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| Appraisal IQ |
| Property Appraiser in Central Texas |
| http://theappraisaliq.com |
| River Place – Austin TX: Real Estate Market Update April 2012 |
| Gorgeous Hill Country Living at River Place Looking for a home with sweeping Hill Country Views in the Austin city limits? Take a drive through River Place off of 2222 near 620 and see the variety of homes and views that are on the market this Spring. Homes in this subdivision range from the low-to-mid $300s all the way up to several million dollars. Homes have been built in this area since the early 1990′s and are still being built in 2012. River Place Real Estate Sales – January 1st to April 25th, 2012 As of April 25th, 2012: Currently, 24 homes are for sale with a median price of $607,000. (Median means half were above that selling price and half were below). The least expensive home for sale in River Place is $364,000 for a 3 bedroom home with 2 bathrooms and 3,016 square feet of living space on two levels. The most expensive home for sale is listed for $4,150,000 and has 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a 3-car garage. This home is on the river, has a boat dock, a multi-level deck, a swimming pool and high-end finishes in the interior and on the exterior. Since January 1st, 2012, 20 homes have sold for a median price of $431,000. These 20 homes ranged from $320,000 to $855,000. Another 16 are under contract. Characteristics of Homes in River Place in Austin, Texas If you drive through River Place, you will see a lot of limestone exteriors, and limestone mixed with brick. Some homes also have stucco exteriors, often mixed with brick or limestone as well. Many homes have gorgeous, sweeping Hill Country views, and most of the older homes have mature trees and landscaping. On the interior, most homes have higher ceilings, and many that have sold recently (or are for sale) have granite countertops and hardwood floors. River Place is in the Leander Independent School District. Google Map for River Place View Larger Map |
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| The Overpriced Home: Figuring Out The Problem |
| Can You Spot The Overpriced Home in a Neighborhood? Would you know if one of these homes was overpriced? Hint: it’s the one that isn’t selling. (Ooooh, imagine that – an overpriced home not getting any offers!) You know, the one that has been on the market so long no one even notices the sign any more. Sunday home-shoppers don’t even slow down (they’ve already seen it) as they cruise on by to another Open House. Neighbors speculate on why it’s not selling and what that means for their own chances of selling (when they get around to it). But if you ask the seller . . . it’s priced right. They just KNOW it because someone told them so. So how do YOU avoid becoming one of the non-selling sellers of an overpriced home? Know Thy Market When Pricing a Home for Sale Picking the right price for a home is part art, part math, part intuition, part experience. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with an overpriced home – and that can really hurt your chances of selling it anytime soon. The person coming up with the numbers needs something to go on. You know . . . some actual data to use to figure it out. Emotions need to be checked at the door – as strong as they may be, they just get in the way of what needs to be done: get the price right so the house sells as fast as possible at the highest price possible. Let me share an example with you so that you can see why just breezing through some other local listings, or recent sales isn’t quite enough to nail the price on a listing. What you learn here could save you a lot of time and money (and teeth gnashing). But It’s Priced Right!!! I ran across a listing a while ago that stuck out in a sea of data as an outlier – a data point that looked out of place. At first, it was a bit confusing: the price per square foot was clearly under other homes of similar size and age in the area. The photos in the MLS looked okay. The photos themselves weren’t that great, but the home looked presentable in them. The neighborhood and schools are considered desireable. Other listings were selling in just a few weeks. And yet . . . this one was still on the market. It was still on the market despite several downward price adjustments, each of which made it look more and more favorably priced than the competition. And yet, other houses were coming on the market and selling and this one was . . . sitting. It was the classic overpriced home. The Big List of Small and Not-So-Small Things That Matter To re-cap: at first glance, the priced seemed reasonable. But at deep-gazing, the price was way off, from a combination of these things: The house was built by a lower-end builder in a subdivision of homes built by better builders: it did not have the same quality of original fit-and-finish as the typical home in the area. The fixtures (faucets, light fixtures, shower surrounds) were original, and in a bright-brass finish. The house did not appear to have been well-maintained. The fence was rotty. The playscape was falling down. Some cabinets had sharpie (?) markings and other scribbles on them. The bathrooms had dated (and peeling) wallpaper. The flooring that looked like hardwood was actually super-thin, poorly-installed laminate. The floorplan was awkward. The house was crowded with too much stuff (that had been moved aside for the photos). On other words: it really wasn’t comparable to the other homes for sale, or other homes that had recently sold. Those homes were mostly updated, mostly built by better builders, mostly wall-paper free and were in better locations within the subdivision. They were better presented (de-cluttered), and more importantly: more accurately presented in the MLS. The photos in the MLS for the non-selling home looked better than the reality – by a long shot. wshen you add it all up, the price for this home was just too high – it was overpriced. What To Do, What To DO? If you’re home isn’t selling, and you want to know why, it might be time to step back and take a cold, hard look at it. Look at the list above, and talk it over with your real estate agent. How DOES your house compare? Don’t be tempted to stick with the “but, we priced it right!” party line that has gotten so comfortable in recent months. If it’s not selling, the price isn’t right. To get your price, you may need to do a lot of work. If you don’t want to do the work, you’ll need to lower the price to the point where someone else might be willing to do the work. And, if it’s really stale because it’s gotten the reputation of being an overpriced home, you may even need to slightly underprice it, just to get folks back to take a second look, or to generate some new traffic. After all, the point is to sell the house, not just list it for sale – right? |
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| Condo Plumbing: Some Things You Need to Know |
| Condo Plumbing can be a bit tricky. If you own a home (or have in the past), you probably know a bit about plumbing. When you need to work on it, you can turn off the water. Easy Peasy! This is so not the case in many condos! Shared Waters Systems for Condos Condos are often on a shared water system. By shared, we don’t mean just on city water, we mean shared, as in: the pipes run from one unit to the next, or they’re all fed off of one (or more) main valves. Shutting off the service to one unit may mean shutting off the service to all of them in the complex, or to a bunch of them that are in the same building (if the development has multiple buildings). If you want to do some plumbing work on your own unit, you need to schedule a maintenance period with the HOA (Home Owners Association). The HOA is often managed by an HOA Management Company. This might take a few days, or it could take a few weeks. Working on Condo Plumbing You may or may not get to pick your shut-down time to work on the plumbing in your unit. The HOA might tell you when you can do it, and then you get to work within that time frame. You must find a reliable plumber that will show up on time, and make sure the job is completed before he leaves, so that the water to all of the affected units can be turned back on. Some HOAs will want the licensing information for the plumber before approving the maintenance, so your friend Joe-the-handyman who will work for beer and $20 might not pass muster. And here is the painful kicker to all of this: shutting off the water isn’t as simple as just shutting off the water like it is for a single-family home. The water may take a while to drain from the system. It could take 20 minutes, it could take an hour or more. More units = longer time to drain. And then, let’s say the work gets done, and the plumber wants to tests the work for leaks. It also takes a while to turn the water back on. Sometimes the plumber won’t have permission to turn the valve back on – maybe the maintenance guy has to do that, and you might have to hunt him down, first. And if the new connections leak, it’ll take the shared plumbing system a while to drain again before more work can be done. A Real Life Condo Plumbing Story You may be asking: where do they GET this stuff they write about? Real life, of course. Here is a real life shared condo plumbing tale of woe. Woman buys condo. Hall bathroom is UGLY. Woman orders new countertop for hall bathroom. Counter is delivered and can’t be installed because the water shut-off valves under the sink don’t turn all the way off, which means the faucet on the old counter can’t be removed. Woman learns that replacing the shut-off values requires shutting off the water main for 8 units. HOA gives permission after checking plumber’s license, notifies residents of 4-hours for a water-off maintenance window. Maintenance man shuts off main valve at designated time. Plumber and woman wait and wait and wait. The plumbing system takes an hour to drain before work can start. Plumber replaces two shut-off valves under the sink. HOA maintenance man turns water back on. New shut-off valves work properly. Woman pays plumber $180 for two hours of work that would have taken 20 minutes for a single-family residence. And that would be the end of the story . . . except . . . When the water is turned back on, some debris (scale) in the hot water pipes of the older plumbing system clog the shower valves in both showers. Both showers that used to have full water pressure now have very low water pressure. Fixing THAT is going to require another planned maintenance, and the HOA doesn’t want to approve it quickly due to the inconvenience to the other unit owners. Bottom Line on Condo Plumbing When you live in a development like a condo where some resources are shared, it just takes longer to get some stuff done. More coordination is necessary. More people are going to be in the mix for getting stuff approved, scheduled, and completed. That doesn’t mean don’t buy one, it just means: know what you’re buying and make sure you’re ok with the trade-offs that condo living brings to your lifestyle. |
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| Closing on a Home: What to Expect in Austin |
| What to Expect When Closing On A Home Closing on a house is an exciting moment for every future homeowner. At the same time, it can be an overwhelming and confusing experience, particularly for those who have never purchased a home before. Therefore, if you are planning to purchase a home, it is in your best interest to learn as much about the closing process before you reach this big step. Who to Expect At Your Home Closing Before heading into a closing situation, it is helpful to know who will be in attendance. The number of people who will be present at your closing will vary depending upon the state in which you are purchasing your home as well as the circumstances surrounding the purchase. At a minimum, you will meet with the real estate agent who sold you the home, but you might also bring a settlement attorney to represent your side of the purchase. In some cases, mortgage brokers participate in the closing, but don’t be surprised if someone representing the financial institution from which you are borrowing is not present. Individuals representing the seller, such as the seller’s agent and an attorney representing the seller, may also be present at the closing. If you’re buying a home in Austin, expect to have all of the above present. Plan Enough Time for Your Closing While there is no guarantee regarding how long it will take for the closing to take place, you should plan on it taking about an hour. This is because there is a significant amount of paperwork that needs to be reviewed and signed during the closing. If any issues arise during the closing process, it could easily take much longer to complete. Bring the Right Paperwork Although your real estate agent will bring most of the required paperwork to the closing, there are a few pieces of information that you will need to bring with you. The two most important things you need to bring to your closing are a cashiers check and a home owner’s insurance policy. The cashier’s check will be used to pay the closing costs, while the home owner’s insurance policy will provide the proof you need to show that you have obtained the proper coverage for the house you are purchasing. Take Possession of the Home Although the seller is advised to keep his or her home owner’s insurance in place until the sale is officially recorded in city hall, you will take immediate possession of the home after you have completed the paperwork. As such, you will receive the keys to the home before you leave the closing. You will also receive any necessary paperwork regarding the equipment that you purchased with the home, such as the owner’s manuals for your washing machine, garage door opener, refrigerator and any other items that come with the house. |
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| Granite Remnants: A Less Expensive Update for a Small Space |
| Granite Remnants Are Often Cheaper If you’ve tried to replace a small counter with a piece of granite, you probably ran into a common problem: granite fabricators don’t want to sell a little piece, they want to sell the whole slab. Or, they want to charge you an arm and a leg for the piece you need. Fortunately, HGTV has popularized the use of granite remnants for small counter tops and has encouraged people to call around to local granite companies asking for remnants. Smart companies sell what people want to buy, right? Call Your Local Granite Company and Ask About Small Pieces I had a listing last spring that needed a small counter top to replace some seriously ugly brown tile in the bathroom. Fortunately, the owner’s niece runs Toluca Granite here in Austin and was able to cut a few counters from her supply of granite remnants left over from other jobs. I know the owner of Toluca Granite personally, and have picked through her selection on many occasions, looking for small tabletops, or the occasional piece of marble for a cheese board. Before and After: A Granite Remnant on a Small Bathroom Counter You can see that the update to this bathroom was pretty much paint and the piece of granite. The little fabric skirt covered up the whole under the sink because the doors were missing. Questions to Ask When You Call for Remnants If you know the particular type of granite or marble you want, ask for it by name Ask if you can come see the selection to pick out your counter top If they don’t have what you want, ask to be put on a list to be called when a suitable piece comes in If you need two or more small pieces, ask if they have remnants that match – pieces left over from different slabs might be called the same name but might not actually look the same due to variations in the natural stone Ask if they charge extra for fancy edges, or for the sink cutout Ask if they sell sinks to go with with your new counter – you might get a discount for buying the sink and the counter from the same company and some of the new counter-mounted vessel sinks are very very interesting Ask what the turn around time is, after they come out to measure the space for your new counter Make sure you select the actual piece they will use – because pieces of the same name as what you saw somewhere else may very well not look the same – some have large patterns, swirls or splotches that can either be lovely and interesting or just plain ugly |
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| Austin Metal: You Can Make What You Can Imagine |
| Austin Metal Companies Can Fabricate Stuff For Your Crazy Project Have you ever wanted to do something really cool but couldn’t find the right metal thingy at Home Depot or Lowe’s? Maybe something for your yard, like some yard art for an Austin classic funky landscaping twist, or maybe a neat cut-metal sign with the numbers of your house that isn’t just like all of the others on the street? Sheet Metal: The Artist’s Friend or Foe If you’ve tried to cut sheet metal yourself, maybe you got a nice smooth cut. Maybe, though, you got a ratty-tatty raggedy edge that snagged on your hands and clothes and just didn’t look very artistic or professional? Yeah – you know – those tin snips didn’t work as well as you thought, did they? I have a whole pile of copper toe kicks on the garage floor because I thought they would be cool under the kitchen cabinets. Five, yes 5, years later, I haven’t figured out how to cut them to the right size without messing them up, so they’re still developing their patina as they sit collecting dust and cobwebs. Some things are better left to a pro. Get Your Metal Cut by an Austin Metal Pro Orlando has a project. He’s going to make a steady-cam for shooting video, because the ready-made ones are seriously expensive. He’s been watching YouTube videos, drawing out plans and having a blast. We’ve been making most of our real estate appraisal videos in our home studio, but it would be better if we could shoot some in the field without too much camera shake. The main part of his project is a curved piece of metal that he’s having cut by H.J. Lockhart Metal Service on Hydro Drive in Austin. H.J Lockhart is a custom metal fabricator – they have the machines to cut, bend, punch and do all sorts of stuff to metal sheets, bars, rods and so on. We dropped the plans off on Thursday and will pick up the pieces on Monday. This round may end up just being a prototype for the one that actually works, but hey, we’ve had a blast since we realized we could find some of the parts ready-made and have the rest cut by a local metal fabricator here in Austin. Photos from the Austin Metal Shop We Visited This Week (photos shots with either a Canon 24-70mmL or the Canon TS-E 24mmL Tilt + Shift on a 5D Mark II, so yes, the blurry parts are intentional!) |
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| HOA Rules: Where Can You Park Your Truck in Austin TX? |
| HOA Rules Limit What You Can Do With Your Property You love your truck, your boat, your RV, or maybe the airstream trailer you use for selling food down on South Congress. Your HOA might have a different view of those vehicles and where you can, or can’t park them. HOAs (Home Owner’s Associations) can restrict what you do with your own property, including what you can do with stuff you own. Stuff like the truck you drive to work every day, or the one you use to haul your RV to camp grounds on the weekends. Zoning Regulations and HOA Restrictions Towns and cities like Austin have zoning regulations that describe the approved uses of a property. For example, zoning regulations specify which land can be used for single-family homes, for public works (schools, libraries) and which land can be used for commercial purposes. HOAs for individual subdivisions can further restrict the use of the property within a subdivision, and many do. Things that are often restricted: Sizes, numbers and types of vehicles (trucks, campers, jet skis, trailers, etc.) Satellite dishes Exterior paint colors Height, type and location of fencing Materials used in landscaping Architectural details on the exterior of the homes Solar panels Clothes lines And so on The Big Green Truck Our home owners association hates my truck, the one I love so much that I turned it into digital art for this article. They say it is too big (it isn’t), they say it isn’t registered (it is), they say I need to park it in the garage (I don’t). We go a round or two on this every few years. Bottom line: they just don’t like an old truck in a neighborhood full of nice new cars. It looks like a work truck (it is) and I’ve only seen one other like it anywhere near where we live in NW Austin. So although I am annoyed that my truck is frequently targeted for attention, I also know that the reason why my neighborhood is so nice and clean and neat is because the HOA really keeps on the homeowners about keeping up with property maintenance and things that might otherwise lead to a trashier-looking neighborhood. Sometimes, however, I wish I lived somewhere where I could have an ATV track in the backyard, a huge out building for working on old cars and a great big chicken coop or a little barn for some goats. Oh, and someplace to park a trailer to haul behind the big green truck for our weekend tours around Texas. Know The HOA Restrictions Before You Buy If you live here, you know that Austin has a very diverse set of neighborhoods. Old, new, big lots, small lots, small homes, gigantic homes. Some neighborhoods, like mine, are very restrictive and some aren’t. Some have home owners associations that don’t enforce the HOA rules, and others are completely gung-ho about enforcing every line-item of the restrictions. If you already own a home in Austin, did you know for sure what the HOA restrictions were for the neighborhood before you bought your home? Did you read that piece of paper in the giant pile of paperwork you received during your home buying process? Did your real estate agent go over it with you? Have you had any trouble keeping your property in-line with the rules? If you’re looking to buy – is HOA-free living something you need? Do you need to park a big, ugly vehicle in your side-yard so you don’t have to go haul it in from out of town when you need to use it? It might be a nuisance to have to think about it when you just want to buy that cute home NOW, but it’s a much bigger nuisance to discover a restrictions you don’t want to live with later on. HOAs and Green Living Trends One last thought – green living trends are encouraging city dwellers to do things that may run afoul of many HOA rules. Things like hanging laundry on a backyard clothes line to dry, replacing water-hogging grass with drought-tolerant plantings or crushed stone, or raising chickens for fresh eggs instead of buying ones that have been hauled half-way across the state to the grocery store. All are forbidden in my neighborhood, and all are on my list of things I really want to do. The HOA rules may force us out of the suburbs and up into Leander or Liberty Hill, to get back a little of the freedom we signed away when we bought our current home. So tell me, what do you think about HOA rules – love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Love some and hate others? Do you see any trends towards greener living in your area that are bucking some of the rules? I’d love to hear what you think – good, bad or ugly! |
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| Austin Backyard Salvage and Garden: Stuff Your Yard Might Like |
| Do You Have The Eye for Architectural Salvage? You know, the eye that can spot the treasure in the trash at a flea market? Or the one that spies the really good piece of furniture covered in dust at an antique store that never seems to change inventory? If so, you’re going to love Austin’s own Backyard Salvage and Garden (BYSG), located at the old Howard’s Nursery on the corner of Avenue F and Koenig (2222). We spied this lot full of reclaimed materials while lost, looking for the next house on the chicken coop tour this past weekend, then doubled back later in the afternoon to really dig through the piles. You Gotta Dig If you want shiny, new, matchy-matchy baubles for your home and garden, architectural salvage yards full of reclaimed materials are not the place for you. But if you really like digging through piles, studying the offerings, and contemplating how marvelous some old rusty thing might look in your yard, then an architectural salvage yard can be a fantastic way to spend a few hours on a pretty afternoon. To be clear, we probably wouldn’t call this a “true” architectural salvage yard, meaning the kind that has old gargoyles from pre-war buildings and plaster medallions from razed Victorian mansions. The most famous of those is probably Urban Archeology in NYC – or was 20 years ago when I stumbled into it and had to be dragged out by friends who didn’t relish the thought of spending the way digging through 100 year-old hand-carved, glass-front store displays. Where to Find Austin Backyard Savlage and Garden: Address 111 E. Koenig Ln @ Ave F, Austin, TX 78751 · Get Directions Phone [512] 537-BYSG(2974) only answered during business hours, any other time please leave a voicemail with contact info Hours Mon – Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Sat – Sun: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Cut to the Chase: What Did We Find? What we found instead at Austin’s Backyard Salvage and Garden was . . . stuff, and lots of it: Piles of old wood flooring Row after row of interior and exterior doors, some old, some not so old Two very very cool rounded-top doors like you might see on an old bungalow in Hyde Park Things that cover the bottoms of old street lamps – rusted, gloriously rusted things Rusty bathtubs – perfect for a backyard planter Lots of rusty porch railings and wrought iron railings – perhaps for trellises for those tomato vines that keep overgrowing the cheapy, short, galvanized metal ones you got from Home Depot Battered screen doors, the kind that slam shut when the kids run out to the backyard to chase butterflies Old Windows – but didn’t get a chance to really see the offerings, so see for yourself And all sorts of stuff you could use to spiff up your backyard and patio area, so you can spend more time outside enjoying the Texas sunshine this summer. How To Make Salvaged Stuff Work For You If you’re thinking it would be waaay cool to get some of this stuff and spiff up your back yard, we have some advice for you: keep an open mind. Survey your backyard with a critical eye: how much space do you really have and what do you really want? We love how so many of the homes on the chicken tour in Central Austin have homemade water fountains, vegetable gardens, fire pits with brick pavers for the patio, surrounded by old rusty chairs. The yards on the tour are used and used hard, not just admired from inside. Is that the kind you want? Rip out ideas from magazines and stick them in a binder to remind you of what is possible for using reclaimed materials or architectural salvage Visit Backyard Salvage and Garden in Central Austin and see what they have. Really look deep and take your time to walk around. Bring a friend to help you “see” the possibilities. Go home and plan out your spaces, measure, weigh, photograph, etc. Yeah, “weigh” was a joke to see if you’re actually paying attention. If you’ve got the eye, you may be able to put your backyard retreat together with stuff solely from the salvage yard. You might need to supplement with a few things from Home Depot, but maybe not. Then Give Us a Call If you’re serious about using salvaged materials for your yard and you live anywhere near Austin, give me, Alison, a call at (512) 585-4758. I’d love to come out and photograph the before-during-and-after of your project and if you’re game, to write about it on this blog. I am a Realtor, photographer and insatiable home renovation and decorating junkie and would love to share your joy! Happy Hunting If you’ve already done the salvage thing, we’d love to hear about your experiences – good and bad. If you have other favorite haunts for finding salvaged or reclaimed materials, please drop me an email and I’ll go visit them as well. Where to Find Austin Backyard Salvage and Garden View Larger Map Address 111 E. Koenig Ln @ Ave F, Austin, TX 78751 · Get Directions Phone [512] 537-BYSG(2974) only answered during business hours, any other time please leave a voicemail with contact info Hours Mon – Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Sat – Sun: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm |
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| House Appraisal: How to Find the Value of a Home |
| A House Appraisal: Find the Value of a Home How do people find the value of a home? Meaning, what a home (usually their home) is worth? Of the most common ways to find the value of a home, a formal house appraisal is the most accurate. If you REALLY want to know what a property is worth, you need to know why most (cheap and easy) ways to find a home value aren’t accurate. If the value you find for a property isn’t right, then what good is that? Ways to Find Home Value On-line (Internet) “instant” home values websites These are probably the worst way to find the home values – they rely on incomplete information, and the data is often out of date. Yeah – they’re fast but what good is fast if it’s wrong? What a neighbor’s house sold for last year Another unreliable source of information – unless the neighbor’s house is exactly like yours and the sales price has been confirmed by someone with access to the real numbers for the sale. Even then, the market TODAY might not be what it was when the neighbor’s house sold and we all know that timing matters a lot in real estate. The tax records Although these should be a good source of home values information, tax records are frequently wrong since the tax district doesn’t usually know about updates or renovations to a home unless the updates required a permit. Tax records also don’t show that the homes sales prices in an area are going up or going down. Tax values also rely on huge databases of information that may not be up to date. A local real estate agent An experienced real estate agent can give you information about other homes that have sold in your area, which can give you an idea of what your home might sell for if you are planning to sell it. Unless you really are planning to sell, though, and are looking for an agent to list your home, a local agent might not want to spend the several hours that it takes to pull the best sales data for homes like yours that sold in the last few months. A house appraisal Otherwise known as a real estate appraisal, a house appraisal is the formal way to find the value of a home. Real estate appraisers have to have formal training, pass difficult exams and use very well-defined ways (approaches to value) to figure out the actual, current market value of a home. Read the article Appraisal Steps: Determining Market Value of Property to understand what an appraiser does to figure of the value of a property. Which Way Will Work For You? Sometimes, you just want an idea of what the value of a home is. In that case, check out the on-line home value sites. Or, check out the tax records just for fun. If you’re planning to sell your home, call a local real estate agent who knows your area well. If your home is unusual (really big, really small, on a huge lot, heavily upgraded . . .) or you want the most accurate market value opinion for your home, you should bite the bullet and call a local real estate appraiser to do the job. |
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| Certified Appraiser vs. Licensed Appraiser: The Difference in TX? |
| What is the Difference Between a Certified Appraiser and a Licensed Appraiser in Texas? Short answer: the amount of real estate appraiser education and training, as defined by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB). Also: the types of properties the appraiser can appraise. The table linked in from TALCB, above, provides the best summary of the differences in Texas between the licensing levels for a Certified Residential and a Licensed Appraiser (as well as for a General Appraiser, the highest-level of license that also permits the licensee to appraise commercial property.) Certified Appraiser Licensing Requires More Experience and Education To obtain the license level of a Certified Appraiser in Texas, a candidate needs more education (both undergraduate education and appraiser-specific education) and more documented hours of appraisal experience, over a longer period of time. Each licensing level requires the applicant to pass an exam (the National Uniform State Appraiser Examination) specific to that level of licensing. The exams are developed by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB). The Bottom Line on Certified vs. Licensed If you want to join the profession: study the differences and talk to appraisers at different license levels to decide which level to pursue (hint: Certified). One More Thing: How Much Property the Certified Appraiser Can Appraise “May appraise 1-4 unit residential properties without regard to transaction value or complexity of the appraisal for federally related transactions (FRT) and non-federally related transactions (Non-FRT). May associate with a Certified General Appraiser, who must sign the report, to appraise nonresidential properties.” (From TALCB) |
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| FHA Approved Lenders and FHA Approved Homes in Texas? |
| FHA Approved Homes Aren’t on a List Somewhere Would this house make the list of FHA approved homes? It might - if there were actually a list! Are you looking for a home in Texas that you’ll be buying with an FHA loan, and need the list of FHA approved homes? Unfortunately, there is no list of FHA approved homes. To buy a home with an FHA loan, you need an FHA approved lender, and then you need to find a home that passes the FHA Appraisal Guidelines. So How DO You Find a Texas Property for an FHA Loan? Here is your short list for finding FHA approved homes – details to follow: 1. Find a good real estate agent 2. Find a good mortgage broker or lender (an FHA Approved Lender) – preferably referred by your agent 3. Find a house you can afford with an FHA loan 4. Get the house under contract 5. Get the house inspected to make sure it’s not a total dump 6. Get the house appraised by an FHA Approved Appraiser (your lender handles this part for you) 7. Negotiate Repairs 8. Close and Move in! Low Down Payments Mean You Probably Need an FHA Loan First, if you’re buying a home with an FHA loan, you probably don’t have a lot of money saved up for the down payment and closing costs. That means you’ll need to find a home that fits within BOTH the FHA loan limits and your own financial means, in other words, something you can afford the payments on. In 2012, in most areas of Texas, the upper limit on FHA loans is $271,050. You can find lots of homes to buy with an FHA loan in the Greater Austin Area that are well below that limit. First Things First: Find the Right Mortgage Lender for an FHA Home Loan Before you go shopping for your home, you need to talk to an FHA Approved Lender. By now, you’ve probably already hooked up with a real estate agent. He or she can probably refer you to an FHA approved lender that he or she has worked with well in the past. If you don’t already have an agent, you can still find an FHA lender by checking on the FHA Approved Lender search page on the HUD website (US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the folks behind the FHA loans). This step – finding an FHA approved lender – is really important. You really can’t go shopping for a home until you know how much home you can qualify to buy! The FHA approved lender will take all of your information (how much you earn, how much you owe, how much you have saved), will check your credit scores and can give you a really good idea of how much house you can go shopping for. Now What? Go Shopping! Now that you know how much home you can afford, you can go shopping with your real estate agent. He or she should ask you a lot of questions, to help you find the right area and the right house, based on what you want the most: schools, commute to work and so on. When you find a home you want to buy, within the price range you can afford, you can write an offer with your agent. Although “writing an offer” sounds scary, your agent will be using standard forms used for almost all single-family home purchases in Texas and will be able to walk you through the whole form and answer your questions. If your offer is accepted, you will first get the home inspected by a state-licensed inspector of your choice. Then, if you decide you still want to buy the property, you will let your lender know and he or she will send an FHA appraiser to the property to see if it is worth what it needs to be worth for the loan you want on the property. NOW is when you find out of the home will qualify for an FHA loan. Kind of the long way around for finding FHA approved homes, isn’t it? Safe and Sound: FHA Loan Requirements To meet the FHA appraisal guidelines the home will need to be safe and sound. If it needs repairs to make it safe and sound, the repairs will need to be made before the loan will be approved. Who Determines What Repairs are Needed? The house you have under contract will need two inspections. The first inspection is by a licensed home inspector, and the second inspection is by an FHA approved appraiser who will be a Texas licensed real estate appraiser. If you read our article about FHA Appraisals, you will know what you need to know about how the home you have under contract will be appraised. You will also find information about what “safe and sound” means in that article. You and your agent will need to find the licensed home inspector – your agent might have a list but you should do your own research on this one. The appraisal on the property – to determine the actual market value – will be ordered by your FHA approved lender. The House is Safe and Sound! Now, if all has gone well, the house you want to buy is both safe and sound, in other words, in decent shape, AND it has been determined to be worth as much as the purchase contract amount. When that happens, AND you have finished your loan approval process so both you and the home have been approved for an FHA loan, your home purchase transaction can close – be finalized, and you can move in! The real estate agent you choose to guide you through this process is critical , so make sure you do your research and pick one that knows the area you want to buy a home in, and is willing to explain the things you need to know to buy your FHA approved home! No List, But You’re Still HOME When you first stopped by, you were looking for the list of FHA approved homes. We hope this article helped you understand the basic steps for finding a home that meets FHA loan requirements. If you still have questions, give me – Alison – a call at (512) 585-4758 and I can help you find the answers to the rest of your questions. |
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| Federally Related Transaction: What Is It and Why Should You Care? |
| Federally Related Transactions (US and Texas) – Why We Need the Definition Once upon a time, Savings and Loans (S&Ls) ran amok. FIRREA (Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (aka “Title XI”)) was passed in 1989 in response to the Savings and Loan Crisis after it bankrupted the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). American taxpayers footed the bill for over $75 billion (according to Mortgage News Daily). Definition of “Federally Related Transaction” FIRREA (Title XI) and The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Act (Section 1103.001) of the Texas Occupations Code (Chapter 1103) define a Federally related transaction to be a real estate-related transaction that: Requires the services of an appraiser; and is engaged in, contracted for, or regulated by a federal financial institution regulatory agency. What are Federal Financial Institution Regulatory Agencies? According to Section 1103.003.6-b of the Texas Occupation Code, these are: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; The Office of Thrift Supervision; The National Credit Union Administration; or The successors of any of those agencies. Why Should You Care? A real estate appraisal used in a federally related transaction must be performed by a state-licensed or state-certified appraiser to be considered valid. Who Regulates Texas Appraisers? The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) licenses, certifies and regulates real estate appraisers in Texas. Other states have similar licensing boards. As A Homeowner, Do You Really Need to Know This? The good news for you if you are a homeowner is this: you won’t be the one ordering the appraisal for a federally related transaction. The person ordering the appraisal is usually a mortgage broker or lending institution and the appraiser receiving the appraisal will need to certify that he or she is properly licensed by his or her state to perform the appraisal for the property in question. |
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| Austin Triangle: Upscale and Walkable Living in Austin TX |
| Austin Triangle: Urban Lifestyle Defined We visited the Triangle in Austin late on an overcast April day, drawn by the Wednesday Farmer’s Market and the opportunity to walk around a gawk a bit at the marvelous selection of shops, eateries and nicely landscaped areas. The Austin Triangle is located south of the intersection of Lamar and Guadalupe, north of the UT campus, bounded on the south by West 45th Street. The Austin Triangle was boldly designed to attract urbanites interested in a lifestyle where you can work, play and live in close proximity – much like you might find in older urban city centers where you can walk out of your apartment for dinner at a nice cafe or stroll around the sidewalk-bordered park after a long day of work. Austin Flats, Lofts and Townhomes Over 500 apartments define the edges of the community, lining the sidewalks along Lamar and Guadalupe. The apartments are part of the 22-acre mixed-use community that has space for 120,000 square feet of retail shops, commercial space and of course, lots of restaurants. Architecturally, the Austin Triangle buildings are reminiscent of the Mueller Airport Re-Development Area, another mixed-use development that emphasizes the work-live concept albeit in a more spread-out way. According to the Triangle Residences Website, prices to rent an apartment range from about $1220 for a 650-ish square foot one-bedroom all the way up to $2375 for about 1350 square feet containing 3 bedrooms. Why We Visit We live in NW Austin, land of the sprawling suburbs. We have a golf course and a few parks within walking distance, but sometimes we want more and different things to do – something that reminds us of why we live in Austin! In the Spring and Summer, we visit the Farmer’s Market, and let the kids run around in the water fountain (really, water squirting up out of the pavement). They chow down on fresh-fruit icees and beg for locally made organic tamales. Before heading home, we load up on free-range, locally-produced beef or pork, fresh produce like beets and tomatoes, and maybe an armload of flowers or a few pots of herbs for the garden. My parents dragged us to a Farmer’s Market when I was little, and I want my own kids to “get” the difference between the mass-produced, low-flavor vegetables in the stores and what you get when you buy locally grown food that may have only been out of the dirt since early that morning. We Would Live Like This If We Could If we didn’t have 5 kids and work out of our home, we’d love to live in a place like the Austin Triangle. Years living in Brooklyn, NY hammered in the benefits of being able to walk a block and grab a sandwich or the newspaper and some flowers, plus light fare for dinner later on. For now, though, we’ll visit during the week and taste just a little bit of the urban lifestyle enjoyed by the Austinites living this bold and beautiful life. Google Map of Triangle Austin TX View Larger Map |
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| Tilt Shift Lens: Avoiding Perspective Distortion |
| The Tilt Shift Lens Avoids Perspective Distortion Have you ever wondered how the architectural photography you see in magazine and coffee table books avoids the architectural perspective distortion commonly seen as FOBS (Falling-Over Building Syndrome) that plagues most amateur real estate photographs, including the majority of those taken for listing real estate for sale? See the really crappy architectural photography example at right in the photo we took in Taylor, Texas last month. (Seriously, we took that one and brought it home to edit planning to use it on this site, and not as an example of bad real estate photography!) The answer to correct architectural perspective lies in the use of a very specific type of lens called a Tilt and Shift lens (through frequently called a Tilt Shift Lens). More specifically, the Shift part of this type of lens permits the photographer to eliminate, or reduce architectural perspective distortion. How Does Perspective Distortion in Photography Happen? What do we naturally do when we want to photograph something that is too tall for the normal view of the camera? We lean back and point our camera upwards, effectively tilting the plane of the sensor of the camera away from the building. Even a little tilt like this can introduce visible perspective distortion. If we’re really lucky, or really in a hurry, we might not even be standing front-and-center of the building, and then we have a leaning back, leaning over, all edges wonky building in our photo, like the first one in this article. To give you some incentive for reading more, here are two photographs to better illustrate what I’m talking about, although both were taken with the same Canon 24mm f/3.5L Tilt Shift Lens, only the second one employed the Shift function of the lens. Bad: Distortion Better: Less Distortion with a Tilt Shift Lens Now, that wouldn’t be the best example of architectural photography or real estate photography but it should suffice for the purposes of this article. I was really trying, really I was, to get you a few really good ones. We packed up the kids, and headed over to my current favorite spot for architectural photos in Austin (Mueller), had dinner, then located the PERFECT building! It was tall, well-lit at night and free of parked cars in front. I enlisted my 9 year old son’s help and set up the tripod and the camera. And then, Oh No! No CF card! Augh! Not in the camera, my bag or the car! Augh! Drove home, grabbed the CF card and went back to the Arboretum with just my 4 year old son in tow. While he worried me by playing on the grass of the parking median, doing flips and singing really loud songs, I set up the tripod in the middle of the street and waved cars around me while I grabbed a few shots for this article using the tilt shift lens that has become my favorite lens of all time! Methods for Avoiding or Correcting for Architectural Perspective Distortion There are a few different ways to avoid, or correct for the perspective distortion in real estate photography commonly seen as FOBS (Falling-Over Building Syndrome). Let’s talk about the ones that don’t use a tilt shift lens, first. 1. Back Up, No, Back Up Even More You can back way up, until the whole building is in your viewfinder, without having to tilt your camera upwards. The main advantage of the Back Up, No, Back Up Even More approach is that you can use any camera, even a point and shoot. Disadvantages of the Back Up, No, Back Up Even More approach, however, are many. You might be so far across the street that your images are full of cars and pedestrians, trees and utility poles. You lose significant details of the building because so many of the pixels in the images are full of the stuff you didn’t want in your picture (people, cars, etc.). 2. Stand on Something Really Tall You could also stand on something really tall, like a really tall ladder, or take your image from the roof of a building across the street, or out of the edge of a parking garage. The main advantage of the Stand on Something Really Tall approach is that you can use any camera, even a point and shoot. The disadvantages of the Stand on Something Really Tall approach are many. I mean, really, who carries a 20 foot ladder with them? How many homeowners or business are going to let you on their roof? How many fantastic architectural specimens or multi-story homes are across from a parking garage? 3. Correct in “Post” Some degree of perspective distortion can be corrected in post-processing, i.e. on your computer, to mimic the effect of using an actual tilt shift lens. Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop both have the ability to adjust images to re-align out-of-alignment edges and leaning buildings. The main advantage of the Correct in “Post” approach is that you can use any camera, even a point and shoot. The disadvantages of the Correct in “Post” approach are many. You have to edit each photo individually, to pull the top or the edges of the building back into alignment. (I’ll be writing another article on this soon). You lose some of your resolution because your adjusted image will have wonky edges and will need to be re-cropped, which cuts out some of your data. Your image is unlikely to really look “right” because you’re effectively compressing some of the data and expanding some of the rest, so the clarity and sharpness of detail won’t be consistent. 4. Use an Ultra Wide-Angle Lens Ultra wide-angle lenses will permit you to get closer to a building while avoiding some of the need to tilt the camera back to get all of the subject in the frame. The main advantage of the Use an Ultra Wide-Angle Lens approach is that a wide-angle or ultra-wide angle lens like the Canon 10-20mm can be purchased for most DLSR cameras, and even the iPhone has a little lens that can be attached to increase the angle of view. One (significant) disadvantage of the Use an Ultra Wide-Angle Lens approach is that most wide-angle lenses have distortion at the edges. You may have avoided some of the distortion associated with FOBS (Falling-Over Building Syndrome), but you will likely introduce edge distortion and your pictures still won’t look professional. *Whew*, now that we’ve covered some of what you might have been thinking when you first started reading this article, we can get on to the good stuff: 5. Use a Tilt Shift Lens The most exacting approach, as you may have guessed by now, is to use a Tilt Shift Lens, commonly designed and sold as a Tilt and Shift Lens. Using a Tilt Shift Lens, or more specifically, a Shift Lens essentially makes the camera think you ARE on top of a really tall ladder, while keeping the plane of the camera’s sensor parallel to the face of the building. It does this by shifting the lens up a few (or many) millimeters relative to the camera’s sensor. A few millimeters mat not seem like a lot but when you figure the sensor of a full-frame Canon camera like the 5D Mark II is 24mm high, a few millimeters is actually quite a lot. Clear as mud? I thought so! Here is another tilt shift lens illustration that might help. The Canon Tilt+Shift Lenses We have a single tilt+shift lens from Canon, the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II. This lens is a wide-angle lens that is amazingly sharp and distortion-free from edge to edge which means we can take photographs free of architectural distortion. This lens has +/- 12mm of shift capabilities and +/- 8.5 degrees of tilt. (The glorious benefits of Tilt will be the basis of another article). My Canon 5D Mark II is a full-frame camera, with a 24x36mm sensor. This means that the 12mm of shift in the lens is 50% of the height of the sensor. In easier terms, this means that as I shift the lens up, while watching the effect using the Live View feature of the camera (the screen on the back), it’s like someone is raising the camera 10, 20 or more feet in the air. That means even pretty tall buildings can be encompassed in the frame without having to lean the camera back at an angle – see the images of the Cheesecake Factory earlier in this article – a building that is probably the equivalent of 4 to 5-stories tall. I did a LOT of research before buying this lens, and even then, I erroneously thought it was the Tilt function I needed. When the sales guy (Cole) at Precision Camera here in Austin told me it was the Shift feature, I was baffled. I kept asking (over and over and over, because that is how I am), why that was better than just squatting down low, or raising the tripod up higher. I even demonstrated my question by squatting down and jumping up for him. I didn’t get it, at all, that the 12mm of shift is relative to the sensor of the camera (24mm high), NOT relative to the height of the camera vs. the building. I had to see it to believe it, so now it is time for a little bit of video so you can see it, too. Other Canon Tilt Shift Lenses Canon makes several lens in their tilt shift line-up. The two most popular ones with architectural photographers are the one we have, and the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L UD Aspherical Ultra Wide Tilt-Shift Lens. Check out the video – you might decide that a tilt+shift lens is the next one on your list, too! |
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| Maya Star: A South Congress Shop to Visit in Austin |
| South Congress Shopping: Maya Star We ran downtown this evening after dinner to Austin’s over-the-top costume store Lucy in Disguise on South Congress to get a tri-corner hat for Sam’s school performance tomorrow morning. Yeah, we hate last-minute school-stuff-for-tomorrow errands just as much as you do. Since we don’t get down to SoCo that often, I dragged along my camera and the Tilt/Shift lens, hoping to grab just a few architectural shots of some older buildings between Elizabeth and Monroe. Lots of South Congress shops are located in really funky old buildings that have even funkier facades and signs out front and that makes for some interesting photographic subjects. I didn’t get 10 feet out of the costume store with my $8 hat before falling under the spell of one of the marvelous little South Congress boutiques you hear people rave about in Austin: Maya Star. Yeah, This Isn’t About Real Estate What makes living in Austin so compelling is that we have all sorts of locally-owned, one-of-a-kind or first-of-a-kind stores you don’t find in a lot of other cities. If you like clothing and jewelry that stands apart from the big box stores and brands, you can wander down South Congress, south of the bridge, and find all sorts of boutiques offering everything. Everything, meaning: handmade jewelry, exotic silk scarves, glorious stiletto heels, vintage frocks and Jackie O type coats. All mixed in with screen-printed local band t-shirts and ripped up jeans. While you’re at it, you can get a tattoo, snarf a cupcake and try on some vintage cowboy boots. If that doesn’t wear you out, pull up a curb and just watch all of the interesting people go by. You won’t be disappointed – there is always someone interesting to look at on South Congress. Sometimes you just have to visit to get it. Maya Star: from Work to Play to an Evening Out Maya Star, at 1508 South Congress (just south of Monroe and just north of the parking lot full of vintage airstream food trailers) offers the kind of clothes you feel glorious wearing: fun and flirty pieces you can layer under a jacket if your office is over air-conditioned, then skip out of the office in after work to meet friends for drinks without wanting to go home and change first. This is the kind of store that makes South Congress in Austin a destination, not just something you drive down on the way home after working downtown. The racks were full of beautifully neutral pieces mixed in with colorful florals, stripes and whimsically ruffled dresses. Coral and teal fabrics – the good kind, not the condo-in-Florida kind – popped off the racks to add just the perfect splash of color to a spring and summer wardrobe. The adorable ruffled dress in the photo below was featured in the March 2011 issue of Glamour magazine. Stuff like that. Really really pretty stuff like that. Prices range from just under $100 for some of the earrings to several hundred a pair. Beautifully styled leather bags were $300 to $400+ (including ones from sought-after designer Rebecca Minkhoff) and dresses ranged from $40-ish to several hundred, with a nice selection at all of the price points in-between. This is not a store full with every piece in every size – which means you are far less likely to see someone else wearing your most recent find. Chatting with the Owner of Maya Star One thing I love about living in Austin is that everyone seems to want to talk about photography. Like I said at the beginning, I didn’t mean to spend an hour in a clothing boutique, it just happened. It happened because while setting up the tripod on the sidewalk outside and fiddling with the Tilt/Shift (to avoid architectural distortion of the tall building facade), one of the owners of Maya Star, Richard Gordoa, walked out and struck up a conversation about my camera. And, ooooh, I love love love my camera and anyone that wants to talk gets the whole tour. After a few minutes, I had my exterior shots and spying a bright orange dress peeking through the doorway, asked if he’d mind if I took a few interior photos. The rest is history, Austin history. Or actually, Austin in the here and now. Visit South Congress, visit Maya Star, and scarf a cupcake from Hey Cupcake on your way home. Maya Star 1508 South Congress Austin, Texas 78704 (512) 912-1475 The rest of the Maya Star photos are on my Flickr Stream. Google Map for Maya Star on South Congress You’ll find Maya Star on South Congress between Monroe and Elizabeth, on the western side of the street. View Larger Map |
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