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!!

The Austin Real Estate Market Goes Hot Bananas! Multiple Offers All Over The Place!!

Oh my gosh. I have really been neglecting my little old blog lately and the reason is I have been so busy with work! Which leads me to the topic of this post ---MULTIPLE OFFERS in Real Estate transactions!

Ok, I know you've been paying attention to the news about the local and national housing markets and all of the reports are that buyers are buying again and prices are rising and interest rates are at historic lows---well it's all TRUE and in the Austin market we are seeing this manifest in the return of the multiple offer situation.

Multiple offer situations occur most frequently when the market is hot and when GOOD inventory is low, but the number of buyers looking to buy is high.

I represent buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions and being on the seller side of things and having multiple offers/buyers to choose from is obviously great for my sellers and makes getting their homes sold easier than if we were in a slower market, but multiple offer situations can really be hard on buyers.

As a buyer, when you know that the house you want to make an offer on already has an offer(s) on it, but you have the chance to get yours into the mix as well (without knowing what the other folks have offered) you can imagine it can play some games with your head and deciding how and what to offer can be really tricky!

A big part of my job is advising my clients how to best navigate the murky waters of offer preparation and how to best negotiate that offer and this is made more complicated (on the buyer's side) when you are one of many offers. I can't reveal all of my strategies here, but just know that I have them!

I have been at this awhile and have seen hot markets and cooler ones, but we are on our way back into what I think is going to be a healthy and exciting time in Austin Real Estate.

If you are out there hunting for a house---be prepared, have your financial ducks in a row and be clear about what it is that you want and when you see it---ACT! This is a snooze you lose market in Austin.

I was at a party recently and a really cool gal I was talking to was telling me about this chicken coop she had found on Craigslist. It was beautiful and well made, but she was unsure as to how she would get it into her backyard because her gate access was narrow---but she bought the coop anyway. She said " I always think it's better to err on the side of action". In the end, she totally figured out a way to get the coop into the backyard and I bet she has yard eggs everyday.

Don't miss out on YARD EGGS!  Hit me up if you want to talk Real Estate or yard eggs, or whatever!

House Hunters episode where you can see ME do lots of nervous talking.....

The episode of  the 'House Hunters' television show I filmed last year is airing this week! Click here for all the details!

I hope you can tune in---my clients that are featured on the show are super cool and I know they are going to be a lot of fun to watch! Click here for a link to a previous post about my experience filming the episode.

I am also pretty excited that an Austin neighborhood that deserves some attention will be featured on the episode---University Hills. This is an up and coming area of Austin that we are all going to be hearing more about in the coming years.

Get ready to say you know somebody that's been on the talking box! I promise not to forget who I am or where I came from (insert wink here).

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.