1. Mowing the lawn is not for you.
2. Forget the lawn, you hate to trim, pull weeds, and paint.
3. You travel a lot for your job or your sanity.
4. You have all these hobbies you want to pursue.
5. You have been renting for years and wasting money.
6. You want a pool but can’t afford it.
7. You don’t want a big home that you have to take care of.
8. You have very few friends and want to meet new people.
9. You want a really good deal if you are going to buy something.
10. You want to ensure your community adheres to rules and regulations.

Buying a condo is an excellent choice for those who either can’t afford the home of their dreams or those who want to scale down and enjoy their lives a little more. While renting has its place in life, it should never be a long term solution. Plus, if you are a busy person, home ownership will only cramp your style. Making a real estate investment is a sound contribution to your future and sometimes starting out a little slowly makes sense. Buying a condo first and a dream home later can make the transition from renting to home ownership a reality. Or, buying a condo in the later stages of your life instead of renting will keep your money working for you. Plus, condo ownership comes with amenities such as a community pool and a fitness center.  If you live alone, this can be a great way to meet people with similar interests.  Do you care about the way your environment looks?  Management companies do a great job of keeping condo properties in top condition; they keep the interest of the owners foremost because every condo owner pays a maintenance fee to keep the grounds and the property in top shape.

Whatever your situation in life, don’t rent forever or you will miss out on some financial freedom and / or quality of life that you deserve.

Whatever the reason, there are some great deals right now in condo sales.  With the recent downturn in the market, condo prices have been reduced significantly due to the abundant supply.  Don’t miss out on a chance at ownership at an affordable price.

We sell Tampa Bay Condos and can help you find the best deal.

Texas did well on their list.  We came in right behind Houston, and right ahead of SA.  Here’s what they had to say about Austin:

Stats for June were pretty similar to April’s stats.  Again, down slightly from a record year (2007.)  The total # of active listings are up 19% from last June.  The number of homes sold in Austin are down 20% from last year.  However, prices remain strong.  The median sales price is up just under 5%, and the average sales price is up just under 1%.

A real estate/SEO friend of mine in Las Vegas, Charles Richey, was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. If you’ve been on any real estate forums, you’ve probably seen Charles participating - he’s the guy with the parrot head avatar. This is a rare nervous system disorder, and oftentimes ends in paralysis. Unfortunately, Charles (like many self employed people) was not carrying health insurance. Some of our friends at the ibsteam forum have set up a fundraiser for him. If you get a chance, head on over, and donate. Anything will help.

My buddy Terry talked me into finally getting started on twitter.  It’s something that I always thought would be too time consuming, but he swears that it’s pretty passive.

So…here’s my profile.  Follow me, if you’re interested!

Get out and vote for Cid Galindo. Now! Election day is June 14th, but early voting is available now through June 10th. Here is a list of early voting locations.

Why vote for Cid? He’s for the Waller Creek redevelopment, and he’s against the ridiculous point of sale energy efficiency requirement. His opponent, Laura Morrison, is for the daddy state, and wants to prevent you from being able to freely sell your home.

Why are you still reading this? Go vote!

The Lake Travis View came out today and had some interesting things that I want to highlight for anyone in the area or considering a move to the area. I also have information here about the recent Lake Travis High School Awards Ceremony.

First, the subdivision of Falconhead and city of Bee Cave are about to learn which resort hotel will be built in Falconhead. What has been rumored for a couple of years was a Hilton resort. Now the finalists are Hilton and Starwood, the latter of which I have not heard of before. The hotel is supposed to be the center of a resort that will include a lazy river and convention center. The only hotels in the Bee Cave and Lakeway area so far are the Lakeway Spa and Resort and the Mountain Star Lodge. A Hampton Inn is under construction in Lakeway, so this new resort will be a nice addition.

The city of Lakeway has approved the extension of Serene Hills to Highway 71, giving Lakeway its only access to 71. Where the road will intersect the highway, retail development and housing are planned. The city also approved an additional turn lane from Lakeway Blvd. to 620. The Serene Hills extention will allow a short-cut so people don’t have to go through the 71/620 intersection in Bee Cave, which has become very busy. The new turn lane from Lakeway Blvd. will be a nice addition as traffic stacks up there pretty badly at times.

On to school news… A team of four Lake Travis High School (LTHS) students competed in a state-wide UIL science competition and took third place overall. Only one school in the state turned in better performances. The students took individual places of 4th, 10th, 15th and 26th. That tells you a lot about the caliber of the high school science department.

I had the honor of being at the LTHS Awards Ceremony yesterday to present the recipients of the Lakeway-Lake Travis Rotary Club scholarships. Rotary awarded $38,000 in scholarships to 18 graduating seniors. The Awards Ceremony was amazing, with a huge number of seniors being recognized for awards and scholarships. Out of 393 graduating seniors, 110 received scholarships, 33 were UIL Scholars, there was 1 National Merit Scholar, 160 UIL State Qualifiers, 14 received GT Recognition, there were 2 National Merit Finalists, 4 National Merit Commended and 1 National Hispanic Scholar.

As for scholarship recipients, there were four students awarded over $225,000 in scholarships including one with $614,000 and one appointed to the United States Air Force Academy. There were so many awards and scholarships to present that it took two hours to get it all done.

Sam Chapman is an Austin REALTOR who is a guest blogger on Eric’s Austin real estate blog. Sam specializes in Lakeway homes and Lake Travis real estate as well as working with buyers who are moving to Texas from other parts of the country.

Austin police headquarters could be moving from its current location on 8th & I-35.  The headquarters has been at its current location since 1981, and Austin has more than doubled in size in that time.

Why do we care?  Because the real estate it sits on is going to be VERY desirable, and APD headquarters is friggin’ ugly!  It backs to Waller Creek, which is slated to be Austin’s next river walk.

Here’s a screenshot:

Well….ABoR didn’t like ABoRForum.com. I was trying to help by putting the forum together - a place where all of the Austin brokers/agents could go to discuss what’s going on in the market, in our business, and with the local board of Realtors. Right now, a lot of brokers/agents are REALLY upset over MLXChange, and someone specifically asked for a forum. Currently, ABoR doesn’t have a forum, and I’m pretty handy with the ol’ computator, so I decided to throw one together.

ABoR didn’t like it. Do you ever wonder why our dues our so high? It’s because they like to freely spend money on expensive attorneys, when a simple phone call will do. If they would have called me and asked me to switch the URL, I would have. If they would have asked me to GIVE it to them, I would have - as long as it would have remained up. Nevertheless, they dropped a couple hundred of our money on a letter to me.

So….I transferred everything over to AustinBoard.com. I like it better - seriously. Has a nice, catchy ring to it. Let’s just hope that ABoR doesn’t have the copyrights to “Austin” or “Board.”