Scharpe St Guy

I guess it is good to live on the East Side of town then!!! I know we have had no problems with anything in our neighborhood in regards to items being stolen, muggings, killings, etc...

Scharpe St Guy residing in Broadmoor adjacent to Eastwood

Channel 13 just had a story that descibed the 3 areas of town that had the most crime. The three were 1)sw houston 2) midtown/montrose and finally 3)N and NE of downtown.

Ahhh it starts to make sense about the son being the listing agent then. Honestly I don't believe the project as a whole is marketed that well at all most likely because the son knows he has the business and the chance of him being fired is remote. Sad when that happens.

Toolman, just make sure you get the 3% discount they do have that already figured into the budget of each unit. They may balk though and say it's only for licensed realtors and since your not they can't reduce the price. If this happens you can either walk away in the hopes that they think twice and drop it the 3% or have an agent represent your side and have the 3% credited towards your closing costs or price reduction and pay the agent $xxx as his/her fee. Make sure you get this on paper though in the Buyers Rep Agreement that the agent is working for you for the following set fee: $xxx not x%.

Good luck and you can always purchase my house if you change your mind!!! Wood floors are done and interior is being primed today. September closing would be fine as well!

Scharpe St Guy

The listing agent is the son of the developer.

True true however they are listed through Keller Williams which would sway me as thinking they may not have that many pre-sales. Keller Williams isn't going to take a chance playing games and having TREC come down on them. Intown homes pulls games like that (pretty sure) however they use an inhouse agent. I was showing a few townhomes near the new Target at Taylor/I10 and when I called to set up an appt they sent a represenative of Intown and when questioned which unit was the one listed at 199k and 209k he acted all taken aback and that there were no units priced that cheaply. He called his boss who he called MOM and by the time I got back to a computer they were GONE.

Construction is also pretty slow from what I can tell and I would have to think if they had even a few pre-sold they would make greater progress then what they have. Some of the old photo's on this topic look identical to what I saw over the weekend.

Scharpe St Guy

They've been listed on the market for 253 days, so I wouldn't think it reasonable that they would have no presales lined up whatsoever...especially with those prices If I had to guess, I'd think that they just aren't doing a very good job maintaining their listings or don't want to show their hand.

I've seen cases where developers will sell homes/lots that are listed and then pull the listing so as to avoid posting the real sales prices. Its probably against MLS rules, but enforcement isn't easy.

Any news on the Herrin Lofts? On MLS it states completion dates of 8/20 and 9/20 and there are 52 units on MLS with no Option/Pending/Pending Sales.

I drove past and around the building this past weekend and it appears to me that there is still quite a bit of work to be done and a completion date for the first units in a month is not realistic.

Toolman are you still considering the Herrin Lofts? I would imagine the developer and the agent would kill for some sales so you may be able to get them to come off the prices quite a bit.

Scharpe St Guy

I agree it should be saved. Now here is an idea on how to do it:

1. Start a company

2. Issue 1.3M Class A shares to interested individuals/investors/HAIF'ers

3. Elect a Board of 7 from Class A participants

4. Undertake appraisal of property and best uses for. (Lease to Pasadena as City Hall, Other corporation, Retail on ground floor, Doctor Offices, Condo's, etc...)

5. Purchase FPSB

6. Acquire Bids to renovate, repair, and start pre-leasing/selling space

7. Finish Renovation and Leasing/Sales and devise exit strategy for initial investors.

8. Possible sale or long term (99year) lease to ??? with clause that exterior of building can not be significantly altered.

Building saved, hopefully a few $$$ made, and a nice warm feeling inside and a life long story to tell your friends, kids, and grandkids.

Scharpe St. Guy

Does anyone have an update on the old Rufus Cage School?

Thanks,

Scharpe St Guy

A loft project might jumpstart that area. The Metrorail is possibly going to be running down Telephone too.

Ok you all let's re-think the downtown theater at the Pavilions. I could see a Theater being a great tenet for movies but more importantly what an awesome large meeting room for company

Check out MLS #7969613.

This is a standard type home for the area. Pull the map on www.har.com to see the proximity to UofH. It's a pretty good price however they would sell for less. Good neighborhood right off of Park St.

Not sure what price range your looking for but if you have a buddy or don't mind renting then with patience you can find this type of home with a Garage Apartment which you could lease out to defray cost if needed/wanted and at the very least it would impress your folks I would imagine.

Good luck and I will post any other intresting homes close to UH that pop up.

Scharpe St. Guy

One thing about Condo's & Townhomes if you purchase is the maintance fees that can get pretty high. It is a great feeling at first to not have to mow the grass but finally you do the math (#of units*$Maintance Fee$ = $$$ where the heck is all that money going!!!) moments especially when the grass has not been cut and maintence at your building has been defered for no clear reason and you would have to attend the bickering / infighting of the association meetings to find out.

Does anyone concur on this or disagree?

Here in House there is plenty of labor with much of it being cheap labor. I pay a fellow $20 a cut to mow my grass every two weeks. He does a great job cutting, collecting the grass and removing, and edging.

How are you going to get to school / survive in Houston with no vehicle? Are you planning on walking or biking? As you must know it get's pretty hot here during the summer months. There are those in my neighborhood who walk, bike and catch the bus either on the street or down at the Eastwood Bus Center for a ride into the University or other parts of Houston.

As far as a realtor is concerned there are quite a few on this Forum including myself. As far as my wife's house that we purchased for $78k we sold it last month after 18months ownership for $105k. So there are deals out there to be found but even at $105k it was a great deal for the new owners and would have suited the majority of your needs nicely I would wager.

Let me know if you want any more info on the area or want help,

Scharpe St. Guy

$79k is very steep for a 400sf apartment. This is not Tokyo people this is Houston where everything is big and the land is plentiful. I live on the East Side of town in a subdivision named Broadmoor and it is great. It has a rought spot here and there but plenty of revitalization is occuring.

Just for a point of reference when my now wife and I moved over there she bought a ~1300sf home with updated kitchen and whirlpool bath (2bd, 1bath) large rooms for $78k. This location is closer then 2016 Main to the UofH Main Campus and you get 3x the living space.

Another note there are currently 31 Active Listings (28Sale/3Rent). You can rent a 400sf apartment for $695/month vs the cost of the mortgage and the approx $300/month maintance fee. This maintance fee appears to include all utilities so the rental above would be a great deal plus when your done with the apartment there is no pain trying to sell the unit for what you bought it for wishful thinking more.

Rent a unit or steer clear is my .02c, Good luck and welcome to Houston,

Scharpe St. Guy

Not sure what your price range is and needs but this type of townhome is still close in, very close and affords the Spring Branch schools for your kiddo. There is also a bedroom downstairs perfect for your son or daughter.

Here is the info off of www.har.com

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$429,000

Address: 1218 E Hunters Creek Way

Property Type: Single Family Homes

Status: ACTIVE ON MARKET

Bedrooms: 3 Bedroom(s)

Baths: 2 Full & 1 Half Bath(s)

Garage: 3 CAR Attached

Stories: 3 STORY

Style: Mediterranean

Year Built: 2004

Build Sqft: 2,510

New Constr: Completed but never lived in

Subd: Hunters Creek Villas

Mrkt Area: Spring Branch

City: Houston

Zip Code: 77055

Keymap: PAGE 451X

MLS# / Area: 8717553 / 24-SPRING BRANCH

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ALL

1228 E Hunters Creek Way

This is the last home available by builder in carefully designed community. Hunters Creek Villas offers luxurious patio homes with close to town living. Sumptuous extras are standard amenities in this home. Plasma Television included in family room. Call for appointment or drive by. This home is close to many major freeways and the Galleria. There are great schools nearby the community is in a very desireable area.

Living: 16x18

Dining: 13x12

Kitchen: 12x12

Breakfast: 10x12

1st Bed: 12x19

2nd Bed: 13x12

3rd Bed: 16x23

Utility Room Desc: Utility Rm In House

Prewired for Alarm System

Fireplace: 1 / Gaslog Fireplace

Dishwasher: Yes

Disposal: Yes

Compactor: No

Microwave: Yes

Range: Gas Range

Oven: Electric Oven

BedRooms: Master Bed - 3rd Floor

Heating: Central Electric, Central Gas

Cooling: Central Electric

District: SPRING BRANCH

Elem Sch: Hunters Creek

Middle Sch: Spring Branch

High Sch: Memorial

(INFORMATION SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED)

Controlled Subdivision Access

Extr Constrn: Stucco

Private Pool: No

Lot Desc: Clear, Patio Lot

Roof: Tile

Foundation: Slab

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Good luck,

Scharpe St. Guy

Needing more home space, I am reluctantly leaving the Heights. My wife teaches in Spring Branch ISD, and my son is already in school there, so we have selected Spring Branch as our new neighborhood. We're taking baby steps in our exodus to the 'burbs.

So. I'm meeting up with a real estate agent in the morning, and we're going to look at houses, and I'd like to know where we can expect street flooding in Spring Branch. We're actually looking pretty far west - generally speaking Gessner and Kempwood area. Does anyone know which roads we'll need to be wary of when the rain starts coming down?

We're not looking at anything in any floodplane, so we're generally not worried about property damage, we're just thinking about how easy it'll be to get home if we get one of those storms like we had in Oct. '03. Any tips on what to look out for, and advice for higher ground alt. routes would be greatly appreciated.

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