Consider a picture of the map of Texas; that picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of a Texan as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It’s Texas. Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he’ll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone. Did you ever hear anyone in a bar go, “Wow…so you’re from Iowa? Cool, tell me about it?” Do you know why? Because no State invokes an emotional response like Texas.

Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church building, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, which had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom. And from that stand many more battles were fought by determined Texans to rid themselves of the tyranny of Mexico. We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes. John Wayne paid to do the movie Alamo himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Anna at San Jacinto.

Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest.

Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend.

Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.

Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.

Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in her cities.

Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork.

Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico. Hence TexMex!

Texas is NASA.

Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops.

Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field.

Texans have pride like no others.

Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields, and skies filled with doves.

Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights.

To drive across Texas is to drive 1/4 the way across the United States.

Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.

If it isn’t in Texas, you probably don’t need it.

Everything’s bigger in Texas! No one does anything bigger or better than it’s done in Texas.

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. The Stars and Stripes are flown at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine, and those respective state flags are flown at 17 feet. But not the Lone Star Flag of Texas; it is flown at 20 feet parallel with the Stars and Stripes. Do you know why? Because Texas is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol building is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C., and we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on.

Maybe I am bragging a bit today but I am proud of the people of Texas and the contribution that we make to the United States. If you know a Texan please take a moment and wish him or her a Happy Texas Independence Day and watch a smile stretch as wide as Texas across their face.

Have a great day!

Contractors, property owners, homeowners, realtors and childcare providers can visit www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm online to find their respective Renovation, Repair and Painting Rules.

Pride of Austin Capital Partners will require this certificate from all borrowers whose scope of work includes disturbing paint in homes, schools and day care centers built before 1978 when a loan is being underwritten. Realtors and Homeowners may want to check to see if they will be required to provide a copy of the certificate from their contractor when they are selling a property that was renovated after April 22 in which the paint may have been disturbed.

The Dow POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle (coming to the market soon) delivers true building-integrated aesthetics by integrating PV functionality into an asphalt roof-shingle form factor. It utilizes high-efficiency, CIGS-based, PV cells manufactured on a flexible substrate. These cells are laminated and subsequently over-molded into the final shingle design using conventional materials and polymer processing methods. Dow’s groundbreaking technology integrates low-cost thin-film photovoltaic cells into a roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar module. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously.

Pride of Austin Capital Partners encourages our builder borrowers to integrate energy efficient building products like this solar shingle into their projects. We do take into account the higher cost of energy saving products added to residential and commercial projects but we feel the extra cost is warranted as it increases the value of the asset as well as it is the right thing to do from a social concious standpoint. We encourage our builder borrowers to consider adding these types of features into their construction budgets when presenting a loan package to us.

Texas’ construction activity is expected to improve this year with Austin fairing the best, according to a McGraw-Hill Construction report Thursday.

The 2010 Texas Construction Outlook shows construction starts value increasing 16 percent this year to $52.5 billion statewide. Austin is expected to experience the largest growth, rising 30 percent in value, followed by Houston, growing 17 percent. Dallas is projected to increase 16 percent and El Paso should add 8 percent value this year. San Antonio is expected to see 6 percent growth.

The report said housing starts are expected to grow 31 percent to $21.8 billion, while commercial construction starts will slip 1 percent to $17.6 billion. Federal stimulus funding will boost public works and utilities construction, according to the report.

McGraw-Hill has compiled project and product information, plans and specifications and industry news and forecasts for more than a century. The publication is owned by The McGraw-Hill Cos. (NYSE: MHP) in New York

Notes collateralized by:
Parking Garage
Condo Unit Inventory Loans
Warehouses / Distribution / Flex
Medical Office
Student Housing
CBD Office
Suburban Office
Grocery Anchored Retail Shopping Centers
Mixed Use

The preferred Tier 1 Markets are:
Chicago
San Francisco / San Diego / Los Angeles
Dallas / Austin / Houston
New York City / New York Metro
Atlanta
Salt Lake City
Portland
Philadelphia
Charlotte
Nashville
Washington DC
Phoenix
Boston
Miami

Want to convert your note to cash? Contact us!

A commitment letter was issued for a $250K plus loan to a foreign national seeking to purchase a home in Houston

A commitment letter was issued for a $2.5MM loan to refinance a church in SE Texas

A commitment letter was issued for a $100K plus loan to rehab a single family home in Austin, TX

An LOI was issued for a $10MM plus loan to refinance a hotel north of DFW area of TX

Projects being processed for February 2010: A

$2.5MM refinance and rehab loan for a motel located west of the DFW area of TX
A $600K acquisition and rehab loan for a commercial piece of real estate in Austin, TX
A $100K plus acquisition and rehab loan for a single family residence located in Austin, TX
A $1.5MM plus rehab loan for a warehouse to lofts conversion in the Panhandle of TX
A $19MM plus loan for a renovation of a flagship hotel in Houston, TX

If you have a project that needs funding please contact us!

We deliver!

Austin has maintained stability in the housing market just as most of Texas has. Here are some solid facts to consider about the Austin Housing Market. In November of 2009 there was a 63% increase in the number of homes sold over November of 2008 even though the number of active listings rose by 8% over the year before.

According to the Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR) the average number of active days on the market for all homes sold in November was 76 days. That is a drop in the average number of days on the market from the previous year. ABOR reported that in November of 2009 the median sales price of all properties sold fell by less than 2% to $179,000. The average sales price rose by 2% to $239,596. This is a strong indication that the $8,000 first time homebuyer credit kicked in and worked wonders for the inventory in the entry level price points.

The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University considers a balanced market to be when there is 6.5 months of inventory in available homes on the market. Balanced inventory means that the demand for homes is balanced with the supply of available home. However, as per the statistics for November 2009 there is an available inventory of only 5.4 months. The demand for homes is slightly outpacing the supply for homes.

Should this trend hold in 2010 we just might see a strong sellers market at the end of 2010 or early 2011.

Nearby markets like San Antonio and the market in, around and between Austin and San Antonio are all holding and showing signs of gaining. Investing in real estate in Central Texas is proving to be a safer investment than many other areas in the United States. Let us show you how to build wealth with real estate.

If you didn’t earn 12% or more on your money in 2009 then you didn’t invest with Pride of Austin.

403,211: Number of millionaires who live in homes valued at $1MM or more.

1,138,070: Number of millionaires who live in homes valued at $300,000 or less.

90% of all millionaires live in homes valued at $1MM or less.

67,000: The approximate number of millionaires who live in mobile homes.

41%: This is the percentage of homes with a value of $1MM or more that are owned by people earning $200,000 or more annually. That means the other 59% of homes valued at $1MM or more are owned by people who are fortunate enough not to have to work but more likely owned by people who earn less than $200,000 a year.

27%: The percentage of homes valued at $1MM or more that are actually owned by people who are liquid with $1MM or more.

Just some facts to consider as you set your goals for 2010.

The temporary ARC program offers interest-free loans to viable small businesses, which carry a 100 percent guaranty from the SBA to the lender and require no fees paid to SBA. Loan proceeds are provided over a six-month period and repayment of the ARC loan principal is deferred for 12 months after the last disbursement of the proceeds. Repayment can extend up to five years.

The problem is finding a bank willing to issue the loan even though the loans are 100% guaranteed by the Federal Government. Some bankers are saying this loan is not profitable enough for them. It seems to me that since these banks took billions of dollars in loans from the American Taypayers they could find a way to administer these loans for America’s small businesses.

For more information please Google ARC loans by SBA. Or better yet, call your local banker and ask them about the loan program. When they tell you they don’t offer it ask them why? Then write the SBA field office near you and file a complaint.