Real Estate in Spring, Tomball, Magnolia, Cypress, NW Houston and the Woodlands

Have you noticed with the Internet how small our world has become?  I was recently on Facebook searching to see if a particular friend had a Facebook account.  Her last name is Christian and I noticed that on the first page I pulled up I had at least one mutual friend with EVERY person on the page.  Out of the 10 names that pulled up I had one mutual friend with four of the facebook profiles that pulled up, two mutual friends with three, three mutual friends with two and with one we had 8 mutual friends.  These people were located from New York to LA and I did not know any of them.  How wild is that.  I have 326 Facebook friends with probably ¾ of them coming from my Active Rain friends and the others from personal friends and family.  I guess if I had thousands of Facebook Friends I could see this happening but this REALLY surprised me since I don’t have thousands of Facebook Friends.

I just heard about the 6 degrees of separation written by John Guare.   Another name for Six degrees of separation is the “Human Web”.  “This refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.”

I recently took our son to have Lasik surgery done about an hour from our house.  While sitting in the waiting room I met a retired school teacher who was one of the computer teachers at my son’s High School during the time he attended and another gal who was friends with the owner of a stable where we use to keep my daughter’s horse and she was in a small group with a friend of mine in my subdivision that I have started doing a small group with.  She even knew about some Easter baskets we had made for foster children.  At that time we talked about six degrees of separation.  I have to wonder if maybe it is even less than 6 degrees.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texasand need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at www.AgentwithResults.com  and at www.ResultsRealtyTX.com. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about Spring. If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Spring properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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My thoughts on Memorial Day have been an evolving experience.  As a child I remember thinking WOO HOO Memorial Day is here and we are out of school for the summer.  I do however remember that my parents always went and decorated graves so I did know it was a time to honor our dead.

When our children were little I still had those thoughts of Memorial Day.  I did however expect it to be a holiday where my children got out of school.  We lived a few years in another state and when my children had to go to school on Memorial Day I was appalled and ended up calling the Superintendent of the school district.  (In retrospect I was appalled that they had to go to school on a National Holiday but at that point didn’t really know much about why it was a holiday).

That was when I found out of the origins of Memorial Day.  It was actually started as a Northern Holiday after the Civil War.  It was after World War I that it officially became a holiday to celebrate those who died not just in the Civil War but any war.  It was in 1971 with the National Holiday Act it became a three day weekend celebrated on the last Monday in May.  I was surprised that the school district we were in at that time did not have the day as one of their recognized holidays.  That may have changed as we left that area 12 years ago.

My nonchalant attitude about Memorial Day continued as our children graduated from High School.  In our school district graduation would always take place on the Saturday of Memorial weekend.  Our son graduated in 2004 and immediately joined the Army.  This was when I really learned the meaning of Memorial Day.   He ended up serving 3 years of Foreign Service with two of those years being over in Iraq.  I must say this will bring the meaning home to you.

As I was preparing this post I did some research and came across this History of Memorial Day.  Wow did this post go along with what I just wrote.  I was writing about my own nonchalant attitude and then read in this post “As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public’s nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.”  It appears that my nonchalant attitude was more the norm than the exception.

Our son just got out of the Army May 2^nd.  That has made me very introspective about this Memorial Day.  We were one of the lucky ones as he came back without injuries.

We are not necessarily a military family but do have a long record of serving our country.  My Dad and all of his brothers were in World War II at the same time.  (That’s my Dad second to the right.)  Two were in the Army, two were in the Air Force and one was in the Navy.  My family was blessed; they all came home.  My Uncle Myrl who was the one way to the right in the picture was the only one who stayed in the reserves and he ended up getting killed in the Korean conflict.  The rest of the brothers all lived to old age; my Dad is the only sibling whom is still living.

My husband’s Grandfather served in World War I.  In our Game room we have a picture of his unit before they deployed and under it a picture of those that came back.  I have not actually counted how many came back but it is about half of those that left.   I also have a flag with 48 stars in a ceremonial container that was given to my Great-Grandfather.  He fought in the Civil War but my Mother told me he lied about his age to get in.  In that same room I have a picture of our son while he was in the Army and a picture of my Dad from back when he was in the Army. This is in the room where I have my elliptical machine and I have been trying to exercise 4 to 5 times a week so these have become a visual reminder for me of my family serving their country.  These visual reminders have made me realize how fortunate our family is that they all lived through their service.

Thank God we don’t have as many casualties in this war as in previous wars but we have a huge amount of our soldiers who are coming back injured and maimed.  I just had an email come across about a local soldier who has lost both legs and they thought also both arms and burnt over 56% of his body.  His family is asking for as many soldiers and veterans as possible to send him a birthday card.  You can go to “Chandlers Watch” and get the address.  This is a recent post so you still have time to send a card.

My nonchalant attitude about Memorial Day has disappeared!  Freedom is not FREE!  We owe a debt of gratitude to those whom have paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free.  We also owe a debt of gratitude to our returning soldiers. 

In doing my research for this post I ran across an idea I really like.  Perhaps we need to go back to our traditional celebration of Decoration Day on May 30th.  We could always have our three day weekend over Armed Forces Day which is the 3rd Saturday of May.  This would be a way to put the emphasis back on what Memorial/Decoration Day was meant to stand for.

My sister recently refinanced her home with her current lender which is Countrywide Home Mortgage.  She had a bit of a funky loan and they offered her a better loan at a lower interest rate and she jumped at it.  Now here is where the problem starts.  Somehow the right hand at Countrywide did not tell the left hand what was going on.  In the meantime my sister kept making payments on the new loan as they had told her to do.

All of a sudden she started getting letters from credit card lenders who were dropping her.  Most of these were cards that didn’t even have anything on them.  I thought maybe somebody had stolen her identity and told her to get Lifelock.  As part of Lifelock’s service they provided her with copies of her credit reports.  Come to find out Countrywide had reported her as not making her house payment for three months.  Not once did Countrywide contact them letting them know that thought they were late making their payments.   Personally I thought it was the law that you had to be notified if you were behind in payments but maybe that is not the case.  It sure seems like they should have notified her but she received NOTHING from them.  As I said she had been making payments on the new loan so she of course had no idea this was going on. 

So now that she knew what was going on she called Countrywide.  Their first response was “oh you are right we will correct this”.  No apology!  Countrywide did send a letter to the affect that they had reported her as delinquent when she was not.  She contacted the credit card companies who had dropped her and was told that she would have to request the credit report from each company then she could submit that report with the letter from Countrywide and each lender could decide whether they wanted to re-instate her account or not.

I could not believe that this was all being dumped on her and Countrywide could just basically say “oops am I bad”.  I told her she needed to call Countrywide again and see if they could do anything.  This time she did get a nice gal who told her she was REALLY sorry that this had happened but there was nothing Countrywide could do; if she could call each lender for her she would but they would not accept the phone call. 

Somehow this seems so WRONG.  My sister’s credit went from 760 to 600 in that short time.  Countrywide has contacted the credit bureaus letting them know it was a mistake but there is no easy fix.  Now she has all these credit card companies who show they have dropped her which dings her credit.  It is a vicious cycle and one that is going to take her months to fix while Countrywide comes off totally unscathed. 

I feel so bad for my sister and this has made me realize how important it is to watch your credit on a monthly basis.  I think this is a good warning for EVERYONE; especially if you are considering a home purchase.  I got Lifelock after I saw what a friend went through when her identity was stolen.   Lifelock is helping me to watch my credit by locking my accounts but when the problem is within like this one was I don’t know what the answer is. If you are not paying a company to watch; I highly recommend checking your credit on a routine basis.  In the age we are living in we just don’t know what is around the corner and once your credit is zapped it takes a long time to recover it; even if it is no fault of yours.

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If you are buying or relocating to  Spring Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com/springtexas.html and at Results Realty.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about The Woodlands.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Woodlands properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader

We have made a couple of cross country moves with our cats and dogs and this post is about some of the lessons we learned.  A lot of these lessons would work for a local move also. 

I: Moving your cat.

1.        Invest in a high quality cat carrier.  We made the mistake of buying one that was too big thinking that it would give our cat room to move around.  As they travel they really don’t care about moving around so buy a carrier that is appropriately sized.

2.       Talk to your veterinarian ahead of time so you can get medication, especially if your pet does not like being transported.

3.       You might want to consider buying a restraining harness for your cat.  We found that the rabbit harnesses were the ones that worked the best.  We spent several weeks ahead of time training our cat to use the harness.  She was scared of it to begin with but adjusted to it with time.  This way you will be able to take your cats for walks and get you can be assured they are not going to run away.

4.       If you have a imbedded chip you will want to update the information just in case something happens and your pet gets lost.

5.       Call ahead to find motels that accept cats.

II: Moving your dog.

1.       With a dog you may or may not need a pet carrier.  Our dogs were use to riding in the car and we moved them without a pet carrier.

2.       Purchase a new ID tag for your dog. Put your new address and your cell phone on it.  If your dog has an imbedded chip you will want to update the information.

3.       Talk to your veterinarian ahead of time to get medication if your dog has issues traveling in the car.

4.       Call ahead to find motels that accept dogs. 

5.       Moving to the south you will need to immediately get your dog on heart worm preventive medicine. 

On the actual moving day you will want to put your pet in a room that is isolated from all the commotion.  You are going to want to put a big note on the door so that the movers know to stay out of that room. 

If you are moving to Spring TX during the summer months you are going to have to take special precautions because of the heat.  You could end up having to eat a lot of fast food so that you can keep your pet in air conditioning. 

Take all the things your pet will need with you so that they have some things that they are use to in their new home.  Many people lose their pets during the moving process so you will want to take extra precautions to make sure that your pet has an easy transition to your next home. 

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texasand need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at www.AgentwithResults.com  and at www.ResultsRealtyTX.com. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about Spring. If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Spring properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader

 

So what do you do when you see what looks like a giant beehive in your front yard?  My first thought was to grab a bottle of flying insect spray. My husband however happened to know of a bee keeper so we called him instead.

I must say watching him move the swarm to a new home was quite a learning experience. What we thought was a hive was actually a swarm. They swarmed over an old bird nest. It appears that they have been kicked out of their prior castle so these worker bees went with their queen to find a new castle. I for one was not happy about there castle being in my front yard. The bee keeper brought them over a nice 3/2/2 and helped them to get settled.  It was a little smaller than their castle in the air but worked quite nice.

Honey bee swarms are actually not dangerous.  The only time a swarm gets defensive is when they are protecting their hive and their young and since a swarm doesn’t have young nor food supplies they are not easily provoked.  Now our son did get stung when out mowing the yard so maybe the lawn mower provoked them.  He was not taking any chances and decided to wait until the swarm was gone to finish the mowing.

I have a new appreciation for bees after talking to the bee keeper and watching the process.  I did not catch the swarm dropping but you will see one picture with the swarm in the air and the next one the swarm is on the box.

 After getting the swarm down to the box the next step was getting them settled in to their new condo.  You can observe the bees scent-fanning at the entrance to signal the entrance to the new nest as the bees march into their new home. There is one point in the movie where you will see the screen go a little crazy as I was getting away from the bees. According to the beekeeper I was safe but I was not taking any chances.

I was amazed at how comfortable the bee keeper was around the bees. We asked him if he got stung often and he told us no.

When you see the bee keeper pointing he is pointing out a waggle dance. The bees do a waggle dance to share information.

I was a little sad that a small group got left behind.  They huddled as a very small swarm in the tree for a few weeks and then were gone.  I hope they found a larger swarm but I’m not sure what happens to the remnant when they miss the move.

I found a website that you can go to and find a bee keeper should you find yourself with a swarm in your front yard.  After finding out how social honey bees are I’m glad that we helped them find a new condo.  I also found out that there is a shortage of honey bees in the United States so you are being ecologically green and helping our environment also.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texasand need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.

If you would like information about Spring please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com/springtexas.html and at Results Realty. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about The Woodlands. If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Woodlands properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader

There is no better time to buy a home than right now, especially if you are a first time home buyer.  The good news is that you can be a first time home buyer a second time. (nothing like a second chance). So even if you have owned a home in the past you may be qualified to receive this $8000 tax credit.  When I first read about the tax credit I took it very literally to mean you must be a first time home buyer.  However in the case the definition of a first time home buyer for the purpose of this law is “a first time home buyer is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three year prior to the purchase (the date on the HUD 1 is the determining factor).  For married taxpayers neither spouse may have owned a home in the last 3 years. 

I recently had a closing where my client had previously had a home but had gone through a divorce and was just now able to buy a home again.  I called her to let her know that she was again a first time home buyer.  She was excited to know about this because just like me she thought a first time home buyer was only a first time home buyer. 

There are a few other items that you should keep in mind.  This only goes to Dec. 1^st 2009 so if you are going to buy a home this year you need to shop early.  You don’t want to wait until the last moment and then take the chance of not closing on time and losing out on the tax credit.

There are income limits.  Full credit will be issued to individuals with an adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return).  Individuals with incomes over $95,000 ($170,000 on a joint return) will not receive the credit.

Unlike the 2008 credit (which was essentially an interest free 15 year loan) the 2009 tax credits DOES NOT have to be repaid.  You do however have to live in the house for at least 3 years.

This is a tax credit, not a tax deduction.  A tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in the amount of tax the taxpayer owes.  If you owed $8000 in federal income tax and received the full $8000 tax credit, you would owe nothing to the IRS for that filing period.

This tax credit is said to be refundable.  This means that a credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no income tax liability to offset.  For example if a first time homebuyer had a tax liability of $6000 and received a tax credit for $8000 you would receive a check for $2000. 

The finite points of the tax credit are still being worked on.  You will want to check with your tax advisor for a complete interpretation. 

For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332

If you are looking for a local place to go and see bluebonnets I have the place for you; Creekside Village in The Woodlands. 

You will find the bluebonnet meadow at Rob Fleming Park.  Rob Fleming park is a 20 acre park with a Craftsman style Lodge, tree lined promenade, children’s playground, wildlife sculpture trail and a trailhead to the George Mitchell Nature Preserve.

Creekside Park is located just south of Spring Creek between Gosling and Kuykendahl.  The main entrance is located on Gosling Road but you may also get to the village from Kukendahl road also.  When finished the village will cover 3,492 acres and they are planning for 7,100 residences.   Within this 1,850 acres will be used for parklands and greenspace.  As you can see it is becoming a very popular place to go for seeing those bluebonnets.

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If you are buying or relocating to  The Woodlands Texas and need help from a professional  REALTOR®,  Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332. 

If you would like information about The Woodlands please visit my websites at http://www.agentwithresults.com/ and at http://www.resultsrealtytx.com/.  The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about  The Woodlands.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

Want to find out about new Woodlands properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Copyright 2009 Marchel Peterson �

I often get request asking to be set up for home searches for subdivisions that do not have homeowner’s associations.  Since we don’t have zoning in the Houston area when there is not a Home Owners Association there is usually also no deed restrictions.  With no deed restrictions you tend to get a little bit of everything.  I took some pictures in a subdivision in Spring that has no deed restrictions.  I have always called the subdivision the Vegetable Patch as the streets are named such things as Carrot, Turnip and Tomato.  The actual name of the subdivision is Farmette Meadows.

I took these pictures on Carrot street and as you drive along the street you might see cars on Cinder blocks, trailers in front of house, businesses etc.  If you are going to open a business this is the perfect place for you.  If you are looking for a subdivision where you want similar types of property this might not be the best place. 

I lived in 3 states prior to moving here and almost fell off my chair when I was in real estate school and learned that Houston DID NOT HAVE ZONING!!  With no zoning you are really dependent upon home owners associations and deed restrictions to maintain your property values.   When you don’t have an HOA this is an example of what you get.

My husband had a co-worker who bought out in Waller County in an unresticted area.  When he bought the house a nice house was next door.  Shortly after they moved in the nice house next door was sold and the new owner decided to open a junk yard.  Like I said earlier if you have a business  a subdivision with no zoning might be the place you want to be but if not this is probably not be where you want to be.

For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332

Willow Forest is located in unincorporated Northwest Harris County.  You may enter the subdivision off of Kukendahl or off of Dowdell.  Willow Forest has a Tomball mailing address but it is in Klein ISD. It is just minutes from Spring and just 10 minutes north you have all the amenities of The Woodlands. 

The first homes in Willow Forest were built late 1970’s and then the middle section was completed in the early 1980’s and the subdivision was completed in the mid 1990’s.  Square footage ranges from just over 1000 square feet to about 2500 square feet.  Current sales prices fall between $87,000 to $130,000.  The subdivision has towering pines and majestic oaks throughout.

If you come in to Willow Forest off of Kuyhendahl you will pass Shultz elementary.  This is one of those rare subdivision that has an elementary school within walking distance of the subdivision.  As I said the first section of Willow Forest was built back in the late 1970’s.  These homes range in size from about 1500 square feet to 2300 square feet. 

If you want a reasonably priced Victorian home look no farther.   There are a lot of Victorian homes in the middle section of Willow Forest. These homes were built in the 1980’s.  The homes in this section go as small as 1000 square feet and there are a few small two bedroom homes interspersed through this middle section of Willow Forest. 

The last sections of Willow Forest were built in the early to mid 1990’s by Royce homes. These homes are easily accessible off of Dowdell with easy access to FM 2920.  The homes in this section range in size from about 1500 square feet to close to 3000 square feet. 

Willow Forest has wonderful amenities for their residents.  They have a club house, swimming pool, tennis courts and a children’s playground.

As I said earlier Willow Forest is in the acclaimed Klein ISD. The grade school is Schultz Elementary, the intermediate is Hildebrandt and the high school is Klein Oak.

For all your Tomball TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332

Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

I have been writing post about useful web sites as reported by PC World.  I am continuing on my with my series and these websites will help you find local stuff. 

http://www.yelp.com/ This is a wonderful website for all that local stuff.  You can read reviews about your local restaurants, stores, manicurist, etc.  You can also write a review if you so desire.  I have always written for localism so it has been easy to write some reviews about the local establishments in my area.  I also liked the fact that I could set up a profile and it allows me to connect two of my websites without having to reciprocate.  It is a cool place to connect with local people around my area.  You can also invite your friends to Yelp with you.

http://www.opentable.com/  This is the site where you can make your reservations online.  I checked out the find dining establishments in The Woodlands and most of the ones that we would frequent for those special occasions were there.  It also has a mobile application so you can easily select and make reservations from your phone.  To be quite honest we normally eat at the Peterson Grill but should we go out this is the place to make those reservations ahead of time.

http://www.stubhub.com/ This is like ticketmaster with a twist.  This site in effect took ticket scalping off of the street and put it on the Internet providing a secure market place for fan to fan ticket sales.  They don’t charge the huge fees like ticketmaster and it might give you a shot at buying tickets for event that are sold out.

http://www.angieslist.com/Angieslist I have normally not included sites that charge but I have heard so much about Angies list recently I decided to go ahead and add it.  This is the place to go to find out if the contractor of auto shop is reputable.  According to the site companies do not pay to be put on the site.  It is a place to go for unbiased ratings and reviews.  I did look and it wasn’t very expensive for a 1 year membership.  If you are in the Houston area and are still recovering from Hurricane Ike (which I know from all the blue tarps there are a lot still out there) this might be a good return for your money.

http://www.freecycle.org/ This is the second time I have included this site in this series but if you are looking for local stuff this is the place to go.  This site is cycling with a twist you are basically recycling your stuff.  This is a grassroots, nonprofit site that connects (Via Yahoo Groups) people who might like to trade items within their own community.  I joined the Spring TX freecycle and gave away my old Christmas tree to one person and decorations that I no longer wanted to another.  I guess this comes back to one man’s garbage is another treasure.  Everything posted must be FREE!!

This is my fifth in the series of websites from PC World.  If you would like to visit the other four you will find them at:

Websites about “surviving the recession”!

Websites about “Planning a vacation”!!

Websites about “Buying, Selling and Renting Stuff”!!

Websites about “Learning Stuff”!!

For all your Spring TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332