Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Having lived in the Austin area since 1988, I'm not surprised when I see our city making national "most desirable" or "best" lists, and a recent list from Walletpop.com is no exception. 

On the list entitled, "10 Best Places to Buy a Home", Austin placed at #1 overall, garnering "Best All-Around City" honors. 

Although we've experienced a tougher economy in recent years, Austin has weathered the storm quite well compared with most cities and local markets around the country, and for that I'm thankful.  Since we've all been inundated with negative messages from the media about the "national housing market" (which is a myth - all markets are local and some are even hyperlocal), I feel like part of my job is to educate Austin -area residents about how good things really are here in this area.

More praise about Austin from the Walletpop.com article:

Texas' capital and a great college town, Austin is beautiful and the 12th-most-affordable American metro area. Job growth from 2000 to 2010 was 14.1%, according to Trulia; unemployment currently is 7.1%, compared with 9.8% nationwide. The city's population is growing too. These positive indicators are expected to continue in the coming decade. Fortune 500 companies abound here; it's home to more than 2,000 tech companies. Home prices are reasonable for the $73,747 median family income and let's face it, nobody does BBQ better than Texas.

To read the entire article, visit http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/31/10-best-places-to-buy-a-home-in-2011/.

Photo credit: JDN via Flickr (Creative Commons 2.0)

If you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the Austin, Texas area, or if you have any questions, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  You can also visit our Austin real estate website at http://www.austintexashomes.com.  Thanks!

My good friend Alan Kirkpatrick is a Renaissance man.  He is a pastor, real estate agent, gentleman, and a scholar.  He's also the father of two talented members of Midnight Riot, a local (for now) band that is gaining a loyal following.  His daughter, Amanda, provides vocals, and his son, Zak, is the drummer.  

Alan and I had lunch the other day, and I asked him for a copy of their CD, which he happily provided. Overall, I was impressed with the production quality of the five-song EP that they put together, and with the potential that they have, especially considering that the "senior" member of the band, Amanda, is barely 19 years old.  They've been together for just about a year now, having won the Bmused Battle of the Bands on Sixth Street in Austin in 2010, despite being one of the youngest bands to perform.

I mainly wanted to help spread the word, since they are currently involved in two different contests.

The first is the College Battle of the Bands.  If you want to help, click here, listen to their song and vote (it's a 5 star rating system). This is a national competition and could result in giving them another opportunity to play at SXSW and a recording contract:

College Battle of the Bands | Midnight Riot

 

The second contest is  a local contest with the Fox affiliate in Austin. It officially started Monday.  Here is the link for that: http://myfoxaustin.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=24998

Here's a link to their electronic press kit, which includes a link to some song samples on iTunes: http://midnightriot.com/presskit.htm.  Their primary website is http://midnightriot.com.  

According to my conversation with Alan, all five of the kids are active in their local churches.  It doesn't hurt that their dads are all involved in ministry work, I'm sure.  The members of Midnight Riot are: Amanda (19), Zak- drums (17) Kyle - guitar (18) Dylan - bass (17)  Austin - guitar (17).  

Check them out if you have a chance!

As part of my ongoing efforts to recognize and reward companies who are “doing it right” with regard to social media, I’m proud to announce that my “Social Media Winner of the Week” is StarTex Power, my own electric company.

 

THE ORIGINAL ISSUE

Thanks to a not-terrific new phone system, we received an automated call the other day from StarTex asking us to call them back.  I called, and I was informed that they had received my payment, but it was a few days late.  Um…..thanks?  I found this irritating, since there wasn’t even a payment due anymore.  I told them to please take us off of that particular call list.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.  We continued to receive DAILY calls from their robot operator for several days.  I called today to speak with someone about this, and to find out why this was still occurring.  I was told by the call center rep that she could fix this, if I could hold for a few minutes, so I waited. 

She returned and told me that the reason the system was still calling was because of the outstanding balance (late fee).  She corrected it, but she was also careful to tell me that if it happened again (i.e. if I were late for any reason), the calls would start.  I asked if this could be changed, and she told me it couldn’t.  I then asked when our contract with StarTex was set to expire, because I wanted to switch companies.  After some more discussion, some of which was likely terse on my part, we got off the phone.  And I tweeted about it. 

 

Here’s what I said:

 

Harsh?  Perhaps.  The truth?  In my eyes, it was indeed true.  The operative word here is “was”.

Wait until you hear what happened next…

THE SOLUTION

While I was attending a local real estate conference here in Austin, I got an upbeat voice mail AND an email from Jennifer Bell of StarTex:

Good Afternoon Mr. Crouch,

My name is Jennifer Bell, and I am the Supervisor for the Office of the President at StarTex Power.

I received word of your account matter, and the purpose of this email is to ensure you receive a proper resolution and are a satisfied StarTex Power customer.

I have left you a voicemail message at the contact number we have on file.

Please call me at (xxx-xxx-xxxx) at your earliest convenience.

If email is easier for you, we can definitely communicate via email as well.

I look forward to assisting you.

Best regards,

Jennifer Bell

Supervisor – Office of the President / Quality Assurance, StarTex Power

Needless to say, I called her back.  We spoke for 15-20 minutes, and she…was…stellar.  I don’t just mean that she was stellar because she helped me – I mean that she is likely one of the best service people I’ve yet encountered at any company by phone.  She was engaging and friendly, and she explained that they had seen my tweet, and she wanted to help make things right.

She assured me that I would not receive any more of the irritating automated calls if a payment ever happens to be late, and she promised to monitor my account personally to make sure that the system didn’t trigger this for me.  She also explained that this is a “911″ technical issue that they are working to repair.  Good stuff.

Lastly, since I had signed up two years ago for their service and locked in a rate that now seems really high, she reduced my rate substantially.  Overall, based on my household usage, I calculated that this will save me $1300 or more over the next year.  WOW!

She went on to explain that there are some new nodal changes occurring in their industry, and that most companies will be passing these through to the consumer, but StarTex is price-protected so we won’t pay extra fees when that happens.

So, major thanks and props to Jennifer Bell and to StarTex.  You are doing it right. You’re listening, and you care about people.  I was seriously impressed, and I don’t often say that.  I explained to Jennifer that both Bank of America and Sprint lost us as customers after roughly 13 years.  Unless StarTex decides to raise their rates to crazy levels compared with other companies, they have a new customer evangelist in me.

Keep up the good work!

As part of our ongoing efforts to lose weight, I promised my son that he could have "special time" with me or my wife for every 5 pounds he lost.  I've lost roughly 50 pounds and he has dropped 35+ so far - we feel great!  About three weeks ago, he wanted to go for a hike at Zilker Park and explore a little bit. 

I had intended to make a longer video, but it was HOT that day, and we ended up changing our plans a bit.  Enjoy:

 

Originally Posted at: The Austin Dude

Today was a long day, frankly.  My wife's car was giving her problems, which later turned out to be the transmission, which has to be replaced.  Thankfully, this is covered under the warranty, which had only a few thousand miles left.  This was a blessing. Later, my Macbook Pro stopped working altogether, which turned out to be a faulty power supply, not the motherboard, or some other costly repair.  Overall, we spent much of the day in the car with all four kids running around. 

I only say that stuff to say that Garlic Breath Pizza was....well, a breath of fresh air at the end of the day.  I discovered it via Yelp on my iPhone, and the reviews looked spectacular.  Upon arriving at their physical location, I realized that they aren't really set up as a "dine in" place.  Nonetheless, they told us we could sit at the tables in the small area provided.  Our family of six took up the whole place, which made it more like a private dining experience.  :)

After ordering our food (and using a $5 off "mention Yelp" coupon), we were treated to a FREE pizza because someone cancelled their order.  Seriously?!?  Yes.  The owner, Cia (pronounced "KY-uh") was super-nice and she suggested that I have the steak and cheese sandwich, which is her personal favorite. 

She has impeccable taste.  It was one of the best sandwiches I've had in ages.

The pizza was also phenomenally tasty, and the kids were all satisfied.  Everything we had was good.  I would highly recommend this place if you're looking for special ingredients, too.  They have a broad array of sauces, veggies, meats, and cheeses to choose from, and the pizza crust was thin and crunchy, like a cracker, only better.

Our total for a family of six was $40, so it's more than fast food, but less than a place like Chili's, and we brought a substantial amount of food home for later consumption.

Don't miss Garlic Breath Pizza!  I will be spreading the word in Round Rock and beyond.

They can be found at 1711 North Mays Street, Round Rock, TX 78664.  To call in for delivery anywhere in the Round Rock city limits or Brushy Creek or to pick it up, call (512) 255-5500.  You won't be disappointed.

One of our agents, Christi Baylor, has a new listing in highly desirable Avery Ranch.  It's only three years old, and supremely clean.  Based on how the market seems to be moving lately, I doubt that this one will be on the market very long. 

 

 

Features:

• 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms
• 1904 square feet per tax records
• Built in 2007
• Island kitchen
• Granite countertops
• Gas range
• Stainless and black appliances
• Refrigerator conveys
• Covered Patio

 

 

 

If you would like to see this home, please call Christi at 512-788-3698.  If you would like to search all Austin homes for sale, please visit our website anytime at www.austintexashomes.com.  We hope to hear from you soon!

 

 

As a resident of the Meadows of Blackhawk for over seven years now, I like to keep an eye on the property values in the area.  This stuff affects me, too!

 

Currently, there are 19 homes available in the Meadows, with an average asking price of $209,542.  The average square footage for these homes is 2,607, for an average price per square foot of $81.12.  

 

Presently, there are 4 homes under contract in the subdivision, with an average listing price of $215,709, and an average square footage of 2,662, yielding an average price per square foot of $81.30.    

Over the past four months (January 1st through the end of April), there were 11 sales closed within Meadows of Blackhawk.  The average listing price was $210,554 and the average sales price was $206,345.  This means that homes sold for 98% of the list price.  This number does not account for any seller-paid closing costs, nor does it include any price reductions.

The average number of days on the market for the first four months of 2010 was 59, which is lower than the average for the entire Austin area MLS.  The square footage of the homes sold averaged 2,706, and the price per square foot for the sales was $77.32.

If you are a consumer living in another area around Austin and you are interested in seeing the trends in your particular neighborhood, please don't hesitate to contact me, and I can create a custom report for you.  All of my contact information is below. 

If you are considering selling your home in the Meadows of Blackhawk (or anywhere in the general Austin area), please feel free to give me a call.  I would love the opportunity to help you get it sold quickly.  Also, You can visit my primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com.  You can also reach me anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653 or via email at jason@austintexashomes.com.  Thanks for checking out this brief analysis!

 

Recently, during our family's 12-day road trip to Atlanta and back, we ended up with a supremely flat tire which left us stranded on a highway outside of Mobile, Alabama in a small town called Tillman's Corner.  It was nearly 10pm, and I had a van filled with our stuff, along with me, my wife, and our four kids (ranging in age from 11 years down to 11 months old).

It was windy and brisk outside, so the thought of unloading everyone in order to access the somewhat inconveniently placed spare tire didn't fill me with enthusiasm. 

I turned on my iPhone and figured Google could help me solve this dilemma.  Thankfully, I found Steve Laurendine of Tire Champ.

I explained my problem to Steve, who said that he needed to go pick up a tire from his shop, but he could probably meet us in "about 35 minutes".  Having encountered services like this in the past, I figured we would be lucky if he arrived within the hour.  He pulled up behind us 32 minutes later. 

Not only was he friendly and professional, no one even had to get out of the car, which was a godsend.  All in all, Steve finished the job in just under an hour, which including a full replacement of the tire.

At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Sure, but he probably charged you an arm and a leg, right?".  Um..no.  In fact, I was very pleasantly surprised by his rates.  He charged me $100 for the service, along with $30 for the tire (plus tax, of course).  Needless to say, I was more than happy to pay this amount, especially under the circumstances. 

According to his business card, Steve provides a full array of services, including new tires, used tires, A/C service, alignments, brakes, shocks, and general tune-ups.  I wouldn't trust anyone but him with my business in that part of the world.  Mobile, Alabama is lucky to have him.

While I was talking with Steve, I promised him that I would blog about my good experience in order to help him garner more business if someone should happen to come across this post of mine.  I gave him my business card, and I told him a bit more about where we were headed the next day (which was New Orleans).

As if his roadside assistance wasn't enough, I was overwhelmed by his service when I received this email the next morning at our hotel:

As you can see, Steve takes service seriously.  How many tire guys have you ever known who would go out of their way to provide help in this manner?  If you are ever stranded in that area, the only Mobile Alabama Roadside Assistance worth contacting is Tire Champ.  Steve Laurendine is a man of integrity, and I hope he is wildly successful.  It's nice to come across one of the "good guys" every now and then.

Steve can be reached anytime at 251-518-9619.  I recommend him wholeheartedly.

 

 

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acameronhuff/4312241339/

 

We have a listing in the Avery Ranch area that shows exquisitely well. 

Priced at $264,900 (just reduced), the home at 14812 Staked Plains Loop has some terrific features, including:

 

• 3 bedrooms with large home office, 2 full bathrooms
• 2238 square feet
• Built in 2004
• 0.25 Acre Lot
  
• 3-car garage (workbench stays!)
  
• Fresh exterior trim paint.
  
• Large trees in front & back yards
• Formal dining
• Spacious utility room with upgraded cabinets
• Kitchen has Corian-type countertops
• Large open floorplan with tile throughout living areas
• Large covered patio with privacy fence and plenty of trees
• Master bath has jetted tub and separate shower
  
• Huge walk-in closet with built in shelves and drawers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule an appointment to see this home or any others in the Austin MLS, please give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 or email jason@austintexashomes.com. 

If you are looking to relocate to the Austin or Pflugerville area, you might be interested in checking out my online relocation package here:

Austin Texas Relocation Package

Our Austin TX real estate website is at http://www.austintexashomes.com/.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

 

During my recent attendance at SXSW Interactive, I received an email from Sarah Solomon Bykrit, who works for Fleishman-Hillard out of Dallas.  She indicated that she was working on behalf of Chevy, who had identified me as "someone they want to meet while in Austin" based on my Twitter stream and following.

How cool is that?

Sarah invited me to the VIP area for a Cheap Trick/Bodeans concert at Auditorium Shores.  My wife and I got a sitter for the evening, and we were excited about seeing Cheap Trick play "live".  Believe me, we were not disappointed.  My wife said it was the best concert experience she ever had.  I would definitely rank it at or near the top of my own list. 

We got there a bit later than we had expected, so we missed most of the Bodeans' part, and the VIP seating on the left side of the stage was utterly packed, so we wandered back into the crowd.  We still had a great view of the show, and we managed to get on the stage seating for the last 10-15 minutes of the encore.

I was astounded at how good those guys sound, especially considering that they range in age from 58-63 years old.  Robin Zander's voice was vintage and well-preserved, and Rick Nielsen (guitarist) is just as crazy as he ever was.  Frankly, they seemed to have more energy than most bands half their age.  As with the Eagles concert we attended about 15 years ago, it sounded like we were listening to a CD through most of the night.

I had heard a rumor beforehand that they no longer played "The Flame" live, but this was not the case when we saw them.  In fact, it felt like they did an extended version!  They did pretty much every song that I knew in their repertoire, including "Surrender", "Dream Police", "I Want You to Want Me", "Tonight It's You", and the theme song from "That 70's Show". 

I'm not sure if my iPhone pictures really do the event justice, but I didn't have an actual camera on hand that night. 

The VIP area also had an open bar and free sodas, along with nicer restrooms, which makes sense, I suppose.  My wife mentioned that the only thing that could have made it any better was meeting the band, but you can't always get what you want, huh?  Wait...wasn't there another band that sang about that once?

Overall, it was an awesome and memorable night, and I'm thankful to Sarah and to Chevy for inviting me to attend and for making me feel important.  For a big company, they clearly understand the importance of forming relationships.