We already got their conditional approval in writing, pending the design plans and actual application, of course, but the only requirement in the application we must meet is setback requirements to be approved (which we know we will) so basically we have the green-light from the city to move forward.

Here it is: We currently own a 2 family home of 2000 sq. ft and we are going to finish the attic BUT we are not sure if we should designate it with the Zoning dept. as an office space or a bedroom.

It may give you quick insight into general value (or value trends), but can be highly misleading in individual deals.

Maybe buying cheap from distressed sellers and turning to airbnb for cashflow until the trend goes back up again?

The VA loan is a great tool but it is self limiting by design.

For long term population and demographics trends I would look at esri.com.

Still working through actual costs for design, engineering, permitting, and build but rough numbers look pretty good... 

When people sign a lease we normally designate one as the primary tenant so that it is clear to everyone who will stay or make decisions about who is staying so we aren't playing monkey in the middle. 

(ABOR)Unemployment rate for the Austin-Round Rock MSA was 12.2%, a 10% increase year-over-year.(3)The market today looks a lot different across the entire MSA of Austin — including Hays, Williamson, Caldwell, Travis, and Bastrop counties.In this article I’ll look back at trends related to the health of real estate throughout the pandemic and into the future of 2020.What Just Happened?

The Real Estate Guys podcast normally touches on trends and national news as well.For local updates, lots of stats are available monthly from MLS data - typically published monthly by brokerages and MLS aggregator sites.