9735 Fortune Ridge, Converse TX 78109

This home has all the bells and whistles! Huge floor-plan with 4 bedrooms, large master suite downstairs, living room with gaming nook, and an over-sized upstairs loft. Every inch of the 2800 sqft has been upgraded. New, new, new...lighting, fixtures, granite counter-tops, tile and wood flooring, window coverings, and stainless appliances. Mature oaks cover the almost quarter acre lot, and provide welcoming shade on the backyard deck! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 2800sqft!

2339 West Kings Hwy. Monticello Park Historic property!

2339 West Kings $215,000

Monticello Park
Deco District gem

One of San Antonio's first suburbs, this development was built on a former dairy farm in the 1920's. 

 

3.5 square miles of sprawling lawns,  vibrant colors,  and unique architecture surround the historical masterpiece, Jefferson High school. 

 

The south border is Woodlawn Lake, the 30 acre man made body of water, recently updated with bike trails and neighborhood parks. 

 

Some of the most significant architecture in San Antonio's history lived here. Revival styles, Spanish Colonial, English Tudor. Greek, Mission, Craftsman, Bungalow etc. lives here! Virtually every home boasts the handiwork of individual artisans.  Historic MAP

 

Beautiful Views at the Hill Country home in the Estates at Champion Run!

  Listed at $593,000 San Antonio Portfolio Real Estate

 

Flooded with natural light and amazing views, this single story home in Champions Run is your opportunity to experience luxury, but not pay the luxury price tag. This homes features include: Keith Zars pool, wrought iron privacy fencing, elevated covered patio, custom tile and hand-scraped flooring throughout, Crown molding and 12 ft ceilings, natural stone accents, jack and jill bath, and walk-in closets with shelving in every room. This could easily be your next home, so come take a look!

- See more at: http://spw4u.com/toolkit/1547942/property.do#sthash.vyDPScPM.dpuf

Virtual Tour HERE!

http://www.championsrunhoa.com/welcome.html 

Investors wanted...

I love talking about Real Estate! It seems like every time I get together with friends and family, someone is thinking about buying an investment.

It's always amusing to talk through the logistics of getting prepared to purchase. There are mostly hems and haws, followed up with concerns about unforeseen repairs and bad tenants. So often the questions arise, of how and where to buy, and how much and where to spend the money on upgrades to get the most value for your dollars.

I think for most, it is overwhelming to consider the reward may just be higher than the risk. But believe it or not, it's not so scary. Sure, you can put your money into the stock market, and log on daily to watch it rise and fall. Talk about a nail biter! What if, you could get a great return on your money and let someone else do all the worrying for you? Would you consider buying Real Estate then?

I help investors everyday, locate properties, negotiate the best deals, navigate repairs and upgrades, place stellar tenants, and ultimately tell you when it's the right time to sell. So whenever anyone asks me if it's the right time to buy Real Estate...the answer is always yes! But only if you call me first ;)

Briana Sopala
San Antonio Portfolio
210.781.1513

Smart Buy #3

San Antonio Restaurant Week: Dine Out and Dig In

Tomorrow kicks off Restaurant Week in the Alamo City! 

 

Being an SA native, I have had my fair share of delicious meals. Best part about these offerings for both lunch and dinner, they have two tiers to choose from, and each restaurant offers a three course prix-fixe menu.

Tier 1: $15 lunch and $35 dinner

Tier 2: $10 lunch and $25 dinner

Here are my favorites...but scroll to the bottom for the link to Culinaria SA for the full line-up.

 

TIER 1 RESTAURANTS:

1. Betos Alt-Mex, 8142 Broadway St, San Antonio, TX 78209 P 210-930-9393    

Beto’s Lunch and Dinner Menu

2.  Tiu Steppi’s Osteria 17230 Bulverde Rd Suite 110, San Antonio, TX 78247 P 210-592-8645
Tiu Steppi’s Osteria Lunch and Dinner Menu

3. Max’s Wine Dive, 340 E Basse Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, TX 78209 P 210-444-9547
Max’s Wine Dive Lunch Menu / Max’s Wine Dive Dinner Menu

4. Citrus, 150 E Houston Street, San Antonio, TX 78205 P 210-230-8412

Hotel Valencia – Citrus Lunch Menu / Hotel Valencia – Citrus Dinner Menu

5. Grey Moss Inn, 19010 Scenic Loop Road, San Antonio, TX 78023 P 210-695-8301

Grey Moss Inn Dinner Menu

TIER 2 RESTAURANTS:

1.  Tacos and Tequila, 1915 Broadway St, San Antonio, TX 78215 P 210-314-8226
Tacos and Tequila Lunch and Dinner Menu

2. Paloma Blanca, 5800 Broadway St #300, San Antonio, TX 78209 P 210 822-6151

Paloma Blanca Lunch and Dinner Menu

3. Thai Topaz, 2177 NW Military Hwy, San Antonio, TX 78213 P 210-290-9833

Thai Topaz Lunch and Dinner Menu

Reservations are not required to participate – but, are strongly encouraged – and can be booked directly with restaurants. Your dining experience will be a charitable one. With each meal ordered, restaurants will donate $1 for lunch and $2 for dinner to Culinaria and the programs it supports. Details on all of the participating restaurants will be posted regularly!

 

http://culinariasa.org/san-antonio/restaurant-week-2/

Profitable Investment Properties, Top 10 Features

By Andrew Beattie
 
From the first decision to invest in real estate to actually buying your first rental property, there is a lot of work to be done. This task may be daunting for the first-time investor. Owning property is a tough business and the field is peppered with land mines that can obliterate your returns. Here we'll take a look at the top 10 things you should consider when shopping for an income property.

Starting Your Search

​Although you may want a real estate agent to help you complete the purchase of a rental property, you should start searching for your investment on your own. Having an agent can bring unnecessary pressure to buy before you have found a property that suits you. The most important thing is to take an unbiased approach to all the properties and neighborhoods within your investing range.
Your investing range will be limited by whether you intend to actively manage the property (be a landlord) or hire someone else to manage it. If you intend to actively manage, you should not get a property that's too far away from where you live. If you are going to get a property management company to look after it for you, your proximity to the property will be less of an issue.
Let's take a look at the top 10 things you should consider when searching for the right rental property.

1. Neighborhood: The quality of the neighborhood in which you buy will influence both the types of tenants you attract and how often you face vacancies. For example, if you buy in a neighborhood near a university, the chances are that your pool of potential tenants will be mainly made up of students and that you will face vacancies on a fairly regular basis (during summer, when students tend to return back home).
2. Property Taxes: Property taxes are not standard across the board and, as an investor planning to make money from rent, you want to be aware of how much you will be losing to taxes. High property taxes may not always be a bad thing if the neighborhood is an excellent place for long-term tenants, but the two do not necessarily go hand in hand. The town's assessment office will have all the tax information on file or you can talk to homeowners within the community.
3. Schools: Your tenants may have or be planning to have children, so they will need a place near a decent school. When you have found a good property near a school, you will want to check the quality of the school as this can affect the value of your investment. If the school has a poor reputation, prices will reflect your property's value poorly. Although you will be mostly concerned about the monthly cash flow, the overall value of your rental property comes in to play when you eventually sell it.
4. Crime: No one wants to live next door to a hot spot for criminal activity. Go to the police or the public library for accurate crime statistics for various neighborhoods, rather than asking the homeowner who is hoping to sell the house to you. Items to look for are vandalism rates, serious crimes, petty crimes and recent activity (growth or slow down). You might also want to ask about the frequency of police presence in your neighborhood.
5. Job Market: Locations with growing employment opportunities tend to attract more people – meaning more tenants. To find out how a particular area rates, go directly to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or to your local library. If you notice an announcement for a new major company moving to the area, you can rest assured that workers will flock to the area. However, this may cause house prices to react (either negatively or positively) depending on the corporation moving in. The fallback point here is that if you would like the new corporation in your backyard, your renters probably will too.
6. Amenities: Check the potential neighborhood for current or projected parks, malls, gyms, movie theaters, public transport hubs and all the other perks that attract renters. Cities, and sometimes even particular areas of a city, have loads of promotional literature that will give you an idea of where the best blend of public amenities and private property can be found.
7. Building Permits and Future Development: The municipal planning department will have information on all the new development that is coming or has been zoned into the area. If there are many new condos, business parks or malls going up in your area, it is probably a good growth area. However, watch out for new developments that could hurt the price of surrounding properties by, for example, causing the loss of an activity-friendly green space. The additional condos and/or new housing could also provide competition for your renters, so be aware of that possibility.
8. Number of Listings and Vacancies: If there is an unusually high number of listings for one particular neighborhood, this can either signal a seasonal cycle or a neighborhood that has "gone bad." Make sure you figure out which it is before you buy in. You should also determine whether you can cover for any seasonal fluctuations in vacancies.Similar to listings, the vacancy rates will give you an idea of how successful you will be at attracting tenants. High vacancy rates force landlords to lower rents in order to snap up tenants – low vacancy rates allow landlords to raise rental rates.
9. Rents: Rental income will be the bread and butter of your rental property, so you need to know what the average rent in the area is. If charging the average rent is not going to be enough to cover your mortgage payment, taxes and other expenses, then you have to keep looking. Be sure to research the area well enough to gauge where the area will be headed in the next five years. If you can afford the area now, but major improvements are in store and property taxes are expected to increase, then what could be affordable now may mean bankruptcy later.
10. Natural Disasters: Insurance is another expense that you will have to subtract from your returns, so it is good to know just how much you will need to carry. If an area is prone to earthquakes or flooding, paying for the extra insurance can eat away at your rental income.

Getting Information

​Talk to renters as well as homeowners in the neighborhood. Renters will be far more honest about the negative aspects of the area because they have no investment in it. If you are set on a particular neighborhood, try to visit it at different times on different days of the week to see your future neighbors in action.