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Monday, March 15, 2010

Comment of the Day: A Park Grows in Idylwood

March 15, 2010 – 1:28 pm
   

“The neighborhood will be able to ‘use’ the vacant land but cannot build permanent structures upon it.

With the exception of one lot at the far end of N. Macgregor, 9 are connecting so that they will form a large U shaped property. There’s been talk of a shared garden but who knows… The area still looks pretty rough right now, but the damaged sidewalks, where driveways once were, are being repaired and curbs installed.

There are existing trees and lawns so hopefully it will become, at the very least, another usable green space.

I suspect that, when the next big flood happens and some of the remaining homes get hit yet again, if another FEMA buyout is offered, we’ll be seeing more open land along N. Macgregor. . . .” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Great Idylwood Shoreline FEMA Buyout]

1:28 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Bayous and Waterways, Comments, Flooding, Neighborhoods: Idylwood, Parks, Quicklink
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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Comment of the Day: The River Oaks Middle Age Spread

March 11, 2010 – 12:39 pm
   

“What’s sad is that River Oaks is losing the land versus house battle . . . What made River Oaks so elegant, really, was the amount of land on each lot which was probably 1/3 house to 2/3 land in most cases. Now it’s more like 2/3 house to 1/3 land. Many are nothing more than enormous townhouses with front yards.” [Matt Mystery, commenting on Down and Out in River Oaks]

12:39 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Home Design, Landscape, Neighborhoods: River Oaks, Quicklink
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Comment of the Day: Islands of Value

March 10, 2010 – 1:51 pm
   

“I have come to believe that what is nearby means nothing at all to a lot of people. The Heights just east of Shepherd was, just a few years ago, mostly shotgun shacks and run down rentals. That stopped nobody from building half million dollar plus homes. Now- that doesn’t mean this place isn’t overpriced - a comp is a comp. I’m just saying that there are apparently many people who love being the castle surrounded by the serfs.” [finness, commenting on Swamplot Price Adjuster: Brookesmith in the 200s]

1:51 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Buying and Selling, Comments, Home Prices, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Comment of the Day: Imagining the H-E-B Heights Revitalization Plan

March 9, 2010 – 2:35 pm
   

“The Sons of Hermann site would not have to be dry. There used to be a liquor store at the Boulevard and the bayou - Kims #1. Tapping in to all the people who now live within drunks-puking-in-your-driveway distance of Washington makes that site a good choice. Enter from Yale or Heights. Then maybe those condos that are 6 feet from the RR [tracks] would finally sell.” [finness, commenting on H-E-B Plans To Build a Montrose Grocery Store at Wilshire Village]

2:35 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Comments, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Neighborhoods: Washington Corridor, Quicklink, Retail
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Monday, March 8, 2010

Comment of the Day: The Great Idylwood Shoreline FEMA Buyout

March 8, 2010 – 3:51 pm
   

“The ten houses in Idylwood, 6 along N. Macgregor, 2 on Wildwood and 2 on Park Ln were all heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.

Most all those houses have been hit numerous times, not the least of which was Allison. Those homes were right on Brays Bayou. Come on folks, some of the homeowners hated to sell to FEMA but it was either that or jump through impossible hoops to raise the homes’ foundations.

True, there’s been a lot of improvement to the bayou but who knows if those improvements will be effective when the next flood hits?

Not everyone chose to take the buyout.” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Idylwood Hat Trick]

3:51 pm | 7 Comments | Read more about Bayous and Waterways, Comments, Demolitions, Flooding, Neighborhoods: Idylwood, Quicklink
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Friday, March 5, 2010

Comment of the Day: What It Takes To Fix Up a Midcentury Mod

March 5, 2010 – 3:45 pm
   

“A house of this vintage and vernacular requires a fairly specific buyer possessing a working knowledge of the systemic underpinnings of a home. The first priority will be to upgrade electrical systems, HVAC and plumbing (below grade) – this assumes the aforementioned has not been upgraded within the past 10 years or so. . . . Equally important is the roof and with a flat roof, extra care has to be taken to ensure proper water shedding and flashing details. Next is insulation (particularly with respect to a flat [roof] as there is no plenum), this will involve removing all of the gyp. bd. at the ceiling in order to access the area in question. New electrical wiring can then be run as well as HVAC ducting, followed by high efficacy insulation.

Of course, work on all of the above items will result in potential new discoveries such as dry rot, termite damage, non-compliant items per current codes, etc. Expect to reasonably expend $100K for the items noted. This is before you can consider updating the bathrooms, kitchen, new lighting, etc.

As there is no garage (not a deal breaker but lack of covered parking could be), consideration should be towards erecting a architecturally harmonious structure on the driveway side of the home.

Project is not for the faint of heart but in the end, well worth the effort and potential rewards. This house would likely qualify as a City of Houston Historic Landmark and if pursued, could potentially also include the related tax breaks.” [JAH, commenting on More Backstory on That 1960 Walnut Bend Mod: Nobody’s Screwed It Up Yet]

3:45 pm | 8 Comments | Read more about Comments, Quicklink, Renovations
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Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Making Older Homes Safer

March 5, 2010 – 3:17 pm
   

“Ironically, all of the lawsuit-limiting legislation passed at the request of the home-building industry makes Texas one of the few states where a pre-existing home is a more secure investment than a new home. When the market begins to reflect this, which it will eventually, new home builders will regret it.” [jlawrence, commenting on The $58 Million Perry Home]

3:17 pm | 12 Comments | Read more about Comments, Construction Problems, Homebuilders, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Splitting the Difference

March 4, 2010 – 2:46 pm
   

“. . . I always laugh when I see some Prius with an Obama sticker pulling into their Perry Home.” [doofus, commenting on The $58 Million Perry Home]

2:46 pm | 27 Comments | Read more about Comments, Homebuilders, Quicklink
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Comment of the Day: The Wilshire Village Curse

March 4, 2010 – 2:39 pm
   

“. . . I think we can officially call this site cursed as everyone who has anything to do with it seems to begin making insane decisions about what to do with it. A grocery store?? Really?!?” [mstark, commenting on H-E-B: Yes, We’re Buying the Wilshire Village Site]

2:39 pm | 9 Comments | Read more about Comments, Development Strategies, Neighborhoods: Lancaster Place, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Comment of the Day: We’re from the Texas Medical Center and We’re Here To Help

March 3, 2010 – 4:30 pm
   

“Given all the refineries, industrial plants, chemical plants, railroads, stagnant swamps and cesspools, traffic pollution, and the like that plague this hellhole of a town, it is a freaking wonder that Houston doesn’t lead the nation in cancer cases.” [Random Poster, commenting on Today’s Odor in Baytown Is Brought to You by ExxonMobil]

4:30 pm | 6 Comments | Read more about Air Quality, Comments, Hazards, Industrial Properties, Public Health, Quicklink
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Monday, March 1, 2010

Comment of the Day: The Soccer Stadium at Finger Furniture

March 1, 2010 – 2:01 pm
   

“Am I crazy to ask the question why this site would not be an easier solution for the Dynamo’s stadium? It’s right on 45 South, has much better ingress/egress than the east end site, with dedicated exits going north and south, very close to downtown. . . . Looking closer, too, it makes for easy alternative use(s) for the stadium (which means TSU can have even more convenient use of the facilities with their campus not 2 miles away), near Hobby Airport for sports fan travelers/reporters/etc., and doesn’t take a ton of money to make the site possible since it already has a vast parking lot, utilities, (albeit obnoxious) pylon freeway sign. Knowing the Fingers family, they would take the call, and be happy to trade the site for another from the city for future development. Yahtzee!” [JG, commenting on A Whole New Ball Game: Fingers Back and Open for Business]

2:01 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Comments, Neighborhoods: Eastwood, Quicklink, Retail
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Comment of the Day: The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Houston Redevelopment

February 24, 2010 – 1:29 pm
   

“. . . Historic Districts suck and deed restriction, too. They pit neighbor against neighbor, creating the distraction that will keep residents from organizing across the city and taking aim at the real predators. Meanwhile, the money behind the bulldozers is laughing till they pee their pants.” [finness, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Foundations of Wayne]

1:29 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Development Restrictions, Historic Districts, Quicklink, Redevelopment
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Comment of the Day: Confessions of a Curious Homeseller

February 23, 2010 – 3:17 pm
   

“I used the baby monitor to listen to the showings of my house. Just hung out at the neighbors. Not because I thought our realtor needed monitoring but because I was just so, so curious about what folks would say about my house. No real surprises. But I was amazed how many people brought small children to the showing–they spent a lot of time telling their kids to leave our coasters alone.” [Merrie, commenting on Spying on the Homebuyers]

3:17 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Buying and Selling, Comments, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
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Monday, February 22, 2010

Comment of the Day: Colquitters, It’s Your Own Damn Asphalt

February 22, 2010 – 1:42 pm
   

“What is it about Colquitt? I have seen other streets in your same zipcode surfaced twice in the last dozen years, while certain blocks of Colquitt (the high teens) look like Beyond Thunderdome. I am not so naive as to be ignorant of why some streets get better attention than others, but who did you Colquitters piss off?” [Harold Mandell, commenting on Steve Radack’s Next Little Idea]

1:42 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Comments, Hazards, Neighborhoods: Dearborn Place, Neighborhoods: Lancaster Place, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Quicklink, Streets
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Friday, February 19, 2010

Comment of the Day: The Wilshire Village Caper

February 19, 2010 – 12:29 pm
   

“Cohen is a limited partner and Dilick is the general partner. That helps explain why last February Dilick was telling people they were evicted and Cohen was telling them they could stay. Dilick is the GP and gets to call the shots. Who knows how or for how much Dilick became the GP (remember the rumors of tax delinquencies and Cohen seeking a bailout a few years back?) but I do recall Dilick surfacing in 2006 with his plan for putting a high rise there. That’s also the same time he started taking out loans on the property. So, my theory is that Dilick acquires his position as part of deal to help Cohen pay his taxes while maintaining partial ownership, uses the property as a piggy bank, comes to realize his development plans are going nowhere and he can’t find a buyer, can’t pay his loans because he couldn’t sell the property or make it profitable enough to cover his loans, defaults on his $13 million in loans, and tries every trick in the book to find a buyer and avoid foreclosure (including taking affirmative steps toward marketing the property, such as demolition, in an effort to satisfy lenders that money is on the way).” [Cap'n McBarnacle, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Ghost of Wilshire Village]

12:29 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Financing, Foreclosures, Neighborhoods: Lancaster Place, Quicklink
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