Living in University Hills, Austin, TX: A Neighborhood Guide University Hills is a 1960s and 1970s subdivision in northeast Austin where every street is named for a college, the lots are large, the terrain actually has hills, and the houses were built before anyone thought to make them look alike. It sits about seven miles […]

  Low Appraisal in Austin, TX: What Buyers and Sellers Must Do When the House Doesn’t Appraise (2026) What happens when a home doesn’t appraise in Austin, TX? When a home in Austin appraises below the contract price, the buyer’s lender will only finance up to the appraised value, leaving a gap the buyer and […]

Austin Foundation Issues and Clay Soil: What Every Buyer Must Know Before Making an Offer Do Austin homes have foundation problems because of clay soil? Yes, and the risk is higher than most buyers realize. Austin’s eastern half sits on Blackland Prairie clay, a high-plasticity soil that expands when wet and shrinks dramatically during Austin’s […]

By Muñoz Group at Compass | May 26, 2026 What happens when a home appraisal comes in low in Austin, Texas? When an appraisal comes in below the purchase price in Austin, the buyer has five options: pay the difference in cash, negotiate with the seller to reduce the price or split the gap, request […]

Buying and Selling at the Same Time in Austin: Your 3 Options Explained How Do You Buy and Sell a Home at the Same Time in Austin? Most Austin homeowners face the same dilemma: you need the equity from your current home to buy your next one, but you can’t make a strong offer before […]

What is the option period in Texas real estate? The option period is a Texas-exclusive provision built into the standard TREC purchase contract that gives buyers the unrestricted right to terminate a home purchase for any reason, within a negotiated window usually running 7 to 10 calendar days after the effective date of the contract. […]