The property tax trap hiding in your real estate
The number on Zillow said $6,400 in annual property taxes. The seller's disclosure backed it up. My lender used it. My preliminary budget used it. And if
Field Notes
Every note I've written on Texas neighborhoods, priced by nothing but what I've seen and heard on the ground.
Mounting ICE raids leave homebuilding's frontlines frozen
There's a half-framed addition two doors down from me on my street in East Austin. The lumber is stacked under a blue tarp. The porta-potty is still
Builders face a tougher math problem as completed inventory
There's a new subdivision going up just off William Cannon on the southwest side — the kind with a big banner promising "Move-In Ready Homes From The
Foreclosure filings rise 10% annually in July, ATTOM says
ATTOM's latest numbers landed with about as much surprise as a Texas August heat advisory. Foreclosure filings rose roughly 10% year over year in July
Use This Form for Informing Buyers About Property Near
A few years back, I had a friend — not a client, just someone I'd known since my Houston days — call me about a house she'd found online in Laredo. Good
How to Remove Oil Stains From Clothes Step by Step
Learn how to remove oil stains from clothes, including fresh, washed, dried, and delicate-fabric stains, with safe pretreatment and washing steps.
Property taxes are the housing affordability crisis no one
When my escrow payment jumped last spring, I didn't need a think tank to explain the housing affordability crisis. It was right there on page two of the
Carrington lowers non-QM threshold to 550 FICO, expands
I've sat across from buyers who had real jobs, real savings, and a genuinely compelling story — and watched a lender's automated underwriting system slam
Data centers' effect on utility bills — what real estate
A woman two streets over from me on Lyons Avenue mentioned it at a block get-together last spring — her Oncor bill had nearly doubled in eighteen months
Dream Finders bets empty nesters want amenities, not age
Dream Finders Homes has been quietly building a thesis: that a large chunk of empty nesters don't actually want a 55-and-over community. They want the
Knock expands bridge loan services to Texas
Knock just expanded its bridge loan program into Texas, and if you've ever been stuck trying to sell one house while buying another at the same time, you
MLS critics call it anti-competitive. These brokers say it
Last spring, a craftsman bungalow two blocks south of me on Chicon sold in what felt like forty-eight hours. No sign in the yard, no Zillow listing I ever