You may remember me talking about $/SF not being a reliable metric to use when pricing real estate.

I have a great example from 2 homes we sold in same neighborhood in May.

The homes are of a similar size but the home on the left was 13 years newer, in much better condition and on a beautiful private lot compared to the home on the right, which backs up to a busy road.

I’m often asked “What’s the average $/SF in a neighborhood?”

If you used the average $/SF in the neighborhood to price the 2 homes you would have underpriced the home on the right (or made a ridiculously low offer) and overpriced the home on the left (or paid too much).

When estimating real estate value it’s important to consider all aspects of a property and not simply…

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That’s right, we are buying another home and renting out our current house!

When I tell people we are buying another home they often say we have an advantage.

It’s true we do have an advantage but it’s not what you think. The advantage we had is we listened to our own advice. The same advice we give all our clients.

Here were the steps we took to buy a great home.

We were Pre-Approved

Before we started looking for a home we got pre-approved with a great local lender. Not pre-qualified but pre-approved.

We provided the lender with all our information including our tax returns. This is especially important for those of us who are self-employed and have a difficult time qualifying for financing.

An underwriter reviewed our information…

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One of the things Kopa Real Estate does very well is promoting our open houses.

Despite other Realtors saying open houses are not an effective way to sell homes many of our listings sell to buyers who visit our open houses. We have even sold several homes to buyers whose agents never visited the house. We sold the buyers the home and they had their agent write up the contract for them.

We always recommend our clients who are buying a home have us show them homes they are interested in but we know it’s tempting to visit an open house alone on occasion.

Over the years of holding open houses we have learned some helpful tips to pass on to our clients who may visit an open house without us.

This advice is for serious buyers in competitive…

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If you’re planning any home renovations you might want to look at this cost vs value remodeling report. The report calculates the return you could expect from most remodeling projects.

One of the nice things about this report is it is specific for the Austin area. A project in a home in New York might not recoup the same amount of money as a project in Austin or vice versa.

One warning to basing any remodeling decisions solely on this report is it doesn’t take into consideration your particular neighborhood or price range. Be careful not to over improve your home compared to other homes in your neighborhood.

Click here to go to the Austin remodeling report.

If you have any questions about a remodeling project you are considering call or…

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One of the neighborhood events I look forward to is the semi-annual Avery Ranch garage sale. This event happens in both the spring and the fall. The fall 2016 Avery Ranch garage sale will take place on Saturday, September 10 from 7AM-1PM.

With almost 4,000 homes in the neighborhood there will be plenty of homes selling items. This is a great opportunity to find clothes, toys, bikes and furniture.

If you are having a garage sale at your home feel free to leave your address and a list of items you are selling in the comment section below.

One piece of advice is to get started early. Cars will be lined up at 7AM and the great items will sell right away.

We are Avery Ranch homeowners and real estate experts. If you are interested in buying or…

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VA Loans are hotter than ever. Over the last six years, more and more veterans and their families have flocked to the security and unmatched buying power of these government-backed loans. VA purchase loan volume continues to climb, jumping to $271,804 loans in 2014 from just 180,758 in 2009.

A tighter credit market and sagging housing industry have fueled renewed interest in this long-cherished program. VA loans feature more flexible credit and underwriting standards than conventional loans. Qualified military personnel and veterans can purchase a home with no money down or private mortgage insurance.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, VA loans remain the safest lending option on the market. That combination of purchasing power and…

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How are the schools? That’s a common question parents and even people with no kids who are thinking about resale value ask us.

One way people evaluate schools is by looking at the website greatschools.com. The website Zillow also includes greatschools.com ratings on each property listing.

Greatschools.com takes information about a school and boils it down into a singular score with 10 being the highest score possible.  A problem with evaluating schools this way is the information used may be outdated or inaccurate.

Get Your Complimentary Avery Ranch Home Market Analysis Report Right Now!

An example of outdated information being used would be with one of the elementary schools in our neighborhood, Rutledge Elementary. For as long as I can…

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Buying a home is a precious event. The home you choose is going to shape your daily routines and memories for years to come. The process of finding and purchasing a home can be an exhausting one. For this reason, it is best to find a Realtor to help guide you through the process and protect your interests from start to finish.

Some homebuyers make the mistake of asking the listing agent to show them the home that they are interested in. I’ll explain why this is a bad idea throughout the rest of this article. Sometimes these buyers will also enter into a real estate contract with the Realtor who is representing the seller as well. This is called Dual Agency”; when one real estate agent represents both sides of a transaction.

Some buyers feel that…

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Many parts of the Austin area are still seeing multiple offers on homes. One of the things people are most surprised about is we have seen homes with over 10 offers on them even in the suburbs!

Not every client feels comfortable using these tactics but we always want to make you aware of what options are available so you don’t have to say “If only I knew I could have done that…” when your dream home goes under contract to someone else.

We can’t guarantee you will win in a multiple offer situation but here are some tips we have learned over the years to improve your chances.

  • Have an experienced Realtor helping to explain these options
    One of the statistics that surprises people is how few homes the average Realtor sells in a year. Be sure to…

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Recent changes by Fannie Mae are great news for Austin self-employed mortgage borrowers.

Previously to qualify for a Fannie Mae mortgage self-employed borrowers were required to provide the most recent 2 years tax returns to document their income.

A recent change allows mortgage companies to use only the most recent year’s tax return to qualify a buyer for a Fannie Mae mortgage.

This will be especially helpful for 2 types of borrowers

  • Self employed borrowers who started their business 2 years ago and had large start up expenses. When a borrower takes business tax deductions it likely will reduce their net income which is the figure mortgage companies use to establish how much debt a borrower can have.

    If this person had a low-income figure…

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