Dillo Talk

Still Raising the Roof

Another day, week, month, and our building renovation is taking shape, thanks to the hard work of Randy Lenz and the commitment of DSR to support the needs of real estate development in the Hill Country surrounding Austin, TX.  Wait 'till you see our mascot in stone!!

DSR is on the Move!

We are wasting no time here at DSR in expanding our market center to meet the increasing demand for Real Estate professionals.  I'll update frequently as we raise the roof on our addition next door so we can continue to open the door to the Hill Country for more of you.

It used to be "location, location, location"

The worn out phrase, “location, location, location” needs to be reevaluated, based on the current market trends in real estate.  When counseling a prospective seller, I always use the mantra “location, condition, and pricing.”  Let’s examine this phrase as it applies to working toward selling a property.

While it is certainly true that location plays an important part in the desirability of a property, of equal importance are pricing and condition.  In fact, common experience holds that pricing and condition are the only aspects of a property that the seller has any control over since, obviously, no property can be relocated.

The condition of a property can greatly enhance its appeal to a potential buyer - so much, in fact, that falling back on the “first impressions” theory is always safe.  By taking the time to make a property as appealing as possible, you increase the potential of selling in a reasonable time for the maximum return.  Even undeveloped property shows better if it has been somewhat cleared of brush, and all debris has been removed.  An optimum goal for maximum showing potential is to make such a positive first impression that the buyer will not need to look further.

Pricing is another key component in marketing and selling property.  It is important to understand that a good Broker’s goal is to help you sell your property, and as an active participant in the real estate business, a Broker’s understanding of the market and the need for accurate pricing cannot be over stated. 

As every Broker’s business is built on a good listing inventory, any Broker or agent can and often will accept the “seller’s price,” in the interest of taking the listing before a competitor does.  The truth is that a mispriced listing will often sit on the market for an inordinately long time with little to no traffic and no offers.  This leaves both the seller and the Broker feeling frustrated, and puts the Broker in the position of constantly having to bring up the pricing issue with the seller.  Commonly in real estate, a mispriced listing will fall off the market and the frustrated seller will re-list with another company, believing the failure to sell was the fault of the first listing company.  When the new company suggests a new price and the seller agrees, lo and behold, the property sells!  Why not simply price it accurately to begin with? 

The problem with a “test the market” strategy is that no one likes a low grade!  By pricing your property accurately from the start, you place the buyer and their agent in the position of having to prove your price wrong, rather than you and your Broker having to defend your price.  A word of caution:  even though you may feel your property is worth more than a Broker’s market analysis shows, you do yourself a disservice by listing with a Broker who will take the listing at your price.  In fact, you may also be causing irreversible damage financially, since the longer a property sits on the market, the more “shop-worn” it becomes. 

So, “location, location, location” needs to step aside for “location, condition, and pricing.”  With this in mind, you will get your property sold in the least amount of time, for the maximum profit, with limited inconvenience to you.   

Las Mariposas

Here in central Texas, it is well known that we are in the migratory flyway for many species of birds, but what may be less well known or appreciated is that we are also in the path of millions of migratory butterflies.  Of course the migration of the monarch between the northern U.S. and Mexico is well documented and perhaps overshadows the phenomenal number of other species that fly through or stay for our relatively mild winters.  This autumn has been especially rich in the sheer number of butterflies that seem to have taken up residence here.  I'm not a butterfly expert and in attempting to identify the species that seem most prevelant, I've come up with the American Lady, although they also look like a Comma or Crescent.  They are relatively small in size, but more than make up for it in number. And while driving through the beautiful back roads of the Hill Country, it's impossible to ignore them, if only by how many are left on your windshield.  The pictures I've posted are of a Queen Milkweed butterfly and of a Variegated Fritillary.  This migratory phenomenon is just one more reason to get out and explore the amazing natural environment of the Texas Hill Country.

Letters to Ellie

LETTERS TO ELLIE

“The Reason”

February 10, 2002

Hi Sweetheart,

“BIRRRRD!” It is late winter and you and I are driving slowly down a small dead-end lane outside of Wimberley, Texas. You are in your car seat in the back seat on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. A slight turn of my head allows me to look at you as we drive, and we exchange glances and giggles and funny expressions. The field on our right is a tawny, lion-colored yellow stand of knee-high grass. A magnificent, perfectly shaped tree intrudes into the otherwise open field by about 50 feet. The tree is barren, save for a few hundred brown leaves that refuse to give up their view of the surrounding countryside. Holding tightly to the highest branches, they seem to be alive as they battle the brisk north breeze, surely realizing they are destined to relinquish their spot to eventual new growth and must, in fact, fulfill their role in becoming the soil beneath the tree.

As we approach the tree, the leaves suddenly decide that they have a reason to leave in unison. They flutter upward and away; now, however, suddenly morphing into a synchronized flock of tiny brown sparrows. I turn my head to look at you, your head slightly cocked to the side, staring at the scene. That’s when I see it and hear it, as you purse your lips and say, “BIRRRRD!”

Imagine my surprise at finding myself unable to keep my eyes dry in the moments following your utterance of that word. It wasn’t the first word you’d said, for as a proud father I’d have to argue that “Dada” took that honor. Nor was it even the biggest word you were capable of. With encouragement and excited prompting from the adults in your life, you are quite capable of reproducing many of the traditional words we parents ask our little ones to repeat as we seek to impress our friends with how smart our baby is.

No, it is the situation I find myself in that causes that word to rip at my heartstrings. It hits me hard as I realize that moments like the one I just witnessed may, from this day forward, be few and far between for me. I won’t be able to tuck you into bed each evening, nor witness the triumphs and challenges in the daily life of a 20-month old. My life with my daughter is about to be condensed into alternating weekends and patches of extended stays that are granted to me by some court.

In my struggles to cope with the situation, I have begun a journal of sorts in which I hope to somehow capture the moments I do have with you. I am writing them as letters to you, recording special things you might say or do, things we do when we are together or maybe some thought I have about your life. Hoping that some day you will be able to read these letters and know that I was in your life when you were very young, and that I took every opportunity given me to be with you and share my life with you. Your brothers and you are “The Reason” I forge ahead.

I can tell already that you love animals and being outdoors. That is evident in the photos I have of you sitting in the middle of a shallow stream or riding in a wheelbarrow amongst the new kid goat crop. You have even accompanied me as I’ve shown Hill Country ranches to prospective buyers. Not sure what they thought of it, but you ate it up. My little girl, my daughter – the answer to many prayers – I miss you already and can’t wait to see you again.

Love, Daddy

Goin' Batty

OK, first of all you have to understand that in Texas we say “goin'.” If you say “going,” everyone will know immediately that you’re not from Texas. Anyway, we really are goin’ batty here in Texas and we’re surprisingly proud of it! Here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country we have a profusion of primarily Mexican free-tailed bats that arrive from south of the border every summer to deliver their young. It’s a girl thing, and the colonies of moms that raise their “pups” leave the dads behind in Mexico to do whatever dads do when the family is away.

The Congress Street Bridge colony in Austin is (I assume) world famous. Numbering up to an estimated 2-4 million bats, the only mammal that flies emerges every evening from under the bridge and wows thousands of spectators as they follow the course of the Colorado River like a dark cloud, off to their nightly hunt.

Pursuing the bat trail in Central Texas can lead you through some incredibly beautiful country. A few miles east of Fredericksburg, the Grapetown Road leads to an abandoned railroad tunnel where another couple of million bats raise their young and emerge into the night sky to hunt for their favorite meal, the corn earworm moth and the cotton bollworm moth. These furry little creatures eat so many of those moths each night that Texas farmers save many thousands of dollars in pesticide use every summer and, needless to say, all those pesticides never enter the environment.

As a birding enthusiast, I was recently treated to an evening at the famous Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve, where the world’s only known cave built specifically as a chiroptorium exists. Approximately 60,000 bats are using this cave as a nursery, and the emergence is as spectacular as anywhere else.

The most breathtaking emergence we witnessed this year was at Bracken Cave. This is a natural limestone cave close to San Antonio and is open by invitation only. The cave is owned by Bat Conservation International and the group hopes to fund the building of a visitor center and observatory. Now, the stunning part: it’s estimated that 20-40 million bats occupy the cave over the summer. To say that witnessing the phenomenon of this emergence is anything less than stunning is an understatement. This is the largest colony of bats in the world; in fact, the largest concentration of any mammal in the world. One of the monitors said he watched from 7:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. one evening and the bats were still pouring out when he left. It’s really an incomprehensible number of anything, let alone something so active and vital.

Bat emergences are, of course, common and locally known in many areas of the world. What’s really amazing is when you are shown a radar map that documents the incredible density of this phenomenon. They ride the thermals to an altitude of 10,000 feet and are tracked by radar at the San Antonio airport so they can route incoming air traffic safely. Texas has truly embraced the bat craze. Even Austin’s hockey team is named the “Ice Bats.”

So what is it that draws thousands of quiet, almost silent spectators each year? This much-maligned and even feared animal is harmless (unless you’re a moth). And this phantom-like, almost mystical creature has captured our imaginations and hearts. We never really get a good look at them. Their flight is spastic and erratic and, at best, they appear as a swift silhouette against the sky or an immense gray/black smoke trail heading off on the hunt. Perhaps it’s our deeper understanding that the phenomenon of emergence has taken place for eons and is one of those timeless events that give us reason to reflect on our own place in the scheme of things. Then again, maybe we are thrilled by the spectacle simply because it’s so cool! It could be that’s all there is to it.

Skidboot the Dog

A heart-warming segment from Texas Country Reporter, with Bob Phillips. For more information visit www.TexasCountryReporter.com or www.skidboot.com

Better Maps for Better Decisions

Mapping is an important tool for understanding country property. While Google Earth (www.earth.google.com) offers fabulous mapping adventures, its available layers for the Texas Hill Country are very limited. www.zillow.com is another fantastic site, with map- based tools for determining the value of your home. However, its uses for the urban/rural interface and country property are, again, quite limited. Among the special services we offer our clients is a custom aerial-based mapping system to assist you in the evaluation of your property so you can make the right decision. Our mapping service is built on a complex process that requires obtaining map data from a variety of sources, the customized building of many additional map layers, the geo-referencing of all layers (which assures all elements are aligned and at the right scale), continual updating, and creating graphic design interpretation of the map data so the maps are both meaningful and appealing. For a sample map in our area, go to www.drippingspringsrealty.com/tab_property.htm and click the Mapping link.

MLS Searches Limit Choices

Country property is a unique market segment of real estate. For many decades it has been largely represented by a network of special brokers, some of whom are Realtors, many of whom are not.

In many cases fine property is not offered through the area Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Instead, the property is traded within this long-established network of country brokers. While some of these properties are marketed through traditional public channels, others are posted only on private web sites, and some never even make it online at all, rather being sold by a few quiet phone calls. Obviously, the benefit of being woven into the fabric of this network is very important for buyers.

Green Development Comes to Dripping Springs

A development that will sprout 912 homes just west of Dripping Springs will mark the town's first test of a new law aimed at preserving the area's rolling open space and panoramic views.

The $40 million community, planned by Central Texas developer James Kerby, will sit at the corner of U.S. Highway 290 and McGregor Lane. Comprising 688 acres, the development will leave almost 70 percent of that land open. Plans call for clustered sets of houses -- more than four an acre -- tucked into the land's topography.

Proponents of the building style, called conservation development, say it maintains natural environment while also helping developers turn a profit. Dripping Springs passed its conservation development ordinance last year, and Travis County is er the next seven years, he says.

Though Kerby has just started talking with homebuilders, he expects house prices to start at $300,000. The homeowners will jointly own the more than 450 acres of open space, with each house backing up to a large tract of land. Fence restrictions will preserve those bucolic views, Kerby says.

"You're not looking at a lot of wood fences," he says. "Everyone will be looking out their door at several hundred acres that they all own."

That's an amenity that could help distinguish the project -- dubbed Scenic Greens -- from its neighbors.
Steve Windhager, director of landscape restoration at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, says such developments can promote their open space much like a golf community sells it course to potential customers. But conservation developers don't have the hassle and costs of building an actual golf course.

"When you moved out to the country, what you really moved out there for was a feeling of wide-open spaces," Windhager says. "But you don't get that if the land is chopped up into one-acre lots."

He points to another Dripping Springs development by Terry Mitchell of Momark Development LLC. That community is also using the conservation development model, though it began before the ordinance was in effect. Still, Mitchell expects to save as much as 30 percent in infrastructure costs because of clustered housing, Windhager says.

Plus, in other states, such developments have sold faster at premium prices, he adds. The Wildflower Center is hosting a forum on conservation development on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, aimed at everyone from architects and developers to real estate brokers and tax appraisers.

Scenic Greens could have gone in a different direction, says Jon Thompson, development coordinator for the City of Dripping Springs. Several years ago, KB Home owned a chunk of the land and even ran a water line out to the site. But after facing opposition from Dripping Springs residents, the homebuilder dropped the project, Thompson says.

The relatively low price of land, combined with the water lines and proximity to Dripping Springs, made it ripe for other developers, he adds. With its city-sized lots and mature trees serving as screens, drivers won't see much of the development from U.S. 290, he says.

The region is "going to grow -- it's been proven," Thompson says. "What we're trying to get people to realize is that with growth, you can manage it or not manage it, and we're trying to manage it the best we can."

Article courtesy of Austin Business Journal
Original published title: $40M Housing Project Set
August 18, 2006 by Jenny Robertson, ABJ Staff