Laura Collins- Magnolia Realty

Today we celebrate 30 years of marriage… and 39 years of doing life together. ❤️

How lucky I was all those years ago to fall in love with my husband, Doug and even luckier that we’ve had the chance to grow up, grow together, and build this life side by side.

We raised a beautiful family, weathered the hard seasons, celebrated the really good ones, made more memories than I could ever count, and somehow… here we are. A little older, hopefully a little wiser, and still choosing each other.

These days, I think I appreciate our time together even more. Our kids are grown, life looks different, and we’re getting to enjoy the fruits of everything we worked so hard to build but we still finding new places to go, new things to experience, and new adventures to have together. (Cape Cod photos coming soon!!)

Time is precious. None of us really knows how much of it we’re given, and that makes me cherish these days even more.

30 years married…..And if I could go back and choose all over again, I’d still choose this life with you. ❤️

Happy Anniversary, Doug.
Here’s to us…and whatever adventure comes next. 💘

Much Love Mí Amor

🏡 9 Things I Want Every First-Time Homebuyer to Know

Buying your first home is exciting but here’s something I wish more buyers understood:

Your first home doesn’t have to be your forever home. ❤️ You don’t have to remodel everything the minute you get the keys. You don’t need a “perfect” house. And you definitely don’t need to spend a fortune trying to turn a starter home into something it was never meant to be.

👉🏽Sometimes a little paint goes a LONG way.
🙌🏽 Make smart improvements.
👎🏼 Don’t over-improve for the neighborhood. Give yourself time to actually live in the house before deciding what needs to change. 🎨

And remember that life changes.

Marriage 🤍 Babies ☀️Careers 🤍 Empty nesting ☀️Aging parents. New opportunities 🤩

If the home no longer fits your life someday, it’s okay to sell it and move forward. 🤗

🏡Your first home can simply be the place where you start building equity instead of paying someone else’s mortgage. That’s why I tell first-time buyers: don’t wait for the “perfect” house, the “perfect” market, or the “perfect” moment. 😝

👍🏽Buy when you’re financially ready and the numbers make sense for YOU. Then let homeownership do what it was designed to do! It gives you a place to live while helping you build toward what comes next. 🗝️🚪

I’ve been locally helping people find Home since 2010, and helping my buyers secure those keys will never get old for me❣️

📲 Thinking your first home might be closer than you realize? Let’s talk.

Laura Collins | San Antonio Real Estate

Laura Collins, ABR®
REALTOR® 17 years and counting!
Magnolia Realty | San Antonio
210.422.8428
YesTHATmagnolia

BuildEquit

If you’re thinking about buying a home, here’s something I want you to know:

👉🏽The lowest advertised interest rate doesn’t automatically mean the best mortgage. 🙃😏😝

Right now, mortgage rates are holding fairly steady, with Freddie Mac reporting the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.66% as of August 27th.
But here’s where buyers need to dig a little deeper. When you’re comparing lenders, ask them to show you:

🏡 The interest rate AND the APR
💰 Whether you’re paying discount points to get that rate
📄 Total lender fees and closing costs
📉 Whether a temporary or permanent rate buydown makes sense
🔑 Your actual estimated monthly payment—including taxes and insurance
💵 Whether lender credits are available
🇺🇸 Whether FHA, VA, USDA or Conventional financing gives you the better overall scenario

Don’t just ask, “What’s the rate?”
Ask:
“What does this loan actually COST me?”
🧐That’s a much better conversation.

If buying a home is somewhere on your radar whether that’s now, six months from now, or even next year…..
Please
give
me
a
call.
☎️
We can talk about where you are today, what you need to do to prepare, and I’ll connect you with trusted lenders who can show you your options.
ALL of your options 🤩

You don’t have to be ready to buy
to start “getting ready” to buy. 😉🙌🏽

Laura Collins | San Antonio Real Estate
Laura Collins, REALTOR®
17 years and counting 🏡

🛠️ New 🏡 construction is becoming one of the smartest moves a Buyer can make. With modern features, energy sufficient designs, and builder incentives that will save you thousands, they are choosing new builds over existing homes. This is why some homes are sitting longer!

Downsizing, upsizing? It doesn’t matter!
It’s much easier than you think to secure a new build and watch it get built with me! We have several parties at the homesite during the entire build. No one will do more for you during the construction process than my team and I!! 👍🏽

With lower maintenance costs, stronger warranties and long-term values, it protects your investment. Exploring new construction isn’t just an option; it can be a strategic advantage. Especially if you’re renting right now!

My clients lease agreement is not up until the end of February and their Landlord is unwilling to work with them on a quick purchase. That’s Ok because I know this dance VERY well!
Not only did I find my client a NO Money down opportunity- the builder threw in everything AND the kitchen sink!
💃Happy Dancing During the contract signing today!!

If you’re looking for a new Centex or Pulte home-Vanessa may even throw in a puppy……..well no that was my buyer’s puppy. Ha!!

Time to find another house to build!

Laura Collins | San Antonio Real Estate
LAURA COLLINS, ABR®
Magnolia Realty | San Antonio | Hill Country
210.422.8428
https://linktr.ee/laura_collins

🏡 A beautiful home isn’t always the whole story. This one caught our attention.
Custom built.
Large lot.
Beautiful mature trees.
Plenty of space.
And so many of the things my buyers have been hoping to find.

🤍 But before we fall in love with a home, I want my clients to understand the whole property. So I pull up the FEMA flood map.

And there it was…the property is located in an area where flood risk needs to be part of the conversation. Does that automatically mean you shouldn’t buy the house? No.
It means we investigate before we celebrate. 🤔

Where does the home itself sit in relation to the flood zone?
Has the property ever flooded?
What do the Seller’s Disclosure and other available records tell us?
Will flood insurance be required and what could it cost?
Could the location affect future resale or marketability???

🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
And then we look at the bigger picture. Because finding the right home is about more than bedrooms, bathrooms and a beautiful lot. I’m also helping my buyers consider schools, commute, shopping, walkability, the neighborhood, the property taxes, insurance, flood risk and future resale.

Sometimes my job is to point out everything there is to LOVE about a property. And sometimes my job is to point to a map and say, “Before we go any further, we need to talk about this.”

That’s buyer representation 👍🏽

After years of helping buyers throughout San Antonio, Helotes and the Texas Hill Country, I know that what surrounds a home and what may affect it is every bit as important as what’s inside it.

The goal isn’t simply to find you a house you love. It’s to help you make an informed decision about the home you’re buying. ❤️

Laura Collins, ABR®
REALTOR®
17 years and counting!
Magnolia Realty | San Antonio | Hill Country
210.422.8428

I have officially changed my mind about owning a pool. 💦 I’ve never been a firm believer that a pool was something I needed in a home.
Beautiful? Absolutely.
Fun? Of course.
But necessary? I wasn’t convinced.
Until I started swimming regularly.

Y’all…the flexibility and range of motion I’ve gotten back has been amazing! From something as simple as putting my bra on 😂 to twisting around to grab a package from the backseat of my car. Everyday movements just feel easier.

And it has me thinking differently about growing older gracefully and how the things we need from our homes change right along with us. Being able to walk into my own backyard and swim every day has become so much more than having a pretty pool.
It’s movement. It’s relaxation.
It’s time outside. ☀️ and I’m vitamin D deficient.
There are SO many benefits to owning a pool that I never knew. 💙

And here’s the REALTOR® in me coming out…If you’ve been thinking about selling a home with a pool, don’t underestimate what that backyard may mean to the next buyer. It may not just be about summer parties and entertaining. For someone like me, it could be about wellness, daily movement, relaxation, and enjoying home in an entirely different way.

And if you’ve decided a pool needs to be on your next “home wish list” well, apparently I understand that request a little better now. 💦
Maybe that pool isn’t just for the kids after all. 😉

Laura Collins | San Antonio Real Estate
Laura Collins, ABR®
Magnolia Realty | San Antonio
210.422.8428

Writing an offer tonight…and this one feels so GOOD. 🤍🏡 My clients and I have been looking for a special home off and on for more than two years.
You know the kind.😉

The one where you walk through the front door, take off your shoes and start imagining your life there before you’ve even finished the tour! Yeah, that sort of find!

A beautiful custom home tucked inside a gorgeous gated community in Spring Branch…over an acre beneath mature Texas trees, a pool and hot tub out back, wonderful outdoor living spaces, and so much character throughout.

It checked 📦 …after 📦 …after 📦 .

And then there was the staging. 😍
Y’all. I wanted SO MANY THINGS in this house! So did my buyer!
I finally asked the listing agent, “Is the seller an interior designer?”

She laughed and told me no that the seller had hired someone to help. Well…I’d hire that talented person too! 😂 Every room was warm, collected and beautifully put together.

But the best part?
After searching for more than two years, my buyers looked at this house and could see something much bigger than a beautiful property.
They could see home.

So tonight, I’m sitting down to write an offer on what we hope will become their forever home. ❤️ Now we cross our fingers, say a little prayer, and see what happens next. 🤞🏻🏡

Laura Collins | San Antonio Real Estate
Laura Collins, ABR®
Magnolia Realty | San Antonio
210.422.8428

💦💦comes with pool 💦💦