South Austin Texas Real Estate blog: January 2008

A funny for today.  Ya'll need to smile every day..  

God's Problem Now

The graveside service just barely finished, when there was massive clap of
thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even
more thunder rumbling in the distance.

The little old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, "Well, she's there."

I think we have all at one time or another met "her" , or as we say in Texas, Bless her heart..  to all ya'll none-southern folks, you can say anything about "her" if it is preceded or followed by Bless her heart. 

Today is the day I will write about 50 notes for my "lets keep in touch" campaign.. I have been taught to keep in touch with my sphere and prospects in many ways but one of my favorite ways is to send a reminder or small note about an upcoming event or holiday.

Soon it will be Valentine's Day... well I'm not going to send out   I LUV YOUs  or BE MINE  candy hearts like back in fourth grade (although those were fun) so how can I a realtor send out something that would be funny or heartfelt to my folks?  Since my cards are personalized I want to make sure they make an impact too.. I know call me old fashioned but nothing is better than getting a hand signed card in the mail.

Todays theme will be.    HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS..with a bit about some Valentines Day suggestions, where to go for dinner, candy, flowers or a cookie bouquet delivered to work.  That could work from a woman to a man or a man to a woman or friend or boss ..  everyone loves cookies..  dont they?

"Lets keep in touch" is something I say to all of my clients, I want to keep in touch with them, I call them, send them cards and remind them Im their favorite realtor. I do care about each and everyone of them, this is a personal business most of us are "people friendly types" this is just another way to say HI and I like you.. often the Louis Armstrong song Its a Wonderful World comes on the radio and I think of the people whose lives I touch and who touch me and I just smile.

Earlier this week I had written a comment on a blog about Internet Lead Generation companies, it was not a favorable comment to the Internet Lead Generation companies.   A few days later I received an email thru active rain and it was from Home Gain.  The email asked me to consider their company since it was different and one only paid $29.99 a month plus a referral fee of about (?) 27% on closing.

I would not be opposed to a straight referral fee on closing but what is the $29.99 a month?

Today I received in my business email a pitch from Home Gain,  take a look and see the terriffic offer and all the leads that could be mine if I would only sign up.. plus as proof of their wonderful program I could look at these "prospective leads".

I went to look, here is what I found..  Zip Codes that I didn't recognize?  I then took a trek over to the www.usps.com  site to look at these foreign to me zipcodes.  I live in South Austin texas, I so sell all around town and some outlying areas.. but mind you Austin is a big city geographically. 

Zipcodes in 78626,78613,and others were in Georgetown Texas, and Sun City.. I then went to the googlemaps page and Sun City is 59 miles from my area of town.   THRU heavy traffic!! unless of course its between 1am-4am.  and gas was how much a gallon this week?  $2.97, $3.05,$3.29 .. LOCALLY.  so for 4hours in traffic and 4 gallons of gas I could chase a $100,000 lead.  

Thanks for the wonderful opportunity Home gain but I pass. 

I dont know about your area but around these parts for $100,000 home one can buy in the outlying areas or a very nice travel trailer.

So I am here state the old Hollywood traditional line..  Home gain DONT CALL ME I WILL CALL YOU.

While actual buyers and sellers and prospective real estate humans are encouraged to call and we can chat about your real estate needs.   I am familiar with South Austin, Central Austin, Dripping Springs, Kyle and Buda... it would not be fair representation to you Mr Seller or Buyer to pretend I know all of Austin Texas and surrounding areas.

Dear Mr & Mrs or Ms Buyer..  Can you please tell me why are you still sitting on the fence?  Why be a fence sitter in this market? You have heard on the news on television, the radio and read it on the internet.. In newsmagazines, in your local newspapers..  everywhere you look..  home prices are low, inventory is high... Interest this week fell to almost a 30year low. 

Plentiful supply and low demand mean good prices await for buyers.  This is the real picture of Supply and Demand.  Sellers are willing to help with escrow costs, repairs, inspections and all kinds of rewarding incentives.  Builders are estatic at the thought of you buying a brand new home. 

Money is available, if you have a steady income and decent  credit... with loans as low as 5.5% on a 30yr fixed isn't that incentive?  Call your local realtor today and get out there before the rest of the country wakes up and  spring has arrived with buyers deciding its time to get that new home.  Get the pick of inventory NOW!  Don't wait for spring in another 60 days when we could see prices jump again.  

The Market can be charted 3-4 months after an event .. do you want to be following the market? 

None of us have a crystal ball to say what will happen.. but history tells us that real estate is always a great investment in the long haul.

If you have real estate needs to buy or sell in Austin Texas please give me a call and we can find your new dream home.   Gail Tassey, Keller Williams Realty, gailnttexas@gmail.com or 512-217-9482

Today I realized what a great community I am priviledged to live in..  The Village of Bear Creek Oaks is just outside of Austin Texas.  This area is rural in feel and community spirit.  All of the homes here are on at least 1 acre and some up to 22 acres. 

We are horse friendly, so I can look out my backdoor and see the animals grazing or playing in their pasture.  Its wonderful to have the ponies at home where we can enjoy them to the fullest. 

In Nov 1997 this community Incoporated to keep their area rural and keep control of their property.  The Village of Bear Creek Oaks has a mayor and a 9 board of directors, we belong to a Volunteer Fire Department, we are concerned about our oak trees, which are plentiful,  our property and our environment, truly people in control of their area and their homes. 

This area is safe to jog the hills except for the random wildlife which we see wandering the streets and hillsides frequently.  Including but not limited to herds of  deer, squirrels, coyotes, roadrunners, opossum, raccoons, skunks and the occasional snakes and lizards.  The horses, donkeys and goats are all behind fences.

We are just past the Hays County line off RR1826 and a few miles north of that Austin institution  THE SALT LICK BBQ. 

 This is my world, I hope your world is as serene and you are as blessed as I am to enjoy nature at its fullest.

If you would like to know about purchasing or selling a home in the Austin Texas area call or email me..         Gail Tassey @ gailnttexas@gmail.com or 512-217-9482, licensed in the state of texas. Keller Williams Realty

 Ol' Blue
 
A young cowboy from Wyoming goes off to college, but half way
through the semester, he has foolishly squandered all his money. He calls
home.
  
  "Dad," he says, "You won't believe what modern education is developing!
They actually have a program here in Laramie that will teach our dog, Ol'
Blue how to talk!"
  
  "That's amazing," his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?"
  
  "Just send him down here with $1,000" the young cowboy says. "I'll get him
in the course."
  
  So, his father sends the dog and $1,000.
  
  About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy
calls home.
  
  "So how's Ol' Blue doing, son," his father asks.
  
  "Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm," he says, "but you just won't
be lieve this they've had such good results they have started to teach the
animals how to read!"
  
  "Read!" says his father, "No kidding! How do we get Blue in that program?"
  
  "Just send $2,500, I'll get him in the class."
  
  The money promptly arrives.
  
  But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find
out the dog can neither talk, nor read.
  
  So he shoots the dog.
  
  When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited.
  
  "Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to see him read something and talk!"
  
  "Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just
before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back
in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does.
  
  Then he turned to me and asked, 'So, is your daddy still messing' around
with that little redhead who lives in town?"
  
  The father exclaimed, "I hope you shot that son of a gun before he talks
to your Mother!"
  
  "I sure did, Dad!"
   
  "That's my boy!"
  
  The kid went on to be a successful lawyer.

On April 22, 2008, EARTH DAY, the WHOLE FOODS market chain of 270 stores will go Plastic-less.. No more plastic bags.  While that is a great thing for our ecology I will miss the plastic bag.

It brings home my groceries and doesn't break when the milk or water leaks, (I remember when only paperbags were available and that used to happen alot)  

It lines my bathroom trashcans after I unpack my groceries.  It becomes a handy tool in my car to collect soda cups and candy bar wrappers til my next drivethru visit where I toss it out full of trash.

Its strength is supermanish, I can bring home many cans and bottles in one bag, I sure couldn't trust a paperbag to do that.. the clothtype ones don't seem large enough to fit more than a few items.

Living in a family of six, trying to keep grocery store trips to a minimum of 2 a week, how many clothbags will I need?  And they get so dirty, so I have to have double what I need for one shopping trip, cause 1 set will be in the laundry at any given time. 

Oh farewell plastic bag.. I for one will miss you.

Today I see 66,700 Members of active rain..  I know many many members of the public view our blogs and like our site.. I would like to challenge every member to help raise the Public Awareness of ActiveRain.  We can all help get the word out to the public and it will raise every members online presence.

The thoughts of putting AR membership on my business cards came to me..  the AR logo on my Open House signs, flyers and all the eflyers and brochures ..  I think it would benefit all members and open the public eyes to this network of professional and skilled Realtors. 

Referrals happen here often, so we know the public is reading .. NAR stats say 85% of buyers visit the internet to search for homes before contacting a realtor.  That tells us we need to make AR an at the tip of the tongue word like Google is to search engines, Active Rain could be to realtor search. 

What say you ARers? 

Tech Monday is a feature in our local The Austin American Statesman, it is a weekly featured section about the TECH ideas, innovation and other news you can use for our large Techno Field.  Austin has become Silicon Hills, not quite riveling but with a strong presence to Silicon Valley in California.

Todays Tech Monday feature was about your laptop and pc new features..  the trend in the computer industry is now to make users feel good about their computers. The feeling when you get into a nice new car feeling, without the new car smell.  Although that maybe just around the corner. 

Some of the features are .....  drum roll pleassssseeee.                                                                                 Veriface software  which combines with hardward to make the user's face his/her password.. Sounds cool but what if I change my haircolor, my hairstyle?  Or will it be bone structure.. unanswered questions to me at this time.

The next new feature is  Gateways P-Series FX the multimedia keys are just above the standard keyboard. 

Not to be outdone, Dell has a "proximity feature" which lights up the buttons when only the user's hand is nearby.. now that I could use.

The color laptop is becoming more and more popular so its just a matter of time before we are all sporting our most favorite color of blues or greens or for those real daring souls purples and orange.

New features on an automobile are fun so I'm sure we will all be looking for the latest, newest and greatest in our laptops soon.

Having worked at the IRS for a couple of seasons I found out the jobs can be various and many are mundane, repeating and seemingly meaningless.. although necessary.. one such job is called EXTRACTIONS.  those are the folks who open and sort the mail.  Millions of pieces each season.  Here are some insights into what your IRS Extractors do...

• Always put staples in the right hand corner. Go ahead and put them down the whole right side. The extractors who remove the mail from the envelopes have to take out any staples in the right side.
  
   Never arrange paperwork in the right order, or even facing the right way. Put a few upside down and backwards. That way they have to remove all your staples rearrange your paperwork and re-staple it (on the  left side).
  
•  Line the bottom of your envelope with Elmer's glue and let it dry before you put in your forms, so that the automated opener doesn't open it and the extractor has to open it by hand.
  
  If you're very unfortunate and have to pay taxes use a two or three  party check.
  
   On top of paying with a three party check pay one of the dollars you  owe in cash. When an extractor receives cash, no matter how small an  amount, he has to take it to a special desk and fill out a few nasty forms.>
  
•  Write a little letter of appreciation. Any letter received has to read and stamped regardless of what it is or what its on.  
  
  Write your letter on something misshapen and unconventional. Like on  the back of a Kroger sack.
• 
   When you mail it, mail it in a big envelope (even if its just a single EZi form). Big envelopes have to be torn and sorted differently than regular business size ones. An added bonus to the big envelope isthat they take priority over other mail, so the workers can hurry up and deal with your mess.
  
   If you send two checks they'll have to staple your unsightly envelope to your half destroyed form.
  
   Always put extra paper clips on your forms. Any foreign fasteners or  the like have to be removed and put away.
  
•  Sign your name in ink on every page. Any signature has to verified
  and then date stamped.
  
   These are just a few of the fun and exciting things you can do with  the man. These methods are only recommended when you OWE money.