Robyn Jones's Blog

Gorgeous Mini-Estate with Pool, Spa and Porte Corchere

2008-11-06T15:36:18Z

Photo Gallery

Description and Features

Bring your buyers to view this stunning 4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home with a gorgeous master overlooking the pool and spa, oversized master bathroom, spiral staircase, back staircase, 3-car garage, large porte cochere, gated drive way, grand entranceway and even a small ground floor media room! The pool area needs work (shocking, cleaning, landscaping, & powerwashing) and it is being scheduled, however, the seller says bring clients through even prior to the work being done.

Bedrooms:	4
Bathrooms:	3.5
Parking Spaces:	3
Square Feet:	3,889
Year Built:	2001
Floors:	2
MLS #:	4553374

Location

Click to view map: 11043 Ramp Creek Lane Sugar Land TX 77478

Links

Listing Website

Back to Robyn's Website...

2008-10-12T16:46:39Z

Foreclosures

2008-10-12T16:44:41Z

Foreclosures are not always the best deals to be had. In fact, many times the best deals are to be had with an anxious seller who is willing to let some equity go or willing to go tot he bank and ask for a short sale. Once the home has been through the foreclosure process, the reo department hires a realtor who runs the comps and prices at or around market. Many times the repairs to the foreclosures exceed the market value and the banks are not willing to make the necessary mark downs until the time triggers the next price reduction. In this market, one needs a Realtor who will truly dig up the best values (if that is what they are looking for), rather than relying on the tags of "short sale" and "foreclosure". After all, good deals are to be had - they may just not be the obvious ones!

Congratulations Nina Palmer!!

2008-10-12T16:38:01Z

Nina Palmer, the General Manager of Robyn Jones Homes is now a licensed Realtor! She got her license and will now be even more hands on with the clients! Nina is developing her own clientele and represents all of the high ideals and high-level of services that we strive to meet at Robyn Jones Homes.

My Favorite Feedbacks!!!

2008-10-12T16:21:52Z

These are my favorite feedbacks from my most difficult listings!! I promise they are accurate and unedited! And as harsh as some of these feedbacks are - my sellers were totally unphased! So, here they are!

Property #1 (after $2,000 worth of staging, cleaning and repair):

Place has potential but is difficult to show. The kitchen was very dirty, dirty dishes, food boxes on counter, in the downstairs bedroom there was a rifle in plain view, (very easy for a child to get to) cigarette butts on the floors, various pieces of clothing/underwear all over the floor.

Clients did not even go upstairs. Home did not show well. It had the smell of cigarette smoke and really needs carpet cleaning and repainting. The grass in back was overgrown.

Great view. clients did not care for smell of smoke and cigarette burns in carpets. Needs paint touch ups and cleaning. Clients stayed there for showing and kids were jumping off second story into pool.

Hi Robyn, Not sure what to say....Home was very unkept and dirty. We do realize its a short sale. Being on the golf course is awesome...but I believe my client was creeped out with all the doors closed and not sure what we would find. Laundry everywhere. and a few bedside lamps were on...as if someone was there...somewhere. creepy. Thank you for allowing me to show. I do not believe my client is interested.

This one fell out of their favorites today. Just does not show well. Price sure is looking favorable though. The reduction was necessary. Hope you don't need to go lower, but the carpet is bad, house smells so much like smoke, and the seller was present. It's got some promise, but not for my client, as they have put three others in Cinco higher on their list.

It was so smokey my people didn't even want to go upstairs.

Thanks for the oppportunith to show Robyn. We scheduled 10a-12noon 24 hours ago. The seller called and cancelled due to sleeping teenagers and we rescheduled for 12-2. We arrived at 12:40pm - the seller and family were still there making it tough to actually look at the home.

Great location on the golf course. No interest by this buyer due to interior condition.

Client did not like the condition of the home. Smelled like smoke. House smelled of smoke. Young men still sleeping at the time of the showing. Kitchen looked like something out of a fraternity house. Left immediately after we woke someone up sleeping in the master bedroom.

Nice backyard. Buyer did not like the color of tile, kitchen cabinets and thought the home was a bit run down- needed paint touch-ups and carpet cleaning. thanks,

Smelled like smoke, bannisters were sticky, carpet and paint worn, nice balcony overlooking pool and golf course.

Should've shown it when it was all cleaned up and staged. Buyers chose another. Looked too much maintenance to be done when I took them!

PROPERTY #2 (Where my client refused to tone down the metallic faux finished walls):

The house is very nice however my client and I were unable to view the entire home due to the fact that the owners had someplaces blocked off with pet gates and some of the doors apparently were locked. It was very unfortunate b/c my client really liked the home.

My client said they felt uncomfortable b/c it appeared that someone was home. This was definitely not the house for this buyer.

The interior of the house is just very unique in décor and will take a certain buyer. It was very dark and the faux finished walls are very “glitzy” and the dark brown and painted trim work and doors are not appealing to most people. So in my opinion, you have a far out location, interior unique, and the exterior needs some nice landscaping and color.

Back To Robyn's Website

2008-10-11T09:34:01Z

Gorgeous Home For Sale (if you can ignore the smell of smoke and naked sleeping girls)

2008-10-11T09:31:29Z

Wow - we all get them - the difficult home seller and the house that "needs work". And by difficult, I don't mean high maintenance or opinionated I mean - "Pre-foreclosure, mid-way through an acrimonious divorce with assets being hidden, sons who are drug dealers and in and out of jail and the house smells bad and looks worse" type of difficult sellers. What to do? What to do with them? How do you market a house like this?

Well, I actually know - from experience. First thing we did was hire a stager. She was there 5 days (bless her heart) and when she came back on the 6th day (to drop the last few finishing touches off) she called me almost in tears. The house looked almost the way it did when she started (minus the bright blue paint she had toned down to a more sophisticated grey tone and the repaired burnt slats on the upstairs balcony). We then had a repair man come in to repair the broker drawer fronts, holes in the walls, leaks, lighting that had been pulled out from the wall, etc. Wow - it looked great until the kids punched the front glass out of the front door, knocked some of the slats out of the stair rails and added a lovely variety of holes throughout the home. Preparing this house and showing it was like trying to carry water upstairs in a sieve.

Oh and my feedback (which is so inspiring I have decided to devote my next blog to the good, the bad and the ugly of feedback) - it ranged form "I think there was a naked girl in the master bedroom, to sellers were having a party and refused to leave house and it was distracting with the teenage boys diving off the second story balcony into the pool - to my favorite - it was creepy, all of the bedroom doors were shut and it felt like someone was hiding in the rooms, so we decided to leave without opening them. The feedback almost took on a life of its own. I would forward it to my buyers agent and my husband (who is licensed as well) and we would try to discuss it with the owner. Well, you know he'd remind us - "kids will be kids and that is why I'll be glad to get rid of this house." Whew - not sure what to do with that one.

But I sold this house. Not once, but twice! The first sale was terminated when they came by for their pre-closing inspection, not only to find that many of the repairs were undone - but to find that 2 hours before closing there was no moving truck and nothing was packed. We pushed closing back 4 times and by the 4th day - we were smacked with a big, fat termination notice. The only thing that could improve that situation, was the fact that I was dealing with this from a gorgeous beach house in Savannah, GA where I had gathered family and friends to celebrate my fathers 70 birthday (the closing was supposed to have taken place before I left). Not only did I spend every second dealing with this closing crisis and trying to avoid the house being foreclosed on while we negotiated getting the owner out of the house, but my husband left early to try to salvage the deal (to no avail) - and since there is always that one extra, little cherry on the sundae - my buyers agent, rushing over to try to salvage what was left of the walk through and closing, pulled into the driveway and crashed right into the already irate buyers car. Wow.

But, since the universe always rights itself - two of my favorite clients ended up buying this home and fully renovating it. Because they had been so familiar with what was going on - they weren't surprised when he had trouble getting out by closing, and when he finally did leave he left a house full of furniture and junk, and of course, didn't complete any repairs. And even with that - they love their new house. They pulled all of the carpet out and re-painted. It looks amazing. So go figure - all's well, that ends well.

Credit Crunch Hits Katy?

2008-10-11T09:05:04Z

The question that I get the most these days is how the credit crunch will be affecting the market in this area. I'm please to say that the affects in this area have not been as devestating as I've seen in other markets in the country. All of my closings have closed - albeit with perhaps a little more paperwork. It appears that well-qualified, gainfully employed home buyers should be fine. I see the lenders asking for more money down, asking second homes to be rented out and asking for more walk through appraisals (versus drive-bys) - but I haven't had any of my clients denied, so far. That said, I will repost again on this subject to see how and if things are changing in the Houston, Katy market.

Historical home with Horse Farm in Pattison, Texas (Houston)

2008-10-05T09:51:17Z

This wonderful piece of property is just amazing. It would be great for someone who wants to own land right out of Houston or for a half way house. There is an adjacent piece of land that is also availalble by request.

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=9998364&backButton=Y

Har.com September 2008 Statistics for Houston Area Home Sales

2008-10-04T15:26:47Z

HAR.com September 2008 Statistics
	1,050,371,156	Hits
	38,803,413	Page Views
	2,767,227	Visitor Sessions
	776,727	Unique Visitors
	00:08:35	Average Minutes Spent
	22,137,816	Total Visitor Minutes
	7,425,027	Times Listings Viewed
	10	Homes Viewed Per Visitor

National Association of Realtors Profile of Buyers and Sellers

2008-10-04T15:24:41Z

NAR 2007 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers

First Step Taken by Home Buyers During the Home Buying Process	Buyers
Looked online for properties for sale	32%
Contacted a real estate agent	20%
Talked with a friend or relative about home buying process	9%
Visited open houses	7%
Looked in newspapers, magazines, or home buying guides	5%
Drove-by homes/neighborhoods	1%

Information Sources Used in Home Search	1995	2003	2004	2005	2007	Very Useful
Real Estate Agent	86%	86%	90%	90%	84%	70%
Internet	2%	65%	74%	77%	84%	78%
Yard Sign	37%	69%	74%	71%	59%	29%
Open House	41%	48%	51%	51%	48%	24%
Newspaper Advertisement	51%	49%	53%	50%	50%	17%
Home Book or Magazine	30%	35%	40%	38%	31%	11%
Home Builder	15%	37%	37%	36%	24%	12%
Television	8%	22%	26%	25%	9%	2%

Where Buyer Found the Home They Purchased	1997	2003	2004	2005	2007
Real Estate Agent	50%	41%	38%	36%	34%
Internet	2%	11%	15%	24%	29%
Yard sign/open house sign	17%	16%	16%	15%	14%
Home builder or their agent	3%	7%	7%	7%	8%
Friend, relative or neighbor	9%	7%	7%	7%	8%
Print newspaper or advertisement	8%	7%	5%	5%	3%
Directly from sellers/Knew the sellers	4%	4%	5%	3%	3%
Home book or magazine	3%	1%	2%	1%	1%

Method of Home Purchase, By Use of Internet	Used Internet to Search	Did Not Use Internet to Search
Through a real estate agent/broker	82%	65%
Directly from builder or builder's agent	10%	19%
Directly from previous owner whom buyer didn't know	6%	13%

Web Sites Used in Home Search
Multiple Listing Services (MLS) Web site	54%
REALTOR.com	49%
Real estate company Web site	44%
Real estate agent Web site	40%
For-sale-by-owner (FSBO) Web site	20%
Newspaper Web site	12%

Back to Robyn Jones website...

2008-06-01T21:32:24Z

New Outlet Mall in Cypress, TX - Chelsea Premium Outlets

2008-06-01T21:30:11Z

Well it's here! I finally made it over to check out the wonderful new outlet mall which just opened in Cypress. I'm a huge fan of Katy Mills Malls, which is an outlet mall featuring Off Saks, Last Call (Neiman Marcus), Juicy Couture, Cole Hahn and a host of other outlet stores. It's close to Katy and convenient. It has a movie theater and a nice mix of stores. So I was anxious to try the new outlet mall in Cypress, which is run by the company that has my favorite outlet malls in Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Camarillo (Los Angeles) among others - all of which I have spent a pretty penny in! So, I was familiar with the line up of stores and was pleased to see they hadn't changed the line up - including Burberry, Calvin Klein, Juicy Couture, Cole Hahn, Nike, Puma and Tahari (to name a few). There were good buys to be had. A number of stores haven't opened yet - but I was pleased with the stores that were. I do hope, however, they add a few more restaurants in the food court (although everyone quite happily stuffed their faces in the 4 or 5 open restaurants). The mall is located right off the 290 in Cypress. For a fuller list of the mall offerings, stores and directions - visit their website at:

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/brands/brands_3rd_level.asp?id=290

Websites, Google Searches and Keyword Spies - all in Katy, Texas!

2008-03-21T03:11:44Z

So, here's an interesting thing that most Realtors and small business owners battle with - our websites. How do you make it work for you? How do you get it to the much sought after first page (without laying out crazy money on SEO)? Mine is interesting and has surprised me in a couple of ways. First, my page jumps up and down in the google rankings. If I do a google search for "Realtor Katy Texas" I'm on page 62, although when I first put my page up I was on 45. So while my unique visitors per month have gone up (from 60 when I started in September - to over 400 a month now) my ranking has gone down. Even crazier is that one of the agents in my office who is a sporadic agent and does no Internet marketing, blogging or work on her site - is on page 9 and my friend who is a mortgage broker is right near the top too. Go figure!

If you search for "Real Estate Katy Texas" or "Real Estate Agent Katy Texas" I'm not even on there. I don't even show up.

And if you search for "Homes for Sale Katy Texas" I'm up to page 36 from page 37 (in October) - Ouch. Now this is frustrating and challenging. Do any of my fellow business owner/realtors have any ideas on how to get my page to climb higher?

Now, what is interesting is that when I set up my webpage the hosting site of Z57 insisted that I put my buttons in a certain order - they're statistics show that the buttons should be ordered from "find listings", "find a home", etc. first with no emphasis on the agent. Being a huge people person and because of the type of service that I offer and the fact that I believe that I am my own best commodity - I insisted on making my "About Robyn" button my first button (as when I go to other agents or small business owners sites, it is the first button I look forward when determining if this is the type of person that I would like to work for and with). Well, oddly enough - when I look at my page visits - it is my third most visited page after my home page and my free home search. Go figure. Every blue moon I'm on point when I figure people want to learn about other people. Especially when they are considering working with them.

And my last fun thought - when I look at the statistics on how people got to my page, one of the links to my page reads http://www.keywordspy.com/find-competitor-keywords/robynjoneshomes.com. Someone is spying on my keywords? I got a hoot out of that especially since I'm so low on the page rankings right now! Me and my best friend laughed and got a giggle that someone would aim so low! Let's steal the key words to a site on page 45. Personally, if I was going to do it - I'd use a couple on page 1!! Or maybe they are testing to see what key words NOT to use (smile)!

So, in summary - my goal for the next year is to get on the first page when ones searches for "Real Estate Agent Katy Texas", "Realtor Katy Texas", "Real Estate Katy Texas" and "Homes for Sale Katy Texas". And, of course - this doesn't include the same search phrases for Richmond, Missouri City, Fulshear, Sugar Land and Cypress. And forget Houston, I can't even imagine how hard that would be!!

So, now that I've brought all of these issues to the top of my mind - I now realize - I haven't checked the other search engines since I started. Sigh... Time to go count yahoo pages...

My Open House in Richmond Yesterday

2008-03-16T06:40:06Z

Yesterday I held a lovely Open House at my Royal Lakes listing in Richmond, TX. There were some wonderful people who came through to "take the tour". Many of them were just out driving and saw the signs and decided to take advantage of this opportunity to walk the inside of a 7,600 SF home. I don't mind at all. It's good company and you never know who may have a friend who might be looking for something like this. I had a couple stop in once and tell me that they were just looking for decorating ideas for the new home they were building. Not your perfect open house visitor in terms of selling the home - but on the upside, when I asked who was listing that home, they didn't have anyone and I'm supposed to get the house on the market for them in the upcoming weeks. On the other hand, I also had a traveling minister and his "helpers" and their 8 kids stop in once and lay hands on me and pray over me so that I could have a happy life! So, I suppose you never know who is going to walk through that door when you hold an Open House!

Back to Robyn Jones website...

2008-03-12T22:40:59Z

My out of town clients loved this Barker-Cypress & 529 home!

2008-03-12T22:38:39Z

Wow! How cute is this wonderful ranch home in Copperfield near Barker-Cypress and 529 in Houston? My out-of-town clients just loved it and grabbed sight unseen! They were so excited when they got there with their 4 small sons!

Just sold an amazing pool home in Richmond!

2008-03-12T22:24:44Z

Boy - are my buyers in love with this gorgeous home in Richmond, Texas. This lovely piece of Richmond real estate has an amazing pool. It is in the same great sub-division where I have the estate home listed. This area of Richmond is a wonderful value for large lots and homes that span in range from the mid 300's to over a million. There are lakes, deer and gators.

Insanely Gorgeous Estate Home in Richmond!!

2008-01-07T23:46:18Z

This is the most gorgeous home in Richmond!! Someone needs to come buy this home from me asap!! It's gorgeous with 5 master bedrooms and a 2-story master bedroom. How crazy is that? It's 7,600 square feet of marble, tile, windows and arches! This is living! Look at this pantry - it looks like a grocery store!

Great lot sold as buyers agent in Fulshear in gated golf community!

2008-01-03T12:35:15Z

Lot sold as buyers agent in the wonderful city of Fulshear! This lot is located at Weston Lakes Golf Club, a gated golf community. This family plans on building their dream home right on the course!

SOLD! BUYERS AGENT.

Features:

Price: $55,000	Status: Sold
Property Type: Lot/Land for Sale

LOT 1 WHITBURN TRAIL - WESTON LAKES, FULSHEAR
Whitburn Trail - Lot 1
Fulshear, TX 77441

Great Katy home leased as a buyers agent!!

2008-01-03T12:28:52Z

LEASED! BUYERS AGENT.

Features:

Price: $1,800	Status: Sold
Property Type: House for Rent	Number of Floors: Multiple
Parking/Garage: 2	Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2	Half Baths: 1
Square Feet: 2736	Year Built: 2003

2022 GABLE HOLLOW, KATY
2022 Gable Hollow
Katy, TX 77450

Sold as buyers agent in Houston (Hwy. 6)!

2008-01-03T12:19:22Z

Check out this wonderful home my buyer bought off of highway 6!! A gorgeous mediteranean home with great arches and tile throughout! A wonderful Fannie Mae, REO! Bank owned and ready to be lived in! The home was in perfect shape, had wonderful wood laminate floors, palm trees and great landscaping!

I sold this Katy home the day it went on the market as the buyers agent!!!!

2008-01-03T12:04:17Z


	Spectacular entry with award winning 2 story rotunda
Gorgeous 2 story rotunda	Bright and airy formal dining room w/crown molding
Large family room w/tile surround fireplace	Another view of the bright and airy family room
Nice breakfast nook off the kitchen currently being used as a sitting room	Super kitchen with 42' Oak cabinets and gas range
Another view of the kitchen tile backsplash and breakfast bar open to the den	Large master bedroom with ceiling fan
Master bath w/dual sinks and vanity	Separate shower and soaking tub
Large bright guest room with arched windows	Super pool sized yard
Check out the hot tub in this backyard oasis

Software Copyright © Marketlinx, Inc. 1997-2008 All Rights Reserved V3.0
Copyright: MLS Data Copyright © 2003-2008 Houston Realtors Information Service,Inc. All Rights Reserved
Suggestions:Email HAR Support:Email Help Desk
DATA NOT VERIFIED/GUARANTEED BY MLS - Obtain signed HAR Broker Notice to Buyer form

Wonderful Home Near Hwy 6 and Copperfield/Houston - Sale Price $146,000 or Lease Price $1,200/month

2008-01-03T11:26:59Z

CHECK OUT HIS WONDERFUL 3-BEDROOM, 2-STORY BRICK HOME WITH SWEEPING ARCHES AND WONDERFUL SPACE FOR A FAMILY.

Features:

Price: $146,000	Status: Active
Property Type: Single Family Residential for Sale	Number of Floors: Multiple
Parking/Garage: 2	Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2	Half Baths: 1
Square Feet: 2234	Year Built: 1998

8907 PATH GREEN DR, HOUSTON
8907 Path Green Drive
Houston, TX 77095

Dramatic and impressive brick-front home.	Lovely fireplace and arched entrance to the hall.
More arches greet you as you step into this laminated wood dining room.	Sweeping staircase in the entranceway.
Beautiful view of the steps and entranceway from the second story.	Lovely view from the game room of the hallway and the arched art nook.
Spacious master bedroom with domed ceiling and fan.	Large neutral master bathroom with roomy jacuzzi tub.
Wonderfully located and laid out neutral kitchen.	Cheerful breakfast corner with great views out of the windows and constant sunlight.
Large pool-sized back yard.	Wonderfully rustic sitting area in backyard.

This home won't last long! It's gorgeous, spacious and has sweeping archways and art nooks throughout the entire home!!

Check Out This Beautiful Resort-Like Mediterranean Get-Away forSale or Lease

2007-11-07T21:10:08Z

RESORT-LIKE MEDITERRANEAN GET-AWAY
$3,000

1415 Kern Canyon Lane
Richmond, TX 77469

SPECTACULAR HOME IN GATED COMMUNITY WITH MANY UPGRADES INCLUDING OVERSIZED SPACIOUS LOT ON CUL DE SAC WITH RESORT LIKE YARD WITH POOL / SUMMER KITCHEN (W/ GRILL, SMOKER & REFRIG.), BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING,ISLAND KITCHEN WITH GRANITE COUNTER TOPS/STONE FIREPLACE/PORCELAIN TILE FLOORS THRUOUT FIRST FLOOR/RECENT CARPET 2ND. FLOOR/SOLAR CUSTOM WINDOW COVERINGS/MEDIA ROOM/BEAUTIFUL MILLWORK THRUOUT,SECURITY SYSTEM WITH SURVELLIENCE CAMERAS,HIGH CEILINGS. AVAILABLE PARTIALLY FURNISHED FOR $3,200/MTH.

Price: $349,000 or $3,000/mth	Status: Active
Property Type: House for Rent	Number of Floors: Multiple
Parking/Garage: 2	Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 4	Square Feet: 3,926
Lot Size: 11,455	Year Built: 2002

Robyn Roseman Jones

Realty Pros of Texas

21348 Provincial Drive

Katy, TX 77450

Cell - 832-721-9979

Fax - 832-415-2661

Robyn@RobynJonesHomes.com

www.RobynJonesHomes.com


THIS HOME HAS A BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED ENTRANCE.	ENJOY THE RESORT LIKE PARK SETTING OF YOUR BACK YARD.
TAKE A DIP IN THIS FABULOUS POOL YEAR ROUND.	ENTERTAIN YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THIS FULLY LOADED OUTDOOR KITCHEN.
RELAX IN THIS WONDERUL PRIVATE BACKYARD RETREAT.	THE OFFICE IS CENTRALLY SITUATED WITH DOUBLE DOORS.
ENTRANCE WAY HAS A DRAMATIC CHANDELIER AND VAULTED CEILINGS.	ENOY THE HIGH-END WROUGHT IRON, CUSTOM PAINT AND VAULTED CEILINGS IN THIS HOME.
ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL KITCHEN WITH GRANITE COUNTERTOPS.	PREPARE WONDERFUL MEALS IN THIS SUNNY TILE-FLOORED KITCHEN.
RELAX IN THIS TILED LIVING ROOM WITH FIREPLACE, VAULTED CEILINGS AND STUNNIG POOL VIEWS.	RELAX IN THIS GORGEOUS MASTER OFF OF THE POOL WITH VAULTED CEILINGS, TILE FLOORS & A CEILING FAN.
BEDROOMS ARE ALL VAULTED WITH WONDERFUL POINTS OF INTEREST.	ENJOY THIS FORMAL LIVING ROOM NEXT TOT HE FORMAL DINING ROOM.
INVITE YOUR FRIENDS OVER TO ENJOY THIS TILE FLOORED GAMEROOM WITH VAULTED CEILINGS.	THIS HOME COMES WITH A TOP OF THE LINE WASHER AND DRYER.

This is my listing in Richmond! Anyone interested in leasing a wonderful home in this area should contact me for a viewing!!