Archives for 2009

The Screaming Goat Makes A Great Breakfast Taco

Jude Galligan | July 13, 2009 |

Screaming Goat serves up tacos and historical charm on W 10th

At the edge of downtown, located at 900 w 10th and wedged between Shoal Creek and a used car dealership, sits the home of Austin’s best breakfast tacos – The Screaming Goat. I’ve driven past the house, built in 1935, dozens of times. One morning last week I made a point to check this place out.

There is plenty of parking on the street or around back. When you walk in you are greeted to another example of Austin’s terrific adaptive reuse house-to-restaurant conversions.

You order from the counter. I had my usual – 2 x breakfast tacos (bacon and egg, b/c I keeps it real). Three minutes later the tacos were delivered to my table. The quality of the food is very fresh and made to order.

On my way out I noticed this tub of cold beers, which leads me to my only complaint and that is there is no outdoor seating to enjoy them.

Screaming Goat opens at 7:30 most mornings

The Bel Air Condos Auction

Jude Galligan | July 10, 2009 |

Many units have a full floor roof top terrace

OK, non-downtown Austin related news here. The Bel Air condos are located deep in South Austin, but I’m confident many DAB readers will appreciate knowing about this before it hits the PR wires.

Kennedy Wilson’s website indicates that the Bel Air condos in South Austin will be going to auction on August 9th. Kennedy Wilson is the same group that auctioned Brazos Place. Located on South Congress, past Ben White, and not far from Hills Cafe, the Bel Air is a unique product in a unique location. Although not downtown, the Bel Air condos have always appealed to me: they’re designed to commercial specs, they’re raw, industrial, and highly functional spaces. Some units have full floor roof top terraces.

Bidding begins at $90k. As we all know by now, this is a ruse. It’s doubtful this auction will generate the buzz and turnout we observed at the Brazos Place auction. My prediction is the condos will sell for an average 30-40% discount from original asking price, or at least more than what we would see in the downtown CBD. We’ll just have to wait and see. Unlike foreclosure auctions which require cash on the spot, private auctions are more buyer friendly as buyers can have up to 30 days to close if they are pre-approved for a mortgage.

Bel Air features:
• Rooftop decks
• Private direct access garages
• Private balconies
• Commercial grade construction: steel and concrete
• Green Building Features
• Loft design: Concrete floors, high ceilings, exposed ductwork
• Tankless water heaters
• Energy efficient appliances

For my investor clients, here is a link to the Bel Air condos auction brochure and registration form. (pdf, 6MB)

Preview by appointment Showing hours 11-6pm everyday, and there are several photos of Bel Air available on Flickr.
—
Jude Galligan, Realtor
512-226-3414

UPDATE: Austin Gets Raw, Y'all

AG | July 8, 2009 |

9/30/2009

UPDATE: Just got word that Borboleta is now offering bicycle delivery. The bicycle delivery service goes to downtown and Clarksville. It’s provided by Beat the Clock bike messengers. They will deliver to downtown or Clarksville for lunch or dinner. There is a $5 delivery fee and a $20 minimum. Please allow ample time for delivery (currently up to an hour).

Most Austinites are familiar with the raw food movement in some fashion, but many of these same Austinites still don’t “get it.” The reality is, most people like their meals cooked. Can’t say I blame you if you think it’s a bit weird, but I will say this – the “living cuisine” movement is super healthy, and when done well, actually pretty delicious. And downtown dwellers are very fortunate to have a living cuisine restaurant right in the neighborhood (well, technically Clarksville, but RIGHT on the edge of downtown Austin). The name of the place is Borboleta Gourmet.

Borboleta’s food is organic, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, kosher, soy-free, and trans-fat free. Sounds like everything a true southerner would hate, right? Well, I’m here to tell you – it’s really good. I found out about the restaurant through an E-mail campaign from the restaurant , and I was intrigued enough to stop by. I took the ‘Dillo to Whole Foods, and walked west 4 blocks. Borboleta Gourmet is actually inside Bella Hair Salon (although the entities are not related, I’m told).

You walk in, and the atmosphere is quaint, but polished. It’s a small cafe setting, with only about 6 tables. There are two large commercial refrigerators that house most of the food. I think they are still in the process of “figuring” out the service, but when I ordered, I simply grabbed the covered plate of food I wanted from the refrigerator, gave it to the cashier (who prepped it and touched up the presentation), paid, and chose my seat. The food was delivered only moments later. Easy and quick! And so good.

I like the atmosphere of the place, the fact that it’s raw, vegan, soy-free, etc etc, and that the menu rotates weekly (so it’s consistently different and interesting). You can also order brewed coffee, so it’s not only a good place to eat lunch, but also just chill and read the paper.

Borboleta is the type of unique/eclectic small, local business that I want to see more of in and near downtown Austin. It offers a unique food experience, is convenient, and supports the local economy with a function that a wide-array of folks can enjoy. And it’s just NEAT. I don’t know of another place like it in Austin (with the possible exception of Casa de Luz, but Borboleta is really pretty different from the Casa de Luz concept and vibe, as well). I think downtown Austin residents are lucky to have these kinds of fun and different choices at their disposal and should support them accordingly.

Contact Info: 1221 W Sixth St, Austin, TX 78703, (512) 828-7404, www.borboletagourmet.com

Hours: Mon-Fri: 8-8, Sat: 10-5, Sun: Closed.

Free Six Pack of Lone Star at Birds Barbershop East Side

Jude Galligan | July 1, 2009 |

On the 3rd of July at Birds on East Sixth, for one day only, we’re giving each of our first 50 clients a free six pack of Lone Star with purchase of a haircut. Yup, on Independence Day Eve (that’s Independent’s Day if you’re talking about buying local), we’re filling your cooler with half a dozen tall boys. Just add ice and it’s time for toobin’. *Offer available at Birds @ 1107 E. 6th Street only*

Foreclosures in Downtown Austin: Fact, Fallacy, and Analysis

Jude Galligan | June 26, 2009 |

In this article I hope to share some of the knowledge that I’ve gained by researching foreclosure properties for clients. Buyers may believe foreclosures are complicated and out of reach. Generally, I believe this is accurate, but certainly not all of the time. Knowledge is power, so let’s see what we can learn…

Foreclosures are not new. Every community is dealing with them. Austin has escaped the worst of the problem because we didn’t develop to great magnitudes as did Miami, New York City, or all of California. Certainly downtown Austin is not immune to foreclosures. We also tend to receive a greater level of interest from the press. Rather than deny that foreclosures exist in downtown Austin, lets temper misinformation with facts, and if we discover opportunity along the way then all the better.

The facts
In June there were 671 properties posted for foreclosure in Travis County. 155 ended up selling. Approximately 380 were reposted from prior months.

Foreclosure Statistics — Foreclosure Sales Since January 1st, 2009

A property can be posted for foreclosure and never end up at auction. This scenario is not uncommon if the borrower and the lender can work out an agreement prior to the auction date. Also, third party investors can negotiate with the lender to purchase the mortgage (not the property), and work out a new agreement with the borrower.

2009 downtown Austin foreclosures
Since January 1st, 2009 there have been five recorded foreclosure sales in downtown Austin. Four have been condos. Two were owned by one person. Two of the foreclosure sales were won by the banks themselves for the balance of the mortgage.

The four downtown Austin condo foreclosure sales:

1) Avenue Lofts #308, 1092sf, $187,302
2) 360 Condos #2210, 770sf + 105sf, $242,909
3) Avenue Lofts #208, 1092sf, $183,274
4) Nokonah #410, 1849sf + 524sf, $555,624

The opportunity
The current asking prices at the Avenue Lofts, 360 Condos, and Nokonah are $274/ft, $410/ft, $403/ft respectively. So we can calculate that the two Avenue Loft foreclosures yielded a discount of 37% and 38%, respectively. The single 360 Condos foreclosure yielded a discount of 23% from the average asking price. The Nokonah foreclosure yielded a discount of 26%.

The foreclosure discounts above are identical to the opportunities we’re seeing in the open market. As I’ve reported before, developers are negotiating 25-30%-off discounts, the Brazos Place auction generated a 29% discount. Buyers are responding en masse: 54 transactions at The Shore since May 1st, and 20 transactions at Brazos Place in one day.

The market is working efficiently and it seems to have found equilibrium. Market and auction clearing discounts for new developments are 25-30%.

Summary
Even though the number of foreclosure sales in downtown Austin is low, it’s difficult to predict what the future holds. It’s the best buyers’ market in the past 20 years, maybe more.

Focusing on downtown Austin condos, the data suggests that there are similar opportunities for discounted pricing outside of foreclosure auctions. The challenges for the majority of buyers interested in foreclosures are limited information, time, and money. Sifting through the foreclosure postings takes time. Choosing a property requires knowledge of the neighborhood and the condition of the property. The most significant hurdle for savvy buyers is the velocity of the all-cash transaction. A pre-approved mortgage will do you no good. Fortunately, in this market buyers have traditional channels for finding similar opportunities.

—

As the saying goes, “cash is king.” Interested in pursuing opportunities in Austin’s urban core? Feel free to send me an email.

Jude Galligan, Downtown Austin Realtor
512-226-3414
judegalligan [@] gmail.com