Russell Lewis, Broker,CLHMS,GRI

I read a great featured post by Craig Rutman about peer ranking among Active Rain Bloggers. activerain-where-do-you-rank-amongst-your-peers- I got to thinking about it and wondered how my Activerain ranking in Austin, Texas affected my business and any relationship I might have with the top 10 bloggers in my town. It turns out than I am currently ranked #7 in Austin, which is pretty good considering how many GREAT AR members live in Austin. Below is a listing of the top 10 Activerain agents in Austin and what I may or may not know about them. We are a diverse and knowledgeable group and though coming from different backgrounds all seem to have good standards of performance and professionalism!

#1 Jason Crouch Okay...I cannot add a lot to what everyone already knows except that since I joined Active rain a year ago, we have become very good friends. I can tell you that he is as good a guy as he seems and also has a heck of a great sense of humor. Beside running his own brokerage and actively listing and selling real estate, he is also a social networking and blogging consultant! We work completely different areas and because of my confidence in him, I have sent him several referrals and will continue to do so!

#2 Donna Harris Donna moved to Austin recently from Dallas where she was the top ranked Active rain agent in the area. Since arriving, she has hit the ground running! Living in one of our fastest growing areas, Lake Travis, she has really gotten to know Austin and is even teaching Social networking classes at one of the Title companies!

#3 Gail Tassey I met Gail once at an Activerain gathering and her company Sky Realty is does well in their part of Austin. She writes local interest posts and is an established blogger.

#4 Betina Foreman I have become friends with Betina since joining Activerain. She is a hardworking agent who specializes in several specific areas and neighborhoods including Lake Travis and Shady Hollow and is a professional in the truest sense of the word!

#5 Tim Moncrief I met Tim a number of years ago when he was a new home salesman and we did a couple of very good transactions together. Tim now lives in Riverplace and he and his team have done an excellent job of branding themselves as the listing leaders in that neighborhood as well as Steiner Ranch.

#6 Alex & Cadey Charfen I believe this couple moved here recently form Florida. They have established a professional group dedicated to helping agents in short sale and foreclosure properties nationwide.

#7 Russell Lewis Yours truly!

#8 Ki Gray I have never met Ki but his company and web site do a good amount of business. He posts on a regular basis and has a nice variety of eloquent and well written articles!

#9 Jeff Kessler Jeff is another agent whom I've not had the pleasure of meeting but when I first arrived, I often read his posts about the Austin area and found them to be very informative!

#10 Robin Scott I've met Robin and she posts great articles about Austin and also some good material from a personal view. She specializes in the Milwood neighborhoods and works for Amelia Bullock, one of the most established companies in town

After looking over the field different agents it became readily apparent to me that Austin, Texas is a very large city and that I rarely come in to contact with the agents. All of us work in completely different parts of town, neighborhoods, price ranges, niches and areas of expertise. For these reason, we really do not compete at all. Couple this with the wide variety of personalities and working styles and I realized that I would rarely if ever compete with these folk. I think that ranking can be an important part of what a potential client may view at first. However as they look at each profile and blog will readily be able to assess the agent who might best help them with their particular real estate needs! Using Activerain as a resource, I have actually referred business in Austin to other agents because REALISTICALLY, no agent can cover all of Austin or be all things to all people. I've spent 19 years building my business, knowledge and skills in my particular neighborhoods and areas of expertise and I stick to it. Anyone who grabs any business at all is not helping the client!

Wherever you live, I would urge you to look at the Active Rain agents in your area and get to know them. I think you will be pleasantly surprised that you have a lot in common and might be able to share expertise and referrals. I've done this when looking for agents in other parts of the country and it works locally too! That's how it stacks up in Austin (for now anyway) so take some time and check out your city!

The next event of the third season of the Architecture at the Umlauf Series season takes this place Thursday, September 3^rd at 7:30 pm.

The monthly series was founded and is produced by two of my associates at AvenueOne properties; Scott Harvey and Carla Umlauf (granddaughter of the esteemed sculptor) and is sponsored by our firm, AvenueOne Properties and hosted by The Umlauf Torchbearers. The lectures take place at the beautiful Umlauf Sculpture Garden and the series is now in the second half of its hugely successful third season. Rick Black is the featured speaker. Catering will be provided by The Steeping Room. There is a minimal charge of $5.00 for the event but is free to museum members. Come out and enjoy an excellent talk in this beautiful venue. You might want to show up early because this event has been at capacity at all of the previous lectures!

Thanks again for your continued support I look forward to seeing you there!

Sitting on the low stone wall, our eyes meet and he flashes us a nervous grin and anxiously looks around at the other kids and parents sitting and loitering nearby. The year is 1995 and we are waiting at the bus stop for the big yellow school bus that will take our son to his very first day of school at Forest Trail Elementary. There are several other "first timers" and their parents along with a half dozen students ranging in age from 7 to 11. In a moment, we hear the roar of the bus as it heads around the corner and comes to a stop in front of us. The doors noisily slide open and the kids begin to file on one at a time. My wife squeezes my hand as we watch him climb on board as he turns and waves goodbye. Her tears begin as the bus pulls away and I gently tease her and say, "It's okay, you want to follow the bus to school?" We both laugh and then immediately run to our car and pull in behind the bus with several other like-minded parents forming a wagon train, following the bus to school! On our drive I keep telling her he will be fine and not to worry and she laughs while crying and reminds me that our "baby boy" is growing up! I'm still laughing and agree and all is well until we pull up in the school lot, park and watch him bound off the last step, smiling and so excited to be at school. Then it happens to me...big salty tears pour from my eyes as my wife and I hug and watch the scene. Yes, as intense as my business persona can be at times...I do have a soft spot for my family and the well being of others.

This week that scene will be repeated to various degrees in the Eanes School District where we call home and all over the country! Actually we moved to the Eanes School District when our son was only 3 and our daughter was about a month away from arriving in the world! At my previous real estate firm located in Westlake, I volunteered at several of the schools and was impressed with just about EVERYTHING I saw. Every school had great teachers, staff, administrators, a wonderful curriculum, healthy, active parent involvement and dedication to excellence on every level. After talking it over with my wife, we began looking for a home in the area and moved in 1992. This year the Texas Education Agency has rated every school in Eanes, EXEMPLARY and all of the schools consistently perform at the highest levels! Here is an interesting detail: Only 60% of the residents in Eanes have students in school however the rest stay because the quality of the schools contributes to keeping the property values up! As a matter of fact, our daughter is a senior at Westlake this year (something she is exceedingly proud of) and when she leaves for college next year, we also intend to stay in the district. Not JUST because of the schools but they are a major factor.

For more information on all of our excellent schools, please click on the links provided that will take you to the District Site as well as each of the individual schools where you will have access to an incredible amount of data and resources! And if you have a chance, volunteer, they can always use the help!

Eanes School District Web Site

Barton Creek Elementary Bridgepoint Elementary Cedar Creek Elementary

Eanes Elementary Forest Trail Elementary

Hill Country Middle School West Ridge Middle School

Westlake High School

Alright...now fast forward to last week. Our son asked me to accompany him as he drove back to college to begin his sophomore year. We all had a good summer together but as some of you may know about teenagers, it was T I M E for him to return to school. On the way up he mentioned that he had not really had a chance to mentally prepare for his next year and leaving home again. This came as something of a surprise to me because he has always loved travel, adventure and has an ardent streak of independence. He just said he was still something of a "homeboy" and talked about how much he loved us and being home...Anyway, after a 7 hour drive we arrived at school, unloaded and got him moved in to his fraternity house (That's another story all together!) and then it was time for us to head for the airport. As in the past everything was FINE until I took one last picture of him at the drop off area and he hugged me. When I started to relax my grip, he hugged me just a little harder and then it started...big, warm, salty tears which I tried to blink away but to no avail. I tried to mumble something and he smiled and said, "It's alright Dad, I am just on the edge myself." And so it goes, anyone who has even a modicum of love for their children must experience something like this to some extent and his Mom and I are just grateful that he and his sister have been gifts to us AND that they have the opportunity to receive a good education!

School is back so watch out for those children!!!

General Motors...Bankrupt? Say it ain't so...I have been reading a lot of articles and watching the talking heads go on and on about the fall of General Motors and frankly think most of them have missed a vital and key component as to WHY the company failed. That is until this morning, when I read P.J. O'Rourke's excellent treatise in the May 30th issue of the Wall Street Journal. See the article in its entirety here : The End of the Affair. The commentary reveals that Detroit lost its soul and passion when it allowed the bean counters and corporate bureaucrats to take over the business and let simple economics rule over the passion and romance that Americans have with their automobiles. I do not care what generation you are from, we all have special times, memories and emotions attached to our relationship with cars!It's part of the fabric of our society on every level!

I think everyone remembers Drives Ed. class, the first time you were allowed to take the family car, the purchase of an automobile and all of the different events that take place regarding a car while growing up. I mention this while also keeping on mind the events that can occur within the confines of a car whether it is moving or parked...Long before I was old enough to drive I enjoyed racing model "slot" cars at our local hobby shop in my West Texas town. When I was 10, my favorite model was a VERY COOL, 1963 Corvette Convertible. I remember holding it, polishing it, racing it around that local table top track and it was as real an experience as I could ever imagine without actually driving. I think that this is inherent in almost all children (certainly with boys) to some degree. When our son was between ages of 2 and 5 we would let him get behind the wheel of one of our cars (No keys, emergency brake on, windows down and one of us nearby keeping an eye out) and he would happily spend a couple of hours turning all the buttons, switches, levers and standing at the wheel "driving". All the while making assorted noises and sound effects to accompany his outing. We actually have a Ford 1996 Mustang Convertible GT (I know, it's not GM but it's an American muscle car) that, I refuse to part with because it is so much FUN to drive, but please do not ask about the gas mileage?!?!?

All that said, I think each of us has a special relationship with our automobiles and as a Realtor, I certainly spend a lot of time in mine. Mr. O'Rourke goes on to explain that this relationship between Americans goes back to the time when horses were our means of transportation. " Politicians, journalists, financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business. Fire the MBAs and hire a poet. The fate of Detroit isn't a matter of financial crisis, foreign competition, corporate greed, union intransigence, energy costs or measuring the shoe size of the footprints in the carbon. It's a tragic romance-unleashed passions, titanic clashes, lost love and wild horses." I could not agree more but as with all things a balance must beachieved. Honestly. look at cars made in China, Russia and many people recall the hapless "YUGO" ! Strictly utilitarian cars are NOT what American consumers are all about! Yes, I do understand the need for conservation and safety and a dozen other reasons why big muscle cars should be the exception and not the rule but it is clear to me that Governmental busybodies and corporate incompetence did more to bring General Motors down than anything else. I do not know what is in store with the next General Motors incarnation but I certainly have the fervent wish that creativity, artistry and a little romanticism are allowed to re-enter the equation. For heaven's sake, Germany and Italy, representing the pinnacle of both creativity and artistry have done extremely well with a line of incredibly sexy and hyper engineered designs. America can, by acknowledging a look toward the incredible minds and resources we have can make a comeback as the world leader in automobiles.

In the meantime, I will continue enjoying the guilty pleasure of driving that Mustang as I turn on my blinker, tap the gas pedal and and roar into the left lane before the psychotic driver of the tiny BMW attempts to cut me off...It's a good life here in Austin, Texas!

I have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt kickin' contest. (Author unknown)

I finished my morning run yesterday and while resting my "dogs" out on our deck, I had a few moments to relax and contemplate blogging and the real estate market here in Austin, Texas. Last July, when I first started "blogging", the real estate business in Austin, Texas was pulling back and beginning to feel the first effects of the many problems that have plagued real estate, banking and the other financial areas in all parts of the country. Through the fall and the first months of 2009, the market remained flat and actually dropped a bit as more problems surfaced.

When business is slower, it's an excellent time to reexamine our production, our business model, work on our SOI and engage in marketing in anticipation of future business. During the months since last summer, I slowly began to delve into the world of on line social networking by joining LinkedIn, Squidoo, Twitter, Face Book and most importantly, Active Rain! In that time I s-l-o-w-l-y learned to find my voice and write posts that would hopefully contribute to the Active Rain community as well as help promote my presence and relevance online in my areas of expertise here in Austin! Over time I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of friends and professional relationships I have established through my blog!

I have also been able to gain more business as a direct result of my blogging and hopefully it will continue to grow as I stay involved. And that's the challenge! I was taught by Rich and Brad that to be successful at blogging, a person needs to post regularly and maintain quality. I suppose I could post every listing in my company (as I often see from some of the real estate "teams") or just throw something -anything out to fill the void but I think in the long run folks actually do not care for this type of blog and quickly move along. If anything I do need to write about real estate more often and on a REGULAR BASIS!!

Now here is my so called "problem", Austin is experiencing dramatic activity these days (at least for my office and me personally). Austin has recently rated #1 for employment opportunities, Forbes magazine ranked Austin #8 for communities to do business, Jumbo Loan restrictions are beginning to relax a bit, and Texas for the 4^th year in a row is the number 1 state for population growth. All of these things bode well for our community and our business. As a consequence, I have had no time at all to post lately and barely enough to keep up with many of the blogs I read on a regular basis. I am flattered when I check my blog and see that people leave comments wondering if I am alive or will ever post again! Anyway, I am back to posting again but as long as the market stays busy, I will have to make an extra effort to write something at least twice a week.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Central, West or Southwest Austin, Texas, contact me at your convenience. Real Estate is alive and well in our fair city!