We love to showcase our homes with open house luncheons, so we’re going to do another one! This time, we’ll be showing 4215 Moonlight Way, a custom built, Austin stone home with incredible amenities. Come join us Thursday, July 19th from 11:30AM to 1:00PM – tour the house, grab a bite to eat or a sip to drink and talk with some of our agents. Not only will you love the home, but you’ll love the people we work with. So let’s go San Antonio, what are you waiting for?
real estate
Happy Birthday to Alma Rucker!
It’s birthday time and we’d like to wish Alma Rucker a happy birthday! Alma is always smiling in the office and has an incredible way of infecting others with it. Never short on time for other agents or her clients, Alma makes everything look easy and always makes it fun. We hope she has an amazing day full of fun to give her what she gives all of us. Thanks for always having a smile and a super-positive attitude towards everything Alma!
And since Alma is one of our Spanish speaking real estate agents, we’d also like to wish her Feliz Cumpleaños (hope I got that right)!
1811 Slumber Pass Open House Luncheon (CANCELLED)
Cancelled
This home just went under contract so the open house has been cancelled.
Want to see an incredible home and meet the agents of Kimberly Howell Properties? Look no further than 1811 Slumber Pass in Timberwood Park. Tomorrow (May 7th) from 11:30AM-1:30PM, this impeccable home will be open to the public (agents and buyers – come one, come all!). This custom one story has many gorgeous features – from the plantation shutters to the cathedral ceilings, every inch of this home contains fine details you would expect of the elegant Hill Country homes of Timberwood Park. Whether you’re just looking, serious about buying, or are an agent that might be looking for a new place to hang your license; you’re invited to meet us at 1811 Slumber Pass and share some lunch, good conversation, and this must-see home.
Your home is not where it should be.
The photo to the left shows a screenshot of a map of homes for sale in The Dominion. As you can see, most of the green icons are clustered together on the map in the right place. But there are a few that seem to be lingering in the large grey area to the east of The Dominion. Right smack dab in the middle of Camp Bullis. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that few people who desire the luxury living of The Dominion want to be located on the firing range of Camp Bullis. So why are these properties showing up here?
The problem typically exists with new home developments, where new streets are being created and Google maps doesn’t have the correct updated data. Sometimes, it’s caused by incorrect data in the maps themselves. Regardless of how it is caused, there are ways to fix it. In the San Antonio MLS, we (as a listing agent) are able to move properties on the map when they are placed incorrectly. With Google and other online map features the addresses can be reported and corrected. If you find your home is not showing correctly on a map, call your agent and let them know. Many searches are done by map these days and having your home in the wrong location can cause your home not showing up in a potential buyer’s search results.
Recently, someone contacted us about their property showing up in our map based search in the wrong location. Unfortunately, there is nothing we could do, as we were not the listing agent for their property. If we had been their listing agent, we would have gotten the problem solved for them, because the accuracy of home data is something we take very seriously.
Is Now a Great Time to Buy Real Estate?
You’ve seen the ads before or heard the news: “Now is a great time to buy!” You’ve probably heard it more over the last few years than ever before, even a few weeks after the mortgage meltdown. The news has come from your REALTOR®, your lender, people on TV, your friends and family, and the National Association of REALTORS®. The phrase “now is a great time to buy” is everywhere. But is it?
Here in San Antonio our real estate market has certainly picked up. Homes for sale are selling faster and for more money. I’ve seen several multiple offer situations. All of these are good indicators that the people do indeed think it’s a great time to buy. Interest rates are low, we have a good selection of homes on the market to choose from, and sellers are eager to get their home sold after months of slower activity.
While all those factors make for great headlines and a definite upside to buying a home, when I’m asked this question, I always ask one in return; “Is now a great time to buy…for you? Although you always want to try and time your purchases to save the most, a home is a necessity in life…it’s shelter, one of the three main ingredients for survival. If you need to buy or want to buy a home, you need to look at the factors in your life and make the decision that now is a great time for you to make the move.
The largest of the deciding factors you need to consider is whether or not you have your financial house in order. Is your credit looking good? Do you have enough income? Do you have an American Hartford Gold IRA to save for retirement? Will you be able to sustain a mortgage payment for the long term? By knowing that your finances are ready, you’ve made the biggest part of the decision. Easiest way to do this? Have your REALTOR® recommend a few good lenders to you and sit and talk with them. They can help you understand what price range you’re capable of buying and help show you anything you might need to fix before applying for a loan.
All the other factors are much smaller in scope, but should help you determine whether it’s a great time to buy for you. Is your family ready? Do you need more space? Do you need less space? Is your job stable? Are the types of homes you desire out there? What are current interest rates and is your credit good enough that you can lock them in, or will you be forced to pay a higher rate than what you see advertised? Ask yourself these questions and know your answers and you’ll be able to determine whether or not now is a great time to buy. The media will almost always tell you it’s a great time, but unless they can see into your mind, they’ll never know that it’s the perfect time for you.
image courtesy of olgaberrios
Like a House? Pin It with Pinterest
Now Pinterest users can pin their favorite homes for sale to their accounts. Using the “Pin It” button located throughout the site at the top of each page or post (note: the button is now located at the bottom of the post), you’ll be able to show your friends and other Pinterest users some of the amazing homes for sale in San Antonio.
In addition to being able to pin photos of our homes, you can post just about any photo to Pinterest, as we’ve left the choice up to you. Clicking on the “Pin It” button will bring up a selection of photos to choose from – we thought we’d give you more choice over which photo you wanted, instead of making only one photo available.
Let us know what you think about this new feature and what types of things you’re posting to Pinterest.