tanith27

Different banks may have different rules. Yes the bank will order an appraisal prior to funding, but my experiences early on in life (before I was able to put down 20%) was that they would not reassess the value of a home based on an appraisal, and hence your obligation to pay PMI, for at least 2 years after the sale.

So let me get this right. You're suggesting that real life market conditions of items take a back seat to the theoretical values set forth by some political or industry group? Wow. Tell you what. I'll buy a bunch of MSFT shares right now for $20 and sell them to you for $25. Why? Because Jim Cramer said they're worth more than $20 and he's a trustworthy person. HCAD is all about tax revenue. So you bet I'll challenge anything they say regardless of whether I'm buying or selling. My decision to buy my new home had nothing to do with what HCAD said about it other than I needed their number as an estimate of how much I need to escrow each month.

I just bought a new home for less than HCAD says its worth. Did I get a deal? Maybe. Or since HCAD has never seen my home, nor been inside it, perhaps you feel their opinions on property values are obtained by Divine Right and are therefore non-negotiable? So to that end, is it safe to assume you never challenge your property taxes each year, knowing of course that HCAD is the be-all gospel for the housing market? Hmmm. One things for sure from my side, I'm not paying taxes on this property based on what HCAD thinks its worth. They'll update their records based on my sale. BTW, I dont own a Cavalier. I own a red sports car. And its only worth what the market is willing to pay for it.

A home is only worth what someone is willing to pay. In this case, you're paying 200K so thats what its worth according to the bank. I highly recommend putting down at least 20% to avoid PMI. If you feel you can't at this point, you could get a reappraisal done after the fact and hope the appraiser thinks its worth as much as you do. However, in my previous experience the mortgage company wont accept any appraisers estimate for at least 2 years, so you'd be stuck with PMI for at least that period.

Yes, I have recently been informed that those who live within a 5 minute bike ride of Onion Creek are of a much higher calibre than those that say, live 6 minutes away.

Just got this from the guys over at Pub Fiction: Our new Washington concept will be called

While I agree with your statement 100%, I do want to add that before moving to Houston I used to live in Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans. And yes, I had to deal with the drunks at 2am who thought it was cool to smash bottles on the street. And as far as drunks go, Washington Ave will never compare to the Quarter. However, set aside the annoying habits of the non-residents, it was still a fantastic place to live and the positives far outweighed the negatives. So, I guess all I'm saying is if Washington Ave becomes a popular place for the right reasons (define 'right' in your own terms) then the residents will tolerate a small negative in exchange for an overwhelming positive.

I love it. The bridge is necessary for those of us north of the bayou, and the arch centers the downtown skyscrapers right in the middle of the view. I think it makes for a very photographic sight. Two thumbs up from me.

Whoa there, where did this come from??

They were on the Woodland Heights spring home tour two years ago. The Christmas home tour going on this weekend is Heights proper.

The home is gorgeous. I've been in there a couple of times. One of the few houses in Houston that actually have a basement. I'll have to check with my Karen Derr contacts and see what the scoop is. I hope his passion for redeveloping homes will move him into another 'rescue of an old home in the Heights' venture.

I went to Bedford this past weekend. Very nice. Entrees about $30 each, but you can get 3 and 4 course meals where you can make your own from the list of appy's/entrees/desserts on the menu. Quality is A+, quantity is minimal. Dont expect to walk away from there with a full stomach....heck, you might even walk away hungry. My $30 entree was spectacular, but it arrived in a bowl about the same size as I use for ice cream or cereal. Dessert was good. I had homemade banana pudding. But artistry aside, it was one vanilla wafer with a spoonful of pudding on top. That was $8. Pretty absurd in my opinion. The decor was nice. 1.8 million kts of emeralds under glass is what awaits you at the Chefs Table ($150pp). Its a special occasion place to be sure, and we'll be back in due time, but I'll save my money and get my homemade banana pudding at Beavers.

Wal-mart breaks wind. hmmm. Sounds catchy to me.

Definitely heard it loud and clear here in the Heights....

Presumably you didn't shoot your eye out?

We do Wolfes on Studewood as well...no complaints.

There seems to be a rash of burglaries over the past week or so in this general area. The WH bulletin board has commented on a couple as well. They all seem to be in that general area...I've always suspected much of the crime in our area comes from the other side of 45, but can't back that up with anything but a hunch. Either they're coming across 45, doing a hit and grab, then running back across, or maybe just the proximity to 45 can get them on the Interstate in a couple of minutes and be long gone by the time any police cruiser shows up.

I enjoyed the concert. Not my all time fave (chalk that up to U2), but it was entertaining. I got a kick that she poked fun at some of the overweight girls in the front. Told them they need to work off that arm flab. Funny.

DITCOD0KSF (dual income, three cats, one dog, 0 kids so far)

To me it doesn't make sense they would just cross Memorial and stop there. Given that its 2-3 years (bets, anyone?) away, I would imagine community input could drive this as a full crossing.

Not sure about that....I know plenty of young families in the neighborhood that have kids that go at least to elementary school. As far as I can tell the elementary schools are really good and the middle schools are getting right up there as well. Not sure about High Schools though. Although I can't see the future of the area, it certainly doesn't seem to be headed in the direction of West U to me. My wife used to live over there and even though you had some nice homes in the area, it all seemed rather sterile to me. Very Stepford Wife-ish. Even though some large homes are being built around here, everybody seems to embrace the openness and casualness of the Heights. In one day, I'll run into more neighbors while walking the dog than I would in 6 months over there. I'm about a 5 min bike ride from Onion Creek and I'll see more fellow cyclists in those 5 minutes than I would in a full day in West U. Besides, West U has no Lights in the Heights.

Got this from the city: Thank you for contacting the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and for your interest in improved access to the Buffalo Bayou Linear Park area. Yes a pedestrian bridge crossing Memorial Drive that would allow access to the linear park along Buffalo Bayou. The project is one that the Memorial Heights TIRZ (Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone) is working on and involves the bridge from the old railroad crossing just east of the Montrose/Studemont Bridge. There is a 2

I think a bridge was discussed along the old train tracks that are between the new tower on Studemont/Memorial and the neighboring AMLI apartments (ex The Quarters). That would make some sense as it would tie in a bike path to the one currently being built in the Heights and provide a great north/south route to access Buffalo Bayou. However, I noticed the new tower has taken up much of that ex-railroad real estate with construction so I'm not sure if they bought that right-of-way or are just using it as storage.

Long overdue in my opinion. Textbooks should use Circuit City as a case study on how to succeed: take the existing Circuit City model, and do the complete opposite of what they did. Seriously, I dont think they've done anything right. Every time I've gone into a store (fewer and fewer times) I walk away each time convinced they are driving themselves into the ground on purpose. Its so obvious what is wrong with this place, and I dont even have a business degree.

Just walked thru the complex. There is a lot of nothing there. Stepped into House of Blues for a bit, looked really nice. But they dont do happy hours which really surprises me, so me and my group of beer hounds will seek solace elsewhere. I will revisit the place come spring when more things open, but I hope it does really well.