October 15, 2009 at 3:04 pm (Austin Living, Austin Real Estate)
Tags: Austin Real Estate, Austin Haciendas, Buying in Austin, austin green, Texas Realtor, Business Startups, Growing your business
With so many Americans in the unemployment line these days, a growing number are looking at entrepreneurship as an option. That’s what makes this year’s list of the best cities to start a small business from Fortune all the more timely.
| The folks at Fortune rank Austin eighth on this year’s list, behind cities such as Houston, Raleigh, N.C. and No. 1 Oklahoma City. Austin got kudos for its angel investment groups, business-friendly tax structure and support for business development in sectors like tech. |
“The Austin metro area, which has doubled its population growth in the last 20 years, is often used as a test market by national companies because its large minority population reflects the nation’s future demographic mix,” Fortune said. “With University of Texas college students in residence, the area offers entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth market and skilled workers for local businesses. One-third of the area’s payroll is related to technology jobs, contributing to Austin’s reputation for having one of the most educated workforces in the nation.”
But it isn’t all roses for Austin. Fortune cited some complaints from business owners such as transportation issues and lack of flights to desired markets.
Fortune’s top 10 cities:
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Pittsburgh, Penn.
- Raleigh, NC
- Houston
- Hartford, Conn.
- Washington D.C.
- Charlotte, NC
- Austin
- New York City
- Baltimore, MD
source Fortune
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August 19, 2009 at 12:50 pm (Austin Living, Austin Real Estate, New Homes)
Tags: Austin Energy Conservation Audit, austin green, Austin Haciendas, Buying in Austin, Selling your home, Texas Real Estate, Texas Realtor
In good and not so good markets we have to remind our sellers that the buyers coming through their homes are indifferent to what they as sellers need and want to get price wise for their home.
Here are just a few things buyers tell us they don’t care about:
• Buyers don’t care about the emotional and financial investment you have in the property: This includes what you spent fixing it up, how much you have borrowed against it and the many happy years you have spent there.
•They don’t care what you need out of it to cover your closing costs.
•They don’t care what your last appraisal says it’s worth
•They don’t care what you think the house across the street sold for
•They don’t care what your tax bill says it’s worth
•They don’t care what you have it insured for
• They don’t care how expensive the homes are in the community or neighborhood you are moving to
Here is what buyers do care about when deciding what to offer for your home:
•They care about the recorded selling prices for your nearest ‘comps.’ If they see a declining market, they are likely to offer a price lower than your most recent ‘comp.’
•They care about your home’s condition. If you’re place is squeaky clean, they’ll pay more. If it’s not, they’ll factor every inch of work, cosmetic and otherwise, into their offering price.
•They care about the kind of loan they can get. Buyers number crunch today, like never before. Affordability is key. Higher rates or a larger down payment will result in a lower purchase price.
•They care about where they see the economy going. As a group, buyers are naturally risk-averse. In a difficult economy, they are even more cautious and need to know they’re getting a good deal.
So, when you think about selling your home you need to consider the buyers position and perspective above. It will get you to the closing table and that the objective, Right?
Marc Daniels, Austin Haciendas LLC, Austin, Texas
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August 18, 2009 at 4:09 pm (Austin Living)
Tags: austin green, Austin Real Estate, Football and Homes, Longhorn Football, Texas Longhorns, Texas Real Estate, UT Football
OK, this has absolutely nothing to do with real estate, but here is the UT football schedule for this fall:
| Sept. 5 |
Louisiana-Monroe |
Home |
| Sept. 12 |
Wyoming |
Away |
| Sept. 19 |
Texas Tech |
Home |
| Sept. 26 |
U.T. El Paso |
Home |
| Oct. 10 |
Colorado |
Home |
| Oct. 17 |
Oklahoma |
Dallas |
| Oct. 24 |
Missouri |
Away |
| Oct. 31 |
Oklahoma State |
Away |
| Nov. 7 |
Central Florida |
Home |
| Nov. 14 |
Baylor |
Away |
| Nov. 21 |
Kansas |
Home |
| Nov. 26 |
Texas A&M |
Away |
The Kansas game will be interesting as Todd Reesing, the Kansas QB, went to Lake Travis High School and freshman UT quarterback, Garrett Gilbert is also from Lake Travis. Will the former teammates get to play against each other? It will be interesting to see if Gilbert gets some snaps.
Thanks
Marc
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July 23, 2009 at 2:01 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: austin green, Austin Real Estate, Buying in Austin, Save your home, Texas Real Estate, Texas Realtor
Don’t you just love it when good overcomes the evil? Get this!
A Teaneck, N.J., mother of three advertised her plight and sold 500 home-baked apple cakes at $40 each to make the overdue mortgage payments that would make her eligible for a loan modification, saving her home from foreclosure.
Angela Logan’s story appeared first in The Recordnewspaper and then was widely promoted online and on television. Sympathetic readers and listeners sent in their orders.
Initially, disgruntled neighbors complained to health officials, who said that state law prohibited Logan from baking the cakes in her own kitchen, so the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights lent her their commercial kitchen. She filled the orders by baking for 10 hours straight.
Got to love the innovation.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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June 19, 2009 at 11:54 am (Austin Living, Austin Real Estate)
Tags: Austin Haciendas, Austin Real Estate, Buying in Austin, Forbes, Texas Real Estate, Texas Realtor
Some cities are likely to recover more quickly from the housing downturn than others. Forbes magazine has identified the top 10 cities that it believes are poised for recovery by examining unemployment figures, projected gross domestic product from Moody’s Economy.com, and housing affordability data from the National Association of Home Builders.
Overall, cities most likely to recover first are those with strong technology capabilities.
Here is Forbes’ top 10:
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas (It’s good to live in Austin.)
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.
- Boulder, Colo.
- Huntsville, Ala.
- San Antonio, Texas
- Mobile, Ala.
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
Source: Forbes, Joshua Zumbrun (6/10/09)
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May 28, 2009 at 4:37 pm (Austin Living, Energy)
Tags: Austin Energy Conservation Audit, austin green, Austin Haciendas, Buying in Austin, City of Austin, energy Austin, Texas Real Estate, Wind power austin
Austin Haciendas supports Green Living
Austin Haciendas wants you to be ready for the new ECAD Ordinance, effective June 1, 2009. Our communications regarding this important issue have been dependent on obtaining information from the City of Austin, which was finalized in mid-May. We want you to be fully equipped with the most up-to-date details and best practices to use when dealing with properties that will be affected by the new ordinance.
Who needs an audit?
Properties more than 10 years old that will sell after June 1, are located within the Austin city limits and are serviced by Austin Energy will require an audit. A copy of the ECAD audit must be shared with the buyer.
You may call the City of Austin at 974-7827 for assistance in determining if the address you are researching is located in the Austin city limits and serviced by Austin Energy. The call center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What counts as a “single-family property”?
The ECAD ordinance defines a single-family property as a building comprising fewer than five dwelling units.
Who is exempt?
There are several exemptions to the audit requirement. The primary exemption is for properties that are no more than 10 years old at the time of sale. The construction date will be determined by the year used in the Travis County Appraisal District’s (TCAD) records and will be based on the calendar year. For example, any property built in 1999 or later will be exempt for 2009.
Additionally, condominiums are exempt. Austin Energy will use the legal description on the property’s tax record (data from TCAD) to determine if the property is a condominium. Click here to view a list of all other exemptions.
When should the audit be completed?
ABoR respects the processes that surround real estate transactions in Texas and would like this ordinance to fit into the existing practices with ease. Although the Energy Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance does not require that the energy audit form be attached to the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, we suggest that the mandatory energy audit disclosure is best shared contractually through the Seller’s Disclosure Notice before the end of the option period. This will ensure your seller has proof the audit was shared with the buyer at a time when negotiations can still take place. Visit page 5 of our Guide to the City’s Energy Efficiency Ordinance for specific instructions for seller’s and buyer’s agents.
Will my closing be held up if the seller is not in compliance with the ECAD ordinance?
No, title companies will not stop a transaction from closing if the seller has not completed the audit or has not shared it with the buyer. Any enforcement of this ordinance by the City of Austin will take place after the transaction has closed.
For More Information:
Austin Energy’s ECAD Information
Find the latest detailed information on the ordinance at www.austinenergy.com/go/ecad
ECAD Approved Auditors
Click here for a list of Austin Energy registered energy auditors who can conduct ECAD audits. To be in compliance with the ordinance, sellers must use an ECAD auditor from this list. The list is updated twice a week to include new auditors as they complete the registration process.
Marc Daniels | Austin Haciendas LLC
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May 27, 2009 at 5:55 pm (Austin Living)
Tags: austin green, Austin Haciendas, Buying in Austin, Home Prices, Texas Real Estate, Texas Realtor
Though the rate of decline is slowing in some regions, home prices continue to drop nationwide. But in Austin, home prices actually increased in March compared with the same month last year, according to research from First American CoreLogic.
According to First American CoreLogic’s Home Price Index, 33 states saw home prices decline at a faster rate in March. However in the major Texas cities, including the Austin-Round Rock metro area, prices increased. In the local area prices rose 2.2 percent in March compared with March 2008. That’s down slightly from the region’s February home price increase of 3.2 percent compared to the previous February.
Housing price declines are slowing in states that have seen the highest declines in the past three years, but prices are dropping faster in states that have seen only moderate decreases in that time period, the research found.
Nationally, housing prices fell 11.5 percent in March compared with the same month last year, down from an 11.7 percent annual decline in February.
The number of states with double-digit annual declines has doubled in the last year, according to the index, from seven states in March 2008 to 14 states this March.
Nevada remained the top-ranked state for annual price depreciation in March, with an average home price decline of 26 percent. California followed close behind with a housing price decline of 25 percent compared with the same month last year. Rhode Island, Florida and Arizona round out the top five.
Four Texas metro areas saw either the smallest housing price decline of the region’s in the study or experienced home price increases in March, according to the index. Those were San Antonio; the Dallas-Plano-Irving area; the Austin-Round Rock area and the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area.
Austin Business Journal
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April 14, 2009 at 4:03 pm (Austin Living, Uncategorized)
Tags: Austin Haciendas, Austin Jobs, Buying in Austin, energy Austin, Texas Real Estate, Texas Realtor
Texas dominates a new list on job growth potential among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of big cities for employment potential from NewGeography.com. The Capital City posted modest job growth of just 1 percent in 2008—but that was still better than a lot of other big cities. That growth, coupled with Austin’s long-term potential to continue creating new jobs, garnered it the top spot.
Texas’ major metros round out the top five spots on the big cities list, with Houston coming in 2nd, San Antonio 3rd, Fort Worth-Arlington 4th and Dallas 5th.
The list, based largely on job growth in regions across the nation over the long, middle and short term, has changed over the years, but the report’s authors say the employment landscape has never looked like this.
“In past iterations, we saw many fast-growing economies–some adding jobs at annual rates of 3 percent to 5 percent,” said research Joel Kotkin. “Meanwhile, some grew more slowly, and others actually lost jobs. This year, however, you can barely find a fast-growing economy anywhere in this vast, diverse country. In 2008, 2 percent growth made a city a veritable boom town.”
Consequently, Kotkin said, this year’s list might more aptly be called the “least worst.” Still, he said, those least worst economies today largely mirror those that topped last year’s list, even if those regions have recently experienced less growth than in prior years. In Austin for instance the 1 percent job growth in 2008 was less than a third of its annual average since 2003.
Looking at the complete list of metro areas—including large, medium and small cities—Texas again does well in the top five. Odessa ranks No. 1 on the overall list, followed by Grand Junction, Colo.; Longview; Houma, La.; and Killeen-Temple.
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April 1, 2009 at 3:09 pm (Austin Real Estate)
Tags: 2009 Taxes, austin green, Austin Haciendas, Austin Homes, Austin Real Estate, Texas Real Estate
It’s April, so people’s thoughts are turning to taxes, and where they live makes a big difference in how much they pay.
Here are the 10 states with the highest taxes, including property, individual income, sales, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, motor vehicles, hunting and fishing, motor fuels, death and gift taxes, as well as insurance premiums. The per capita tax was derived by adding up all the taxes and dividing the total by the number of citizens.
1. Vermont, $3,861
2. Hawaii, $3,856
3. Connecticut, $3,596
4. Minnesota, $3,203
5. New Jersey, $3,024
6. New York, $3,019
7. Massachusetts, $2,953
8. Washington, $2,553
9. Wyoming, $2,357
10. Pennsylvania, $2,223
Ouch! Texas ranks 32! Living in the Southwest can indeed payoff when it comes to taxes.
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