Texas Realty Blog

East Austin Families Defend Rights to Build on Small Lots

By DeeinAustin™

If you've heard some rumbling lately, it's not a thunderstorm. There's trouble brewing in East Central Austin.

Small lot property owners are upset with limitations the City Planning Commission proposed on December 11th. The new changes will decrease the ability of over 1500 East Austin residents to build on their small parcels of land.

East Austin resident and property owner, "Hollywood" Henderson, sent a note to thousands of his fellow residents to corral them take a stand at the January 17th City Council Meeting for the final vote on this issue.

Here's an excerpt from Mr. Henderson's letter to his neighbors:

Dear Neighbor,

I have an urgent message about your current property rights. They are about to be taken. The City of Austin and a neighborhood group called OCEAN is planning to take away property rights that will forever affect your property values and your ability to add square footage to your existing home or your vacant lot.

EAST CENTRAL AUSTIN NEIGHBORS UNITE: THEIR ISSUES WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGE

Development Spotlight: Trinity River Corridor Dallas

By DeeinAustin™

Dallas City Council just approved a 45-acre planned development district (mixed-use) at the foot of the Trinity River Corridor a few weeks ago. Today's spotlight is on this mixed-use development along the hot Trinity River Corridor in Dallas.

Just about every major city in Texas has had a surge in downtown revitalization since 2005, including San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin. Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert (inset) is relatively new, but has been surprisingly successful in rallying the city to respond to expected growth.

He's keen on mixed-use development along the corridor and in other areas facing revitalization. You may ask what makes the Trinity River Project different.

WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE TRINITY RIVER REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT?

Dallas citizens voted to improve the area near downtown Dallas in a $246M bond package in 1998. The goal: transform the Trinity River flood zone, making better use of the land while taking advantage of the best views in town.

Top 5 REALTOR Magazine Tools That You Don't Know About

By DeeinAustin™

NOTE: The title and additional content added 1/3/08.

The January issue of Realtor Magazine will be a little different in 2008. The National Association of REALTORS® launched their Young Real Estate Professionals Network (YPN) nationwide at the November 2007 annual convention in Vegas.

The purpose of the YPN is to provide resources and additional support to meet the needs of young real estate agents, mortgage brokers and other professionals. I will be one of the YPN Featured Bloggers in 2008.

While, most consumers are keenly aware of Realtor.com since it's been the top home search site in the world for years, you may not be aware of the many tools offered at Realtor.ORG, including REALTOR Magazine Online.

When I became a real estate investor, before becoming an agent, I used real estate agent tools like REALTOR.org (not Dotcom) and Realtor Magazine for research and to stay updated. Both resources have a great deal of information and features that consumers should find useful.

TOP 5 REALTOR MAGAZINE (ONLINE) TOOLS THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT

Woohoo, It's 2008! The Real Estate Market Better Improve!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of our readers! Texas Realty Blog was started March 2006, the heyday of the Texas real estate market. I'm looking forward to a great 2008 since the real estate market should improve as mortgage lenders ease borrower requirements.

This year, we plan to provide more interviews with local specialists video and photos, Texas real estate updates, market forecasts, community spotlights, commercial news real estate, and expert advice. We'll continue invite local experts to blog for us and topics in their area of specialty, may bring on additional staff writers, and will increase coverage of green-building and sustainability topics.

We'll post at least three times per week:

• Mondays- Top Stories, Hot Issues and Alerts
• Tuesdays to Thursdays- Market Updates, Forecasts, News, Technology, Interviews, Resources and Advice.
• Fridays- Builder, community, or broker spotlights and local interviews.

YEAR IN REVIEW: TOP 8 STORIES THAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED