Yonkers

21 hours ago, 004n063 said:

Are they planning on keeping that giant surface parking lot forever? Feels kinda pointless to build a skinny highrise if you're still gonna have a huge footprint like that...

I was told that eventually an acre of that parking lot be converted into a green space/park that sits between the current pavilion and the future mixed-use that will be built in the back where the sales center is currently. 

22 hours ago, BEES?! said:

Wow, nice shots, cityliving! This building looks awesome, it’s cool how it kind of melts into the horizon like that. It’s a unique building, it’s kind of retro and futuristic at the same time. It will be really neat once they’re done.

Stay safe and cool out there!!

It's nice to see some positive comments. So many cynical comments all the time on HAIF. 

On 5/19/2023 at 10:50 AM, Amlaham said:

Renderings for the rooftop patio for Meduza. Beautiful! 

Culturemap states it will be on the building's top floor, but I think they meant the 4th based on previous posts?  

The Pavilion is 4-stories so the 4th floor is the top floor. And about a fourth of it is an outdoor patio. 

18 hours ago, hindesky said:

Appreciate you accommodating the previous request for a clearer shot of the helipad.  

I do hope the penthouse has good soundproofing though. Regardless of how often it is used, that could be annoying.

8 minutes ago, Jevzero said:

Address change to 7310 Old Katy Rd

 

Well, that's a Landry's distribution warehouse so it makes sense... but that's not Galleria... .

11 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Hmmm 55 million short of what Tilman said. Leave it to him to lie about the cost tho hehe

I assume that's just for the building. Do those numbers usually include the cost of the land and the cost to fit it up inside?

18 hours ago, hindesky said:

 

Would be interesting to see the helipad from the top down if you can manage it the next time you get your drone up there. 

Looks like Texan Fit got bought so this will be branded as an EOS Fitness gym now. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/04/12/eos-fitness-buys-texans-fit-gyms.html?ana=maz

4 hours ago, Big E said:

The other towers were cancelled. And there's no telling when the second phase will start at this rate.

Other towers were going to be office, I think. And with office doing horribly right now they canceled it, like you said. I think they're looking to replace it with multifamily apartments and retail now.

I assume they'll have to wait until after they finish condo sales before they start phase two since their sales office is in that space now. They're at 75% sold so maybe another year?

7 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

The Allen Lifestyle Pavilion is four stories.

This is from Houston Chronicle last October:


"The 62,128-square-foot, four-level building will have several restaurants..."


https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/texas-inc/article/Retail-wrap-Uptown-Park-Lower-Heights-District-17534318.php

You are correct. Went back and looked at one of my pictures and it is 4 for sure.

15 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

According to plan review comments, Maizon will occupy the fourth floor. The address provided is 1775 Allen Parkway, Suite 401

I thought it was just 3 stories though. 

Construction delay announced for the condos. Initial completion dates were from March through June, depending on the floor (starting from 17 up to penthouses). New dates are August through November. 

"The delays are specific to the common areas and have been affected by several factors, including permitting delays, continued supply chain issues resulting in ongoing material shortages and design changes, as well as unexpected weather delays."

Hotel is also delayed and they are hoping to open before the holidays. Whether that means Thanksgiving or Christmas, I'm not sure.

6 hours ago, astrohip said:

I'm stunned they've sold 70%. It's a fairly limited market for high-end condos, and I know several projects that were either cancelled or downsized because of sales. Good for them, if it's legit.

They were stuck around 65% for a while but it seems some sales came through. They're actually at 72% right now.

6 hours ago, BEES?! said:

You know, helicopter pad isn’t one of the amenities I’d’ve expected at that price point. (These are going for like 1-2MM right?)

A good amount of the floor plans are north of $2M with some of them are north of $3M.

On 6/21/2022 at 11:44 PM, hindesky said:

@urbanize713 That is the 8th floor where the condos start and some corner units have patios. Below that are the 7 floors of the Thompson hotel.

Condos actually start at 16th floor. That floor is the common area (pool, club house, etc) but it does have a penthouse on that floor and I think that's what the patio is for. The rest of the floor is common area so no patio and thus the weird asymmetry.

Starting from floors 17-29 are regular condos and 30-35 are the penthouses.

Thompson Hotel is up to 15th floor but not sure how much of that are rooms vs parking.

We found agents were REALLY willing to be intermediaries - because then they grab the full 6%.

I was referring to telling them we are representing ourselves and that we want to see property X. The response, several times, was pretty much, too bad, hire an agent.

Yes. This is what I found too. They had no problem representing me. But would refuse to show me if I was not represented by anyone. Which to me is being lazy because that's no different than holding an Open House.

So, let's play the hypothetical game:

Buyer Bob negotiates Seller's Broker to lower his fee to 4% from 6%.

List price of the home is $100,000. Assume for this that 2% of $100,000 is $5,000 (becaise I said so).

Buyer Bob offers $85,000 (which he feels is equivalent to a $90,000 offer) and asks for $5,000 closing costs.

Sam Seller counters $98,000 and no closing costs.

Buyer Bob feels that this offer, in light of the brokerage reduction is actually HIGHER than the list price. Is Buyer Bob crazy in thinking Seller Sam is crazy?

Using your basic numbers:

1) If no negotiation had been done on your part then the owner would have gotten $100k for the house but paid out 3% to the Listing Broker and 3% to the Buyer's Agent with a net of $94k.

2) With the broker fee lowered to 4% then the counter offer would have gotten the owner $98k but he has to pay 4% to the Listing Broker with a net of $94,080. As you can see, the owner only gets an additional $80 whereas the Listing Broker gets an extra $920.

3) Your offer would have gotten the owner $85k but he would have paid 4% to the Listing Broker and $5k of closing costs with a net of $76,600.

So, with the counter offer they gave you you'd still come out ahead compared to the original list price... the big winner is not you or the owner but the Listing Broker.

On the other hand, your offer is way lower than the original list price. The owner would be giving up $17,400.

And I don't quite understand why you said 2% is equal to $5k and why you think your $85k offer is equal to $90k. You lost me there.

I always find these topics interesting, as they are all variations on the same theme. The McMansion argument, the SUV/Hummer argument, the environmental/recycle argument, and even the free market/capitalism argument, all revolve around the same things...the right to be greedy, wasteful, boastful and conspicuous consumers, versus the values of being thrifty, conserving of resources and not using more than is needed. What is most amusing about it is the way both sides try to cover their real motives in discussing the issue. The fact is, the McMansion owners enjoy showing off their appearance of wealth. They do not care that it is wasteful, or that it is financilly not a wise move to buy more house than they need, with the attendant mortgage and maintenance costs. But, they also do not want to admit that they are greedy, selfish and self-centered, either. So, they go with the space argument, or some other argument that masks or ignores those traits.

In much the same way, the detractors of McMansions have their own character flaws. Many are jealous of the ostentatious displays of perceived affluence, or perhaps annoyed that their conscious efforts to conserve resourcesare not more appreciated. The back and forth, all while trying not to come right out and accuse the McMansion owners of being wasteful and greedy pigs, can be quite amusing.

Well, the McMansion owners can take comfort in the fact that there are indeed some who are envious of your perceived affluence, You can usually find them watching HGTV. And, you thrifty conservationists? Well, you can take solace in knowing that your thrifty ways pay off during recessions like the one we are in, and that the perceived affluence of the McMansion owners is generally just that...a perception. Here's an article on the troubles of the living large set...

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-...mentid=20336824

Hahah. Thanks for the post. I literally laughed out loud.

Some insightful words there and I cringed in parts as felt that broad brush stroke over me.

it's preference. does a single person need 2000 sq ft?

Like you said, it's a preference. Does a single person need more than a scooter? Cause even a motorcycle is too much really. Or maybe a Smart car if you need to carry two people... or maybe a sack of groceries? Surely you would never see a single person drive something as audacious and self serving as a Camry or Accord? Because there'd be room for 3 more people and unless they were carpooling that'd be a huge waste of resources.

Of course those are extreme and perhaps ridiculous examples. And I surely have seen some of the grotesques examples of McMansions some people have talked about. But a lot of the houses I've seen in Bellaire are about 4000 sq ft on 8000 sq ft lots and they look good to me. And likely, only a family of 3 live in that house... but so what. If you go by what someone needs... then none of us should be living in anything more than 2000 sq ft for a family of 5.

For those who think so poorly of 'McMansions', what do you think of garden/patio homes, townhomes, or condos? They all serve their purpose of having more living space than there is land. Do they carry such negative perceptions? A lot of these McMansions that are popping up are in neighborhoods with traditional 1/6 acre lots but in very sought after areas. So when you're paying $250k+ for the land alone, it'd be hard to build just a 2000 sq ft bungalow on there just to hit some magical 1:3 house to lot ratio.

I can't stand it anymore! The word is 'snooty', or in the alternative, 'snotty'.

Oh, and hope it works out for ya.

Hahah. I wanted to say something too but I wanted to keep it on topic. I'm vicariously venting through you now

Very good information, gentlemen. Thank you.

Or maybe they'll figure you want the 3% as a discount on sale price, which makes their 3% cut even smaller. Or most realtors are annoying. My history with realtors involves 2 ignorant ones that only made things more expensive and more difficult.

Well yeah, that's pretty much the plan. Hahah. But I'm sure they could work it out with the seller to make sure they get the full 3%. Or they could see that 3% of 97% of the price is better than 0% of nothing.

I'm not a lawyer so I can't represent myself. But I've ran into many issues just wanting to see a house. When they ask if I have an agent and I tell them no, they direct me to another agent at their brokerage to act as my agent. When I tell them I'm not interested in hiring one yet (or at all) they tell me no dice. Can't see the house.

Maybe they figure their job as the seller's broker is to just work with the seller and showings are for the buying broker?

I finally have an update...

The title policy has no strict language limiting their liability to a certain value and the Texas Board of Insurance clearly states fraud is covered by the policy. The title company's higher-ups decided that their liability was going to be determined by an appraisal of the property valued at the time of loss. The appraisal came back at more than what I was requesting from the title company (which was the HUD price and fees, plus renovation costs) and the title company paid it! Even though it took way to long to get this done, I no longer hate Fidelity

Now I can focus on the other house I was scammed on... Lawyer's Title sucks

Thanks for the update. I'm glad things turned out well. But that so sucks these things happen.