House Rentals in Round Rock and Downtown Austin Perfect for Long or Short Term!

Offering Two Stellar Homes in Downtown Austin and Round Rock east. Both are AVAILABLE for IMMEDIATE MOVE-IN. For More Information and to Schedule an Appointment to View These Immaculately Kept Homes, Follow the Links Below!

https://www.austinhomeseeker.com/listing/cms/613-lynn/

https://www.austinhomeseeker.com/listing/cms/102-fred-couples/

NEW on Market! 3 Car Garage on Nearly 1/4 acre in Round Rock!

Welcome to 1527 Shady Hillside Pass of Forest Ridge Neighborhood in Round Rock. A stylish home with a flowing, open floorplan with gorgeous dark wood floors, soaring ceilings, and massive windows. Kitchen open to the living room with granite, stainless steel appliances, & large island. Sun room off kitchen is excellent place for children play area or a quiet place to read with your morning coffee. Redone master bathroom features separate vanities with granite counters, a separate shower, and glass tile tub surrounds. Four spacious bedrooms. Huge covered patio overlooking almost a 1/4 acre corner lot! 3 Car Garage makes parking your large fleet of automobiles a breeze. For more info, pictures, and to request a showing visit here: 
https://www.austinhomeseeker.com/listing/cms/1527-shady-hillside/

Eanes Independent School District Ranks #2 in the Nation!

Niche.com's 2016 List of the United States' top school districts included the Austin area's Eanes Independent School District as the #2 top school district in the country! The website examined strength of academics, school resources, quality of teachers, quality of student life, and parent and student reviews to gauge the overall level of excellence at more than 10,000 school districts.

Eanes School District received A+ scores in academics, teacher quality, health and safety, and resources and facilities. The district scored an A- for extracurriculars and activities and an A for sports and fitness. The district's lowest grade was a B- for culture and diversity.

Source: https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/

HOME TIPS! New Uses For Toothpaste!

This medicine cabinet staple is actually a handy house cleaner- and so much more. 5 Ingenious uses for toothpaste:

#1 Make Faucets Gleam- Rub a bit of toothpaste on the fixture and follow with a wet sponge to get the gunk off the chrome.

#2 Remove Stains from Mugs- When your coffee or tea leaves a stubborn ring behind, use a little toothpaste to clean it off.

#3 Erase Marks on Wood- Pesky water or marker stains can be quickly buffed out with a damp cloth and toothpaste.

#4 Make Sneakers Bright Again-  Get your tennis shoes to their just-out-of-the-box state by rubbing toothpaste on the rubber.

#5 Plot A Gallery Wall- With a dot of toothpaste, mark exactly where the nail will meet the back of the frame.

She-Sheds: The Woman's Man Cave

In my adventures as a Realtor, I've long heard of the demand for a man's "personal space." A place to retreat and get away from things. A place to call his own. This escape room is commonly referred to as "The Man Cave." With a special room for the man-of-the-house to withdraw to, where does the woman go to get away from the kids, the household responsibilities, and the .......husband, to relax and digest the day? From this, the "She-Shed" was born. 

The She-Shed is a cozy, quaint, personal space where a woman can take part in the festivities of life that she takes interest in. Away from the hustle and bustle of life she can partake in some arts and crafts, painting, gardening, raise chickens, take a quiet bath, or even just retreat to have a glass of wine in her own space.

The She-Shed is a growing trend in real estate with the necessity for a more feminine hideaway. Why should the men be the only ones with a personal domain to call their own. We live in an age of equality after all! Above is a collection of a variety of types of She-Sheds around the country, including rustic, cottage-style, Japanese Teahouse, greenhouse, human birdhouse, and Shabby Chic. 

HOME TIPS! : Seal Your Walls!

A simple home tip that may save you money and energy this winter.

We're all looking for ways to improve the energy-efficiency of our homes to help the environment and lower our utility bills in the process. Thankfully in Texas, basements are rare, so it's one less place you have to expect drafts to emanate. However, your home may have spots where air penetrates through the walls causing a draft and a change in temperature inside your home. This will likely occur in the areas where holes have been cut out of the walls to install plugs, switches, and canned lights. If you have ever removed these during cold weather, you have probably noticed some cold air pouring out.

You may reduce air leakage by using a tube of high quality caulk or a spray foam can to seal around the area where the electrical box meets the drywall. There are also alternative recessed lighting cans or fixtures that you can install which provide a tighter seal to keep the cool (or hot) temperatures out. This simple process will potentially save you energy this winter season!

December Stats & End of Year Wrap Up Numbers!

December 2014 

• 2,283 – Single-family homes sold, 14 percent more than December 2013.
• $246,530 – Median price for single-family homes, 10 percent more than December 2013.
• 55 – Average number of days single-family homes were on market, 3 days more than Dec. 2013.
• 5,077 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 12 percent more than December 2013.
• 2.2 – Months of inventory of single-family homes, 0.2 month more than December 2013.
• $710,200,206 – Total dollar volume of single-family homes sold, 21 percent more than Dec. 2013.

2014 Year-End Totals 

• 27,768 – Single-family homes sold, two percent more than 2013.
• $242,500 – Median price for single-family homes, eight percent more than 2013.
• 47 – Average number of days that single-family homes spent on the market, 3 days fewer than 2013.
• $8,607,385,376 – Total dollar volume of single-family homes sold, nine percent more than 2013.  

Released January 2015 by The Austin Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

How to Successfully Protest Your Property Tax Appraisal

With the real estate market in Austin absolutely exploding in 2013 everyone is experiencing a dramatic shock to their mortgage payments due to the enormous jump in the tax appraised value of their homes for 2014. I have gotten at least 30 calls from past client's asking about how to protest their tax appraisals because they've gone up significantly with the market. I have successfully protested my property taxes on all properties every year. It is usually not difficult and a pretty straight forward process, which I will go over here, but do NOT hesitate to call me with questions because as you all know.... I'm pro-style with negotiating life.

First, by having a homestead exemption it caps the increase in appraised value by 10% any one year. So if you filed a homestead exemption and your tax appraised value went up more than 10% from what it was last year, you need to call your county's appraisal district and ask about the status. You can back file it, if you did it incorrectly somehow (Which is hard. It's like 2 pages that you write your name and address on and what exemption you're requesting) and the county will send you a credit of the overpayment once homestead is applied.

Ok, now to file your notice of protest you must do so BEFORE May 31st. In Travis and Williamson County, you can usually file the notice online. Always do this first because it's faster and easier online than mailing it in. Your appraisal should have come with instructions, if not you can find it on the county's appraisal district website. You log on and type in the code it gives you and it asks you what you think the value should be. Aim low, but not unrealistic. Don't say $120,000 on a $300,000 house. I usually just say like $10,000 below the year it was before. Then it asks the reason. "Value not equal", "Value over market value", etc. I don't even think this really matters. I usually just check one or both of them. Then submit.

A couple days later, you'll receive a proposed settlement number from a computer re-analyzing numbers. Sometimes it's decent and you can accept. Sometimes it's still too high. If you decline you're going to formals, unless you just want to keep what you got. If you go to formals, you will need comps to take to prove value is lower. Do NOT go in unprepared and with nothing figuring you will do it all on the spot with the appraiser. This frustrates them immensely. At a formal protest you will go and sit in a cubicle with one appraiser and give them comps and evidence for why your home value should be lower. Williamson County is generally a little tighter, but it's quite subjective based on which appraiser you happen to get. Some are easier than others. Travis County usually accepts more in terms of broader amount of sections of the same neighborhood. They take 5 comparable properties and drop the highest and lowest and average the remaining 3 and that's the value you get. So if you can find 5 really low VALID comps, you're usually good to get them down some. To be valid they can't be foreclosures. They will sometimes take short sales and usually estate sales. Don't look at just price, price per sqft is better. Find as low price per sqft as possible, because computer takes into account size, lot value, etc when it makes adjustments. Bring as many comps as possible that help your case. If you roll in with 1, don't expect anything to happen.

ALSO, if you have done large repairs to your home, such as foundation, roof, etc. Or had mold, termites, or any of that. Bring receipts and invoices and cite that telling them your home is the biggest piece of junk in the neighborhood. If you have the case of purchasing in the year being analyzed and they argue that, you state that this is a current market evaluation. You say, "Sir (ma'am), it doesn't matter what I paid for the property. Let's focus on what the market says it's worth. This is supposed to be an independent, unbiased appraisal process."

If you decline the formal, in person protest number, you go to Appraisal Review Board (ARB). You wear a suit, dress nice. You sit down in front of 3 appraisal board members (regular citizens) and you sit next to a county appraiser at a computer. You bring ALL EVIDENCE you can, comps, repair invoices, etc and you be super polite to the citizen board members. Shake hands and say, "yes sir" "no sir." You act like it's court. Bring 3-4 copies of all evidence. You essentially debate the price with the appraiser, only one of you speaks at a time and you get rebuttals back and forth. At the end, the 3 board members give what they think the price should be and the lead one decides. I have been to the ARB only once and I won pretty good. I have to say, it sounds intimidating, but it was an amazing rush to have a formal debate. I didn't tell them I was a Realtor though. So they weren't expecting a Matthews Whirlwind of FACTS!! CHECK IT FOOLS! Anyways, you more than likely won't go to the ARB unless you have a huge disagreement. The formals is made to root out and settle with the 90% that make it that far.

ALWAYS PROTEST YOUR PROPERTY TAXES. It pays off every year for me. If you have rental properties they will try to destroy you every year because there is no homestead cap. Don't let them. This year I got them down on one property $41,801 which was the equivalent to $1,200 in property taxes. I prevented them from taking $100 extra from me every month on my mortgage payment. It is extremely worth it when you think of the 10% cap and the growth Austin is projected to have. Get it as low as possible every year! 

NEW on Market! Hutto GEM Almost 3,300 sqft Backing Greenspace and Woods!

Best Deal in Hutto! ALMOST 3300 sqft for UNDER 175k!? CURRENTLY MOST INEXPENSIVE HOME IN HUTTO OVER 3,000 SQFT by over $20,000! The BEST lot in the Creek Bend neighborhood! VIEWS OF GREENSPACE PARK with jogging trails and WOODS on 2 SIDES! Almost a 1/3 acre! Gorgeous PERGOLA w/ stone path! Spacious VERY Fuctional Floorplan! Durable Corian counters! 2nd LOWEST PPSQFT Active in ALL of Hutto!

Very Popular neighborhood for new homes at an affordable price! Motivated Seller! Functional, gorgeous floorplan with spacious rooms full of character! 4 BEDROOMS and an office! HUGE Game Room AND Living Room! Curb Appeal! Cul-De-Sac LOT! Community pool, playground, jogging trails, and basketball court!

Check the video tour here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9f6ZIZe-Qg

As usual you can see MORE PHOTOS AND INFO on this property and EVERY property for sale at: http://www.I-Am-Real-Estate.com! This truly is a homeowner's paradise. 

Contact Chris Matthews at the numbers below if you'd like a NO PRESSURE showing and are not currently working with an agent. Thanks for looking! 

12 Tips for Hiring a Remodeling Contractor

1. Get at least 3 written estimates.

2. Check references. If possible, view earlier jobs the contractor completed.

3. Check with the local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau for complaints.

4. Be sure the contract states exactly what is to be done and how change orders will be handled.

5. Make as small of a down payment as possible so you won't lose a lot if the contractor fails to complete the job.

6. Be sure that the contractor has the necessary permits, licenses, and insurance.

7. Check that the contract states when the work will be completed and what recourse you have if it isn't. Also, remember that in many instances you can cancel a contract within three business days of signing it.

8. Ask if the contractor's workers will do the entire job or whether subcontractors will be involved too.

9. Get the contractor to indemnify you if work does not meet any local building codes or regulations.

10. Be sure that the contract specifies the contractor will clean up after the job and be responsible for any damage. In addition, make sure any potential demo work is also included.

11. Guarantee that the materials that will be used meet your specifications.

12. NEVER make the final payment until you're satisfied with the work, it's completely finished, and every little detail is wrapped up.