Southwest Austin Real Estate Blog

Dig Into Spring with the Right Gardening Tools

We are almost out of this strange "wintery, spring" part of the transition into beautiful weather and sunny skies! Before long, everyone will be pulling out their gardening tools to get a start on your landscape and outside projects. Gardenoid, did the dirty work for us gathering 34 gardening experts to find out their options on the top must-have tools for sprucing up your garden this fall. 

Among the most popular tools used by gardeners is a mattock, which is used for clearing the ground, removing stones and digging out deep roots that create blocks. Another favorite of the experts was the idea of composting. Composting is a great way to practice environmental responsibility. The tools needed for composting can be anything from a chipper shredder to a leaf shredder. 

While there are a ton of new and improved tools that make your project much easier and less time consuming, the most important tools take it back to the basics! While having one generic pair of garden gloves can be essential, the real trick is owning three pairs will make a multitude of tasks easier:

Washable synthetic gloves – For general maintenance, such as deadheading, weeding in dry soil, and handling seeds, the thin fabric, and snug fit allow fingers maximum dexterity.

Latex-coated cotton gloves – For dirty, wet jobs, like picking up leaves or planting shrubs, and for working with thorny plants (the latex coating is puncture-resistant)

Heavy-duty leather gloves – For tough jobs, like digging holes, clearing brush, and carrying firewood.

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Join us this Thursday for the Think, DO, and Grow Rich Event

We have a Big announcement and opportunity for you all to be apart of on Thursday, April 5th from 5:30 to 9:00 PM!
 
Recently, our team has been chosen to be featured on the New TV Show Success in Your City, which is a show highlighting entrepreneurs in different cities that are creating great things in their business and also helping others. 
 
The crew is Emmy award-winning, and the producers are the co-founder of Priceline, one of the original sharks on Shark Tank and a producer that worked with the Napoleon Hill Foundation to create the Think and Grow Rich movie.
 
As part of the show, we are filming a big fund-raising event for our non-profit, Cain Cares.  At this event titled Think, Do, and Grow Rich, we have the author of the new Think and Grow Rich book speaking and signing copies of the book, as well as myself speaking on how my thinking has changed and how that's impacted my life.  A portion of this will be me speaking about how BOLD has lead to me thinking at a much higher level.  There will be other speakers and also a panel discussion.
 
All the proceeds from the event and everything we do will also go towards our 1st Annual Love Where You Live Event, the following Saturday. This event will include our entire organization, along with any applicable service providers, essentially shutting down for the day to go and work as a team to improve a resident's home and property. By the end of the day, we will have made a new friend, and their home will once again be a place of happiness to help them along through their tough times and challenges. 
 
We would like to invite you to join us at this event on April 5th. You can reserve your tickets at ...

Community Spotlight: Legend Oaks

About Legend Oaks

Legend Oaks has a family-friendly atmosphere situated in the beautiful Hill Country surrounding. Homes in this community feature mature trees and fabulous greenbelt views giving the neighborhood an isolated feel. Legend Oaks provide a variety of housing for young professionals, families, retirees and more. In this master-planned community, residents have access to private parks, two pools, tennis courts, entertainment areas, a new playscape and walking trails. With a convenient location close to the newly built Escarpment Village, residents have great access to local shopping and dining. 

Legend Oaks School Links

Useful Legend Oaks Links

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Southwest Austin Coyote Response Guide

How to respond to coyotes in your neighborhood

As Austin grows, our interactions with wildlife increase. To keep coyotes and other wildlife wild, we can follow a few, simple preventative measures:

  • Always keep trash and compost in a secure bin
  • Keep your barbecue grill clean
  • Keep the area under your fruit and nut trees free of droppings (a coyote’s diet can be up to 40% fruit in Texas)
  • Avoid feeding pets outdoors (if you must feed pets outside, feed during the daytime and remove the uneaten food as soon as the animal has finished).
  • Feeding wildlife and feral cats can attract coyotes. In addition to coyotes eating the food, mice and other animals will be drawn to leftovers, which can subsequently attract predators such as foxes and coyotes.

Hazing

To discourage coyotes from associating people with safety and food, eliminate the food sources around your yard and engage in hazing if you see a coyote on your property. Hazing is a process used to reinforce a coyote’s natural wariness without harming them. To haze, be big and loud: Wave your arms, shout, use noisemakers, throw non-edible objects in its direction (but not at it), or spray the animal with a hose. It shouldn’t take much for the coyote to get the memo -- just be persistent and maintain eye contact. Do not haze if a coyote is sick, injured, with pups, or is in its territory or out at night.

 

Pet safety

Keep small pets inside when possible and monitor them while outside. While walking dogs, use a secure, 4-6 foot leash and do not let dogs explore vegetation that you can’t see through. It is advised that pets be fed indoors. If pets must be fed outdoors, feed during the daytime and remove food as soon as your pet is finished....

Don't Neglect these Maintenance Tasks When Selling Your Home

The home selling process has a ton of different steps and precautionary items needed to ensure a smooth and seamless transaction. It can be overwhelming, but if you're lucky and have an amazing team to take you along for the ride it can be as easy as 1-2-3! Here at Cain Realty Group, we want to be there for every step of the process in order to give you the highest level of service when you sign with our team. 

Providing you with all the information you need to have a seamless transaction is important to us, therefore, we don't want to leave anything out. There is one thing in particular that can easily get lost in all confusion of the transaction, that is a vital aspect of the success of the sale. 

Being a homeowner comes with a long list of maintenance to-do's and commitments to ensure the property is in tip-top shape throughout the transaction.  We've got news for you, just because you're selling doesn't mean you are off the hook from routine maintenance tasks. Keeping up with these tasks can help you avoid a mess of catastrophic issues that can arise down the line and devalue your property resulting in a possible derail of the sale. 

To prevent from a world of possible issues by focusing on these four important areas to maintain your property until the final sale. 

1. Keep up the landscape

Whether you're still living at the home or not, you'll want to make sure to keep your landscaping tidy—remove dead tree limbs, rake leaves, and clean out flower beds. Aside from the cosmetic reasoning behind keeping the outside of your home tidy, it is important to keep possible vandals away. If your home is vacant, has a 'for sale' sign, and looks neglected, it is as if you are placing a bulls-eye on your home for vandals to break into your property. 

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