All Blog Entries by Janis Penick

With days growing warmer, this is a great time to tackle some spring home maintenance before the sun makes it absolutely miserable to do any work outside.  Regular home maintenance is critical to keeping your home in good shape and saves you money in the long run on what can turn into costly repairs.

• Give your Roof a Once Over-With way more winter weather this year than Bastrop is used to seeing, your roof may have incurred damage without you even realizing it. Depending on the pitch of your roof and height of your home, you may need to call a professional but you or an expert should thoroughly examine all the parts of your roof for any damage or wear. A small repair can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage caused by a leak that could

This home sits in an impressive one-of-a-kind setting with access to the Colorado River. This home with four bedrooms, two full bathrooms and one half bathroom, a 2-car garage and 2,538 square feet of living space are situated on 1.69 acres or manicured land deep in the heart of Smithville.

The stone ranch-style home sits back from the road with the driveway lined with towering oak and ash trees. The large living room boasts a stone fireplace and exposed beams while stainless steel appliances have been added to the kitchen. The spacious laundry room offers good storage. Other recent updates to the home include new wood laminate floors in the bedroom wing and recent remodeling of the bathrooms. The roof is less than two years old.

Step into the

Make plans to attend the 1st annual Crawfish on the Colorado event benefitting Bastrop Animal Rescue. The event will take place on Saturday, April 21 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at Neighbor’s Kitchen and Yard in Bastrop.

Bring the whole family (including your pets) to this fun event. Admission is free but you will need to purchase tickets to be able to enjoy the delicious crawfish. The event will include live music, free hotdogs for the kids, a raffle, auction, face painting and even pet adoptions.

Bastrop Animal Rescue is a volunteer-only organization dedicated to finding lifelong homes for dogs and cats. All pets are spayed or neutered and microchipped prior to adoption. Make plans to come out to this fun event for fun, food and helping this great

Think back to elementary school and you and your best friend on the seesaw going up and down over and over. When you were up, your friend was down and vice versa and every now and then for a brief moment, the seesaw would balance and you would both be even. This is a perfect analogy for the real estate market. Here is a quick education on the different types of real estate markets you can encounter and what they mean.

• Buyer’s Market-A buyer’s market is indicated when there are more homes for sale than there are buyers in the market. A buyer may be able to capitalize on this and save money compared to other points in time. Sellers often have to reduce the price of their homes or offer other incentives to sell their property.
• Seller’s Market-A

Both the home and the property setting of this home in The Colony are exquisite and full of inviting details. This remodeled home offers four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, one half bathroom, a two-car garage and 4,326 square feet on 1.41 acres and overlooks the community pond for a peaceful setting you will definitely enjoy.

The custom built stone home is packed with special features including a gourmet kitchen with gorgeous cabinets, Thermador commercial range, island and stainless steel appliances including a wine cooler. Soaring 19.6’ ceilings greet you at the front door. The beautiful entry has double doors with leaded glass. The high ceilings extend through the dining room and great room. An aerial walkway on the second level creates an

The Bastrop Opera House is offering another fun show this weekend with three final performances of The Kitchen Witches. The Kitchen Witches revolves around two cable-access cooking show hostesses that have spent 30 years hating each other because of a love triangle. The two cooks wind up on a TV show called The Kitchen Witches together and can no longer hold in their animosity.

The Bastrop Opera House features a variety of shows year round and you are sure to find a few shows to provide an evening or afternoon of entertainment. This weekend is the final weekend of The Kitchen Witches with shows on Friday and Saturday evenings as well as a Sunday matinee.

When: April 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and April 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Bastrop Opera House, 711

When you decide to purchase a new Bastrop home, you will do a lot of research about the home you are interested in, the city it is in, the neighborhood, the best mortgage terms and so much more. There is a lot of information that the seller will disclose to you publicly, your agent will provide even more information and you will learn a lot when you have your home inspection. Is there really such a thing as too much information when it comes to the biggest investment you will ever make? Probably not. When you are doing your research, make sure you ask these questions to help you thoroughly understand the property you are interested in.

1. Why is the seller moving? Maybe they are relocating or need more space but this question may give you some insight

This property is sure to please in a country setting while still convenient to Austin, Bastrop, Lockhart and Circuit of Americas. The 11.20 acre property offers several nice building sites with a view of the neighboring pond. The property is partially cleared and large cedars and hard woods grace other parts.

This property listing is for Tract B. A plat in the attached listing shows the plat including the  adjacent lots for reference.  Tracts C & D are sold and perimeter fenced. The flag entrance where you can enter the property will be divided in two equal drives 51.65 feet each - one for Tract A and the other for Tract B. The corners are staked and marked with orange paint.

For more information or to see additional photos of this property, visit

The Smithville Jamboree is back and you will definitely want to be a part. With so many fun activities packed into this festival, there is something for everyone.

The festival includes live music each night with a variety of acts including Briana Adams, Blake Torrey, Wade Bowen, Billy Holt Band, Wesley Pearson and Rick Trevino. A livestock show and sale will take place on Saturday. The Crowning of the Queen will take place on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. and scholarship money is awarded to the top three finishers.

Other activities that are lots of fun include the pet show on Friday afternoon with lots of fun categories for your pet to participate in and the parade on Saturday at 1:00. There will also be horseshoe and washer tournaments taking place

When you own a home, routine maintenance is important to prolong the life of your systems while taking care of your investment. There are many tasks that require a professional but with a little time and effort, even an unskilled homeowner can take care of a variety of home maintenance tasks without having to call the handyman yet again. Make plans for your next free weekend or even just an afternoon to tackle a few items from your to do list so that your Bastrop home is well taken care of.

• Keep your gutters clear of leaves and debris. Overfilled gutters can cause lots of damage if you don’t keep them clear. Filled gutters can prevent water from running away from your away and cause damage in a variety of ways including roof leaks, rotted wood and