Tag: Homes for Sale

Charnwood
08/17/09 7:58pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: A Lot of Charm in Charnwood

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
10 Comments

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: 7538 Inwood Dr., Charnwood
Details: 17,781-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $550,000
History: Sold for $503,000 in December 2007. Listed on HAR for 4 months now at the current price.

Says the reader who’s nominating this vacant homesite:

The lot is in Charnwood, a really nice subdivision, they keep things looking nice. When I bought in Charnwood (Inwood Dr), it was the lot size that appealed to us, it seems like all the lots are 15k sqft or more, which is very generous for the area (galleria/west Houston).

It is close to lots of great eating, shopping, schools too but still has a nice family feel too it. I really like it and more importantly it is way more better value than Briargrove (Charnwood has way bigger lots too) and Tanglewood (chi-ching $$$).

Also, there are quite a few new custom builds in the subdivision, that points to good strong house values for the future. . . .

This lot was “for sale by owner” for $500k for around a year . . .

So . . . what would be a better price for this chunk o’ land?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Cedar Lawn
08/14/09 7:03pm

The Balinese Room After-Party Pad: A Little Palm Springs in Galveston

by
Galveston, Homes for Sale
26 Comments

Note: Story updated again below.

Cribbing from Ellen Beasley and Stephen Fox’s Galveston Architecture Guidebook, Modern architecture fan Ben Hill writes in to tell us that “one of the most important houses in this part of Texas,” was recently put up for sale:

This is the only house in the greater Houston area designed by E. Stewart Williams of Palm Springs, CA. Williams designed Sinatra’s house there, and this house was built for Sam Maceo, owner of the Balinese Room in Galveston.

The home fits into two curvy streets at the center of Cedar Lawn. Its uh, “nightclub” pedigree is maintained by a circular drive with a low-slung porte-cochere in front and the swanky pool in back. And in between?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Buildings for Sale
08/13/09 11:48pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Party on Papalote!

by
Carverdale, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game, Sommermeyer, Uncategorized
6 Comments

Do we have a winner of that free one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Oh, yes we do!

Your guesses in this week’s game were all over the place: “south of Rice University between Holcombe and University, either side of Greenbriar,” Montrose, Fondren Southwest, Briargrove, “outer Memorial toward the Energy Corridor,” Nottingham Forest, Westchester, Meyerland, “along Long Point,” “off Navigation,” the neighborhoods north of Channelview,” Flintstone, Jersey Village, greater Champions, Clear Lake, “around Westpark, just outside the Loop,” “HBU/Chimney Rock vicinity,” Southwest Houston, Alief, Sharpstown, Bellaire, Deer Park, Richmond, near Pecan Grove, “290 and Beltway-ish,” Spring, Tomball, Conroe, “Spring Branch West, in the area bordered by Hammerly, I-10, Gessner, and the Beltway,” Magnolia Park, Baytown, Galena Park, “off Hempstead Highway,” Montgomery, Hempstead, “around Stuebner Airline,” “the near Southeast side,” Champions/1960, Hobby Airport area, and Pasadena.

The winner — for the second time this year — is MariaO, for this entry:

Definitely this monstrosity must be on a busy street, in an area that saw some building in the early 60s and then they kept on adding “features” throughout the decades. And it is not in an expensive area, or they would have redone the metal staircase in the entry. And several other things.
I’ll guess the northwest side, perhaps off Hempstead Highway?

Got a friend or family member you’d like to have join you as an RDA member, MariaO?

So many colorful guesses this week! This remarkably accurate one from elnina earns a close second place:

I think this is modern two story residential building from the 60’s. The house is large, and the owner, maybe in construction/remodeling business converted part of it to office space, maybe with a separate apartment and rented out.
Upstairs area looks definitely more contemporary, with updated windows and new floors, light and bright. But the remodeling is still in progress – the big room has new pergo floors but still old wood paneled walls in different color.
The sliding door from the living room upstairs leads to big terrace, and maybe to the partially enclosed whirlpool.
The other part of the house is more traditional, with lots of paneling and mirrors, brick wall accents, stone fireplace, old fashion wet bar and tile/terrazzo floors. The bathroom is a headache – he can’t decide which direction he wants to go (lol)
Definitely outside the loop but inside the Beltway, probably in semi-residential area.
It could be around Montgomery, Hempstead or Stuebner Airline – just a wild guess.

Also very close: Jeff, who went with “290 and Beltway-ish,” then added:

I think they pieced together remnants of several homes left in their yard after Hurricane Ike.

A special commendation goes to Porchman, who wrote to Swamplot with the actual listing, then threw out only this note of encouragement to fellow players:

Hard to believe it’s one house!

But it is! Well, sorta . . . kinda . . . maybe . . .

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Galleria
08/11/09 9:01pm

Small, Stylish, and Already Sold: Design-y Inner Loop Home Bargains You Missed

by
Greenbriar, Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose, Southampton, Staging, Upper Kirby, West University
22 Comments

“I do always seem to be showing you houses that few of us can really afford,” Houston interior-design blogger Joni Webb admits to her readers:

But the secret truth is, nothing gets me more excited than seeing a house which is NOT expensive yet looks like it was designed by a professional! Nothing is better because it affirms what I fully believe, style is not about money.

So Webb sets out to find a few inside-the-Loop homes dressed to meet her style standards — and priced between $300K and $500K. How long does it take her? Two days, poring through “hundreds, if not thousands” of HAR listings.

What does she find?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Braeswood Place
08/10/09 6:14pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Blue Bonnet Spread

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster, Southern Oaks
19 Comments

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: 3105 Blue Bonnet Blvd., Southern Oaks
Details: 3 bedrooms, 4 baths; 4,109 sq. ft. on a 16,992-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $3,400,000
History: On the market since last Thanksgiving. Price reduced $100K mid-June.

Our nominator, struggling with the price tag:

Typical newer construction home in Southern Oaks. The chandelier in the foyer is way too ostentatious for my taste…but to each their own. The rest of the house shows like any other new construction mcmansion in Southern Oaks and Braes Heights that list between $1,000,000 – $1,300,000. Also, it’s sits four houses off of Buffalo Speedway in one direction and two houses down from a huge apartment complex in the other direction. The only advantage I see this house has is that it’s on a 16,000 sf lot, whereas most of the others average 9,000 sf. The house is only 4,100 sf, making it smaller than most of the new construction in the area. So, the question is, why the $3.4 million price tag?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Homes for Sale
08/06/09 11:46pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Overnight Package

by
Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game, Timbergrove Court, Timbergrove Manor
3 Comments

We know what you’re wondering: Which Swamplot reader is gonna walk slide away with that gift basket of personal lubricant products?

Yes, this week’s prize — you’ll remember — is sponsored by Wet International. Shall we recap what’s in it? There’s the bottle of Wet Original, the Wet Kiwi Strawberry flavored lubricant, the Wet Together couples lubricant, and the Inttimo by Wet Total Body Shave Cream for Men.

First though, your guesses: There were 5 each for the Heights and Midtown, 4 for Rice Military and the Baldwin Park area, and 2 each for Montrose, Montrose near Nino’s and Vincent’s, “West Alabama/Bammel Lane,” Sugar Land, the West End, Bellaire, Memorial Heights, and Royal Oaks. The rest: The First Ward, Lakes of Stonehenge, Missouri City, Southdale Addition, “just outside of the West U chimney,” St. George’s Place, Southside Place, Bissonnet east of Weslayan, “somewhere over there in West Southside University Place,” on Fountainview or Augusta between San Felipe and Westheimer, “around the Augusta, Bering area between Westheimer and Woodway,” Greatwood, First Colony, Cottage Grove, the Astrodome area, Shady Acres, Pearland, Silverlake, Katy, “near the Toyota Center,” Lazy Brook, Timbergrove, Timbergrove Court, Clear Lake, Bay Pointe, “north of Beltway 8, near Ella,” “11th at Hempstead,” “the area adjacent to Audubon Place in the neighborhood bordering the sunken section North of 59,” “off Pin Oak, behind the middle school and HCC on 610,” “between the rail tracks and the West Loop east of the Galleria,” “somewhere in the Galleria/Woodway area,” and “Gillette-Sutton” in Midtown.

Happily for all of us, the winner is significantly tickled by the prize:

omg, lube! it’s my lucky day!! not even kidding!!

so sad when a family wants to make the compromise between the suburbs and the city and just doesn’t quite get there, as can be seen by the little ikea kid table at the end of a tiny kitchen that wishes to be like the ones in kingwood. sniff. story of my life

here goes: inside the loop, but just barely. timbergrove and lazybrook were too old and icky so these guys bought in the new developments in the area. maybe across from sterling elementary school so they can pretend they are providing a yard to their kid, even if it is owned by hisd. timbergrove court, maybe it’s called? if not right there, then further down 11th at hempstead in those new suburbia wannabe neighborhoods that back up directly to the railroad. still thinking it’s across from sinclair though.

my guess is that they hate this place, are sucking it up and moving out to the burbs for the schools.

Congratulations, brandy c! Yes, this is your lucky day. Enjoy!

A somewhat drier congratulations to all of you who came real close in one way or another: those of you who spotted the telltale signs of Perry Homes; of a freestanding structure; those of you who called the early aughts.

We had two entries worthy of special recognition: Carolyn — who happens to be the listing agent — sent readers not-too-far away with this fake guess:

I think it is definitely a Perry Home but possibly in Shady Acres or maybe Baldwin Park.

Then there was this second faker-outer, hoping to encourage more of you to guess farther afield:

Having lived in the burbs for 12 years this one is a no brainer. In fact I think I’ve been in this house in Clear Lake somewhere in my younger days for a house party. I’m guessing Clear Lake – the neighborhood has ‘Bay’ or ‘Brook’ in the name, which is every neighborhood in Clear Lake. I’ll go anything off Clear Lake City Blvd – Bay Pointe.

That came from Jessica, the reader who suggested this home in the first place. Great job!

Now how about a closer look?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Glenbrook Valley
08/03/09 11:22am

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Glenbrook Valley High?

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
8 Comments

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: 8107 Glen Dell Ct.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,757 sq. ft. on an 11,307-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $245,000
History: On the market almost continuously from March 2005 to February 2006, then again from March to September 2006, and after a couple of weeks’ rest back on again until March 2007. Returned to the market from February to August of last year. Listed again since July 3rd of this year. Price reduced from $259K.

Here’s our reader’s nomination:

The home has a lot of good bones, flagstone exterior & some flagstone floors, big windows, angled rooms, pool. But the things done in the name of updating haven’t helped it. Lots of cheap ugly ceramic tile, Home Depot pedestal sinks, overdone moldings, and the original flagstone posts were taken down in favor of plain square wooden ones. There is no landscaping to speak of, and the pool is drained, now that will show well.

So, then . . . what might be a better price?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Highland Meadow
07/30/09 11:18pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Enchanted

by
Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game
3 Comments

Any takers for that Rice Design Alliance membership prize?

Missouri City and Katy attracted the most guesses in this week’s game, with 3 each. Pasadena, Mission Bend, Sagemont, Aldine and Clear Lake had 2 each. The rest? Briargrove, “that neighborhood along Eldridge Pkwy. just north of Alief-Clodine (Ashford Point?),” Pearland just east of 288 and south of Beltway 8, Spring, Green Tee in Pearland, “the vast hinterlands Southeast of Downtown,” League City, Bear Creek, “the neighborhood southwest of the Fondren/Bellfort intersection,” “out Richmond between Beltway 8 and Highway 6, “somewhere south of Southbelt,” Highland Meadows, “Concord Colony/Bridge off W. Little York between Highway 6 and Eldridge,” “the Seabrook/El Lago area,” Cinco Ranch, Kingwood, Fondren Southwest, Northfield, Deer Park, LaPorte, Silverlake, Alief, “Oak Forest Park Park,” “the Kirkwood/Briar Forest hood,” Bacliff, “off Wilcrest, between Briar Forest and Memorial . . . by the Lakeside Country Club,” “off Newcastle, close to Bellaire Blvd.,” and the Galleria.

For a home that — in the words of one player — “could be anywhere where sub-$130,000 houses may be found,” a number of you came very close. Honorable mentions go to Carol for her eagle “shot in the dark” of Green Tee in Pearland; and to bigtoe, for that Sagemont guess.

The winner? elnina, for this:

Two story house on rather smaller lot, in a mid 1980’s subdivision somewhere south of Southbelt.
Lots of tiles downstairs make me think that this house is located in or close to a flood zone – master bedroom is downstairs and carpeted rooms upstairs. Is Turkey Creek the reason? I guess… Sagemont or Highland Meadows. I would love to see the second bathroom… :)

Congratulations, elnina! You’ve just won . . . a (second!) individual one-year membership in the RDA. Of course, you’re welcome to redirect it to any friend or family member or competitor you choose . . .

Ready to get more of the details?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Comments
07/24/09 4:28pm

Comment of the Day: That’s My House You’re Guessing About

by
Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Lynn Park, Open Houses, Quicklink
4 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THAT’S MY HOUSE YOU’RE GUESSING ABOUT “What a hoot! CiCi and I have really enjoyed reading all of the comments. Especially about the “fuddy duddy” furniture and balding grandpa. We chose this house because it was so original. It’s our style and had not been monkeyed with too much over the years. Right now, we’re upgrading to a tankless hot water heater and have pulled the rear cover down. Like most good projects, there is always something to do. Jessica1 did well. CiCi is with Greenwood King and I do marketing/branding for Green Bank. We’ve got two daughters (5 and 3) and probably outgrew the house . . . three years ago. Even with the size/rr/bath/power lines/garage issues, we’ve hung in there as the house is comfortable, the neighborhood is the best and location is perfect. Stop by and check it out Saturday between 2 to 4 if you like. I’ll be puttering about and would love to meet some great storytellers.” [Mike Barone, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Other Side of the Tracks]

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Homes for Sale
07/23/09 4:55pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Other Side of the Tracks

by
Interiors, Lynn Park, Neighborhood Guessing Game
13 Comments

Ready for the answer?

First: Your guesses in this week’s game: Garden Oaks (2 of you), Afton Oaks (3), Boulevard Oaks, Oak Forest (2), “one of those ’Oaks neighborhoods,” “the neighborhood north of I-10 and east of Antoine, across from Woodlawn Cemetery,” West University, Southside Place, Meyerland, Briar Forest, Bunker Hill, Briargrove, Tanglewood, Highland Village, “Stella Link around 610,” Montrose south of Westheimer, Bellaire (2), Spring Branch, Lazybrook, Timbergrove Manor, Lynn Park (2), Southampton, Knollwood Village, Westbury, Braes Heights, “Galleria area, behind Bechtel, between Sage and Yorktown,” “that area north of Westheimer between Tanglewilde and Briargrove,” “anywhere in the swath ranging clockwise from I-10 and Wirt up to between 290 and 45,” “off the northern parts of Bingle,” Idylwood, “near the ‘pasture land’ in SW Houston,” and Linkwood Park.

Two of you were right! First up was this week’s runner-up, JT, who called the place a

1950’s ranchette in Lynn Park two or three blocks from the epicenter of Drexel and Alabama. Nice blend of the old and new.

First prize, though, goes to this better explained entry from Mike V:

Originally I thought Afton Oaks, but the dining area view with the work shed in the backyard and no obvious view of any other homes in the background makes me think it is down the road on the other side of the train tracks in Lynn Park.

Congratulations! And really, smart and entertaining guesses all around. A little more detail about this week’s showcase:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Homes for Sale
07/20/09 12:16pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Hunter Green in Downtown Rosenberg

by
Price Adjuster, Rosenberg
3 Comments

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: 812 2nd St., Rosenberg
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,793 sq. ft. on a 33,600-sq.-ft. lot. “Second home” on property “needs work.”
Price: $279,900
History: Listed since June 24th at the current price.

Declares the reader who’s nominating this property:

This house just went up for sale in Rosenberg’s downtown. The problem I have with it is that the listing seems totally incorrect, as there’s no way this is on 33,600 sf lot. The house, built in the 1920’s, can’t possibly be almost 4k sf either. I’ve driven around, looked at the arial view on Zillow from all sides, and I can’t picture it.

Even if it is a large lot, it’s surrounded by commercial property, with some kind of electrical grid (?) right behind it and public street parking right in front. The metal roof is sliding off in chunks, and you can see that from the bridge right behind it, where everyone can see the top of the house. Why is there a bridge? Because the railroad yard is right there! The so-called 2nd house on the property is very old rental units that look so diseased that the only option would be to tear it down. There’s no garage, so at least there’s be a place for one after that’s gone.

The appeal is lacking from the front no doubt, but the inside décor has that beat. Gold and hunter green don’t usually win the interior design popularity contests these days.

What would be a better price?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Homes for Sale
07/16/09 8:12pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Right on Course

by
Interiors, Kings River, Kingwood, Neighborhood Guessing Game
2 Comments

We have a winner!

Of what? How about that long-sought-after one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

Here were your guesses for this week’s mystery property: Katy (3 of you), Greatwood (4), Cinco Ranch (3), Pearland, Sugar Land, Lake Olympia, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Clear Lake, Champion Forest, Memorial Northwest, Silverlake, Memorial Villages, Fort Bend County, Magnolia, Cypress (2), Bellaire (3), Kingwood, Fall Creek, Keller, Hyde Park, Lakes on Eldridge, Coles Crossing, West University, “1 or 2 miles south of I-10 west and South Fry Rd.,” Sweetwater, Sienna Plantation, Friendswood, Camp Logan, Rice Military, Upper Kirby, FM 1960, “that gray area that’s almost Bellaire but near Meyerland, around Braeswood,” Pecan Grove, Mid Lane, and First Colony.

The prize goes to DLW, who got a lot correct:

I believe the plan is called the Valencia by Village Builders, and is around 3000 square feet, one story. The plan is about 12 years old now, but the stainless appliances and some of the fixtures indicate it is more recent construction. I would lean towards a master-planned suburban community that Village tended to build in, such as Kingwood, Cinco Ranch, or Greatwood.

Congratulations! An honorable mention goes to resident poet movocelot, for contributing this not-so-free but entertaining verse:

I feel this sprawler is a “Build-Your-Own” home, somewhere in Katy or Magnolia.
I looks like the ‘90s but finished in 2000, because everything tended to go slowlier.
A single-story pimped to fill it’s big lot, with arch’l clichés and mixtures,
‘Til the over-spent couple took their last draw, unable to buy quality fixtures.
The crown mold is glam, the ovals divine, and the light well is, well, bright.
But, cold as a mall and echo-y, too, this house is basically trite.
And that’s a really dumb mirror over the mantel.

Where did this builder home land?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Disaster Aftermath
07/16/09 1:20pm

Timbergrove’s Waterfall House: Half Off

by
Homes for Sale, New Construction: Residential, Price Reductions, Timbergrove Manor
20 Comments

The reader who first brought that humongously discounted house in Timbergrove Manor to our attention earlier this spring writes in to report that the tall courtyard home’s asking price has been further reduced. The 6,000-sq.-ft. home at 6204 Queenswood Ln. was originally listed for $1.8 million, but was cut to $1 million in April.

As of last week, the home has been relisted with an even-further-reduced price: $749,999. Why the continuing freefall? Writing in May, a commenter on our earlier story offered some details:

. . . the listing agent indicated that the home had sustained water damage during Ike due to broken windows. She also let me know that the home would soon be going into a short sale, which is now listed on the Agent side of the MLS Listing. . . . Unfortunately, the home did suffer major damage, which in reality looked like the roof leaked throughout the house. The sheetrock has been removed from all ceilings and top ¾ of the walls on the entire second floor. All the molding has also been removed throughout the house. The floorplan is amazing with large rooms, wide hallways and high ceilings. It is really an amazing place!

The photos in the new listing are considerably different from those in the first, and reveal some of the extent of the damage. Here’s the latest view of the central courtyard, scene of that dramatic waterfall:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Beinhorn Manor
07/09/09 6:51pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Those Kitty Pillow Eyes

by
Hedwig Village, Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game
10 Comments

Do we have a prizewinner for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? Who wouldn’t want to win a membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Your guesses were almost all over the place: Pearland (3), Friendswood, Webster, League City (2), Kingwood, Richmond, Champion Forest (2), “along Briar Forest and Dairy Ashford,” Meyerland (2), Meyerland “near Westbury High School,” Braeswood (3), Bear Creek, Clear Lake (2), Deer Park (2), near MacGregor Way, Pasadena (2), “the ritzy part of Pasadena over around Fairmont Parkway and Young St.,” Lake Olympia, Missouri City, Sharpstown, Sugar Land, Alvin, Katy, Humble, Spring Branch north of Long Point (2), “East Side,” “some more rural area of Fort Bend County,” Baytown (2), LaPorte, Lake Jackson, Inwood Forest, near Jersey Village, “the Champions/Spring area” (2), Fondren Southwest, Alief, “the area around South Post Oak, way down past 610 south,” Sagemont, Atascocita, “between Hwy 6, 1464, and Bissonnet, . . . south of George Bush Park,” Stafford, “Kempwood and Gessner,” “near Knob Hill Park near Gessner and Hammerly,” southeast Tomball, Tanglewood, and Marilyn Estates.

Lots of great guesses . . . but none of them right. What made this one so difficult? Finness tried to put a . . . finger on it:

From the pink Texas door mat to the empty bathroom plant hooks and the ovewrwhelming scent of litter pan – I just look and look again and the mind boggles. I will forever be haunted by the kitty eyes on the toss pillows on the pink leather sofas. Even writing that gives me an out of body sensation. Senses overwhelmed.

Where is this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Homes for Sale
07/08/09 12:16pm

New on Google Maps: Cruising the Real Estate Listings Nearby

by
Houston Data, Online Resources
8 Comments

A few new features now make it much easier to search for real estate listings directly from Google Maps. Although you can’t limit searches as neatly as you can with the map functions of some other real-estate sites — and the listings don’t come straight from MLS — Google doesn’t make you register for anything, and this map search isn’t so likely to crash your browser. The listings are integrated into the standard Google Maps interface, and links to the listings themselves are easily accessible.

You can start searching Houston listings simply by searching for “Houston real estate” on Google Maps. Click on the first result (“Real estate on Google Maps”) to see more listings, which appear as tiny dots on the map. Click on any of the dots to find more information about a particular property.

What’s most interesting about the new real estate features is how neatly they allow househunting to fit in with more everyday map activities. Real-estate obsessives, take note: Searching for listings no longer has to be such a deliberate act. Looking up directions to a friend’s house? You can scour listings along the route with just a few extra clicks. Wondering about the real estate action near one of the demos in Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report? You no longer have to navigate to a separate site to do that.

Here’s how to try it:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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