SilverJK

So does anyone have any information on this?  It showed up on my tax bill...  and at nearly 3k bucks... I'd like to know just what the heck this is as it increased my property tax amount by 40%.

Regardless of if you feel the pinch of private school... you still care about the public schools where you are moving too. 

even if you send your kids to private school, you would prefer the neighboring children to be going to a good public school, as some of those will likely be your children's playmates.

Awesome.  I love guitar center.   I wonder if this will put a hurt on Fullers?  I've been needing a new guitar for a minute... maybe i'll actually buy one with the store being that close.

Even people who didn't know the city would say it looks appealing...  S3mh being s3mh.

Except for the one area that has the most significant architecturally interesting Historic homes... River Oaks.   But for some reason they were bypassed?   Oh yeah, don't bite the hand that feeds you.

You kinda of explain my problem with you in your own post... you want to micro control your immediate neighbhors whetehr they are okay with it or not. 

For the billionth time... it isn't about preservation, it is about the Ordinance.  Non democratically assigned overbearing control mongering doesn't bode well even for those that are for preservation. 

There is very little if any premium for houses on White Oak with city views.  Those city views come with a front seat to I-10 road noise and nightly softball games at Stude park.  It is a wash if anything.  The condos aren't a ghetto, but they are pretty ugly and will probably just crumble given the low ass'n fees.  And the multifamily next door is another big risk given recent developments in the neighborhood. 

 

I think the Ridge house will get a smidge more just because the architecture is a bit more mainstream modern.  But, the crappiness of the location is going to make it very close.  Houston's skyline is pretty bland and not worth it when you also have to look out onto a parking lot and junky condos.

If by crappiness of the location you mean great location with a few drawbacks... ok.

White Oak on the east side of Watson most definitely has a premium (the west side does as well... but the east side's is much more obvious).  A majority of the White Oak houses don't even have front access to enhance the view and setting.  You are just pulling things from out of nowhere now.  Most people do not share your view on Houston's skyline either (not to mention what it will look like after 2014).  Just because you think the harvard street location is better... you don't have to make things up to justify your opinion.  For someone who cares so much about controlling what can be built within site of their home, you don't seem hold any value to one of the best views in town?  Yes you can look DOWN and see condos, but that doesn't change how awesome the views are.

Red... your being an extremist.  

S3mh will soon tell you that (as a matter of fact / everyone knows / the majority / the neighborhood / we) all agree that he is right, and you are in the minority opinion... facts be damned.

Nobody said that if the condos weren't next door it wouldn't be worth more...  If all things were the same and the condos weren't there it would be even MORE desirable of a location.  (kinda like that awesome house over by the former king biscuit on White Oak that has the awesome city views... I'm sure it would go for a crazy premium).

The ridge home location is more desirable, despite being next to multifamily (ridge apartments).   It isn't like those white oak condos are crack houses or anything either... they might be the cheapest way to live in the heights, but they still run ~150k for the 2BR with joining bath.  Not like the view of a 8packs of 3 stories would be better...

The view offsets the neighbors.

S3mh calling someone an extremist is like the Pope saying someone is too catholic.

I am responding to TGM.  Blame him for having crazed libertarian views.  But, it is interesting to apply commonly held arguments against historic district to the right of access easement.  For example, a popular one is "if you want to save a house, buy it with your own money".  Same argument could go for implied easements.  If you wanted to have access to the road, you should have also bought the property that is in the way.  Why should government be able to force me to allow someone to put a road across my property when they knew there was no access when they bought the property? 

Everyone knew about those laws/regulations long before they bought the property...  can't say the same for people living in the HDs.

They seem to be making quick work of the one on Pecore/Beauchamp too. 

57 thunderbirds are one of the most collectable vehicles on the road. 

Uhm,  you said precisely that.  I didn't claim you said they were the most collectable vehicle ever... I said you claimed they were one of the most collectable vehicles on the road.  I guess I read too much into your post which stated that EXACT thing.

Again you've shown that think you know everything about a subject and only know a small niche of second hand information.

Lots of people swap in the 302/351/390...   these are people who actually drive the cars and enjoy them for what they are.  There are also whole kits designed for IRS conversions of the first gen thunderbirds... thats not very original now is it... yet there is demand enough to necessitate a KIT to convert them. 

A friend of mine owned a Tucker... now that is a collectable car.  (he sold it to a museum)

Maybe you should buy a Model T, so even your car looks historically appropriate for your house.  Then you can tell us all about the color options you would have had when it was new.

Yeah I had a minor panic attack when I read that the other day... but realized he must have meant D'Amicos.  I gotta keep my Carrot Soufle fix...  plus I'm pretty sure a majority of Decapos business is in making cakes, I don't see them really going anywhere for a while.

I'd love to see a neighborhood sushi place.   Something more like Oishii.

Worse that before what?  Were you around in 1912?  Was it better when Phineas Mulligan was able to sell moonshine at the weekly hootenanny in the back of the seed and feed?  Or are you actually saying that the Heights is getting worse because of the dry restriction?  Seems like you would be alone in having that opinion.  Saying that the Heights could be better is certainly an arguable point, but saying it is worse than before is just silly.

 

Also, in a democracy, the majority's opinion is what is important, not yours or mine.  In 1937, the Texas Supreme Court held that the Heights could remain dry even though prohibition had ended.  The court noted that even though the municipality of the City of Houston Heights had been annexed and ceased to exist, a majority vote by the residents of the same area could make the area wet again.  It has been over 75 years since that opinion and the dry restrictions stand.  But you are free to get up at a Heights Ass'n or Superneighborhood meeting and make a proposal.  I am sure that everyone will love the idea of having their own White Oak Blvd in their back yard.

I was more of speaking of your applaud for govermental regulation in general.  No the neighborhood isn't worse, but certain things are worse now because of overreaching government regulation. 

Dry restrictions anywhere on shepard are just stupid. 

I have someone in my family who has restored 57 thunderbirds for over 30 years.  I could care less about those cars, but have heard endless stories about the cars and the 57 thunderbird community for years and years and years.  I am not an expert, but my relative is.  He makes a good living at it and has piles of awards from his work.  57 thunderbirds are one of the most collectable vehicles on the road.  The vast majority of the 57s on the market are restored to as close to original condition as possible.  If you swap out an engine, you would be cutting the value in half (a new stereo or AC is about all you can get away with in terms of aftermarket upgrades).  Some redneck might do that, but the VAST MAJORITY do not.  I wish I didn't know this stuff as I end up getting several hours of talk about 57s from my family at every family event.  But I do and I am right.  You are just making up stuff about 57s.  Just look at the listings for 57s on the internet.  Original engines are a must and details about how the vehicles were rebuilt are hugely important.

All that you say is for collectors.  A original 57 in great condition is worth around 35-45 thousand (which is not very expensive for a collector car), but a ratted out project car would be worth less than 5k.  I would say a vast majority of 57 thunderbirds don't even run.   I know a guy who has like 15 first gen thunderbirds and most of them dont run.  (he does have one with a 427 swap that most definitely runs). 

Your probably thinking the 57 thunderbirds with stock paxton supercharger and etc.  Those are rare and very collectable (these are the ones you see going at auctions for big bucks) but they are rare... the majority of them were just the stock 312 y-block and most people don't car about keeping them original... they just want a cool 50s cruiser.

Again you take your niche knowledge about 5% of an industry and try to pass it off as the majority. 

57 thunderbirds are not even close to what any collector would consider most collectable on the road... not even top 50.  There were a good bunch of them made, making them available if you want one.  I mean a 57 vette would go for at least 5 times as much.  I would never own either.

This is actually one of my favorite houses in the neighborhood.  I also doubt your school zoning not being a concern.  Even if you plan to send your kids to private school, this is something you would look at (unless your stupid I guess) for reasons outside of your own children...

I applaud government regulation for making the neighborhood a better place. 

Better place for you... I don't like what they've done... I think it is worse than before.  Why is your opinion more important than everyone elses  (hint... it isn't).

Funny thing is that the vast majority of people who collect 57 thunderbirds spend huge sums to try to make their cars as close to the original condition as humanly possible and will pay a huge premium to find someone who can restore parts of the vehicle that cannot be replaced with spare parts to as close to the original condition as possible.  There are some people who put hybrid/electric engines in old cars to try to be green, but they are definitely outliers.

Oh now you know all about classic cars too?   You are flat out wrong regarding this.  The vast majority of people who own 57 thunderbirds do not spend huge sums of money to keep them original.  This is a complete fabrication.  Yes there are collectors that pay big money for original 57 thunderbirds... but they are just that... collectors.  They rarely drive the vehicles and collect them as more of an art piece than a viable means of transportation.  They pay a lot because there aren't that many completely original 57 thunderbirds around... because THE VAST MAJORITY has changed them from original...

A majority would just swap in a 302/c4 combo (or similar) and drive it like a hotrod. 

What would I know... I was only a car scene magazine journalist (for fords in particular actually) in my previous life...

I am in the market for a mid fifty's ford custom 2 door post (or 48-56 F1)  project though if you have a line on one.

If I owned a 57 thunderbird... I would modify it with modern technology to make it more powerful, energy efficient, safe, reliable, and comfortable.  I'd be really angry if the Civic owners club put a rule in place that prevented me from doing these things...

How the hell did bamboo get so effing expensive? Is it because of its usage in floors, socks, shirts, and just about everything else or is it more of an Eco-vogue thing like small-craft beer?

I think the true evil conspiracy that the Illuminati, Bilderbergs, etc focus on is how to raise the price on a normally affordable item. I know they must have had a previous focus group on breakfast cereal, beer, cashews, packing tape, flour, bamboo (of course), razor blades, and municipal water rates. My guess is that this years meeting included pickled items, garden soil, and undershirts because they're starting to get stupid expensive. They're all in bed with Big Grocery and the Big Momma and Pappa.

It has been expensive for as long as I can remember (i've only been looking into pricing for the past 8 or so years).  This isn't the cheap runner style bamboo, it is clumping variatals that often have interesting colorations and patterns on their culms.  They are expensive because they are rare, and not as easy to propogate as the running type.  I imagine the bamboo in the middle of the now "greenstreet" development downtown was extremely expensive. 

Japanese Timber bamboo is often used as a building material (hence the name).  a 60' tall 6" diameter stalk could probably be used for a lot of stuff...

Japanese Timber Bamboo grows well over 50'.  There is a house on Waverly (the fort looking one with the huge covered observation deck) that has some great examples of it.  Unfortunately it runs $1,000+  for a young cluster, to create a hedge along a 30' section would require probably 7-8 clusters...

I had planned on building a bamboo hedge within a poured concrete raised planter... but the cost of the bamboo is so high I haven't done it.  (I was going to go with a type of golden goddess which only gets to ~25-30'.  at $400 a cluster)

You could always steal some of those invasive reeds that the anti condo people on white oak are trying to preserve...

We can only use horseflurf of a certain size and color

Can we at least get the giant pile of brush/branches hauled off?  I'm sure with the recent rains a lot has already went in to the bayou  = [