Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

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.

I recently listed a home at 8014 Brienne Drive in the Cat Hollow subdivision.  Rather than posting a number of still photos, I decided to create a video walkthrough tour instead.  Sure, I have pictures on the MLS, but for my blog, I thought this would be more informative.  Sorry for the wind noise in the first few seconds of footage. :-)

Enjoy:

Nestled on a cul-de-sac street in one of Round Rock's most popular communities, 2012 Solitude Cove offers a terrific, functional layout with nice space at an affordable price. 

If you get a home under contract by April 30th and close by June 30th, you may qualify for one of the federal homebuyer tax credits, too!

Details:

• 4 Bedrooms PLUS study with glass French doors
• 2130 s.f. per builder plan
• One-story floorplan flows well
• Wood floors through entry, kitchen, and breakfast areas
• Granite counters and nice tile backsplash
• Large master bedroom separate from other bedrooms for privacy
• Master bathroom with double vanity, garden tub, and separate shower
• Custom side door leads to stone patio and HUGE oak tree
• Enlarged back patio
• Professionally landscaped back yard
• Surround sound system to convey with home
• No neighbor behind you!  Backs to neighborhood street
• 10' Ceilings in main areas of the home
• Sonoma neighborhood was named, "Best Master Planned Community"
• Elementary and Middle schools are within easy walking distance of the home

If you have any questions at all or if you would like to set up a time to take a look at this home, feel free to give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  If you are interested in searching all Austin homes for sale, visit my website at www.austintexashomes.com.

There's a relatively new yogurt shop near my home that we've visited a few times, and I wanted to give them some additional exposure in the hopes of bringing some more customers their way.  Yogurt r' Rock is located in the La Frontera Shopping Center, facing the westbound frontage road for Toll 45 (formerly Ben and Jerry's).  I keep forgetting to ask if it's pronounced "Yogurt R-Rock" or "Yogurt ARE Rock".  Either way, it's worth visiting and it's become a fun, somewhat healthy dessert treat for our family.

The business model is so simple that it makes me wish I'd thought of it first:

• Allow customers to self-serve yogurt and toppings
• Weigh customer's choice on a scale
• Charge 39 cents/ounce

We recently listed a home in the Stone Canyon subdivision that features some phenomenal amenities for the price.  It was built by David Weekley Homes in 2000 (I sold it when it was brand-new), and it's had only one owner.

Offered at $314,000, this large one-story home backs to a densely wooded greenbelt area. 

Features include:

• Beautifully Landscaped Backyard
• Covered Patio
• 4 Bdr or 3Bdr+Study w/2 Closets
• 2.5 Baths
• Spacious Formal Dining/Living Area
• Open Kitchen/Breakfast/Family Area
• Granite Counters with Huge Island for Dining
• Built-in appliances
• Recent Stainless Gas Cooktop & Deep Sink
• Extensive Tile Floors
• 10'Ceilings
• Awesome Master Closet
• Huge Laundry Room
• 2.5car garage(X-Deep)
• Exemplary Fern Bluff Elementary
• Acclaimed Round Rock schools

If you would like to set up a time to take a look at this home, please call Victoria Tackett at 512-845-2084 (cell).  If you would like to search Austin real estate, visit our site at www.austintexashomes.com. 

Thanks!

One of our agents listed a terrific home for sale in the Stone Canyon subdivision this week.  It has some phenomenal landscaping in the back yard, along with a terrific floorplan from David Weekley Homes.

Some of the highlights:

• 4 Bedrooms (Master downstairs, and 3 bedrooms up)
• 3.5 Bathrooms
• 4 Living Areas (including Study/Office)
• 2 Dining (Breakfast & Formal)
• 3589 square feet per tax records
• Built in 2000
• Front & Back Porches
• Fully Updated, Loaded w/ upgrades
• Tandem 3 Car Garage
• Granite Counters
• Custom Cabinets
• Double Ovens
• 5 Burner Gas Cooktop
• Wood Floors
• Lush Carpet
• Recent Interior & Exterior Paint
• Sprinkler & Security Systems
• OnQ Network Wiring System
• Exemplary,Blue Ribbon, Fern Bluff Elementary School
• Excellent Location, convenient to everything!

If you would like to set up a time to see this home, please give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.  You can also visit our primary Austin TX real estate site at www.austintexashomes.com.

One of my agents, Victoria Tackett, is a Stone Canyon expert.  As a longtime resident of the area, she also sold many of the David Weekley Homes there when she used to work as a new home sales consultant for them.

She has a new listing at 8404 Lofty Lane which appears to be in immaculate condition.  Offered at $284,000, it's vacant and ready for immediate move-in!

Features:

• 4 bedrooms or 3+ study/office, 2.5 bathrooms
• 2784 s.f. per tax records
• 2.5-car garage
• Built in 2000 by Newmark Homes
• Loaded with upgrades!
• Recent interior paint
• Granite counters
• Built-in appliances
• Extensive wood floors
• Gas cooktop
• Shutters in family room
• Upgraded wiring for networking & speakers in family room
• Full sprinkler and security systems

If you are interested in this home or in making a move to the Austin, Texas vicinity, please give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 or email jason@austintexashomes.com.  I hope to have the opportunity to help you find the right place.  My Austin real estate website is at www.austintexashomes.com.  Thanks!

Green Expo 2009 is being held this Saturday, July 25th from 10am to 6pm at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.  This event is hosted by the Williamson County Association of Realtors.  My friend Steve Rosenbaum of GetRatedNow.com will be on-hand, and I plan to check it out myself. 

With the recent required energy audits in Austin, I know that I have a lot to learn about energy efficiency, green building, and all of the related subject matter.  This is a hot topic (pun partially intended), and it's something that will remain part of the public consciousness from now on, in my opinion.

Steve was our guest on Social Media Edge last week as well.  I was impressed to see how much he has used social media to help promote this local event.  All of the "big guns" were used - podcasts, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

Come join us if you have some time on Saturday!  They will have speakers throughout the day, along with exhibitors and kids' activities. Any time that I can learn something to help with my business AND do something fun with my kids, count me in!

The admission is just $5 for adults and FREE for kids 12 and under.

You can get a lot more info about the event here: http://greenexpo2009.com

Thanks for reading!

Sometime late Thursday afternoon, our upstairs A/C unit stopped working.  Well, it was blowing air, but it wasn't cooling properly at all.  The temperature crept into the mid-80's up there, while it was about 10 degrees cooler downstairs.

My wife called me, asking if the fact that I hadn't changed the filter in awhile could have caused this.  That particular filter is rarely even dirty when I change it, so I figured that we were dealing with a tripped breaker (very easy fix, of course), or something major.

That night, we called a couple of companies that billed themselves as being available "24/7".  None of them were available, and we didn't even hear back from them until the next day.

Our older kids slept downstairs in our family room on an air mattress that night, which they loved, since it's like a campout, but which is relatively inconvenient for us.

The next morning (July 3rd), we got up early and started calling around, trying to find someone (anyone) who could come look at our A/C that day.  Keep in mind that it has been well over 100 degrees outside for weeks now, and we were on the eve of a huge holiday weekend.  This didn't seem to bode well for our chances of finding someone quickly.

One company agreed to come "between 1 and 5pm", which is somewhat standard for that industry, I suppose.  We kept calling.

At around 7:30am, we spoke with someone at Braswell A/C & Electric, who indicated that they could have a technician at our home between 8:30 and 9:00am.  Really?!?  WOW!  My wife and I literally prayed that the repairs would come in under $200, although I had a feeling that it could be thousands.

David Castilleja was the man who showed up as promised.  He spent about 2 hours getting things in working order.  It turned out that the problem was a faulty capacitor.  Total cost - $135!

To say that Braswell A/C was the answer to a prayer is not overstating things at all.  Since I am ridiculously UN-handy when it comes to fixing things, I was prepared for the worst.

I just wanted to share this, in case anyone is looking for a great and honest local company for HVAC repair work.  Thanks for reading!

You can reach David at (512) 845-9670.  Give him a call!

For weeks on our BlogTalkRadio show (http://blogtalkradio.com/jckc), we have been joking about the famed "Two Pound Donut" at Round Rock Donuts, which is located about 15 minutes from my house.

I have always enjoyed the donuts there, but until recently I had no idea that they produced such a gargantuan product.  It's apparently the equivalent of eating ONE DOZEN donuts at a sitting.

Mellanie Stewart is the supremely helpful lady in the video.  I managed to leave without getting the name of the other employee who appears here.  And yes, it is spelled correctly - she wrote it down for me.  :)

I would recommend checking out their donuts if you have a chance - they are located near downtown Round Rock, at 106 W. Liberty Street (indidentally, I am headed north on I-35 in the video during the driving scene):