Do you own your dream ranch style home?  Or any home on a slab foundation?  A little cutie in Allandale or Highland Hills or another great cental Austin neighborhood?  Or are you considering buying a vintage ranch home anywhere in Austin?  CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO!  If you are getting ready to buy a home on [...]]]>

Do you own your dream ranch style home?  Or any home on a slab foundation?  A little cutie in Allandale or Highland Hills or another great cental Austin neighborhood?  Or are you considering buying a vintage ranch home anywhere in Austin?  CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO!  If you are getting ready to buy a home on a slab foundation that’s 25 years or older, make SURE you add slab leak coverage to your insurance rider!   If you don’t have the appropriate coverage, then THIS might be in your future.   I can guarantee—you will not like it!   This is Austin and although we end up on all of the Top Ten Lists of the Greatest Places On Earth to Live–if you end up having to re-plumb your house, you will suddenly be less enamored with our fair city.   Make it a love affair for the ages.  When discussing insurance with your homeowner’s insurance company, tell them to add SLAB LEAK COVERAGE to your policy.    It’s a separate line item and you HAVE to ask for it.   It’s about 50-100/year.    It won’t hurt a bit–in fact, it’s really cheap to add.   Don’t be under insured.   Your life might stink because of it!

Luckily the folks in this video (us, unfortunately)  had SLAB LEAK coverage on their policy.   This work ended up costing 75k after 4 months of jack hammering into solid limestone and the slab and replacing all of the old cast iron drains.    The homeowners (us, again) paid 3500.00 out of pocket!   Worth it?   You bet!

Happy flushing!

Oftentimes I show houses and think “Whoa, is this house really on the market?”  There are dishes in the sink, unmade beds, clothes in hampers that are sitting in playrooms and bedrooms, all sorts of things piled on the stairs, carpets that need to be vacuumed, bathrooms with wet floors–and (!) tons of apologies from [...]]]>

Oftentimes I show houses and think “Whoa, is this house really on the market?”  There are dishes in the sink, unmade beds, clothes in hampers that are sitting in playrooms and bedrooms, all sorts of things piled on the stairs, carpets that need to be vacuumed, bathrooms with wet floors–and (!) tons of apologies from the owner!  Then I think, well they must never have heard of the Ten Minute Tidy.

When I was living in NYC in the late 90’s, I too, had never heard of the Ten Minute Tidy.  And it’s funny how I learned about it.  I was living in mid-town in what could only be called “an illegal live-in”–basically it was a former sweat shop that had been turned into an apartment by an enterprising friend from college.   Mind you, it was a great apartment by Manhattan standards in those days–1600sf of mostly open space with an elevator that opened onto our floor.  But, it had it’s challenges–no closets for one.

One time my sister came to visit with her sister-in-law and her son, who was about 9 at the time.   He took one look at my place and said to me “Don’t you know about the Ten Minute Tidy?”  Mystified, I asked him what he meant and he told me that his mother made them do a “10 minute tidy” a few times a day.   Basically everyone stops what they were doing and she would put the timer on 10 minutes and everyone would tidy, tidy, tidy.  Apparently, my place was too big of a mess for guests by this kids exacting standards.  I think for his mom, the “tidy” might have been the more active version of a “time-out”.

What I am getting at is that everyone has time to do a 10 minute tidying up of the place.   (I am lucky enough to have a husband who Ten Minute Tidies all day long!) If you have your house on the market, you can do this in the morning before you run out the door.  If you have everyone in the family participate and there is, say, four of you–that equals 40 minutes of “tidying”.  If everyone in the family can just take a few minutes to make their beds, pick up clothes, put shoes in the closet, hang towels, wipe down vanities, while one person runs the vacuum and makes sure the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher–you will have much more success selling your home.

Even if your home is not on the market, a Ten Minute Tidy by the whole family once a day will keep you from feeling overwhelmed by the mounting week’s worth of housework that people feel the need (and resentment) for over the weekend.   A few Ten Minute Tidy’s a week will keep the family enjoying their weekend activities and most importantly, it will help you sell your home faster!

Most people know how important it is for your home to look its best when it on the market, but how ‘bout something that’s just as important?  The smell!  Smells and scents are so important and can have such an effect on you that there are companies who market “smells” and charge their clients millions. [...]]]>

Most people know how important it is for your home to look its best when it on the market, but how ‘bout something that’s just as important?  The smell!  Smells and scents are so important and can have such an effect on you that there are companies who market “smells” and charge their clients millions. They even have an Institute and a national annual trade show. Businesses know that smell matters—and they spend crazy amounts of money introducing scents that will make you  want to buy, buy, buy!

Since your home becomes a product when it’s on the market,  let’s get it to smell like a product that people will want to buy.  Smoking, pets/cat boxes, cooking smells, diaper genies, refrigerators that need to be cleaned (oh, that’s a whole other blog post-but, yes, people will open your fridge!), sweaty gym clothes and stinky shoes and my personal pet peeve—PLUG INs  These are just a few of the odors I experience on a daily basis in other people’s homes.  Most people can’t smell the smells in their homes because they are used to them.    If you have your home on the market, ask an honest friend to do a sniff test—in all the rooms.

I started to write this post after attempting to show a vacant house with SIX Glade Plug-ins plugged in,  (What smell were they trying to cover up?)  After this experience, it was hours before I could taste or smell anything but chemicals. This happens all the time and I usually either turn around and leave or I go through and pull them out of the walls.  So I decided to see if it was just me.  Apparently it’s not.  http://mcs-america.org/airfresh.pdf.   If you don’t have time to read, let me just hit you with the most important paragraph:

Air freshener chemicals have been implicated in cancer, neurological, damage reproductive and developmental disorders, and other conditions. The synthetic chemicals  in air fresheners also can aggravate  asthma and/or trigger attacks.  Wow.

Instead of buying these things, that are expensive and apparently toxic, buy yourself a bottle of an essential oil and drip it on the carpets…one drop will make your home smell like a spa!  Rosemary, lavender, lemon, grapefruit–all of these have been proven to improve alertness and mood.  And you want people to be alert and in a good mood while they are viewing your home, right?

In order to get your home smelling like a place that people would want to live, the most important thing is to get it clean, clean, clean.   When your home is on the market, you need to live in it gently—no cooking fish or other smelly meals, like curry.   Empty cat litter boxes and diaper genies daily.   Keep dirty clothes to a minimum, clean out your fridge.   Selling your house is never easy–but with a little extra effort, you can be on your way to your next home!

If you are thinking about selling your home, now is the time to start thinking about what you will need to do to get it ready.   I know it might seem like the exact wrong time of year to think about this, with the holidays upon us, but there is good reason to start [...]]]>

If you are thinking about selling your home, now is the time to start thinking about what you will need to do to get it ready.   I know it might seem like the exact wrong time of year to think about this, with the holidays upon us, but there is good reason to start mulling it over now!

1) Aim for the 1st of March  –  Anyone who has spent much time in Austin knows that Spring springs early here.     I always tell people to aim for Valentine’s Day knowing that inclement winter weather and usual “things that come up” will put most people about 2 weeks behind.   When the trees bud, it’s time!   People are waiting for homes after the sleepy winter season.

2) If you have any house repairs to make, labor  and appliances are cheaper now  –  Contractors tend to be way less busy this time of year and are typically looking for work.   Because most people are focused on other things, the prepared seller can shop around for better deals on labor.    Also, this time of year is a good time to shop for any appliances that might need to be replaced.   While others are shopping for toys, you can get great deals on big ticket  appliances and HVAC’s.

3) Oh, that lawn! — Think it’s time to just let the lawn go?  Think again!  Now is the time to fertilize and prune.   If you do your fall maintenance now, you WILL have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood when spring comes.

4) Your realtor has time to help you put together your plan — Things tend to die down a bit after Thanksgiving.   This is when I have time to meet with clients who are thinking about listing their homes in the Spring.   I can help you craft a plan that will allow you time and help you to plan your budget for getting your home market-ready.    It might seem premature, but March 1st is really just 3 months away….and in Austin, this means lots of Spring vistors to our town–many of them looking to relocate to our fabulous city.

5)  Putting your home on the market really is a production—it requires allocations of time and money.  The person with a plan is apt to meet their goals with minimal stress and financial hardship.   And like I always tell potential sellers–If it bothers you, it will bother a potential buyer.    You have plenty of time to address that worn carpet and peeling wallpaper border, wood rot or dead tree.   Just get it on the schedule and your spring listing will be easy as pie!

So the past few weeks have been a blur of meetings with the people who we think are valuable to our business. Photographers, stagers, landscapers, house painters…. We think that’s what makes us different.  We know when to call in a professional.   Sometimes when we list a new property, it feels like we are [...]]]>

So the past few weeks have been a blur of meetings with the people who we think are valuable to our business. Photographers, stagers, landscapers, house painters…. We think that’s what makes us different.  We know when to call in a professional.   Sometimes when we list a new property, it feels like we are going to drive the seller crazy with “honey-do” lists, but when they see how their marketing turns out, it’s always puts a smile on their face.    And when their home sells quickly, they may even chuckle!

As a realtor, we spend nearly every day of our lives in other people’s houses (much to the chagrin of our friends who are not getting ready to sell their houses when we “notice” their fascia is rotting!) so we have a heightened awareness around houses.   From the curb to the door there are a dozen little things that we check out—landscaping and trees, paint, wood rot, neighbors houses(!), front door paint and hardware, house numbers, mailboxes, exterior lights (is that the original light that the builder paid 1.00 for back in ’93????).   We are not being nosy–it’s our job to notice these things.  You can tell a lot about a house by just walking up to the door.   Like whether the current owners have kept up with the house- and if they are “good” homeowners.   If someone hasn’t bothered to replace that cheap builder light fixture over their door, they probably haven’t done much on the inside either.

If you are even thinking about listing your house, try this little exercise. Go to your curb with a pad and pen and pretend that you have never seen your house before–take off those rose colored glasses and make some notes.   Front door need painting, or even to be replaced?   Take the time to do it!  You might find that you will fall in love all over again with the house that you live in.  And if you don’t, you can always call us.   We can make you a “honey-do” list!

And if we made you think and you feel like you now need a contractor to help, check out PEOPLE WE LOVE!

Last week was a blur. We launched the new site and we were glowing all week after hearing all the lavish praise that was heaped on it. We got “gorgeous, beautiful, attractive, stunning”. Yowsa! All that for a real estate web site! But it’s what we were going [...]]]>

Last week was a blur. We launched the new site and we were glowing all week after hearing all the lavish praise that was heaped on it. We got “gorgeous, beautiful, attractive, stunning”. Yowsa! All that for a real estate web site! But it’s what we were going for so we are so happy to have achieved our goals. Please hang around here and use our search tools…and don’t forget to download our free smart phone app! It’s easy and we think you will love being able to get instant info when you are driving through your neighborhood about the homes you see for sale!
We also listed two beautiful homes last week that are garnering lots of attention! If you haven’t checked them out, they are in FEATURED LISTINGS. If you have a house to sell, we can make sure that yours looks this great! Give us a call!

Welcome to our new company, The Gill Agency, and our beautiful new website!

It’s been a long time coming but we are so excited and we hope that you love it! We want to thank our lovely amazing designer, Sarah Golliher at Golliher Design for her help with all of The [...]]]>

Welcome to our new company, The Gill Agency, and our beautiful new website!

It’s been a long time coming but we are so excited and we hope that you love it! We want to thank our lovely amazing designer, Sarah Golliher at Golliher Design for her help with all of The Gill Agency branding, the über-clever, Stefani Zellmer at Swizzle Creative for her help writing our engaging content and last but not least, the super-fab innovative visionary, Emily Artz French at Artz Collective for designing and building us the best real estate website we have ever seen! Can you tell we are jumping for joy?

We look forward to some great times ahead! The market is hopping, we have some great listings coming on that we are super excited about, some even more amazing agents working with us and more to come!

If you are looking for a real estate company that will put your needs above anything else, then you have come to the right place. We are glad you’re here!