Archive for August, 2008
Dripping Springs OPEN HOUSE this weekend!!!
August 22nd, 2008 Categories: Dripping Springs Real Estate News
Hill Country Living at It’s Best!
Open House Sat & Sun August 23rd & 24th!!!
Don’t Miss This Opportunity to Tour the Finest Homes in Dripping Springs, with Exemplary Schools, on Superb Acreage lots. Dos Lagos is Located Just 4 Miles West of Ranch Road 12 on Hwy 290 West, Take a Left into the Majestic Gates of Dos Lagos.
These homes are highly efficent “Green Built” and the lots are superb!
Call The Steele Action Team at (512) 636-2746 for More Details.
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MR. MOVE UP’S HOME TIPS!!!
August 22nd, 2008 Categories: Dripping Springs Real Estate News
Home Maintenance Tip -
Cleaning Outdoor Furniture Keep your outdoor furniture sparkling and ready for barbecues, parties and leisurely weekends with these handy cleaning solutions:
Conventional Plastic Web Lawn Chairs
Clean plastic webbing with an all-purpose cleaner, using a scrub brush to remove stains. If the webbing is looking dingy, try mixing some detergent and a half-cup of bleach in one gallon of water to use as a cleaning solution. As a last resort, local hardware stores sell kits for re-webbing a chair when the original webbing resists your best cleaning efforts or has deteriorated beyond use. To keep the aluminum frames opening and closing easily, fill an eyedropper with vegetable oil and squirt into all the joints. If the aluminum has corroded, polish very lightly with a fine-grade steel wool..
Stacking Resin Chairs
White resin - Use a cleaning solution of three tablespoons of automatic dishwashing detergent dissolved in one gallon of warm water. The dishwashing detergent contains a bleaching agent that will whiten the plastic. Note: Do not use this cleaning solution on colored resin.
Colored resin - Most commercial cleaners are too abrasive to be used on resin lawn furniture. To keep from scratching or dulling the surface, clean with a wet sponge dipped in baking soda, using circular motions, then rinse well. Soapy water will work well on lightly soiled chairs.
To bring back color and shine to faded resin furniture, simply spray with WD-40 and wipe with a clean, dry cloth - you’ll be surprised at the results!
Rattan and Wicker
First, dust the furniture or use a soft brush to remove debris from crevices. Clean with a mixture of one tablespoon of dishwashing soap to one gallon of water, and rinse well. Let them dry thoroughly before using again because the fibers can stretch while wet. If one of the stems on the back of the chair is broken, simply glue the pieces together and tape above and below the glued joint to stabilize while drying overnight.
Teak
Teak is one of the most durable and low maintenance woods used in outdoor furniture. If it is oiled, it will retain its warm, reddish-brown color. If left untreated, it will weather to a silver-gray patina.
If your teak furniture requires cleaning, this can be done with a VERY soft brush or pad and some warm, soapy water. Wash down afterwards with clean water. Do not use high-pressure hoses, and steel wool or steel wire brushes should not be used at all, as any residue left in the grain will rust and discolor the wood.
If the furniture has some stubborn and heavily ingrained stains, these can be removed by sanding with a fine grade of sandpaper, working only with the direction of the timber grain. After sanding the stains away, you may wish to re-oil the area, or if the furniture had previously been left natural, the fresh teak color exposed by sanding will soon mellow in with the existing patina.
These helpful hints were brought to you by Mr. Move Up
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Austin Area Real Estate - NO Better Place!!!
August 20th, 2008 Categories: Austin Area State Parks, Austin Real Estate News
Dear Readers,
I found an interesting article that may be good to share with some clients or collegues on the Austin economy. Some good news for Austin and surrounding areas. Sounds like our area is in the best position to endure any economic downturns.
Economist: Austin area will recover faster than the rest of the U.S.
Austin Business Journal :
In the coming year Austin will outperform the rest of the country in job growth and in the health of its housing market, according to Mark Dotzour, chief economist at Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center.
Austin will add 8,500 new jobs between now and August 2009, despite a negative job growth across the country, he says. The local housing market will turn around faster than the rest of the country by next summer, Dotzour predicts.
In the meantime there will be a marked drop in new construction next year as a result of tightened debt and equity markets, Dotzour says. Still, the credit crunch is starting to thaw, and the pressure on national banks is beginning to move to regional banks including those in Texas. Those banks are tightening the terms on outstanding loans and demanding additional collateral or partial paydowns based on reappraisals. Loans for single family developments will bottom out between now and next summer and some builders will leave the market involuntarily, says Dotzour. By next fall he predicts a turnaround in the market and a renewed uptick in homebuilding.
The local demand for apartments is at an all-time low, says Dotzour. There will be demand for about 2,500 units next year, a fraction of the 9,000 to 11,000 units that will come online. He anticipates occupancy will be 90.4 percent and rents will fall to an average of 94 cents-a-foot.
The office market will see very little new construction in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the recent credit crunch. But that means when the economy picks up in mid-2009 the region will see the next wave of rent growth, says Dotzour.
About 350,000 square feet of office space is likely to be absorbed next year, and 700,000 square feet will come online. Occupancy will be 84.7 percent.
Industrial development is seeing the biggest wave of construction in the history of Austin despite a 25 percent increase in construction costs last year, says Dotzour. He predicts ownership will begin to change hands as rents stagnate.
Dotzour predicts 250,000 square feet of flex/R&D space will be absorbed and that 400,000 square feet will be completed next year. The warehouse and distribution market will see 2 million square feet come online, and 376,000 square feet of that will be absorbed. Occupancy rate will be 82.4 percent and rents will be down 7 percent.
GREAT NEWS FOR AUSTIN REAL ESTATE!!!
This Blog was brought to you by:
Jeremy K. Frost Realtor & Real Estate Blogster
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Recession-Proof Your Home
August 19th, 2008 Categories: Tx Real Estate News
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Open House In Rim Rock this weekend!
August 14th, 2008 Categories: Austin Real Estate News, Dripping Springs Real Estate News
Open This Weekend August 16th & 17th from 1pm - 4pm.
Don’t miss the opportunity to tour this elegant estate!
With a great location just off 1826 in Austin, Tx…within The Dripping Springs School District.
Jeremy K. Frost of the Steele Action Team is proud to present this unique home from Valparaiso Custom Homes. This superbly designed floor plan has an inviting entry with beautiful Open/Spacious arches and 14 to 16 foot ceilings!
This home offers a stunning rock and stucco exterior plus an inviting front entry. The open and spacious floor plan boasts of arches and alcoves with interior features, such as coffered beamed ceilings throughout. There are 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths and a 3 car detached garage. Divine family room has a splendid coffered ceiling, a built-in fireplace, two alcoves with built-ins and two French doors which lead to a fabulous covered patio. Gourmet kitchen with center island, a breakfast bar, granite countertops, Alderwood cabinets, a closet-type pantry and opens to the family room. There is a formal dining area with coffered ceiling and a breakfast area as well. A brilliant office, situated away from main traffic noise and offers plenty of room plus a closet, which could easily be converted into another bedroom. The master suite is phenomenal with arches, a sitting area, his and her walk-in closets, a separate shower, double vanities, a Jacuzzi-type tub and a French door that leads to the covered patio as well. The two extra bedrooms are could size with a Jack and Jill bathroom with pocket doors. Other spectacular features include: a wine room, Alderwood doors and cabinets throughout the home, Travertine flooring, high ceilings, energy efficient, numerous Oak tress and so much more!
Please call for directions and information on this stunning home :
Jeremy K. Frost Realtor (512)636-2746
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The Lone Star State Shines In Real Estate!
August 13th, 2008 Categories: Austin Real Estate News, Dripping Springs Area News
Here is an article I read on Forbes.com that ranks Austin as the #2 city to buy Real Estate!
Texas shines above all other states with Houston as #1 , San Antonio as #5 and Dallas as #6.
It’s easy to see why Texas thrives with it’s high quality of living, abundance of employment, and affordable housing.
Here’s more on Texas Real Estate from the article :
Lots To Like In The Lone-Star State
Texas dominated our lineup of mortgage-worthy areas. Thanks to a business-friendly tax environment, many large corporations call the Lone Star State home, which creates jobs and tax revenue.
The University of Texas campus provides young blood and research-related jobs to No. 2 city Austin. This state capitol is a hip area on the rise. The vacancy rate has fallen by 37.5% in the last 24 months to just 1.5%, despite a lot of building in recent years. And buying isn’t much more expensive than renting. An average mortgage payment is $1,022.40, and average rent hits $767.
San Antonio, No. 5, and Dallas, No. 6, made the list thanks to affordable housing, which continues to appreciate. In both cities, the median home price hovers around $150,000, and a monthly mortgage payment of around $800 is pretty close to what one pays in rent. If you can pony up the down payment, these are great areas to live.
This blog was brought to you by :
Jeremy K. Frost Realtor & Real Estate Blogster
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FREE MARKET ANALYSIS! SEE WHAT HOMES ARE SELLING FOR IN DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX
August 9th, 2008 Categories: Dripping Springs Real Estate News
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Working with Realtors make people HAPPY!!!
August 7th, 2008 Categories: Austin Real Estate News, Dripping Springs Real Estate News
I ran across this survey from Consumer Reports regarding customer satisfaction when using a Realtor.
I was of course pleased to see positive results.
Here at the Steele Action Team we take pride in doing the best possible job for our clients interest’s and needs !
Here is the survey:
Most Consumers Pleased With Real Estate Agent
A survey published in the September issue of Consumer Reports shows that most consumers are pleased with the services of their real estate practitioner.
The survey of 9,141 readers who bought or sold a home (or tried to) found that 71 percent were very or completely satisfied with their practitioner, while only 12 percent said they were dissatisfied.
Practitioners with most of the larger real-estate chains and independent brokers earned reader scores of 79 or higher, which indicated that respondents found these professionals provide “very satisfying” service.
Eighty-six percent of those surveyed who put their homes on the market made a sale; only 8 percent of would-be sellers eventually gave up and took their homes off the market. (The rest were still trying to sell when the survey was completed.)
What Sellers Said
Eighty-two percent of respondents who sold with the help of a practitioner received $5,000 less, on average, than their original asking price.
Almost all of the 17 percent who sold their homes without professional help said they received about what they originally asked.
What Buyers Said
Sixty-six percent of Consumer Reports’ readers who used a practitioner to help them buy a home paid an average of $5,000 less than the listing price, and the 34 percent of buyers who negotiated their own deals, without representation, paid close to the asking price.
Source: Consumer Reports (08/04/2008)
This blog was brought to you by Jeremy K. Frost Realtor & Real Estate Blogster.
Are you or someone you know looking to buy or sell in the Austin / Dripping Springs area?
Please contact Jeremy K. Frost & The Steele Action Team today!
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