Central Texas Real Estate Blog

Is your top priority for your new home to have something in the location of a great school? This is the priority of many families in San Antonio that want the best for their children while choosing their dream home in the area. You can have it all: the home of your dreams near the perfect school for your kids.

You just need to know if the schools are actually the good ones. Take a look at this guide to help you learn what to look for in schools before you move to an otherwise great part of town.

What is your first impression of the school?

Once you’ve located an area you are interested in and the schools you could see your children at, it’s time to visit and get more information. What is your first impression of the school?...

With summer in full force and the heat bearing down, it's time to take the family to one of the Austin area water parks. There are several great choices you can check out to help keep your family cool and have a little fun at the same time. Here's a look at some of the top water parks found near Austin, TX.

Rock 'N River Waterpark

A great choice in Round Rock, the Rock 'N River Waterpark offers four new waterslides, a drop slide, water basketball, water volleyball, a 12-foot jumping platform and a rock climbing wall with a waterfall. They also offer a leisure lagoon and 13 covered swim up concession seats. Of course, you can walk up to the concessions...

When it's time to get married, the planning phases can be enough to rip a couple apart. It's stressful, everybody has an opinion and there's quite a bit to organize. While you want to keep it together throughout the process of planning your wedding, you also want to make sure you choose the right place to get married.

Recently, Wallethub decides to compare over 180 cities in the U.S. to find the most convenient and least expensive wedding destinations in the country. After looking at 23 key indicators, Wallethub found the "Best Places to Get Married in the United States."

Austin, Texas came in at #11 on the list and for good reason. It's a great city with plenty to offer and here's why it made it onto the list.

Austin - 11th Best Place to Get Married in...

Vacation Bible School or VBS is a popular choice for parents looking to keep their children busy throughout the summer. You can send them for a low price and they can enjoy plenty of great fun. The best park, some of the VBS programs are actually free or only ask for an optional fee.

If you're looking for a great VBS program for your children this year, you've come to the right place. Here's a look at some of the top choices still going on the rest of the summer in San Antonio.

St. David's Episcopal - 1300 Wiltshire Avenue

From 8:30am to 12pm, you can have your two-year-old to fifth grader enjoying plenty of fun. The theme this year at St. David's Episcopal is Shipwrecked. The cost is $35 for 2 and 3 year-olds and $24 for 4 years and...

July is a big month with Independence Day and plenty of other things going on. If you're looking for the best things to do in Austin during July, look no further. Here are some of the top things to do this July.

Cactus Pear Music Festival - July 5th

Held at Chapel in the Hills, the Cactus Pear Music Festival offers a showcase of great chamber music. You can enjoy five programs with 18 world-class musicians and 4 hosting cities as a part of this festival. The Austin festival will happen on July 5th in Wimberley, Texas.

Live Music at the Oasis - July 7th

The Oasis Restaurant holds live music often and July 7th will be one of those weekends. You can enjoy local Austin bands with all types of different genres coming to the restaurant. They also offer free salsa lessons every Sunday.

Unplugged at the Grove - July 5th,...

State parks offer plenty of great outdoor recreation for everybody to enjoy. Whether you love to hike, swim, fish or camp, the state parks closest to Austin, Texas will keep you busy year-round. Here's a look at some of the best state parks found near Austin.

McKinney Falls State Park

Found less than 10 miles from Austin, McKinney Falls State Park is the closest of all the state parks to Austin. It's on the southeastern edge of the city near Williamson and Onion Creeks.

The park offers beautiful cypress trees and wildflowers throughout. Two creeks run through the park and you can enjoy several great activities at the park. McKinney Falls State Park offers fishing, swimming, hiking, camping and more. It's also home to one of the oldest bald cypress...

When you move to Central Texas, it’s not uncommon to come across homes that in your search for your next home that has foundation issues. Since the clay soil here can contract or expand throughout the year depending on the current moisture levels, it places stress on the foundation that will make it settle.

If you find some cosmetic cracks that don’t affect the home’s solid structure, then this isn’t something to worry about but beware of major cracking in door jams or windows. Take a look at this guide to decide if buying a home with foundation issues is smart and how to determine if it’s just minor cosmetic cracking.

Hire a foundation contractor

The first place to start with a home you want to purchase...

Are you considering condo living in Austin? Owing a condo is a wonderful way to become a homeowner without the added responsibilities that come with a single family home. It does mean that the buying process may be a little more complicated, but knowing what to ask about in advance will make the process much simpler.

You’ll need to find out about things involving the mandatory Homeowner’s Association that comes with condo ownership. While buying a home doesn’t always happen in a neighborhood with an HOA, condominiums have one that takes care of things like building maintenance and water services. Take a look at what you should ask about if you are considering buying...

When you’re buying a home this year in San Antonio, it’s important to be aware of a few things that can happen during the period between having your offer accepted and waiting to close. For starters, the mortgage process will still be going on and your mortgage rate could actually expire.

Also, even though you feel the house is yours now, it really isn’t until closing day. During that waiting process when your offer has been accepted by the sellers but the closing day hasn’t arrived, these are a few of the things to be aware of during when you’re waiting to close.

The closing day is very streamlined

While you may be anticipating a stressful closing day full of questions and things to remember to do, it’s actually a very streamlined...

The 30-year fixed rate on a mortgage has risen about a half percent in the last six to eight months. But, how could these rising interest rates affect you as a property owner or property buyer looking to in Central Texas?

As the potential buyer, if you have stagnant prices and rising interest rates, the $300,000 home you are considering now has a mortgage payment of $80 to $90 more per month to pay. As the seller, meanwhile, it limits the number of buyers that potentially can afford your home because of the increased monthly payment.

Taking appreciation rates into account, they have varied over the last eight years. They were sometimes as high as 10% to 15% year over year. And, they have been at 0% to 5% year over year depending on where you are talking about.

...

Before your upcoming move to Austin, you should get a feel for what the city is going to offer and what daily life is going to look like here. You’ve chosen an amazing location to relocate to and you’ll love how it offers a little bit of everything, from its beautiful outdoor oasis to its endless entertainment.

Moving to any new city can be overwhelming, but preparing ahead of time will make it feel like a seamless transition. Take a look at what you can expect for your relocation to Austin and how to prepare yourself ahead of time.

What to expect in Austin

Life in Austin will come with hot weather, a lot of people, a variety...

When you enter into the sales process for your home, it will certainly keep you busy. You'll go through so many things from fixing it up (if necessary) to staging, to pricing to listing to scheduling tours. Several details could easily become overlooked.

The last thing you need is a security risk because you were distracted by something else. Home security is vital, even throughout the sales process. You'll be inviting plenty of strangers into your home and you need to be protected. Here are a few ways you can keep your home and family safe while selling your home.

Remove all your Valuables

Valuables out in the open or even behind closed doors are just inviting trouble during the sales process. Any jewelry, collectibles, expensive artwork or other valuables should be removed...

Austin, Texas is known as the capital of the world for live music and that's not by mistake. The city heats up in the summer and as the days get longer; it's time to check out the many free concerts held throughout the summer. Here's a look at some of the top summer concerts in the city.

Concerts in the Park

If you want to enjoy performances from the Austin Symphony Orchestra, this is the free concert series for you. There will be several performances ranging from light classical to pop to jazz with several film scores and so much more. Enjoy the music as you take in the views of Lady Bird Lake and the skyline. This is a great choice if you want to hear live music and enjoy a picnic with family and friends.

The Concerts in the Park will be held throughout...

The school year is coming to a close and you need to get your children signed up for summer camp. Austin, Texas is home to a number of summer camps for 2018. Here's a look at some of the top choices.

For the Younger Children (age 3 to 10)

If you have younger children, you can send them to summer camps in Austin to enjoy plenty of fun this year. There are several options for ages starting as low as three. Some of the top choices include:

• Jump! Gymnastics (age 3 to 12) - A day camp filled with fun and games, Jump! offers gymnastics, arts and crafts and so much more. Each week features a new theme, such as under the sea, superheroes and the Olympics.
• ...

Amazon started on a search for the second destination for a second headquarters and many would expect cities to line up for the opportunity. The first headquarters is located in Seattle, Washington. While many cities did throw their hat in the ring trying to lure Amazon, San Antonio wasn't so keen on the idea. Instead, San Antonio rejected the idea of becoming the home of Amazon's HQ2.

Texas May be the State, but San Antonio isn't the City

The senators of Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, believe they can lure the giant retailer to Texas. They told the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos that, “Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes our economy, our skilled workforce, and our quality of life.”

When the state put in a bid for the second headquarters, it had plenty to offer with three of the five fastest growing cities in the country...

It's no secret; Austin gets hot during the summer time. All those myths about frying an egg on the blacktop come true when summer hits Central Texas.

The heat doesn't have to cause you to retreat into your air-conditioned home every single day, however. The children will want to get out and play and most adults really prefer to be outside, too. Here are some of the best ways you can stay cool this summer and enjoy Central Texas.

Lake Travis

Take a trip to the lake and enjoy some time swimming and doing other things in or on the water. Lake Travis is one of the most popular places to go during the summer and offers a number of access points including:

• Arkansas...

When you're getting ready to sell your San Antonio home, there may be a few upgrades you can do to make the process easier. From painting to new cabinet hardware to kitchen upgrades, there are several things you can do yourself without spending a ton of money to get the job done.

If you're thinking about selling your home and you want to get the most out of it, the right upgrades could make all the difference. Here are a few of the top DIY home upgrades you can use when selling your San Antonio home.

Kitchen Cabinet Upgrades

If your kitchen cabinets are in good shape and look good, you can spruce them up without doing much more than just adding new hardware. Sometimes, this little change is just enough to make your kitchen pop.

Of course, if your cabinets need a bit of...

If your home buying budget is capped at around $400K, you need to know where you can look for a home in Austin. Maybe you want to be close to downtown, so the suburbs really aren't a true option, unless they are close enough.

There are some great options for homes selling under $400K in Austin. Here's a look at some of the best neighborhoods near downtown with homes under $400K.

Dawson

Just 3.1 miles from downtown Austin, you could almost walk downtown from Dawson. While the average home price in this neighborhood comes in at $533K, there were 16 homes selling for under $410K recently. In Dawson, your budget will, on average, allow you to buy a home with:

• 1,103 square feet...

When you go through the process of buying a home, you will learn many new terms that may confuse you. Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI, is one of those terms. This is a term that has to do with your mortgage and will often get thrown around during the home buying process.

Defining Private Mortgage Insurance

PMI is known as an insurance policy that protects your lender if you cannot pay your mortgage payment. You pay this insurance monthly as a part of your mortgage payment and it's required if you take out a conforming, conventional loan with a down payment of less than 20% of the sales price.

Basically, PMI protect the company lending you the money to buy your home in the event you default on the loan. It does not protect you, but it is required if you put down less...