It should also be the best financial decision you ever make.
Most people move because something in life changed. Julie Hutchison is a Realtor in Austin, Texas who leads Hutchison Property Group, brokered by eXp Realty. She has closed 118 transactions, owns short-term rentals here herself, and can tell you both what a house will be like to live in and what it will be like to own.
Investor first, agent second.
“I started as an investor, and it gave me more tools to problem solve.”
Julie Hutchison spent 18 years at Northrop Grumman across IT and management, including four years leading a data science organization, and another year at Praxis. She left corporate work to invest in real estate full time, closing roughly two dozen deals across flips, rentals, and wholesale in her first year.
She got her license in 2021, after she already knew how a deal comes together from the inside. That order matters. When a client asks whether a house is a good deal, Julie answers as someone who has owned, renovated, rented, and sold property in this market, not as someone reading comps off a screen.
Today she runs Hutchison Property Group, brokered by eXp Realty. It is a single-agent practice on purpose. Every client works with Julie, not with an assistant or a junior agent carrying her name. She owns and self-manages short-term rentals in East Austin, including a Japanese-inspired ADU she designed and built herself.
Separately from her client work, Julie leads Greater Heights Hive, a revenue share organization of more than 30 agents at eXp Realty.
Julie is a Texas Tech graduate and a member of the Texas Real Estate Investor Association, the Austin Board of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. She lives in Austin with her two daughters.
More than one way to sell a house
Most agents offer one. Which of these fits depends on your timeline, your budget for repairs, and how much privacy you want.
Julie’s approach is upfront and honest. She will be honest about pricing your property, and she will tell you if she is not a fit for your situation.
More than one way to buy a house
The right path depends on your down payment, your timeline, and whether you are buying somewhere to live, something to rent, or both at once.
Julie will tell you which one actually fits. She has bought for herself in every one of these ways, so the advice comes from having done it rather than from a script.
Loan program availability, eligibility, and terms are set by lenders and change over time. Nothing here is a loan offer, a rate quote, or a guarantee of qualification. Talk to a licensed lender about your situation.
Every move is two decisions at once
One is about your life. The other is about your money. Most agents only help with the first. Julie works both, because she has been on the ownership side of all of it.
Your first place
Somewhere that is finally yours.
House hacking, or buying and living in it a year before renting it out. Either way you stop paying down someone else’s mortgage and start on your own.
More room, or less
The house that fits who you are now.
Upsizing, downsizing, second homes. Coordinated so the sale and the purchase are one transition instead of two, and timed so you are not carrying both.
Something complicated
A hard chapter, handled quietly.
Divorce, probate, an inherited house, a lien, a short sale, foreclosure, deferred maintenance, a deadline. These are the ones other agents pass on and Julie takes.
Money that should be working
A place that pays you back.
Long-term rentals, short-term rentals, land, 1031 exchanges. An operator’s read on the numbers rather than an optimistic pro forma.
Short-term rentals
Julie owns and self-manages short-term rentals in East Austin and helps investors buy, underwrite, and operate them.
Austin rents often don’t cover an Austin mortgage. Short-term rental income is one of the few ways to make the numbers work close to town, and it is the part of this business most agents cannot actually advise on because they have never run one.
Most of real estate is a series of problem solving.
Every one of these started as a life change that got complicated. None of them were supposed to close.
“I will tell you if I am not a fit for your situation.”
And while you live there, it is working
This is the part nobody feels day to day. You are simply living somewhere. Meanwhile two things compound quietly in the background.
On a $500,000 home with 10% down at 6.5%, assuming 3% annual appreciation, the home is worth roughly $671,000 after ten years. That is about $171,000 in appreciation. Meanwhile the loan balance falls from $450,000 to roughly $380,000, which is another $70,000 in principal paid down. Total equity gained is about $241,000 on a $50,000 down payment.
Not flipping. Not timing the market. Just normal ownership. Over ten years in Austin, the difference between renting and owning can easily be $200,000 or more in net worth, and most people aren’t saving that amount intentionally. They’re just living somewhere.
Illustration only, based on the assumptions stated. Not a loan offer, a rate quote, or financial, tax, or legal advice. Talk to a licensed lender and a CPA before making a decision.
Julie Hutchison holds a 5.0 rating across 48 Google reviews. These three are the most recent.
“Everything had to happen really fast. Julie maneuvered the entire process so smoothly and perfectly. She did an incredible job negotiating with the seller on our behalf and navigated an unusual buying process with plenty of curveballs along the way.”
“My partner and I were first time home buyers new to Austin, and we couldn’t have been in better hands. From financing and getting the best rate; to referrals for all the inspectors, appraisers, etc we needed; to even transferring over our utilities.”
“Julie helped us buy our house in Austin and was well versed with the area where we were buying (Mueller / Windsor Park / Cherrywood / University Hills). She is a savvy agent that is aware of what questions to ask and what to push for in a deal.”
Questions Julie gets asked
Who is Julie Hutchison, the Realtor in Austin?
Julie Hutchison is a Realtor in Austin, Texas who leads Hutchison Property Group, brokered by eXp Realty. She has been licensed since 2021, has closed 118 transactions totaling $45.2 million, and specializes in short-term rental investment, relocation, and complicated sales including liens, short sales, pre-foreclosure, probate, and divorce. Before real estate she spent 18 years at Northrop Grumman in IT and management, including four years leading a data science organization, then invested full time before getting licensed. She owns and self-manages short-term rentals in East Austin.
Can I sell a house that has a lien, mold, or repairs I can’t afford?
Yes, and these are the transactions Julie takes most often. A lien does not stop a sale, it gets paid off at closing, and the seller’s job is to understand what will be owed rather than to clear it first. Repairs work the same way: either the work happens before listing with the cost deducted at closing, or the house is marketed to the specific buyers equipped to handle it.
Julie has closed a house carrying a $60,000 solar lien from a company that had gone out of business, in a week, with multiple offers, in a slow market. She has closed a house with extensive mold after the seller ran out of money to remediate, by finding an investor buyer who knew mold remediation. The pattern is the same both times: name the problem early, price it honestly, and match the house to the buyer who can actually solve it.
Can you help if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?
Yes, and the earlier the better. Most people in this position have more options than they think, and waiting is what removes them one at a time. If the house is worth more than the balance owed, an ordinary sale before the foreclosure date usually nets more than an auction does. If it is worth less, a short sale asks the lender to accept the sale proceeds and release the lien. Julie has taken a short sale through to closing, so she can tell you what the process actually asks of you rather than describing it from a course.
The first step in either case is a real number on the house and a real look at the calendar. Julie will tell you honestly if selling is not the right answer for your situation. She is a Realtor, not an attorney, and Texas foreclosure timelines move quickly, so talk to a lawyer as well.
Should I think about my home as an investment?
Both, and in that order. A house you do not want to live in is a bad investment no matter what the spreadsheet says, because you will sell it early and eat the transaction costs. But a home is also the largest asset most people will ever own, and the difference between choosing well and choosing poorly compounds for decades. The right approach is to find somewhere you genuinely want to be, then make sure the financial side of that choice is deliberate rather than accidental.
What should I know before buying a house in Austin from out of state?
Austin is not one market. It is a metro spread across several counties and a dozen school districts, and neighborhoods fifteen minutes apart can differ enormously in price, feel, commute, and tax rate. Most out-of-state buyers waste their first trip touring in the wrong order. Two things surprise people: Texas has no state income tax, so property tax rates are high by comparison and the tax line can change your monthly payment more than the interest rate does; and rates vary by taxing jurisdiction, so two similar houses in different districts carry very different costs.
Which Austin areas do people relocating for tech jobs usually consider?
The suburbs that come up most often are Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, and Pflugerville to the north, Kyle and Buda to the south, Georgetown further north for more space, and Lakeway on the west side for hill country and lake access. Buyers who want to stay inside the city usually land on Mueller or East Austin instead. Which one fits depends less on the house than on where you need to be during the week.
Do I need my own agent to buy new construction in Austin?
The sales representative in the model home works for the builder, not for you. You can bring your own agent, but many builder contracts require that your agent be registered on or before your first visit to the community. Register on visit one and the question never comes up. The price on the sheet is usually not the negotiable part; incentives, upgrades, rate buydowns, lot premiums, and closing cost credits are.
How do real estate commissions work for buyers in Texas now?
Since the industry rule changes that took effect in August 2024, a buyer signs a written representation agreement with their agent before touring homes, and that agreement states how the agent is paid. Compensation is negotiable and is no longer advertised through the MLS. Sellers often still offer to cover some or all of it, but it is now a term negotiated in the offer rather than something assumed.
How do I find an investor-friendly Realtor in Austin?
Ask three questions. Do you own investment property yourself. Can you underwrite a deal in front of me right now. And what was the last deal you talked a client out of. An agent who invests personally answers all three quickly. An agent who only lists houses changes the subject to the neighborhood.
What does Hutchison Property Group do?
Hutchison Property Group is the practice of Julie Hutchison, a Realtor in Austin, Texas, brokered by eXp Realty. It is deliberately a one-agent practice: Julie represents every client herself, across the Austin metro, with a focus on short-term rental investment, relocation, and sales that come with complications such as liens, short sales, pre-foreclosure, probate, divorce, or deferred maintenance.
Austin · Round Rock · Cedar Park · Leander · Pflugerville · Georgetown · Kyle · Buda · Dripping Springs · Lakeway