Scharpe St Guy

Seems to me that removing the golf course will in essence rip the heart out of Inwood forest and the HOA up there. A real shame as Houston was moving/gentrifying out in that direction. Going from a golf course view to a KB Home type of builder view of tightly spaced hardi plank homes is terrible. Good luck to the neighborhood attorneys who will try and fight this. All the best, Scharpe St Guy

Niche, Sorry to hear about the windows. It feels like a total violation and going home or to your property never quite feels the same after these things happen. I would go with the Dog, camera, and the gun. Quite honestly I don't expect HPD to be all that interested or helpful when it comes to items like that. They respond after the fact and fill out a report that gets filed but never acted upon if you ask me. Frustrates the heck out of me but then you can always go get your CHL and take matters into your own hands. Good luck Niche, Scharpe St Guy

Hello Jason, That home on Longfield fascinates my wife and I. We both think it would be a fun home to live in and fix up and potentially make a few dollars in a few years if we were able to purchase it for the right price. It doesn't have the land or garage area that I desire however the garage is a pretty good size and it's almost exactly half way between both of our offices so our commutes would go way down. Price looks pretty good for everything the home offers but as I told the listing agent as feedback I would purchase it for $170k. Too optomistic but hey they can only say NO or some variation of that! There is a chance that we may have a buyer coming to look at our home this weekend and if that were to progress to closing we would need to find either a short term rental or move quickly on another home and right now this would be it however I do need to go see the old Carabbas home that RPS told me about in Glenbrook. Anyhow it's fun to dream, thanks for the pricing on the sound walls. I believe a soundwall would benefit this home greatly for not only noise but also the view if the wall was done nicely and flowering vines were planted along it. All the best, Scharpe St Guy

RPS, Thank you! It was very very near the bottom of my search "Parade Homes Space Age": http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...homes+space+age Not a complete list but a great start, perhaps that topic should be reborn or this topic merged into it and addresses accumulated of these homes? Scharpe St Guy

Hello All, Is there a website that lists where the Parade of Homes was located here in Houston each year? I would love to see which neighborhoods had them and which homes and perhaps keep an eye out for one of them to buy. We walked the home at 3303 Longfield and it was a truly fascinating home to go view. Only issue with it is that it butts up to Richmond Ave. Any idea what a wall (brick, concrete, etc....) cost? Thanks everyone, Scharpe St Guy

Any word on Metro going with the Eastwood Transit Center route??? This past weekend a ton of work was done to the 45/Elgin underpass, would this be part of it? Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

For how long are you seeking a place? Scharpe St Guy

RNSDR, You should move back to Broadmoor, perhaps Munger St in that new listing at 1470/2 that Carlos Garcia has up for $109k great buy if you ask me. Munger Listing At least this home is no longer a duplex, it does need work to be properly finished but for the price it's pretty sweet. Two families down near the beginning of Scharpe replaced approx 100feet of sidewalk in front of their two homes. Looks really good, i'm hoping that individual homeowners on the side of them will continue it on like a wave in a packed stadium. Anyhow SSG"X" signing off, Scharpe St Guy

I can say that Broadmoor is changing or at least my street!!! I don't take any crap from any of my neighbors on the street and they know it. It's a pretty quiet place to live now all things considered. At one time I had a problem with a Semi Truck parked across from my house but after complaining to the City/Police it got towed twice and I have not seen it since. Funny thing is the guy brought it back after the second tow and fired it up at 7am on Saturday morning and was letting his little boy toot the horn, of course this must have awoken quite a few neighbors and myself so I went out there and my neighbors came out and I let him have a piece of my mind. No problems since and actually since then we have been pretty civil with each other and respect each other. We have had other little problems but each one gets solved, it's amazing how people will react if they know your going to call them on it. I have no problem calling the Constables for loud late night parties or what not and when they show up that house becomes a not so fun place to party late into the night and they move else ware where they can get away with it. Scharpe St Guy

If he has a set schedule why not "Rent a Cop". Set up a chair, provide a soft drink, ask the cop to bring a DB Reader, and let him do his job. Shouldn't cost all that much I would think. Scharpe St Guy

Share with us your budget and requirements such as beds, baths, garaga, etc... and we can help you. Also how long do you think you would reside in the home? Scharpe St Guy

I'm getting ready to do this myself with our flip home. I have been scouring Craigslist pretty hard and am picking up a deal here and a deal there. I figure I will either... A. Offer the furniture for sale with the home if the buyer likes B. Save for the next house C. Have a garage sale and sell the items (hence the need to find the deals) don't wan't to lose to much money on it. Scharpe St Guy

Niche, If they are not absorbed with renters how about converting them into Condo's? I would imagine it's a race for each developer to get there project completed and leased and then resell before the slow down... Scharpe St Guy

In regards to the Home Depot at Gulfgate I sorta know one of the semi dept managers there. Great guy, great service which you are right is rare but he is also a bit older and an anglo if that has anything to do with it. But anyhow he was telling me of all the problems the store had with the senior Managers. Apparently Home Depot sent in an out of town fix it squad to get the place back in shape. Frankly I have not seen any difference so not sure if it's working or not. This coming from a guy who spends many thousands of dollars at that Home Depot in the past three years. Just spent over $3,000 in the past two weeks there. Oh yes it also pisses me off when they have to call for the MOD (manager on duty) to open the large overhead door so that the forklift can load up your truck. The MOD has wasted more of my time at that store then anyone else and they aren't friendly. Scharpe St Guy

Thanks Musicman, I came very very close however not close enough. I was very disappointed when they announced they had pulled it and they opened my bid and the other bid and one of the guys told me mine was the highest. Oh well, other adventures out there but I would have loved to have been on HGTV's Rezoned!!! Scharpe St Guy

No which is too bad, most of the lots are sold on the court house steps for unpaid taxes/foreclosure/etc.... Two lots down the street sold at the courthouse within the past year. Talking to a couple of the older residents of the neighborhood they tell the story of a lady who was married to the old principal of Austin HS. Apparently the two of them bought quite a few homes in Broadmoor and rented them out but did no repairs to any of the properties that they accumulated. I tried contacting her myself but was ignored, I would need to find her name but she is older and owns a lot of land or did two years ago here in Broadmoor. Niche, Elgin would make sense for the LRT, hopefully it occurs and the builders start coming in, can't wait. Scharpe St Guy

At the time I didn't have any plans set in stone but tearing it down was NOT an option. I was entertaining the thought of turning the top floor into a loft for myself, the middle floor into an ice cream social place. I spent a few years in Calgary and there was a great ice cream shop in the neighborhood, if you played the piano, brought in an instrument, or sang a song you received a free ice cream. There were always lines out the door. The warehouse would have floated the property and hopefully contributed to work needing to be done to the school such as roofing, HVAC, stucco repair, window repair, etc.... Basiclly I wanted to turn it into a fun family orientated place to hang out or grab a cone, sandwich, etc... Scharpe St Guy

Another big issue is the number of rent homes such as in Broadmoor. There are a few family's who own multiple homes in the neighborhood and have done quite well however this holds back progress and fixing things up. My wife and I went door to door two years ago to get a petition signed to get our sidewalks fixed however we found most either didn't speak English or were renters. If anyhone from the CITY reads these boards I believe that Broadmoor has the worst sidewalks in the city other then those neighborhoods that just don't have them. But at least in side the 610 loop I have seen none that are worse then ours except where Metro has fixed them around the stops on Broadmoor St. Scharpe St Guy

I would still love an update on the Rufus Cage school. It was to have been auctioned off by HISD back in early 2005. I was actually the High bidder (Sealed bids) however an hour or two before the auction it was pulled due to some vocal people on the Eastwood Association I believe. Meanwhile it sits and dies. Sad on many fronts. Scharpe St Guy

You mention Broadmoor, we live in Broadmoor on Scharpe St and it perplexes me as to why a builder has not yet entered our neighborhood and started building. Of course I would prefer a small builder who is not building cookie cutter homes but ones that would match the style of the neighborhood. On Lawson street the city is about to tear down two homes next door to each other. This will add to the many empty lots already found in the neighborhood. Prime area and a nice neighborhood that just needs some new life put into it. Scharpe St Guy

RNSDR, Thanks for the info and welcome to HAIF. My wife and I also live in the East End, speak English, trying to learn spanish, and we love it. We don't fit the demographics of the area as such but in the last 2.5 years I have seen it changing as people discover the affordable homes and the wonderful location. I love the thought of an Arch there. On another note though this past weekend I went over by Finger furniture to the warehouse on the south side which used to be a roofing supply company they were shut down and that whole area from 45 to the tracks is now vacant and for sale. Possible development on Cullen? Scharpe St Guy

I will throw my hat (opinions) into the ring here: Like Niche I too would love to have a few acres and a good fence between me and my neighbor. Am I anti-social no not at all but I also wish to retain my privacy not just visually but also via sound. In town living is great however when the city does not enforce laws governing noise then it can also be a pain. My neighborhood is pretty good however every now and then a young punk in a lowered Buick or Cadillac with windows down and base pumping slowly cruises down the road so that everyone knows that he and his crew exist. Each time I hear it in any neighborhood I think that they are darn lucky they live in the USA because in other countries giving them a good spanking, whipping, jail time, or ... would be allowed. Of course the Police can't do anything as they are mostly reactionary and fill out the reports after the crime has been committed not before or during. I believe that with the Baby Boomers retiring the innerloop of Houston is going to flourish greatly with the desire for a short commute, easy access to airports/transportation alternatives, the Arts, Sports, Museums, etc.... Not to mention if you live inside the loop anywhere you go during the morning and evening is reverse traffic pretty much. Suburbs outside of the beltway are iffy to me as they are cookie cutter homes being stamped into the dirt with limited elevations and/or styles. I believe these areas will become the new high crime ghetto areas due to the cheap construction and closeness of the homes to each other. My .02c, Scharpe St Guy

There is one in Garden Villa's. There is a old home in front that I heard the owners were living in while building the dome out back and then the old home was going to come down. Don't recall which street it's on but I could find it. Scharpe St Guy

My suspense is getting the best of me, there have been no updates Flipper??? How is the project going any pictures? Thanks, Scharpe St Guy

Oh where to start and with which story??? My first real Awkward moment had to be when I was working third level IT Support for a large IT outsourcing company. Arrived at the employee's cubicle and she was no where in sight so I commenced working on the PC. A few minutes later as I'm waiting for items to install something starts moving underneath the desk. Scared the beejebees out of me and out from a large almost sleeping bag comes the lady. She was sleeping under her desk and was pretty well hidden. I laugh all the time when I see that episode on Seinfeld when George hires Jerry's contractor to construct a hideaway under his desk. As one that is inflicted by Type 1 Diabetes there are also the occasional story's of going loopy (almost like being drunk) and passing out or almost tossing a police officer down the stairwell at the old Enron Building. The Diabetes one's always piss me off since I should have been tighter on my control and prevented it but every now and then one sneaks by and gets me. Then there was the time when I was hired by a company to write a software application for there largest client in Birmingham Alabama. At the time I was 19 and the senior managers (Chief Counsel, VP of this, VP of that, everybody there but Richard Scrushy) wanted to interview me in the board room and go over the project. I had prepared extensively with a well done slide show, bulleted points, development steps and major key stones, etc.. I had also just purchased one of the very first wireless keyboards/mice so that I could drive the show from where I was. Approx half way through my presentation one of the head VP's a lady interrupted me and said ok stop stop I just have to ask how old are you? I replied with 19 maam and attempted to restart and she remarked I have kids older then you, and I continued my restart and the presentation, went well though, got the thumbs up and wrote them a few programs. Good fun, also saw my first elevator in the lobby drop to the ground luckly if I had been 15 seconds quicker I would have been on it as I saw the doors close just as I arrived. Tons of smoke, dust, etc... blowing out of the opening in the middle of the sliding doors. Unreal, great experiences. Scharpe St Guy