Ramones + Real Estate = South Austin Badassery!



I like to share with you guys when I find particularly interesting photos of houses while I am working on house hunting for clients. The MLS rarely produces gems like this one......

Dee Dee, Joey, Johnny and Tommy want you to buy this house and then punk out in it....

So, I was pleasantly surprised today when I came aross this listing in South Austin!  Here are some things I really love about this---

1. That the Realtor listing the property recognized this wall as a positive and features it prominently in the listing. There are a lot of Realtors out there that would insist on having this painted over before going on the market.
2.That the owner of this property loves the Ramones SO much that he/she wanted to LIVE with them!
3.That the painting is so well done!


Here's another photo from the same house/listing:

Uhmmmm---who doesn't love dancing bacon?
If you, or someone you know needs to buy a house with a big ass Ramones mural painted on it--you know who to call!!

People Making Stuff Right

Today I was reminded that sometimes people still do the right thing, just because it's the right thing to do.

I represented a buyer on the purchase of a property that closed yesterday. Yesterday evening her AC stopped working. The property had changed ownership and technically the AC issue was now my client's--the new owner of the property.

The seller of the property, who is also a Realtor --took care of the problem today without any objection.

I meet a lot of nice people in my line of work, but I also meet a lot of people that only do the right thing when contractually obligated to do so---Donna Fullerton is one of the good guys that does the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. Very cool.

Thanks Donna for making things right for my client and for reminding me that there are still lots of good folks out there!

Summertime Selling Season!

Summertime is always a busy time for Realtors. This year I have been lucky to be representing some sellers with some pretty amazing properties for sale!

Like this one that sold near the beginning of the year on the Eastside in the Holly Street neighborhood.



and this is just the kitchen, the rest of the place was equally as cool

Presently, I have a gorgeous condominium over at SATSUMA 53 available! It's a 1/1 1100 sq.ft. It's right up the street from Foreign & Domestic and walking/biking distance to all of the cool stuff on North Loop.


For more information about 508 East 53rd St. #203 click here

And then there's this AMAZING remodel in the University Hills area. 4 beds/ 2.5 baths with 1900+ square feet and a 2 car garage. New HVAC and roof  as well as artful finish outs in the baths, kitchen and throughout!



For more information about 5712 Wellington Drive click here

This is just a sampling of what I have working right now. Hit me up if you want to talk Real Estate! Or other stuff---like good places to go swimming or thrift stores or libraries or sno cones!


Fighting the Tax Man! Steps for Protesting Your Property Taxes.

Another in a series of posts about money and real estate and taxes. I know it's kind of dry---but you will thank me someday. That day may be when you successfully contest your property taxes!

Filing the Protest

The first step is to file a protest. The appraisal district has protest forms available, but you can hand write it on a piece of paper and fax it in. It simply needs to identify you as the owner, identify the subject property, and state that you disagree with the appraised value and wish to protest. If you’ve waited till the last minute, it would be best to fax it and then send a follow-up copy by certified mail.

The Informal Hearing

Next, the Travis County Appraisal District will schedule what they call an “informal hearing”. This may be months from now. The purpose of the hearing is for you to present your evidence that the appraised value is too high.

I’m going to stop here and point out a couple of things. It’s important before you attend a hearing that you understand the fundamentals of what the Travis County Appraisal District does. They simply set the appraised value of your home based on what they believe to be the market value. The tax rate multiplied against the appraised value determines the amount of property taxes you pay.

The Appraisal District does not establish the tax rate. Your elected officials do that. You can’t protest the amount you are paying, or the tax rate. All you are protesting is the Appraised Value.

When you show up for the hearing, make sure you bring data to support your protest.

Have Your Fact and Data Ready

Opinions and emotions are not data. In order to change your appraised value, the person you are working with at the informal hearing must have evidence and data to support the change. I’ve sat in the cubes over the years at the informal hearings and overheard other protesters arguing completely irrelevant gripes to the tax people. They don’t care how unhappy you are, how little you earn, etc. You’re there to discuss whether or not the appraised value on your particular home is too high or not, and that’s it.

If you know a Realtor, ask for a written market analysis on your home to determine the market value. You can take that along with you to use as your data and evidence. If your home has condition problems, take pictures and bring those. If you back up to a busy street, take pictures and print out your home’s location on a Google Map, and bring it in with you to show the tax people. Any “fact” that helps you prove a lower value may be helpful, but bring something to show to support it.

If the appraised value is higher than the amount you’ve recently paid to purchase the home, bring your Settlement Statement showing what you actually paid, and they’ll lower the value to the price you paid without a fuss.

You may be angry about the higher taxes, but unless the Appraisal District assessed your home at too high a value, and you can prove it, you have no grounds for a protest and you’ll lose. Since you know an awesome Realtor, me---you can get in touch with aforementioned awesome Realtor and I can do a free market analysis for you to determine the current market value of your home.

Be polite and courteous.

The person helping you at your informal hearing with has dealt with plenty of rude and uninformed people already – all day every day. You’re not going to get far if you present yourself as just another angry, unprepared and uneducated person coming in to yell at them and gripe about your taxes. Be nice, smile, dress professionally and have your facts ready with an extra copy for the appraisal person to keep. Make it easy for them to decide to help you by presenting yourself as a reasonable person who is well prepared and understands the process. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Two Bites at the Apple

If you are not satisfied with whatever reduction offer you receive at the informal hearing, you can move on to a formal hearing in front of a panel of the Appraisal Review Board. There will be an Appraisal District Representative arguing against you in support of the Appraisal District valuation, and a panel of three (usually old) people listening to both sides and making a decision.

If the informal hearing results in a deal you can live with, take it and avoid the time and frustration of the formal hearing.

If you truly are being hosed with an unreasonably high appraised value, then try your luck at the formal hearing. But know that once you forgo the offer made at the informal hearing, the formal hearing can result in an even higher value than what you passed up at the informal hearing. Your informal hearing deal ends when you decide to try your luck with the ARB.

For more information, check out the Taxpayer’s Rights, Remedies and Responsibilities document published by the State Comptroller.

Another Crazy MLS photo and by Crazy--- I mean Sad

So, really? Not only does this make me not want to bring a client to this house this makes my stomach hurt.

I sent this over to the mad genius over at my favorite Real Estate blog, Real Estate Rumble and this is what she had to say---I could not have said it better.

That would never happen on House Hunters!

I don't have cable. I have access to it sometimes, but even when I do I have to admit I am not compelled to watch reality shows about folks trying to buy, remodel or redesign houses. I love my job and I spend a lot of time doing my job, so when it comes to "down time" I like to try to get a bit of a break from the business.

That said, I am familiar with the format of  TV shows like "House Hunters" and I had an experience this week and thought to myself---"Why don't you ever see this on a reality Real Estate TV show?"--To be fair I have had that thought before.

Often when I am taking buyers to view properties, the properties for sale will have alarm systems. Most of the time you will, prior to your visit, get the needed instructions for how to disarm and arm these alarm systems. Sometimes even when you have done all of that, something will have changed and that alarm will go off--- LOUDLY and repeatedly and you look like kind of an ass and your poor client(s) are under assault by the sound as they try to check the place out.

This happened to me this week and after multiple phone calls and failed attempts at disarming the alarm system, we went through the property and did our best. I already knew that these particular clients were really great, but I now know that they are also very cool under pressure and would probably do very well in a war zone---good people to know.

Does this ever happen on "House Hunters"? Hell no. Here is another list of things that I am guessing never happen on "House Hunters".

1. Realtor attacked by dogs/cats/rabid children

2. Realtor has gun pointed at her as she is asked to leave.

3. Realtor walks in on a naked guy.

4. Realtor narrowly avoids being stung by hornets INSIDE the house.

5. Realtor stumbles upon grow room.

The only thing on this list that has NOT happened to me is that I have not yet encountered any rabid children, but the day is not over!

Again, I love being a Realtor in Austin and I am rarely bored.  I do wonder if there would be a market for a reality show that portrays what I know to be the true nature of working in this business---if so, sign me up!

PS: It is worth noting that in the 15 minutes we were at the property with the alarm screaming-- the cops did not show up.

East Austin Neighborhood Profile: French Place

Where can a food trailer selling BBQ and a 1900's Victorian coexist? French Place in Austin TX, that's where!

Geographically French Place is defined as the area between Manor and 38 1/2th, west of Airport Boulevard and east of I-35. French Place is also sometimes referred to as Cherrywood. Whatever you want to call it--in my opinion, this neighborhood is one of Austin's coolest places to live.

The houses here are older (30's and 40's mostly), charming and have good sized lots. Prices range from $250k-$375k.

The proximity to both Concordia University and The University of Texas makes this neighborhood attractive to students and professors and also makes it a good option if you are looking for a property to run as an income generating investment. The proximity to downtown is also very appealing to young professionals and really, anyone who wants to be close to the cultural centers of Austin.

The tree lined streets and eclectic architecture make this a great walking/biking neighborhood. You could never describe French Place as homogenized or ordinary. All along Manor Road you can find many great restaurants and coffee shops. There's Eastside Cafe where they serve vegetables grown in their awesome garden that you can stroll through while you wait for your table, Thunderbird Coffee has a great outdoor patio, good coffee and is a great place to work. I often schedule meetings there. El Chilito's tacos and agua fresca are so good and so affordable. And then, of course the new addition of Franklin's BBQ food trailer---get there early, they sell out fast.

In December, the Cherrywood Art Fair is a great place to get holiday gifts that are made by local crafters and artists. The Vortex Theater has youth programs as well as regular performances. All in all there's just a lot going on in and around the French Place neighborhood.

So, if you are looking to be in a neighborhood that is in a great urban location and has tons of personality, consider French Place!

Contact me if you would like more information about French Place or other Austin neighborhoods.

The days when I love my job even more....

I am presently working a deal with a buyer client and one of the CONTRACTUAL stipulations of our agreement with the seller is that my client buy the seller a sixer of Arrogant Bastard Ale at or prior to closing. This stipulation was initiated by the seller and that is the total jam. I love my job most days, but when stuff like this happens, I love it even more.

Turner Residential makes the Ellen Degeneres website!

My brokerage, Turner Residential, regularly advertises in The Onion and recently one of our print advertisements was featured on the Ellen website!

Check it out here.

Perception

In the real estate business your clients are everything. No clients, no business, no business, no late night shopping sprees on iTunes. I am really fortunate to have a lot of cool clients who then refer their cool friends, family and co workers to me and the cycle of being around fun and interesting people continues!

My clients needs are sometimes very similar but often they aren't. At any given time I could be working with a buyer that wants a move- in ready place, a seller that is looking to downsize or an investor who wants to buy cheap and sell high. In any of these scenarios or in any real estate transaction--the key to successfully getting a client what they want is clear and honest communication on my side and theirs.

I was thinking about the way I communicate with clients and people in general recently. Specifically, I was thinking about the way we perceive ourselves and then communicate this perception and how sometimes our perceptions may differ from reality. I see this manifested in the client-Realtor relationship most often with first time homebuyers who perceive themselves to be fixer upper types.

The idea of taking something rough and making it into something lovely and all your own is such an inticing idea and I fully understand why it is so appealing to people, especially creative people. DIYing is also very attractive financially to many people. "Sweat equity" is a term that exists for a reason.

Ok, so here's the straight dope. Everything will be harder and more costly than you thought it would be, a total remodel will take up all of your time and if you are living in the property while remodeling, it will suck. If you are cool with all of that, you should totally do it. Also, just like with everything in life there are degrees of difficulty and ease involved in making changes to a property. For example-- pulling up carpet is easy, but installing a sink is harder than you might think!

This brings me back to my original discussion about how we perceive ourselves. It is so important that clients engaged in the home buying process are honest with themselves and their Realtor about who they are as people, what they like to do on a daily basis and what they hope to achieve from home ownership. I meet many clients that initially want a fixer upper, and once they get out and look at properties that need work and they start to be more honest about who they are and how they want to spend their time, they discover that remodelers they are not. It is always interesting how people come to this realization.

So, what I am getting at is that it's always good to be honest with oursleves about who we are, but it is not always easy. I want to be the person that can knock out a wall, plant a garden, fix the dishwasher and give myself a home perm all at the same time, but I am not that person. It has taken me quite awhile to admit that--but now that I have, I am better at the stuff I am good at doing.

If you work with me, I will ask you all kinds of questions about your lifestyle and what you want out of your home. Questions like :

How important is it that you are near places you can walk to and get a coffee or the paper or whatever?

Do you need lots of yard space for gardens, dogs, babies, bunnies, chickens, underground tunnels etc.?

Have you ever painted a room?

Did you take wood shop in High School and if so, did you do well?

Have you ever been inside an attic space? Did it freak you out?

Are you REALLY going to cook every meal at home or do you have Pizza Hut on speed dial in your phone? You can tell me and I will not judge you.

And last but not least---Do you need help with that home perm? I am available. I am a FULL SERVICE REALTOR.
Those questions are kind of a mix of silly and serious, but I think you get the point. It is not just the "am I fixer upper or not" question that we need to ask ourselves when we are shopping for a home, but the "how do I want to spend my time and what is important to me about where I live" type questions that require a lot of self awareness to answer honestly.

I am here to help you get there if you aren't there already.

Oh- and PS: I have been in more attic spaces than I can count and I still get a little freaked out. Every time.

Austin Woman Magazine -- Who are these women?

While enjoying an awesome birthday on Monday, I came across Austin Woman Magazine in the waiting room of the place where I was having a massage (an awesome gift from an awesome guy, the massage--not the magazine).

I have seen this magazine in the past, but had not formed any strong opinions about its content. The primary mission of the magazine, as far as I could tell from reading it and then from a visit to the website, is to profile, promote and support strong and interesting women making contributions to Austin in the worlds of business, community, the arts, etc... This all sounds really good to me. The website refers to women like Liz Carpenter and Molly Ivins as inspirational.

So, imagine my disappointment when every other advertisement in this magazine is for a plastic surgery center. Seriously, like every other ad. I would assume from the number of these ads that the readers of Austin Woman magazine all have augmented breasts and are hard at work dealing with their varicose veins. If the readers are indeed spending time and money on surgeries and "beauty" treatments --where do they find the time to affect change in their businesses and their communities? While resting up after the last tummy tuck?

It is no news flash that women in our culture are confused about how to feel about the way we look and how we age. There are very few places where we can find positive reinforcement about dealing with these issues in an organic and enlightened way. Many women feel that they must look a certain way in order to be successful and to stay competitive in their chosen professions. I know that this is a very commonly held belief among women working in real estate. I feel very lucky to be able to run my business successfully and find fulfillment in my work in t-shirts and jeans and without a nose job.

Now, I would imagine that running a magazine is hard and to run a magazine you must have ad revenue. Can you turn away advertising dollars because you don't agree with the product for sale or the message it sends? Would that constitute censorship? These are all questions that I don't have answers for, but I do know this--plastic surgery and appearance are not a part of the conversation when it comes to men and the way they do business or participate in their communities. If there are any men out there that disagree with this, I would love to hear from you.

To be clear, nowhere in the Austin Woman magazine mission statement does it state that the publishers are feminists or supporting a specifically feminist agenda. In a conversation with a colleague about this subject HE made the observation that plastic surgery and feminist ideals could coexist. I wonder what Liz Carpenter would have to say about that and I wonder if I have blown my chances of being featured in Austin Woman magazine? :)

Austin home sales up by 38% for 10.09!

The Austin American Statesman reports that existing home sales are up by 38% for the month of October. The Austin market has weathered the economic storm so much better than the rest of the nation and this article verifies it! Check out the full story at:

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/2009/11/19/1119homesales.html

Writing a Professional Biography

I think most folks can feel me on this one...it is no fun writing resumes or bios of ourselves. Turner Residential (this is the brokerage where I run my business) is planning a major website redesign and I will need to freshen up my information. When faced with this task a few years back, here's one of the "gems" I came up with prior to breaking down and submitting a pretty innoucuous, but accurate bio.that can be viewed at www.turnerresidential.com. Please keep in mind that this faux bio is ficticious, satirical and all in good fun.

Real Estatic Force

Brandi Weber is a real estatic force. If there was one word to describe Brandi and her approach to real estate it would be Kafkaesque. Brandi Weber is the Eddie Van Halen of real estate. When it comes to real estate Brandi Weber’s philosophy is “take no prisoners”. Brandi Weber brings a “take no prisoners” and also a “no holds barred” approach to real estate. Brandi is like an ultimate fighter when it comes to doing her job….which is real estate. This means she is not afraid to punch someone in the nuts if that’s what needs to happen. If real estate were a violin, Brandi Weber would be a virtuoso. Brandi Weber is the Harvey Keitel of real estate. Brandi Weber wakes up every morning and eats an entire house for breakfast. Brandi Weber does not believe in God, she believes in real estate. Once, Brandi Weber gave birth….to real estate.

Austin is a Performer!

Yesterday, Milken Institute/Greenstree

Real Estate Partners released its ranking of Best Performing Cities Index. Austin jumped from number 4 to the number 1 position and is the only city to have achieved the number 1 ranking twice – the last time being in 2000!
The study ranked U.S. metro areas based on their ability to create and sustain jobs, measuring employment, salary growth and technology output. An explanation is listed below for how Austin obtained an overall first place ranking. The favorable Texas business enviornment also helped Austin and other Texas cities along with a pattern of low taxes. The recent $500 million research funding for Tier One Universities was also cited.

Check out the full report here!

http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2009.taf?rankyear=2009&type=rank200

The meaning of stuff

In my line of work, I am in homes all the time. Sometimes the homes I am visiting are vacant, but often they are still occupied and furnished. We Realtors advise our clients about what to or not to display in their homes while the home is on the market for sale. Our advice usually leans towards doing things that will make the home feel more spacious (decluttering),"depersonalizing" by putting away personal photos etc. to allow a potential buyer to envision the home as theirs, and advising certain color palettes that are neutral and unlikely to solicit strong reactions. All of this stuff is proven to be effective and it's pretty easy to see why, but the things that I often notice (and often my buyer clients do also) are a bit more subtle. For example; the books on the book shelves or the ABSENCE of books, the clothes in the closet, the type of products left lying around the bathroom, and in my case specifically, because of personal interests-- is there music around in any format, or instruments? Recently, I was in a home that had an entire room dedicated to the owner's AWESOME vinyl collection. I know nothing of the person that owns this home, but I am undeniably curious about them and find myself wanting to know them. It is not a rational reaction, but an emotional, even sentimental one that I find very interesting. I mean just because some person has an interest that I share is no guarantee that they are a cool person, but in my mind the odds are already stacked in their favor.

On my list of things to read presently is a book by local author Sam Gosling called -
Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.

The following is from www.monitortalent.com:
"Sam Gosling is an author and associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a nationally regarded researcher and innovator in the field of personality and social psychology. His work has been widely covered in the media, including The New York Times, Psychology Today, NPR, and "Good Morning America," and his research is featured in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. Gosling is the recipient of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution.

Gosling’s recently published book, Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You, is a provocative and witty look at how our private spaces—from boardroom to bedroom—reveal our personalities, whether we know it or not! Does what's on your desk reveal what's on your mind? Do those pictures on your walls tell true tales about you? For the last ten years Gosling has been studying how people project (and protect) their inner selves. By exploring our private worlds, he explores not only how we showcase our personalities in unexpected—and unplanned—ways, but also how we create personality in the first place, communicate it others, and interpret the world around us."

My home is furnished with a pretty motley assortment of items that I have collected over the years and many of them are from thrift stores, Craigslist, and sometimes the garbage (for reals)or the side of the road. I like to think that what this says about me is that I am frugal and whimsical, however perspective is all relative and one person's whimsy is someone else's tacky. One thing is for sure, in this economy (or any economy) decorating your home or yourself with second hand or found items saves money and creates a unique look that you won't see in the pages of the West Elm catalog or at The Gap.

I have included some photos of them here for admiration or ridicule.