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Category Archives: Purchases

Ups and Downs

Can’t resist more Washington photos. Look at that back yard!

Ups and downs are normal in this business, especially the very cautious way we’re doing it. We just don’t buy on a whim, and need to make a profit when we sell, so we don’t take every offer.

It’s more of an “up” right now, but it’s a cautious one. Thus, we aren’t talking a lot about what’s going on, but here’s a quick project run-down for the Austin and Cameron businesses:

The Travis 2 house in Cameron, where Mandi used to live, is out of the option period and scheduled for closing soon. It’s going to be a law office/home!

Russet Valley in Cedar Park is in the option period with another full-price offer. We’re hoping this one goes smoothly. It gets inspected today. With improved landscaping, it’s showing well.

I also can’t resist sharing this all-new kitchen again. It was SO dim before.

Washington in Cameron has already had a few showings, with very positive feedback on our rehab. It’s a small house, bedroom-wise, so the buyer will need to be okay with that.

Meadow Arbor 1 in Universal City just went on the market, but we already have lots of showings scheduled. Carol said her phone was blowing up all day yesterday!

The Nash house/Aunty House in Cameron is moving forward and will close soon (it’s our next rehab).

The Gillis house paperwork issues are closer to getting taken care of, and we look forward to converting it into our personal assistance service office, with an apartment above.

This is all we’re officially working on, though Carol is working on a couple of deals, including one she and Russell may do as a homestead flip. Fun Times!

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Selling and Buying in Cameron

Coming soon! Go ahead and call Jennifer. She won’t mind!

Selling

Sometimes patience pays off, and I think it finally is over here in Cameron. All that’s left to do on the Washington property is to get it cleaned up and figure out what to do for a fireplace. Jennifer even got nice new “coming soon signs” to put on the property.

In even better selling news, we may have a buyer for the 1604 Travis house! The contract is signed, so we hope it goes through. As soon as all is officially set, I’ll share about what a great use the house will go to. It’s exactly what we’d hoped.

Who will be sitting on this front porch next? Find out soon!

And buying?

You may remember we’ve been waiting to clear up some red tape on  two other properties in Cameron. We are pleased to announce that the Nash house (Aunty’s house) sale is ready to go through at last. The house has a great story behind it and so much potential. We can’t wait to get it up to modern with vintage charm and find folks to live in it. It’s in such a great neighborhood, has such a big lot, and is so close to the school…yeah. It’s a winner.

Sometimes there are glitches, though, and we have discovered another detail to deal with on the Gillis house before we can close on it. At least we now know what we are up against, and can get it all taken care of. We’re really excited about getting to work on this one, because we are planning to put the offices of our new home health service, Hearts, Homes, and Hands there.

We’re upside down with excitement over this next venture.

What?

That’s right. We are moving right along on this project, and will soon have a website and Facebook page with actual details about what we plan to do, which will provide services not currently available in Cameron. We just have to wait to get all certified and ready to start. We’re so glad for Kathleen’s experience and expertise in this field.

The Gillis house will be a welcoming spot for families who need our services, and a pleasant place for the staff to meet in and work. We even have an interview with a potential administrator next week!

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New and Improved Computers!

Brand sparkling new.

I have had a struggling battle with the miniMac computer that I started with about 2 and a half years ago. Some days it would boot right up, other days I would sit and stare at the screen for 30 minutes waiting for it. It was very obvious that I was overwhelming its capabilities. I’m sure it wasn’t really designed for what I was using it for and all of the storage I had on it. So it has been not working well for quite a while.

Lee brought me this big, fancy computer [thanks to Sue Ann telling him to]! One big box that had a picture of the monitor on it. I said, “Awesome! Is this the whole thing?” He said, “That’s it. That’s the whole thing.” He was going to set it all up with the plugs, etc, but since he remembered that I set up the mini I could set this “one plug and done” machine up no problem. I did it! Yay! Then he ran through programming it and getting it ready to use. It was really slow just coming out of the box and being ran for the first time, but let me tell you! Once it had a chance to really wake up, this thing runs like its hind end is on fire! Almost intuitive. And Siri scared the bejesus out of me this morning.

I was sitting here, minding my own business, talking to myself like normal.

“Hmm. I wonder how to make the fonts bigger.”

Strange lady’s voice from nowhere – “Would you like to ask me a question?”

I spilled coffee on myself. But I did ask her though. I thought you had to say, “Hey Siri” first, but then I realized I had opened Siri in the background so she was already listening. Apparently she doesn’t run all the time though. I just asked for good music and nothing happened. Or maybe she thinks good music is silence. I do sometimes.

This is just a quick update on Mandi’s Fancy New Computer! Siri and I are going to get back to work now.

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Finally Floor and Backsplash for Washington!

Jennifer and I finally had time when the weather was not horrible to go pick flooring and backsplash for the Washington house. We went to a new place, for us, Surplus Warehouse.

They didn’t have a huge selection, but the prices were great. The guy who helped us was knowledgeable and friendly, too.

Jennifer had brought a granite sample, which helped with the tile decision. We were afraid white would be too, well, white, so we went with this reasonably priced herringbone gray with crackles.

Tile up close.

Once she got back to the house, Jennifer said white might have been okay, but this looks pretty great, too.

Yep, the granite is in. We will have more photos tomorrow!

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They’re All Worth a Second Glance

Good deal or bad deal? This one would definitely need more than one look!

Sometimes, on the surface, a real-estate investment lead seems like it is absolutely a no go. Sometimes even upon a second glance, it’s a no go. They’re worth a second look, though.

Why look twice?

We have had people call on occasion who want to sell their house. Reasons can range from taking a new job and having to move, all the way to they just can’t afford it anymore. The reason doesn’t really matter to us, because if someone is calling us, they need help. We strive to help everyone that we can.

The deciding factor on whether or not we can help someone always comes down to numbers. We do wear our hearts on our sleeves for people in bad situations, but we also have to think about what the business can handle. We have to look at the big picture. When the numbers work out and we are able to help out, those are our great days!

It is not really about how much money CAN we make, but more like how much do we HAVE to make on a project. We certainly can’t jump in with both feet knowing that we will lose money. That’s how you run a business into the ground and don’t help anyone at all. That has to be on the forefront of our minds in making decisions. We have people who depend on us, and we cannot get emotional about helping someone when the business cannot support it.

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