http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/Kent Redding & Terrill Fischeren-USRPS Blog Version 1.1.0.0Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16769Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:06:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16769http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16769#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16769.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16769.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"> <p>Here are a couple cool resources for anyone looking to buy a home called EveryBlock.com. <a target="_self" href="http://www.everyblock.com/" title="EveryBlock.com">www.Everyblock.com</a> provides a wealth of information about the five cities they serve (Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco...soon to include all the Texas cities). They display business reviews, permits, crimes, liquor licenses, real estate listings from Trulia and Redfin, restaurant inspections, zoning agenda items, as well as maps pinpointing relevant locations.</p> <p>Another good local site, <a target="_self" href="http://www.eventful.com/" title="World's Leading Events">www.Eventful.com</a>, claims to be the &ldquo;world&rsquo;s leading events website&rdquo; and has a comprehensive list of events occurring near your local address.</p> </div> </div><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16769.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16759Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:46:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16759http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16759#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16759.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16759.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><font size="1">Ever wondered how <a href="http://www.fha.com">FHA</a> comes up with those goofy loan limits every year?&nbsp; </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><font size="1"></font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><font size="1">In many counties across the nation the loan limit is $200,160 but hardly anyone knows where FHA gets that number.&nbsp; It's a government-backed program so you gotta figure there's some contorted math going on somewhere.<br /> <br /> FHA first takes the <a href="http://www.FreddieMac.com">Freddie Mac</a> loan limits that are announced each Fall, currently at $417,000, then multiplies that number by .48 (why that number, I have no clue) to get, you&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16759">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16759.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16518Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:08:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16518http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16518#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16518.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16518.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">We have found that appliances are like a good car. Treat them well, and&nbsp;they'll return the favor for years to come. Every appliance needs simple maintenance to keep them running strong and efficient.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">No matter how efficient and&nbsp;&quot;money saving&quot; new appliances claim to be these days, the cost&nbsp;to purchase and have&nbsp;one installed&nbsp;can take several years to return the investment.&nbsp;By that time, someone else&nbsp;owns the home.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">Most appliances are bought&nbsp;according to the current style. Stainless steel has been around for six years and is&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16518">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16518.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16252Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:36:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16252http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16252#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16252.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16252.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" /> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId" /> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Generator" /> <meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Originator" /> <link href="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\KENTRE~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List" /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false"&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16252">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16252.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16192Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:27:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16192http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16192#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16192.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16192.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p>Buying smart in Austin just got a little easier recently following the signing of the <a href="http://www.hud.gov/news/recoveryactfaq.cfm">Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008</a> by President Bush. </p> <p>There are significant benefits in this act aimed at helping Austin home buyers, such as<span id="more-29504"></span> a repayable first-time home-buyer tax credit. Majority opinion is that first-time buyers are very important to the health of the housing economy because their home purchases help to stimulate sales up the price points. Through the home-buyer tax credit, buyers who are <u>purchasing for the first time </u>or <u>who haven&rsquo;t owned a property in the last three years</u> can now qualify for a tax credit equal to 10% of their home purchase price, up to $7,500.</p> <p>Further qualification requires that the home purchase be made between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. The credit phases out if the buyer&rsquo;s income exceeds $75,000 for an individual or&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16192">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16192.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16128Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:28:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16128http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16128#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/16128.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/16128.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt">Texas Real Estate data from the first half of 2008 has just been released by <a title="http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/datahs.html" href="http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/datahs.html">The Real Estate Center @ Texas A&amp;M University</a> . A total of 23,847 existing homes were sold in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> in June, a 15.9 percent decline from June 2007. The median price rose 0.6 percent to $155,900 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.8-month inventory on existing homes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt">Here is how select <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place> cities fared in June:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=16128">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/16128.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15876Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:09:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15876http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15876#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15876.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15876.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><font size="2"><font size="1">I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on the Austin MLS data for the month of July.</font> </font> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4.5pt"><font face="Arial" color="#000000" size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="1">The number of active listings are</font>&nbsp;<font size="1">up over 21% over last year.</font></span></font><font face="Arial" color="#333333"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in"><font face="Arial" color="#000000" size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="1">Pendings (homes under contract) are down over 50% and Sold</font> <font size="1">Homes are down 17% . We are seeing more inventory of homes on the market</font>&nbsp; <font size="1">and it is taking&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15876">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15876.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15665Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:29:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15665http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15665#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15665.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15665.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 8pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">Acoustic (popcorn ceilings) came about in the fifties. This fad was force fed to the public as a great ceiling coating that improved the noise and echo in rooms and looked good. It was actually a cheap&nbsp;&amp; easy&nbsp;way&nbsp;for builders to hide imperfections. Did you know, if the home&nbsp;was built&nbsp;between the 1950s and early eighties, the materials in the ceiling could be made of asbestos. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 8pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">&nbsp;<strong><u>Removal Tips:</u></strong>&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 8pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: &quot;Arial Narrow&quot;">DO NOT paint your popcorn ceiling with latex paint. That is the biggest mistake homeowners can make. The labor to remove the coating has now&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15665">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15665.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15645Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:14:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15645http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15645#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15645.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15645.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><font size="2">We are seeing a sizable increase in the number of foreclosures posted for next month (August 2008)) in the Austin area over last year. This was reported recently in the Austin American Statesman. <br /> <br /> </font> <div align="center"> <div align="left"><em><font size="2">&quot;The number of Austin area residential foreclosures posted for the upcoming August auction increased 31 percent over last year. There are 741 postings for August in the four-county region, up from 564 in August 2007, according to the latest report from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. The largest increase in activity was in Travis County, which experienced a 62 percent surge in postings in August compared with the same month last year. It's also the seventh consecutive month that Travis postings have exceeded 300. Through the first eight months of the year, there have been 5,715 foreclosure postings, a 20 percent uptick from the same period in 2007. In the four counties&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15645">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15645.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15575Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:39:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15575http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15575#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15575.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15575.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><font size="2"><font size="2"><br /> <font size="3"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">You can't turn on a TV today without someone selling you telecom services. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From cell phones to </span></font></font><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">high speed net access, the deals are abundant. In this five-part series, we are looking at novel ways to understand trends that impact our home's value. <br /> <br /> <a target="_new" href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2326175,00.asp">&lt;See PC Magazine: How to Future Proof Your Home with Fiber&gt;</a><br /> <br /> In most parts of the country there are two major providers of telecom services for phone and Cable TV. For the last year or so the battles have been fierce to get homeowners to sign up for bundled services. This &quot;triple play&quot; is comprised of telephone service, Cable TV and internet access. The theory is that if you sign up for all&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15575">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15575.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15468Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:40:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15468http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15468#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15468.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15468.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p>We have&nbsp;long suspected that Austin is a hidden treasure in the housing market, and now the facts are beginning to back it up.</p> <p>The financial and business Web site <a href="http://www.Bloomberg.com">Bloomberg.com</a> last month named Austin as one of the country's select few attractive, low-risk housing markets.&nbsp; And according to the <a href="http://www.ofheo.gov">Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversigh</a>t (OFHEO), Texas has seen almost a 5% increase in housing prices in the first quarter of 2008 with the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area (MSA) experiencing an average appreciation of almost 7.75% (ranking 4th nationwide).</p> <p>How can this be true in light of the national downturn?&nbsp; Well it is commonly know that <em>&quot;Most people pay attention to the national weather, but dress for the local conditions&quot;</em></p> <p>The good news is this; since the housing downturn wasn't directly caused by a decline in the economy or job&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15468">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15468.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15258Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:25:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15258http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15258#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15258.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15258.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana"><font size="1">We noticed a strange story coming out of&nbsp;<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> a few weeks back: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the huge companies that buy most conforming loans from local lenders -- agreed to tougher standards for appraisers. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p> <p class="Default" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font size="1">Under the deal worked out with <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> state attorney general Andrew Cuomo, the big loan buyers agreed to create a &quot;<u>New Home Valuation Protection Code</u>&quot; which has three baseline requirements: <o:p></o:p></font></span></p> <ul> <li><font size="1"><font face="Arial"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font size="1">Mortgage brokers will be prohibited from selecting appraisers</font></span></font></font></li> &nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15258">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15258.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15169Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:54:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15169http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15169#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15169.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15169.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font size="1">We received a question from one of our valued Austin clients inquiring about whether they can purchase real estate through their IRA.&nbsp; We are not tax advisers or financial gurus (so seek their assistance!), but in general terms i</font></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font size="1">t is possible to buy and sell real estate thru your IRA. Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code permits individuals to purchase land, commercial property, condominiums, residential property, trust deeds, or real estate contracts with funds held in many common forms of IRAs.</font> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p><font size="1">&nbsp;</font></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font size="1">This is a fairly common practice, but certainly one where&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15169">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15169.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15074Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:49:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15074http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15074#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/15074.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/15074.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"><div>Oftentimes clients ask us for contractor referrals&nbsp;from an electrician, re-modeler&nbsp;to ground up new home builders.&nbsp; When are happy to share our best contacts, but inevitably the question of &quot;Are they Bonded and Insured?&quot; come up. </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>A contractor is not just the guy you hired to&nbsp;build your home or install a new&nbsp;shower. A contractor is anyone hired to perform services, whether the lawn guy, or&nbsp;even your&nbsp;dentist.&nbsp;Most &quot;contractors&quot; are bonded and insured in some sort of way or different term. </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Let's use the building contractor in this case. He or she should be bonded and insured to protect their customers, and themselves as well. It is well known that many contractors may advertise being &quot;bonded and insured&quot; but are not. It is also well known that the customer seldom calls the contractor's insurance carrier for verification. I myself recently&nbsp;shopped&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=15074">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/15074.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>Kent Redding & Terrill Fischerhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=14913Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:40:00 GMThttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=14913http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=14913#comment0http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/commentRss/14913.aspxhttp://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/services/trackbacks/14913.aspx<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">This is the letter that Mayor Will Wynn sent out a couple of weeks ago about the Austin energy efficiency issues with homeowners. A &ldquo;green home tax&rdquo; was being considered on Austin homeowners by the City Council. The City Council Task Force wants all Austin homeowners to get an energy audit but they don&rsquo;t have to do the upgrades which could be expensive. Read the Mayor&rsquo;s letter below and see what you think. There has been a lot of misunderstanding and controversy over it. <br /> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Arial;"><strong> <span> Mayor Wynn on Energy Efficiency </span> </strong> </span><br /> <font size="2"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: verdana,arial;"><span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-family: Arial;">June 11, 2008<br /> <br /> Dear Friend:</span></span></span></font></p> <p><font size="2"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;">Over the last several months, you may have heard talk about a proposed&nbsp;..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog_post.asp?post=14913">read&nbsp;more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog/aggbug/14913.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>