Scharpe St Guy

I couldn't tell if there once stood two or three homes there however I trust it was two since Silver Fox lives closer. I do hope though that the builder puts up quality nice homes that will improve the neighborhood. Here's hoping! Scharpe St Guy

Received at 11:34pm Thursday May 3: The operators of HAR.com are working around-the-clock to reinstate the real estate Web site. While this is being done, we are making sure that REALTORS can still post and access listings through the MLS, and our technical support is also trying to make sure that the public has the ability to search for homes and properties within the next 48 hours. Late Wednesday night, a virus threat was identified to the servers that operate the HAR.com Web site. In a precautionary move, the Houston Association of Realtors locked down those servers, which took the public HAR.com off-line, as well as thousands of member and company Web sites hosted by those servers. At no time was there any risk to anyone who accessed the Web site. We cannot anticipate at this point how long it will take to repair the system, but we will post regular updates on the HAR.com homepage, as appropriate. HAR.com is one of the largest sites originating from the Houston area, with more than one billion hits in each of the last two months from more than 900,000 unique visitors each month. *Houston Association of REALTORS 3693 Southwest Freeway Houston, TX 77027

Dan, I'm thinking that an additional wall will be going up to create two small bedrooms and one normal bedroom. Just a guess though as this neighbor and I don't talk anymore unless he is having his quarterly loud music tantrum and I have to go out and yell at him. Oh well what will be will be! Scharpe St Guy

Flipper/All, Well the neighbor has covered up a lot of the material in the back with tarps and he was ranting and raving along the far fence line which he shares with his inlaws who live next door to them when I got home that Friday night. They are doing quite a bit inside the home and had a painting crew there till approx 8pm last night. No actual additions yet however I'm sure some walls have been moved and rebuilt inside the home. Problem is they are a family of four with two rooms and one bath. Now that the boy and girl are getting older I'm sure they need the room. I wish they would just sell and move personally but who knows. I am grateful though that the city went out and looked it over so at this point they would need to pull permits to add on to the outside. Anyhow best to everyone, Scharpe St Guy

Ok lets discuss the Metro Trip Planner. Yesterday I dropped of my car to the mechanic to have them do a fine tooth comb to look for any problems as my extended warranty coverage is ending in approx 500 miles. My wife had a quarterly work thing after work so instead of bothering or a co-worker I decided I would give Metro a try. I was scheduled to catch the 82 bus from Kirkwood and Westheimer at 6:11pm with drop off downtown roughly at Jefferson and Milam at 7:10pm. I thought this isn't too bad and then I would catch the 249 bus at 7:17pm and get dropped off at the Eastwood Transit Center at 7:24pm and a short walk home. The 82 bus picked me up at 6:14pm and didn't get downtown till 7:28pm. At which point I then called Metro and they advised me that the next 249 would arrive at 7:47pm. I caught this bus and it made quick time to ETC. Over all it took approx 2 hours on the bus and a total of 2hrs45min from leaving my office till walking in my door and $1 fare. Quite frankly it was quite bad especially the 82 bus where a big discussion was going on about checking into the County jail for traffic offenses (no license, insurance, tickets, etc...), having just got out of jail on Friday from 8 months in Beaumont and the other guy got out a month after he went in and the next guy was freshly out of jail as well for distribution to an undercover, etc.... I heard everything and it was mainly related to drugs, serving time, etc.... What amazed me was how casual these guys spoke of jail and serving time and giving each other pointers on who to talk too, what to ask for in order to get a 2for1 deal, or become a trustee, or ........ Just a whole other life I guess that I'm not frequently exposed to. Anyhow it was entertaining, an adventure, and a great reminder of why I don't ride metro. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Dan, I'm an agent myself mainly for personal real estate deals and helping friends purchase homes. However having disclosed that I can't agree with you more, hence why 10% of the agents earn 90% of the dollars out there. I once purchased a foreclosure that had one picture of the front and one picture of grass in the back but did not show any of the structure of the back. So fence and grass. It was on the market for a long time and I just happened to be driving in the general area one day and decided to do a drive by. I stopped and then called in a showing with CSS and opened the door. Turns out that darn house was completely redone inside. Beautiful molding, new kitchen and bathroom, built in book shelf and entertainment center, new flooring, etc.... Great house that only needed a new garage door, some appliances, and to be relisted which I did. I haggled the bank down on it too but to this day I

Received a reply from my email last night at 8am this morning: "Thanks for the info. We will have it checked out." This came from a pretty senior person at Code Enforcement. I really want the guy to come out and take a look to see how the lay of the land sits right now then either come back out this weekend or Monday and see if any changes were made from Friday evening to Sunday Night. If changes were made then write them up and make them tear it down. Anyhow thanks for the info and listening. Scharpe St Guy ps.... Flipper please update both of your blogs!!!! Thanks!!

Dan, Do you know any investigative reporters to call? It does have many angles and new tax appraisals are being sent right now so the story is hot. I just emailed the main city inspector and will call in the morning. Thanks you all, Scharpe St Guy

Hey Everyone, I have an A*S of a neighbor who just met a crew of guys here who dropped off a load of material for a weekend addition. In the East End it is not uncommon for especially Hispanic's to all gather enmass and erect a whole new garage or room from Friday night to Sunday night. Most of the time I'm not all that concerned however this neighbor besides being an A*S does stuff half way which makes it not only look ugly but also drag down property values and the area. I called City of Houston's Deed Restriction Hotline at 713.437.6769 however I'm kind of skeptical that either the message will get heard, get heard and acted upon, or most likely once heard and maybe even inspected the job will be done and the homeowner will profess ignorance and say it was always there. Any better numbers or suggestions? Would you like to help me by also reporting this home? Thanks you all, Scharpe St Guy

Good point Carbor!!! Scharpe St Guy

As noted by others above it depends upon: 1. Current Condition of the House (Roof, Foundation, Sewer Line, Electrical, Plumbing, Insulation, HVAC, and then the items one can see such as cabinets, hardware, appliances, paint, landscaping, etc...) 2. Other homes in the area and those that are on the market. You check out those homes currently For Sale, Option Pending, Pending, Pending Sale, and Sold in the prior 6-12 months to gain an insight into price per sqft and finishes that the other homes had. This will provide you an idea of how yours needs to look at the minimum so say kitchen counters were formica but most of the other homes have been updated to Granite. 3. Before you close the deal you want to have the home inspected by an inspector. They won't catch everything but they do a good job and this will then become your checklist of repairs that the home requires, take that checklist with the upgrade list and set up a very generous budget for each item. Total it up to come up with your total renovation budget. 4. Don't forget these items though to identify a possible profit: purchase closing costs, sales closing costs including commissions to agents, holding costs such as the PITI (Principal/Interest/Taxes/Insurance) for three months at the bare minimum, and taxes on the profit. So say you estimate that after spending everything budgeted and staying within budget and all costs associated with buying and selling the home you produce a pre-tax profit of $10,000, if you are in the 30% tax bracket take out $3,000 which leaves you with an estimated profit of $7,000. Is the amount of work and time worth $7,000? What if the home takes longer so holding costs go up? Budget goes up? Vandalism occurs which costs x dollars to rectify? You open up a wall and find termites and or extensive damage? Make sure you MISC budget item is Large. Many people on here look down on those of us that undertake a flip home however there is a lot of risk involved for a product if not done right, marketed right, and timed right could trigger numerous downfalls both financially and within relationships. Good Luck, Scharpe St Guy

I will second Niche that if you want to get into flipping make the flip your home so you can offset your housing costs while your knocking around learning what's what and learning the first foot of the rope. So far we have done 3 true flips although one extra could be thrown in but it was my first home while I learned some of the ropes. This translates out to about 1 a year however it has greatly blessed us and has been very educational as well. We are trying to get setup so that we could be like "flipper" on here and do a few homes a year however that takes contacts within the money industry/banks to obtain the financing unless your able to self finance. In regards to another post on here I would argue that there are more buyers for the lower end homes then the bigger/more expensive homes here in Houston. That being said I believe the lower end home has to meet some basic requirements of at least 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bath and 1 car garage. Of course a 3bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage would be optimal and will garner many more buyers and fit the requirements of the buyers out looking. Anyhow good post, I love learning and sharing on this topic, Scharpe St Guy

jm1fd, Good point on those two homes sitting. Both nice homes, areas are not that bad, etc... I would though suggest that any flipper but especially a new flipper be very very picky when it comes to the property they are going to flip. As they say you make the money at the time of purchase not the sale (if you buy it right). Personally I don't like doing any properties smaller then 1400sqft or let's say I look for the homes that have 3 bedrooms and hopefully 1.5 bath or better to redo. People these days want room and room translates into flexibility for roommates, family growth, office, friends coming in for the weekend, etc... Both homes you spotlighted are 2 bedrooms while one has 2 baths it also lacks a garage or a secure place to store extra items. For the first timer I would think that you would need to obtain a mortgage approval and I would suggest that you walk into Champions School of Real Estate and sign up for the classes to obtain your real estate license. Why? Well when you purchase a home listed on MLS you can walk away from the closing with the buyers agent commission since you are satisfying two roles as both the agent and the purchaser. When you resell the home you can like wise save at least 3% when you list the home since you are now the Selling Agent. This amounts to a good portion of your budget. ***Just thought of this but you also control your listing on MLS, you can take the pictures (16), add comments to each picture, write descriptions for the agent and the buyer, attach attachments, etc.... basically do a full and complete listing. Take a look at RPS's listings and then look at 90% of all the other listings out there and notice the difference.*** All the best and either way even if a flip house sits for a while it stinks for the flipper however it's great for the neighborhood as one more ugly duckling is once again (hopefully) beautiful. Good Friday everyone! Scharpe St Guy

I have used a members father off of here a few times. He has charged me basically $60 to fix 1-2 panes of glass. He is also quick, name is Guili and he can be reached at 832-755-1608 Scharpe St Guy

Dan the Man, Love the handle, and please do move into the area. My wife and I have lived over here for 3 years and have seen the area change quite a bit already. Co-workers of my wifes at her real estate office say this is going to be the next "Montrose" due to the price, quality of housing stock, location, etc.... I have had to crack down on a few neighbors here and there to keep the noise down or keep a semi truck from being parked on the street but we all get along well now pretty much and everyone comments on just how nice it is here and how quiet which makes me quite proud!!! But anyhow please do share what type of home you are looking for, size, price, etc... and we will keep our eyes open for any deals that pop up. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Ok on to the Trash subject. 1. First off I will second that at least my neighborhood trash/heavy trash do a great job in Broadmoor. We have thrown out everything and anything when moving in, renovating, projects, etc... etc... and each time it all gets hauled off completely. I love it! 2. On the last flip house we did I hired a nice guy to haul off assorted trash such as old sewer pipe, dirt, broken brick, pvc pipe, misc trash, etc... each time he charged me $60 to pick up and take away. I would have used my own trailer to go to my local dump transfer station but they have tightened that one down while road work is in progress so that they only accept pickup trucks and no trailers. 3. In regards to trash we have it pretty darn good here in Houston compared to other parts of the country. My parents in Seattle have a tiny trash bin to use once a week along with a few recycling containers to use. If they overfill or if bags are sitting next to the bin then the garbage man will write you up and you will receive a pretty hefty bill in the mail. Forget about heavy trash as well that is not offered, so I will take my large bin and heavy trash once a month and the ability to go to the transfer station to get rid of extra items all for one monthly price. Regards and if you want the guys name that picked up the rubbish from me just shoot me an email. Scharpe St Guy

I saw the action and drove past it. The first group were a handful of hispanic men. Some were holding signs with grossly misspelled words such as racist, etc... Further down were the people protesting with signs such as we report to ICE, etc... I was actually driving by to hire a few guys for a day’s worth of work so instead I went up to Shepard and 10. I don't support those who sneak into this country however I wish there were an easier way to actually hire some workers for random jobs instead of having to hire a crew/company which most likely is comprised of the same illegal’s. Anyhow it was today not in January. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

I will throw in my .02cents on the lumber used back in the day. My home was built according to HCAD in 1940. There is no sheetrock in my house either. Wood paneling you say? Yes but the paneling is also approx 1.5 inches thick of solid wood. Very unique and very hard. In order to pop a nail in my house you need to pre-drill the wood or else frustration will set in. Of course you could hang pretty much anything anywhere in my home without bothering to check where a stud is too. My house also has the original roof on it so it's approx 67 years old now, not bad if you ask me and many homes in the area have the same roofing which they call slate but personally I think it something else... cough cough!!! Oh yes the brick is also better back then too. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Midtownguy, Thanks for driving the neighborhood and reporting back. My wife and I live on Scharpe St which is a street before Munger but I at one time also owned a home on Munger. It's a great area and neighborhood and it truly is encouraging to see dilapidated shacks either restored or a new home built where it once stood such as that home on Munger. The first home on Munger at Dumble is also being restored by a fireman I have heard. It has been a vacant shack since I have lived here and it will be a good neighbor again. The word is that this area will become the next Montrose due to the cheap prices, solid homes, and location. I believe this is true as we are so close to downtown, UH/TSU, and Medical Center. When I get on the freeway to go to work it's always moving and reverse traffic for me once I hit 59S. All the best, Scharpe St Guy

Danax, Thank you for your post, my wife was talking to her mortgage person at the office and she was mentioning something about the 100% mortgages too. If everything you just said is true it presents some interesting opportunities to pick up some property however the buyers may not be there to resell to immediately. Thanks once again, Scharpe St Guy

Hello Everyone, I was browsing quite a few MLS listings last night and noticed either the large BTSA's, > 3% Buyer Agent Commission, agents comments stating bring all offers, buyer will throw in X and Y for sale, etc.... While at the same time a website that I loathe and love zillow.com has shown quite a few areas of town that I track home prices going down. Homes in my subdivision of Broadmoor are staying on the market a long time unless they are very much under priced. On the flip of that my wifes real estate office is bursting at the seams with business and yet my company which builds homes is seeing very little traffic. Anyone noticing anything out there or have data we can all digest??? Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

Niche, I just searched HAR Members and there is no Lavine Thomas, there was a Lavon Thomas. If she can produce the cash/financing let her have it if it suits you. Scharpe St Guy

RPS, Perhaps good news? Apartment Fire by Hobby Scharpe St Guy ps.... where were you earlier today? hmm!@!!!

Going to call a big fat BS on that comment. Facts don't lie, see below: Top 35 Blocks of Crime Murders in 2006 - Inner loop SE side isn't that bad! Do your research gwilson before making unfounded wrong personal observations. Scharpe St Guy

Shoot see that no dish, no HDTV, although I'm running a Treo 650 but it's looking very unflashy and cracked up now. Dolcefino would have nothing on us. Scharpe St Guy