How Can a Simple Vote Put More Money in Your Pocket?

Looking to buy or sell a home in Central Texas? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (254) 690-4321 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

In the state of Texas, we are now in early voting and will be voting until October 30. So, we need you to run to the polls and vote YES to Proposition 1!

Proposition 1 will almost double your homestead exemption. It currently at sits at $15,000, but with a YES vote will be doubled to $25,000! That goes right into your pocket book!

If you're a homeowner today, or if you want to become a homeowner in the future, you need to get out and vote on this issue! Even if you're renting, voting YES on Proposition 1 will net more money in your landlord's pocket, and could prevent them from raising your rates as a result!

Texas has one of the highest property taxes in the nation. While this isn't anything to be excited about, it's worth noting that Proposition 1 will effectively stop anyone from ever putting a sales tax on your property. Additionally, it will protect elderly and disabled Texans!

So go out and vote for Proposition 1! Don't stop there - call five people, tell them to vote, and have them call five people as well! We can all work together to prevent high taxes on our property and add more savings in our pocket!

We'll see you at the polls!

How to Prepare Your Home for the Winter with Chris Coffey

Welcome to the Shine Team’s video blog. Today we have Chris Coffey from Textar Inspections with us. He is going to help us with some tips to winterize your home.

What are the most important things we need to do to prepare our homes for freezing weather?

Make sure to have your heating system serviced. You also want to check whether all the weather stripping around the doors and sealing around the windows aren’t cracked. If those are damaged they can let cold air in causing an increase in your heating bill.

How do you take care of the sprinkler system?

It’s really important to take care of these before the freezing temperatures come. It’s an easy homeowner’s fix or there are companies that can help with that.  They’ll also help with not only your irrigation system, but your exterior plumbing as well.

You can buy frost caps at your hardware store. They are very simple to install and they can save you hundreds of dollars.

Anything else?

Check out your roof. If you have any shingles missing or issues it will only get worse in the winter. Hire a roof inspector to make sure everything is in good shape.

I want to thank Chris for being with us today. If you have any more questions for Chris you can give him a call at 254-616-9399 or e-mail him at texstar.inspector@gmail.com. If you would like to know more information about Texstar Inspections you can visit their Facebook page.

If you have any other questions for me about how to winterize your home, please give us a call 254.690.4321

5 Things to Do Before You Move In

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Moving into a new home can be an extremely exciting time in a person’s life.  However, it can also be incredibly hectic.  There are some things that can be placed on the back burner during the move in process.  With these five easy tips on moving into a new home, you can be sure to have your home as safe and cost efficient as possible.

Spray for Bugs
Right when you get your keys, before you start moving in furniture, have an exterminator come out to your property and spray for bugs. A thorough spray before you move in will save you the hassle of clearing everything out for the exterminator at a later time. Make sure you are the only tenants of your new property and that there are no pesky pests sticking around!

Change the Locks
At closing time, the seller of a house turns over the keys to the new owners.  Many times, though, the previous owner will have given a spare key to a friend or neighbor in case of emergency.  Enlist a locksmith to come to the house and change all of the locks and get new keys made.  This final transition from one owner to the next will give the new homeowner peace of mind. 

Reprogram Your Garage Door Remote
Along with changing the locks of your home, reprograming your garage door remote will ensure the safety of your house.  Depending on the brand of remote, steps in reprograming it may differ, but the process is simple for nearly all brands.  Most remotes have a “Learn” button, which you must hold until the indicator light blinks.  While the indicator light blinks, press the button on your remote.  This should reprogram your garage door opener remote.  If this does not work, contact your remote manufacturer or local hardware store for assistance. 

Change Your Home’s Air Filters
Most air filter manufacturers recommend that you change the HVAC air filters once every month. Due to the increased amount of activity of moving furniture in and out of the house, a larger concentration of dust will collect in the ventilation system.   In order to improve the air quality in your home and increase heating and cooling efficiency, make sure you change your air filters right when you move in.

Install New Batteries in Smoke Alarms
When a person is selling their home, there are many different procedures they must do to ensure that it is ready for sale.  Often times, during the stress of the home selling process, the smoke alarms are forgotten about.  Ensure the safety of your home and family by changing the batteries in the smoke detectors when you move into a new house.  This cheap and quick home improvement has the potential to save your family’s life.