Georgetown, Texas Real Estate Blog Your Host: Edward Lui

We had a men’s retreat at church planned for this weekend and I was secretly hoping to go down to SE Texas instead to help with the Hurricane Ike mess. Lo and behold, God answered my prayers!

Apparently, the retreat center is going to use their facilities to house refugees from the hurricane, and so a couple of men are going down to the Houston area to provide some debris clean-up relief as part of a ministry team called Thirst No More.

I’ll be leaving Fri-Sun and Autumn and the kids had already planned on going up to Arlington, TX to visit with her family so it’s perfect timing. I’m assuming outdoor accommodations and a huge shortage of food and water as well. Basically, what I faced in Iraq without the heat…but replace the heat with water and you have Galveston.

If you have anything to donate for this trip it would be much appreciated by those who are going and those who are affected in SE Texas. You can drop off at my home at 125 Village Park Drive if you can donate or lend anything. Here’s a list of suggested items:

Gas containers

Gas containers filled with Gas! (no gas in that area is available)

Camping-type equipment (stovetop, lanterns, tents, mosquito nets,etc)

Light construction-type tools (sledge hammers, shovels, crowbars,etc)

Equipment (generators, pressure washer, chain saws,etc)

Want the latest updates on Georgetown Texas Real Estate, news and latest developments?

Sign up for the blog by clicking the link below and don’t forget to comment on my blog, I love reader interaction!

These days you mention anything with the word “gas” and you can get all sorts of attention…so I’m cheating with this blog post to get some additional readership

If you searched for GAS PRICES, GAS STATIONS, GAS IS GOING UP, GAS IS GOING DOWN and/or GEORGETOWN, TEXAS I hope this blog comes up. Don’t worry, I will actually write something relevant:

My parents and my older sister, Jennie and her whole family, came down from Maryland to visit us a few weeks ago. It was nice, we stayed in a time share at San Antonio and then spent a few days in Georgetown, Texas. Well, since all things must come to an end, it was soon time for me to drive them back to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (just 40-50 minutes from Georgetown). I left at about 4-5 AM since it was an early flight and I needed to get gas. So I went down Williams Drive and thought I would hit the most convenient gas station I saw:

Wow, this looks like a very nice place. Lots of bright lights and existing vehicles tell me that this place is open! However, when I got here, for some reason the first pump would not accept my credit card. As a matter of fact, neither would the second pump I drove to. I tried a debit and a credit card and no luck. What was worse was that the pump started asking me all sorts of silly questions that took me forever to scroll through. WORD OF ADVICE: If you’re in a hurry, and you’re in a hot Texas summer, avoid gas stations that advertise the “TOUCHLESS CAR WASH” Why? It’s just another silly option that they offer and it can delay the whole gas filling process. What happened to the good ‘ole days when the only options you had was the type of gas you wanted. Now, they start trying to sell anything from soda, to oil additives to car washes at the pump!

Anyway, since I struck out at Valero with their non-credit card working pumps I hopped on down to the only other gas station that was open at this hour on Williams Drive:

Another nice looking gas station and gas here was actually a whole penny cheaper! Wow! So I saved about a quarter filling up here. Options were kept to a minimum (no brushless car wash system here) and the pumps actually worked!

So, the next time you come rolling into my part of town, go for the big name in gas: TEXACO. You’ll sweat less (by having less options to scroll through), pay less and be finished quicker!

Want the latest updates on Georgetown Texas Real Estate, news and latest developments? Sign up for the blog by clicking the link below:

Yep, today is my 32nd birthday and I’ve never had a chance to blog about a birthday so I thought I would give it a shot.  Thirty-two big ones on planet earth!  Woohoo!

My wife and kids are making me a cake and I think Joshua is more excited about it than I am.  Later tonight, I’m going to my bible study, called a Real Life Group, and hanging out with some friends of mine from church.  I also took a buyer to look at some homes earlier this morning.  Nothing too exciting, but I don’t really mind “low-key” celebrations.  Spending some time with family and friends and then doing what I love (real-estate) is a real blessing.  I’m thankful that God reminds me of that today.

If you really must get me a gift though, I’m looking for a pretty awesome landscaper who can design my backyard….know of any?

Craftsman-style home by Green Builders in Georgetown Texas

A few weeks ago, I helped one of my favorite clients, Rod and Carol, purchase a home by Green Builders in my neighborhood Georgetown Village. This was very special for me because it now meant that I have sold every major builder that has been built in this neighborhood! That would include Perry Homes, Bowen Homes and Origin Homes; which are the current builders, and also some past builders like David Weekley, Lennar and Morrison. That seems like a lot of builders for a small neighborhood of around 500 homes like Georgetown Village, but as we move forward, it seems as though only Green Builders and Perry Homes will be doing the bulk of the building.

After I showed the home to Rod and Carol I jokingly told them that I liked the floorplan so much that if they didn’t buy it, I would! The funny thing is, soon after they closed on the home, a contract on this home (pictured above) fell through and it came back on the market. It was the same exact floorplan as the one I had sold to Rod and Carol! So after a few days of negotiation, I am now the future owner of a Green Builders home! The beauty of this is that it’s just 5 houses down on my same street…so no moving truck needed:)

My wife is pretty excited because we gain an extra bedroom and lots more space. It may not look very large, but it’s 2400 SF and has 4 bedrooms, a gameroom, a study and a large studio above the garage which adds an additional 400 SF.

This studio is the main reason we’re moving. I’ve been blessed to be able to work from home, but the downside is that it’s hard to focus and concentrate with 3 kids running around in the home! Now, I can bring clients to my office without having to do the “5 minute house clean-up”, I can better focus on my work, and I’ll be better able to STAY AWAY from work when I’m with the family. I mean, what good is it to work from home yet not gain any additional quality time with the family?

So, here’s to HIGHER quality family time and LOWER energy bills!

If you have an experience with Green Builders please share them with me on this post! This blog is boring without any outside feedback and what you have to contribute can help somebody else!

Check out my home video for the tour:

I have a younger brother named “Edwin.” Yes, I know I’m “Edward” and he’s “Edwin.” Ha ha ha.

Well he lives near Anaheim, California and is studying for his real estate license. I’m pretty excited that he’s doing that and I hope he is able to get enough business to transition out of his full-time work.

I entered into the real estate business by just jumping in with both feet. However, the other option is to gradually build up enough business to fully transition over like Edwin. Even though it was scary for me to do that and I didn’t make my first sale for a couple of months, I think the learning curve shot up very quickly for me. It was either “do or die.”

Well, maybe “die” is a little too dramatic.

More like, “do or flip burgers.”

Edwin: (If you’re reading this) BLOG, BLOG, BLOG - that’s my first tip. I wish I would have started blogging about Georgetown, Texas in my first year of real estate rather then waiting until year four. That’s the best way to expose yourself to a large audience quickly. If they like you, they’ll read you and you’ll probably like them. If they don’t like you, you probably don’t want them as clients anyway. Hey, it’s the truth!

On another note, this week I’ll be introducing a friend of mine on this blog, Maria, who also started her business by just jumping in with both feet. I think you’ll enjoy reading her story and writing style.

What about you? Are you a “jump in with both feet” type of person or do you think a slower transition would work better for you if you were to start a business? I’d love to hear your story!

Eating and cooking are my passions, so you’ll find that I will be blogging about that frequently…

We had a bunch of pulled pork leftovers and have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week. Suffice it to say that we were starting to gag at the thought of having to eat another pulled pork sandwich. So, me being the innovative wife thought…surely others have encountered this problem and may have a solution for us, so I started surfing the net for ideas and that was when I came across the idea of pulled pork ice cream. The author assured his audience that he was not kidding and that it (pulled pork ice cream) was truly a delicious treat. I’ve tried some interesting recipes in my lifetime, but none so radical as this. I mean I had to do a double take to make sure I was reading this correctly…and that was when I realized…no, we are not that desperate yet…what’s another pulled pork sandwich?

On a completely different note..let’s talk about tomatoes. I’ve got 3 healthy, robust (at least I think they are) heirloom tomato plants in my garden and have been anticipating a good harvest. The plants have many blossoms on them, however, much to my shagrin, the blossoms aren’t turning into fruit. Does anyone out there have any idea why this is happening and what I need to do to correct this problem? Can tomatoes be grown in Georgetown, Texas?

There is no evidence of insect infestation, since I was told that I would see holes on my leaves were that the case. I don’t have squirrels in my yard since I don’t have any trees and there aren’t very many birds nearby either. For all I know, there could be tomato aliens visiting in the evenings and snapping off my blossoms so that they don’t have a chance to fruit. If I ever meet these tomato aliens, they better be scared. Have you had any success growing tomatoes in this area? What are some tips you can offer?

~ Autumn

Editor’s Note: Balancing the proper supply of pork and tomatoes in a family’s diet can be tricky business, but not as tricky as understanding supply and demand in real estate. If you need a competent real estate agent who can help you through the in’s and out’s of the Georgetown Texas Real Estate market, make sure you call your favorite HOMEboy. If you’re lucky, I might even make you a pulled pork sandwich.

Warning: Do not read if you are eating something…

Okay, it’s almost bedtime at my house and I just finished feeding Sabrina, when all of a sudden Joshua comes running up to me and says: “Mommy, Chloe is eating my boogers”. My first thought is how on earth did she get Joshua’s boogers. So, I asked my son: “Joshua, how did Chloe get your booger?”

Joshua replies: “I gave it to her” (ok, that was a duh question…as I realized after asking it..of course he gave it to her)

I look over as Chloe comes running out after Joshua with something resembling a booger on her index finger. As my eyes focused on her index finger to see that it really was a booger, I quickly said: “Chloe don’t eat it!!!”

Before the words even left my mouth, my very disobedient 2nd child stuffs the finger in her mouth and swallows. I am thoroughly disgusted and am searching in my mind for the correct way to handle this.

How would you handle something like this??

I looked at Joshua and said sternly to him: “do not give your sister anymore boogers, that’s disgusting!”

To which he replied, “but she likes to eat them”

How do you teach your child that just because someone likes something, doesn’t mean it’s good for them? After several unsuccessful attempts at telling Joshua not to do that anymore, I’m beside myself now and revert to the good ‘ole trusty disciplinary tool of spanking threats. Joshua agreed not to give any more boogers to his sister and we talked about where boogers belong after they leave our noses (in a tissue, in case you didn’t know the answer).

That was probably not the best way of handling such a situation, but I really wasn’t prepared for it. Any recommendations on how to more appropriately handle that situation? I’m all ears.

Then Edward came home from his meeting and we had a good laugh. This is definitely a “tell-it-on-your-child’s-wedding-day” story. Hope you got a good laugh too. Life is never boring at the Lui household…that’s for sure.

Editor’s Note: Chloe may look like a cute little girl, but now you know what she is really capable of.  The same goes for house-hunting.  Don’t be fooled by how a house “looks” or how much of a “discount” a seller may give you.  Understand the true condition of the home you buy and investigate the values of homes that have sold in that neighborhood.  Need help getting there?  Call the cute little girl’s daddy.

Hello everyone,

Edward has given me permission to write on his blog, though he may regret it. Let me introduce myself…I am Autumn Lui…his bride…and mom to 3 beautiful and energetic children, whom I’m sure you’ve all met through this blog already.

I am a Pharmacist by trade, however, I have not practiced since our oldest was born 4 years ago, so my books are covered with dust and it takes me just a bit longer to answer pharmacy related questions. However, If any of you have a drug question, I’d be happy to help, but mind you..I may not be able to get back to you as quickly as you may like. That said, I want to provide a service to the reader’s of this blog and will do my best to give you sound pharmacy-related information. DISCLAIMER: No information I give is meant to replace your doctor’s instructions and if there is ever a discrepancy then by all means please check with your doctor to verify the info and please don’t sue me, as I have no income!

I will confess that most of my postings will not be drug related (Hurray!), but rather on random things that pop into my mind during the day (hurray??). For instance, have you ever experienced sitting in church feeling like the pastor was speaking directly to you? I did this morning…

Edward has been quite busy lately and when he’s busy…that means less help for me at home with the kids… which means I am holding on to my sanity with a thread that’s about to SNAP! This AM our pastor at Hill Country Bible Church in Georgetown, Texas spoke on the subject of worship. The Bible tells us to shout to the Lord and make a joyful noise.

My kids are especially good at this, though they may deny it. I feel like I’ve been inhibiting their joy because they laugh and run about joyfully, and mom is right behind them “shushing” them and telling them to behave. My second born just loves life and she is in it to have a good time. Life is truly like a bowl of cherries to her and I have a hard time with that. Why is that? It drives me absolutely nuts that I dwell on the negative and not on the positive. God’s word tells us to think upon whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is noble, whatever is of good report, whatever is praiseworthy and yet if I am honest, I must admit that I do not do that most of the time. What is my problem? Can you relate? How have you overcome this?

Well, it is getting late and I’d better hit the sack so that I can get up for midnight feedings with Sabrina. Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment. Your feedback keeps this blog interesting!

Finally. A restaurant I can brag about. That only takes me 10 minutes to drive to. That I can bring my kids to. That doesn’t break the bank. What more can a father want?

On Friday, Autumn, myself and our good friends, David and Melissa, went on a double date to check this place out. PLAKA GREEK CAFE is the newest restaurant in Georgetown, Texas so we just had to find out how good the food really was. The first thing you’ll notice as you pull in to the restaurant is that there is plenty of parking. If every table in that restaurant was full, I bet that parking lot would still have space. That’s not something you see everyday!

David, Melissa and Autumn ordered the Gyro Wrap Combo, which is sliced lamb and beef in a pita with some veggies and tzatiki sauce. It came with a choice of soup or feta salad and we all chose the salad. I wanted to try something different since I could mooch off of Autumn’s gyro, so I got the Mousaka. The menu describes the mousaka plate as “Layers of eggplant, potato, and ground beef, topped with a béchamel sauce. Served with Avgolemono soup, spanakopita, and tiropita and topped with tzatiki sauce.” Uh, ok. Sounds Greek to me. (pun intended). I substituted the soup for a feta salad and they were cool with that.

Everything tasted very fresh…they were a little skimpy on the tzatiki sauce, but when I asked for a little extra they gave me about half a bowl full. Nice. The only downside is that they had to microwave my mousaka prior to serving it to me since all the food is prepared beforehand and is laid out cafeteria-style. Think Luby’s. What I like about Luby’s though is that they use heat lamps and broilers and all that fancy stuff to keep the food warm and the crispy stuff, “crispy.” I think if my mousaka was already kept hot and they served it like that it would have been a better presentation then “nuking” it in the microwave right in front of me for about a minute.

Besides that, it was all very yummy. We topped the meal off with some good ‘ole fashioned Baklava. We also brought our youngest, Sabrina, with us and she enjoyed the atmosphere too. Afterwards, we all went to City Lights Theatres to see the movie, Iron Man, and liked it very much…it put Sabrina to sleep though, but her ticket was free.

Plaka Greek Cafe is located in Georgetown, Texas at the intersection of I35 and Williams Drive. You can’t miss it. Stay in the far right lane because it comes up quick! Oh yeah, our bill for Autumn and I came to just about $20. Check it out and share your experience with everyone in the comments section below. It’s always beneficial to me when I get recommendations on what to order.

I love working from home as a real estate agent and being my own boss. One of the benefits is that I can do errands or go on business trips and drag my family along anytime during the day or the week. With 3 kids, my wife can never get enough time to herself, so whenever I need to drop off fliers, stick a sign in the yard or take pictures, I bring one of the rugrats with me…otherwise they look like zombies from watching too much television:

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a networking event in Kerrville, Texas for Active Rain Bloggers. You can read about some of those experiences from some of my colleagues below (let me know if you blogged about this and I’ll add you to the list):

Carl Winters - New Braunfels, TX

Ricki Eichler - Kerrville, TX Don Eichler - Kerrville, TX

Liz Carter - Katy, TX Debra Brooks - Huntsville, TX

Alan Kirkpatrick - Austin, TX Gail Tassey - Austin, TX

Jason Crouch - Austin, TX Trey Thurmond - College Station, TX

Judi Morgan - San Antonio, TX Tom Plant - Murrieta, CA

Soooo, funny name like “Kerrville” + minivan = Roadtrip!

We piled into the van and brought along reinforcements to help watch the kids: Claire Shiramizu, who is a sweet 9 y.o. family friend who loves to play with Chloe.

We went up on Friday morning and stopped by Wildseed Farms to check out all of the pretty flowers and ate a ton of free samples:

After lunch at the Peach Tree Restaurant in Fredericksburg, we headed up to a place called Y.O. Ranch. They overbooked our tour, and to make it up to us they arranged a private tour JUST FOR US! The experience was awesome! This is the largest working ranch in the nation and they have all sorts of animals on the ranch. We drove around in an old rickety school bus and fed some animals and afterwards ate dinner on the ranch, cooked by a “rough around the edges, I don’t like to smile” cook.

I even kissed a girl named Carlita and Autumn didn’t even get jealous at all: My Girl Carlita

The next day, Autumn took the kids to the Children’s Museum in San Antonio while I spent the day networking with my new found real estate buddies from Active Rain. They later joined me for dinner before we headed back to Georgetown, Texas!

Yes, you can have a life with 3 kids, three and under, and with a ton of grace from the man upstairs. God protected us during the whole trip and nobody got thrown out the window:) Most of this was even tax deductible! Thanks Uncle Sam!