Swamplot Archives by Category: Homes for Sale

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Hudson News

We have a winner for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game! Who won that membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

First, here’s where you guessed this home might be: Southampton (2 guesses), Bellaire (3 of you), Tanglewood, Champions (2), “off Memorial near the Tollway,” Baytown (2), “Gessner and Wilcrest area,” Pearland, Sugar Land, The Woodlands (2), Katy, Southampton, the Heights, Briar Forest, Downtown, Memorial, West University, Deer Park, League City, Clear Lake, Greatwood, Willowbrook, Spring, Champions, Kingwood, Midtown, Montrose, Rice Military, Camp Logan, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Timbergrove Manor (2), Upper Kirby, the Galleria, Afton Oaks, Gulfton, Spring Branch, Sharpstown, Alief, Braeburn, Tanglewilde, Westchase, Barker Cypress, Greenspoint, Cinco Ranch, EaDo, River Oaks (2), “Wards 1-6,” Riverside Terrace, Avondale, “just inside the Beltway, just off Memorial Dr.,” West Lane Place, “somewhere south of Richmond and west of Hillcroft,” “the Stoney Brook or Westbriar/Tanglewilde area,” Tealwood, and “the Memorial/Gessner area.”

The winner of a one-year individual membership in the RDA is mojo jojo, for pinpointing the home with this entry:

The decorations in this home point to outside the loop, around the beltway or beyond! The photos give very little indication to era, except for the kitchen. From the knob placement on the cabinets (I betcha that these cabinets original had yellow or green ceramics knobs), to the custom built vent apron over the island, this kitchen screams 70’s!!! . . .

What leads me to the location is the fact that the home has almost no yard, as seen in the many photos which show the ivy covered wall outside of every window. This leads me to the many townhome communities built in the 70’s and 80’s, around the Beltway.

My scientific calculations, lead me to believe that this home is just inside the Beltway, and just off Memorial Dr.

Congratulations, mojo jojo!

We’re also handing out an honorable mention to movocelot, for being kinda close too. Now just where is this place?

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Meanwhile, Way Out There in Texas City

A reader wants to know if this home on a cul-de-sac in Texas City’s Northside neighborhood is too far out to work as a subject of Swamplot’s weekly Neighborhood Guessing Game.

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Major League

Some very smart and interesting guesses in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game!

Here’s where you thought this home might be: “Off of Highway 249, Jones Rd. and Louetta,” West University, Katy, Lakeside Estates, “around the Augusta/Bering area” (2 guesses), Riverside Terrace (also 2), “that strip between Almeda and 288,” Lakeside Place, “Barker’s Landing, between Memorial and I-10, behind the BP compound,” Gaywood, Braeswood Place, Ayrshire, Braes Heights, Braes Oaks, Braes Manor, Braes Terrace, Emerald Forest, Southern Oaks, the Rossmoyne Addition (near Bonnie Brae and Graustark), Wilchester, Clute, Meyerland, Memorial, FM 1960, along Yorktown and Sage in the Galleria, “just south of Memorial City Mall, maybe on Gessner,” Westhaven Estates, “one of the Fleetwood neighborhoods near Memorial and Highway 6), Montrose, “within a mile or 2 of Memorial and 610,” Sugar Land (2), Richmond, Sugar Creek, Quail Valley, “along Cypresswood and Louetta,” the Energy Corridor, Prestonwood Forest, “East of Eden,” The Woodlands (3), Dickinson, along Dickinson Bayou, Champions, Champion Forest, “that River Oaks Lite neighborhood between Shepherd and Kirby, north of Westheimer,” Pecan Grove, Tanglewood, Vatican City (2), Bellaire, the Museum District, Willow Meadows, Linkwood, “the ‘Ashford’ subdivisions along Briarforest west of Kirkwood,” “the older subdivisions in Pearland and Friendswood along Clear Creek,” Bay Oaks in Clear Lake, Idylwood, Briargrove Park, Spring Valley, Northfield in Fondren Southwest, Lazybrook, Timbergrove Manor, “the Shepherd Forest/Brookhollow area,” Inwood Forest (2), Bayou Bend, “the Woodstone/Woodlake Forest/Hudson Oaks area,” Tealwood, “I-10, just before the Beltway, north side of the highway,” Kingwood, River Oaks, “on Breakwood by 610 South,” Townhouse Manor, and “one of the more upscale subdivisions in outer Mongolia.”

Matt Mystery wins this one with his close-enough, uh . . . 19th guess:

The paneling is the main clue but the ceiling height is what is so mysterious - not just a high ceiling. Not a two story ceiling. It’s a one and one-half story ceiling. Wherever it is, I suspect it is a custom home. Some built custom homes in “tract” subdivisions which is what I’m wondering about - some other possibilities could be Bellaire, the Museum District, Willow Meadows, Linkwood, the “Ashford” subdivisions along Briarforest west of Kirkwood, the older subdivisions in Pearland and Friendswood along Clear Creek, Bay Oaks in Clear Lake. So many possibilities.

Yes, but this is where it is:

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Tacos a No-Go? What’s Up with the Indian Summer Lodge?

A couple of months ago, a TABC application appeared outside the Indian Summer Lodge, Jeff Law’s quirky and colorful Quonset-Hut-turned-event-compound adjacent to the new Hike-and-Bike Trail off lower Columbia St. in the Heights. And so the rumor began that midtown’s Tacos-A-Go-Go might be moving or expanding there.

Now, however, the Indian Summer Lodge is for sale. A new listing was posted over the weekend on the MLS. The 16,170-sq.-ft. property features three buildings — the lodge, the “loft” (the Quonset hut), and a treehouse with skyline balcony.

Here’s what $775,000 gets you:

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Patio Home of the Futurama

Over on Lovely Listing, readers are noting the resemblance of this shiny new yet-to-be-manufactured residence planned by On Point Custom Homes for 1517 Driscoll St. to a certain alcohol-guzzling teevee robot.

Both do feature state-of-the-art home automation systems.

The posting’s author begs:

Oh please oh please oh please someone buy this house and paint it silver and put your TV antenna on top please please please

How about a view of that shiny metal backside?

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Fantasy Andalusian: Climbing All Those Spanish Steps

“I’d need to get in shape to move into this house,” writes the Swamplot reader who sent in this listing for one of those new $million-plus homes in the fenced-off Caceres compound wedged between Reinerman, Feagan, and Detering streets in the West End.

Is this stucco structure really five stories tall?

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Last Resort in Montrose

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 1206 Hyde Park Blvd., Hyde Park, Montrose
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,680 sq. ft. on a 10,100-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $1,199,999 [corrected from before]
History: On the market for 7 weeks

All the fine furnishings in this 1920 Montrose mansion didn’t sway the Swamplot reader who nominated the property:

“River Oaks living in Montrose”? Certainly River Oaks pricing in Montrose!

Given the location, the neighborhood, and the house itself the HCAD appraisal of almost $700k seems excessive. . . .

This house was sold in 2004 per HCAD, and the 2005 valuation was $563k - my guess is that is very close to the sale price.

The 2009 valuation of the house is about $700k. All the neighboring houses are about $300k in value. The neighborhood average is well under $200/sq ft (a beautiful house, fully restored . . . on Harold recently sold for about $200/ft on a similar sized lot)

And a better price for this property would be . . . ?

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: In the Zone

Where was that home that was featured in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? And did anyone win that RDA membership?

First, let’s run through the locations you guessed: Braes Heights, Highland Village, on Brogden Rd. in Memorial, Southampton, Rice Village, Midtown (2 guesses), “somewhere off Washington Ave.,” St. George Place, Hyde Park (also 2 guesses), Cottage Grove, “north of Fairview, east of Dunlavy, near Wilson Elementary,” “between Shepherd and Waugh, just south of Washington, maybe around Feagan St.,” Timbergrove Manor (2), Montrose, the Museum District, Camp Logan, the Heights (2), “just east of Memorial Park, south of Washington, north of Memorial, near Westcott,” Rice Military (3), near Memorial Park, in the “River Oaks” area, “in the upper west Washington Ave/Rice Military vicinity,” near Winter and Houston Streets (2), Sunset Heightsish, Upper Kirby, Shady Acres (2), “north Heights,” Sunset Heights, “within a mile of the north Loop,” off Quitman, East Downtown, Fifth Ward, Downtown, the Caceres development, “between Montrose and the Museum District” (2), Jackson Hill, the West End, and near the Menil.

The winner of that one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance? Longtime NGG player justguessin, who just guessed this guess:

First, I’ll go with somewhere off Washington Ave. Second, St. George’s Place, so many townhomes over there.

One of those new modern townhomes with all of the slate tiles on the exterior.

This house must have been built recently. There are a few too many textures in this place….cement floors, granite and marble counters, and the ubiquitous “tumble stone” backsplashes. Also, the rug in the bedroom seems to keep showing up in the NGG houses. You would also have to sell the dining room table with the house…what else could work there?

Congratulations, justguessin!

This week we also recognize the considerable efforts of reader mojo jojo, who already knew the answer (and wrote in to let us know that), but went ahead and posted this remarkable entry anyway, just to throw the rest of you off track:

Just from my initial peruse through the photos, two things immediately caught my eye; the window placement and the curved walls in the dining room and just past the kitchen. Noticing these items, I am certain that this is a recently constructed contemporary/modern home. On closer inspection, I noticed that through the four windows in the living room, I can see that the property has been landscaped with an abundance of tropical plantings, consisting of large green leafy foliage. From the size of the landscaping, I would estimate that this home was built somewhere around 2005 or 2006. Although I don’t see any, I would bet my first Gin & Tonic of the morning that the property has its fair share of palm trees.

From the photo of the master bedroom, again looking out the windows, this photo also gives two clues to location! Out these windows, you see mature trees both on this property as well as across the street. This indicates that the home is located in an established neighborhood, maybe from the 30’s to the 50’s. The second, and most important clue, is the slope of the street running in front of the home (bottom of the middle window). I can tell that the road slopes down to the left! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

This home is located in Braes Heights, what should be Section 9. I am sure it is located on one of the streets that run North or Northwest from N Braeswood Blvd, between Stella Link and Buffalo Speedway. My guess would be that the home is within five to 10 lots North of N. Braeswood Blvd. Another clue, which I almost missed, is the framed diplomas located in the open cabinets in the study. These diplomas look just like those that hang behind my Dr’s desk. My theory is that the owner is a Dr who does ER work, thus the close proximity of Braes Heights to the Med Center is perfect.

Did it work?

So where is this place, really?

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Priced in the Heights

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 301 E. 10th St., Houston Heights
Details: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths; 1800 sq. ft. on an 8,200-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $600,000
History: On the market for 6 weeks.

A reader thinks this property is overpriced:

. . . even if it is lot price at 8,200 sq ft - listed for $600K it’s about double the price - I’ve seen 10,000 sq ft lots go for $325,000 (May 09). For a lot in the Heights it’s too high - yes it’s a corner lot - but there are no curbs on the street and it’s right near a church. To keep the house for a “conversion” as suggested would be too high as the house doesn’t even have central air or heat.

What would be a better price?

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Shakespeare at the Village Corner

We have a winner! The . . . same winner.

Where is this home? There were 2 guesses each for West University, Riverside Terrace, Idylwood, Montrose, and the Heights. The rest: “near Hobby Airport,” Pearland, Southampton, Southgate, Clear Lake, Spring Valley “or the area a little east of there,” “around Rice,” “Longpoint near Spring Branch Med Center,” Meyerland, “MacGregor/Riverside,” “outside the Beltway just south of I-10, maybe near Kirkwood or Dairy Ashford,” Friendswood, “off Lawndale and 45,” Westbury, Garden Oaks, “somewhere in the vicinity of Rice and Rice Village,” “one of the various neighborhoods along Greenbriar and Shepherd between Rice Village and West Alabama,” Oak Forest, Pasadena, and Deer Park.

The winner — for the third week in a row! — is Matt Mystery, who blanketed the Rice University area with a series of guesses, making sure to mention the Rice Village:

That converted attic to me is really the main clue along with that curious mail slot which seems to indicate there is also an entry. So it is in an older neighborhood where even the smaller houses, and this was probably a smaller house with several rooms added on, were a little more “upscale” than normal. One story but with a high-pitched roof which as I recall allowed for better cross-ventilation which kept the house cooler and of course added more storage space in the attic itself. It could be out in the boonies somewhere but my feeling is it’s “inside the loop” and somewhere in the vicinity of Rice and Rice Village although it could be further north in one of the various neighborhoods along Greenbriar and Shepherd between Rice Village and West Alabama and the various neighborhoods between West Alabama and 59 in the Montrose area. Draw a circle using Rice University as the center and I suspect this house is somewhere within a 5 mile radius.

Congratulations, Matt! Our runner-up this week is Carol, who also thought the home was “around Rice.”

Where is it exactly?

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: The Path from Spring Branch to Binglewood

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 3122 Mona Lee Ln., Binglewood
Details: 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 3,894 sq. ft. on a 10,018-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $234,500
History: On the market since mid-September

This person who’s nominating this home writes:

Binglewood? Binglewhere? Wherever it is, this is a great neighborhood to walk in. As my spouse and I have strolled past this house over the years, we’ve called it The White Elephant. It’s a charming elephant from the front, but it’s been way over-improved for the neighborhood. Before the large addition, it was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and was probably around 1700 square feet. Now it’s a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, and almost 3900 square feet. Almost no one else in the neighborhood has added on. The addition at the back is quite graceless, the pool won’t add any value, and the entire rest of the back yard is concrete.

There is no cache to living in this neighborhood. When we moved in, more than one person said to us: “Oh, Spring Branch. That area used to be nice.” We love it here, but are under no illusion that other people will. The school district is great, but the neighborhood is zoned to Edgewood, Northbrook and Northbrook - not the best in the district. (Snark aside, our kids loved Edgewood Elementary, but didn’t want to go to Northbrook Middle and High. It was their choice to go elsewhere.)

So what about a better price for this home?

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Big Guessing Game Hunt

Who won that Rice Design Alliance membership?

First, your guesses in this week’s game: Four of you guessed Sugar Land; 3 Hunters Creek, Tanglewood, and River Oaks. There were 2 each for Memorial, Bayou Woods or Sherwood Forest, Piney Point Village, Katy, Magnolia, Sweetwater, Bellaire, and The Woodlands. Plus individual votes for “Memorial/Beltway 8,” “somewhere off Memorial Dr. near Voss,” “south of Memorial Dr. between Post Oak and Voss,” Memorial and Dairy Ashford, Crestwood, Glen Cove, Kingwood, Sugar Lakes, Venetian Estates, “the Peninsulas in Oyster Creek,” Pecan Grove in Richmond, Tomball, Indian Trail, Rivercrest, Augusta Pines, Homewoods, Tall Timbers, Mt. Belvieu, Cinco Ranch, “along the Bay Oaks golf course,” Camp Logan, Royal Oaks, Crosby, “off 249,” Pinehurst, “Champions area,” FM 1960, Northgate Forest, west Friendswood, Brazoria County, Lake Jackson, West Columbia, “the 290/Highway 6/1960 area,” Pearland, “along Buffalo Bayou near the Houston Country Club,” and “Holly Creek, west of Tomball.”

That one-year individual membership in the RDA goes to this week’s hardest guesser, Matt Mystery, who mentioned no fewer than 15 different communities in the course of 7 separate entries — including one that’s very close to the actual location:

Sugar Land. It could be Sweetwater or possibly Sugar Lakes/Venetian Estates. Or maybe The Peninsulas in Oyster Creek. Then there’s Pecan Grove in Richmond. So many subdivisions. So many areas. It just has that Tanglewood look. And it’s 9 pm on Thursday and it’s still a mystery.

Matt Mystery happens to be the same matt who won last week’s contest. Congratulations!

A lot of great guesses in there from the rest of you, too!

How about the deets?

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A Devious Plan in Lazybrook

Just what is it about the layout of this seemingly restful seventies Rancher, waiting quietly on the market on Tannehill Dr. in Lazybrook, that might foster such dastardly schemes?

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Carraba Rating Commercial Property

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 2506 West Main St.
Details: 2-3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 1,779 sq. ft. on a 9,473-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $950,000
History: On the market since the beginning of September.

Just a couple blocks south of the intersection of Kirby and West Alabama is this behind-the-Carraba’s-parking-lot home, apparently being marketed for lot value. The reader who’s nominating this property calls it:

Cute little house, but almost a million for it. Represented by Carraba Property. Next to restaurant of the same name. For that price, a lifetime supply of free Italian meals should come with purchase.

Okay, what about without the meals? What should it cost then?

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Around the Bend

Where was this place? And did anyone win the prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It?

Good questions! And this week we had a lot of very good guesses. Seven each for southwest Houston and Westbury. Six each for Meyerland and Sharpstown. Three for Willowbend; plus 2 each for Pasadena, Spring Branch, Willow Meadows, LaPorte, and Riverside Terrace. The rest? Westwood, Spring Valley, Robindell, “somewhere off Braeswood,” “on Beechnut out west of Hillcroft,” “somewhere in the oldest part of the Windsor Village-Simsbrook-Brentwood nexus, within a 2-mile radius of Hiram Clarke and West Orem,” Meadow Creek, “the Almeda Mall/Fuqua area,” Baytown, Spring, Aldine, East Houston, Lockwood, “near North Houston,” Glenbrook Valley, Morgans Point, Deer Park, Briarmeadow, “north of Westheimer around Voss/Woodway,” Gulfton, “the older part of Sharpstown by Fondren and the Southwest Freeway,” Sharpstown Country Club Estates, Sharpstown Country Club Terrace, Larkwood, “near Hobby Airport,” “Bellaire West out past Beltway 8,” Clear Lake, League City, “somewhere east of the Gulf Freeway,” Candlelight Trails, “within a block of Bissonnet, between Edloe and S. Gessner,” Bellaire, “610 and Stella Link,” Eastwood, Third Ward, Alief, “around the North Airline area,” “Airline around 45 North,” Maplewood, Braeburn Valley, Braeburn Terrace, and Stancliff Park.

Of the 3 Willowbend guesses, the entries from matt came with the best explanation (plus some bonus entertainment value):

. . . The decor is obviously 60s, the house itself probably 50s, and because of the apparent layout I would suspect one of the “better” neighborhoods in the Spring Branch or Sharpstown or Willow Meadows/Willowbend areas. Something about the kitchen screams the Willow Meadows/Willowbend area.

No comment on the round bed. Remember them well. Fun to play in. Not so fun to sleep in. Inevitably when you tossed and turned you tumbled and ended up on the floor.

and later:

The ceiling/front windows have that Maplewood/Braeburn Valley look. But the one photo of a “den” which appears to be a second den indicates it was once the garage and I believe that’s a no-no in Maplewood and Braeburn Valley as well. So that leaves Westbury and Willow Meadows/Willowbend or Robindell, the bathroom has that Robindell look, or even the Braeburn Terrace area to the northwest of Robindell. Another possibility is the Stancliff Park area off Bissonnet and Wilcrest. Could be anywhere but it just has the Southwest Houston look. Definitely “upper middle class” house or at least it was back in the 1960s.

Congratulations, matt! You’ve won 3 fab prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It: The original HIWI book; the new HIWI: Ike book, plus an official HIWI “Hunkered Down” stencil kit! Our very close runners-up are David W and Cathy.

Also deserving recognition this week are fake-out guesses from readers who knew the listing. Here’s James:

Whoa! This elderly gent knows how to romance the ladies. And he runs a darn good bingo tournament on the weekends!!
Obviously the owner has done absolutely nothing in terms of updating or staging so this has to be in prime location. The owner is about to cash in and he knows it. This bachelor pad is north of Westheimer, around Voss/Woodway.

. . . and PaxMcKatz:

This fixer upper was owned by a bonafied ASTRONAUT-alternate in Clear Lake. In the 70’s, 80’s he lured the ladies back to his abode for an “Out-of-this-World” night. He chose the fridge cause, “Hell it looks like the moon-lander.” After the mission was scrubbed and a moonshot was no longer gonna happen, this confirmed bachelor dated a series of artsy-craftsy women; one of which painted the kitchen pink and was promptly dumped. He settled down with a cute divorcee; with all the mixens of a small shabby-sheik cottage to merge with his mod. She brought her stuff to the house and now these 2 lovebirds are looking forward to taking an around-the-world cruise, playing bridge with their friends before they move into the condo on the lake. He loves that she still calls him “Captain” and humors him by serving freeze-dried food on date night. They are a cute couple.

PaxMcKatz’s entry attracted fans in the comments. Great work!

Now about that house . . .

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