For Northwest Austin's core (78750, 78759, 78726) the I-35 Capital Express rebuild mostly misses your commute, which runs on MoPac, 183, 620, and 360. A ZIP-by-ZIP broker's read on who actually feels the construction and who does not.
In Texas, the option fee and earnest money are two separate deposits with two different jobs. What each one buys, which one you can get back, when they are at risk, and how both are credited at closing, from a Northwest Austin broker.
The title commitment and survey are where a clean-looking Texas home deal quietly dies. How to read Schedules A-D, when you need a new survey and a T-47, the area-and-boundary exception, and how the objection clock protects your earnest money.
Buying from another state means your agent is your eyes on the ground. How to vet a relocation agent: hyperlocal knowledge over broad claims, referral-fee reality, the questions to ask, red flags, Texas buyer-rep rules, and remote-buying workflow.