Real Estate Blog

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 Author: Cindy Aldridge OurDogFriends.org

An open house is an opportunity for buyers to tour your home without the formality of scheduling a showing. Perhaps you think this couldn’t possibly lead to a sale, but real estate agent Shelly Berry of RE/MAX Fine Properties disagrees. “Even though most people see a home on the internet, they still want to see in person. They want to touch, smell, and taste what is most people's largest investment in their life,” Berry said, adding, “Many potential buyers will often go out on their own without their realtor to view a home.” If it piques their interest, then they schedule a showing with their realtor. Fortunately, there are several simple things you can do to make your home stand out.

Author: Cindy Aldridge OurDogFriends.org

Dog Owners: Top Tips to Help to Sell Your Home

You’ve got everything in shape to show off your house to potential buyers. You’ve repaired and cleaned up the outside for curb appeal. You also thoroughly cleaned the inside, removed the clutter and each room is staged to show off its ideal use. Your real estate agent has advertised the open house. You’re expecting lots of visitors and, you hope, some offers. But there might be one problem.

What do you do with your dog?

In an ideal world, the dog would act as a co-host in the open house, letting the guests pet her, going with you room to room, essentially showing the visitors how comfortable their own dogs would be in the house.

Author: Cindy Aldridge OurDogFriends.org

You’ve found a real estate agent who gets you, you’re pre-approved for a mortgage, and you’ve got your list of must-haves in hand. You’re ready to start searching for your dream home! Or are you? If you have a dog, you need to take your pet’s needs into consideration, too.

Buying a home with pet-friendly features doesn’t just make your dog’s life better. It also adds convenience to everyday pet care, so you can spend less time cleaning messes and more time enjoying life.

Here are a few features to look for in a dog-friendly home:

• A fenced yard: Your dog has to go to the bathroom three to five times a day. If you don’t have a fenced yard, he’ll have to do his business on a leash

According to Sean Tapenning, a real estate investor in Kansas City, Missouri, there are a lot of factors involved in the decision-making process that occurs before you invest in a new property. Obviously, the property itself, including its location and quality, come into play, as do certain financial considerations. It’s these financial details that we want to talk about today, and specifically the numbers and calculations you’ll need to run to determine if a property is worthy of your investment. Here are 5 of the numbers you’ll want to calculate before investing:

Rent/Cost

Rent/cost is an important tool for determining cash flow potential on a property - but only for like properties. In other words, this isn’t a calculation you’d want to use when

Are you ready to build your dream home, or maybe just a beautiful outdoor deck? Then it's time to find a contractor to do the work. Your home is one of your most valuable investments, which is why it is vital for you to pick a dependable and honest contractor to complete the work on your home. Make sure to watch out for these six contractor red flags.

No References

Before you hire a contractor, make sure to check out his or her references. Word of mouth is a strong selling point for contractors looking for repeat business and new business. Reputable contractors will be more than happy to provide you with a list of references from those who were satisfied with the work the contractor did.

Payment Demands

A huge red flag to look out for is a

Whether you have just had a new roof put on or you are looking for tips to keep your current roof looking brand-new, there are tips you can follow to extend the life of your roof. Many homeowners don't realize that issues with their roof don't always result in leaks or missing shingles. Just like your car needs yearly maintenance and oil changes, your roof needs maintenance as well. Take a look at these five tips to extend the life of your roof.

Keep critters out

The trees surrounding your home act as a highway for critters such as squirrels, mice, rats, opossums and even birds to climb onto your beautiful roof. Roaming critters like raccoons love to nibble and chomp on shingles, which will eventually result in leaks in your roof. By keeping tree

 According to Tosca Gruber, industrial design may turn out to be one of those real estate trends that ends up sticking around for years to come. There are several reasons why industrial design has gone mainstream. Here are four that signal that this real estate trend has the potential to go from trend to classic.

No. 1: Desire for more open interiors

Over the past decade or more, the spacious, wide-open floor plan has reigned supreme. The typical newly constructed home comes with vaulted ceilings, wide hallways, and seamless kitchens and living and dining rooms.

One reason why industrial design has become a hot new real estate trend is because of the desire for more open interiors. Today's buyers are looking to have the wide-open feel throughout

Austin is famous for many things: live music, great barbecue, and for its residents’ “Keep Austin Weird” outlook.  During the month of September, Austin’s unique real estate properties will also be keeping Austin weird.  Specifically, on September 13 the first ever Austin Weird Home Tour will be taking place and giving Austin residents a chance to get inside some of Austin’s mot unique properties. Thetour will include access to Casa Neverlandia as well as a house made with shipping containers and a home constructed out of adobe earth bags among others.  Tour tickets range in price from $22 to $37 with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit organization Caritas of Austin.  For more information pleasevisit the Weird Homes Tour.

The month of September is officially known as the start of fall.   However, what most Austonian’s might not know is that the month of September is also a historically “slow” month when it comes to real estate transactions.  Specifically, during the month of September, the number of sales transactions taking place in Austin is generally less than during spring/summer months.  For example, in September 2013 the number of single family homes’ sales in Austin decreased by approximately 20%.  While this trend does not signify a slowing in the housing market as a whole (ie: 2014 single family home sales neared the 3,000 mark for a second year in a row), it does mean two things.  First, for sellers, it means that creative marketing strategies need to be utilized

The decision to purchase or sell real estate is one that should not be taken lightly.  As a result, it should not come as a surprise that most people start researching their local real estate market months before making a real estate related decision.  In addition to researching your real estate market, it is important to have a working knowledge of the mortgage rates including the murmurs of their rising.   Specifically, according to the Home Buying Institute, Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Banks Association and the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, it is anticipated that fixed mortgage rates will reach 5% or higher by the end of 2015.  While these predictions are not a guarantee of what will happen, persons considering buying or