Last week, we had an absolutely awesome show with Tara Hunt, author of "The Whuffie Factor". If you haven't already heard it, I would encourage you to check it out here: http://budurl.com/fdbr. 
Tomorrow morning (or afternoon, depending on where you live), we are excited to have Shel Israel joining us for the second time. He was a guest of the show exactly six months ago today. Shel's first book, "Naked Conversations", which he co-wrote with Robert Scoble, is considered to be one of the seminal books on business blogging. His NEW BOOK, "Twitterville", is going to be released on September 3rd.
Shel was a great guest the first time around, and I have no doubt that we will have a great time again tomorrow.
Here are some highlights from the Amazon.com description of "Twitterville":
Israel introduces you to trailblazers such as:
* Frank Eliason, who used Twitter to reverse Comcast's blemished customer service reputation
* Bill Fergus, who was on the team at Henry Ford Medical Center during the first "live tweeted" surgery
* Scott Monty, social media officer for Ford, who held off a mob of misinformed Ranger fans and averted a PR crisis
* Connie Reece, who used Twitter to raise tens of thousands of dollars for cancer patients in need
* The Coffee Groundz, a Houston-area coffee shop that uses Twitter to pack the tables (and fight off Starbucks)
Here is a link to Shel's February appearance on Social Media Edge if you would like to do a bit of catching up before you listen tomorrow:
As always, the show will feature our cast of regulars (or irregulars?) Mike Mueller, Jeremy Blanton, and TS Elliott. We broadcast live each Tuesday at noon Eastern, 11am Central, 10am Mountain, 9am Pacific.
If you are interested, you can also pre-order Shel's book right here (I plan to do that myself):
I hope you can join us for what should prove to be a fun and educational hour!
This is part six of a seven-part series intended to teach you more about the homebuying process in Austin, Texas. The first five parts are here:
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step One: Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Two: Selecting an Area of Town
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Three: Finding the Home Itself
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Four: Writing an Offer!
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Five: Inspection and Repairs
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Now that we have successfully negotiated the repairs for your home based on the inspection report we received, the number of hurdles remaining is rather small. 
Some of the main things which must be done to ensure a smooth closing include:
If you don't already have a company in mind for your home's hazard insurance, we are happy to recommend a couple of possibilities.
With regard to the financing, don't be surprised if your lender comes back to you for more documentation even after they say that you have been approved for the loan. The final stage of your mortgage loan is the underwriting process, and the underwriter usually has a few conditions that need to be cleared before the lender can produce your closing paperwork. This might include your latest pay stub, or some other minor document. The good news is that this means you are nearing the finish line!
We will endeavor to get the necessary phone numbers for you for the utility companies. Depending on where you live, you might have a choice when it comes to your electricity provider, since Texas was deregulated a few years back and most outlying areas of town (not Austin proper) have competing companies.
I never recommend planning to move in the same day that you close, since this is asking for headaches. I would plan to give yourself a 2-3 day cushion on the move.
Basically, we will have a few weeks when things seem to be moving more slowly, after the whirlwind of finding the right home, negotiating a good deal, and getting the place inspected. During this period, we are heavily dependent on your lender and the title company to perform their functions properly to ensure a smooth closing for you. I have often said that I can do my job 100% correctly yet still not get paid. Obviously, I only get paid when you close on your home, so I will do my best to keep all of the personnel involved moving in the right direction.
The next (and final) step will be your closing! I will post a link here once that post has been written. :)
If you have any questions at all about buying a home in Austin or the surrounding areas, please don't hesitate to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me: jason@austintexashomes.com. I look forward to helping you find the right place!
Photo above courtesy of Joe Lanman via Flickr.com.
Over the past year or so, I have been helping to start a new church in Georgetown, Christ Presbyterian Church (PCA). I am pleased to announce that we will be having our first Sunday morning service on September 6th (Labor Day weekend). Our first "official" service will be held on October 11th, 2009, so that is our grand opening, as it were.
Our group continues to grow steadily - we are currently averaging 52 people attending our weekly services over the past 12 weeks. This figure does include kids, so I think we might be closer to 35 adults (just guessing). We are a laid-back and friendly crowd, and we would love to have you join us sometime.
Our pastor Whit Anderson recently signed an agreement with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce to use their new building each Sunday morning. So, our new meeting place will be at:
This location is just north of the intersection of Williams Drive and Austin Avenue, at the corner of Stadium and Austin. The building is pretty hard to miss, since it says "GEORGETOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE" in huge painted letters on the side.
There should be ample parking for our needs, since the recreation center across the street is closed on Sundays. Visitors are welcome to use that parking lot if needed.
If you are interested in visiting, come on in! We would love to meet you! If you have any questions at all, feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 or contact Pastor Whit Anderson at 512-784-5868.
This is part five of a seven-part series intended to teach you, the home buyer, about how the process typically works here in Austin. The first four parts are listed here for your convenience:
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step One: Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Two: Selecting an Area of Town
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Three: Finding the Home Itself
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Four: Writing an Offer!
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After you have secured the home or condo of your choice, it will be time to schedule a home inspection. This involves having a licensed inspector come to the home and make a detailed report which shows any items which are in need of service or repair. Most inspectors can include a termite inspection along with the general home inspection.
Inspectors generally charge based on the size of the home. A basic inspection for an average-sized home might run $200-250; for a large home, it could run $500 or more.
If you and/or the inspector decide that there are additional specific issues of concern with the home, there are specialists available for septic inspections, roof inspections, slab inspections, and other areas. By their nature, most inspectors are considered "generalists", meaning that they know a little bit about a broad number of factors and systems that affect your home. They may suggest a structural engineer if they are concerned about the foundation, as they are probably not fully qualified/licensed to determine if there are issues that need to be addressed there.
I always inform my clients that they shouldn't be surprised to see a lot of potential repair items on the inspector's report. It doesn't mean that all of these items are critical, or that they are even worth fixing. Sometimes, you will see items that don't meet current construction codes because the home was built prior to those codes being instituted. In most cases, it's tough to get sellers to address small items that fall into that category.
Keep in mind that many home sellers will not be willing to make a house "perfect" for the buyer, especially if they have already negotiated on the price. A common quote from someone selling their home is, "I already came off of the price by $5,000 - can't the buyer use that to fix this stuff?"
Once we have the inspection report in hand for your home, we can determine which items we would like to request to have repaired by the seller before closing, and I will prepare an addendum to the contract for this. In the case of a new home builder, they will almost always correct everything on the inspector's list, unless there is a good reason not to do so. We recommend that our clients get a third-party inspection for any home, whether it is new or resale.
Is this item something that ANY reasonable buyer would want to have fixed before occupying the house? This would include roof issues, water leaks, structural problems, bad wiring, and more.
Generally, my advice is to focus on the items that are truly important to you, and not to ask the sellers to repair everything on the list. From a negotiating standpoint, this comes across as very reasonable to most sellers.
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If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon! You can also access our primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com.
The next step in the series will be about preparing to close on your home. I will post a link here once it has been written. :)
Photo above is courtesy of andercismo via Flickr.com.
This is one post in a seven-part series designed to teach you about what to expect when you are considering buying a home in the Austin, TX area. The first three parts are here:
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step One: Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Two: Selecting an Area of Town
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas - Step Three: Finding the Home Itself
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Congrats! You have found the home that will work best for your needs.
First, we need to sit down and compose an offer to be presented to the seller(s). We can do this anywhere you prefer - my office, your current home, restaurant, or even on the hood of my car. :)
Generally speaking, this can be accomplished in about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how many questions you may have. The forms that we use to make an offer are all standardized, provided by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Although we will probably produce 10-12 pages of stuff, all of it is "fill in the blank" in nature, so it's not quite as daunting as it sounds.
Included in the offer and any addenda that we need to include are ALL of the pertinent terms and conditions for the purchase, including:
Obviously, there are a lot of other items covered therein, including a good deal of legalese.
ONE IMPORTANT NOTE: The offer is not considered to be accepted ("executed") until the sellers have agreed to ALL of the details, not just the price. In other words, the sellers may be perfectly fine with the price, but they want to close sooner than we have proposed.
In Texas, our contracts allow you, the buyer, to pay a cursory amount of money to the seller for "the unrestricted right to terminate the contract within ____ days". WOW! This means that for a small fee (the "option fee"), you can back out of the contract with no further penalty as long as you do it during the specified period. Admittedly, it's very rare that buyers use this provision - typically, it comes up as the result of an inspection that reveals repairs that seem overwhelming.
We counsel all of our clients to get an inspection done when buying a home, whether it is brand-new or resale. The cost varies by the size of the house and any "extras" (pool, etc.), but an inspection on an average-sized home in this market would probably run $250 or so. The inspection report will give us a list of things that need to be repaired. We can then decide which things are critical to get the sellers to fix before closing. A good inspector will probably give you a very thorough list, including some items that are minor and not worth asking the seller to fix.
All of the timing on the contract is based on the executed date, which is the day that everyone has signed off on all of the terms of the 
agreement. If you have a 10-day option period, which is pretty typical here in Austin, the days start counting after the contract has been executed, and not before that.
Keep in mind that contract days are calendar days, NOT business days. If we agree to all of the terms on a Monday, you will have until the following Thursday to terminate under this example. Clearly, this means you want to have the inspection done quickly, so that you can assess which items are important to you and request that the sellers sign off on this before your option period is up. After that, you would lose a lot of negotiating leverage.
Sometimes, I have clients ask if they should put a "fuse" in the offer, which would make it valid only for a short period of time. Unless we are relatively sure that there is another offer coming or already in hand, I don't recommend using this technique. On a typical offer, I would expect to hear something back within 24-48 hours, sometimes even faster. The longest that I can remember for an initial response was 4 days, but that only happened to me once.
The seller can choose to do one of three things with your offer:
After we negotiate and come to an agreement on your new home, you will want to set up the inspection as soon as you can. If there is a need for specialized inspections (septic, termite, etc.), we can help with that, too. You are welcome to use whomever you like for the inspection(s), and we can provide a list as well. You are not obligated to use anyone from our list.
Next step - INSPECTING THE HOUSE - I will post a link here once that has been written. :)
Images above are courtesy of jk5854 and Caucas' - found on Flickr.com.
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I have been working as a full-time Austin area Realtor since January 1997. My years of experience serve me well as the broker and co-owner of Austin Texas Homes, LLC, which began operations in 2004.
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