Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

When selecting your office condo, you’ll want something in the city - something with a steady traffic flow that will enable you to maintain a constant stream of business. But you won’t want something overly urban. Too much of a metropolitan environment could crowd you and keep away some of your best potential clients. Therefore, you need an in between, an area with a slightly subdued but still healthily active urban atmosphere. Fortunately, the Shoal Creek Office Condos, at 8500 Shoal Creek Avenue, offer you just that.

The property itself combines a modern, city design with artful landscaping. The building has sleek, straight edges as well as classy curves. Giant windows open up the interior and up-to-date indoor amenities affirm the fact that you are in a state-of-the-art metropolitan structure. But so as not to overwhelm the visitor with city, the lawn and lot around the building are bursting with trees and well-groomed shrubs. The manicured landscaping tones down the urban feel, making it more comfortable and welcoming.

The surrounding area does the same. Shoal Creek and nearby Allandale are a part of Central Northwest Austin. As such, the areas are bustling with business. More and more companies are finding their way into the previously quiet neighborhoods, adding new life and vigor. But even as they grow, they retain their original attraction, with beautiful homes, peaceful streets, private schools and large parks, such as the Beverly Sheffield Park, which has an Olympic-size swimming pool, a children’s wading pool, playgrounds, picnic areas, tennis courts and a pond. It is, as the property is, the perfect combination, making Shoal Creek Office Condos, the perfect location.

The National Association of Realtors has come to the conclusion that the home buying market is depressed, not because people don’t want to buy, but because the lenders don’t want to hand out the money. Stung by the sub-prime debacle, lenders are tightening the purse strings and raising the requirements for mortgages, effectively dropping back to 1975 standards. There are low interest mortgages out there, yes, but the lenders are looking for higher credit scores and bigger down payments, as well as higher standards for appraisals on properties sold or refinanced.

This article paints a somewhat gloomy picture for the future of real estate sales, placing the blame on gun shy lenders who are turning down even those potential borrowers who have stellar credit scores and histories. They’re basing their refusals on second opinion appraisals that, if they come in below certain set standards – such as more than $20,000 below low prices homes in the neighborhood – the credit score doesn’t count for much. In fact, lenders are looking much more closely at those criteria they probably should have been looking at the past 10 or so years – trends in house sales, age of inventory, debt-to-income ratio, and so forth – these days. Condominiums seem to be a particularly sore point with them, also.

The bottom line here is, with the housing inventory at a 20-plus year high, and with lenders adopting these far – some say unrealistic – sets of standards for approval criteria, it doesn’t seem as if the state of the real estate market will improve any time soon.

It’s common knowledge that a well insulated house is an energy saver – both for keeping warm air in in the winter and hot air out in the summer. And that the most common form of insulation has always been paper backed fiberglass batts, blown in cellulose or fiberglass or sprayed on polyurethane foam insulation. But, as home owners, business owners and building professionals alike become more environmentally aware, they’re looking for alternate insulation materials that make less of an impact on the planet’s limited resources and that are less harmful to the environment and human health.

The R-value of the materials used for insulation is, as always, a first consideration. Depending on region and climate, the R-value is more or less significant, but standards for most regions in the nation are set at R-13 for exterior walls and R-38 for ceilings. As more and more builders and owners raise concerns over sustainable sources of materials, the insulation industry is trotting out an increasing line of alternative materials that meet these concerns and also provide the requisite amount of protection against the elements.

It’s becoming more common to find insulation professionals offering such “green” products as reused newsprint and soybean based blown in insulation. Manufactures of insulation products are also reformulating existing types of insulation to reduce or remove those components deemed hazardous or harmful to the environment. Natural materials such as cotton, wool or soybeans are beginning to show up more and more as alternative means of insulation.

A handy chart on this site lists the various materials available for insulating a home or business and may help in the decision making process when choosing a means and method for insulation.

It may come as a surprise that the Environmental Protection Agency has determined most homes contain air that is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. The chemicals used in carpeting and other flooring, furniture of pressed wood products, cleaners, molds, pesticides, and – of course – tobacco smoke, all contribute to a poisonous atmosphere inside today’s well insulated and sealed homes. This recent article

summarizes ten ways the home owner can reduce and even eliminate these pollutants and ensure a healthy house.

The easiest way to improve air quality inside the home is to simply open the windows. Of course, this may not be an option during the cold winter months or when there’s a raging rain storm going on, but on good weather days, it’s great – and free – way to clear the air. Changing the furnace and/or air conditioner filters at least twice a year is the general recommendation.

Eliminating the amount of artificial chemicals you spray about the house is a no-brainer and easier than you may think. Many air fresheners, cleaners, and those scented candles are loaded with toxic chemicals. There are cleaner alternatives on the market these days – natural oils, soy candles, and non-toxic cleaning solutions can be found easily at many common grocery and department stores. You don’t have to go hunting for the local health-food store anymore as a lot of mainstream manufacturers are recognizing the desire and, subsequently, the market for non-toxic products. There are also a number of cleaning solutions you can make yourself from common household products such as borax, baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. That old reliable castile soap, made of vegetable oil, is a great all-purpose cleaner.

The buzz-words for today’s environmentally conscious consumer are “low impact”, as in do your best to leave the planet a better place than how you found it. This article outlines ten neat gadgets on the market today that can help an average person maintain a sustainable lifestyle while enjoying some modern day conveniences.

Most of the devices run on solar power, some on wind, some on a little bit of elbow grease and one incorporates the laws of thermodynamics. All are ingenious and convenient and easy to use.

My favorite has to be the sand-powered refrigerator. Put a vessel of food in a larger one, pack the space between with wet sand, and cover the whole thing with a damp cloth. As the sand dries, it draws heat out and keeps the contents cool enough to store the food for days.

That giant ball of gas in the sky, our sun, can provide the energy necessary to power lighting fixtures, heat water, and even cook your food more safely than with the open flames of a barbecue pit or grill. The solar water heater is one device with a myriad of uses and rolls up to fit in a backpack. The kinetically powered MP3 player may also come in handy in emergency situations when the electrical grid fails and you’re in desperate need of a cell phone or flashlight. There’s the added bonus of the extra exercise you’re getting as well.

Prices for some of these gadgets range from pocket change to a second mortgage, but most are within reach of your average middle-income consumer. The knowledge that these conveniences are drawing on renewable and sustained energy sources coupled with the “it’s so cool” factor make most of them well worth the initial cost.

It’s all very well to recycle your plastic grocery bags, or foreswear them altogether for reusable canvas bags, toss your incandescent lights for fluorescent, and cut water use with low-flow toilets, but that’s not all a home owner can do to minimize the impact on the environment. Stephen L. Kapp, technology manager for the San Diego Center for Sustainable Energy, offers several additional suggestions for reducing energy and resource use.

Appliances are a first consideration. Older refrigerators, washers, dryers, and water heaters tend to require more energy to operate than their newer, “Energy Star” rated counterparts. Front-loading washers use less water, dryers with moisture sensors shut off automatically when clothes are dry. Refrigerators with fewer bells and whistles, like ice makers, use less electricity. Electronics such as computers, televisions, and video games, should be plugged into a power strip and this power strip shut off when the machines are not in use.

It’s not just energy use a green homeowner should be concerned about. Environmentally friendly paints and construction materials are available. Flooring and carpeting should carry a green label to certify they are free of volatile compounds. Natural flooring should be considered – slate, bamboo, cork, or flooring made of recycled materials are all possibilities.

Double pane windows, proper insulation and porous driveway materials are all green ways of keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

A last thought should be for garbage. There are better ways to get rid of the refuse a family generates. A simple and beneficial way is composting organic waste such as vegetable and paper waste. Non-meat wastes can be dumped into a compost bin which, if done right, creates a rich top soil for use in the garden or lawn.

There’s a house in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, that’s worth $3 million. It’s been empty for over two years, there’s a large hole in an exterior wall, and the interior is riddled with mold. It originally cost Roman and Jennifer Cosner $219,000 in March of 2005 and was supposed to be their dream house, built to specification of quality materials with a one year warranty. Instead, they got a house full of toxic mold that made them so ill they needed to move out.

The builder, Maronda Homes, promised to fix the problems and pay for their lodging costs. The Cosner’s claim repairs were never made and their lodging never paid for and, in fact, the company treated them with “hatred and ill will.”

Although Maronda ranks fairly high in customer satisfaction and construction quality, it’s been reported that the quality fluctuates from development to development. The Cosner’s house apparently did not pass muster and defects began to appear shortly after they moved in.

The main trouble showed up after a rainstorm sent a cascade of water down the inside of a garage wall and left puddles on the basement floor. Shortly after, it was discovered that one side of the house wasn’t attached properly to the foundation or the other three sides, the wrong windows were installed, and waterproofing and drainage around the foundation was inadequate. Leaks caused by the ill fitting windows coupled with the badly attached south wall encouraged the toxic mold to grow in the basement and in the heating and air-conditioning system.

The judge apparently agreed the situation was an egregious failure of Maronda to provide the promised product and awarded the Cosners $2.2 million in compensation. The jury seconded the judge’s decision by awarding an additional $1million in punitive damages.

When you are looking at a home, make sure you receive full disclosure. If you are a seller, have an inspector give you a full report on everything, even the stuff you didn’t know was in the house. By doing this, both the buyer and the seller avoid the predicament that the Cosners endured.

Two years ago, the State Legislature of Texas passed a school finance reform law, lowering school property taxes over a three year period by nearly $7 billion. This has raised questions about homeowners as to what this translates into in terms of benefits or detriments.

First of all, the tax cut applies only to public school taxes and reduces the amount paid by 17c per $100 of the home’s value for 2006 and another 33c for 2007. Many school districts had hit their tax cap of $1.50, so the decrease is necessary.

A concern among homeowners is the appraisal on their property will rise to compensate for the smaller amount of tax collected for public schools. However, even if a property’s value rises 10% a year, the homeowner will still be paying less in taxes.

In this example, a property appraises at $150,000 in 2005. Take away the homestead exemption of $15,000 and the taxable value is $135,000. At $1.50 per $100, the homeowner pays $2,025 in the 2005 tax year. In 2006, the home is appraised at $165,000, with $150,000 of that value taxable. So, at $1.33 per $100, the homeowner pays $1,995. And, in 2007, the house is appraised at $181,500, $166,500 of which is taxable. At $1.00 per $100, the homeowner pays a mere $1,665, $832.50 less than without the reduced taxes.

Still, if homeowners suspect the district is boosting home values to recover lost taxes, they can file a protest with the appraisal review board. Then, if the homeowner still feels they are being treated unfairly, they can submit their case to arbitration under a fairly new law, enacted on January 1, 2006, written to give homeowners an alternative to the district court route.

Texas defies the national norm when it comes to trends in real estate. Unlike the high growth states such as California and Florida, Texas did not experience rapidly rising home prices and subsequent plunge of the past few years. This article by David S. Jones likens future trends to the popular Texas HoldEm poker game and, indeed, real estate ventures have historically been a gamble.

The gamble here is that real estate development and growth in Texas’ major metropolitan areas will continue on its heretofore-steady course.

Experts predict that, by the year 2030, the state population will grow by over 13 million with most of the density concentrated in the triangle formed by Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. With population growth comes jobs. Researchers predict another 4.5 to nearly 6 million jobs created in the next 25 years.

Most expect the growth to be steady and manageable with house prices staying in the affordable range for most families. Median prices in 2007 were at $151,000, compared with the $229,000 price tag nationally.

Experts warn Texans to brace themselves for a boom in residential and commercial real estate as more people become aware of the low cost of living and conducting business, as well as myriad employment opportunities and an appealing climate. Ideally, Texas legislators will recognize the problems inherent in a booming growth and take steps to curb them. Already, lawmakers are looking at ways to control development and protect the environment, while expanding needed infrastructure and services as demand increases.

If legislators are not willing or able to address rising concerns about infrastructure, public services, congestion, sprawl, and environmental destruction, this high stakes real estate game could be lost, and Texas could fold on a golden opportunity

The imagination of J.P. Newman is responsible for a new development of condominiums in South Austin combining architectural features in the Tudor and Carmel-coast style homes from the 1920s and 30s.

Formerly employed by Sony Pictures as the vice president of family entertainment, J.P. Newman moved to the Austin area in 2004. He had produced animated films for Sony, with plots drawn from traditional European fairy tales. His idea was to build residential space drawing on both the old European folklore and the art deco feel of the 1920s. He bought a double lot in early 2006 and began to plan his project.

His project plan managed to squeak in under size restriction ordinances that went into effect in Austin shortly after he purchased his lot. He and his partner, Debbie Yates, created their vision with the help of a Minneapolis-based architect and building began.

The design of each condominium included stone fireplaces, rubbed bronze fixtures and wrought iron railings on the balconies. Curved interior walls evoke the 1920 era vintage feeling and a rooftop terrace adds a tree house atmosphere with ceramic tile flooring. Even the name of the development – The Grove – echoes that early Hollywood era.

Throughout the condos, rich materials abound. The kitchens boast granite counter tops and glass tile back splashes. Dry stacked river rock and cobblestone front the garage facades. Gabled roofs suggest quaint village homes with stone walk ways and tree lined streets.

Each condominium has three bedrooms and 2 ½ bathrooms and are priced in the mid to upper $500,000 range.