4thGenHoustonian

I just got my renewal and it was up 35% from two years ago, this is with Farm Bureau. Both the rates and the value they calculated for a rebuild were up and our agent said every single policy was going up like that, we are in Katy with no claims. So, we are switching to Amica as well. Our quote was similar to what we were paying with Farm Bureau two years ago.

We ordered ours from www.kidscreations.com. Check out their website--it allows you to custom design your swingset. I did a TON of research and probably saved $1500 over Rainbow by ordering through them, even when adding in shipping. It is redwood, very similar to the Rainbow. However, we did put it together ourselves. I have the email of a guy who will put them together for you, but we decided to try it ourselves first and it was fine. Things like the rock walls and the railings come pre-assembled, it's not like the costco kind where everything is in tiny pieces. I didn't know that Kid Structures wasn't Rainbow anymore, very interesting. When we were looking, they had a section behind the warehouse where they had discount sets but you couldn't change anything on them. But since we were spending that much money, I wanted to get exactly what we wanted.

Awesome!

And here's another: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_dog_being_hit.php Craig Malislow is doing a good job keeping up with all of this.

If you would just like to look and see what is available, the har.com website has a leasing section. http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearchClass7.cfm Just type in "Cinco Ranch" in the neighborhood spot and any other parameters. We leased a house in Cinco while we were waiting on our house to be built.

When is this madness going to stop? I hope their expensive consultant takes this as a big giant clue about the problems at BARC.

I'll do it too.

What can you do if you don't live in the city limits of Houston? I live in Katy, but this whole mess just sickens me. I thought there would have to be change after the puppies got washed down the drain and those other dogs died in the heat while the ACO had a leisurely lunch. And now the kennel workers are starving the dogs that they are paid to look after. I just don't understand what it's going to take to change things. Do other large cities have these kind of issues? What do they do differently that Houston just can't seem to do? Also, do you know if their pictures are up to date on petharbor? There is a walker hound on there who has an intake date of April. Do they keep dogs that long?

There is another search engine that shows you days on market. It was on swamplot not too long ago. Looks like this house has been listed for 194 days. Here's the search engine: http://idx.diversesolutions.com/search/1938/63

Second for Dr. Cruz. Very nice, very thorough. She and her staff take quite a bit of time with us and are very compassionate people. I wouldn't say the prices are astronomical but they are not inexpensive; I don't think many vets are "inexpensive" any more.

I don't know about closing costs; it probably depends on the builder. In my limited dealings with it, the builder has either taken 3% off the purchase price (which is nice) or else given the lawyer representing himself a check after closing. In the latter case, you would just have to have the closing money, then reimburse yourself, minus the taxes of course. It sounds like urbanliving.com sees you as a person without a realtor and wants to keep the entire commission for themselves. Good luck!

This addresses when an attorney is a principal in the transaction: http://www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/articles/other/TAR_001.pdf I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. We have several friends and coworkers who are attorneys and it has never been an issue. The agent that represented our builder was familiar with it. You would think that builders would want to sell a home these days. They are going to pay a commission no matter what so what's their problem with who they pay it to?

I can't help you with the urbanliving or Titan homes, but in Texas a lawyer can represent himself as a real estate agent for his personal transactions and is entitled to the agent fee. My husband is an attorney and we purchased a new home; my husband filled in his name as the agent on the contract and the builder knocked 3% off of our purchase price. Alternatively, a builder may send you a check after closing; this has happened with lawyer friends. In that case, it counts as income and you have to pay taxes on it.

GrandLakes, I completely agree with you. I think the OP was asking if the cyclists were crazy for riding on an unsafe roadway and was wondering why they chose to ride on this particular road. I knew it would bring out the outraged cyclists justifying their right to ride wherever they please. And yes, they have the right to make unsafe decisions, the same as anyone else. I live in the area and have seen so many near misses because of a line of cars backed up behind cyclists going 15 mph. They may have the right to be there, but there is bound to be some jackass who is "in a hurry" that going to pass them no matter what. I too think there has to be safer places to choose to ride. And these are not cyclists who are going from home to work, these are weekend riders who choose to ride this route.

Exactly. They put in a stop sign in front of our neighborhood this past summer. I don't think I've seen a bicyclist stop for it yet. I'll be turning left (at the stop sign) into the neighborhood and a group of cyclists will blow through the intersection from the opposite way, putting their hands up to indicate they aren't stopping and that I shouldn't turn in front of them. It's crazy and it happens all the time. I understand that this may have been a route some have ridden for years. I accept that we have to "share the road" and I give them a wide berth, unlike a lot of other drivers. But I have to question your sanity when your preferred route has no shoulders, big ditches, fast cars and a blind curve. Please find somewhere safer. FM 1463, which is just one exit down, has shoulders on both sides.