Austin, TX

Phase III of Mueller

07-30-10

Garreth Wilcock Austin Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Austin, TX

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Office: (512) 694-8873

Mobile: (512) 694-8873

Mueller Section 4 When, where and what will Phase III of the Mueller Redevelopment be? Here are the details on the Mueller Houses, and the Mueller Garden Homes.

A brief history lesson: Phase I of the old airport redevelopment was the heavily subscribed, lottery based kickoff to the project - at least in terms of residential homes. There was already big box infrastructure, like Best Buy and Home Depot well underway, and Dell Children's Hospital. Phase II built from Phase I of homes at Mueller, adding another Garden Court, and more row and yard homes. Condos were also added (in the traditional sense - low rise attached units)

At this point there was a short hiatus, with the builders selling off their remaining lots, and the term Phase III sort of went by the sidelines. History was reinvented in terms of Section 4 and Section 5, or at least so it seemed to me. This was based on the legal desription of the lots, and was more developer speak than builder or public speak.

I still call the next set of homes phase three, and they are condos and single family homes, which I discuss on my other blog in these articles:

Mueller Garden Homes - yard homes over by Hermalinda Street being built by David Weekley Homes
Mueller Houses - condos available in mansion house style structures built by Standard Pacific Homes over by Simond Avenue - close to Lake Park
Mueller Development Update - what the developer is telling us about what's happening next

Garreth Wilcock helps people buy and sell, and lives in homes at Mueller. 512 215 4785

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Dual Agency/Intermediary Relationships Work If You Know How To Do It!

07-30-10

Donna Harris, REALTOR® & ASP - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes

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Office: (512) 592-7127

I closed on two properties a couple of days ago. The sellers were a referral from another RE/MAX agent in Houston. It was a small transaction so the agent didn't even want a referral fee. No problem, much appreciated.

Travis county vacant lot for sale It turned out to be a very interesting situation. The two properties were vacant lots side by side. We were trying to sell them together as one so the buyer could have almost a 1/2 acre instead of a standard sized lot.

Immediately, the neighbor next door wanted one of the lots. Great! We can close this really quick! But, she's not interested in the second lot... back up... we really want to market them together first and if nothing comes about, we'll be back in touch.

For the next month, I spent a lot of time contacting many of the local, smaller home builders in the area. You would be amazed at how many builders cannot be found on the internet. Their name is very prominent in the different MLS listings, but when you try to contact one directly, it's like they don't exist.

And then there are the builders who don't return phone calls. Wow, do they want to build and sell houses or what? When I did speak with some, I would get the sob story of trying to sell down their current inventory yadda yadda. I was told by a few that the lots were great lots, but it was bad timing for them, but maybe at the end of the summer so they could build something over the Fall and Winter and have it on the market in the Spring. Good plan... but we wanted to sell now! I was told by others that the lots would never sell because the street wasn't paved and they would never build on a street like that... ok, personal opinion since there were already several houses on the street.

With all these different conversations noted, I went back to the seller and explained everything. I suggested going back to the neighbor and offering her something she couldn't refuse. They took that literally because they asked me to offer her something that I didn't want to refuse and that I would have personally accepted, but that wouldn't be fair, if that's the right word to use.

I called the neighbor, told her to sit down and take a deep breath, and told her the figure my sellers said. Nope, she couldn't refuse it. Instead of barely 1/4 acre of property, she now has a house sitting on 3/4 acres! Her son is already making plans to build on one of the lots to be closer to her.

So many people say Dual Agency/Intermediary doesn't work because "you can't represent both sides of the transaction fairly if you want to do your job to its fullest" (I hear that often). Well, It was truly a WIN/WIN for everyone and I love when deals like this can be worked out. I truly represented each side to its fullest just the way an Intermediary transaction should be done.

I love referrals and I love working with people who can walk away happy from a transaction even if they didn't net what they initially thought they should or could. It's not about what you "want" when you sell. It's about what the market will bare!!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.coma
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in between... Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and beyond. Whether you're buying or selling an Austin home, I'll be with you every step of the way.

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Dual Agency/Intermediary Relationships Work If You Know How To Do It! * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

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How to get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan in Austin, TX

07-30-10

Danielle Norris

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Office: (512) 466-9343

Mobile: (512) 466-9343
Secondary: (512) 531-1831

How to get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan in Austin, TX. Most people start searching homes for sale before they ever get pre-qualified. What is pre-qualified? A pre-qualified borrower is someone who has given credit and income information to a mortgage consultant to determine how much you can qualify for.

house built of money

It is important to know what kind of mortgage loan you qualify for before you spend any time searching for properties. Real estate agents and sellers will want a copy of your mortgage loan pre-qualification before they will even show you a property.

The first step to getting pre-qualified is to contact a local mortgage consultant and fill out a short 5 minute mortgage loan questionnaire. You will be asked for your monthly debts such as car loans, credit cards, student loans and installment loans. You will also need to know what your income is before taxes. If you are self employed and looking for a mortgage loan you will want to get a copy of your last tax return so it can be reviewed.

Do you know what your credit looks like? If you don't know what your credit score is your mortgage consultant can find out for you. If you have credit issues, talk to your mortgage consultant about your credit issues so they can find out the best way to help you. Do you have money for a down payment? There are several different mortgage loan programs available to help with a down payment for your new home in Austin, TX.

Once you have gone over this information with your mortgage consultant they will be able to tell you how much of a mortgage loan you can get approved for as well as what your monthly payment will look like. You will receive a mortgage loan approval letter so that you can begin searching for homes that you qualify for. It is really a simple process that most people fear. Getting pre-qualified first for a mortgage loan will make the process of buying a home less stressful.

Danielle Norris, Mortgage Specialist

512-466-9343

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Should you refinance your home mortgage loan in Austin,TX?

07-30-10

Danielle Norris

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Office: (512) 466-9343

Mobile: (512) 466-9343
Secondary: (512) 531-1831

Should you refinance your home mortgage loan in Austin,TX? Mortgage loan rates are at the lowest point in 50 years allowing most homeowners to refinance their home loans to a lower interest rate. Usually you can close on your home with no money out of your pocket within 30 days.

piggy bank full of money from saving on my refinance home mortgage loan Refinancing your home loan to a lower interest rate can save you thousands of dollars over the course of your loan term. Some borrower can even shorten their loan term by refinancing at such a low interest rate. Even if you just purchased your home a year ago you may be able to skip a couple of house payments and lower you interest by getting a home loan refinance.

Using your homes equity to pay off high interest accounts may save you even more money. An appraiser will do an appraisal on your property to determine what you home is worth so that your equity can be determined correctly. Equity is the difference between what you own on a property and what it is worth. If you have enough equity built up in your home you can even get money back at closing for home improvements, to pay off other bills even to take a vacation.

taking a vacation with the money saved from refinacing an equity loan

Contact a local mortgage consultant to determine your refinance savings. You can get a quote for monthly payment and overall savings without any obligation. Some of the interest and fees to do a refinance may even be tax deductable. There are many home loan refinance products available to meet your specific needs. If you have credit problems you should talk to your mortgage consultant about it. They may be able to help you correct some problems so that qualifying for a refinance will be easier.

If you have not considered refinancing your home loan or if you have thought about it but haven't looked into it yet, now is the time. Interest rates will not stay this low forever.

Danielle Norris, Mortgage Specialist

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Austin Investment Potential

07-30-10

Laura Ivy Blessing

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Office: (512) 789-5087

Secondary: (512) 616-4000

I did some research for a client the other day that I thought would be great to include in my blog.

Here is the average sales price and average $/SF for a subdivision in NW Austin (Click here for google map for location). From looking at the numbers, this subdivision appears to have a strong appreciation potential for the years to come. Milwood is also in a great location (15-20 minute drive to downtown Austin with no traffic) and the prices of this subdivision are still affordable when you consider some of the prices of more centrally located homes.

Milwood Subdvision statistics for 1-Story Homes

Year Average Sales Price Average $/SF

2000 $119,391 $ 83.29

2005 $138,286 $ 94.78

2009 $175,319 $117.98

To put this in perspective, if you bought a 1-story home in Milwood in 2000 at the average $/SF and then sold it today at the average $/SF, you could gross nearly $60,000 in profit or equity.

HOuse with dollar sign next to it by JScreationzs

I am thankful everyday to wake up in Austin, TX! We have one of the best markets in the country. I know there are many people losing money in real estate and other investments. Call me today and let me show you how to make money in real estate while leveraging a basic need, a roof over your head.

Thank you JScreationzs for the image.

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