04/04/08 11:57pm

Commune with nature in Clear Lake Forest, or hobnob with aging astronauts in Timber Cove! This weekend’s open-house roundup runs through both neighborhoods in the city of Taylor Lake Village.

4311 Parkmead Dr., Clear Lake Forest, Taylor Lake Village, Texas

Location: 4311 Parkmead Dr.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,420 sq. ft.
Price: $174,900
The Scoop: Brick 2-story 1972 Clear Lake Forest home with tiny pond in front. Beamed ceiling and stone fireplace in Living Room. Some wood floors. Covered porch in back; overlooking second-story patio. On market since mid-March.
Open House: Sunday, 2-5 pm

The tour marches on . . .

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04/03/08 3:51pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game 1: Stairs

Our first stab at the Neighborhood Guessing Game attracted a good number of smart observations from sleuthing readers . . . and a winner!

Thanks to all those who hazarded a guess! Five commenters thought the house we featured on Tuesday was in West U. There were single votes each for Sugar Lakes, the Eldridge & Memorial area, Montrose, the Heights, “near Meyerland,” and Southgate.

Ah, the wisdom of the crowds baker’s dozen! West U it was! The West University Place 1 subdivision, to be exact.

The winner of this first competition is the appropriately named Buildergeek, who named West U first. But enlightening — or entertainingly obfuscating — commentary wins points too! Honorable mentions go to Houstonist‘s Jim Parsons, who guessed the house was a rehab from the 1980s or before:

The staircase is a giveaway in my mind — no self-respecting faux-neo-Georgian would have a staircase that Rhoda might have walked down.

. . . and to commenter Drew, who sounds a little like what we might expect if Sherlock Holmes had his own show on HGTV:

One of the early West U replacements. Built in the early 80s, given the finishes and selections. Larger than the standard West U lot, despite the red brick boxes and colonial style windows being so close to the neighbors. (Evidenced by the trees and added green space for the typical 5,000 sq ft WU lot. Must be west of Buffalo Speedway.

After the jump: Actual details on the featured West U home, which is actually for sale — “Rhoda”-style staircase, colonial-style windows, west-of-Buffalo-Speedway location, and all!

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03/28/08 11:06pm

Whispering, Cripple, Shady, or Straight: In Meadowcreek, every street is its own creek! The neighborhood has lots of great old houses, preserved marvelously in the area’s specially formulated air. These four homes are all on the Houston side of the neighborhood, and they’re all open for inspection this weekend!

5238 Cripple Creek Ct., Meadowcreek, Houston

Location: 5238 Cripple Creek Ct.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,470 sq. ft.
Price: $172,900
The Scoop: 1968 Storybook Ranch with lots of brickish accents inside. Big Kitchen opens to Family Room with cylindrical corner fireplace. Lot next door is also available. On the market since the beginning of the month.
Open House: Sunday, noon-3 pm

Click this way to see more!

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03/28/08 12:00pm

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn75tA2g-kI 400 330]

About one minute and 28 seconds into this video advertising a home that’s been on the market since late September of last year, we get a little . . . surprise.

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03/27/08 11:51pm

1902 Wagon Gap Trail, Ponderosa Forest, Houston

Git yer fresh, hot foreclosure listings right here! Hey, not all of them are newish red-brick homes in the low hundreds outside Beltway 8!

This house at 1902 Wagon Gap Trail, for example . . . isn’t brick! It’s in Ponderosa Forest, just north of FM1960, which means it’s super-convenient to . . . FM1960! And it just popped up on the market, listed for $129,000! Not bad for a 1970s 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath, 3,119-sq.-ft. two-story with diagonal wood siding.

After the jump, a few furtive interior shots of this foreclosed-upon bargain, plus a special something in back!

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03/21/08 11:58pm

Living in Summerwood is like living in Nature! Plus it’s super close to Lake Houston, the city’s largest manmade lake! Ordinarily, there aren’t a lot of open houses on Easter weekend, but D.R. Horton’s trying to close out here so they can build other stuff.

14414 Brighton Trace Ln., Summerwood, HoustonLocation: 14414 Brighton Trace Ln.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,258 sq. ft.
Price: $230,773
The Scoop: New brick 1-story home with covered back porch and large Master Suite with its own sitting room. Motivated seller! — which is the builder, D.R. Horton. Plan #2258, which measures exactly 2,258 square feet. On the market since the beginning of February.
Open House: Saturday, noon-5 pm

More Summerwood homes this way . . .

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03/20/08 9:32am

230 Blalock Rd., Piney Point Village, Houston

We have a winner! The house at 230 Blalock, which the City of Piney Point Village bought last year — with the intention of using as its first-ever inside-city-limits city hall — has at last been sold . . . at a $60,000 loss, excluding commissions. The buyer, according to the Memorial Examiner, is U.K. resident Edward L. Solari.

The home had been on the market since last summer, when city council gave into pressure from Piney Point residents opposed to housing their city hall in a $1.53 million party pad . . . in a residential neighborhood.

After the jump, one last longing look inside the City Hall That Might Have Been!

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03/19/08 4:14pm

3740 Willowick Dr. in River Oaks by Architect John Staub

This time, the folks selling the home at 3740 Willowick in River Oaks are really going all out.

Maybe last November they hoped that the release of Stephen Fox’s The Country Houses of John F. Staub would unleash a new era of interest in the Houston architect — and result in a recordbreaking price for the 1955 Staub-designed ranch-like mansion backing up to Buffalo Bayou, across from Memorial Park.

The book did fine, but Staubmania never really took off. Now, almost five months later, the sellers can’t harbor any illusions.

This time, the John Staub marketing machine kicks into full gear:

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03/14/08 11:58pm

From the gratuitous celebrity references in the listings to the one-minute-before-the-hour open-house start times: Some agents know all the tricks! This weekend: four open houses in Pine Brook, tucked between Ellington Field and Armand Bayou.

3422 E. Pine Brook Way, Pine Brook, Clear Lake, Houston

Location: 3422 E. Pine Brook Way
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,615 sq. ft.
Price: $335,000
The Scoop: “IF GEORGE CLOONEY LIVED IN PINE BROOK HE WOULD LIVE HERE” screams the listing for this 12-year-old brick home, which also includes six mentions of Tuscany or Italy. L-shaped pool with covered patio; open Kitchen. On the market since the end of February.
Open House: Sunday, 1:59-4 pm

The Clear Lake celebrity European home tour continues this way . . .

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03/10/08 4:44pm

Patio at 608 Stanford St., HoustonCarol Isaak Barden, developer of the towering white now-a-lot-less-than- a-million-dollar townhouses near Allen Parkway, explains to Swamplot why she thinks the second unit hasn’t sold yet:

We always expected that it might take longer to sell the homes. They are bachelor pads. They are not for people with children, they are not for residents with bad knees, they are vertical structures for people who don’t mind using the stairs. Since both Francois [de Menil, the architect] and I have lived in Manhattan in buildings without elevators, we didn’t think it would be such a big deal. We were wrong.

Hey, nothing a little retrofitting can’t solve! Barden says a 4-story lift could be put in “easily” — but she hasn’t, because some potential buyers preferred it as the architect designed it, and “didn’t want to give up the extra storage.”

Francois lives in a 4-story townhouse in NYC, my first apt. in NYC was in the Apthorp, an old pre-war building on the upper east side without an elevator. I schlepped luggage and groceries up the stairs, and stayed thin and fit. Francois and I were dead wrong about the elevator issue. Houstonians valet park at restaurants, stores, hospitals, and even some churches. (New Yorkers don’t). And therein lies the problem.

608 Stanford Unit B sold three months after completion, last May. Unit A? Not so lucky:

The second unit has had contracts, unfortunately, none of them have closed. . . . we’re hoping to close on a contract with a buyer who happens to be an architect. It seems that the people who most appreciate these homes can’t afford them. (Architects, engineers, designers)

After the jump: what a bargain! Plus, a bit of news . . .

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03/07/08 11:55pm

What will you find in Oak Forest? Big lots with variously updated 1950s-era ranch homes, tall oaks and pines . . . and granite countertops! Below are five homes in the neighborhood open this weekend:

1411 Candlelight Ln., Oak Forest, Houston

Location: 1411 Candlelight Ln.
Details: 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths; 1,700 sq. ft.
Price: $237,000
The Scoop: 1955 ranch with kiddie playground, back patio, and carport. Bunk bed in 4th bedroom is available! New tile, granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances, fresh mulch, and much more. Listed just a week and a half ago.
Open House: Sunday, noon-4 pm

There’s more in our tour . . .

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03/04/08 11:47pm

706 W. Sawyer St., Old Sixth Ward, Houston

It’s a little old bungalow on a small lot . . . but it’s clean and green inside! The sellers of this 2-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath, 960-sq.-ft. home say they’re trying to get this Sixth Ward home LEED certified:

The 1920 facade has been preserved, but when you open the door, its all about 21st century. The hm has been renovated using non toxic materials, low VOC paint & sustainable design materials.

A neighbor who watched the work reports the house was sold to the current owners as a teardown:

It was a nasty, dirty, filthy, funky house with a garage in the front yard. They tore the garage off the front, moved the house around on the lot a tad, and have done an outstanding renovation.

Plus: the neighbors are very very quiet, says our correspondent. The house is next to Glenwood Cemetery.

Read on for more pics, from before and after!

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02/29/08 11:48pm

This time: Low-slung, low-lying, midpriced Midcentury Modern homes in Meyerland!

5015 Heatherglen Dr., Meyerland, Houston

Location: 5015 Heatherglen Dr.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,633 sq. ft.
Price: $448,750
The Scoop: Restored 1959 ranch-ish contemporary designed by architect William Wortham with terrazzo floors, walnut paneling, and unique brickwork. Decked out in retro furniture. Listed six weeks ago; price just chopped by $10K.
Open House: Sunday, 2-4 pm

The tour continues this way . . .

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02/27/08 9:26pm

5248 Larkin St. D, Cottage Grove, HoustonA househunter writes in with questions about the townhome at 5248 Larkin St. Unit D, calling it “possibly the strangest property I’ve ever seen.”

When I saw it on HAR.com, I thought I’d better be ready to spring with an offer immediately . . . I’m a first time home-buyer, so honestly, no expert. I’ve looked in Cottage Grove before, but with the exception of 2620 Detering, nothing of this size is that cheap.

On the same lot are three other identical townhouses, all advertised as new and offered at $315,000 by Mike Adams Enterprises. Unit D is listed for $219,000 and is being sold by a division of Sallie Mae.

The price is not weird for the neighborhood — I just think it’s odd that you have this foreclosure that is discounted $100k below the three new properties and they are on the same lot. . . .

The foreclosure sign is still hanging in the hallway, the red code violations are still on the door, and I’m just curious. . . .

Inspections were performed in spring of 2007 . . . but it doesn’t look like the code violations were addressed. If someone lived there, I’d be very surprised. . . .

I mean, it’s weird because they had nails in the wall –lots of nails, including ones in spots you wouldn’t necessarily hang pictures. At some point, someone had hung a television in the master bedroom. But it didn’t look as if the range had ever been used, that the showers, etc, had ever been used. If someone lived there, it was an extremely short period of time and they didn’t do anything but watch television. We were wondering at first if it had been a model home and that would account for the wear on the stairs and the holes in the wall and the nails. . . .

There were way too many red flags for me . . .

After the jump: more photos from the listing . . . and flags!

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02/20/08 10:54am

Garden of 6040 Glencove St., Memorial, Houston

This 1.35-acre lot at the end of the cul-de-sac on Glencove St. has been on the market for almost 16 months, so you can imagine during that time owner-broker Richard Maier has been trying just about every marketing angle possible. There’s some evidence of it too: The records are a little screwy, but it appears the asking price has been raised three times and lowered four. As of last week, we’re on an upswing! At $2.65 million, it’s back up $51K from its all-time low, but still down from the $3 million of early ’07.

So what do we got?

ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SETTINGS NEAR DOWNTOWN JUST BEFORE MEMROIAL PARK. GORGEOUS VISTAS OF ROLLING HILLS, RAVINES, GARDEN TRAILS, CREEKS AND TURTLE POND! ALL LANDSCAPED WITH THOUSANDS OF EXOTIC PLANTS AND TREES! IRRIGATED BY PRIVATE WELL AND LIGHTED BY NIGHT! THE GROUNDS ARE CONTIGIOUS WITH ACRES OF NATURE PRESERVE & BIRD SANCTUARY!

Clearly, though, Maier’s latest sales tactic has just got to work — now he’s even gonna throw in a genuine Midcentury Modern home with the property. Absolutely free!!!

ALSO INCLUDED IS A CLASSIC MID CENTURY MODERN HOME BY NOTED ARCHICTECT TALBOT WILSON WITH 14 FT.WALLS OF GLASS!

Yeah, it’s a risky strategy: This is Memorial. So better end the listing on a more direct note:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

After the jump, exotic plants!!! Plus an actual interior shot of the 5,000-sq.-ft. 1950 home Maier snuck in.

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