You Don’t Want to Miss This Beautiful Listing

This gorgeous home is located in a cul-de-sac within the Round Rock Independent School District at 8504 Del Carmen Cove, Austin, Texas, 78759.

I have a full video tour of a wonderful property that I want to show you that is available now!

This gorgeous home is located in a cul-de-sac within the Round Rock ISD at 8504 Del Carmen Cove, Austin, Texas, 78759.

The outside features spectacular sunset views of the Bull Creek Greenbelt, which you can see in full by following the video above.

"The outside features spectacular sunset views of the Bull Creek Greenbelt."

On the inside, this impeccably maintained home has been remodeled to include the kitchen with a wine rack and desk area, granite counters, a travertine backsplash, a center island, interior paint, flooring, and more.

Listed at $839,900, this home has over 4,000 square feet. It has five bedrooms and five bathrooms, and features multiple living areas, a game room, built-in bookshelves, three walk-in closets, and an expansive outdoor deck for entertaining!

If you have any questions about this property, don’t hesitate to us reach out to us. We’d be glad to speak with you.

Some of the Best Lakefront Properties in Texas

Lakefront properties are a passion of ours. Here are a few that we just listed on the market.

We have a passion for helping people buy and sell waterfront property here in Central Texas. We’ve got four amazing properties on the shores of Lake Travis and Lake Austin that we’d like to talk to you about today. We also want to talk about where home values are going, what trends we are seeing in the real estate market, and what’s changed in the last few years. 

The first property is located at 17216 Northlake Hills Dr. in Jonestown. It’s located within the gated community of Northlake Hills and is just a quick 20-minute drive to the new Whole Foods in Cedar Park. This home is just over 10,000 square feet with eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, multiple pools, a detached guest house, and an income-producing 22-slip marina.

The second one is also located in Jonestown in The Hollows, one of the top communities in Lake Travis and one of the best marinas on the lake. This home is located at 17607 Breakwater Drive. If you want an 11,000 sq. ft. home with one of the best views of the lake, this is it.

"Some of the best views on the lake."

The third property we have is at 21902 Briarcliff Drive in Spicewood, where some of the best water on Lake Travis is. There is a main house with three bedrooms and a guest quarters with one bedroom and a full kitchen and bath. This is great for short-term rentals or guests. Right now, the owner is leasing this property out for $16,000 in the month of July.

Last but not least is 13240 Shore Vista. It sits just under three acres and just over 7,000 square feet. It’s located in an area with some of the most private water and private estates on Lake Austin.

Values can vary immensely, depending on the lake and the area within the lake that we are talking about. When the drought came in 2011, the levels of Lake Travis dropped significantly. People started shifting their purchases more towards Lake Austin. We saw a low point for values in 2014, but they have since recovered. There has been a slight dip in values in both lakes in 2017, so we’re keeping a close eye on that.

If you have any questions for us about any of these properties or want to know anything else about this kind of real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Maintaining Your Heating and Cooling Systems

With summer nearly over, I’m sure you (like me) have been reminded just how much we use our air conditioning. Soon, in the winter, you’ll also be reminded of how often you use the furnace, too.

It’s one of the major systems in your home, and a surprise issue with one of these systems can be a nightmare if handled improperly. That’s why I wanted to share a video from Angie’s List that I recently saw about proper maintenance of your heating and cooling systems.

If either unit is having issues, did you know you can actually hire technicians who are specially trained to work on certain brands? For example, if you have a Trane system, you can find a tech who is trained specifically to work on Trane products.

Secondly, always remember to get a second opinion when someone recommends that you replace a system because oftentimes a repair will do. You want to be certain when it comes to a part of your home that should last 20 years, especially considering the cost of a replacement.

"...be proactive with service on these systems."

Unfortunately, as the video points out, there are a lot of people out there in that deal in these systems and prey on customers that don’t know any better. If you’re hiring a company, you should investigate them by checking out their web reviews or social media pages. 

Also, be proactive with service on these systems. If you wait until the system is broken down and needs repair to get it checked out, you’re now at their mercy.

As always, for any real estate questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer them for you!

How to Get Your Offer Accepted

Buying an Austin Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling an Austin Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Since Austin is one of the most competitive buyer environments in the country, it's quite common to see multiple contracts offered on a single property. This can make life stressful for buyers, who find themselves forced to bring their highest and best offers to the table in order to win a multiple offer situation. Today, we want to share a few tips to ensure you don't miss out on the home of your dreams.

The first and most important thing is to be ready to submit an offer. In Austin, if you do not have a pre-approval or a funds verification letter to prove you have cash in hand to purchase, a seller will not acknowledge your offer, much less consider accepting it. Having your pre-approval letter in hand while aggressively looking for a home is the most important thing you can do when buying in Austin.

If you find yourself in a multiple offer situation, upping the option money is something that can sweeten the deal for the seller. When you do this, option money is given to the seller upfront for what we call the option period; often, for seven days it's $150, but making it $500-$1,000 can make the offer more attractive. Another option is offering a greater amount of earnest money, which is held in escrow once the contract is executed. You will only get that money back if you terminate within the option period or some other outlet in the contract. This allows the sellers to see on paper that you're highly motivated and that you're serious about buying the house and less likely to terminate the contract.

Giving the seller the choice of the closing date is another way to make your offer stand out. If you're not in a situation where you need to move into a home in the next 30 days as soon as the loan is process, it will benefit you to be flexible with your timetables. Let the seller choose their close date, or if the seller prefers, close as soon as possible.

Writing a personal letter to the seller is a great way to grab their attention. Explain what you love about the home, why you're moving, where you're from, and what you plan to do with the home. This humanizes your offer, as you become more than just a name on a piece of paper.

Lastly, you need to be patient when buying in a competitive market. Ultimately, in this market, everything is in the seller's hands. Submit the strongest offer you can and relax the best you can; pestering the seller's agent is only going to make you look anxious and desperate, two qualities you don't want sellers to pick up on.

If you have any questions about making the most of this competitive marketplace, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to help you find success in this difficult buying environment!

Why Are You Going to Love Our New Site?

Austin Real Estate Agent Shawn Culhane promotes his new website, with a much more user-friendly interface and a more advanced "Search for Homes" function.

There are many great Austin area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (512) 590-0850 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to send out a quick message to you today to let you know about some exciting news in our company. We are currently transitioning from having multiple websites with different functions to one easy-to-use site.

It will have all the same listings, same content, and same features as our sites have had in the past, but in a more organized and easy-to-digest way.

One thing we have done to strengthen our site is enhance our "search for homes" feature. Now you can search by nearby schools, waterfront proximity, and lot size, in addition to price, location, and features.

If you haven't checked out the site yet, head on over to www.shawnculhane.com now!