COMMENT OF THE DAY: SO CONDOS ARE FOREVER? 
“My condo complex sits on about 6 acres of land on the western edge of River Oaks. We’ve been approached a few times by developers, but our bylaws require 100% owner approval to terminate the condo regime. There was a reported offer of $39M, which comes to about $270,800/unit (not accounting for differences in common ownership). That wouldn’t buy squat inside the loop today, so we will probably never get every owner to sell. Fine by me!” [roadchick, commenting on Randall Davis Trying To Buy an Entire Westhaven Estates Townhome Complex, in One Fell Swoop] Illustration: Lulu
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE HISTORY WAS 
“. . . The loss of historic architecture does not mean that the area is no longer historic; however, signs could be posted that say something to the effect of, “this historic area used to contain significant architecture that was so undervalued that it was demolished to make way for new, soon to be historic architecture.†[Higher Density, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Kickerillo Down] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW MUCH HOUSE YOU CAN AFFORD 
“. . . Affordable is in the eye of the beholder.
My brother wants to buy his first house, and I explained it to him thusly: To see how much house you can afford, NEVER start with one of those mortgage calculators. Instead, do the following: Evaluate your month to month finances. Figure out how much you can comfortably spend on housing every month, using your own situation of debts, expenses, etc. Multiply by 2/3 to see how much you can pay on a mortgage (the remaining 1/3 is escrow fees to cover required insurance, taxes, etc, which the mortgage calculators leave out.). THEN go to the mortgage calculator and work it backwards to see what price range you should be in. This will be your threshold for affordability. You will then probably want to knock off 10 or 12% and give that number to a realtor (this way if they show you something over your price range that you like, you can still go for it).
That said, on a macro scale, the affordability indices do have merit. Large corporations use the data to help determine where to locate offices. Federal and State governments use them to help determine who gets housing dollars. But it is important that we not treat those numbers as gospel for what we, individually, can afford in terms of housing.” [ZAW, commenting on Where Houston Ranks for Affordability; The Rise of Bicycle Commuting] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THAT SINKING FEELING 
“At 13 seconds in, those houses across the water at the top of the frame are at the end of my street, South Burnett Drive, in the Lakewood subdivision. The street rises gradually as you travel away from the water, but the low end of the street lost over 20 houses during Hurricane Ike. Some owners have rebuilt on pilings, some have rebuilt at grade, and others have abandoned the property. (My own house is further up the street, at about 31 feet elevation.) The end of the flood debris field from Ike was about three lots south of my house. So, while the name ‘Swamplot’ is amusing, to some of us it is no joke.” [Reeseman, commenting on Flying High Over the Baytown Subdivision That Sunk] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE BOOM IN SPRING BRANCH 
“This part of Spring Branch has seen the median listing price go up from ~$150k to ~$250k over the past two years. Listings all over SB get multiple cash offers on the first day; a $400k listing will get bid up well into half-mil territory by week’s end. If this ball keeps rolling, we could start to see the first teardowns north of Long Point before the end of the year. Decision, decisions . . . best to buy now, or sit tight and wait for the pop?” [Rodrigo, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Auto Air] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A PROPERTY TAX PROTESTOR’S GUIDE TO HCAD BUILDING GRADES 
“There is no process to request that a home be considered an economic misimprovement. When a neighborhood has changed to the point that the original homes are no longer the norm, either by new construction or remodeling, HCAD can deem the remaining original homes as econ improvements.
On to grade — Grade is set when the home is constructed. There is usually a discussion between the builder and the appraisal district as to what level of customization is going into the property as it’s being built. Think of a typical Pulte starter-home as a C+. For every level of better materials or customization, the grade will be increased up to a maximum of X+. This is, for the most part, impossible to change on a permanent basis. Especially after the construction is complete. The key here is to get in either during construction or immediately after. It helps if your home is exactly the same as the rest on the block, but for some reason, your grade is higher. Bring in floor plans and show which houses are similar.
On to Condition/Desirability/Utility (CDU) – This is the one you can play with. A home with a reasonable amount of un-repaired deferred maintenance should be in Average condition. In the old days, all new homes were put on at Excellent condition, but HCAD has since changed that policy and puts most new homes on in Average condition. This is the one you need to work on with signed written repair estimates and pictures. Every year. Big stuff — electric, plumbing, foundation, windows, storm damage, etc.
Finally, Level of Remodel — None, partial, extensive, total, new/rebuilt. This causes a great deal of angst to many people, because there is no real written explanation of what each one is, and how long a remodel actually lasts. There are homes from the early 90s in West U that are still being considered New/Rebuilt, and, as such, are being compared to brand new construction. Additionally, HCAD does not know about every remodel — they only started getting the building permits about 6 years ago. So, your neighbor with the spectacular new kitchen who did it under the table may still be listed as having no remodel. Unless you want to bring in pictures of their kitchen from the last BBQ, there’s not much you can do, other than show that yours is in worse shape than HCAD shows. Additionally, many ARB boards and appraisers have different ideas as to what makes a remodel — putting new cabinet doors up in the kitchen? I’ve seen that called a partial remodel. Replacing knob and tube wiring without increasing capacity to avert a possible fire? I’ve seen that called a repair, and not an improvement.” [BrewWench, commenting on How Do You Get on HCAD’s ‘Cheap’ List?] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GETTING RID OF WASTEFULNESS 
“It amazes me that we’ve become so rich as a society that we can collectively afford to have fashions of home improvements that will go in and out of style (although remain perfectly functional) the same way clothes do. The funniest to me is when you see on one of these HGTV shows someone espousing all the right ‘green’ mantras, but the first thing they do when they get the house it tear out all the perfectly functioning appliances, cabinets, counters and carpet…etc to be thrown in a dumpster. All the while feeling smug about how sustainable the place is because they are putting in bamboo flooring . . .” [longcat, commenting on Comment of the Day: Your ‘Updates’ Are Dating You] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOUR ‘UPDATES’ ARE DATING YOU 
“The ‘needs updating’ knee-jerk reaction that a lot of people have to mid-century moderns is one of the reasons there are so few good ones left. Unfortunately this one had some ‘updates’ at some point, and now those previous updates are, well, dated. If it had been left alone & original, it would still have its classic features and would have more people fighting over it. Of course that wouldn’t appeal to folks who think that anything that deviates from whatever is sitting on the shelves of your local home improvement store or being slapped up by every production builder in the suburbs is somehow bad. ‘Needs updating’ usually just means ‘let’s suck out the character, charm and personality out of it and dull it down architecturally, so it fits the more mundane taste of more mundane people.’ If you find yourself house-shopping and inside a good original MCM and think, ‘needs updating’ just go find the nearest Perry home instead and sign yourself up.” [MCMlover, commenting on Trekking O’er the Terrazzo in a Sharpstown Country Club Estates Home] Photo: HAR
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: APPRECIATING THE DEAD FOLKS NEXT DOOR 
“I used to live next to a cemetery, and it was a great neighbor. They never had any parties. They never left old mattresses by the curb. It never got ‘redeveloped’ into a Cane’s Greasepath. Many people, I suppose myself included, find them to be sylvan and contemplative, beautiful spaces. But I acknowledge that death is probably the #1 source of apprehension for the average person, so a symbol of our own looming mortality may not make the most comforting neighbor for many.” [Semper Fudge, commenting on The Axis Apartments Under Construction on West Dallas and Montrose Are on Fire Now] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A REAL ESTATE CHILDHOOD 
“When I was a kid in the 80s, I used to write letters to builders requesting floor plans & brochures. Every holiday and birthday, my favorite gifts were house plan books. I would pick out my favorite houses and design communities on giant posterboards, with lots drawn out and all. I was a weird kid . . . who grew into a weird adult who works in GIS and tinkers with home design software in my spare time. One of my favorite games is Try-To-Figure-Out-The-Builder. . . .” [Bridgeland Dude, commenting on Fulshear Home Listing Photo of the Day: The Zamboni Finish] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE CITY’S HOT SPOTS AND COOL SPOTS 
“The Houston housing market is really crazy right now. There may be 2.5 months of inventory on the market when you look at the numbers as a whole, but the real issue is some pockets are in demand and some aren’t. I have a buyer who has been looking in one area for months, being outbid when something does come up and after a dozen+ offers is under contract in 24 hours or less. In contrast I have a house across the street from mine that’s been on the market for months. Location is the key and those overall statistics of months inventory don’t paint the whole picture. I am REALLY hoping the spring season sees a flood of people putting their homes on the market but I have a feeling it won’t be as many as needed.” [Tawnya, commenting on What To Do with the Gus Wortham Golf Course; Record Houston Home Inventory Lows] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MAKING THE WHEELS SQUEAK 
“. . . It sounds like a total douche move, and I guess it is, but if the property really is blighted, you can use the City to coerce them to sell. Keep reporting the property to 311. Code violations are largely complaint based in Houston. so if people make a stink, the inspectors will be out there issuing red tags. Are there crimes occurring on the property? Report them to HPD and the Harris County DA. Graffiti? Report it. Get neighbors in on the complaints, too — the more the better. Keep at it. Eventually it’ll be such a pain in the ass for the owners to keep the property that they’ll be eager to sell.
Just be forewarned, it can be a long process. We were at it for over half a decade with a slum lord who owned most of a crimeridden, gang-infested, horrifically blighted condo complex. It wasn’t until someone found evidence of possible fraud on the condo HOA’s books — and he was looking at possible jail time — that he gave it up.
I know people will react angrily to what I’m saying here. It’s a really horrible thing to do — I admit that. But Texas Law doesn’t give us many other alternatives. And when it’s real blight — dragging down whole neighborhoods, costing the City tons of money and ruining our quality of life — most neighbors would argue that it’s worth it.” [ZAW, commenting on Comment of the Day: Prying Dilapidated Properties from Shy Owners] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PRYING DILAPIDATED PROPERTIES FROM SHY OWNERS 
“I’ve spent some time in my career tracking down the sort of person that doesn’t like paying bills, receiving official notices or summonses, or anything at all like that. And yeah, it’s usually some individual or a tight family, often living out-of-state. A big corporation could never pull it off so easily.
Even if the City levies fines against the owner and eventually forecloses the property and sells it at a constables’ auction, the title is still marred because the previous owner might come back to challenge the sale over issues of notice. That doesn’t happen terribly often, but it does happen and it’s in the back of any would-be bidder’s mind at the auction. Of course, that means that the risk and the back taxes are already priced into a bid, that bids are often abysmally low, and that there’s not terribly much incentive for the City to throw good money after bad. It doesn’t mean that they won’t or shouldn’t. But I’ll bet that if they could recover more of what they put into it, that you’d see the City getting a lot more aggressive, right quick.” [TheNiche, commenting on A Tax Break for Replacing ‘Blight’; The Secret Bar Above Clutch City Squire] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: NEED MORE BARS HIGH IN THE SKY 
“It’s amazing to me how many people appreciate what Cody’s Skybar offered Houston, while it never seemed to inspire imitators. It’s remarkable how a little elevation can lend so much atmosphere to a place in a flat city like Houston. Even when the weather was hot & humid. It was a delight to hang out on the outdoor patio and enjoy the view. . . .” [Guido, commenting on How the Montrose ‘Skybar’ Building Demo Is Going Down] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE GAPING HOLE IN THE GARDENING DEMOGRAPHIC 
“. . . before you try to do something different and figure out a way to provide space for small garden plots, you should look at the demographics of your renters first. I work in the ornamental horticulture industry, and trust me, this has been a subject of deep interest in my business the last 5 years. To summarize dozens of surveys, fruit and vegetable gardening appeals to people in 2 age groups, the first is the 20-30 demo, and the other is 60+. There is a great big hole in the younger boomers and the Gen X folks who are middle aged, who basically don’t garden at all. If your apartments primarily have tenants in the under 30 crowd, they would probably pay extra for that amenity.
One last point is that edible gardening picked up substantially in the 2008 recession, and has not slowed down at all. Most other categories of ornamental horticulture sales are flat or down.” [ShadyHeightster, commenting on Comment of the Day: Gardens or Parking Spots?] Illustration: Lulu
