Archive for Blog
Happy Texas Independence Day!
Today is Texas Independence Day. As an eight generation Texan I am proud to share this little bit of history with you and to take a moment to share some great aspects of Texas with you. I know many of you in my database do not live in Texas but I couldn’t resist including you [...]
Rehabers: Be Informed about New EPA Rule
If you are planning on rehabbing or remodeling a home built before 1978 then you need to be aware of a new rule from the EPA that goes into effect on April 22, 2010. If your scope of work requires you to disturb any of the interior or exterior paint of a home, school or [...]
Solar Shingles: Available Soon
Until now, solar energy’s two challenges have been cost and acceptance. Dow is working to change all that. Dow has been developing Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) building materials that enable solar energy cells to be incorporated directly into the design of commercial and residential building materials such as roofing systems, exterior sidings, fascias and [...]
Austin Construction Activity to Climb 30%
As reported today in the Austin Business journal:
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 [...]
Austin Housing Market Gaining!
It’s important to remember that what happens in Austin and in Texas is not necessarily the experience in other parts of the nation. As a real estate investor I’d rather make a lower profit margin and get in and out of a property as opposed to buying a home for 10 cents on the dollar [...]
Stop Acting Rich
I recently read a book by Thomas J Stanley, PhD entitled “Stop Acting Rich… And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire“. The relevance of the inforamtion in this book to a financial web site is that so many people seem to want to live beyond their own means. Dr. Stanley purports that in general people [...]
BIG help available from little known loan program
In the America Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is a loan program that is not being given much attention but can be very helpful for small businesses. It is the America’s Recovery Capital Loan (ARC) program offered by the SBA. It can provide up to $35,000 in short-term relief for viable small businesses facing immediate [...]
Austin area home sales up 38%!
The American Statesman reported that homes sales in Central Texas rose 38% in October over last year in October. This information is based partly upon statistics pulled from Austin Board of Realtors. ABOR reported October sales of single family residences in Oct 2009 were 1823 homes compared to 1322 homes sold in Oct 2008. Again, [...]
Housing Sales on the Rise Nationwide
Lawrence Yun, chief economist with National Association of Realtors, reported that home sales nationally rose by 7.2% June over July of this year. This seasonally adjusted rate of 5.24 million homes is the highest monthly increase in home sales in the last 10 years! Even more promising is the pending home sale index showing a [...]
Constitutional Amendments up for Vote – November 3rd
Texas voters are facing some Constitutional Amendments up for a vote this week. Early voting ends Friday with Tuesday November 3rd being that actual polling day.
Most of you who know me personally know that I am always a supporter of small government and if you have heard me railing at social gatherings you know that [...]