Bellaire/Southside Place/West University Place Real Estate

[texas911]

You don't need to know how to draw to know what a good drawing is. Get real, do I need to be a musician to enjoy music? Heck no.

But its all about the details. Would you feel right if you went to your doctors office and it was dirty and run down? Heck no.

Plus we're talking MILLION DOLLAR homes here, hire a real architect. Of course we know they don't build houses from sketches, its all about the design.

Regarding the zoning in West U. The don't allow among other things multi family dwellings (apartments), they won't let you turn your house into a business like in Montrose, they won't let you build commercial building unless its in the downtown area. You guys wonder how come property value is going through the roof in West U, that's why. I wish they had an architectural review board, headed by me though!

[enviromain]

Did you know Mildred Main? She was my grandma. I grew up surrounded by strangers that always seemed to know my grandmother. When I was younger and wherever I worked, everyone asked me if I was realated to Mildred. We were horseback riding in Palo Duro Canyon with her and she ran into someone she knew.

She's passed now, but still alive and thriving in my memories! She attended Methodist Church for 40+ years and is in good hands with God or vise versa.

Did you know Mildred?

[Subdude]

Swinging for the Suburban Fences, but Not Too Hard

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

Published: April 16, 2006

BELLAIRE, Tex.

[DJ V Lawrence]

How in the world did this story end up in the NY Times?! I didn't even know New Yorkers remembered where Staten Island was much-less Bellaire.

I like how the article suggests that Bellaire sounded as if it were named for the Gulf Breeze

[UrbaNerd]

Of course, they just HAD to say this:

"An old sign near the outfield spells out the stakes: "Ballplayers do not retrieve balls hit into yards without the residents' permission. Violators can be arrested for trespassing on private property."

Or worse.

"Why don't we enter the yards, Jackie?" a neighbor, Robert Duffield, asked his wife, eliciting her well-primed answer: "Because," she said, "this is Texas and you might get shot.""

Typical NYT material

[Subdude]

Of course, they just HAD to say this:

"An old sign near the outfield spells out the stakes: "Ballplayers do not retrieve balls hit into yards without the residents' permission. Violators can be arrested for trespassing on private property."

Or worse.

"Why don't we enter the yards, Jackie?" a neighbor, Robert Duffield, asked his wife, eliciting her well-primed answer: "Because," she said, "this is Texas and you might get shot.""

Typical NYT material

Well in fairness, they are just quoting Texans who say that kind of thing.

[editor]

Of course, they just HAD to say this:

"An old sign near the outfield spells out the stakes: "Ballplayers do not retrieve balls hit into yards without the residents' permission. Violators can be arrested for trespassing on private property."

Or worse.

"Why don't we enter the yards, Jackie?" a neighbor, Robert Duffield, asked his wife, eliciting her well-primed answer: "Because," she said, "this is Texas and you might get shot.""

Typical NYT material

Are you claiming they made it up?

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

im a Texan and an owner of firearms. I would shoot only if my property and life were in danger, not at some kids getting a ball out of the yard. NY in many ways see us as the wild west still

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Not just NY. I've run across several people not just from outside the US but within that think we all(Houstonians) ride horses to/from school/work

[DJ V Lawrence]

Biggest stereotype and fear of Houston I get here is that everyone there carries a gun, and can fire at will.

I'm sure we've heard movies mention that stereotype as well. Candice Bergen's character in Miss Congeneality comes to mind.

[editor]

A few years azgo I drove from Seattle to Vancouver. At the border the Canadian guard looked at my license and said, "Texas, eh? Where are your guns?"

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Biggest stereotype and fear of Houston I get here is that everyone there carries a gun, and can fire at will.

I'm sure we've heard movies mention that stereotype as well. Candice Bergen's character in Miss Congeneality comes to mind.

That reminds me of my first time in the Mideast. We were at the docks in Kuwait unloading equipment. We were working with some third country nationals(TCNs-most from Pakistan,India,Phillipines, Bangladesh). While working the Pakistani TCN asked if we were from Texas, we said" Yeah" then in his broken English he said"Oh Texas....bang bang shoot Indians?" We just nodded. He called over his friend and said "He's from India.... you bang bang?"

People do think of us as the wild west

BUT we Digress

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

That reminds me of my first time in the Mideast. We were at the docks in Kuwait unloading equipment. We were working with some third country nationals(TCNs-most from Pakistan,India,Phillipines, Bangladesh). While working the Pakistani TCN asked if we were from Texas, we said" Yeah" then in his broken English he said"Oh Texas....bang bang shoot Indians?" We just nodded. He called over his friend and said "He's from India.... you bang bang?"

People do think of us as the wild west

BUT we Digress

You silly goose

[XLR8]

Texans have gotta keep the myth going for as long as possible!

I polished my guns last night, fed the horses and got them ready for the ride to the Med Center in the morning from Westbury.

Ye-haw.

[TheNiche]

Well in fairness, they are just quoting Texans who say that kind of thing.

You always have to wonder, though, whether the people that NYT was quoting were actually from Texas. I've heard a few transplants make assinine comments along these general lines, seeming to get something out of having made the snide remark.

The wife of a friend of mine is originally from northern California, and I've known her to remark on more than one occaision that she can't stand living in a place with so many religious people. I tell her to "just go with it...they're all just a bunch of folks", but all she wants is to move back to northern California where she can be around more like-minded people. Some come with false preconceptions already ingrained in them, and others just can't handle diversity of opinion.

[dbigtex56]

Getting back to the Times article:

"I don't want to be in the backyard to be clunked on the head with a softball," said Lee Decker, a builder whose new and yet-unsold $721,000 two-story house overlooking left-center field lost two windows late last year to homegrown sultans of swat in the park's Optimist Club league.

Seems like the problem has arisen because builders are cramming McMansions onto lots where formerly humble little ranch houses stood; if lawns are eliminated and houses built higher to maximize square footage, of course there's a greater chance of an errant ball hitting a window.

Note too that Mr. Decker is the builder, not a resident, of the house in question. Its ultimate occupant might have a more tolerant attitude (if he expects to get along with his neighbors.)

[brijonmang]

do these people have too much taste to put up a net fence like they have on golfcourses? its a simple solution to a petty problem that the residents put themselves in.

[musicman]

do these people have too much taste to put up a net fence like they have on golfcourses? its a simple solution to a petty problem that the residents put themselves in.

But then they'll be complaining their view is ruined.

[brijonmang]

But then they'll be complaining their view is ruined.

they just need to realize that sometimes you have to make sacrifices...or understand what they get themselves into when they buy a house on a lot that backs up to a baseball field.

[musicman]

they just need to realize that sometimes you have to make sacrifices...or understand what they get themselves into when they buy a house on a lot that backs up to a baseball field.

Yeah but it's Bellaire, the "perfect" community. NOTHING ever goes wrong or is bad there.

[sevfiv]

Yeah but it's Bellaire, the "perfect" community. NOTHING ever goes wrong or is bad there.

*gag*

let's not start on this subject

[RedScare]

do these people have too much taste to put up a net fence like they have on golfcourses? its a simple solution to a petty problem that the residents put themselves in.

If I remember the original article, they DID put up a net. That was not high enough, so they put up a SECOND, higher net. That has largely solved the problem, save for the occasional softball version of Albert Pujols.

This entire article is really a waste of valuable New York Times newsprint. Is this issue any more important than the occasional neighbor who who thinks nothing of allowing their dog to crap on my front lawn?

[brijonmang]

well i didnt get to read the entire article because the link is not working for me, but at least i can give them some common sense credit now.

[gwilson]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to get some idea of what people think is missing in the Bellaire area. A client of mine has a 1/2 acre lot (which is pretty big considering most new construction in Bellaire is 5-7,000 square foot at the 2mil mark on much less lot (I am managing a job that is a 6500 lv/8000tc on a 1/4 acre lot)) and wants me to build a house on it for him for resale.

I was wondering what style/ammenities (other than a back yard) the buying public in this market think is missing in the area.

Help?

[ricco67]

one of the homes you should look at is the new home (more accurately a mcMansion) near the corner of Bissonnet and 2nd street.

Alot of the gripes I hear, believe it or not, is storage for the bulk products they buy at Sams.

Lately I also heard about media centers as well as a "safe room". I just think those people are overly paranoid.

[gwilson]

one of the homes you should look at is the new home (more accurately a mcMansion) near the corner of Bissonnet and 2nd street.

Alot of the gripes I hear, believe it or not, is storage for the bulk products they buy at Sams.

Lately I also heard about media centers as well as a "safe room". I just think those people are overly paranoid.

Perhaps a combination storm/safety room. Something that can protect a family from a storm, as well as an intruder and provide storage space. It is an idea.

As far as the McMansion, what about it should I look at? What IS or what ISN'T needed?

[ricco67]

Well, some of the homes that I noticed in the North as well as what a friend of mine built was a reinforced room.

he built at 5,000sf home with a room in the center that was about 10x10 where he stored his servers (and his private haven from 6 kids), I forgot what he was using for the walls, but basically it would be fire resistant as well as able to survive if the surrounding walls were breached because of a storm.

I thought it was a rather cool house.

So I would imagine something in which would remain solid if the home encountered high wind speeds/hail or maybe even a low/moderate tornado near miss.

[RedScare]

That would be a safe room. They can be built any number of ways, but it sure is cheaper to build a 10x10 room out of concrete block than a 5000 sf house.

As for what a Bellaire resident would want in a house, I couldn't tell you. I'm very happy in a 1300 sf bungalow. I cannot imagine that cleaning a house 4 times the size of mine is worth it....especially considering I would also have to pay for it....that would mean I actually have to work.

[TAK]

indoor/outdoor pool? ya know.... sunroom style with sliding doors and roof or something like that...

if it were me, i'd want a basement... well, if it were me and this was not an area likely to flood.

[TheNiche]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to get some idea of what people think is missing in the Bellaire area. A client of mine has a 1/2 acre lot (which is pretty big considering most new construction in Bellaire is 5-7,000 square foot at the 2mil mark on much less lot (I am managing a job that is a 6500 lv/8000tc on a 1/4 acre lot)) and wants me to build a house on it for him for resale.

I was wondering what style/ammenities (other than a back yard) the buying public in this market think is missing in the area.

Help?

For a while, I was considering buying a home in Richmond Plaza, which is in the City of Houston but looks like Bellaire and can get Bellaire city services (fire, police) if it needs them. The plan was to partner with another couple of guys on the street who own seven other homes in total and try to come up with a master plan that would've set the street apart from any like it in the area. But before we could get too far along, the seller accepted a lower price than mine (!) and then couldn't clear the title process. So I'm no longer looking at that one.

But aside from street planning, which is difficult for just anybody to pull off, I also was contemplating what would be suitable for the site. If the home is for resale, then I'd be hesitant to try anything other than the typical McMansion styles (medeterranian, french provincial, conservative brick box, or gawdawful/gaudy).

I like the safe room and enclosed sunroom/pool ideas a lot. The enclosed pool would be very unique. Also, I was at one of the gun shows at the GRB a few months ago, and one of the vendors had a solid steel saferoom complete with filtered vents that lead outside the house and a big vault door that can only be opened with a combination from the outside, but that can be opened just by pulling a lever on the inside. The price wasn't too bad, and Harris County will SUBSIDIZE a big chunk of the cost of installation to any part of the county that isn't in a flood plain.

I've also toured a few of the McMansions out there to get a sense of what was missing, and a lot of them are very lacking on the landscaping. Back yards, small though they tend to be, are nothing more than grass and a fence. Latticework, trees, flowers, etc. would spruce up the curb appeal.

One of the medeterranian homes that I looked at had a very high turret that would've made an excellent lookout, but it was wasted space. Males and children are both attracted to elevated nooks and crannies like those.

I'd recommend that you try to tour some of the million-dollar-plus homes that are currently on the market. Learn through other peoples' mistakes.