Erika's Austin Insights Blog

Are you familiar with the Active Rain Community Guidelines? The overarching theme here is respect.  Respect the industry, respect the law, respect your peers and overall, respect the ActiveRain community.  One particular bullet point among the Community Guidelines really got my attention, “The po...

    It’s that time of year again!  If you purchased a primary residence in 2017, make sure to file your homestead exemption with the county to save some money on your property taxes! You must submit this paperwork by April 30th. Your Homestead Exemption will be denied unless all of the required ...

If you’ve been renting for a while, I’m sure you’ve at one time considered the idea of buying a home.  Yearning for a place where I could rip the carpet out, paint the walls whatever color I wanted, and replace the completely unpredictable electric oven was enough to propel me towards making my h...

If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing a house in Austin, now is the time to take the plunge and start looking at homes.  According to data from the Austin Board of REALTORS, the lowest median sales price for Austin area homes occurs in January. This trend has remained consistent for at lea...

Are you the type of person that thinks if you own your property you should be able to do whatever you please with it?  If you want to build a fence, paint your door pink, or park an RV on your land, you should be able to do as you please. If so, you may be feeling constricted by all of the regula...

If you’re looking to embrace the holiday spirit in Austin, there are a plethora of events and attractions sure to get you in the mood.  Take a look at this list of Austin area holiday events and attractions, and let me know if you have a favorite holiday happening to add to the list! A Christmas ...

​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...