Texas Realty Blog

Top 10 Ways Find the Best Off-Market Deals in Your Area

By DeeinAustin™

Use this guide to learn how to find the best off-market deals in Austin or any U.S city by using common online and offline methods.

"Off-market" homes or investments are those not already listed in your area's Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is provided by your local Board of REALTORS®. 

If you're an agent, buyer or investor looking for a good deal in commercial real estate, a home or land, non-MLS listings are the holy grail. You should also read our previous article on 33 Ways to find a Motivated Seller.

Top 10 Ways to Find Off Market Deals for the Best Price on a Home, Land, or Commercial Real Estate Property.

NOTE: If you're not an agent, you may need to get one to assist you.

10. "Drive for Dollars". Drive your area every 7 to 10 days to check for changes. Is there a new "For Sale By Owner" sign? Newspapers piling up on a doorstep? Home gone further into disrepair? Home being fixed up a little? You may have an owner ready to sell soon.

9.Out-of-town owners. Check your tax appraisal records for owners with addresses in another state or city. Send them a letter or offer directly. The further they live, the better the deal.

Gotcha Guide™: How to Sell Your Home for More Money in a Faster Time Using Automated Feedback

NOTE: This article is part of the forthcoming book, the Gotcha Guide™ to Buying or Investing in Real Estate. by DeeinAustin™

Want to guarantee that your home will be sold faster than the competition? Send for feedback after showings! Well, it's not that simple. Agents rarely send feedback.

Need proof? Here's my non-scientific, completely off-the-cuff experiment:

HYPOTHESIS: Despite having a guaranteed positive return, real estate agents rarely send or receive feedback because takes too much extra time and effort. This is too bad for the seller because the process is very simple and useful.

THE PROCESS: I visited 20 houses last week within a 2-day period. I used an electronic Supra ekey so the agent can automatically see that I've visited the home.

THE RESULTS: I received 1 feedback request within 24 hours. I then received another request this week.

That's it! Out of 20 homes, only 2 agents bothered to ask me for feedback. Of the two, only one sent it within a reasonable time-frame so I could best remember the home.

THREE AUTOMATED TOOLS THAT TAKE THE EXCUSE OUT OF NOT SENDING FEEDBACK

Trend Spotlight: Modern Prefab (Modular) Homes in Austin

By DeeinAustin™

Earlier this week, we discussed the Boomerang Home Buyer trend in Central Austin. A style gaining popularity since 2005 is Prefab Modern, also called modern modular. 

Modern prefab (modular) homes can be designed to suit a variety of tastes and price ranges.

In a previous post, we debunked the myths of prefabricated homes. Top benefits included solid construction, shorter build times and green techniques.

WHAT'S SO COOL ABOUT MODERN PREFAB?

Most modern prefab home have green, sustainable elements. The companies in Austin use green construction materials, have less on-site waste, and use energy-efficient appliances. Modern prefab styles can be seen in all areas of Greater Austin, including popular "suburban" areas like Dripping Springs, Leader, and Buda.

TOP 5 TIPS TO AVOID THE DOWNSIDE OF PREFAB MODERN HOMES

Gotcha Guide™: 5 Quick and Easy Green Building and Remodeling Fixes that Won't Break the Bank

NOTE: This article is part of the forthcoming book, the Gotcha Guide™ to Buying or Investing in Real Estate. by DeeinAustin™

Today, we're continuing with Green Week here at Texas Realty Blog. If you haven't already read our first post, take a look at Green Real Estate Events in Austin and Texas in Spring 2008.

QUICK INTRO TO GREEN BUILDING AND GREEN REMODELING

Green homes don't have to be odd-shaped and made out of materials that aren't normally seen in your neighborhood. According to EcoManor the most efficient green homes have the following characteristics:

Environmentally-sound materials
 Energy-efficient appliances
 Recycled & Locally-sourced materials
 Rain water collection
 Drought-resistant landscaping
 Natural, chemical-free insulation
 Low-flush toilets
 Natural cleaning products

TOP 5 QUICK, LOW-COST FIXES THAT YOU CAN DO TODAY FOR BETTER GREEN LIVING

Green Building a Hot Topic in Austin Real Estate

By DeeinAustin™

If green building is not a big issue in your area, it will be in 2008. I represent 5-star green builders who were  ahead of the curve years ago when they first became concerned with sustainable home design.

2008 will bring increased pressure to build green. To stay on top of this trend, real estate agents, contractors and home builders in Austin and nationwide will likely obtain their green certifications.

Two popular programs include EcoBroker as well as the Certified Green Professional Designation from the National Association of Home Builders.

SPECIAL GREEN WEEK AT TEXAS REALTY BLOG

This week is a special green real estate week for the Texas Realty Blog. Each article will highlight green real estate and green home building.

• Today, we're covering upcoming green building events that you may want to attend in Texas, even if you're from another state.
• Our popular Gotcha Guide™ series will see a green post mid-week. Look for our Gotcha Guide™ Intro to Green Building and Remodeling. We'll tell you which quick green fixes bring the biggest bang for the buck.
• Friday's Spotlight will be on the top green built communities in Central Texas and the U.S. You may be surprised at which developments made the list.
  

WHERE TO GET YOUR GREEN REAL ESTATE FIX IN 2008

Austin Home Auction Live! Website Launches

By DeeinAustin™

I received a notice yesterday that Austin's Home Auction Live! website launched. You may not realize that home auctions are one of the fastest-growing businesses in this national housing climate.

Increased foreclosures and luxury home inventory are the top real estate sales at auctions.

Have a home that won't sell? Need to get rid of land or home inventory? Have equity, but no time to go through the real estate sales process? A real estate auction may be right for you.

Even better, the process is actually quite simple.

HOW THE REAL ESTATE AUCTION PROCESS WORKS

1. You or your real agent will contact the real estate auction website or auctioneer. You will need to have equity because you will sell at a discount.
2. The auctioneer will gather all details of your home. Some auctioneers will research and produce a marketing plan for the home if it's an upper-tier.
3. The potential buyers will inspect the property 7-14 days prior to the auction, so you need to provide full access or risk losing money at the auction.
4. Auction Day! If the home is listed with an agent or broker, they will usually need to be in attendance. Same thing goes for a buyer's agent.

WHAT CAN YOU BUY OR SELL AT A REAL ESTATE AUCTION?

Step Up to the Mic: Market Condition Reporters Wanted

By DeeinAustin™

What does American Idol, Next Great American Band, and Don't Forget the Lyrics all have in common?

Besides signaling the downfall of quality television and saving network tv from the writer's strike, they allow a select few to live out fantasies of having a national audience.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR HAMS

I'm excited to announce the Texas Realty Radio blogcast coming in 2008. This addition will compliment the Texas Realty Blog with more interactive content via audio and video podcasts. 

Even better, we're going to share the love...

KNOW A TEXAS MARKET EXPERT? THEY CAN BE A MARKET CONDITIONS REPORTER

If you know a savvy investor or sharp real estate expert in Greater Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, or the Houston/Bay Area, have them contact us to become a Featured Market Reporter for Texas Realty Radio. Monthly Duties:

• Tell us what's happening in your area and how it may affect the rest of us.
• Provide a quick, written summary in no more than 300 words.
• Record a 30 to-60-second synopsis to be aired to our listeners nationwide via your computer or our voicemail line.
• Optional: Provide video updates or post updates more than once a month.

Note: We may have more than one reporter per area to provide several points of views.

YEAR-END MARKET REVIEWER SPOTS AVAIILABLE

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

Texans should be Fed up with real estate doom and gloom

I have a small beef with the national real estate news media. I was reading an article from CoStar Group about the 2008 real estate outlook. I like Costar because they're pretty straightforward and reliable.

The article, entitled "Housing Outlook Dims for 2008", reminded me of the same doom and gloom headlines from other national news outlets.

WHY TEXANS SHOULD HAVE A BEEF WITH THE NATIONAL MEDIA

They're biased. Reporters chatter about housing "booms" and "busts", but not stability because middle ground is boring. California, Arizona, and Florida sellers are suffering after real estate speculators rushed to those markets and overpaid. Houston and other areas of Texas aren't suffering the way the headlines would lead you to believe.

They don't know our market. I reported yesterday that the Houston market was "ho-hum" because it's slightly declined, but hasn't gone bust. Was this sensational news? No, but it was the truth. Texas didn't severely appreciate so we were largely ignored during your news hayday of 2003-2005. Smart investors heard of our relative stability and are now flocking to us.

They don't report the full story. My friend from Berne, Switerzland said foreign consumers are pulling their funds out of America because our media's reports of the housing markets crashing "everywhere". Consumers in the U.S and other countries still do not understand why the subprime market failed and how banks will come back even stronger with better practices established. They also don't hear about many local markets (like Austin) that are doing well.

HOW TO SURVIVE REAL ESTATE IN ANY MARKET

Texas Realty Blog's Top Real Estate Investor Articles

We get a lot of questions from Texas real estate investors. They often want to know where to start, how to grow their current investment business, what the market is doing, etc.

I answered many of these questions in my recent interview with Jay Papasan, co-author of three New York Times Best selling real estate books and current VP of Publishing at Keller Williams. Our interview discussed how I got started in real estate, advice on getting started and how to invest in any market.

Jay inspired me to start work on a real estate investor handbook. Some of these articles may be included.

OUR TOP 6 REAL ESTATE INVESTOR ARTICLES

We cherry-picked the top  6 real estate investment articles that address the most frequently asked questions: