Every year, a few sellers ask me to look at a home they tried to sell themselves first. The story is usually the same: it sat on Facebook Marketplace and a yard sign for six or eight weeks, the calls were mostly agents fishing for listings or buyers lowballing because they knew there was no […]
Build-to-Rent Communities in Austin: What Renters and Buyers Should Know
If you’ve driven through the Austin suburbs lately, there’s a good chance you’ve passed a build-to-rent community without realizing it. These developments look like ordinary subdivisions: single-family houses, a pool, maybe a dog park. The difference is that one company owns every home in the neighborhood, and none of them are for sale. Build-to-rent, usually […]
Preparing Your Home to Sell: What to Fix, What to Skip
Sellers usually ask me the same question first: paint the walls, call a stager, or start packing? The order matters more than the checklist itself. Spend money on the wrong thing first and you’ll run out of time and budget for the fixes that actually stall a sale or knock down an offer. I’m Robbie […]
Investing in Texas Real Estate: What to Know Before You Buy
Texas keeps showing up on lists of the best states for real estate investors, and for good reason. But “Texas” isn’t one market. An Austin duplex, a San Antonio rental near the medical center, and a lake house in Lakeway behave nothing alike, and the risks that matter in one don’t always apply to the […]
How Pricing Works Differently for Austin Luxury Homes
Pull the comps on a high-end Westlake or Tarrytown listing and you’ll often come up short. Maybe two or three sales in the past year come close on price, and even those won’t really match once you look at lot orientation, builder, or finish-out level. That’s the core problem with pricing luxury property the same […]
What Is a Bridge Loan? Texas Home Buyer Guide
Thinking about buying a new home before your current one sells? A bridge loan can give you the cash you need to move fast. Below is the plain‑talk rundown you need to decide if it fits your Texas situation. Table of Contents What Is a Bridge Loan? How Bridge Loans Work Between Two Properties When […]
Cost Segregation Study: A Real Estate Owner’s Guide
Got a rental or commercial building and want to pull more cash flow out of it early? A cost segregation study can lift your first‑year tax deduction dramatically. Below you’ll find what it is, how it reshapes depreciation, who should bother, and the paperwork you’ll need, especially in Texas. Table of Contents What Is a […]
Austin Neighborhoods for Pet Owners
If you thought Austin’s pet-friendly neighborhoods were all priced alike, the numbers tell a different story. I’m Robbie English, REALTOR, Broker, and I’ve compared six areas through a pet-owner lens, while separating verified facts from details you still need to check in person. Mueller and central Austin areas bring daily walkability closer to home. Dripping […]
What Is PMI on a Mortgage? Costs, Removal & How It Works
Private mortgage insurance shows up on many loan statements, and it can feel like a mystery fee. In a few minutes you’ll see what PMI really is, how it hits your monthly payment, when it drops off, and what to watch out for. Table of Contents What PMI Means and How It Works on a […]
Your Guide to Spring Break in Austin
Every March, I start fielding the same question from clients and neighbors: is this the week Austin gets crazy? Spring break in Austin is a real shift in how the city feels for about a week, and if you live here, it helps to understand why, even if you don’t have kids in school and […]
Best Down Payment Assistance Texas Programs
Finding help for a down payment can feel like hunting for a needle in a haystack. The good news is Texas offers a handful of solid options that can shave thousands off your upfront cost. Below are the five programs that consistently help buyers move forward, and a quick guide to pick the right one […]
Living in Downtown Austin, TX
I get asked about downtown Austin condos more than almost any other segment of this market, and I’ve noticed most of what’s written about it online only covers one slice: whether a luxury tower is “worth it.” That’s a fair question, but it skips the bigger one people actually need answered first, which is what […]
Your Guide to the Zilker Kite Festival
Every spring, thousands of people spread out blankets on the Great Lawn at Zilker Park, unpack kites of every shape and color, and spend the day watching the sky. I’ve lived and worked in Austin long enough to consider the Zilker Kite Festival one of the events that actually feels like it belongs to the […]
The History of Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin’s Lost Music Landmark
I’ve lived in Austin long enough to hear the Armadillo come up in conversation more times than I can count, usually from someone who either saw a show there or wishes they had. This is the first article in a series I’m starting on Austin’s history, the buildings and moments that shaped the city before […]
What $400K, $600K, $800K, and $1M+ actually buys you in Austin right now
I get some version of the same question almost every week, usually early in a buyer conversation: what does my number actually buy right now? It’s a fair question and it doesn’t have one answer, because Austin isn’t really one market. It’s a collection of submarkets that happen to share a metro area, and a […]
Living in Rob Roy, Austin TX
Rob Roy comes up a lot when I’m talking with buyers about West Lake Hills, but I’ve never actually given it its own page on this site until now. That’s an oversight I want to fix, because Rob Roy has a personality of its own within West Austin’s luxury market, separate from its neighbors along […]
What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House?
Thinking about buying a home but not sure if your credit score is high enough? The numbers matter, but there’s a clear range for each loan type. Below you’ll see the exact scores you need, why those scores matter, and what you can do if yours falls short. Table of Contents What Credit Score Do […]
Best First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Texas
Finding a way to afford a home in Texas can feel impossible. The state actually offers a handful of programs that hand you cash or cheap loans. Below is a short list of the most useful options and who each works best for. Table of Contents 1. Robbie English, REALTOR, Broker 2. My Choice Texas […]
Buying a Manufactured Home in the Austin Area: What to Know
I get questions about manufactured homes more often than you might expect, and I have almost nothing written on my site to point people to. That is a gap I want to fix, because manufactured housing is a legitimate part of the Austin-area market and it comes with its own rules, financing paths, and terminology […]
The Texas Eviction Process: What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know
I get eviction questions from both sides of the table. Landlords call me wondering how long it will take to get a nonpaying tenant out, and tenants call me wondering what their rights actually are once a notice shows up on the door. Because my brokerage, Uncommon Realty, runs a property management division that handles […]
Austin’s Short-Term Rental Regulations: What Owners Need to Know
I get asked about short-term rentals more than almost any other investment property question I field as a broker in Austin. The city has one of the most litigated STR ordinances in Texas, and the rules have shifted enough times over the past few years that even owners who did their homework two years ago […]
What Texas’s New 2025 Zoning Laws Mean for Austin Homeowners
I’m Robbie English, REALTOR and broker at Uncommon Realty here in Austin, and I want to walk you through something I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about lately: the zoning changes the state legislature passed last year. If you’ve seen a headline about Texas “overriding” local zoning and wondered what it actually means for […]
Living in Hutto, TX: A Complete Guide
I get a lot of questions about Hutto from buyers who found it on a map, heard the name from a coworker headed to Samsung’s plant in Taylor, or noticed a hippo logo somewhere and wanted to know what that was about. Hutto doesn’t get talked about as much as Round Rock or Georgetown, but […]
Zilker Park’s Trail of Lights: What to Know
Every December, Zilker Park turns into one of the more distinct stretches of Austin, and I get asked about the Trail of Lights every year by people who are new to the city or thinking about buying near the park. I want to lay out what the event actually is, where it came from, and […]
Where to See Bluebonnets Near Austin, TX
I grew up watching for that first flush of blue along the highway shoulders every spring, and I still get the same small thrill now that I sell real estate in this area for a living. Bluebonnet season is one of those things that reminds me why so many people fall for Central Texas in […]
Your Guide to SXSW in Austin
I get asked about SXSW every year, usually by someone who is either looking at a downtown condo or already lives in one and wants to know what they are in for. So I put together this guide as a straightforward look at what South by Southwest actually is, how it affects downtown Austin, and […]
Your Guide to F1 Weekend at COTA in Austin
I get asked about Circuit of the Americas more than almost any other Austin landmark, and not just from race fans. Buyers, sellers, and people relocating for work all want to understand how this track fits into the bigger picture of southeast Austin. I put this guide together to walk through what COTA actually is, […]
Your Guide to ACL Music Festival in Austin: Living Near Zilker Park During Festival Season
I get asked about Austin City Limits Music Festival every fall, usually by clients who are looking at homes near Zilker Park and want to know what festival weekends actually feel like from a resident’s perspective. So I put together this guide to walk through what ACL Fest is, how it uses Zilker Park, and […]
Your Guide to Summer Tubing and Lake Days Near Austin
I like living somewhere I can be on a river or a lake within an hour of leaving my house. As a broker who spends most of my week talking with people about where they want to live, I hear this a lot too. Buyers ask about proximity to water before they ask about almost […]
Your Guide to the Austin Rodeo
Every March, a stretch of northeast Austin turns into one of the busiest gathering spots in the region. I’m talking about the Austin Rodeo, and if you haven’t been, or if you moved here recently and keep seeing the name pop up without knowing what it actually is, I wanted to put together a real […]
