Romeo Manzanilla - Austin Realtor

As we approach the 65th day of 100 degree temperatures in the Austin area, I am reminded how important it is to choose not only a home that fits your lifestyle, but also, how important the orientation of the home really is. The back of my home faces West, but luckily, my backyard is completely shaded by large oak trees, but some of my neighbors are not so lucky. If your backyard faces West, and you don't have much shade, using your backyard in the afternoon can be nearly hopeless. Of course if you have a pool in your backyard, that is a completely different story. Some things to keep in mind when choosing a home are:

·How energy efficient is the home

·Are the windows single pane, double pane, aluminum or vinyl?

·Does the attic have a radiant barrier?

·Does the yard have an irrigation system?

·How old and what is the efficiency rating of the HVAC system?

·Cold the home benefit from the addition of additional venting of the roof?

·What is the orientation of the home and are there trees to provide shade?

Aside from discomfort from the heat, some of the issues that you may find as a result of an extremely hot summer is that the soil around the home may contract which could lead to foundation issues. Keeping your yard and foundation watered will help keep your landscaping alive and at the same time, will help you to avoid possible structural issues down the road.

Your home is probably the largest investment you'll make in your lifetime. Choosing a home that not only suits your lifestyle, but that it is also easy to maintain will free up your time to spend those hot summer days enjoying the lake.

To learn more about Austin Real Estate, visit my site at www.romeom.com

Recently, I’ve had several prospective clients contact me only days before their property is suppose to go to the foreclosure auction on the court steps. If find myself asking “why do these people wait until it is too late to contact me about listing their home for a short sale?” The answer is not a simple one. I think that there is a lot of psychology that goes into the realization that you are about to lose your home. Most people in financial distress usually put keeping their home as the last priority in making their way out of the financial issues. First on their list are their immediate needs, food, transportation, utilities and childcare.  In Texas, we have an accelerated foreclosure process, the second fastest one in the US. Some of these prospective clients live in states such as California and Arizona where the foreclosure process can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. That is typically not the case in Texas where the entire process can take as few as 60 days. I think that by the time that some of these investors realize that the mortgage lender is not bluffing about their property going to foreclosure and that they are not going to be able to do the loan modification that they thought they would be able to do, it’s too late to save their property from foreclosure. Obviously, if there is a demonstrated financial distress and the homeowner qualifies to do an FHA short sale or a prospective buyer has put in an offer on potentially a conventional short sale, we may be able to get the home saved from foreclosure but with the last couple of calls this hasn’t been the case. Calling the Friday evening before the auction on the following Tuesday is too late. People have to realize that the mortgage banks short sale departments are not open on the weekend and the red tape that is involved with getting a foreclosure postponed can be daunting.  Though not every short sale is successful, giving yourself the time necessary to work with the bank and the short sale realtor only improves your chances of successfully walking away from a property with the bank having taken the hit on the deficiency and you walking away with your sanity and peace of mind. To learn more about short sales, visit my short sale page at http://www.romeom.com/Austin_Short_Sale_Assistance/page_2182165.html .

This is something that I hear at least once a week when speaking to perspective clients. In the greater Austin area, there is quite a bit of new home construction especially in areas such as Round Rock and Cedar Park. Most of the home builders have a sales office in each one of their communities with on-site sales agents that are ready to assist homebuyers with the purchase of one of their homes. Given that a buyer can just walk into the model home, be wowed by the sales agent and sign a purchase contract without being represented by a Realtor, why do they even need a Realtor? The answer is quite simple. Where you may be involved in a home purchase every six or eight years, I am involved with 20-30 home purchases EVERY year. I've seen numerous examples where buyers felt that they would get a better deal from the builder if the builder didn't have to pay the Realtor's commission. The truth is that those people usually end up paying too much because they weren't aware of the potentially undisclosed incentives that sometimes aren't offered up front. Take for example a recent experience that I had with a potential client. After showing him various locations to consider, he went back to one of the builder's  sales offices and asked if they purchased a home unrepresented, could they negotiate on their own behalf to get a better deal. Of course the builder agreed to this knowing that the prospective buyer didn't have access to really verify if they got a good deal or not. In this situation, the buyer ended up paying about $15,000 too much for the property. How do I know that? Because when he finally returned my calls and told me that he had already purchased a home and what he paid for it, I emailed him recent comparables that had sold for at least $15,000 less than what he had paid for! With all of those other comparables, a Realtor had been involved and had been able to negotiate a better deal than the buyer was able to do on their own. Given that the Realtor's commission is paid by the builder, then why wouldn't you agree to FREE representation to make sure that you got the best deal possible?

For more information about Austin Real Estate visit my site at www.romeom.com