter other phone number they may want notified, ie your work phone or cell phone. To update your information go to the City Of Kyle website www.cityofkyle.com, and click on the Code Red icon. then follow the instructions.

So kudos to the City of Kyle administration for thinking of ways to help keep us safe.

As always...have a good one!

I'm frequently asked about how to go about leasing a home.

Now I'll get this question from both sides of the table. That is the person who owns the home, thinking about leasing it wants to know "what's the typical rent and how long will it take to find a renter". While the person who interested in leasing a homewants to know what "they are going for".

The answer is...it depends on the neighborhood. So I thought I'd do a series of blogs about some popular neighborhoods around the Austin Area, looking at them from a Lease Perspective. I'll focus on the landlords perspective. My goal will be to give you, as the prospective landlord, answers to the following 4 questions.

1. What is the current market is in a given neighborhood? (Not what it was last year.)
2. How long will it take to find a renter?
3. How do I know the renter will be a good one?
4. What are the costs involved in leasing?
5. Should I lease my home?
6. Is Plum Creek,a good lease market?

Let's start by looking the current market for homes for lease in Plum Creek, in Kyle Texas.

What's the current competition...how many other homes are there for lease in Plum Creek?

The good news is that there are only 2 homes for lease right now in Plum Creek. That's not much competition. You can see from the 'capture' that there were at least 11 that went under contract in August. Must have been the rush to get kids in school.

So if you know you have a 3 bedroom 2 bath, 1400 square foot home that you are thinking of leasing, then you can see pretty clearly what the market is doing. Depending on how quickly you want to "get someone in there" you can price it between $1050 - $1175/month. That would also make you the 'least expensive available home to rent in Plum Creek' right now which is a good thing.

Keep in mind if you are thinking of leasing a home, you better do it quickly...homes for lease, like homes for sale, start moving slower as you get into the Fall months.

How long will it take to get a renter?

The answer to question number 2, "How long will it take to get a renter?", is one no one can answer. However you can look at the last column in the chart and at least see what has been happening lately. When it comes to Real Estate, Plum Creekor elsewhere, the market is your best view of what is happening. In the column ADOM, Active Days on Market, you can see in general, that the Plum Creek lease market is pretty hot. It might be cooling off a bit with the kids just starting school, but it looks pretty good right now.

How can you guarantee you'll get a good tenant?

So how can you guarantee that you'll have a good tenant...you can't. If someone says they can...they're lying. Before you accept a tenant your agent will have them fill out an application and pay for a credit check. These can include checking references, credit checks, security checks, police record etc, but beyond that there are still unknowns. While you hope it doesn't happen, no one can guarantee it. But usually the past behavior is a good indication of future behavior.

You will usually have built into the contract a security deposit equal to one month's rent, payable before you accept the tenant. You hold this until their lease is up at which time you are required to return it to the tenant, less any unreasonable damages. (Discuss this term with your agent and tenant up front so everyone is on the same page. Saves a lot of trouble at the end.)

What are the common costs involved in leasing a home?

I'm making the assumption that the home is clean, fresh and ready to go. That may require some costs but again that varies so much from house to house that it makes no sense to deal with it here where we are dealing with generalities. So we'll deal with the general costs: Relocking the home and paying the Realtor.

If it's the first time to lease then you have to make sure you have the home 'legally lease ready'. That means that the state law requires that there must be a "peep hole" on any exterior door that doesn't have a window, including the door to the garage. You must also have "keyless locks" that is on the exterior doors you must have bolt locks that do not have a key hole on the outside. These allow the person on the inside to lock the doors and no one can get in...including the landlord. These obviously are only activated when the tenant is home. (This law was put in several years ago as you can guess, because unscrupulous landlords molested their tenants. These locks protect the tenant from the landlord coming in to the home to do them harm. When you think about it, it makes sense.)

Every time you get a new tenant you must always change the locks, (another state law). Hint: The locksmith can put the locks mentioned above and the peep holes in at the same time if this is your first time to lease the home.

The remaining costs is what do you have to pay the agents: While these are not set in stone, the typical fee would be 80% of one month's rent. This is split 50/30 between the listing agent, and the buyers agent and is due after you get the first months rent from your new tenant.

Should I lease my home?

Only you can answer that question. I know I wish I purchased homes years ago when a friend suggested it. I didn't want any part of being a landlord. This person now is worth millions. Reading books like "Rich Dad Poor Dad", makes you realize that investing in Real Estate (wisely) can make a lot of sense. (It's not about the quick buck...many people went bankrupt when they were buying up a lot of spec homes in Las Vegas a few years ago. Then the prices dropped and they were left with homes they couldn't sell. I'm talking purchasing a rental for the long haul) People with young children are starting to look at expanding their investment portfolio by purchasing a lease home, with the idea that they can use it to pay for their child's education. Look at the numbers and see if they work for you.

Is Plum Creek a good lease market?

With the new Seton Hays Hospital coming in down the road, and all of the upcoming shopping centers, movie theaters, I'd say YES! I think we're going to see a lot of people coming to work in those places wanting to lease a home close by where they work. Interest rates are still low and right now there still are some deals to be had. So if after reading this blog and doing some research on your own, if you think you're ready...jump on in. Click here to get some idea of the future of the Kyle and Plum Creek area.

For some historical lease information for Kyle Texas click here.

Oh...in case you're wondering...Real Estate Prices in Plum Creek for a single family home starts about $150,000 and go to the high $200s. There are a few townhomes and cottages that would be less. If you would like to check out all of the active homes for sale in Plum Creek, go to Austin Home Search.