Sherry's Austin TX Real Estate Blog: October 2009

Can you believe it? I feel like I just finished cleaning up from the last year! I am getting an earlier start this year. So, I am here to remind you too. All I want for Christmas is your referrals….

Sherry Scales, REALTOR®

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512.925.8928 

sherry@sherryscales.com

www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com to search for homes.

I am never too busy for your referrals.

Remember after you have stolen examined all your children’s candy. Eaten all the leftovers from your own stash….And everyone is headed to bed in a sugar comma….. Don’t forget to set your clocks back! Perhaps your costume this year could be Day Light Savings Time. A costume and a community reminder!

Need a reason to call someone?  Remind them of the time change this weekend!

Let’s start your home search today. www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com

Are newspapers going to the wayside? So many of us go to the internet now for news, Craigslist for jobs or buys is now the classified ads… and there is a website for almost everything! I know newspapers and magazine companies are laying off people. Companies are doing away with print ads. Even real estate agents don’t advertise like we used to.

Remember how giant the newspaper was the day after Thanksgiving. Took two of us to lift it off the end of the drive way. Last year it looked like the normal Sunday paper.

Both sets of our parents have their noses in those papers first thing every morning when we go visit them. They are not computer folks, they are retired, and the newspaper is something they enjoy as the television just doesn’t give all the local news. These days if you want to enjoy the newspaper with a cup of coffee, you had better drink fast…because the papers have gotten so thin, they don’t take long to read anymore.

What is next to go to the wayside….Magazines? Yellow Pages? Land Lines? Dial up Internet? Answering Machines? Camera’s that use film? DVD players? Video stores?

I was on the web tonight looking for some Christmas ideas and ran across the talking scale. Got me to thinking....How loud does it talk? Does is speak in a whisper?  Is it a male or female voice?  Would weighing in private now have to be done when no one else was home?  When I stepped on it, would it scream "One at a time, Please!"  

Then I see the Electronic Remote Weight Monitor Scale.  I think, my goodness....does it weight you from a distance?  No, you stand on it, and the hand help remote tells you the weight.  I guess this is for pregnant women who can no longer see their feet?   Well, it does go one to say there is a 550 lb weight limit. Well, I am not even going there.  I am just thankful I can still see my feet.  

There are some things one should never give as a gift...This idea is one of them!

Let's get you in a new home before the holidays.    www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com 

Are you a good HOA? Or are you a bad HOA? They are not all created equal. Generally when we sell a home in a subdivision that has an HOA, the buyers don’t get all the HOA rules and regulation until after the closing. Well, they need to see them first. You need to know what you are getting into!

A couple years ago I sold a home to a first time home buyer. He worked for a heating and air conditioning company, and drove a company truck. Well in this particular subdivision, you cannot park a vehicle with advertising on it in your drive way. Well, the truck was about 10 inches too tall to get into the garage with the ladders and etc. on it. We drove around the neighborhood, and seen at least 15 vehicles sitting in driveways. Cable companies, etc. A very clean and nice looking sub-division. They knew going in what the rules were, and they wanted to buy anyway. First week after they moved in, they got the letter! They are still there, so guess they worked it out…but had me thinking.

I totally understand the reasoning behind a HOA. It is to keep the neighborhood clean and appealing to keep the home values up, and some offer amenities that the average home owner cannot afford, such as a swimming pool or tennis court, and keep the common areas looking nice. It keeps your neighbors from having the sofa on the front porch, and the toilet planter at the street, and grass a foot tall.

But saying you can’t work for a company, and drive a company car, that won’t fit into your garage? Remember, we are talking Austin and the surrounding area…Builders don’t build garages large enough for anything except small cars or small trucks generally. I can understand if you drive a semi truck, you can’t get that in a drive way, and I imagine it would block driveways parked in the street… But, I wouldn‘t mind knowing that my neighbor works for the local cable company, or is a plumber…or they know that I am a REALTOR®.

I have a client that lives in a gated community, and they are not allowed to have wreaths on their doors. Now that is brutal! No holiday wreaths!

When builders build a subdivision, generally a HOA group is assigned, and after the subdivision is built out, they will elect officers. This is the time to remember to that this is your subdivision. Rules can be added or taken away if it is put before the board and voted on at a meeting. Get involved in your community! You don’t have to be an officer if you don’t want to be, but the officers always need help, and would welcome your involvement.

Let’s start your home search today. www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com

Home Owners Insurance-What you don’t know. Did you know there are different kinds of Home Owners Insurance? Most agents don’t tell you that however. When you call and say you are buying a home and need to get insurance…they give you the basic Home Owners Policy. You are covered for most things you can think of, but they neglect to tell you that they depreciate items over time.

Example: You bought a home, and a hail storm comes through and you need new shingles. You think, I have a $500 deductible and insurance will pay the rest. Think again! You have 20 year shingles in the home, and they are really only good for about 15 years…the singles are 10 years old, so they are only going to pay one third the cost of the roof. So if it is $6000 to install new shingles, you have to pay $4500. HOWEVER! If you had purchased Replacement Value insurance, you would pay your $500 deductible only.

The things we learn in life lessons. My home had been broke into about 15 years ago. They stole jewelry, TV’s, etc. I had receipts, photos and those things that most folks probably don’t have. Well by the time they depreciated out the TV’s and VCR’s, etc. I didn’t get squat! Unless you have a jewelry rider on your policy, there is a small limit of usually $1000 for jewelry and computers and such. I had about $38,000 in property stolen that I had receipts and photos for, and I received a check for $1050.00 from the insurance company.

So I always let my home buyers know to ask about Replacement Value Insurance. It isn’t that much more a year, and believe me it will more than pay for itself if you only ever need it even once.

You still need Jewelry or Computer riders if you have more than the company’s allotted amount.

Also…did you know when you buy a car, and get the life insurance to pay if off if something happens to you…that the insurance company can cancel it within the first two years. So, if something were to happen to you or a spouse, all they have to do is refund the monies you paid to date and they are off the hook. It is true! It’s in the small print! (Another life experience)

Start your search for a home at www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com .

How can people have no pride? Isn’t concept of being clean just common sense? You don’t have to look at too many foreclosure properties to wonder about people. Folks letting their homes get so bad. No… “Bad” doesn’t even cover it…filthy, nasty, disgusting, and unsanitary.

If you can’t afford a vacuum cleaner…Don’t buy a home. If you can’t operate a cleansing pad….Don’t buy a home. If you don’t understand the term “Clean up your mess”…Don’t buy a home! If soap and water isn’t something you use on a daily basis…Don’t buy a home!   And,(sniff) could you stand over there?

Homes require maintenance. You don’t call the super or the owner to fix something….That person is you! If you can’t take care of a home and do the required maintenance…then contact a real estate agent and get it on the market before you let it deteriorate. Don’t expect full price offers either. They buyer is going to have to clean up and fix your mess.

At closing…New home owners are told…You don’t pay….You don’t stay. It’s not like you didn’t have warning. Homeowners who are having money problems, and think they could lose their home, better contact an agent and get it on the market or attempt a short sale. No good comes from denying there is a problem. At this point you can always buy another home when things get back to normal. I am amazed at the denial people go through! But selling off appliances, destroying the property…down to taking off light switch plates and removing light bulbs? The mentality of a person who would do this is just so childish.

I personally believe the people who do this…should be held accountable for what they have done. I was raised to believe that no matter how much or how little you had, you always took care of it.

Start your search for a home at www.Luxury-Homes-in-Austin.com .

Arthur I. Tuss – My new friend I can’t shake….

For anyone who doesn’t know, I was walking a dog, tripped on a sidewalk and fell and broke my elbow last December. I am still dealing with other issues that came from that fall. They recently found I also tore a tendon in my shoulder from that fall, and I have developed arthritis in my shoulder, back, hips, knees, and feet.

You don’t get arthritis just because you are old. They say arthritis can develop after any fall or injury. Symptoms of arthritis may include chronic pain and difficulty with movement. It doesn’t discriminate against age or gender either. Here are 4 symptoms if you are not familiar with them…

  1. You can have swelling and redness of the skin that may get worse as you go through the day. Pain that can get worse during physical activity or from sitting in one position for too long.

  2. Sleeping can be difficult as it is hard to find a comfortable sleeping position that does not worsen your pain. You may be stiff, especially when you first wake up in the morning or after you have been in one position for a long period of time.

  3. Reduced motion and range of movement are symptoms of arthritis in your hips that make it difficult for you to climb stairs, step into a tall vehicle or exercise.

  4. Arthritis can slow down your speed of movement due to inflammation and wearing down of your cartilage.

I may still have to have shots or surgery on my shoulder, but just finding out what was causing my pain has been a relief.  I have tendinitis and bursitis now in that shoulder. But a very small tear, and hoping no surgery.

I have had to change the way I show homes. If the house is owner occupied, I will go upstairs with clients. However, if it is a vacant home…My client can take the stairs, I will wait down stairs. I showed 30 homes one day, 27 were 2 story homes. I could not move the next day! But, I am learning to deal with it! I have been given an anti-inflammatory drug for arthritis, so I can make it through the day much easier, and feel like I am getting more back to normal. I absolutely love what I do, and can’t let mean ole Arthur I. Tuss hold me back.

We are being short sheeted! Anyone besides me happen to notice what they are doing with toilet paper? They are cutting the rolls narrower. Oh, we have just as many sheets per roll…they are just about 1 inch narrower than they used to be.

We have had to put up with all most everything being made smaller at the same cost to us so companies could save money. It was bad enough when hamburger patties were smaller than before. Then candy bars were smaller (however they didn’t make my backside any smaller). My 5 lb. bag of sugar is not 5 lbs. anymore…I think they are more like 4 lbs. But when they make toilet paper smaller….what is next? Is nothing sacred anymore?

PS: One of my most appreciated little house warming gifts, that is always at the home before they arrive…It is a fly swatter, a plunger, a roll of paper towels and at least a 4 pack of toilet paper. I usually get a phone call the following day thanking me…especially for the TP!