Something Wal-Mart This Way Comes

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Alright…so I stole that title from South Park. 🙂 Everyone right now is up in arms over the proposed Super Wal-Mart on Anderson – in the old Northcross Mall location. It will definitely increase traffic flow, but anything in that location that’s mildly successful would increase traffic over what’s currently in there. Northcross Mall? The place is a joke – I don’t think the ice rink is even open anymore. Now I’m not the biggest fan of Wal-Mart, but the Northcross location really needs to be used for something, well, useful. And the best use of that location is something big – be it a mall, Wal-Mart, Target, or any of the other big box stores. In Austin, we like to keep it local, and the only local business that could fill a spot that large is Whole Foods – and they’re already downtown & in the Arboretum. Unfortunately, we don’t need a Whole Foods to service every 3 square miles.

So what are we left with & where are we going? The Wal-Mart, in my opinion, is inevitable. Responsible Growth for Northcross is suing, but if they win, Wal-Mart is going to sue. Trust me, Wal-Mart has much more money than RG4N and will come out on top. In order to maintain some level of decent public relations, Wal-Mart has even redesigned this store with much more focus on style.

The style of the building is really killer. They’re also incorporating a deli style restaurant on the ground level. This design is as different from a traditional Wal-Mart as Central Market stores are from H-E-B’s. The residents of Allandale (which includes my girlfriend,) Crestview, & Northtowne really don’t have to worry about this storefront devaluing the neighborhood, or about losing (much) street cred for living near a Wal-Mart. If an out-of-towner drives by this store it’s going to reinforce the fact that these are trendy ‘hoods since they built this style of store here.
Does this make me want to give Wal-Mart a big warm hug? No, absolutely not. But I do appreciate them taking into account the type of area of town where they’re building, and modifying their store design.

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JC was very helpful during the process of buying my first home. He directed me to lenders that truly had my best interest at heart. I almost made a few bad decisions that JC was there to wave off for me. I truly appreciate JC's responsiveness to ALL of my many questions and his willingness to be a sounding board for my frustrations in the process. I still hear from JC from time to time ensuring that I am happy with my home and letting me know of up and coming business in my area that might affect my property value. I will absolutely be using JC to purchase my next home.
JC does a great job with attention to detail and ensuring he has answers to your questions as you navigate the process of a home purchase. JC understands the process of the transaction in a home purchase and makes sure the details are covered.
Ruth helped us to view many houses and (over months) to make multiple offers in a really, really tough market for buyers. Our low bids were our own fault! Ruth's guesses are always spot on. We finally had a bid accepted last month, and Ruth helped us re-negotiate after significant problems were discovered. Ruth has gone above and beyond for us, giving us far more time during this long search than we could reasonably have expected. She even helped us look for a rental when we'd basically given up. Her advice has always been immensely valuable and brutally honest. She is the most knowledgeable agent I've met on the Central Austin market. She also handled our stress well, and believe me, buying in Austin right now is stressful!
Excellent service and follow through. Very professional!
I highly recommend Kristen for all real estate needs.
I had a great experience working with Bramlett Residential Real Estate. Jean Holm was my agent and she & her team made the whole process very simple. She explained everything very well, was knowledgeable, had great advice, and got our home sold. Definitely reccomend!
I worked with Jeremy Vandermause to buy my first home. Jeremy was so patient throughout the process (which I definitely dragged out as I gathered all the facts). He consistently sent me homes I was interested in and was eager to show them off, and on the odd occasions where I found one he hadn't already seen he always made himself available to walk through with me. He was very helpful in those walkthroughs pointing out home features I would have missed, or providing context on neighborhood. As a native Austinite, he definitely knows the history and cultural fabric of the city and each neighborhood. I started with close to zero knowledge of the home-buying process and Jeremy walked me through every step with clarity and patience. So excited about the home I now own! Plus, he's just a legit cool dude. I always really enjoyed our conversations and could tell from the start he was someone worth knowing in Austin
This review is about Joe Gage, their real estate agent. I'm based in Sam Francisco and was looking for investment property in Austin. I tried out three different agents based on recommendations from different sources, including Yelp. Joe clearly stands out. He's very patient and responsive. I'm not familiar with the area at all thus had a lot of questions. His email reply contains detailed information of the neighborhood, including shops nearby, schools and so on. He regularly screen houses and give recommendations once he sees a good fit for investment house offered at reasonable price. He's very knowledgeable about the area. All his recommendations comes with details around why he thinks it's a good investment and sales/rental data in the neighborhood to justify the price he thinks it's worth as well as the expected rental income. I found him to be very methodical and organized. He's not a typical sales person. Maybe this is because he used to be an accountant. Needless to say he earned our trust and we went with him to make the purchase. I was very impressed through the whole process. He's very calm and never pushy. His recommendation on the bid price was right on and he was very good at following up with various parties to push things through. The process went through very smoothly. If anyone is looking for a good real estate agent in Austin, I'd recommend Joe whole-heartedly. His professionalism and calm personality make him a real pleasure to work with.