The giving and the thanks

The holidays are right around the corner and the eat fest that is Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, primarily because of the aforementioned eat fest. I have been noticing a number of friends on Facebook doing this thing where for the month of November they make their daily status a "something I am thankful for" statement. I decided to make a list of things I am thankful for and while there are too many to list--I think I have some of the crucial stuff nailed down.

1. Air : I think I really appreciate you the most when I have a stuffy nose or almost choke on a too big bite of funnel cake. Without you I am nothing. Honorable thankful mention goes to water, food and shelter.

2. Band-Aids: What was the world like before Band-Aids? Oh, I know--an infected mess where adult life expectancy topped out at 40. Being a very accident prone person, I am so thankful for Band-Aids. Although, I must say they spent a lot of time being borderline racist until they came out with the clear ones.

3. Dogs and Cats: Only the really nice ones. The really nice ones can really turn a bad day around.

4. Air Travel: Can you imagine if it took 2 weeks to go from Texas to California? Or if it took 2 weeks to get anywhere? My best friend lives in Philly and if I could not fly to go see her, I might have to think about replacing her with someone closer to home---heartbreaking. In all seriousness she's not replaceable (she's totally going to read this).  Honorable thankful mention goes to highways, automobiles and mass transit.

5. Pockets: Without pockets where would I put my gum, brass knuckles, $5, worry stone, miniature hedgehog, keys, dream journal, polaroid camera, stinkbombs and machete? Right? A tip of the hat to you pockets!

6. Flyswatters: I don't own one, but if I did I would be thankful for it and I would enthusiastically use it to kill this fly that keeps flying really near to my face while I write this post. Oh man, it just landed on my pinky toe. Gross.

7. Hand Sanitizer: I can't believe I ever used a port a potty before the existence of hand sanitizer, but I did and it probably has something to do with why I had pink eye a lot in High School. So-- thanks hand sanitizer! Love, Brandi "hasn't had pink eye since the 90's" Weber

8. Email: It is really an effecient way to communicate AND when you pair up email technology with scanner technology it eradicates the need for FAX technology! I am thankful for no more stupid faxing.

9. The movie Bridesmaids: I know it's just a movie. I know it's just a little old funny movie and that in a world where the gross mistreatment of peaceful protestors goes unchecked, hate crimes and intolerance run rapant and war, greed and poverty afflict most nations we need funny stuff to keep us from going nuts---Bridesmaids does that.

10. My really long monkey arms: I can reach ALL KINDS OF STUFF!! I can also scratch most places on my own back if necessary. I can get stuff that falls into the floor boards of my car while driving and I can high five a million angels.

There's 10, but in all seriousness---I am really thankful for all kinds of stuff, like my friends and my cool job and the roof over my head and the sandwich I am about to eat. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everybody gets some pie and down time with people they like to be around this week!

P.S.This is a hilarious holiday essay for you, but be warned profanity abounds. 11. McSweeney's

What the--- House Hunters?

So, there's this show on HGTV called House Hunters and I am sure most of you have heard of it or watched it at some point. It's a reality show that follows homebuyers and their Realtor around while they look at houses and then at the end of the show they reveal which house is chosen.

I wrote a post last year about the things that never happen during an episode of House Hunters (you can read it here) and while the post  is not critical of the show per se, it does indirectly point out a certain "formality" that is part of the formula of shows like House Hunters. So imagine my suprise when I found my sassy ass filming an episode of House Hunters last week!

It was a really cool experience (not literally, thanks for nothing 105 degree temps. and AC units that are too loud to run during filming) and the clients I was working with are super fun. Here's some photos of them:




Uhmmm maybe the prettiest couple ever, not shocking that HGTV picked us!



Again, who wouldn't want to watch these two on T.V.?

The crew was great and very patient with my attempts to get euphemisms for the f-word on film and my nervous talking and my nervous sweating and my nervous " I am going to make lots and lots of hand gestures in order to fully communicate whatever point I am trying to make". We looked at some great houses and you will have to watch to find out which one Eva and Tyson end up buying. I mean don't you want to watch? If not to hear the story of a charming couple's search for the right East Austin digs, then watch to see me act weird and stifle the urge to look directly into the camera.

All of that said---I guess we did something right. The three of us got some really nice texts today from the field producer we worked with on the segment and she was really happy with the footage and maybe used the word "fave"---just saying.

I also received an email from another producer and they would like to do another episode with me! Whhhaaaat? So crazy. So, if you or anyone you know would like to be on House Hunters---hit me up!!

It's super fun and they have snacks like wasabi peas and Cheez-its. Who doesn't love Cheez-its?

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!

7806 Lowdes Drive in Cherry Creek! The antithesis of my previous post!

If you read my previous post about the dirtiest ceiling fan in Austin, please know there is none of that nonsense at 7806 Lowdes Drive Austin TX 78745. If you or someone you know does not buy this house---I may just have to-- because it's so BAD ASS! Located in the Cherry Creek neighborhood in South Austin (shout out to the 78745!) ---super close to Central Market South, Westgate Shopping Center (Yoga Yoga,  Whole Earth Provisions, Amy's Ice Cream and a Movie Theater, that's right.). Come see why Cherry Creek and it's "all of our houses don't look alike" vibe is so desirable.





Owner removed a half wall and opened up the space between living and dining, well done owner.

  
















This total remodel of the master bath is spatastic. Not to be confused with spastic---SPA-TASTIC!

 



This room makes me want to curl up with a book and a bag of gummy bears and not come out for like 4 hours.

 














If you don't want to climb that tree, you may be dead inside.





Come on in and have some gummy bears!

  



So, yeah---this is a pretty cool joint. If you want more information click here. Or just get in touch with me!

And remember---no filthy ceiling fans ---not now, not ever.

Dirtiest Ceiling Fan in the World to Convey with Purchase





The dirtiest ceiling fan in Travis County



So, here we have another stunning MLS (MLS = Acronym for Multiple Listing Service, A proprietary member owned database that expresses listings held by member Real Estate Brokerages. ) photo that a Realtor KNOWINGLY uploaded into the Austin  MLS in an effort to- I don't know, GROSS ME OUT?

This photo of this dirty, dirty ceiling fan is kind of sad. It's as if it's saying "Hey, I know I am a filthy ceiling fan and if you turn me on, I will fling five years worth of accumulated filth into your eyes and mouth, but why don't you stop in and see me anyways?" or maybe it's saying "Dirty ass ceiling fans in dirty ass houses need love too."

Whatever this photograph and the Realtor who posted it is trying to communicate, I don't want to hear it.

Here's the crazy thing folks---when we load photos into the MLS it is laborious and slow. It is very hard to load something by mistake and if you do, it's very easy to remove.

This kind of sloppy work always reminds me that some of my "competition" out there is no competition at all!

Oh snap! Look out! I am in a throwing shade kind of mood! I have been watching too much Ru Paul's Drag Race on Netflix! Is that possible?

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!


TAX Benefits of Owning Investment Property

While I dutifully recorded my own tax deductions this year, it put me in a list making mood. Here's a list of some of the tax benefits of owning investment property.

• Depreciation

Depreciation is a deduction available to real estate investors. It allows you to deduct the cost of assets such as buildings and substantial improvements to buildings over a period of time defined by the IRS. The cost of a building can be depreciated over a period of 27.5 years. This is done by dividing the cost by 27.5 and then subtracting the resulting quotient from the property's income each of 27.5 years. If the cash flow on a property is just above the property's carrying costs, this would result in your making an actual profit but not paying any tax.

• Expense Deductions

Just about every expense associated with rental property is deductible. Mortgage interest, real estate tax, maintenance, property management, even your transportation costs to visit the property are all expenses, fully deductible in the tax year they are incurred.

• Capital Gains

When you sell a rental property, the profits are taxed as capital gains as opposed to ordinary income. The difference is important, because the maximum capital gains rate is 15 percent, whereas the maximum tax rate on ordinary income, as of 2010, is 35 percent.

• 1031 Exchange

If you plan to sell your rental property and buy a larger one, there is only one smart way to do it: through a 1031 exchange, also called a deferred exchange. In this process an exchange facilitator takes the cash that comes out of your sale and holds it until you close escrow on a replacement property. You must identify that property within 45 days and close within six months. It must be purchased for more than the price for which you sold your first property. If you keep using exchanges to sell and then buy, you defer the tax due forever.

• Tax-Free Cash-Out

When you sell without doing a 1031 exchange you pay taxes on the profit; when you take cash out through a refinance, the money is tax-free until you sell. If you never sell, you never pay taxes. This is an excellent tax strategy for retirement: once you pay off or pay down the mortgage on a rental property you can refinance it and take cash out and still have the monthly rents coming in.