Kathleen Townsley joined Smart Source Realty in 2006, and has been the top producer for the
past ten years. As a former trial lawyer, Kathleen has excellent negotiating and problem-solving
skills. She represents buyers and sellers in Cedar Park, Leander, Austin, Round Rock,
Pflugerville, and the greater Austin area, including Hutto, Taylor, Cibolo, Kempner, Manor,
Burnet, and beyond.
For buyers, Kathleen likes to start with a lender’s pre-approval. If clients have not been
pre-approved for a loan, Kathleen will make lender recommendations. Once the price range has
been established, the home search can begin!
Kathleen loves the buying process. She helps her buyers reach a decision based on a
combination of important factors, such as price, neighborhood, schools, amenities, walkability,
communities, and commutes. She’s happy to show buyers homes all around the greater Austin
area, helping them narrow their search until they find the home that best fits their needs.
Once buyers find a property, Kathleen guides her clients through negotiations, which include
price and many other terms. Once the home is under contract, she helps her clients meet
deadlines for paying the earnest money and option fee. She also helps schedule an inspection
and then does a walkthrough with the inspector. Once the inspection is completed, she helps
her clients determine if they will ask for repairs or ask for an allowance to help them pay for
repairs. Once the repairs are negotiated, Kathleen will work with the lender to help move the
buyers toward closing.
After closing, many new homeowners want to add their personal touches. Growing up, Kathleen
watched her mother and brother transform distressed properties into stunning homes. Drawing
from that experience, Kathleen helps her buyers take a home with good bones and rehab it to
their specific tastes. To help her buyers create their dream home, Kathleen has a vast list of
designers and trades to make their visions into reality.
For sellers, Kathleen has teamed with her brother Billy to offer clients a listing strategy, which
includes recommendations for updates and repairs.The sellers review the recommendations
and develop a plan that best fits their budget and lifestyle. If clients wish to make cosmetic
updates, she and Billy help them make selections, including paint colors, backsplashes,
counters, light fixtures, flooring, door hardware, plumbing fixtures, and landscaping, and then
help them find the trades to do the work. Kathleen’s goal is for her clients to spend the least
amount of money to get the highest sales price possible. Kathleen doesn’t charge extra for
helping her clients get their homes ready for the market.
When Kathleen listed a vacant home for sale in 2010, she called home stagers to get pricing,
but most of them charged sellers $3,000 per month, an expense that is cost prohibitive to most
sellers. So Kathleen decided to stage her clients’ homes at no extra charge. She teams with
Billy to give a staging plan to clients, who then decide how little or how much they want their
homes staged. If the clients still reside in the home, Kathleen and Billy modify their staging plan
per the clients’ wishes, and usually stage with a combination of the sellers’ furniture and their
own. When a home is vacant, they stage with their own furniture to enhance the home’s
appearance.
Kathleen also helps real estate investors find rental properties, then helps them through the
rental process.
Should you wish to speak with Kathleen about your real estate questions, please call her at
(512) 925-9898. She can also be reached at kathleen.townsley@gmail.com.