Wow! There was a terrific Op-Ed piece in the New York Times yesterday about the housing market, with a cogent argument for why you should buy. Rather than trying to encapsulate this broad topic, here are a few key quotes: Consider it this way: when Enron went belly up, shareholders ended up with nothing, but when [...]

My favorite evening is a walk to my local, BB Rover’s. They have excellent food, a spectacular beer menu, friendly waitresses (all of whom we know by name), and good service. They’re truly the US version of “the local.” Johanna has been going with us to BB’s for long enough to know JUST what she [...]

They’re not over yet, at least not here in Austin, where the next five days are forecast to be +100 degrees. We’re still hot! Timely to the weather, Realtor.com posted an entry of mine about how to find a home for you and your beloved Man’s Best Friend. Austin is, indeed, a dog-friendly city.  The [...]

I just came from a lease signing, and reviewing the lease with my client reminded me of a few things. I thought I’d post them here! The Texas Association of Realtors published a new lease form last month, and several things have changed. Primarily, it’s the Repairs section that has been reorganized. They’ve removed a [...]

I’ve got several investors looking for lease properties in Austin right now. It’s a FANTASTIC time to invest. Mortgage rates are unbelievably low, housing prices are down, and the cherry on top is that apartment complexes are at about 95% capacity. The number of single-family homes available for lease on MLS is down about 25% [...]

Ahhhh, such a busy time this is for Realtors. School starts soon. We squeeze in several more weeks of helping people find their dream homes before things slow down for the Fall. So, busy as I am, in lieu of a proper post, here is a grainy video of my delightful child. More in a [...]

Or not!  Say what you will about the new health care law, it will not add ad additional 3.8% sales tax burden to the majority of home sales.  Brooks Jackson spells it out very clearly on FactCheck.org.  Among his comments: …Only those with incomes over $200,000 a year ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) will [...]

When the current or former home of an entertainer goes on sale, we get to sneak a peek into the celeb lifestyle.  I love checking out the staging photos and such on Celebrity Real Estate Highlights. For this week, I’m partial to Sacha Baron Cohen & Isla Fisher’s house, though none of the listings is [...]

Ohhhhh nooooooooo.  Good friends of mine struggled all day today with no water at home. A main in their neighborhood had broken, so the city did an emergency-fix type of thing.  Oddly, their neighborhood did NOT make the city’s Water Shut Off list.  So frustrating. And in a hot climate, it’s almost a crime to [...]

As we know it. Yes, I have returned!  What’s changed?  I have a Volvo S40 T5, to replace my totaled A3.  I have a few lingering aches and pains, but I am managing those, under the guidance of a great doctor. And I’m working on refilling my pipeline, after stepping back for many days to [...]