It is no secret that the US real estate market has slowed.  The same is true in Round Rock even though we have not experienced as severe a slowdown as many areas in the country.  Nevertheless, we have sellers every day that ask "How do I sell my Round Rock home quickly?"  Perhaps it is a transfer, a divorce, or just the desire to step up to a larger or nicer home that facilitates this question.  Regardless of the reason, here is the answer - "KNOW THE MARKET!" In a balanced market, two things are very much the case: Your home needs to be priced right. It must be in great condition as well. This is evidenced by the chart at the right of the page here.  If we look at the green portion of the graph as the houses that WILL sell, we note that these two things are true. But what happens in a ... 08/30/2008

We just received the school ratings for 2008 and wanted to share them with you.  It's mostly good news for Round Rock ISD...Six of the elementary Schools in Round Rock ISD improved their Ratings this year.  This brings the tally up to 11 Elementary Schools with Exemplary Ratings and 10 elementary Schools with Recognized Ratings.  So 21 of the elementary schools have Recognized or Exemplary Ratings...that's really great news for such a large district.    In the middle school report card, two schools, Deer Park and Grisham, unfortunately dropped to Acceptable this year, but Kudos to Canyon Vista as they moved up to Exemplary.  Great Job! All in all we're seeing more upward movement than down and would expect to see continued progress as the elementary groups are critical in how a district... 08/29/2008

If you weren't looking for it, you probably wouldn't even know it's there except for the small sign on the side of the 1920's built former home that spells it out ‘Mini Stitches'. Yet, owner Carol Kusmaul, has managed to obtain a long and loyal list of customers. Mini Stitches caters to quilters, sewers and crafters. The shop is filled to the brim with a glorious color palette of first quality cotton fabrics. Beautiful finished quilts adorn the walls of every room. Each is a work of art in itself, handcrafted by an individual with the love of color and design from fabrics Carol has sewn all her life She can tell you just about anything you want to know about quilting, and fabrics. The idea of opening her own quilt shop was conceived not only because of her love of the crafts but becaus... 08/26/2008

For your convenience, we have posted the high school football schedules for Round Rock area high schools here. Round Rock High School Football - 2008 DateOpponentSiteTime September 5th Austin Bowie Home 7:30 p.m. September 11th Ellison Away 7:30 p.m. September 19th Pflugerville Away 7:30 p.m. September 25th McNeil Away 7:00 p.m. October 3rd Westwood Home 7:30 p.m. October 10th Cedar Park Away 7:00 p.m. October 17th Leander Home 7:30 p.m. October 24th Vista Ridge Away 7:30 p.m. October 31st Georgetown Home 7:30 p.m. November 7th Stony Point Home 7:30 p.m.   McNeil High School Football - 2008 DateOpponentSiteTime August 29th A&M Consoilidated Home 7:30 p.m. September 5th Belton Away 7:30 p.m. September 12th Bryan Away 7:30 p.m. September 25th Round Rock Home 7:00 p.m. October 3rd Cedar Pa... 08/26/2008

If you are purchasing a home, you SHOULD GET A HOME INSPECTION!  I never recommend that ANY buyer purchase a home without getting an inspection from a licensed, experienced home inspector.  There are people out there though that may pass themselves off as licensed and experienced when they are not!  Be careful and make sure you get a GREAT inspector to provide your inspection and do not skimp on price!  Free home inspections are usually worth what you pay for them! I recently worked with a pair of brothers that were purchasing a new condo as their first home.  I encouraged them to get a home inspection and they assured me that they would.  I offered to send them a list of qualified inspectors to use.  They declined and said they had a "friend" in the business that would give them a "FRE... 08/26/2008

Fun, Casual, Chic, Unique! Welcome to Diva Valentine Boutique & Bistro at 306 West Main Street. Established in 2007, Diva Valentines is located in a vintage home on a quiet tree-lined street in the Old Town district of Round Rock, Texas. This irresistible boutique combines a unique blend of shopping and cottage style dining all under one roof. Each room you venture into offers a shopping experience that reflects the love for Shabby Chic, Cottage Style, Victorian French Country and Baby Boutique. Selections and one of a kind treasures include distressed furniture, jewelry, home décor, handbags, soaps, pillows, lotions and so much more. Here too you'll find a nice mix of products by creative local artists. Sip on flavered teas. Order a frappuccino. For lunch, choose from daily menu of sa... 08/24/2008

My wife Pam and I had a true date night yesterday evening, which means all three children were at home with our sitter and my mother-in-law.  Pam understands the importance of my blog, so she suggested that we go some place local so that I could write this review. We both enjoy Japanese food, so we selected Beluga Japanese, which is located in the strip center next to the H-E-B on Louis Henna in Round Rock.  It was beautifully and (I think) authentically decorated, although I will readily admit that my experience with Japanese decor is limited to what I have seen in action movies.  There were two rooms with a more traditional setup (i.e. sitting on the floor, etc.), but we ate at a regular booth.  This goes hand-in-hand with my old saying, "When in Rome, sit in a booth if possible." On ... 08/12/2008

Realtors work on weekends! I thought it might be interesting to look at a week the life of a Realtor. Every week holds something a little different and that is why I love this job. I meet great people along the way each day and I get to work for Jason Crouch. What else could you ask for? SATURDAY: Early Morning Yard work. Met a client at the Title company to Close on their property at 10am. had a few complications in paperwork so we did not finish until 12noon. Yea we closed! Left Title company to meet with prospect who wants to lease an apartment. Met them at 12:30pm left them at 2pm. Met with sellers agent on above property to do an exchange at 3pm. Ran to the home office to pick up printed marketing materials took it to my listing finished at 5pm. Back to the office to answer email a... 08/10/2008

TERAVISTA IN ROUND ROCK TEXAS! What are you missing by not living at Teravista in Round Rock, Texas?                            Incredible Homes like this one by Highland Homes!    Great Neighbors and great neighborhoods. An 18 hole golf course, workout center and two huge pools. Brand new elementary school opening this fall in Teravista. Beautiful club house and Ranch house for special parties and community celebrations. Close to Austin (Just 15 minutes north of downtown Austin). Top rated schools, next door to the outlet mall, Ikea, and a host of great restaurant's like: Mimi's Cafe, Le Madeline, Chili's, Steak and Shake, TGI Fridays.   Want to learn more? Email me at roundrockhomes@gmail.com  and I will be happy to send you more great information on Teravista.   08/10/2008

Are you an online, house-hunting fiend?  Well this post is for you!  We have collected a few new home search sites here that you may find VERY interesting.  At the HBH Group, we pride ourselves with staying on top of all the new technology sites and functions as best we can.  Here are of these for you to check out: DotHomes.com: Billing itself as a "real estate search engine," DotHomes scans the websites of agents and brokerages and returns listings in a way reminiscent of Google. The comparison is not accidental -- there's an "I'm Feeling Wealthy" search button that pays tongue-in-cheek homage to Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" button; it returns listings by price. Much like a general search engine, it allows you to enter your parameters very efficiently in one box as if they were keyword... 08/05/2008

Under the new housing bill, home buyers who have not owned a home in the last three years will be eligible for a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the property up to a maximum of $7,500.Here's how it works: The credit is $3,750 for married couples filing separately. Unmarried people who jointly purchase a home will be able to divide the $7,500 credit. This program is actually a loan, which home buyers must repay over 15 years at zero percent interest beginning in the second year after they purchase the home. A home buyer who qualified for the whole credit would pay $500 for 15 years or about $41.67 per month. The credit applies only to homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. High-income home buyers don't qualify: Eligibility begins phasing out for single file... 08/05/2008

If you are searching for a consolidated place to find FSBO listings, you have found it.  CLICK HERE to jump to our website and the FSBO report page.  We have consolidated many of the online FSBO Sources into one place to make it easy to find our more about For Sale By Owner listings in this area. The HBH Group is an expert real estate team with extensive experience in Internet marketing, staging and creative financing.  Call us today for a no obligation visit to see how we can help you sell your home in this more difficult market! Our real estate team is connected to: Buyers and sellers of commercial and residential real estate. Investors in both the above classes of real estate. Property acquisution, leasing and management services for investors of commercial and residential real estat... 08/04/2008

I went out with some leasing clients last Saturday.  They were trying to find a lease.  I try to make the leasing process as painless and less time consuming for everyone involved.  These ladies had been looking for something really great in the Round Rock area completely on their own.  The problem was that everything that met their very high standards was being taken off the market as fast as ever.  Leases are smokin' hot right now in the Austin area. That's when one of their brother's decided to contact a REALTOR, me, to help out with the situation.  I set them up with all the properties in the area that fit their criteria.  Low in behold a property had just come on the market that was available for lease in a short while.  It was on their list but they didn't know it was the one.  Th... 08/03/2008

"Major" Garage Sale Saturday, August 9th, 2008 8am - 4 pm 3102 Ash Glenn Round Rock, Texas 78681  Join us for a ‘Major' Garage Sale in honor of Major Key. Major is a 2 year old Vista Oaks resident who Is recovering from a successful kidney transplant All proceeds will go towards Majors medical expenses. We are accepting donations of any kind that are good saleable merchandise and welcoming volunteers. Whether you are participating in the garage sale or visiting us on August 9th, we look forward to seeing you! DONATIONS:  We are accepting clothes for adults and children, toys, working kitchen and household gadgets and appliances and other large items such as sports tables, exercise equipment and ail kinds of furniture, All items need to be dropped off at 3102 Ash Glenn in Round Rock, Tex... 08/03/2008

I have loved the Stone Canyon neighborhood for years, having assisted many buyers and sellers in the area.  We have some very good friends in this subdivision, and I always enjoy getting a chance to visit the area parks and trails with our kids.  Located just off of Highway 620 next to the Round Rock Medical Center, it offers strong amenities, natural beauty, and high-quality homes. Currently, there are 36 homes available on the MLS in Stone Canyon, with an average asking price of $249,094.  The average square footage for these homes is 2,731, for an average price per square foot of $91.90.  There are 5 homes under contract right now in Stone Canyon, with an average price of $271,940.  The average square footage on these homes is 2,919, yielding an average square footage price of $93.5... 08/02/2008

August 2008 1 AMARILLO Art Walk, (806) 352-7262 1 ODESSA Hot Summer Nights with Cool Music, (432) 335-4682 1 OLTON [1-2] Sandhills Celebration, (806) 285-7772 1 ODESSA [1-3] Texas Youth Bull Riders State Finals, (432) 366-3541 1 ODESSA [1-31] White-Pool House Museum Exhibits, (432) 333-4072 1 WEATHERFORD [1-3, 29-31] First Monday Trade Day, (817) 598-4124, www.weatherfordparks.com 2 CANYON LAKE Animal Shelter Anniversary Celebration, (830) 905-7387 2 KEMAH Salsa on the Boardwalk, 1-877-285-3624, www.kemahboardwalk.com 2 PAIGE VFD Barbecue Benefit-Auction, (512) 626-0846 2 PEARL Bluegrass, (254) 865-6013, www.pearlbluegrass.com 2 SAN ANGELO First Saturday at the Chicken Farm Art Center, (325) 653-4936 2 SAN ANGELO Powder Puff Cars & Texas Dwarf Cars, (325) 763-4978 2 TYLER Kiepersol Esta... 08/01/2008

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 about it more last night, I was reminded about one of my favorite features on Kiplinger.com - "How to save money on practically everything".  Some ideas are obvious, some are not, but the article really shows how small changes can make a big difference when gas is at $4 a gallon! For example, if you eat out twice a week just order water.  Two glasses of tea at $2 plus tax and tip add up to $5 per meal.  Switching to water for 2 meals a week saves $10/week or $500 per year.  Kiplinger's also sugg... 07/31/2008

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 are 10 to help you get better gas mileage: Follow the Recommended Maintenance - A well-maintained vehicle will operate more efficiently. Fouled spark plugs, dirty air filters and clogged fuel filters will diminish fuel economy. Keep Tires Properly Inflated - Under-inflated tires require more energy to roll; properly inflated tires can improve fuel economy by as much as 3 percent. Take a Load Off - Heavier vehicles require more energy to move. Pack light and remove unnecessary items from the car. ... 07/30/2008

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 marketplace that provide this service to the public: Equity Trust                   Pensco                          Guidant                         Sterling The great thing about a self-directed IRA/401K is that although you are limited as to how much you can put in on the front every year, you can make all the profit that you can and pay no tax on the gain!  If you are 49 & below, you can only contribute $5,000 annually to the IRA (Age 50 & up can contribute $6,000).  And if you already have an IRA or... 07/30/2008

Roundrock Texas: area neighborhoods (edit/delete) Round Rock Round Rock is located 16 miles north of downtown Austin. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Texas and is also one of the state's best managed cities. Quality of life is an important factor for the residents of this community. It won the prestigious Comprehensive Planning Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association in 1999 and was ranked the 13th Safest City in the country by a national survey. The property tax rate in Round Rock is one of the lowest in the area, and residents pay the lowest combined average monthly utility and tax costs in Central Texas.Major employers in Round Rock include Dell, Cypress Semiconductor and Farmers Insurance Group. Students living here attend schools in the Round Ro... 07/29/2008