According to this article, Americans have been spending more than they've made since March of last year. Where did all this borrowed money come from? A lot has come from our newly minted credit cards, also known as our homes.

Equity loans are so easy to get, and readily accessible thanks to the record breaking real estate appreciation we have experienced in the past few years. These loans make sense when used to pay off higher interest rate credit cards, or to cover some medical emergency. But using it to effectively give yourself a boost in salary so you can buy the latest gadget or toy is a risky move that can end up hurting you when rates go up.

Here are some sites I found really useful during my search for property in Austin:

http://www.texasdavid.com
- Tons of free resources on this site, MLS listings, Cash flow calculator

http://recenter.tamu.edu
- Lots of information on Texas real estate, quarterly "Tierra Grande" magazine is very useful

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/realestate/index.html
- Listings, trends, and the Neighborhood Profile section is very helpful for investors who are not from Austin