Garden Villas Neighborhood Real Estate & Developments

[jm1fd]

Anybody know if the Garden Villas Civic Club has a web site?

[rps324]

I don't think they do, there is one Realtor that lives in there I think and is the strongest one in there. Helen Guillory. Which is also the name of her company. She could probably answer about any question you had on the area.

[LTAWACS]

What part of town is this?

[gnu]

Here is a link to the Garden Villas website: Garden Villas Community Association

It is not updated often but it does have a copy of the deed restrictions and other info you might find useful.

[jm1fd]

Here is a link to the Garden Villas website: Garden Villas Community Association

It is not updated often but it does have a copy of the deed restrictions and other info you might find useful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Awww sweeeet! Thanks!

[Scharpe St Guy]

Hello All,

My wife and I have found ourselves driving and looking at homes in Garden Villa's pretty much each weekend for the past few months. We currently have a home in Broadmoor located in the East End roughly between the Cullen and Tellepsen exits off of I-45 on the East Side.

As newlyweds we are finding our home a little stretched for the two of us and then her dog would love to have a friend as well but not with our existing lot. I grew up in the country and love the 1/2acre and larger lots within Garden Villa's.

The only negative that I can see is the flight path of the planes over certain sections of the neighborhood. Does anyone else have any advice on this area or care to share the History of it?

I am a licensed realtor so I have done extensive looking through the MLS both present and past transactions to mine that information that I can find.

Thank you everyone,

FSJ

[Casual Observer]

I've noticed that the nicer homes are found on the north-east side of Garden Villas. Its a unique subdivision to say the least.

[musicman]

Hello All,

My wife and I have found ourselves driving and looking at homes in Garden Villa's pretty much each weekend for the past few months. We currently have a home in Broadmoor located in the East End roughly between the Cullen and Tellepsen exits off of I-45 on the East Side.

As newlyweds we are finding our home a little stretched for the two of us and then her dog would love to have a friend as well but not with our existing lot. I grew up in the country and love the 1/2acre and larger lots within Garden Villa's.

The only negative that I can see is the flight path of the planes over certain sections of the neighborhood. Does anyone else have any advice on this area or care to share the History of it?

I am a licensed realtor so I have done extensive looking through the MLS both present and past transactions to mine that information that I can find.

Thank you everyone,

FSJ

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Garden Villas has been around for years. The neighborhood is going through a resurgence as many of the children of previous residents are moving back to the hood. For those that don't know, the streets are all lined with pecan trees which makes for a great casual bike ride. I've seen a few homes that have been completely remodelled and look great!

The planes do fly directly over the neighborhood as this is a flight path to Hobby Airport. Over time, one learns to ignore the sounds. i know they don't bother me but i grew up south of Hobby and had to deal with the noise there. it is like dealing with the trains on the east side. speaking of trains, the west boundary is the mykawa train route.

HISD schools for jr hi and sr hi are horrible. Many sent/send their children to Mt carmel which is across sims bayou from garden villas. ifyou have kids...definitely consider private or magnet schools.

as a child, i remember the witch's house on haywood. i don't remember the story, but i know rumor had it weird things would happen.

[gnu]

The only negative that I can see is the flight path of the planes over certain sections of the neighborhood. Does anyone else have any advice on this area or care to share the History of it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Another positive for Garden Villas is that the deed restrictions are still in place. This keeps "blatant" home businesses from popping up and keeps someone from building an apartment building on a lot next door to you. However, It can't keep someone from ignoring home maintenance, and there are a lot of houses there that need a lot of TLC.

I don't think the planes really would bother you except when they take-off over the neighborhood. I think that's usually only 2 or 3 days a month. And it's probably better than living next to a train track, since the airlines have few 3am flights

[rps324]

I was showing some homes in the middle of the neighborhood and the flight pattern was a definite issue for this particular buyer. the patterns that seem to bypass neighboring Glenbrook seem to run right over Garden Villas. That would be my biggest complaint. even though there are some run down houses, the place doesn't feel scary or intimidating or particularly rough to me. It just looks like a lot of small towns with a mish-mash of houses.

The one for $187500 on Sante Fe near Telephone is really nice. I previewed it and it is very tempting. The house has a ton of character, it needs some love, but is definitely livable condition. I think it may be over enough to be out of the flight patterns that plague the areas a little more to the SW of this particular house. It gets near some of the commercial, but it has a ton of land around it and talk about feeling like you are back in the country...

[jm1fd]

I don't think the planes really would bother you except when they take-off over the neighborhood.  I think that's usually only 2 or 3 days a month.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I fell in LOVE with a house on Sims drive...we're talking "the one" and that's quite a statement considering how picky I am....looked at it 3 times, and every time I was looking, at least 5 flights roared overhead (one day, about 10 went over while we were there). I was ready to buy it, but my realtor said no way...too much plane noise....and they were pretty loud since they were either taking off or landing, and they couldn't have been more than 500 feet overhead.

[gnu]

I fell in LOVE with a house on Sims drive...we're talking "the one" and that's quite a statement considering how picky I am....looked at it 3 times, and every time I was looking, at least 5 flights roared overhead (one day, about 10 went over while we were there).  I was ready to buy it, but my realtor said no way...too much plane noise....and they were pretty loud since they were either taking off or landing, and they couldn't have been more than 500 feet overhead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can sure understand your concerns.

I don't deny that the planes are loud but you really can get used to it.

I think you must've been there during Hobby's rush hour because they typically don't come in that often. There is a small rush around noon and one about 6. If you aren't home during the daytime then it really becomes a non-issue.

Now the few days of the month that they TAKE OFF are another story. When the planes are at full acceleration they are LOUD! VERY LOUD! You cannot get used to that decibel level.

I can see the planes being an issue for buyers but certainly not really different than buying a house by train tracks, or other noise pollution source...that was all I was trying to say. You hear people say they get used to the trains...etc.

rps324, I have seen that house on Santa Fe and it is really neat. A lot of original character and probably one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood. The landscaping is great and being on the old Sims oxbow seems like it would be a cool asset. The main problem with that house is that it's on the edge of the Garden Villas canopy (like you said - near commercial)...sort of exposed to Telephone Road. I could see buyers being a little wary if they were not used to the area. But I could see with the right owner, that could be a show place! It sure does seem to be priced very competitively, I wonder if there might be some other issue as to why it hasn't sold.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

I had a friend who lived in Garden Villas (Alpine St?) who woke up in ankle-deep water in 1994. So, just a word of warning that Sims Bayou makes up one side of Garden Villas, and it has a history of flooding.

That being said, improvements have been made to Sims Bayou in the last decade that will soon result in the removal of the 100-yr floodplain designation from most of Garden Villas.

[gnu]

I had a friend who lived in Garden Villas (Alpine St?) who woke up in ankle-deep water in 1994.  So, just a word of warning that Sims Bayou makes up one side of Garden Villas, and it has a history of flooding.

That being said, improvements have been made to Sims Bayou in the last decade that will soon result in the removal of the 100-yr floodplain designation from most of Garden Villas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looks like I have been made default GV defender

I don't think there has been any more flooding in Garden Villas since the channelization of Sims.

Also, the City of Houston is currently doing a major storm sewer upgrade within Garden Villas itself.

http://www.houstontx.gov/construction/gardenvillas.html

www.swmp.org/downloads/GARDENVILLAS_C_11x17.pdf

[VicMan]

"HISD schools for jr hi and sr hi are horrible. Many sent/send their children to Mt carmel which is across sims bayou from garden villas. ifyou have kids...definitely consider private or magnet schools."

That's not always correct. There are some middle and high schools in HISD that are considered to be good. The "good stigma" schools are not located in the southeast/airport area.

(this is not an exhaustive list)

Middle school: Parents in richer neighborhoods prefer Lanier (in Montrose), Pershing (in Braeswood), Johnston (in Meyerland), and TH Rogers (in Briargrove). Of these schools, Lanier, Pershing, and Johnston are zoned schools.

High school: Lamar (in Upper Kirby/River Oaks), Bellaire (in City of Bellaire), HSPVA (in Montrose), DeBakey (in Medical center), Carnegie (in Sunnyside) and I think B.T. Washington's Engineering program (Independence Heights). Of these schools, Lamar, BT Washington, and Bellaire are zoned schools.

For instance, I know someone who lives in the Hobby area whose sister goes to Pershing Middle (and went to River Oaks Elementary last year).

[jm1fd]

Also, the City of Houston is currently doing a major storm sewer upgrade within Garden Villas itself.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hope they don't kill the pecan trees with all the digging they're doing for that upgrade. Pecan trees tend to die easily if their roots are disturbed too much.

[rps324]

I fell in LOVE with a house on Sims drive...we're talking "the one" and that's quite a statement considering how picky I am....looked at it 3 times, and every time I was looking, at least 5 flights roared overhead (one day, about 10 went over while we were there).  I was ready to buy it, but my realtor said no way...too much plane noise....and they were pretty loud since they were either taking off or landing, and they couldn't have been more than 500 feet overhead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Didn't you say at one time Garden Villas was too far out or did I hallucinate that?

[jm1fd]

Didn't you say at one time Garden Villas was too far out or did I hallucinate that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes....but then I discovered the Mykawa International Speedway which significantly shortened the drive time....plus the house was SO worth the extra distance.

[stolitx]

"HISD schools for jr hi and sr hi are horrible. Many sent/send their children to Mt carmel which is across sims bayou from garden villas. ifyou have kids...definitely consider private or magnet schools."

That's not always correct. There are some middle and high schools in HISD that are considered to be good. The "good stigma" schools are not located in the southeast/airport area.

(this is not an exhaustive list)

Middle school: Parents in richer neighborhoods prefer Lanier (in Montrose), Pershing (in Braeswood), Johnston (in Meyerland), and TH Rogers (in Briargrove). Of these schools, Lanier, Pershing, and Johnston are zoned schools.

High school: Lamar (in Upper Kirby/River Oaks), Bellaire (in City of Bellaire), HSPVA (in Montrose), DeBakey (in Medical center), Carnegie (in Sunnyside) and I think B.T. Washington's Engineering program (Independence Heights). Of these schools, Lamar, BT Washington, and Bellaire are zoned schools.

For instance, I know someone who lives in the Hobby area whose sister goes to Pershing            Middle (and went to River Oaks Elementary last year).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The previous owners of my house in Glenbrook Valley sent both of their girls to DeBakey for High School. I don't know where they went for Jr High.

I know Glenbrook Valley was just taken out of the flood plain even though Sims Bayou is just about across the street from me. So Garden Villas may be out too.

[Scharpe St Guy]

Hey everyone thank's for the comments on Garden Villa's.

That one house at 7545 Santa Fe Drive I found to be very dated inside and only contains 1 full bath and a 1/2 bath. Although the biggest negative is the proximity to Telephone and Whataburger. If I were the listing agent I would have advised the seller to erect a nice iron fence in the front and then plant shrubs and vines to block that view. The grounds however are very nice and rare for Houston.

I found two area's in Spring Branch that offer large lots like Garden Villa's. The first is a neighborhood called Outpost these homes are starting at $250k so tack on another 75-100k for lack of Airplane noise. The second is a horse shoe shaped street called Rollingwood. These home are 2-5ac I believe and this is truly in Spring Branch. Very very unique although more expensive then Outpost.

RPS: let me ask you a question. How would you handle a verbal offer from another agent who would be the buyer? I emailed Sherry Moore my feedback on a listing which I thought needed a little work and I took that into account in my verbal/email offer. I asked that she just get a verbal Yes/No from her Sellers and if it were Yes I would have typed up the contract and email/faxed over.

She replied that she won't present a verbal offer. I would think that being an agent myself that she would afford a little professional courtesy to a fellow agent and attempt to get one of her listings sold. This was not the case. This was three weeks ago and I have not heard from her, so no follow up's or anything to try to make the sale.

Your opinion would be valued as I may be way off base but I don't think so.

Ok thanks one and all.

Scharpe St. Guy

[rps324]

Hey everyone thank's for the comments on Garden Villa's.

That one house at 7545 Santa Fe Drive I found to be very dated inside and only contains 1 full bath and a 1/2 bath. Although the biggest negative is the proximity to Telephone and Whataburger. If I were the listing agent I would have advised the seller to erect a nice iron fence in the front and then plant shrubs and vines to block that view. The grounds however are very nice and rare for Houston.

I found two area's in Spring Branch that offer large lots like Garden Villa's. The first is a neighborhood called Outpost these homes are starting at $250k so tack on another 75-100k for lack of Airplane noise. The second is a horse shoe shaped street called Rollingwood. These home are 2-5ac I believe and this is truly in Spring Branch. Very very unique although more expensive then Outpost.

RPS: let me ask you a question. How would you handle a verbal offer from another agent who would be the buyer? I emailed Sherry Moore my feedback on a listing which I thought needed a little work and I took that into account in my verbal/email offer. I asked that she just get a verbal Yes/No from her Sellers and if it were Yes I would have typed up the contract and email/faxed over.

She replied that she won't present a verbal offer. I would think that being an agent myself that she would afford a little professional courtesy to a fellow agent and attempt to get one of her listings sold. This was not the case. This was three weeks ago and I have not heard from her, so no follow up's or anything to try to make the sale.

Your opinion would be valued as I may be way off base but I don't think so.

Ok thanks one and all.

Scharpe St. Guy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would require that it be reduced to writing with a pre-qual letter myself. I had that with a listing myself and I took the position that if someone wasn't going to go to the trouble of writing it up, then how serious could they be? Honestly I wouldn't mess with anything that wasn't written down either. Go ahead and kill the tree and write it up. I think too that sometimes sellers will refuse to take $X, especially if it is just a number thrown out there, it is easier to dismiss. But when it is written down on a tangible offer in front of them, they really have to think a little harder. It doesn't really make sense, but I have found it to be the case sometimes.

That is a great house despite it's shortcomings. There are few around with that kind of presence for that price.

[gnu]

I will just add that there is more to an offer than the price and you really need to see all 8 pages (or however many it is) to know all the details.

[Scharpe St Guy]

RPS and GNU,

Thank you for your comments and insight. I now see the flip side and agree with both of you and as much I will abstain from verbal offers in favor of the written kind from now on.

Still keeping my eyes on Garden Villa's and now Spring Branch for the next casa.

Thanks,

Scharpe St. Guy

[RedScare]

I would require that it be reduced to writing with a pre-qual letter myself.    I had that with a listing myself and I took the position that if someone wasn't going to go to the trouble of writing it up, then how serious could they be?  Honestly I wouldn't mess with anything that wasn't written down either.  Go ahead and kill the tree and write it up.    I think too that sometimes sellers will refuse to take $X, especially if it is just a number thrown out there, it is easier to dismiss.  But when it is written down on a tangible offer in front of them, they really have to think a little harder.  It doesn't really make sense, but I have found it to be the case sometimes. 

That is a great house despite it's shortcomings.  There are few around with that kind of presence for that price.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Verbal offers cannot be enforced. Far too many people will try to tie up a property with a verbal offer that cannot be enforced, so it is better to steer clear of them. A written contract with an earnest money check is the only way to ensure that a bidder is serious.

[Parrothead]

I am hoping to take a driving tour of Garden Villas in the next week or so, it sounds very interesting! Too bad it is in such a crummy part of town. The houses look beautiful and all on nice big lots! HAR has one that I am in love with. Anyone know anything about it? I heard it was built in the '20s and that pecan trees line all of the streets. What's the story on this old subdivision? It sounds like a real gem!

[sevfiv]

http://www.gardenvillas.org/

outdated, but still some information

[gnu]

Link to an older thread on the neighborhood

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=2966

[rps324]

There is certainly nothing glamorous about Telephone Road, however, somewhere on click2Houston site there is a map of the highest and lowest crime areas in Houston. The areas around Garden Villas and to the south have some of the lowest in the city.

The neighborhood varies a lot, but the streets right along the bayou, especially Haywood, is really nice. I looked at the house on Santa Fe which is probably the one you are talking about. It's vacant now, despite the two Rolls-Royces in the carport. I highly recommend walking the grounds on that one, it is like a mini Bayou Bend, but kind of close to the commercial along Telephone. They lowered it to $175k, I don't know how practical it is, but it's off the charts on the "character" category.

[jm1fd]

The neighborhood varies a lot, but the streets right along the bayou, especially Haywood, is really nice. I looked at the house on Santa Fe which is probably the one you are talking about. It's vacant now, despite the two Rolls-Royces in the carport. I highly recommend walking the grounds on that one, it is like a mini Bayou Bend, but kind of close to the commercial along Telephone. They lowered it to $175k, I don't know how practical it is, but it's off the charts on the "character" category.

That house is way way too close to Telephone.

Haywood, Sims, Santa Fe away from Telephone and N Haywood are all quite nice. The other streets typically have trashy houses sprinkled here and there.

[Guest danax]

I am hoping to take a driving tour of Garden Villas in the next week or so, it sounds very interesting! Too bad it is in such a crummy part of town. The houses look beautiful and all on nice big lots! HAR has one that I am in love with. Anyone know anything about it? I heard it was built in the '20s and that pecan trees line all of the streets. What's the story on this old subdivision? It sounds like a real gem!

Other than the planes overhead, the current spotiness in the neighborhood and surroundings and possibly flooding occasionally (not sure on that), Garden Villas is a unique garden spot that has great potential, a good long term investment, maybe even short term. They're not making places like that in Houston anymore.

Are you ready to fix up an old house? It can be satifying if you're up to it. I would also be concerned about lead paint dust around the little one though. There are ways to strip old paint safely but you must not cut corners.