My Bellaire Blog

When we bought  our house 11 years ago, we liked most everything about it except the fireplace surround: floor to ceiling pink(ish) brick, with an elevated brick hearth jetting in about 2 feet into the family room, and a white mantle floating in the middle of the brick wall.  It dominated the family room not only visually but also spatially.  It was a decorating nightmare, especially for the holidays.  After a few years of trial and error I finally found a way to make the room go together and evolve into something we could like.  But today, the brick was taken down!  The result was long overdue:  it looks so much bigger and brought an unimaginable decorating freedom !  I cannot wait to explore the possibilities and create a new, bigger and more inviting space.  I will post before and after pictures when it’s ready.

If you have your home for sale, you need to think twice before pulling it off the market during the holiday season.  Here are some compelling reasons to ponder, courtesy of Mark Heinrich:

1- Everyone else is taking their house off, so inventories typically shrink, giving your home less competition

2- The second most popular time corporations transfer employees is mid-year so their children can transfer schools at mid-year.  Those buyers are looking for homes in November and December.

3- When does someone’s home show the best?  The holidays are that time when homes are spruced up and beautifully decorated

4- Many buyers want to buy and close before year-end to get the benefit of the homestead exemption.

So if you have been under the impression that now is not a good time to have your home on the market or to list it, think again…  and give me a call!  I am here to help!

What better sense of creating community than to watch a movie with your neighbors? Join other Bellaire residents on Thursday August 18 at 7:30 PM at the Aquatic Center to watch Jaws (not recommended for kids under 10).  Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance at the Rec Center since seating will be limited.  Last fun before school starts, and it will benefit the Patrons for Bellaire Parks.  See ya there!

This promises to be a fun evening at the River Oaks Movie Theatre on August 2nd!  Order your free tickets by going to the following link:

http://www.houstongrandopera.org/tickets/calendar/view.aspx?id=1822

Ok, here it is.  After enjoying several years of decreasing municipal tax rates, City Council voted for an increase of our residential taxes.  Granted, home values have decreased.  About 4% in the last year, and 11% for the commercial properties in Bellaire.  To compensate for the lost revenues to fund the budget, the city had to increase the tax rate.  It would apparently affect the average household $78 for the year. 

I hope you protested your property values this year because you would have received a significant decrease.  I protested mine (or actually, hired BTA to do it) and saved enough to compensate for this new rate hike.

Should you be curious about the market value of your home, don’t hesitate to sign up for the automated Market Snapshot on my website at www.LucieOgdee.com or give me a call at 713-539-1006.

For a neighborhood to take to fruition the opening of a community garden, it requires “community”!  What a great accomplishment!  On a 2 acres lot at 12500 Dunlap (which the Westbury Civic Club, Westbury Garden Club and Westbury Improvement Corporation leased from the Houston Housing Authority), volunteers created 50 raised garden beds that are individually leased for $5.00 per month!  There is now a waiting list for those beds… 8 of them will be tended by Foerster Elementary, which for some of the apartment dwelling students would be an unbelievable education exposure to local gardening!  In addition, an orchard of fruit trees will be planted in May.  For those of us who believe in organically growing our own food and buying local produce, this is inspiring. 

The Civic Club will also improve the esplanades by cutting down Chinese tallow trees, an invasive species that disturbs the native environment, and replacing them with “good” trees.

The installment last year of a new principal at Westbury High School and the purchase by HISD of an abandoned adjacent apartment compex to expand the school all speaks to neighborhood improvement.  Residents are also awaiting for the demolition of the old and unsafe Westbury Square to be finalized by the court system.

With its proximity to the Medical Center, downtown and the Galleria, and its still affordable housing prices,  Westbury’s long term prognosis looks good to me.  This is a great place to invest!

After the hard freeze we got over a month ago and the desolate landscape of dead plants lying lifeless both in my front and back yard, imagine my surprise this past weekend when, taking advantage of a couple of rays of sunshine, I went out to discover numerous purple blooms on my peach trees!!!

 These trees are only 4 years old and were started from a seed.  Last year, we had about 6 or 7 fruits on each tree, but by the time they ripened, there were only 4 in total left for us to enjoy.  The squirrels had beat us to them, although they had plenty of papayas to satisfy their hunger (and thirst, in the hot summer days).  They were sweet and fragrant white peaches!  Yum!

What is the deal with Metro? I understand the blue line is the expressway to the Medical Center through Bellaire Boulevard but is that a reason to disfigure the road and make it look nothing short of clowny?  It has been over 3 months that the blue line has been painted on the curb, and I still cannot get used to it.  It is aggressive.  Disturbing.  It plays with our mind making us feel as if us drivers had to pay attention to an imminent danger.  Or maybe the intent is to make us think that if we are travelling down this road by car, shouldn’t we rather ride the bus?  Let me know what you think…  As far as I am concerned I keep looking for an eraser to make it go away!

Good lots are becoming harder to find as the City of Bellaire continues its race to rebuild itself…  2/1 post-war cottages are masterfully turned into beautiful custom mansions, and the Bellaire New Home Showcase attests to this every year.  The Spring Showcase is coming up this weekend and if you are thinking of building, this is the perfect time to get ideas, dreams and inspiration and meet some of the builders. 

I do have a premium lot for sale on a street that is almost completely rebuilt.  It’s a great size at 8,775 square feet (per appraisal district).  It is on Anderson Street which runs North/South and the property is located on the West side of the street.  There is presently a 2/1 cottage there that has been updated with granite countertops, and could be leased while you are taking the time to finalize your building plans for your dream home.  Zoned to Condit Elementary, it is within a short drive to the Recreation Center and the Library and far enough from 610 not to hear its rumble.

Call me if you are interested in this amazing opportunity.  I do have an Exclusive Listing agreement with the Seller but I will not place it on the MLS.  My contact information is 713-539-1006 or Lucie@kw.com. 

And hopefully, I will see you at the Showcase!

Our phones have been ringing nonstop today after the unemployment numbers released worse than expected. Rates normally would go down. But not today. They went up a small bit, as the treasury prices are being pushed down with flooded demand (rates move the opposite…so up). 

 National employment is at 8.1% , the highest level since 1983.  Let’s look at the bright side, it has not yet reached the worst in history, which was 10.8% in 1982.  I don’t mean to make light of a grim situation, but they say psychology is everything. If you tell yourself it is a bad time, it will be. If you tell yourself it is a great time, it will be. Which is it for you?  I say it’s a great time. A great time to be a Houstonian/Texan for sure. We are (finally!) getting the recognition we deserve as having (a) lower unemployment (b) more affordable housing (c) less foreclosures, and (d) having a positive jobs market.  And did I mention we only have 6.5 months of housing inventory? Its a far cry from Florida with 28 months. I just cannot even imagine what that would be like. Again, thankful to be a Houstonian.

 Is Houston experiencing lower pricing and sale levels? Yes, we are. No one is recession proof. Oh wait……Fargo, ND has 3% unemployment, and according to CNN is not in a recession. That’s right. Let’s pick up and move there! (No offense if you are from Fargo). I’m a city girl. We live in the 4^th largest city in the US (#1 if you are talking land size)  with lots of people. And that means that we are impacted more by trends. Also, we have to keep in check that the last few years we enjoyed above average returns in real estate. Incredible numbers! What we are seeing now is more ‘normalcy’. That statement is from Mike Inselmann himself , the President of Metro Study.

 SMART BUYERS are buying now with these low rates! With unemployment numbers on the rise, and the recession with no end in sight, will we have a repeat of the 80’s and 17% interest rates? My generation (I was born in the 70’s ) is too young to remember these times. But I have been told that history is starting to repeat itself. So will Obama’s policy making make Jimmy Carter look like a saint? My point here is: get out there and buy while you can, before the rates spiral out of control. You could be one of the lucky few someday with a single digit rate- and in the 4’s at that!

 Have a fabulous weekend, and remember, I am your trusted friend in mortgage lending.

Jennifer Hernandez

Vice President/Mortgage Consultant

Patriot Bank Mortgage

Office:    713-337-8400

Mobile:   713-446-7791

E-mail:    jennifer@patriotbankusa.com

Web:      www.loanwithjennifer.com