Let’s agree, buying a home can be emotional, unnerving and bewilderingly complex; avoiding the most expensive first time home buyer mistakes will make it less so. Here you’ll find the five most expensive mistakes Austin first time home buyers make and some tips for how to avoid making them in your home search. Mistake #1: […]
Austin Home Buyer Tips
Looking for tips to make your home buying experience fun and stress fee? Want to learn what professional buyer's agents look for in a house? Find out our best buyer tips on our Austin Home Buyer Tips Blog.
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What are Closing Costs and Who Pays Them in Austin?
Whether you are selling or buying a home, apartment building or vacant land, there will be closing costs associated with the transaction. That is, money due over and above the cost of the property. Closing costs are fees or charges imposed by certain 3rd parties – entities other than the buyer and seller – who […]
What Does Closing Escrow Mean?
Closing escrow is a big, important and essential step along the road to buying a home in Austin. For those who have never bought a home, closing is often viewed by many as an unexplained and overwhelming experience. It’s the final step in the process of transferring title (ownership) to the buyer. Become Familiar with […]
5 Essential Questions to Answer Before Starting Your Home Search
The Holidays are over and you’re ready to start looking for your next Austin home. But, are you really ready to buy a home? Lots of folks forget to get their ducks in a row before embarking on their Austin home search and it can make things really hard for them. Sometimes ignoring simple things […]
Why I Tell All My Buyers to Ignore Square Footage
Square footage is one of the metrics most buyers focus on when buying a home in Austin. They think about the places they’ve lived, how big they were, and come up with an arbitrary number as to the minimum square footage they can live in. Though this works to a point, it is not a […]
What Does Backup or Contingent Listing Mean?
In our Austin Home Search tool, you’ll sometimes come across “Backup or Contingent Listing” written in blue underneath the address of a home for sale. Just what does backup or contingent listing mean? Backup or Contingent Listing Status When a property is in “Backup or Contingent Listing Status”, it could be either in Backup Status […]
How Much are HOA Dues in Austin
HOA’s are becoming more and more popular in Austin. In the 1980s and 1990s, few new single family home developments belonged to mandatory HOA’s. Today, virtually every new development has a mandatory membership in an HOA. Which usually begs the question from most buyers, how much are HOA dues in Austin? HOA Dues Vary by […]
When Should I Get Pre-Approved?
If you’re thinking about buying a home, there is a lot to do to get prepared. Studies show buyers are researching 12-18 months in advance of purchasing. With this much lead time, we often get the question … “When should I get pre-approved?” We advise our clients to use an experienced lender as a resource […]
Why Do Buyers Need a New Survey?
Those of you relocating from other parts of the country – particularly from California like we did – are generally unfamiliar with the idea of getting a survey before purchasing a home in Austin. Buyers often ask: Why do buyers need a new survey? Well, here’s why. What is the Purpose of a Survey? A […]
What is the Termination Option?
The process of buying a home in Austin is a bit different than buying a home in other parts of the country. In most states, the purchase contract gives the buyer a free look at the property and allows them to cancel the contract for any reason during a negotiated period of time. If the […]