A few months ago, Ricky Cain received a package from fellow Travis Country resident, Ramon Fouse.  Ramon had sent Ricky a copy of his children's book, The Crooked Little Christmas Tree, and the rest was history!

Ricky not only appreciated the gesture, yet after reading he wanted to ensure he could help Ramon get the book in front of other children that would enjoy hearing the story and reading it for years to come.

The Crooked Little Christmas Tree is available on Amazon for purchase, as well as on Cain Club for free!  Each free hardcopy on Cain Club will also be autographed by Ramon so long as you can pick it up from our office!  Simply go to www.cainclub.com to redeem your free copy today using your account, or sign up for a free account today!

Checkout the video below Ricky and Ramon filmed in our office!

The Cain Team is proud to have sponsored the Annual Travis Country Fourth of July Parade this past week. The parade kicked off at 9:00 a.m. with streets lined of red, white and blue!

The parade included refreshments, patriotic tattoos, balloon animals, an epic water balloon fight, and a Kona Ice Snow Cone truck donated by The Cain Team. It was a very patriotic event enjoyed by all TC residents who attended! 

Travis Country 4th of July Parade 2018 from The Cain Team on Vimeo.

Join us this Wednesday, July 4th from 9-11AM for the Annual Travis Country 4th of July parade! Put on your best red, white and blue and come out and join your neighbors in celebrating our great country with a neighborhood parade! Decorate your floats, classic cars, bikes, strollers, and wagons and join the parade.

We'd love to see blocks in the neighborhood work on "block floats" to have at the parade!
So, get started now to have something red, white, and fabulous ready by the 4th! You just might win a prize for the effort!! 

Kids, Pets, Musicians, Everyone - WELCOME!

Events/ activities offered:

• 9:00- 10:30am - Balloon Artist
• 9:00-11:00am - Tattoo Station
• 10:00am-12pm- Kona Ice Snowcones
• 10:00 am – National Anthem, Parade Kickoff
• 10:30 am – Water Balloon fight

Judging for all categories begins at 9:30

• Most Patriotic Family
• Most Patriotic Girl
• Most Patriotic Boy
• Best decorated bike
• Best decorated stroller/ wagon
• Most Patriotic Pet

Winners will be announced at the stand after the parade. We look forward to seeing you there, let's celebrate the Land of the Free! 

4701 Fieldstone Drive | $429,997 | 1,962 Sq.Ft | 3 Beds | 2 Baths

LOWEST LIST PRICE IN 2 YEARS IN TRAVIS COUNTRY FOR 1800+ SQUARE FEET & WELL UNDER COUNTY VALUE!!

This charming home is located on a quiet tree-lined street. Light and bright throughout featuring high ceilings, French doors, stunning laminate wood flooring, fresh paint and ceiling fans in every room. Towards the back of the home, you'll find an additional living space and tons of storage. Private and spacious backyard with a pergola perfect for entertaining. Walk to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, only minutes to DT Austin and award-winning schools!

Learn more about this amazing Travis Country Home here!

It is that time of year again, that's right, our 8th Annual 4th of July Apple Pie Giveaway is right around the corner! Since 2011, The Cain Team has proudly been giving out freshly baked apple pies to our amazing neighbors in Travis Country to commemorate the 4th of July. We believe nothing screams America more than a delicious piece of apple pie.

If you reside within the Travis Country neighborhood, click here to reserve your own apple pie. We will respond promptly with a confirmation email as well as instructions for picking up your pie from our office conveniently located just a few miles away. 

We will take registrations until the morning of Friday, June 29th, so please hop on ASAP to sign up for some goodness. We look forward to seeing you and giving you a complimentary apple pie!

Here is a link to our office location.  If your plans change after registering for an apple pie, please let us know.  The team can only personally eat so many apple pies!

EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it in next month's Travis Country Notes issue! 

Don't forget to submit your real estate questions to be featured in next month's Travis Country Notes! Enjoy Real Estate Tips and Tricks Courtesy of your TC Neighbor and REALTOR, Ricky Cain! 

Our column will cover any real estate questions or tips you may have. We take pride in being a source of information to all our clients, past clients, and neighbors. Simply email your questions to ask@thecainteam.com to be featured in our column. 

Our first column will be placed in the June issue of Travis Country Notes, accompanied by Monthly Market statistics for the amazing TC community. We look forward to serving any questions you have! Happy Friday!

Join us this Saturday, May 26th, from 1-4 PM for an amazing Travis Country Open House! This charming home is located on a quiet tree-lined street. Light & bright throughout featuring high ceilings, French doors, laminate wood flooring, fresh paint & ceiling fans in every room. Recent updates include HVAC, roof and triple pane windows! Private & spacious backyard with a pergola for entertaining. Walk to Barton Creek Greenbelt, only mins to DT Austin & award-winning schools!

4701 Fieldstone Drive | $449,997 | 1,962 Sq.Ft | 3 Beds | 2 Baths

Rare opportunity to own in Travis Country under 450k! This charming home is located on a quiet tree-lined street. Light and bright throughout featuring high ceilings, French doors, stunning laminate wood flooring, fresh paint and ceiling fans in every room. Towards the back of the home, you'll find an additional living space and tons of storage. Private and spacious backyard with a pergola perfect for entertaining. Walk to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, only minutes to DT Austin and award-winning schools!

Learn more about this amazing Travis Country Home here!

Barton Creek Greenbelt is a staple in South Austin and many natives flock to this watering hole in the summer months. Do512 did the work for us and found the most popular and convenient spaces to enjoy the beautiful Austin weather. Here is a list of the various locations to help you get out and enjoy the Greenbelt. 

Spyglass Access - 1601 Spyglass Dr.

This is an extremely popular location as it is located right behind Tacodeli. It even features a fairly new entrance! There is also usually easy street parking at this location. Once you head down the hill at the trail access, take a left and you’ll find your way to the Flats & the Campbell’s Hole swimming spot. Click here for a map.

Barton Hills/ Homedale Access - 2010 Homedale Dr.

You can also reach Campbell’s Hole from an access point at Barton Hills Elementary. Parking here is on the street in a residential neighborhood. Once you enter the trail, head north for Campbell’s Hole. Click here for a map.

Gus Fruh Access - 2642 Barton Hills Dr.

Here are some directions from TexasOutside.com: From I-35 exit on Riverside and head west. Drive 1.5 miles to Barton Creek Rd and turn left (west).  Drive about one mile past the Lamar intersection and turn left on Robert E Lee Rd.  Take the first right on Barton Hills Dr. Continue down Barton Hills for exactly 2 miles....

EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it in next month's Travis Country Notes issue! 

We are excited to announce our newest feature in our Travis Country Notes AD, your personal Real Estate advice column! Enjoy Real Estate Tips and Tricks Courtesy of your TC Neighbor and REALTOR, Ricky Cain! 

Our column will cover any real estate questions or tips you may have. We take pride in being a source of information to all our clients, past clients, and neighbors. Simply email your questions to ask@thecainteam.com to be featured in our column. 

Our first column will be placed in the June issue of Travis Country Notes, accompanied by Monthly Market statistics for the amazing TC community. We look forward to serving any questions you have, and wish you a blessed weekend!

One major driving force we use to push ourselves to be successful as a team is our non-profit, Cain Cares. With every home sale, we are able to make a donation to our non-profit in the homeowner's name. Cain Cares gives us the ability to serve our clients, past clients, neighbors and team members in a time of need. Our goal is to help when help is needed most, and that is exactly what we had the pleasure of doing this past month.  

For our 1st Annual Love Where You Live Event we had the pleasure of serving the Feil family. Marvin and Melba Feil have been Travis Country residents for over 40 years. They have found a great sense of community within Travis Country and have made a ton of memories in their house. With a great amount of work put on Melba as the main home keeper, their beautiful home needed quite a bit of extra love and attention. This is when we stepped in to truly return their house back into a home. 

With the help of our amazing sponsors and team, we set out early Saturday morning on April 7th, 2018 to go to work on the Feil's family home. With 5 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter making memories in this house, it definitely needed to be brought back to its full potential. 

A few gallons of paint, new flooring, leaky roof repairs, and brand new fence later we had the opportunity to welcome Marvin and Melba into their new and improved home! Seeing the amount of gratitude on their faces is exactly why we do what we do. This is what Cain Cares is all about, lending a helping hand when it is needed the most. 

We are so grateful to have been a part of Melba and Marvin's journey, and even more grateful for the donations and sponsors that allowed us to do so. A special thank you to Goosehead Insurance,...

April showers bring May flowers...and events! It is time to get out and enjoy time with the family this month, and we've got you covered. Enjoy this month's events and activities blog for fun family-friendly activities. 

As always, tag us in your Facebook photos at our referred events for Cain Club points. We've got some amazing prizes with your name on it!

May 4: The Greatest Showman Outdoor Screening @ Community First Cinema

Mobile Loaves & Fishes invites you to a free movie night at our Community First! Village.
Grab chairs and a blanket, bring family and friends and enjoy this special screening of the Greatest Showman.

Come as early as 7:30 pm to explore Community First! Village, pick your spot and enjoy your favorite movie snacks from the Community Grille. Burgers, french fries, snacks, and drinks will be available for purchase (cards and cash accepted!).

The event is free, however, a $5 donation would be highly appreciated. Donations can be made electronically when RSVPing to this event.

May 5: Kindnesspalooza @ Hill Country Galleria

Saturday, May 5th from 12:00pm - 4:00pm

KINDNESSPALOOZA, a free family-friendly event, will be held in the Central Plaza by the Splash Pad on Saturday, May 5th from 12:00 - 4:00 pm. The Mrs band, an all-female pop rock band with a positive message, will be headlining the event. Teen music sensation Madison McWilliams is also performing along with other musical guests, including SaulPaul, Big Don and Courtney Santana.

In addition,...

A HUGE thank you to all our amazing Travis Country neighbors who came out and made the Easter Bash a success! Thousands of eggs were hunted, beautiful crafts crafted, and of course, the petting zoo and pony rides were a fan favorite. We enjoy celebrating with you and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 

Check out the video below for a recap of the amazing event, we hope you see you all next year! 

It's that time of year again! It's time for the Travis Country Easter Bash! We are excited to sponsor the petting zoo again this year and look forward to a day full of fun and celebration! The Easter Bash is one of our favorite Travis Country Events as we love getting to spend time with our TC neighbors. We'll see you there!

Enjoy:

• Easter Egg Hunts by Age (see schedule below)
• Petting Zoo
• Balloon Animals
• Breakfast & Coffee
• Raffle

Egg Hunt Times:

• 9:15 am - 0-3 yrs old
• 9:30 am- 4-6 yrs old
• 9:45 am- 7-9 yrs old
• 10:00 am - 10+ yrs

As you may or may not know, a "Big Why" behind why the team and I are passionate about selling homes is the opportunity to greater fund our mission of serving our clients, past clients, and community in times of severe need.  We do this through funding our non-profit, Cain Cares, after every home sale.  We have chosen to stay "home" for our first community outreach event. 

I'm asking for your assistance in helping me to identify someone or a family in our neighborhood that may be in a severe time of need and/or may be barely scraping by.  As a result, perhaps their house is in disarray.  Many of us have been through tough times in our life, God knows my family and I have.  We'd like to identify this person or family, and spend an entire day at their house and help to improve their property.  This will depend on the property of course, yet this could include items such as landscaping/yard work, painting, flooring, cleaning, light remodeling, etc.  We will have the entire team helping, as well as our trusted vendors that are applicable to what the need would be.  

We will be doing this event April 7th, yet we are looking to identify some candidates sooner than later.  I'd be extremely grateful if you'd take some time to think about who could be impacted by our mission.  If you can share this on any applicable social media channels, that too would be appreciated.  

Please see click here to nominate someone you know of or share with them directly and let them nominate themselves.  

“A house is made of bricks and beams.  A home is made of hopes and dreams.”  Let's give someone in our neighborhood a home again.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for...

We take joy in serving our clients from beginning to end of their transaction, and that means all the way through the move! Check out this ultimate moving check-list to ensure your move is just as smooth as your home sale with The Cain Team!

1. Turn on utilities: There is a very high chance the seller will be turning off all utilities the day of closing. Be sure to get these turned on before move-in to eliminate the hassle of moving furniture in the dark!

2. Setup internet/cable service: Having your home wired before the move-in makes it easier to install as well as eliminating one less time of moving furniture around. 

3. Order an energy audit: An energy audit is a professional assessment of your new home's overall energy performance. This will show you how to make the best of your home's energy, so it is best to have this done before related repairs are done. This simple task can help save you a ton!

4. Do a deep clean: There is nothing more exciting than getting your new home's keys and start piling in your furniture and personal items. Although, cleaning the home from top to bottom will make the process much more enjoyable at the finish line! 

5. Change the locks: This is just a basic safety measure when receiving the keys to the home. Although, it is important to wait until after the closing date.

6. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: Make sure these a functioning properly in order to protect your beautiful new home and precious family. 

7. Set up alarm system: While we are on the topic of protecting your family, go ahead and...

How to respond to coyotes in your neighborhood

As Austin grows, our interactions with wildlife increase. To keep coyotes and other wildlife wild, we can follow a few, simple preventative measures:

• Always keep trash and compost in a secure bin
• Keep your barbecue grill clean
• Keep the area under your fruit and nut trees free of droppings (a coyote’s diet can be up to 40% fruit in Texas)
• Avoid feeding pets outdoors (if you must feed pets outside, feed during the daytime and remove the uneaten food as soon as the animal has finished).
• Feeding wildlife and feral cats can attract coyotes. In addition to coyotes eating the food, mice and other animals will be drawn to leftovers, which can subsequently attract predators such as foxes and coyotes. 

Hazing

To discourage coyotes from associating people with safety and food, eliminate the food sources around your yard and engage in hazing if you see a coyote on your property. Hazing is a process used to reinforce a coyote’s natural wariness without harming them. To haze, be big and loud: Wave your arms, shout, use noisemakers, throw non-edible objects in its direction (but not at it), or spray the animal with a hose. It shouldn’t take much for the coyote to get the memo -- just be persistent and maintain eye contact. Do not haze if a coyote is sick, injured, with pups, or is in its territory or out at night.

Pet safety

Keep small pets inside when possible and monitor them while outside. While walking dogs, use a secure, 4-6 foot leash and do not let dogs explore vegetation that you can’t see through. It is advised that pets be fed indoors. If pets must be fed outdoors, feed during the daytime and remove food as soon as your pet is finished.

 ...

Congratulations to our January/February coloring contest winner, Austin age 6! Austin's amazing coloring entry took the cake for this months contest, landing him 50 Cain Keys on our Loyalty and Rewards program! Austin has a wide variety of prizes to choose from and can even earn more points to save up for something even bigger! Join him by heading over to Cain Club to start earning your points today!

Thank you to all our Travis Country Times entries, we love getting so many incredible colorings. If you have yet to win, please keep submitting entries as we look forward to awarding you Cain Keys soon! Congratulations, Austin! 

Want to join Travis Country Times' Coloring Contest to get a chance to win some Cain Keys? Watch out for our upcoming March/April issue!