Scharpe St Guy

Ha ha, we would look more legit then many residents living in the free housing, for that I'm sure. We both drive older paid for vehicles such as a 1991 4Runner with close to 200k miles on it and a 2000 Acura 3.2tl. All with the "stock" rims, no added speakers, etc... Handout people love their flashy apparel, cars, wheels, and bling bling. Scharpe St Guy

Where could my wife and I sign up for some of this free housing the city if giving away? I would love to invest my housing dollars and utility dollars into some more investment property and what not and this would allow me to potentially retire earlier then planned. I promise we would be great neighbors too! Keep our place up and looking nice, etc.... Please let me know Mayor... Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

Not surprising for our side of Houston. In the last year I have see quite a few new bus companies pop up all over in our area. How does one go about reporting items to ICE??? I have a neighbor who other neighbors have told me is a "coyote". Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Jonny, As musicman said the East Side is not Clear Lake however it is a wonderful place to call home and close to everything. We have lived in the Broadmoor subdivision for almost 3 years and have loved it. We have made some good friends with the neighbors, have had no problems with anything getting stolen, broken into, you name it. I would suggest you find a good older home in an established neighborhood such as Eastwood, Idylwood, Houston Country Club, Broadmoor, etc.... This whole side of town is primed for explosive growth due to fuel prices, location of the dirt (UH/TSU, Downtown, Medical Center), and all the new construction downtown such as Houston Pavilions. Good luck with your move, find a good agent to help you, Scharpe St Guy

Amen, However jm1fd instead of applauding the risk the renovator took instead critizes the hypothetical profit they "May" make. All this while not taking into account the risk, the property, the area, and the limitations this home has in regards to it being evaluated as a future home for those buyers looking. Someone else said armchair quarterback/renovator previously but honestly jm1fd you are very naive. If it weren't for those people taking risks and climbing out onto a tree limb all of our lives would be very significantly different in a bad way. I would encourage you yourself to find a property to purchase and resell after appropriate renovation and then report back how it went and how your budget matched your actual costs incurred and any profit generated at closing. I speak from a small box having done two prior flips and working on my third and I learn more and more each time with each property. All the best, Scharpe St Guy

Central, Thank YOU!!! Great observation post you have overlooking the project. Hopefully you will continue to take pictures and post as the project progresses. Welcome to HAIF also!!! Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

jm1fd, Are you picking up any risk yet in purchasing a property, fixing, and flipping? Price reduced to $199,900 so now we are $5,100 under your estimated sales price. Where has the phantom $6,000/month gone? This type of property and activity the owner undertook is RISKY and SCARY. My hat is still off to the owners/flippers for taking a blatant eye sore and making a wonderful home out of the pieces. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Kudo's to the builder for offering this gesture of goodwill towards you and your neighbor. Any chance you would share the name of the builder? Scharpe St Guy

Good question especially after how it seems investors have purchased and are going to redevelop two area golf courses here in Houston (Inwood Forest, and Clear Lake). One could buy a very nice home on a golf course and then a few years later find out that KB Homes or some strip club or a road could be located on your back fence. Scary if you ask me, not sure how you would do the due diligence to safely secure your interest and your view. Good luck, Scharpe St Guy

Thank you indeed Trae!!! I use to work downtown and live very close but it's hard to keep track and get a visual if it weren't for kind individuals such as yourself taking pictures for the rest of us. I'm kinda getting the feeling that downtown is turning into one huge construction project with HP, Park Tower, Discovery Green, etc... Can't wait to see the new buildings rise out of the ground. Thanks again, Scharpe St Guy

Any chance some one on here could snap a few pictures for the rest of us so we too can become giddy from the sight of earth being excavated? If possible the Finger Building, Discovery Green, and Houston Pavilions would be awesome. Thanks ahead of time!!! Scharpe St Guy

So as fellow HAIF'ers and neighbors can we get the family deal at your dealership? Scharpe St Guy

That is a great house, my wife and I put a few offers on it but they did not go through due to various reasons not just price. But anyhow sounds like you need to talk to RPS on here, he specializes in the Mid Century Modern homes and Glenbrook Valley which is out of the Jet path for Hobby airport. Good luck with your search and welcome to Houston, Scharpe St Guy

Ok your math is pretty correct but not quite there: Closing costs are figured from the contracted price, so if the contracted price is $205,000 it would be roughly 4% (3% for the buyers agent) and 1% for Title Insurance. So total estimated closing costs of $8,200. This would bring your total up to $165,200. Estimated Profit before taxes of $39,800, after taxes assuming 30% tax rate: $27,860 IF the owner can sell it before the next loan payment, utility payments and IF they sell it for $205,000 or more. What happens if this home doesn't sell in the next week or two or two months or three months or six months??? What occurs to the projected profit of $27,860??? It goes down approx $1,500 a month using the numbers above which don't take into account taxes or for that matter time spent by the owners working on the property, showing the property, maintaining the property, manning open houses at the property, preparing flyers (paper/email) on the property, etc.... Looking at the closing date they have owned the property for 5 months, so monthly after tax income if sold today equals $5,572. If another month passes then the monthly profit drops to approx $4,500, if the property is still there's after 7 months then approx $3,500 and yes it does get scary because prices don't go up here in Houston then go down in order to get a property sold especially one with the hurdles this property has of 2 bedrooms/2 baths no garage located right on Dumble across from a warehouse and a charter school. Good luck to the owners/flippers, I truly hope you can clear a good profit on this home and that you will undertake yet another home in the neighborhood. Regards, Scharpe St Guy

Amen, Especially for the small time restorers or flippers sinking quite a bit of money into a questionable home to fix it up and hopefully sell to recapture funds and produce a small profit is a big enterprise. I'm on my third investment home now Purchase Price Purchase Costs (Closing Costs/Inspections/Escrows/Survey/etc...) Renovation Costs (Lumber, Sheetrock, Paint, Labor, Fixtures, etc...) Holding Costs (Mortgage or Loan Payment, Taxes, Insurance, Electric, Water, Gas) Sales Closing Costs (Brokers Commissions, Title Insurance, misc fees) Your Partner Uncle Sam (~30% of Profit) Your Profit/Loss It can become very tight and very scary so kudo's to those who undertake these homes. Scharpe St Guy

DugDuke, My wife and I live on Scharpe St which is a few streets down within Broadmoor. Easy walking distance to the house on Lindsay you posted. Overall the area is great, it is predominantly hispanic but they make good neighbors all things considered. They work hard and by 7:30am everyone is off to work. This whole area called the East End is changing due to the low prices relative to areas such as the Heights, MidTown, Montrose, Etc.... and the location is so awesome in regards to getting to work Downtown, Medical Center, University of Houston, TSU, etc... Find yourself a good agent to work with that knows the area, I would suggest RPS, and if your moving into the area and like the home on Lindsay then stop on by our house on Scharpe as it is unofficially for sale as my wife and I seek a home with a larger lot with room for a very big garage/shop. All the best, Scharpe St Guy

Musicman, The lot designator is pretty neat. The issue with Broadmoor is that it's the whole neighborhood except for where owners have replaced the sidewalks themselves. I did this at my wifes old house on Munger, two homes near the beginning of Scharpe did this a few weeks ago, but pretty much the sidewalks over here are a complete and utter mess. This area would look better without the sidewalks in my opinion. It amuses me on how they ripped out the intersection and some ramps at the 45/Elgin underpass. Did a big job there and replaced a lot of concrete and tore up the old stuff which really wasn't all that bad, there were one or two spots that persistently would sink over time and they would fill up/patch but they could have replaced a very good portion of all the sidewalks in our neighborhood with what they used there. They poured it thick. Anyhow it just aggravates me, I know get the neighborhood on the CIP but that takes 7 years and quite honestly we won't be here and with all the projects we have going on it's tough to get the time to put something together. Thanks for allow the b*tch session. Scharpe St Guy

Hello All, I have mentioned a few times on here on how I feel that Broadmoor in 77023/East End may have the worst sidewalks in the city. So here are the pics, do you agree, thoughts and comments? Scharpe St Guy

RPS, I can't quite place the unit/building your talking about. Could you post a picture perhaps? I do know your pain though I swear that Broadmoor may have the worst sidewalks in all of Houston. If you were dependent upon a wheelchair you would be using the road and not the sidewalk as it is completely missing in areas, all cracked up, etc... I'm going to create a new post on these sidewalks so I don't distract from this important thread. Scharpe St Guy

What is the history of the Houston-based company called Martin Fein Interests? The company specializes in multifamily apartment complexes around town. From what I can gather: For nearly 30 years, Martin Fein has been involved in the development and acquisition of more than 30,000 units. He established Fein in May 1989. In 1996, he began Westchase Construction for the construction of high-end apartment developments, and he continues to serve as its President. Previously, he served as President of the Farb Companies.

Either way that house was a dump and now it looks great. Could some changes have been made that would have benefited it? Sure but the fact that someone walked up to the plate and took on this challenge generates a lot of kuddo's from me. In regards to landscaping they may be running into the same problem I have. The rain and more rain that we have received in the past 6 weeks. It has set me back and my landscapers tractor has sunk twice in the back yard trying to regrade. The gumbo soil at my house will suck your boots right off of you. Anyhow again well done to the owner/flipper, that street has one less eyesore on it as does the East End. One house at a time. Scharpe St Guy

Play by plays are appreciated, someone on here has an office overlooking the site, could he snap a new picture or two to share with all of us who don't work downtown? Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

I saw that home as well and saw the crew over there working on it. Company I had never heard of before I think it was called something like Historic Bungalow Renovations or something along those lines. They did it QUICK and appears to be very well done. I too thought it was only minutes before it would be scraped by a new owner or heck even the city as it was across from a charter school. Anyhow if the owner is reading these posts... Well Done...!!!! Scharpe St Guy

Houston101, Welcome to Houston first off. Second off find a good and knowledgeable realtor to assist with you along with this forum. There are many realtor's and knowledgeable individuals on here that will provide you a wealth of insight and advice to the areas you inquire about. Not sure about the East of Kirby comment your co-worker made. East of 288 I could see depending upon your needs and how comfortable you are with an area that is growing/changing/upgrading/gentrification etc... If you could share what your needs, wants, and budget are you will most likely gain quite a few responses from all of us. Again welcome to Houston, it's a great city to live in. Scharpe St Guy

RedScare, Great Kitchen by the way but I think your looking for something like the following: Craigslist Posting Good luck! Scharpe St Guy