San Antonio Real Estate Market

With the abundance of houses on the market, we were hoping to find a lease/purchase deal while our credit recovers. If you're going to work with a real estate agent, you might want to hire based on the agent's ability to find a lease/purchase arrangement. The ideal seller will have already moved from the property and paid off the mortgage. [...] since you will have to wait another four years to get a loan, it may be tough to find someone who wants to wait that long to get his or her money. Most sellers are willing to hang in there for a while but want to know that the sale will actually occur within a couple of years after the documents are signed. If you aren't lucky finding an owner willing to lease you a property with an option to buy, you might just want to rent while saving money for a down payment and waiting for your credit to improve, so you can eventually finance a purchase in a traditional way. Does this make sense at all, or should I just try to keep saving and keep my cash for emergencies? [...] if you pay down your loan over the next five or even 10 years, your monthly payments will not go down.

Dining room tables often were gate-legged, typically closed and placed against a wall when not in use, creating the illusion of even greater space. Another typical feature in larger homes was the two-sided fireplace, which usually separated the living room from either the dining or family room. Other homes featured a kitchen directly off the main entryway, and positioned the more formal living area to the rear of the house. Retaining the integrity of the design in these homes is essential to protecting their intrinsic value, and it is important that any remodeling changes be appropriate and sympathetic to the original design. Professional guidance from an architect who understands this period of style not only will help to preserve the wonderful quality of design, but also will preserve and add value to the home, as an investment.

Salon owners go back to their roots and transform a West Side warehouse into glam apartment. Page 6D

Located within The Enclave, a gated community with a 24-hour guard, this property is described by its agent as “one of the few true compounds in the San Antonio area.”