“A dollar saved is a dollar earned,” wrote Benjamin Franklin. On the surface, Franklin’s famous adage offers simple advice: frugality is a form of financial investment.

But go just a little deeper, and the saying encourages us to discern between good discounts and misleading ones. Whatever the venture, an investor owes it to him or herself to take all risks into honest consideration before putting any money on the table.

Real estate is one of the most common forms of investment. It can be done through several methods, including buy-and-hold, property leasing, and house-flipping, among others. In recent years, shows like Fixer Upper on HGTV have popularized house flipping. This method involves purchasing a (low-cost) foreclosed property, performing all…

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You finally found the perfect Central Texas home.

The house checks all your boxes: it is the right style and size, has an entertaining kitchen, and even boasts an awesome master bedroom. To make things even better, your offer was accepted by the homeowner. Congratulations!

You’re one step closer to owning your first home.

The next step in your home buying journey is the home inspection. The job of a home inspector is to provide interested homebuyers an unbiased report about the utility and safety of the home they are preparing to purchase.

While a home inspection is not required, it is highly recommended. A home inspector gives you the chance to understand a property through the trained scrutiny of someone whose job it is to notice problems, risks, and…

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homes in San Antonio

According to 2016 census data, San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the United States in terms of population. San Antonio has many of the characteristics that people love about big cities: diverse cuisine, interesting businesses, culture, and fun activities to do and places to explore.

But San Antonio stands out from other major cities because of one unusual big-city quality: its affordability. The city has a low cost of living, which enables more middle-income families to enjoy the homes and lifestyles that might be way out of their budget for a comparable property in another place.

Bestplaces.net is a website that compares the cost of living in cities across the United States. Its data reflects costs of transportation, healthcare, food, and other…

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More people are moving to Texas than any other state in the country. According to U.S. Census data, Texas added more than 6 million people from 2000 to 2010. Overwhelmingly, net domestic migrants are moving to Texas from California, but as Jeff Salamon points out, Californians are not more likely to move to Texas than other inter-state migrants—since the population of California is so large, there are simply more Californians coming in than say, Louisianans or South Dakotans.

Growth is strong across the largest metropolitan areas in Texas, making these large areas highly attractive to migrants from all over the United States. Americans are moving to Texas.

But why are people relocating to Texas from other states?

According to a Fiscal Notes blog…

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Have you ever wondered about the best time of year to buy a home in Central Texas?

It may come as a surprise to many homeowners in Central Texas that there are huge financial advantages to buying or selling during specific months, or seasons, in Central Texas. After all, it’s not like Texans endure harsh winters like those living further north in the United States.

It’s easier to understand why a location with regular, drastic temperature fluctuations sees real estate prices rise and fall significantly throughout a year. Given the choice of buying in the frigid cold of northern winter or during its temperate summer, most families would spend considerably less money for a home if they’re willing to endure house hunting in the cold. Depending on the…

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If you’re shopping for a new home to lease or purchase in Central Texas, you may wonder whether homeowner’s associations are worth your while.

It’s usually easy to educate yourself about what specific HOA communities provide and allow. Before taking the financial plunge, take some time to learn about what Central Texas HOA communities offer.

To some, the benefits of having a quality HOA far outweigh the fees and restrictions. Paying a simple, recurring fee can mean time saved from menial tasks, more fun activities to do around your own community and no obscure-looking houses or fences that are a blight on the surrounding community, spoiling the immaculate beauty of the rest of the neighborhood.

On the other hand, some believe HOA communities…

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If you’re considering finding a home to rent or buy in Central Texas, San Antonio is probably on your radar. But which neighborhood is best?

We want to spotlight Alamo Heights as a particularly good choice for buyers and renters in Central Texas.

Quick look: Alamo Heights is known for accessibility, short commutes, growing economy, top-rated public schools, verdant and walkable streets, luxury shopping, and loads of cultural activities. Keep reading for more details!

1. Conveniently located for work

Alamo Heights is centrally located and highly connected to the main industries in San Antonio.

The 78209 area code represents prime San Antonio real estate. It is highly accessible, only 3 miles south of the San Antonio International airport and…

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If you’re like many families right now in the real estate market, you’re on the hunt for more than just another house. You’re in the market for a place you and your family can fall in love with. You’re looking for your dream home.

At JB Goodwin, we know as well as anyone that searching for the right home can feel daunting. Many families don’t even know where to start.

Even people with a vivid dream home in their minds don’t always know how to translate their ideas to a real estate agent.

After all, what does it mean to find your dream home anyway?

While some surface level characteristics will distinguish your search from the search of another family, there are many elements everyone looks for in their dream home. To help narrow your…

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There’s nothing wrong with entering the Central Texas real estate selling market with optimism. But if you’ve been trying to sell your home for a while without much traction or interest from buyers, your optimism might be waning.

Sitting on a home that doesn’t sell is discouraging. Fortunately, there are strategies that smart real estate agents use to pique the interest of home-shoppers. You can implement these tricks as a homeowner to gain more sales momentum for your property.

The truth is, there are several common sale-slowing factors that might be at play in your listing. Here are the three that we find exceptionally common, listed as the solutions you can use to get your Central Texas property out of its silent rut.

1) Make a prospective…

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It’s easy to forget that the technology we use every day once only existed in the imaginations of quirky sci-fi writers. Now, these innovations appear in our everyday lives and continue to change the way our communities, cities, and jobs appear and function.

With so many inventions changing the way we live, shop, work, and play, it isn’t a surprise to learn that our homes are also evolving to keep up with these emerging technologies. When houses are outfitted with some of the latest and greatest innovations, we call these houses “smart homes.”

Smart technology – whether in your phone, car, or home – is about automation. Home automation alleviates household upkeep to give you and your family more safety, control, and time to do what you love.

…

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