Erika's Austin Insights Blog

​If you’re like me, a steady marathon of Chip and Jo’s Fixer Upper, leaves me yearning for a flip of my own.  Tear down some walls, add some shiplap and large beams, tear out the ugly carpet, and you have a dream home anyone would want to live in.  If you’re planning to personally live in the ho...

1. Popcorn Ceilings     I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who liked popcorn ceiling.  I mean really, who invented this in the first place?  It’s hard to clean and generally just an eye-sore.  Popcorn ceiling is also challenging to remove.  You must wet it, scrape it, and then repair/paint the...

STEP 1: CONSULTATION The first step in selling your home is to meet face to face with your dedicated real estate agent. Together, we will discuss your exact needs and timeline and develop a strategy to meet your goals.  We will review comparable sold properties, and determine if it's in your best...

If you’re thinking about selling your home, you may be thinking about all the things you need to do before actually putting your home on the market.  You may be thinking about small things such as fixing that leaky faucet, or maybe you are thinking about a more extensive change such as remodeling...

October Contest- Real Estate- ExteriorI would like to start out by acknowledging I never photograph my own listings.  While I may be quite talented with my iphone, there is simply no comparison to great professional photographs from someone who snaps home pics for a living all day every day.  I w...

In a Texas real estate transaction involving third party financing, ie. a loan, lender approval is required for the deal to close.  That approval is broken down into two parts.  The buyer must obtain approval for the loan based on their finances, credit, income etc. and the property must also be ...

If you have driven across Austin’s South Congress street bridge recently you may wonder why there are hundreds of people gathered along the eastern side of the bridge.  A little before sunset, spectators appear on the sidewalk along the bridge to watch North America’s largest urban bat colony.   ...

If you are considering buying a home, it’s highly likely that you are looking at homes on Zillow.  Zillow spends exorbitant amounts on advertising, and their platform is incredibly user-friendly.  While Zillow may be great for casually browsing homes, it’s not the best platform when you are serio...

I was recently chatting with a friend and she mentioned how it was odd that Austinites often refer to their neighborhood by zip code.  This is often the case when talking about Austin’s 78704 zip code.  You will frequently here people say they live in the ’04.  Alternatively, one might mention li...

As you may recall, in my previous blog post titled, When’s The Best Time to List My Property, I mentioned how most families prefer to move during the summer.  This has resulted in sellers getting the highest price for their home in May/June.  In fact, over the past five years, we have consistentl...