Round Rock Real Estate Blog

I saw a news report that more and more people are dipping into their retirement accounts to take care of the higher cost of gas, food and other day-to-day expenses.  In a day when economists predict that most Americans will outlive their retirement savings, this is downright scary!  As I thought ...

Unless you drive a hybrid car or ride your bike to work, there's no way to escape the high gas prices. But there are ways you can get better gas mileage out of our vehicles - which will save you money in the long run, according to Edmunds.com, an online resource for automotive information. Here a...

There are several investment houses that can help a user set up a Roth self-Directed IRA or 401K from current account holdings or even from scratch.  The IRS requires that such accounts be held by a third party administrator/trustee and the following are just a few of the companies in the marketp...

It is tougher now to sell a home than ever before for many reasons, but most have to do with the information age that we live in.  Home sales information is more readily available than ever before which has created the MOST educated buyer population that the industry has ever known.  Buyers have ...

As a result of these issues recent real estate deals have been plagued by difficulties, not in qualifying a buyer, but in getting a buyer through the final step in completing a mortgage - underwriting. Underwriters are third parties that have the responsibility of validating a loan applicant's pa...

One of the most complex details of real estate for home buyers or investors is the mortgage process and how it works (or doesn't in some cases).  For the sake of brevity, this article will only scratch the surface of the process in order to give you an overview. When you apply for a mortgage to a...

This past weekend I was asked by a national training company to assist them in a training class for new investors in Austin.  I was floored by the volume of people looking to invest and profit from the foreclosure gold mine that is present across the country.  We took approximately 50 investors o...

On April 30th of this year I posted part I of this diatribe in an attempt to "educate" the REALTOR(R) and consumer community of some of the issues with short sales.  That post was IMMEDIATELY boo'ed by many in the AR community (which I expected - especially from those making a living on short sal...

The short answer is NO!  And I see many bloggers here that don't seem to understand that fact.  I read a great article on CNNMoney this morning that debunked two major myths about the Federal Reserve.  These are: The Federal Reserve rate cuts are tied to mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve can go...

The real estate climate is changing all over the USA and this holds true for Texas as well.  A couple of years ago I worked with many investors that were into quick-turning properties for profit.  These investors are still active, but with the market a bit slower, the times are changing.  The hol...