Foreclosures are not great deals.

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

FORECLOSURE REALITY CHECK…. The only “sellers market” in america is the foreclosure market. Don’t expect any deals from a foreclosure as the bidding process brings 20-30 people to bid on almost every deal. A deal that was already priced at market. For government foreclosed homes, by law, they have to be priced “at market”.

The REO manager has a short list of “cash/close in 2 day buyers”, they always get the first right to bid. Then they have to wait for the “public auction” Which drives up those prices. After a 30-60 day period. Then the REO picks the best bid. Sometimes, only sometimes does a REO manager take a property directly to a buyer he knows peronsally. Why should he, he has a bunch of people bidding and driving up the prices.

My REO manager friend likes to joke about all the “first timers” who continue to drive up the bid when they don’t hear anything from the bank. Every time I see the “how come I haven’t heard from the bank about accepting my foreclosure bid after 30+ days” on trulia, I have to let out a chuckle because he’s so right. For those newbies, this is real. They know that when you don’t hear from them that a large percentage of people drop a second or third offer higher than the previous one. **WARNING, YOU ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF HERE**

You want a deal on a property right, everyone wants that…. So the moral of this story is:
1. the 60 days you have to wait to hear from a REO, you could have made 2 or 3 better deals with a property that has been on the market for a long period of time. A good realtor will drop an 80% offer on a property and get one accepted.
2. You are attempting to make a deal in a house covered in a cloud of bad energy, don’t be surprised when it rubs off. Personally I stay away from these for this reason entirely.
3. One way to get a deal is dropping a hand written note on ANY house in a neighborhood you want to buy that says “my girlfriend and I want to buy a house in this neighborhood and yours looks cute from the outside. Do you know anyone that is looking to sell?” I always get responses, better prices and positive energy into the home.

Our fastest growing buyer profile is from people looking for deals who have lived this expirence.

819 E. 9th Street, Austin, TX 78702 – Skyline lofts are a great buy in the downtown Austin condo market

Thursday, February 21st, 2008

New Austin Condo developer InterUrban Group is building this really cool project called Skyline Lofts. Skyline is close to Town Lake, the Capitol, University of Texas campus, Sixth Street, the warehouse district, Whole Foods and even to the Austin airport. At Skyline, you’re in the heart of Austin’s film, art, and music scene, in a neighborhood bustling with Eastside energy and diversity. It also has some of the best views of downtown Austin. Those views are really really nice, but i think Star Riverside is a little better because it is on the waterfront.
I know the developers personally and have acess to pre-construction reservations…

2 picture snapshot of the 21C and Star Riverside

Saturday, December 29th, 2007


I just pulled these 4 photos together to show you how to make sense of this condo craze going on.These are two condo projects in downtown Austin that have a “vibe”; 21C and Star Riverside. Personally, I’d live at both of them because they are both service focused.

This is what you get at 21C
Location: Prime location in heart of the city.

Austin Lifestyle: Contemporary – Creative

Kitchens look something like this:

And the bathrooms look something like this:

At Star Riverside

Location: Rare contemporary condos with both city and lake views. Valuable redevelopment zone.

Austin Lifestyle: Modern contemporary – Zen.

Kitchens look something like this:


And the bathrooms look something like this:

Both are simliarly priced and a 2 bedroom will probably be in the low to mid $400’s.

Sneak peak at the 21C Museum Lofts

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Here are some snapshots of the new 21C sales center. The vibe is cool and contemporary art. I just asked them to approve our $5000 down payment program too.

If this is the type of property you like and have an interest in selling downtown cool lifestlye, we have 5900 luxury buyer leads to distribute to new agents on January 1 from a $8700 lead gen campaign. I hope this is one the projects we can include on the promotion.





Prices at Agave are up….

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007




Prices have gone up considerably…still a great buy thought for the design and energy efficiency. Most homes will run approximately 300,000 or more. Just an update. And there is no negotiation room because of the buzz…However, Fiore is about to start right next to Agave and has a 5 star green rating. They will start at 275,000.

$5000 for down payment

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Sellers are dropping prices on Austin condos. Spend 5 minutes and check out The Belair. Undervalued, a motivated seller and under $200K gets you a totally functional living space that’s kinda cool and green.

If you need an extra $5000 towards the purchase price, drop an offer with me and I’ll personally put it toward a down payment of any condo at the Belair.

Cash flow does exist in Austin

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

The phones are starting to ring again and the email inquiries are coming in from prospective investors who are considering purchasing investment property in Austin. The most common question we hear is, “can I buy a rental house in Austin that will provide positive cash flow with 10 or 20 percent down?”. My answer is “yes you can”.

As tempting as it is to only chase better cash flow, there is another thing to consider, appreciation. Smart investors in Austin are looking for properties with cash flow plus appreciation potential. They’re here, in Austin, right now. Some areas are growing at 29%.