Texas Real Estate Blog & Market News

A house is probably one of the biggest investment the average Texan will ever make. To make such an investment a reality, the state of Texas offers its citizens a simple way to save money on their property taxes through a homestead exemption. Eligible Texas homeowners can reduce the taxes owed on their property by a certain percentage, by filing a homestead exemption. If you wish to know how to go about it, the guide below will help you learn more about Texas Homestead Exemptions.

What is a Homestead Exemption?

A homestead exemption removes a part of the value of your house from taxation and lowers the amount of your property taxes. To qualify you must fulfill the following:

· Be the owner

· Must be your primary residence in January when

Austin is a crazy city — crazy cool, that is.

Austin, Texas is a counterculture city with the slogan “Keep Austin Weird".  If you’re lucky enough to move here you’ll quickly learn how zany our creative culture can be.  It is best known for its dozens of annual festivals, the largest of which include SXSW and Austin City Limits.  The infamous 1.5 million bats who emerge from Congress Bridge at dusk keep us a bit batty, too.  Austin has things to dofor everybody who enjoys leaving their home: several spring-fed swimming pools, a zealous barbecue selection, a robust art culture, and a bustling music scene.

The Live Music Capital of the World

Speaking of music, Austin dubs itself the “live music capital of the world,” and it lives up to that

In a new city, where you live determines your world. What you see from your window sets the rhythm of your day. In Houston, you can choose to be Galleria funky or Galveston relaxed. There are plenty of things to do in Houston, but choosing where to live in a new city sometimes seems like a crapshoot.

It can be difficult to determine the vibe of a neighborhood you’ve never been to. That’s why we’ve done it for you. We’ve set out to feature two attractions from each of the four major neighborhoods in Houston: Uptown, Galveston Beach, Montrose, and West Houston, in order to help you determine which you’d like to see from the window of your future condo.

Gerrald D. Hines Waterwall Park, Uptown

Imagine pulling aside the curtains of your Galleria

For an entrepreneur running a business, a time may come when you will have to make the decision whether to buy or lease commercial property or space.

It’s easy to plan for a car, vacation or education. But deciding which property type best suits your needs can present many challenges.

Here are some pros and cons for both buying and leasing a commercial property or space to help you make that choice.

1. The Pros of Buying

Extra Income: Ownership allows you to rent out unused space. The rental revenue can be reinvested in the business or help pay the mortgage.

Tax Advantages: The associated costs of owning and operating commercial property allows you to claim tax deductions. This includes interest on mortgage and property taxes.

Control:

People love bats, but it seems only in baseball or Gotham City. The real deal kinda freaks people out.

But it shouldn’t. Bats are actually one of the great critters on this planet. Without them, the environment and its many ecosystems would suffer greatly, and you and I would be awash in bugs. Bats provide pollination and seeding and are so vital to some ecosystems that the absence of bats in some parts of the world would cause entire plant species to die out. And bat guano is such a powerful fertilizer that many crops in many areas of the world would dry up if bats were not around.

Less freaked out? Good. Now you can check out the best place to bat-watch in Austin. The Congress Avenue Bridge, right downtown, is home to the largest urban bat

Whether you’re app-happy or suffer from app-fatigue, there are some apps you just gotta have. The best apps are those that answer the daunting question: What do you want to do tonight?

Well, if you want some good answers on what to do in and around the capital area, check out these great mobile apps:

1. Happy Hours

Ducking out of work a little early? We won’t tell your bosses, but we can’t promise they won’t find you at the same happy hour they’re going to. Happy Hours, gives an exhaustive list of food and drink specials going on in most large U.S. cities, and that definitely includes Austin. Click through for a photo of the bar or restaurant and get details about the menu, hours, specials, and what people have to say. Vote up your favorite spots

Austin is mostly famous for its youth-centered nightlife and college-age shenanigans. But there is a quieter, more contemplative, more family-oriented side of Austin, and one of the best examples of it is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden.

The garden is named for the great Austin-area sculptor and art teacher Charles Umlauf, who taught At UT-Austin for 40 years and in 1985 donated his home and grounds for use as a sculpture garden and repository. Being a former home, the Umlauf is big on promoting art and sculpture to families and children. The garden features Family Days, free and open to all, with hands-on programs designed for those with children ages four to ten. There are stories, garden yoga, demonstrations, and live music.

But the Umlauf offers

Let’s just all acknowledge that being in Texas gives one a hankerin’ for really good barbecue. Fortunately, it also gives one access to really good barbecue. In fact, it may be harder to choose which BBQ joint to pick from the bevy of low-lying fruit.

Well, don’t say we’re not here to help. Check out a few of these top-notch BBQ places in the Austin area.

1. Franklin Barbecue 

There is little that people agree on when it comes to any best-list rankings, but few who know Austin barbecue would not put Franklin Barbecue in the top spot. Everything, absolutely everything, from Aaron Franklin’s kitchen is the stuff only hyperbole could even try to make sense of. It’s so good that people with many other things to do spend as much as five hours in line

Coffee. That’s usually all you have to say if you want to hear anyone say “Uh, yes, please.”

But where to get a great cup in a great atmosphere? Well, coffee joints are not just a 90s holdover, they’re still dynamite places to get in touch with your inner caffeine addict and get a mini-vacation without going too far away.

Caffe Medici

Just because a café is a chain, it doesn’t mean it’s not terrific. Between the vaunted Espresso Medici cappuccino and the precision with which the baristas make every cup ‒‒ seriously, they run every cup through a French press ‒‒ you’d have a hard time finding a mediocre drink here. Try a cup with a vegan energy bar, made by fellow Austin awesomeness purveyor, Bearded Brothers.

Cenote

Over in East Austin,

Austin is more than the capital of Texas, it’s the capital of the Texas craft beer world, which is (and we’re not just being biased here) cranking out some of the absolute best small-batch beers in the history of American beverages. And, Austin may be the best place in Texas to go for a pint, whether it’s brewed here or not. Here are some of the best places for a great beer in Austin, no matter what your taste.

1. Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden

On Rainey Street is the perpetually sunny amber glow of more than 100 on-tap beers, surrounded by roomy seating and some kind of entertainment on an almost-daily basis. You can’t not find a brew you like here, and if you’re into delicious cured meats, try their handmade game sausages. Oh yes.

2. The