Berkshire Broadcast

The Fairytale Tudor

Great Britain’s Tudor reign spanned 1485 and 1603 and was unprecedented in terms of prosperity. International trade led to a great expansion in free-thinking and in – home design concepts, including new ideas like the decorative indoor fireplace with a mantle, hand-made rugs from the Orient as table coverings, and built-in cabinets and seating. 

Tudor style is down-to-earth and charming, and many urban homebuyers are enchanted by their asymmetrical designs, distinctive half-timber accents, deeply pitched roofs, leaded glass windows, gables, turrets, and brick or stone exteriors, accented by one or more large brick-patterned chimneys.  The entry is typically a plank style door with a rounded arch and iron hardware. 

Tudor

Emergency Plans for Your Family

Do you know what to do when a disaster strikes? Do your children? By creating and practicing an emergency safety plan, you can protect your family when natural disasters happen. Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes each require special preparations, including emergency kits with food, water, first aid, medicines and blankets.

Fires. The National Fire Protection Association advises you to have at least two ways to escape the home in case of fire. Practice fire drills with your children at least twice a year so they can identify safer escape routes from anywhere in the home.

Tornadoes. Tornadoes are fast, unpredictable and destructive. The Red Cross recommends the safest shelter for the family as

Prequalify, Preapprove - What’s the Difference?

Some mortgage terms can be confusing, none more so than the similarities and differences between prequalification and preapproval. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean very different things to lenders, real estate professionals and home sellers.

Prequalifying is a rough-idea process that tells you how much money you’ll likely be able to borrow to buy a home. You can prequalify yourself on any banking or real estate-related website simply by putting your salary, type of loan you want, down payment amount and a ballpark home price into a mortgage calculator. You can talk with a lender, who will also give you a ballpark amount without a credit check.

When you apply for a mortgage

November is time for Gutters, Leaves, Lawns, Gardens & HVACs: Chuck Farr’s November 2019 “Talking Real Estate” eNewsletter

Happy Thanksgiving, sports fans, homeowners, tenants, prospective buyers, and real-estate investors. This month’s homeowner task list is the same as October, but the enewsletter for November has some great new articles. Before you check the “Talking Real Estate” monthly enewsletter, Fall is here and has its own home maintenance checklist in Central Texas. Here are a few items to consider during November:

•       Outdoor Tasks:

o   Plant and fertilize. Fall is a great time to lay down some good fertilizer on the lawn, plant trees, bushes, and perennials; they will thank you for not planting them in the blaze of summer.

HOMEBUYERS’ ADVICE | Is It Time To Buy a Vacation Home?

You may be feeling fairly flush these days, with a bigger salary, job security, appreciating homestead and other wise investments. Now might be the right time for you to buy a vacation home.

According to the 2019 U.S. Vacation Home Counties Report compiled by the National Association of REALTORS, the median price of vacation homes between 2013 and 2018 appreciated 36% compared to existing and new homes at 31%.

Like many vacation home buyers, you may be thinking of a great family getaway, but you can also use a second home as an additional way to build equity. You can lease it for income, and then use the property as your primary residence upon retirement.

Banks have stiffer qualifying

HOMEBUYERS’ ADVICE | “Flaneur” the Way To Your Next Home

Have you ever taken the time to stroll the marketplace in your neighborhood or the city simply for the pleasure of observation? Then you might be what the French call a “flaneur.”  The flaneur was first described in the writings of 19th-century poet Charles Baudelaire as one who casually wanders, watches and chronicles the street life they observe. You could try the concept to help you find your next home.

You can wander neighborhoods you’re interested in by car, bus or train, but you can do so much more effectively by foot. Start at places with lots of activities, like shopping centers, business districts or city parks. Try to have no other agenda except to meander and let the sights, sounds,

GUIDE INCLUDES:

Source:  Austin Title

Buyers:

• 6 Home-Buying Tips for the Current Market
• House Hunters Checklist
• Property Score Card
• Five Tips Every Aspiring Homeowner Needs to Know
• Tax Benefits of Home Ownership
• Home Design Trends

Sellers:

• Why You Should Sell Your Home
• 51 Home Sale Tips
• Preparing Your Home For Sale
• Showing Your Home
• 9 Tips For Selling A Home When You Have Kids
• 10 Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Open House

For Both:

• Pre-Closing Checklists
• Post-Closing Reminders
• Moving Checklist

Austin Title | Buyers & Sellers Guide

FINANCIAL ADVICE | How to Challenge Higher Property Taxes

According to the National Taxpayers Union, between 30% and 60% of taxable property in the United States is over-assessed, yet less than 5% of homeowners appeal their assessments.

Your2020 tax assessment will outline county, city and school taxes, as well as special assessments. Look online or call the assessor’s office for a list of factors used to evaluate properties and render assessments, including time frames. Compare them to your bill and make sure your square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and baths are listed correctly.

If you can’t find the assessment rate on your statement, call the taxing authority and ask what the assessment rate is for your home’s location. There should

The City of Manor Strives to promote Community spirit through the preservation of our unique character and heritage while fostering a dynamic economic environment. In the past decade, the population of the city of Manor has grown more than 500 percent. Like other suburbs in Central Texas, many newcomers move there from Austin – pushed out by rising housing costs.

Living in Manor

The City of Manor is situated approximately 12 miles east of Austin on U.S. Highway 290, which links much of Central Texas to Houston. Over the next decade, Manor is poised to see explosive growth as its proximity to Austin, its affordable land, and its location at an interchange of the SH130 toll-road set the stage for this growth. Many new subdivisions offer a

HOMEBUYERS’ ADVICE | Loving the Ranch-style Home

All housing reflects the culture and the economics of their day, and the ranch-style home of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s is a symbol of post-World War II prosperity and an icon of the space age.

The mid-century saw the first real sprawl in communities away from town centers, made accessible by the increasingly affordable family car aided by President Eisenhower’s new highways. Land was plentiful, so most of these single-story or split-level homes are situated on comparatively large lots, with kid-friendly front and back yards.

These homes were designed as machines for living, with streamlined designs of the space age. Ranch homes were easy and quick to build, and a snap to remodel, as most