Austin Real Estate Blog

solar panel qualifying for a solar incentive

Will Austin be giving away free solar arrays? No, of course not, but a new program which allows home owners to obtain low interest loans to install solar arrays has begun. The program will allow people to cut their electric bills while paying the loan on their property taxes. This is aimed at making the transition to green living easier on the Austin home owner.

The expected amount added to one’s property tax bill would be about equal to the amount saved on energy from the grid; meaning no impact to the typical home budget.  Since Austin exempts most renewable home improvements, including solar, from a home’s property tax valuation, the homeowner also adds value to the property, without increasing the taxable value of the home.  A green step forward is fiscally available for any Austin home owner interested in the upgrade.

With a large enough roof system, you could effectively remove yourself from the electrical grid. Or you could sell your extra power back to the utility. You’ll still want a back-up system, just in case of another hurricane like Katrina. Would this affect the electricity supplier in the area? It might. Too many people cutting back at once could strain the local utility. In the long run such a strain would be minor compared to the benefits that will come from the shift.

The largest obstacles to success might be keeping up with the rebates. $4 million was allocated for the fiscal year starting Oct 1, 2009. At this time more than $3 million has already been allocated.

In keeping with the goal of becoming a green state, Texas has strived forward, establishing itself as a leader in green energy. Recently there have been several alternative energy resources that people are watching closely, among them is wind energy. To some the results are astonishing; however to Texans it is nothing new.

When a person thinks about wind-generated electricity, he sees those huge windmills, the long blades whirling in the breeze. And the state that leads the way in wind-generated power is Texas. The increase of 436 megawatts in the 3rd quarter brings her total wind-power capacity to nearly 8800 Megawatts, or approximately 28% of the total U.S. wind-generated power. California, by Comparison, generates less than 3000 megawatts by wind.

The Texas wind generation plants produce enough to power 2.5 million homes. Compare that to the total U.S. of 9 million. Texas is a true leader in this field.

The production of wind turbines is down because of the recession, but Texas still pushes ahead. And it has nearly three times the turbine-power megawatts of Iowa. Taking the steps to move forward with clean energy it will not be long before the country turns to Texas once again to see what to do correctly.

The American Wind Energy Association credits the stimulus bill for helping complete energy projects and for starting new ones.

Water treatment plant (activated sludge tank)

The Austin city council has a battle brewing over water, or, more accurately, over a water treatment plant. A city the size of Austin needs water treatment plants. They have 3, and the push is on for a fourth. However, the city council is divided. Some members don’t want it, and plan to push for a conservation measure which would consider infrastructure management and drought, demand, and regional supply. Although all of these issues should be considered, the benefit of the additional plant is also being considered.

Current projections indicate the proposed fourth water treatment plant would cause water bills to rise 15%. The conservation measure mentioned above is likely to be introduced to the council on November 5, 2009. Each measure will later come before council for a vote. The current anticipated vote seems to be 4-3 in favor of the plant. If this proposal carries, those against the plan could opt to bring forward another resolution to direct the city’s manager to find ways to lessen the impact on lower-income families.

As the efforts continue, both conservation and water treatment are on the table for discussion. Only time will show us if a solid, beneficial compromise will be reaches by both sides. Back up measures are being created in case a compromise is not reached.

Increase in construction billing is a positive sign, but spending will lag a while longer.

The big factor is time-lag between billings and construction spending, which is between 9 and 12 months. A score below 50 indicates a decline in demand, and the current U.S. score is 43.1 for September, 2009. But it reflects a slight increase from the 41.7 from August.

However, new construction inquiries are up, showing a nice 59.1 percent increase. This could be showing that the government’s stimulus program is working. Or, it could be showing the stiff competition in the business is resulting in multiple submissions. The outlook depends upon the reality of this number’s creation. The optimistic eye will be hopeful, pointing at the stimulus program. It’s believed that some big stimulus projects will be beginning soon, helping to counter the big decline in private commercial construction.

It helps to look at one other factor: The rating for inquiries is the highest it has been in 2 years. That is encouraging. However, the only way to be certain is to watch October’s numbers, which should help us determine whether or not this is just a temporary upswing, or just a hillock which we have glided over. Until November, we can’t be certain of the figures final application. We must proceed with caution; not with unbridled enthusiasm. Yet, being too cautious could spell more difficulties. It’s hard to know where to set your accelerator when your speedometer isn’t working.

OK. so last week all of the Austin Board of Realtor members had to change in their dKeys for the new, the wonderful, the unnecessary ActiveKey.

Why? I don’t know.

I loved my dKey. It was simple, small, had a great battery life, and worked. Yes, it did have to be placed in a charger to synch with the server and allow you to access lock boxes, but since everyone had a cradle and became accustomed to using the cradle to charge/synch, routine set in very quickly. Come home from a day of work, plop your keys down, cradle your dKey, take off shoes, relax. No big deal.

My first reaction to seeing the new and wonderful ActiveKey, was why the hell is it so big? Then I picked t up. Uh oh. It’s flimsy.  Basically, we now have a Jitterbug ActiveKey. You know the Jitterbug. The phone for the elderly who can’t figure out new fangled feature rich cell phones.

Check out the side by side..

Ok. Maybe I’m being too harsh. So I thought I’d give it a try.

The battery lasts about a day and a half if not plugged in, so doing away with the cradle is pretty much moot now since you have to plug the thing in every day anyway.

I went to show a house this morning and when I tried to turn on the key…. nothing. It had been plugged in all night. So I plugged it into the car charger and tried to turn it on. I was greeted with a descending tone, but no lights. Grr.. So I called the supra folks and I need to find a paperclip or needle (both of which I regularly carry on me) to reset the key. Dug through my glove box and found a piece of wire that would do. Reset and tried to turn it on. It came on, but with a low battery warning. Apparently, it didn’t charge, hold a charge, or the charger is broken.

Basically, I’d rather have my dkey back.

I did find it funny that GE advertises that the key is design by agents.  I’m not sure that’s a great selling feature, but whatever.

Hey GE… what can you do to make this Activekey thing better? I’ve got a few suggestions.

• higher capacity battery
• reduce the size, technology gets smaller, not larger
• back light the keypad for 30 seconds when a key is pressed, if it’s dark I can’t see the back light key to turn the back light on
• remove the on/off key, GE meatball button, and the backlight key to reduce the size of the unit
• how about a toggle switch for on/off if you need one, seems like any key pressed could turn the unit on and a timeout could turn it off
• keys that press, click, or something to let you know that you clicked them
• reset that doesn’t need a needle or paperclip to work, think hold keys 1,4,7 or something like that
• how about a color? if a real estate professional designed this it would be more pleasing to the eye :)

The number 107 doesn’t seem like a big number when you are talking home sales. But when existing home sales increase; it can be a good sign. In Austin, that 107 totals 6%. That’s a 6% increase in sales from last September, and it does make the economy seem a little more rosy than it was.

The median price increased, too, on a single family home in the Austin area. It is small, but noticeable. A 2% increase can only mean good for the sellers, and since the prices are on the way up, it means that someone has a little more to spend. Total quarterly sales from last year are still down, but hard times for the housing sales may finally be over.

We must remember, however: we are approaching the end date of the $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. In order to qualify for that credit, a home buyer must close on the property by November 30, 2009. It can be a slow process, anywhere from 14 days to 2 months. We could see a spurt in the growth of sales until November 30th, and then a drop. Currently congress is reviewing several bills that would extend the tax credit, but to date, none have passed. Keeping an eye on congress will help gauge the next phase in housing development.  There are still a lot of possibilities. If the recession is finally coming to an end, it will be good news for everyone.

Hold on to your hats, Austin. The wild ride may not be over.

It’s not difficult to find mixed-use developments in any large city; Austin is no exception to this. At this moment, there is a developer that wishes to add another mixed-use development near the capitol. The project is called Capitol Terrace, and it is situated on the south-west corner of 14th Street and Lavaca. There is another mixed-use development just blocks away.

downtown development with tree lined streets

The city council would need to approve a zoning change for this quarter-block development, because the proposed height of the building (12 stories, up to 163 feet tall) is higher than the maximum currently permitted in the area (120 feet).

To say that this development would have “a little of everything” would be accurate. It is projected to have 5 floors of office space, or about 61,000 square feet. It would have 30 higher-end apartments for those with business at the Capitol. That could be lobbyists, or legislators. It would have small shops such as gift shops, and a white-tablecloth restaurant. It is also slated to have 5 levels for parking, of which 2 would be under-ground levels. Currently, only one lease would be displaced by the new development.

Pedestrians would be treated to spacious, tree-lined sidewalks.

The proposed zoning change is expected to be heard on December 12, 2009. If approved, construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2010.

When you are preparing to purchase a house it is crucial to know how much house you can afford. One of the best means of learning that is by going through the process of prequalification. This empowers you as the home buyer to know where to look and what you can manage. It also arms you with the knowledge that when you purchase your home, it will not become more than you can handle in the future.

The first step to pre-qualification is gauging your annual salary. This basic information provided to a mortgage company informs them how much you could reasonably put into a loan, and how it will relate to your other living expenses.

The next part of the pre-qualification process assesses how long it will take to pay off the loan. With this in mind there are several additional areas to factor in. Specific formulas take into account cost-of-living increases, normal living expenses, your salary and often a slight overage. This facilitates creating the best timeline for repayment.

By the end of the process, the outline for the ideal loan will be laid out, including payments and structure. This enables you to move forward with your purchase confident from the beginning.

While many home loan companies banked on a rising housing bubble, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) remained steady with regulations and guidelines. This has allowed them to continuously support middle and lower income families and their effort to move into a home. When the housing bubble broke, the FHA continued as it had during the housing bubble.

The rules and guidelines for obtaining FHA loans have allowed the organization to maintain solid footing through a fiscal and real estate crisis. This means that FHA loans have been secured and have avoided the pitfalls of many banks and mortgage institutions.

With this solid footing in mind and all of the recent federal spending, Commissioner Dave Stevens has announced some new, appropriate steps to protect the tax payers backing FHA loans. The modifications are shifting the responsibility for the mortgages from the taxpayers who have shouldered it thus far to the lenders using mortgage brokers for the FHA home loan process. This enables a shield of protection for the taxpayers. Additionally, the FHA has modified requirements for appraisers, calling attention to geographic competence and appraiser independence from mortgage brokers and loan companies. This protects the home buyer and seller with a more accurate appraisal. Lastly, the approval process has been revamped with spot approvals removed and some loosening of the commercial space limits on subject properties.

With these changes, the Federal Housing Administration stands alone in the mortgage industry, and on solid ground. They are moving steady through the dangerous waters of real estate and economic decline. As always, give us a call if you have questions when seeking a FHA home loan or need information about your real estate related question.

The process of purchasing a home or property is often confusing enough without the industry jargon. In an effort to alleviate that confusion that comes from some of the jargon, below is a short list of terms and the meanings. In order to help further the understanding of terms associated with the real estate purchase process here are some mortgage specific definitions and explanations.

Two step Mortgage – this is a hybrid home loan that starts as a fixed rate for an agreed upon number of years. When those years have passed the interest rate will become adjustable. Some examples of this kind of mortgage are the 5 and 7 One ARM (adjustable rate mortgage)

Balloon Mortgage – this is a steady monthly mortgage that will amortize over time and will provide a lump sum payment due at the end of the term. This price will cover interest, principle, and in rare cases taxes. Amortization can and does occur over a long period of time, even beyond the loan term.

Budget Loan – the loan payments for this are designed to cover taxes, insurance, interest and principle on the home mortgage loan. This is a convenient method of assuring your homes needs are covered. It is also possible to do the same with an escrow account.

Your Austin real estate agent will be well versed in the industry terms. With that in mind they will be able to help you to understand what applies directly to your situation and what should. Ask questions or refer back to this site for more informative data.