Visa brings Growth to Austin

Visa to build global IT center in Austin, bringing 800 new jobs to Central Texas

By Arden Ward

11.26.12 | 01:25 pm

San Francisco-based Visa U.S.A. Inc will soon be joining the technology sector of Austin, bringing 800 new jobs over the next five years.

Governer Rick Perry announced last week that Visa will build a new global IT center in Austin, and in exchange for Visa's commitment to create new jobs, the state has offered $7.9 million to the company through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). In a press release, Perry stated:

Texas is competing nationally and internationally for jobs and we want companies who are looking to expand or relocate to consider the Lone Star State first and all we have to offer. Visa's decision to build a new global IT center in Austin is a great fit with our skilled workforce and Central Texas' reputation as a hub for high tech companies.

Visa spokesperson, Will Valentine, affirmed Austin's reputation as a national technology hub. "Visa is continually looking for opportunities to add world-class talent to our organization," he said. "Austin offers a vibrant technology community and business-friendly climate, and we are working closely with local officials to finalize an agreement."
As reported by the Austin Business Journal, the city of Austin "has proposed $1.6 million in economic development grant money if Visa meets investment and employment goals."
Austin City Council will discuss the deal at its November 28 meeting; City Council is slated to vote on the incentives offer on December 6.

The "Masterpiece" Real Estate Market

A quote I came across recently by Vincent van Gogh really struck home: “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found those dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” It got me thinking about current home prices and why we might be living in a “masterpiece market”:

Lowest Mortgage Rates in HISTORY!

In Freddie Mac's results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, the average fixed mortgage rates were largely unchanged helping to keep homebuyer affordability high for those in the market to purchase or looking to refinance. Both the 30-year fixed and 15-year fixed rate mortgages matched their all-time record lows.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.66 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 28, 2012, the same as last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.51 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 2.94 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.95 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.69 percent.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.79 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.77. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.22 percent.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.74 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, the same as last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.97 percent. According to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac: "Mortgage rates were virtually unchanged this week hovering at or near record lows and should further help to support a recovering housing market. Both the S&P/Case Shiller® 20-city composite and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price indexes showed over a 0.5 percent monthly increase in April. Meanwhile, pending existing home sales rebounded in May by 5.9 percent to match a two year high and new home sales jumped 7.6 percent to its fastest pace since April 2010."

It's Summer so Lets Go to the Coast!!! Texas Coast that is!

Vacation on the Beach... Rockport/Fulton & Port Aransas Beaches.


Rockport Beach is Texas' first Blue Wave Beach and one of only four on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Rockport Beach Information

There is a daily $5 or $15 annual vehicle parking fee. There is no charge to enter by foot, bicycle, or if you are towing a boat or boat trailer to go to the public boat ramp. No dogs allowed inside the beach since it is a bird sanctuary.

There are 61 individual picnic sites spread throughout the Rockport Beach. Each site has a covered picnic table with barbeque grill. These sites are first come/first serve.

No, overnight camping is not permitted in the Rockport Beach.

Fishing is permitted just about anywhere, including a popular 800 foot pier at the North end of the beach. Two off-limit fishing sites are the boat dock and the Saltwater pool.

Rockport Little Bay WATER SAFETY

All boats/personal watercraft pulling skiers within Little Bay must have an observer 13 years of age or older on board and facing rearward.

All traffic in the ski basin is one-way and must travel in a counterclockwise direction.

No motor vehicles or personal watercraft are allowed in restricted areas (shallow areas of Little Bay) marked by signs.

No sailing in the ski basin.

No airboats in the ski basin.
Port Aransas

Beach Parking Permit Information

1. The City of Port Aransas requires a $12.00 permit to park along the beaches. This includes the area from Marker (0) to Marker (62) except in the free parking area.

2. Free Parking areas include between the Jetties and Horace Caldwell Pier and between Markers 52-58
3. RV, tent and other types of camping are permitted on the beach.
4. There is a three (3) night limit for camping during any three (3) week period.
5. Small fires no larger than 3 ft. x 3 ft. are permitted on the beach.
BEACH SAFETY

• Check the beach at the water line for any marine life that has washed ashore, please DO NOT TOUCH! They can still be venomous even though they are not in the water.
• If there are Jelly Fish or Man -O- War washed ashore, be careful when getting into the water, and try not to make contact with them.

When walking in the water, shuffle your feet. This will frighten the stingray, causing it to move out of the way, and lessen your chance of stepping on them.

Jelly Fish
Their bodies are hemispherical in shape, that are tough and thick, white, milky, or bluish in color. Their tentacles are short and fused into a tight bundle that contains a poison that will also cause a stinging sensation.
Portuguese Man -O- War
Also called the bluebottle, can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. The Man -O- War has a gas-filled chamber that is used like a sail to propel it through the water. The Man -O- War is iridescent blue, with long tentacles that can reach up 180 ft in length. The tentacles contain a poison, which causes the stinging sensation.
TREATMENT

1. Immediately get away from the creature as they can sting many times.
2. Protecting your hands with a towel scrape the tentacles and/or slimy deposits from the skin.
3. Packing the area with wet sand, and then wash it away with water (repeat as needed) will also help remove the remnants of the jellyfish from your skin.
4. Make a paste from Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer and rubbing alcohol, and then apply the mixture to the affected area. Unless affected area is the genital area, then use water to make the paste instead of rubbing alcohol.

The meat tenderizer applied to the affected area detoxifies the effects of the venom. Once the pain has subsided, wash away the paste, and treat area, as you would sunburn.
...call 911 if there is an allergic reaction...


For more in information about Rockport Beach visit http://www.rockportbeach-texas.com/
Port Aransas Beach visit http://www.cityofportaransas.org/Port_Aransas_Beach.cfm

TEXAS PASSES NEW HOA LAWS!!!

Nearly 20% of Texans live in neighborhoods that have homeowners associations (HOAs), and new laws that went into effect earlier this year have provided more rights to those property owners regarding the use of their property.
Here are five property-related upgrades or additions that HOAs can no longer prevent homeowners from doing:

1. Install a solar-energy device on the property.
2. Install and use rain-harvesting devices.
3. Display certain religious items on the entry of the property.
4. Install roof shingles that are wind and/or hail resistant, energy efficient, or solar generating.
5. Fly the U.S., Texas, or a branch of the U.S. armed forces flag.

Each of these rights apply to condos as well. It’s important to note that a homeowners association may place some parameters on these rights.

Austin is #2 place in US to buy a HOME!!!

Buying a home is not a decision to be taken lightly. Personal finance gurus warn against purchasing unless you plan to keep it for a minimum of five years and, since the housing bubble burst, many say it’s best to buy only if it fits your lifestyle – not your investing portfolio.
For first-time home buyers shopping for a permanent, full-time residence, it’s advice to heed. But say you do simply want a place to park some of your hard-earned money, perhaps a fixer-upper you could occupy for a few years or maybe a house you believe you could rent out right away and easily oversee?
See full story: The Best Cities To Buy A Home Right Now

You wouldn’t be alone: investment-homes sales jumped 64.5% from 2010 to 2011, with investors making up 27% of all single-family, condo and co-op purchases last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. And it’s no wonder why. Home affordability is at the highest level ever in the 42 years that NAR has been tracking it. Nationally, home prices are down more than 30% from their 2006 peak. Mortgage rates hover near all-time lows, with 30-year fixed loans just under 4%. And while the 10-year Treasury note yields around 2% and a 1-year CD an even stingier 1% or less, housing investments, specifically homes purchased as rental properties, return a 6.3% yield on average, according to Goldman Sachs.
So you have cash or financing to make a purchase, you’re aware of the responsibilities that come with homeownership, and despite the woes continuing to hinder a full-on housing market recovery, you believe in brick and mortar investments. Now comes the tricky part: where to buy that house.
“A lot of what we read is national but you have to take housing down to the local level and look at the reasons why a market may be turning around, may be a good place to buy,” says Steve Berkowitz, chief executive of Realtor.com, a Campbell, Calif.-based home listing site.
To determine the best places to invest in a real estate purchase now, Realtor.com created a list which sorted through February housing and jobs data for 146 Metropolitan Areas and Metropolitan Divisions (cities and their neighboring suburbs) across the U.S. The company, which boasts millions of home listings filtered from over 900 Multiple Listing Services, looked at listing price data, sales data and inventory trends such as the amount of homes available in each market and number of days on market. Realtor.com also utilized the peak-to-trough home price index from Fiserv Case-Shiller, which tracks how much home prices have fallen in the past five years and can serve as an indicator of whether they have bottomed. Lastly, unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics were factored into the rankings, since jobs (or lack thereof) are a leading indicator of housing demand.If you want to buy low, foreclosure-riddled Tucson, Ariz., may be just the place. It ranks No. 1 on this list.“In the case of Tucson, you are looking at foreclosures dropping back quite a bit coupled with a stable employment market,saysBerkowitz. The area has a 7.8% unemployment rate, a tad lower than the national average of 8.2%, helped by the presence of sizable employers in the recession-resistant education and government sectors, including the University of Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the U.S. Army Intelligence Center. All of this suggests Tucson’s housing market may be bottoming.
Here are the top 5 cities to buy a home:
5. Fort Worth, TX
2.Baltimore, MD
3. Kansas City, MO
2. Austin, TX
Photo: Don Klumpp/Getty Images
Median List Price: $229,500 (up 12% y-o-y)Inventory Level: 8,329 homes for sale (down 19% y-o-y)Median Days On Market: 77 (down 21% y-o-y)Price Drop From Peak: 2.9%Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

1. Tucson, AZ
Median List Price: $170,000 (up 3% y-o-y)Inventory Level: 6,600 homes for sale (down 23% y-o-y)Median Days On Market: 86 (down 12% y-o-y)Price Drop From Peak: 45.1%Unemployment Rate: 7.8%

In pictures: The Best Cities To Buy A Home Right Now

Did you ever think to look for? The top 5 details most home buyers miss.

When you’re looking for a new home, you probably have a list of “wants” and “needs”, like the distance from your work, the school district and the home size. It’s easy to overlook the details…those little things that can make a home wonderful or a nightmare once you settle in. Sure, most of the little things can be fixed, but that can make living in your new home more of a project than you might want. Here’s a list of 5 things home shoppers forget to check out before they buy.
Electrical outlets – Some homes seem to have been built with the idea that “less is more” should apply to electrical outlets. That means you’ll have to run extension cords, add multi-plugs or daisy-chain cords. All dangerous choices, especially if your home includes pets, children or the elderly. Ideally, there should be at least one outlet per wall in bedrooms and two per wall in public rooms like family rooms and dens, plus one double outlet per section of kitchen counter.
Cable access – Most homeowners expect to have some way to connect to cable or satellite TV and Internet. If the only access is in the living room, you may be looking at big costs to add additional outlets in bedrooms, your home office or the kitchen. Consider where you are most likely to watch TV or locate a home computer to determine if the wiring works for you.
Nighttime noise – It’s easy to get distracted by daytime noise when you’re house-hunting. But what does the neighborhood sound like when you’re trying to relax on your porch or get a good night’s sleep. Before you place a offer, drive over to the new neighborhood, roll down your windows and listen. You may hear road or business noise that would become an issue once you’re in the home.
Soil – Whether you like to garden, or just want to have beautiful landscaping, the quality of the soil matters. Look at the existing plants and lawn. Is it thriving? Or are you seeing dry, cracked ground or hard clay soil? That could mean big expenses ahead when you need to have good soil delivered to your new home before you can plant.
Privacy – If you have children or other family members at home, or if you often have overnight guests, consider how the layout of the house would impact your privacy. Do you share adjoining walls? Share a bathroom? It some houses you may have to walk through one room to get to another…no problem when you’re using it as a craft room, but when Great-Aunt Bertha comes to visit, it could become a major issue.