Tag Archives: Oak Cliff Realtor

Oak Cliff, Real Estate, Uncategorized

On Dreams and Mysteries

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I’m a list-writer. Seriously, I have lists for everything…goals, travel, budget, business, life. Sometimes they’re in spreadsheet form, but mostly I rely on pen and paper. I try to keep them up in front of me, but they can fall to bottom of a pile. This week, while prepping for our upcoming trip to Alaska, I stumbled upon a list from 2010 of “50 things I want in life”. It was an exercise that my friend Pickert had me do. The funny thing is that, even though I haven’t seen this list in quite a while, many of the things have been accomplished. Which brings me to Alaska.
Number 31 on the list is “see the Aurora Borealis”. For a long time, I’ve wanted to witness this mystery. There’s a lot known about the Northern Lights, but it still remains unresolved as to the exact when & why of it. Something to do with electromagnetism, negative ions, solar flares, and fairies (just kidding about the fairies). I love that as much has been discovered about the Aurora, we still can’t accurately predict when they will be visible or what colors will show up. Last year, Val and I booked a trip to Alaska with Planetary Society guides to learn a bit more, and hopefully, see some lights.
Even, if by chance, I don’t see the Northern Lights and I don’t get to check this one off the list, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to dream.
Oak Cliff, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Jenni’s First Home: South Third in Austin, Tx

In 1996, Val and I were living in East Austin, in a leased garage apartment. It had no central air or heat, no shower, and more than a couple holes in the floor that looked onto the dirt base of the “garage” below. But rents were continuing to rise. And we knew we needed to buy a home to avoid being priced out of town.

We set our budget at $55,000. Our amazing Realtor, Marylin, found us a home in “up and coming” South Austin. It was a single family, but had rentable guest quarters. The whole package was $98,000. Above our budget, but the rent from the back house offset our monthly payment.  By the time we bought in 1997, interest rates were hovering around 9% for FHA loans, so the home cost us $1000/month. For context, this loan today would be $445 monthly, before taxes/insurance.
We had bring $5600 to close. At the time, we were living paycheck to paycheck, so we borrowed these funds from Val’s mom (may you be forever blessed, Marlene Haskell, for your enduring support and faith). If you can’t tell, it was a stressful time in many ways. But it was also a time of much hope. Val and I were planning our wedding. She was training for her first marathon. We had both just launched new businesses. And our cute little 2/1 on South Third, all 990 square feet of it, was a springboard for the future we were planning.
Looking back at the home, the color was dark (we didn’t have money for paint), and the roof needed replacing. For us, though, the inside was bright and full of love. There was even an extra room, so we each had an office. There was this amazing Live Oak tree in the back yard that was so wide, it stretched across the entirety of our yard, as well as most of the neighbors’ on either side. When we first moved in, the peacocks from our back-fence neighbors, Green Pastures Restaurant, would roam up and down our fence. Eventually we got a dog who scared them out of their daily outings.
We loved our first home. We only stayed there a couple years, but still feel so fondly about it that we drove by last year on a trip to Austin.
Whatever your goals, whatever your budget, I will say that owning a home is a wonderful experience. Additionally, it can be a great asset for future financial goals. I love that I now get to the return the kindness that our Realtor bestowed on us, by helping first-time buyers achieve their dreams
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Oak Cliff, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s Awards Ceremony

Celebrating 2017. Proud of our team, thankful for our clients, supporters and colleagues at Briggs and elsewhere. Smiling, laughing, dancing and celebrating into our best year yet.

Help us help you! Let’s make it your best year too!

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Oak Cliff, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Calling All Mardi Gras Beads!

The parade this weekend was such a blast! If you’re like Jenni & Val in this pic and you still have a lot of beads in your house we’d love to take them off your hands.

You can drop the beads off at any of the three addresses below in the black bins on the front porch and we’ll hand the beds off to a non-profit to use in next year’s parade! Thanks in advance for paying your beads forward and helping keep Oak Cliff green!

405 S Clinton / 75208
1331 S Montreal / 75208
231 E Greenbriar / 75203

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Oak Cliff, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Same Jenni and Em, but with more bling.

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So thankful to all of our clients that got us here and as always please think of us when you, your friends or family need a realtor too.