Austin Real Estate & Mortgage Update – Summer 09
July 8, 2009Top Austin Realtor To Present First Time Home Buying Seminars at DR Horton’s New Avery Ranch Model Home
May 4, 2009Summary: Top Austin area real estate agent and national speaker Kenn Renner (www.BuyAustin.com) will present a series of seminars at the new DR Horton Avery Ranch model home on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 2 P.M. Kenn will teach two of his most popular seminars – “First Time Home Buying” and “How To Protest Your Tax Bill.”
Austin, Texas – April 30, 2009 — Real estate expert, Kenn Renner, on May 9, 2009, will present two timely seminars at the Avery Ranch community (1) First Time Home Buying and (2) Protesting Your Property Tax Bill.
The seminar presentation that begins at 2 P.M. is two of his most popular presentations in his American Dream Seminar Series – (http://www.AmericanDreamSeminars.com). The first seminar will be “Secrets to Buying Your First Home,” which will cover realities of today’s real estate market and what he describes as the “Perfect Opportunity” to buy a first home. He will explore:
• The reasons why home ownership is a great financial move,
• The 10 steps to the home buying process, as well as the truth about the home mortgage market.
• Opportunities in foreclosures, short sales and REO property will also be revealed.
• Students will learn techniques to renegotiate a lease and/or reducing or eliminating penalties associated with leases.
• Of critical importance, Kenn will discuss the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit.
Kenn is deeply involved in the Avery Ranch community. He has helped over 200 families become Avery Ranch residents – far more than any other broker. “I have been an advocate for Avery Ranch since it’s opening in 2000. I prepared my home-buying clients to get involved with Avery long before it ever opened for home sales. The day DR Horton opened the subdivision I had 17 purchase contracts on the table. Believe it or not – prices in Avery Ranch started in the 130’s for a brand new home.” Renner adds, “I continue to support Avery Ranch by educating first time and move up home buyers about this great area.”
At 4 P.M. Kenn will present his second seminar presentation, “Texas Property Tax Reform & Protesting Your Tax Bill.” This timely seminar will cover the new property tax reform laws as well as secrets of how to effectively protest your property tax bill. He will be providing a workbook on the subject of property taxes in Texas and a case study of an actual property tax protest. Kenn adds, “if a home owner feels that the county has assessed their property incorrectly, I will provide a free property tax analysis to help them with their property tax protest.”
The seminars highly informative and they are free. Renner concludes, “This is an opportunity for me to give back to the community and to help share my 25 years of real estate experience in a casual and comfortable atmosphere.”
To register for the seminar visit www.BuyAustin.com or Kenn’s new website he has developed specifically for Avery Ranch – www.BuyAveryRanch.com.
About Kenn Renner:
Kenn Renner has been teaching real estate seminars in Austin and around the Nation since 1994. He has personally has helped thousands of homebuyers purchase homes as a direct result of their attending the seminars. He is consistently ranked by the Austin Business Journal as one of the top individual real estate agents in central Texas. Since 2005 he has closed over $80,000,000 in residential homes sales making him the #1 selling agent in Williamson County. Kenn is a frequent guest on business talk radio as a real estate expert. He also has appeared more than a dozen times on National Television – HGTV’s House Hunters.
Contact Information:
Kenn Renner, Broker/Speaker
Keller Williams Realty, Lake Travis
1921 Lohmans Crossing
Austin, TX 78634
(512) 423-5626 (call or Text)
Website: http://www.BuyAustin.com
Austin Mortgage Update – Spring 2009
April 2, 2009Austin, Texas Real Estate Agent Kenn Renner of BuyAustin.Com and Kenton Brown, Vice President of Sente Mortgage discuss the current mortgage climate of Austin, TX. Topics include buying vs. renting, opportunities for buyers, and federal tax assistance for first time home buyers.
Transcript of Austin Mortgage Update – Spring 09
Kenn Renner: Hi, this is Kenn Renner, real estate broker, and I’m sitting here today with Kenton Brown of Sente Mortgage. We’ve both been in the business for over 25 years and what we’re going to be talking about today is the mortgage market, first time home buying, and renting vs. owning. We’d like to also let you know that we’d like to invite you to our First Time Home buying Seminar that will be coming up on Thursday, April 16th at 6:30 PM. This will be part of an on-going series of seminars that we’ll be putting on in conjunction with Sente Mortgage. Once again, my name is Kenn Renner, real estate broker and national speaker. My website is www.buyaustin.com. We’re here today to ask a few questions of Kenton Brown, vice president of Sente Mortgage.
Kenn Renner: How are you doing Kenton?
Kenton Brown: Great! Thanks Kenn.
Kenn Renner: So Kenton, I have a couple of questions here that I’d like to ask you. I know we’re going to be covering these in detail at the Renaissance Hotel seminar that we’re having on April 16th and during our series that we’re going to be continuing on, but the national media would have you think that it would be really difficult for people to get mortgages right now. We’ve heard from Donald Trump and Katie Couric who have said that you just can’t get a mortgage right now. And that’s simply not true as you know. Is it really difficult to get a mortgage?
Kenton Brown: Well Kenn, that’s an excellent question because we hear that a lot from our customers that speak to us about how difficult it is to get a mortgage or what their perception is. The reality is that it is not that difficult to get a mortgage. Now, understand that we have to be much more prudent in lending these days. It’s not that long ago that we acted in a prudent way. That means that some one needs to have a job and verifiable income, they need to pay their bills in a timely manner, not perfect credit, but to pay their bills in a timely manner, and then lastly, they need to have a minimum down payment. And it’s a small amount. It’s not necessarily 20%, it’s a lot less than that. We’ll go into much greater detail in our seminar, but there are some programs where people can put zero down or as little as 3.5% total into a transaction.
Kenn Renner: That’s really interesting. What opportunities exist right now for first time homebuyers in the mortgage market?
Kenton Brown: Kenn, actually this is the perfect opportunity for first time homebuyers right now. There’s three major factors that we look at for that. Number one is that rates are at historic lows right now. We haven’t seen rates like this ever in this country. The second thing to look at is that there’s an $8000 tax credit that’s available. Now this is a true tax credit. It’s not a write off. It’s actually a refund to the consumer that comes in the form of their tax return. The third thing that I’d look at is that we’re in a buyer’s market right now. That means that there are some great markets out there for people buying real estate.
Kenn Renner: OK. So how long do these opportunities last? How long do they typically last, these windows of opportunity?
Kenton Brown: The thing to bear in mind is that these historic low rates usually don’t stay low. When rates come down this low, they typically go back up pretty sharply, pretty fast. The second thing to consider here is this tax credit, this gift from the government. And we’ll go into much more detail on this in our seminar, but it is expiring in November at the end of this year. So you actually have to purchase the home prior to the end of November of 2009. The third thing to look at is buyer’s markets turn into seller’s markets pretty quickly. Now when the demand for real estate goes up, simple fundamental economics tell us that the price of homes are going to go up. And that will happen. It’s absolutely impossible to catch the very bottom of the market. People always try to do that but nobody can ever do that.
Kenn Renner: Kenton, you know that in Austin we have one of the strongest rental markets in the nation. That’s partly because of all the people moving to town, coming from other parts of the country. We know that we don’t have a national real estate market, in other words, the people that are moving out of the coasts and are coming here to take jobs are moving into rentals. And that’s been driving up our rental occupancy. Last time I checked, we were at 97% rental occupancy for both housing and apartments. That tends to lead that the rates for rentals are going to be going up. Can you speak a little bit about the difference between a rental payment and a home payment financially for our first time homebuyers?
Kenton Brown: Kenn, I’ve been thinking about that and I’ve been curious about that, so I ran some scenarios here and one thing that you would look at is that a mortgage payment of about $1250 is a little bit over $900 per month after tax benefits. A lot of first time homebuyers don’t really realize that. As a comparison, on a $200,000 house after tax benefits, that’s equivalent to about a $1,275 to $1,300 per month payment. Understand that some one buying a home in their early 20s, and we can show people how to do this, but there’s a way to accelerate the payments to have the mortgage completely paid off. Some one could pay their mortgage off by the time they’re 40 without paying a whole lot extra. Then they’d have their single largest expenditure that they’d have in their entire life paid off at that time. It’s an excellent strategy for their long-term financial health. On April 16th at the Renaissance, we’re going to speak in pretty specific detail about these things. And understand that even if you already own a home, there could be some one that you care about, it could be your child or anyone else that you know who is in the marketplace, but this could benefit them. I would encourage anyone that’s looking for some information from some true professionals to come out. I’ve been in the business 26 years. Kenn, you’ve been in the business over 25 years. This isn’t a sales seminar, we come to actually show and educate people about some really concrete facts about things they can do and actions they can take to own a home.
Kenn Renner: Alright, thank you Kenton Brown. I appreciate that. That’s a lot of great insight about renting vs. owning as well as the insight about what’s going on with the mortgage market. I appreciate that. Now remember, we are having a first time homebuyer seminar on Thursday, April 16th at 6:30 PM at the Renaissance Hotel. You can register for that at www.buyaustin.com. Kenton Brown will be speaking as well as myself in regards to the Austin market. Once again this is series of seminars that we’re doing. If you’re not able to attend the April 16th seminar, keep in touch. We have other seminars going on through out the year. Alright, thank you very much Kenton for you time and have a great day.
Kenton Brown: Thank you Kenn.
March 24, 2009
Perched upon one of the highest points in western Travis County is the Crown Jewel of Central Texas – The Estate At Lime Creek Ranch. The 12.5 acre ranch sits on a mountain top over looking the famous Texas Hill Country with commanding views of sparkling Lake Travis. Enjoy far reaching lake views and distant vistas including extensive portions of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. The Estate At Lime Creek Ranch could be the site of a huge hilltop estate compound or could be divided into several acreage lots where custom home builders could sculpt their masterpieces. There are several building sites on the top of the mountain which garners several acres of nearly flat building sites then the property falls off into the pristine Fisher Hollow and Lime Creek valleys. Nature graced the ranch with large oak trees and hardwoods. The natural surroundings are enhanced by gentle mountaintop breezes and quiet wilderness. Bring your imagination and your creativity to turn this one-of-a-kind Lake Travis view acreage into your dream home come true.
The Estate At Lime Creek Ranch is conveniently located yet private and secluded. The property is located directly on Lime Creek Road just 2 easy (and straight) miles from the new Anderson Mill Road extension. Located less than 20 miles from downtown Austin and less than 6 miles to Cedar Park and the new 183A toll road. The new Seton Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is less than 15 minutes away. The property is also just 2 miles from Sandy Creek Yacht Club where you can store your Yacht and enjoy fine dining at Café Bleu’. Although the ranch is quiet and secluded – shopping, restaurants and schools are just a few minutes away. It is located in the highly rated Leander Independent School District. Take a look at the links on our website for more information regarding the amenities, education, employment and recreational opportunities surrounding The Estate At Lime Creek Ranch.
To arrange for a private tour of the property or for any help with Austin Real Estate, please contact Beverly Troutman @ 512-636-1198 or Kenn Renner @ 512-423-5626 of Keller Williams Lake Travis. Or via email btroutman@austin.rr.com or kenn@buyaustin.com
Transcript of the Video:
Hello, this is Kenn Renner, real estate broker and Austin area expert. Welcome to my exclusive virtual aerial tour of my new listing, The Estate at Lime Creek Ranch. The Estate at Lime Creek Ranch is a 12 and a half acre hill top crown jewel of central Texas, with expansive 20 mile views over the famous Texas Hill Country and Lake Travis just outside of Austin, Texas. Our tour begins with a view of the downtown Austin, Texas skyline. Austin is the 16th largest city in the nation, the live music capitol of the world, and destination city for travelers from around the country and all around the world. Home to a diversified economy that has been largely left untouched by the recent economic troubles facing other areas of the nation, Austin is an environmentally friendly city, with recreational activities centering around the Highland Lakes system. It is home to companies such as Dell Computers, Samsung, and National Instruments. Austin is the seat of government being the capitol of the state of Texas. It is also the home to the largest university in the United States, the University of Texas. Just 20 miles from downtown Austin is our featured property, the Estate at Lime Creek Ranch, a mountain top crown jewel of Central Texas, featuring expansive Hill Country views and the views of the ever popular Lake Travis. Lime Creek Ranch is just 6 miles from downtown Cedar Park with its new shopping, medical center, and toll road. Lime Creek Ranch is in the highly rated Leander School District. The Estate is just two miles from the Anderson Mill extension and also just two miles from the Sandy Creek Yacht Club on the shores of gorgeous Lake Travis. Lime Creek Ranch borders environmentally friendly Balcones Canyon Land Preserve and Autobahn Society property. Looking to the South, you’ll see expansive views of the Sandy Creek arm of 70 mile along Lake Travis. Views to the West of the property encompass Hill Country vistas, valleys, and endless views of the horizon. Coming over the ridge of the Estate at Lime Creek Ranch, you’ll notice again the gorgeous views of Lake Travis. The peak is well over 300 feet in altitude above the shoreline of Lake Travis. The estate would be a magnificent place for a custom home or several custom properties. The property is near Fischer Hollow and once again, the Sandy Creek arm of Lake Travis, with its marinas, lakeside restaurants, and extensive recreational activities. The Estate at Lime Creek Ranch is truly a masterpiece waiting for your final touches with your architect and your custom builder to complete the legacy of this mountaintop beauty. For more information on this property, please contact me, Kenn Renner, serving clients like you for the past 25 years. I can be reached by phone or by text at 512-423-5626 or you can visit LimeCreekRanch.
Mortgage ALERT!
January 2, 2009
The past few months have been historic to say the least and every day brings new surprises. On Tuesday the feds lowered the discount rates to all time lows prompting the interest rates on home mortgages to drop also to historic lows. As of today the rates on 30 year fixed rate are in the 4.5% range. This rate is 2 full percentage points lower than just 2 months ago. These historic low rates can save the average home buyer thousands of dollars per year in home payments. This rate drop along with the lowered Texas property tax rates combined with a buyers market make it the absolute best time in recent history to buy a home. The problem is that the news media has crushed the great American dream of home ownership right when we need encouragement the most. Buyers are staying on the sidelines while they watch history being made. The lowest cost of money in 2 generations and the best values in real estate in 2 generations. If you study history you will find that these windows of opportunity rarely last long and that the few individuals who are bold enough to capitalize on the opportunity are the ones who end up in a win-win scenario. Are you going to be one of the few and the bold that will win in a buyers market?
Real Estate Finance and HUD Foreclosure
December 1, 200801 – Que Paso? Real Estate Mortgage Market What Happened?
02 – Que Paso? Real Estate Mortgage Market What Happened?
03 – Que Paso? Real Estate Mortgage Market What Happened?
04 – Todays National Mandate Get the Money Moving
05 – Austin Real Estate – Realities of Today’s Market – Fiction vs. Fact
06 – Austin Real Estate Mortgage Products
07 – Austin Realtor Explains Foreclosure Process
08 – Austin Real Estate – Short Sales? REO Where Do I Get a Good Deal?
09 – Austin Foreclosures Courthouse Steps Bidding Process?
10 – Austin Real Estate Expert – When Should I Buy During the Foreclosure Process?
Avery Ranch Owner Down But Not Out
October 13, 2008Transcription:
Hi, this is Kenn Renner with AustinVideoBlog.com. Thank you once again for visiting. This is October 13th, 2008 once again. I got another email from Patrick and he’s from Austin. He says:
Good day Kenn,
My financial portfolio has been down by 15%. Ouch!
Historically, the market will bounce back. Its all cyclical.
Anxious how America will vote November 4th.
Yes, Patrick, that is an interesting observation. Even though your stock portfolio is down, it’s all the unsureness that’s out there in the market. Which has people not sure who’s going to be the new leader of the nation. The unsureness about their trust and faith in the stock market that they have their retirement accounts in. The good news is that you have a great house in a great area in Austin. And if you concentrate on paying that off, just making one extra payment per year on a 30 year mortgage, one extra principle interest payment per year will pay that mortgage off in 20 years. And you’re a young guy, I’ve met you before, we’ve toured properties with your family. That’s a comforting thing to know. You’re in the medical industry as well and you understand that we’re all going to get older. So take it from me, it’s important to have a free and clear house. A nice one-story like yours, free and clear by the time you get too old to want to work in the hospital. Thanks for your comment and keep watching AustinVideoBlog.com.
Fear vs. Faith – A long term view
October 13, 2008Transcription:
Hello, this is Kenn Renner and welcome to AustinVideoBlog.com, still October 13th, Monday October 13th, 2008. I got another email from Janis in Odero Ranch, California. Janis says:
Recent markets & political events, Mr. Renner, as a 4th generation Californian, I am actually more appalled & saddened by what the developers have done to our California paradise. However, I have lost considerable dollars in my stock market account but am in it for the long haul so have just stopped looking at negative news, scary fearful information (I was following closely), and started to rely on my beliefs, trusting in God, faith, strong stomach, and steady approach with long term horizon. True, I am older now and it does affect me more with less time to recover, but what can you do? Just speak positive words & believe. Thank you!
I appreciate those comments and I appreciate your comments about faith too. Because people get so wrapped up in fear and greed and they sometimes forget about the faith that we should all have in regards to faith in America and faith in God. That’s the one thing that we will find that is being shaken right now as the financial and real estate markets take a little bit of an earthquake here as been described by one Wall Street analyst. As far as your investments are concerned, yes, they probably will recover over time. One thing that I do recommend is that if you are getting closer and closer to retirement, that you should try to pay off your housing — your home. Because that is one debt that, once you’re too old to work, if you haven’t paid it off, will be an ongoing continuous debt. So if you do own a home, do pay it off and you can cancel off that long term debt. It’s great to have free and clear real estate. Here in Austin, we have higher taxes than you do in California, but we have very inexpensive property. If you go to my website, BuyAustin.Com, you can find all kinds of bargain property. You can probably just write a check for it with all of that Californian equity. Even though you’ve seen a 30% drop in values, there has been a 300% increase since 2000 in the values in California real estate. So come on out to Texas, y’all and we’d be glad to have you.
Voice of Reason in Stormy Times
October 13, 2008Transcription:
Hi, this is Kenn Renner again with AustinVideoBlog.com and I have another email from Telenna:
Thanks for the insight and the calm voice of reason. I have a few customers now that are not so calm.
I have been watching both economic reports and the political events. It’s a rather entertaining time right now politically and economically a time to buy stocks. Sure it is a bit scary right now, but I tend to be an optimist.
Thank you Telenna, I appreciate the comment. You know, it is a scary time, a time when we see stock markets and portfolios cut 40%. But one thing is rest assured is that the value of real estate has not gone down over night by 40% over the last couple of weeks. And in the long haul, real estate will always have the tendency to increase over time. The idea is not to buy more than you can afford and to make sure that you live below your means so that you can save and invest the difference. So thanks, Telenna for your comment.
California vs. Texas Real Estate in 2008
October 13, 2008Transcription:
Hi, this is Kenn Renner with AustinVideoBlog.com and I have a comment from Carol in California. It says:
Kenn, I think California people are scared stiff.
Well, they probably should be, for good reason. It looks to me like, according to DQ News (Data Quick News) the values in many areas have dropped across the state, 25 to 30% in the last year. And what I’m seeing is that has continued in certain areas like the higher price ranges in California have dropped as much as 45 to 50%. Areas out in the valley, San Bernardino area have also experienced substantial declines. Until there’s an availability for people to be able to afford the price of housing where the value of the house and the cost of the mortgage get back in line to where they should have been around the 2000 and 2002 level, you’re going to see continued struggle in that market. The crisis in regards to the sub prime market really drove the prices way out of line for what the affordability factor is. So understand that we’re still at about 12% affordability in California. Now, as opposed to that in Texas, we have 50% affordability, so for those that have moved from California to Texas like myself, we’re just glad to be here.
