Liberty Hill Real Estate Blog

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Turning on Texas to Energy Efficient Appliances

Dollars for dishwashers? Rebates for refrigerators? Cash for appliances? Call it what you will but the Texas cut of the $300 million has been approved by Congress to support state energy rebate programs for residential ENERGY STAR appliances. The ENERGY STAR appliances are much more energy efficient than their counterparts.

Any Texas consumer who purchases certain energy efficient household appliances can qualify for a rebate from the $23 million in federal stimulus funds allocated for this mail-in rebate program.

To be able to participate in this program you must buy eligible ENERGY STAR appliances and replace them with the same type of old appliance that's functional. Texas also will provide the additional incentive of being able to recycle the old appliance that was replaced. A single household can qualify for rebates of up to two appliances from the approved rebate appliance list. In Texas, eligible appliances include washers, refrigerators, dishwashers, central air conditioners, hot water heaters, and air source hear pumps.

To coincide with Earth Day. the mail-in rebates will apply to eligible appliances purchased between April 16 and April 25, 2010.

To reserve an appliance rebate, you will need to call a toll-free number or register online approximately two weeks before the rebate starts. Once the reserved mail-in rebates are awarded, any remaining funds will be rebated to consumers on a first-come, first-served basis. You will have 45 days from date of reservation to install the appliance(s) and submit the paperwork for their rebate.

If you have any additional questions regarding whether an appliance is ENERGY STAR qualified, please feel free to contact the ENERGY STAR Hotline at: hotline@energystar.gov or 1.888.STAR.YES (1.888.782.7937). See the specific details for Texas here.

For more helpful information please go to ENERGY STAR.

Perhaps you are looking for your first home. Maybe it’s the home of your dreams or something in between. Either way you have found the right place to accomplish your goals. Contact the Shane T. White Team to discover what it is like to work with a staff that has a real passion for real estate. Contact us today at (512) 515-LAND (5263). We are here for you to help you buy or sell real estate in the Liberty Hill area.

POSTED BY: Shane T. White AT 01:06 pm | Permalink | E-mail this

Friday, 05 March 2010

New 16-Acre Water Park for Cedar Park

In today’s tough economic times, growth is coming to Cedar Park via a water resort expected to be open for business in 2012. An announcement was made on January 28 at a city council meeting by Schlitterbahn Waterparks, stating that the Cedar Park project would include a water park, river walk, hotel, convention center and retail space that will take up 96 acres. The new water park will be located near the intersection of FM 1431 and Parmer Lane with an estimated cost of $360 million. Volente Beach Waterpark and New Braunfels–based Schlitterbahn will unite to handle the development.

Phase 1 — A 16-acre water park, skydiving simulator set to open in May 2012 with an estimated cost of $75 million.

Phase 2&3 — A 230-room hotel, 35,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a 30,000-sq.-ft. conference center and a river walk with a estimated cost of $125 million and a start date of within two years of phase one opening.

Phase 4 — An Additional 125,000 sq. ft. of retail space, expansion of one or more attractions with an estimated cost of $160 million. An approximate opening date of within 48 months of completion of phases two and three.

The water resort is expected to bring 739 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs to the area and is anticipated to have a $2.5 – 5 billion billion economic impact on the city over the next 30 years. Some critics are concerned that the developers are underestimating the contribution the city will have to make and overestimating the impact. After an hour of citizen debate, the City Council unanimously approved the plan.

Phil Brewer, Cedar Park’s economic development director has stated, “This is a classic, creative public-private partnership which will develop a project that will yield both economic and tourist-related benefits for Cedar Park for many years to come.”

POSTED BY: AT 08:28 pm | Permalink | E-mail this