Real estate and other stuff

Kitty wasn't very happy when Miles came to live with us three years ago. But they have become pretty good buddies since then. Their grooming sessions still often turn into squabbling and kicking sessions, but they have settled into a routine and are even learning from each other. She is getting more tolerant of being picked up and cuddled, and he is becoming more vocal and expressive.

I hope I've managed to procrastinate long enough now that I can even put off mowing the lawn until tomorrow morning.

After our last batch of tenants moved out, I decided it was time to sell this rental house and simplify my life a little. It was our first home when my husband and I moved back to San Antonio, and it became our first rental property when we found a better home for our needs. It's in Oak Hills Terrace, a quiet neighborhood close to the Medical Center, with big, tree-filled yards and actual 2-car garages, so I hoped it would sell quickly.

I replaced the vinyl flooring downstairs with ceramic tile, totally repainted the interior of the home, and replaced all the carpet. I refinished the counter top in the guest bathroom and updated several of the light and bath fixtures. I also did some "light" staging, and made sure the sprinkler was keeping the grass green.

My favorite thing about this home was the beautiful, stately oak trees in the front and back yards. We had planted some crepe myrtles and a sweet olive tree in the back yard, and they had grown in the last few years. We planted a jasmine vine at one corner of the patio, and it had grown up over the pergola to shade quite a bit of the deck.

We also planted daffodils, and some of them actually came up and bloomed before the squirrels ate them. Vividly colored bluejays hung out in our back yard. We had a resident possum who performed acrobatic feats on the back fence. We had enjoyed this home, and some good (and not so good) tenants had enjoyed it, too.

Anyway, after listing the house for 12 days at the higher, but not the highest, side of the price range of the comparable sales, but not getting much activity, I lowered the price to $145,000. Ten days later, we had a full-price contract for $151,000, including our $6000 contribution to the buyer's closing costs.

Today, the buyer's agent passed on the news that the house appraised for $155,000. So what did I immediately think?

"I priced the house too low! I'm givin' it away!"

...instead of thinking, "Yay! It appraised out!"

So, just as I would with my clients selling their home, I reminded myself of three things:

1. Lenders' appraisals do not reflect market value, and sometimes bear no resemblance to reality either.

2. There is now a happy home buyer who will be very unlikely to back out of the contract if something goes wrong, because she has "built-in equity."

3. And the most important thing: I am one step closer to moving on with my life.

This intriguing insect is a little larger than the average honeybee we see in our garden. It hovers like a bee and is attracted to the same plants as the honeybees are. However, it isn't particularly fuzzy, and it is speckled gray and white. What is it? This is the only one I have ever seen.

This swallowtail butterfly is looking for someplace to lay her eggs. Swallowtails love parsley. It is one of their favorite plants for hosting their eggs. When they hatch, the swallowtail caterpillars will fatten up on the parsley leaves. They still leave plenty for my husband to use when he's cooking, though.

I like Anna's syllabus, especially her emphasis on the importance of Muggle Studies.  A disgruntled Muggle can wreak havoc on your transaction. A happy, professional Muggle can make everything go like magic. Even if you haven't taken any of the Hogwarts MCE courses, you'll still learn something from (or at least enjoy) Anna's post!

I love these remodeled homes in older, closer-in neighborhoods like Windcrest. You have the advantage of being in an established, convenient neighborhood close to amenities, plus an updated home to add to your comfort. The sellers did a great job updating this home and enhancing the landscaping.

This lovely home is a good example of what you can find northeast of the San Antonio city limits, but still in Bexar County and the San Antonio metro. This area is convenient for commuting to Fort Sam Houston, the city's largest employer, or Brooke Army Medical Center, as well as to Rackspace's new headquarters, Randolph AFB, and downtown.

Up until yesterday, I thought there were only two streets in San Antonio on which I'd sold more than one home. But as I was going through my spreadsheet and updating my sales data from last week's closings, I realized that I had another street to add to my list. I had just sold a nice rental home in Kenton Place, a neighborhood convenient to the Medical Center, UT Health Science Center, UTSA, and USAA.

Now, San Antonio is a big city--the seventh-largest in the US, according to the latest census data. And I do work all over the northern half of the metro area, including the neighborhoods outside the city and county limits in Guadalupe County to the northeast.

But that is no excuse for my forgetting that I had sold the house next door. It was almost exactly two years ago, too.

I guess I need to take a break and go on another vacation!

A month ago, I received this message via ActiveRain:

My family and I saw one in New York City and your photos helped us identify the humming bird moth. Thanks and You are right, those guys are QUICK!!!!! I can e-mail you my photographs if you want.

My new correspondent sent me this message yesterday:

Here are my photos! These were taken in Riverside Park in the 'People's Garden' at 93rd Street.  The flowers that they favored were Larkspur.

This one lone little guy was very persistant and kept coming back for more!

I hope you enjoy the photos.

--Elizabeth, 10 years old.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

Workforce Solutions Alamo conducted a study, reported in the San Antonio Business Journal recently, showing the need for more skilled people to fill jobs in 33 categories. Five of these growing occupations are considered "green."

Here is the link to the article.

(I noticed that one of the jobs is that of loan officer.)

San Antonio was fifth on the list of cities experiencing a net gain in population as more people move to the metro area in search of jobs. This data is from the US Census for 2007-2008, and showed a 1.9% increase in population.

More jobs mean more prospective tenants in search of high-quality rental homes (see photo) and more home buyers relocating to San Antonio or moving up to a larger home. There is a direct correlation between good employment prospects and a healthy housing market.