A Comfort-able Place to Stay in the Texas Hill Country – 2 Vacation Rentals
January 12th, 2010 categories: B&B's & Vacation Rentals
Thanks for visiting our B&B/Vacation Rental Booking Service. We realize that choosing a place to stay for the weekend can sometimes be a tricky thing … especially if you are not familiar with the area. No one wants to get to a B&B or vacation rental that they have committed to and be disappointed. We want you to know that we go to the utmost lengths to make our customers happy and believe that all three of our accommodations will exceed your standards of satisfaction.
There are so many factors to consider when choosing a place to stay in the Hill Country. Location, price, ambiance, and comfort are, in our minds, the most important. We currently have 3 wonderful places to choose from in the Comfort – Center Point – Kerrville area, each with their own uniqueness to offer.
- Old School House B&B – Romantic Weekend Get-a-way in a One Room School House just outside Comfort, Texas – Private – Top Notch Amenities – Hill Country Views – Close to Wineries – $115 p/night, $220 p/ weekend (includes 1 complimentary bottle of “Old School Chardonnay”).
- Verde Creek Cabin (with Full Kitchen) – Creekside Cabin under a canopy of Cypress & Pecan Trees in Center Point, Texas – Very Serene – Relax on the Porch & Calm the Stresses of Life – Weekend and Vacation Rental Rates – $198 p/weekend.
For availability, please give us a call at 830-995-2511.
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REAL ESTATES SALES IN COMFORT, TX STILL LAGGING IN JUNE & JULY
August 3rd, 2009 categories: Assessing the Local Market
There were 4 residential sales in the Comfort ISD totaling just under $1.2 Million during the month of July selling at 94% of List Price. Inventory has been surprisingly low this Summer … so sales are down.
However, during the last several weeks we’ve seen a number of new properties come on the market. Be sure and check our MLS Search engine to find out about those properties.
One recent buyer client told us that we provided them with the BEST experience that they EVER had with a real estate agent! Our goal is to EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS WITH ABOVE & BEYOND SERVICE!
Our offices are located in Comfort but we sell from San Antonio to Kerrville, from Bandera to Fredericksburg. Give us a call. We’d love to help! 830-995-2511.
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KERR COUNTY REAL ESTATES SALES – SUMMER SO FAR ABOUT EQUAL TO LAST
August 3rd, 2009 categories: Assessing the Local Market
Real Estate Sales in Kerr County during the month of July slowed a bit. Sales amounted to $11.1 Million as compared with $13.5 Million a year earlier, down from June’s increase.
It would seem that the Kerr County market is continuing to adapt to the changing, slower market as we take a closer look at other available data. List/Sales Price decreased from 95% in July, 2008 to 93% in July, 2009 meaning that buyers are still getting better deals, overall. Inventory, which as been very high (there were 1121 Active listings as of July 31, 2009 as compared with 923 a year earlier) is finally seeing some improvement. Days on market, a number that tells us how long it takes an average property to sell, decreased from 168 in July, 2008 to 152 in July, 2009.
Our Motto is “Connecting Buyers & Sellers for a Win/Win Result”. We work hard to bring YOU the results you want! Ask us , we’ll tell you how! We can be reached at 830-995-2511.
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OUR REAL ESTATE STRATEGY: CONNECTING BUYERS & SELLERS FOR A WIN/WIN RESULT
July 20th, 2009 categories: Real Estate Resourcing
What separates a good real estate agent from a really GREAT one? I am an observer by nature and I am always observing agents to determine who the good ones are and who are not. Quite honestly, there are times when I look at listings that I am about to show to a client and I cringe after I notice who the listing agent is. I do that because, as in all businesses, there are real estate agents who are not pleasant to deal with, who aren’t very efficient at doing their job (my #1 pet peeve), and, in terms of their negotiating techniques on behalf of their clients, they are operating at a 2 or 3 year old level. “This is MINE and you can’t have it!”
Our tag line for our business is: “Connecting Buyers & Sellers for a Win/Win Result.” It pretty much sums up who we are and how we do business. First, our belief is that the real estate business is about matching willing buyers and willing sellers. We’re not trying to convince anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. Secondly, we believe that we can do that that in a win/win way for all.
There are some in the real estate business who would take exception to our strategy about the win/win aspect and say that representation is exclusively about getting your client the very best deal (e.g., it’s not a win/win, but a win/lose, with the “win” in favor of MY client and the lose in favor of YOUR client). Another way of saying it is, “We absolutely won’t leave anything on the table.”
While it certainly IS our goal to get our client the very best deal possible (and we really are quite good at it), the problem with the Win/Lose approach is that it creates an adversarial relationship between the parties. Win/Lose negotiators often have strong egos and they have an extremely limited view of what the client’s REAL interests are. To say it a different way, they are negotiating based from their own ego, not in the true interest of the client. Even though the strategy sounds like a good idea for the client, quite often the results are less than what you might expect. The problem is that adversarial negotiating quite often ends up in compromise in order to get the deal done and so … sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. And sometimes the adversarial relationship continues … even into the courts.
The alternative way of negotiating is based on interests. It’s a bigger picture view and it provides for many more possible solutions. The truth is that people and situations are complex and every transaction has multiple factors that influence whether a person is getting a good deal or not. For example, who wants a great price on something that doesn’t interest them? or work for their family?
What we are trying to do is match interests and so we we feel like it is our job (and we spend most of our time observing and anticipating) what the changing interests of both parties are so that we can create a contractual agreement that both parties want to live up to. Sometimes, the hardest task is getting people to “see outside the box” … that their interests truly are being served with the creative solution that we are offering. See future articles with the keyword, “Interest Based Negotiations” for further elaboration the subject.
Connecting Buyers & Sellers for a Win/Win Result: It’s what we do. It’s who we are. And, it takes advantage of what people truthfully want to do. It is our feeling that if we are creative in putting deals together, we will get much better results than the next guy … and those results will be win/win for all!
If you are looking for win/win results, give us a call at 830-995-2511. We’d love to visit with you.
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With Texas Hills Come Valleys, Rivers (& Flooding): How to Handle Flood Plain Issues
May 18th, 2009 categories: Real Estate Resourcing
Beautiful Creek View in the Hill Country (available with Cabin www.hillcountryvacationrental.com)
The Texas Hill Country is full of beautiful hills, valleys, rivers, and creeks (like the one pictured to the left).
You’d think that every one moving to the Hill Country would want something like that. Beautiful, Live water! Ahhhhh…. You can almost feel your blood pressure falling, can’t you?
Well … Maybe. Maybe not! For some it might actually increase their blood pressure. So .. it just depends!
As with many things in life, with every plus, there is a minus and with live water comes the possibility of flooding. You just have to weigh the good with the bad and determine if it is right for you!
I had someone call me not too long and say that they wanted a live water property that was not in the flood plain. Kindof a problem, you think?
In some places, especially here in Comfort, a very large portion of the community is in the flood plain. The river and creek that caused the original settlers to settle there also caused those settlers much difficulty through the years. In fact, Comfort’s “main” street (e.g., the place where the majority of the town’s businesses are located) is now “High Street” because businesses relocated to “higher” ground after numerous floods.
So .. for many properties in the Hill Country, including properties in Kerrville, Bandera, Center Point, Fredericksburg, etc., you will have to weigh flood insurance into the overall budget.
When faced with flood plain issues, one term can be especially confusing.
100-Year Flood – The term 100-year flood is misleading. It is not the flood that will occur once every 100 years. Rather, it is the flood that has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Thus, the 100-year flood could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time. The 100-year flood is also known as the base flood or 1 percent annual flood.
So, how do you know whether the property you are looking at is in the floodplain? You will want to locate the the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for your area. Here is a portion of Comfort, Texas (Panel 90 in Kendall County):
Flood Insurance Map for Comfort, Texas
What you will notice is that there are different zones shown as wells as various numbers. For areas in the Hill Country, you will be concerned with Zones A & B. Zone B is considered to be in the “flood fringe area” (e.g., the risk of flooding is less than 1%; however, still a possibility). Many mortgage companies still require coverage for properties in Zone B.
Zone A is definitely in the high risk portion of the flood plain. Often, Zone A will be broken down into subareas ranging from Zone A-1 to Zone A-30. If your property is in a Zone A area, you will definitely need flood insurance and the Flood Insurance Rate Map will tell your insurance agent how to price your premium. Flood insurance premiums are federally regulated. Often, individuals and lenders will ask for a Flood Insurance Certificate in order to better define the risk of flooding and can help save in premiums.
A Flood Insurance Certificate is prepared by a surveyor who certifies the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) that the property is in, the Lowest Floor Elevation(LFE), and the Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG).
Base Flood Elevation (BFE) – The Base Flood Elevation is the height of the base flood, usually in feet, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, or other datum referenced in the Flood Insurance Study report, or average depth of the base flood, usually in feet, above the ground surface.
The other two terms, LFE and LAG give perspective as to where the house is relative to the BFE. If it is above the BFE, insurance rates could be less than standard FIRM rates. If the house is at or below the BFE, the insurance rates likely will remain at the FIRM rates.
Whether your house was built (or substantially improved) prior to the community’s first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or not will factor into how much you pay in flood insurance premiums. Ask your insurance agent.
For other terms related to flood plain, go to:
Or if you would like information on a specific area or property, we’d love to help you. You can draw on our expertise of Hill Country real estate and the dynamics related to it.
We’d love to be your Hill Country Home & Ranch Team! 830-995-2511.
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