Top Austin Agent Joins Reilly Realtors

 

Posted by Michael Reilly on Monday, February 10th, 2014 at 8:20am.

Reilly Realtors agent Robert Kenney http://www.austinhomelistings.com/agents/robert-kenney/
We at Reilly Realtors would like to welcome Robert Kenney to our team of expert agents. Bob comes to Reilly Realtors with 12 years of experience as a Realtor and over $5 million in sales in 2013. He has consistently established himself as one of Austin’s top producers thanks to his diverse portfolio of not only real estate experience, but marketing, website development and management as well. Prior to his success in real estate, Bob was the principal in a textile commodity business, where he gained experience working with national as well as international clients from regions such as Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. Bob not only brings his in-depth knowledge of the real estate market with him to Reilly Realtors, but over five years of corporate relocation experience, as well. Having made a successful transfer to Austin himself 16 years ago, Bob knows what clients are looking for when they make the move to the Texas capital. Bob’s expertise isn’t just limited to relocation, but extends to all aspects of real estate and knowledge of the Austin area.

We're also excited to announce that Bob has been nominated for the Austin Business Journal’s 2014 Residential Real Estate Awards! These awards honor the top 50 residential real estate agents as well as master-planned communities and builders for custom, production and green homes. Bob was nominated as one of the top licensed agents in the Austin area with no licensed assistants. Nominees will be honored with a lunch and awards presentation at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Austin on Thursday, March 6th. This is not the first time Bob has been honored as a top agent in the Austin area. He was also a finalist for the Platinum Top 50 Realtors Awards Program in 2011, 2012 and 2013, which recognizes achievements in sales, civic leadership and education. When he's not working hard for his clients, Bob enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, which often involves coaching youth sports teams. He is also very active in the Austin community with Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a charity that provides food and other goods to the Austin homeless.

Bob’s addition to the Reilly Realtors team makes us more confident than ever that we have all the experience and tools to help our clients reach their real estate goals. We now have over 40 top-producing agents that specialize in all areas of Austin real estate and focus on providing the best service to their clients. Bringing in top agents like Bob Kenney is just one of the exciting plans unfolding for Reilly Realtors in 2014. After bringing in about $120,000,000 in residential sales in 2013, we are focused on continuing to develop the best products and services to help our agents better serve their clients in 2014. You can look forward to many exciting changes to our easy-to-use search tools as well as other aspects of our popular website. If you’re interested in working with Robert Kenney or any of our other top agents, please contact us today.

What is the favorite whine of Austinites? "I want to go to the winery!"

Hers is some fun and perhaps surprising facts about Texas wine production.

Information courtesy of: Texas wine and Grape growers association.
Link: http://www.txwines.org/facts.asp



TEXAS WINE INDUSTRY FACTS

Texas is the site of the first vineyard established in North America by Franciscan priests circa 1662. As European settlers followed the development of mission outposts, they brought more grapevine cuttings, further developing the industry through the 1800s.

Today Texas has approximately 4,400 acres of producing vineyard farmland. The U.S. Department of Treasury through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially designates American Viticulture (Grape Growing) Areas, or AVAs. Texas has eight AVAs although many vineyards exist outside the specified AVAs. For a wine to mention an AVA on the label, 75% of the volume of wine must come from grapes grown in that designated region.

Texas has eight recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVA).

Texas High Plains: Located west of Lubbock in the Panhandle at an elevation of 3000-4000 feet, the climate of this appellation is very dry. While the AVA encompasses over 8 million acres, there were approximately 3500 acres dedicated to grape growing in 2005.

Escondido Valley: This appellation established in 1992 covers 50 square miles in Pecos County in far West Texas, located near Fort Stockton

Texas Hill Country: Located west of Austin and San Antonio, this appellation, like Texas, is large. It is the second largest AVA in the USA, containing more than 9 million acres. Two smaller appellations, listed below, have been designated within the Texas Hill Country due to the unique microclimates they embody. Many wineries are located in this scenic area.

Bell Mountain (within Texas Hill Country): Designated in 1986, it is the first established AVA in Texas, covering five square acres about 15 miles north of Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg (within Texas Hill Country): This viticultural area covers about 110 acres with approximately 60 under vine.

Mesilla Valley: Located at the far western tip of the Texas border north and west of El Paso, this area is hot and dry with a long growing season and approximately 40 acres of cultivated grapes.

Texas Davis Mountains: With about 50 acres planted with vines, this west Texas appellation is cool and wet at an elevation ranging from 4,500 to 8,300 feet.

Texoma: Located in north-central Texas, this area contains approximately 3,650 square miles along the Texas-Oklahoma line.

Texas Wine and Wine grape Industry Profile

• America’s No. 5 grape and wine producer
• Contributes more than $1.83 Billion of Economic Value to the State of Texas
• 420 growers covering 4,400 acres
• 100% for wine
• 273 Wineries (G permit issued by TABC as of January 18, 2013)

Texas Hill Country vineyard's 

 

For more information or questions about real estate and moving to Austin please feel free to contact me.

 

Regards,

 

Bob Kenney, Realtor

®

 

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

 



HELP! My husband and I have our home under contract to close in March. How do we calculate our property tax obligation?

Hi Sue,

Hopefully your title company or closing attorney will verify this for you. I suggest you contact them 1^st thing in the morning.

To calculate your property tax obligation. Take the appraised value in the last tax year (2013) divide the number by 365 then multiply by the number of days in the year you own the home for example with a closing of March 17, 2014:

Taxes based on tax authority appraisal value : $10,000

$10,000/365 = $27.40 daily tax rate

$27.40 * 76 Days (include the closing day) = $2082.40

So this is the amount you will credit buyers at closing so that when the taxes are due the 3 of days you owned the home in 2014 is taken into account. Most closings will also have a document that both buyer and seller sign that is basically an outside agreement that if there is an underpayment of taxes at closing the sellers agree to reimburse the difference to the buyers. Same if there is an overpayment of taxes at closing the buyers will refund the sellers.

In order to make this happen both buyer and seller are responsible for contacting the other party with an accounting of actual taxes based on new tax appraisals since most taxing authorities do not typically set tax rates until fall time frame.

I hope this information helps you in your planning. If you have any other questions or need assistance in a referral for Realtor® services for your next home please contact me!

Kind Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text : 512-922-4922

I think there is an issue with a home I like, how can I check it out before I agree to agree to purchase the home?

Hi Vivian,

First thing you should do is have your real estate agent, Realtor®, ask the sellers agent or the seller if for sale by owner for a copy of the sellers disclosure. Read this document carefully as it should have information on any material issues that the home may have had since the current owner has owned the home. A lot of people are skeptical about the disclosure but as professional Realtor® we encourage the home owner , as listing agent, to fill out the disclosure with all the facts. The penalty in Texas for non disclosure of an issue is stiff and dates from time of discovery about a non disclosed issue.

In Texas we have what is called a Termination Option period. It gives the buyer the unrestricted right to cancel the contract with out penalty through the term of the option period.. It is negotiated with each home sale. This is the point the buyers have to inspect the property and decide if the property is right for them.

If there is something you just do not feel is right about the property and it is not on the sellers disclosure then this is the period you want to investigate. Most home owners will not let you do inspections on their property if you are not under contract because if there are unknown issues discovered they would then be obligated to disclose the issue to the next buyer if you chose not to buy the home.

Different states have different rules but most states allow for inspections of property after a home goes under contract. Please contact a real estate professional in your area for assistance and don’t let the home go to someone else if you feel it is the right one.

If you are in Texas and need assistance. Give me a call I will be glad to represent you or refer you to a Realtor® in your home town that can represent you.

Regards

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text - 512-922-4922

Hi Elizabeth,

I assume you mean from the Buyers prospective? Here are some basic to help understand the negotiation process.

Once a property if “Offered” for sale it is offered with specific terms such as price and condition. Time frame of the transaction is left open for negotiation unless otherwise specified (must close on or before X date).

As the buyer you have a couple of options. You can make and offer using the offered terms with no changes and add you desired day of close. I usually include time frame for response, “please respond by 5Pm of the following day or this contract may be considered null and void” this helps makes the transaction move along at a reasonable pace and helps prevents the seller from shopping your offer with other potential buyers. Once the seller receives this offer they then have 3 options

1.     Accept your offer – Offer is signed by all parties and the contract proceeds to Escrow.

2. Counter offer any of the terms including price, day of closing
3. Not respond in which case your offer has not been accepted

If you receive a counter offer you now have the same 3 options as the seller had when they received your offer (as above)

It is important at this point to realize that ANY change on the contract, even if it was something previously not changed of changed makes the contract eligible for the 3 responses. So for instance you agree to all the changes the seller has countered to you with except now you want to change the Number of days you may have for an option. This change goes back to the seller and now they have the 3 choices in their court.

So you see it is important to list out all terms early on and decide which ones are most important to you and would be worth either breaking a deal or moving on.

Now the really important part:

NO DEAL IS CONSIDERED TO BE A EAL UNTIL ALL PARTIES HAVE INITIALED AND SIGNED THE ENTIRE CONTRACT AND ALL ADDENDEM,

In regards to Texas Real estate once the parties have agreed on all terms of the contract, initialed and signed all parts of the contract and any addendum the contract is considered Executed. Then the contract (in Texas) is delivered to a title company along with the agreed upon Escrow funds the minute after the contract is executed the clock starts ticking on the various time sensitive deadlines of the contract including getting the contract delivered with escrow funds to title company.

Remember there are lots of parts to any transaction so the required addendum and number of negotiated terms may vary from transaction to transaction.

I hope you find this helpful and should you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Bob Kenney, Realtor® Mobile/Text : 512-922-4922

Texas Homestead Exemption Application

If  you have purchased a home in Texas in 2013 as a primary residence you are eligible to apply for what is called a “Homestead Exemption” after January 1, 2014.

There are several companies who will advertise to you that they can file this application for you for a fee. Do not pay the fee. There is no charge for this application it is free!

The county in which you reside will have the forms available to you as a PDF (in most cases) print it out fill In the information and send it to the address on the form.

Travis County link is here: http://www.traviscad.org/pdf/Forms/Exemptions/50-114_Homestead%20Exemption%20Form.pdf

Hays County link is here : http://www.hayscad.com/forms/

Williamson County link is here http://www.wcad.org/Appraisal/PublicAccess/Forms/PublicServices/HomesteadExemptionApplication.pdf

Also here is a copy of a blank form – Whatever county you live in simply fill in the tax appraisal district information and follow instructions. You can find mailing address on your locale appraisal district web site: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/50-114.pdf

What is a Homestead Exemption:*window on state goverment http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/tx96_295/home.html

Savings on Home Taxes   

An exemption removes part of the value of your property from taxation and lowers your taxes. For example, if your home is valued at $50,000 and you qualify for a $15,000 exemption, you pay taxes on your home as if it was worth only $35,000. Other than exemptions for disabled veterans or survivors, these exemptions apply only for your homestead. They do not apply to other property you own.

Does your home qualify for exemptions?

You must own your home.

To qualify for a general or disabled homestead exemption, you must own your home on January 1. If you are 65 years of age or older, you need not own your home on January 1. You will qualify for the over-65 exemption as soon as you turn 65, own the home, and live in it as your principal residence.

Your homestead can be a separate structure, condominium, or a mobile home located on leased land, as long as you own it. Your homestead can include up to 20 acres if the land is used as your yard.

A residence may be owned by an individual through an interest in a qualifying beneficial trust and may be occupied by a trustor of a qualifying trust.

If you are not the sole owner of the home, you will receive only a portion of any qualified exemption, based on your percent of ownership. For example, you own a 25-percent interest in a homestead valued at $100,000, for a total value of $25,000. You will receive 25 percent of a $15,000 school homestead exemption, or $3,750.

You must use the home as your principal residence on January 1.

If you have more than one house, you can only get exemptions for your main or principal residence. You must live in this home on January 1.

If you temporarily move away from your home, you can still get an exemption if you don't establish another principal residence and you intend to return. For instance, if you enter a nursing home, your home still qualifies as your homestead if you intend to return.

Renting part of your home or using part of it for a business doesn't disqualify the rest of your home for the exemption.

Note: Texas has two distinct laws for designating a homestead. The Texas Tax Code offers homeowners a way to apply for homestead exemptions to reduce local property taxes. The Texas Property Code allows homeowners to designate their homesteads to protect them from a forced sale to satisfy creditors. This law does not protect homeowners from tax foreclosure sales of their homes for delinquent taxes.

So get your applications in and don't be fooled by the offers to make application on your behalf.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

VP Turnquist Partners Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

What is a CMA? Who do I ask for more information about pricing my home?

Hi Frank,

If you were in Austin Texas,  I would tell you to give me a call!

CMA stands for Comparative Market Analysis. There are a couple of avenues you can go to obtain a CMA based on available data in your area.

The most obvious is your trusted Realtor. Realtors as professionals belong to locale organizations that compile market data in your area. From this data a Realtor can pull together a comparative analysis of current properties on the market, Number of days on the market, number of homes pending waiting to be closed and number of home closed or sold.

Some people are surprised when they receive their CMA and a home 5 door’s away is not on the analysis’. I try to include close proximity homes in the comments section of the report but do not always use them for comparison. Why? When doing these analysis it is important to have as many features between your home (target home) and the comps (comparative) homes.

The CMA helps give the consumer a clear picture of what the value of his/her home is at a given time in the market. I try to stay as close to what an appraiser is going to be looking at the time the home is sold so there are not any surprises when the finale appraisal comes in for the new buyer. Appraisers try to keep sold comps to w/in 90 days of the appraisal but sometimes may have to go back further depending on activity in your area. It is not un-common to have some areas that do not have close by comps.

So SQFT, Location, age of home, construction, lot size and schools are the main things to begin an analysis’. From there you want to try to keep sold comps to w/in 3 months or 90 days. So I usually start with a SQFT range of 200 SQFT on either side of target property, Range in home age and I plug in elementary, middle and high school campuses and see what activity there is. I might add 30-60 days onto the sold’s if there are not enough comps.  Once I get a selection of listings I then start to analyze each listing and see how they compare to target. # of stories will have an effect, lot size, amenities etc.

Once the listings are narrowed down for active I repeat same for any Pending listings and sold listings. Most Realtors have a presentation method that is unique to them. I like to show the client the average, minimum and max values for the final selection. This will help guide the client as to how to price their home and help manage expectations on expected final sale price range.

If an area does not have a lot of comparables then the Realtor must expand the search area until they are able to come up with more listings to use in the analysis. This becomes a little more complicated because you then take into consideration what another community might have to offer then start making adjustments in comparison to the target property criteria (either up or down).

A second alternative to the Realtor is to hire a locale licensed appraiser to come in and do an appraisal in their format using their set criteria. Their analysis is sometime more subjective depending on the market data they have access to. In a lot of cases it may be the same source as the Realtor but they may also use other resources outside the locale real estate data base.

Whatever route you go you can see that this report entails quite a bit of work to make sure you get an accurate picture. Once you receive the CMA and go over it with your Realtor it is perfectly acceptable to ask questions, point out areas where you think the Realtor may have missed a property ( It is not uncommon for a client to have more direct knowledge about a neighbors recent sale) and let the realtor make adjustments accordingly. The whole purpose of the CMA is to assist you the client in determining the best list price and help determine expectations of selling price.

I would be privileged to help refer you to an experienced Realtor/Broker in your area. Please feel free to contact me by Text/Phone @ 512-922-4922 or Email rkenney@gmail.com

A happy safe and healthy new year to you all!

Regards

Bob Kenney, Realtor

Vice President, Turnquist Partners Realtors