houston: Mom's Legacy - God Grant Us Peace
- 05/10/09 11:57 AM
When I read Joe Pryor's tribute to his Mom, I was struck by the similarities of our experience. Just before his Mother's passing, he came to Houston to see his Mom in the hosptal. I live near The Woodlands, just north of Houston, and was in Oklahoma City at the time he visited here. You see, my Mom passed on December 24, 2008 and her funeral was on the 27th - the day that Joe lost his Mom. The serendipity was so remarkable, it prompted me to share something with my Active Rain family that is deeply personal and is a tribute … (4 comments)
houston: How does an economist become an expert???
- 05/07/09 11:25 AM
I just have a few minutes before I leave for an appointment, but I was reading a backlog of email when I came across this post in the Houston Business Journal: Economist: ‘Free-fall is over' Since I always love good news and share it with my client base, I hopped over to the website to see what the article used to support the claim of economic recovery. Both real estate buyers and sellers around The Woodlands love to hear some good news. When I got to the last paragraph of the article where it predicted the price of oil (an important … (2 comments)
houston: IKE Lessons - People will come if you provide value!
- 09/23/08 03:38 AM
Well - my friends - I am going to end this series of posts with this lesson I learned from IKE. All we need ever do to get people to wait in line for our services is to provide exceptional value. (This photo was taken on 9/15, 2 full days after the storm had passed. This line was at least an hour before they would reach the pumps at Sam's and to the right of the cars in the foreground. The bad news is the line started in front of Ryans, in front of Wal-Mart, behind the Sam's store and this pic shows … (0 comments)
houston: Joe Vitale is asking for our help!
- 09/11/08 07:01 AM
We have the power to influence the power of Ike! For those of you that are familiar with the Houston-Galveston area, you know that the storm threat is an ominous occurence. It would be easy for us to all sink into fear as we watch the highways fill with evacuees and hear the timeline of what we can expect from this storm. Eventhough The Woodlands is an hour drive from Galveston, we must prepare for a full 24 hours of hurricane force winds. You can help! Please read the email from Vitale which I have copied and pasted in its entirety. … (0 comments)
houston: Is Independance worth $17 million?
- 08/17/08 02:46 PM
The Woodlands Township is ready to issue $17 million in bonds Several years ago, most of The Woodlands was destined to become a part of Houston. The residents, after seeing Kingwood become annexed, began seeking a way to avoid the same fate. After several trips to Austin for meetings with legistlators, numerous surveys, studies and meetings, residents voted on a plan to become an incorporated city separate from Houston and Conroe. Town Center, which is the downtown area of The Woodlands, became the taxing authority for The Woodlands Township. In order to earn that independance, the new township agreed to float … (0 comments)
houston: Flooding Possible Today - Hello Edouard!
- 08/05/08 04:36 AM
Life Can Change Quickly on the Texas Gulf Coast! Personal observances of hurricanes and tropical storms. When I first moved to the Houston area from Dallas in 1979, I was amazed at how people react to any prediction of bad weather. The grocery stores always get swamped by panicked people who want to stock up on water, batteries, non-perishable food and anything else that makes sense to them. I was up early yesterday morning and waited in line for gas at 7:30am. There were high emotions as people wanted to make sure they had a full tank of gas before the … (0 comments)
houston: Flood Fears???? Be Flood Smart!!!
- 08/02/08 05:27 AM
Flooding is a real risk in the Greater Houston area When I think back to June 2001, I can remember my own personal stories of struggle, fear, shock and disbelief as the entire area of the southeast Texas Gulf Coast had a real life experience of what it must have been like when the local citizens were left behind as Noah floated off in his ark. Tropical storm Allison was brutal and devastating for many. It was only a big hassle for me. In this photo, you are seeing a freeway completely covered by water. Dan Wallach shared this photo on … (0 comments)
This is one of the fun questions we get to answer when someone moves to the Greater Houston area. You see, most everything about real estate development is different here. We don't have zoning. But we do have ETJs and MUDs. NO......not that kind of MUD!!! We are talking about Municipal Utility Districts!!! The majority of properties in the general Houston area are not within the boundaries of an incorporated city. And because of the lack of zoning, there are few restrictions about where … (0 comments)
houston: Where do you get your optimistic news?
- 07/30/08 02:21 PM
This is a question one of my clients asked yesterday: Chris has a desire to move into a larger home and feels some hesitation because of all the bad predictions about the housing market he sees in the news. He sited these news stories in his email: July 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 200 points for the second time in three days after the International Monetary Fund said there is no end in sight to the housing slump.U.S. stocks dropped last week, resuming a two-month slump, after existing home sales fell … (8 comments)
houston: The Woodlands - A "Destination" for Relocation
- 01/23/08 01:58 AM
A primary source of new business for me is people relocating to the Houston area from another state. They have surfed the internet for information about the area. They have found this wonderful master-planned community with naturally forested trees, more than 150 miles of hike and bike trails, the best schools you can find and good roads, including a quickly traveled toll road into the heart of Houston. Once they discover The Woodlands, they begin to seek property information and contact me. Whenever they share their contact information, I can begin the orientation. There is so much that is different in the … (1 comments)
houston: Revealing my ignorance
- 01/01/08 11:02 AM
One of the things that I have learned over the years is the value of asking questions. When I am in a group setting, I have often been thanked (by less bold classmates) for speaking up and asking. Sure, some smarter people may see my shortcomings. But I have learned that my ignorance is not my biggest enemy as long as I am willing to expose that ignorance and ask questions. I am going to offer a quote that I found on someone else's blog (please forgive me that I cannot remember who's): Curiosity is a willing, a proud, an eager confession … (5 comments)
houston: Our market is doing GREAT!!!
- 01/01/08 06:48 AM
Sometimes, as a real estate agent, I get so busy simply serving clients that I do not take the time to do general research. I knew that my business was similar, if not better, in 2007 when compared to 2006. But because I had given all my focus to clients instead of doing research, I had little to say to my data-addicted internet clients that asked me for cold hard facts to support my observation. The holidays have given me time to pause and look at what the numbers truly say. The Houston market has remained strong with the only enemy to … (3 comments)
houston: Not a creature is stirring...
- 12/27/07 01:20 AM
I came into the office early this morning to catch up on some paperwork that needs to be turned in and found the halls to be quiet beyond belief. The receptionist is here with a bright and gleeful attitude. But this office that is normally buzzing with activity is silent. Contrary to what is happening around the country, our market has been relatively stable. We have pockets with high foreclosure rates and many buyers that are hesitating because of the national news. But overall, it has been a pretty good year in the Houston area. In fact, we have pockets where inventory … (4 comments)
houston: Happy Christmas
- 12/25/07 11:20 AM
It is a beautiful day for Christmas in the Houston area. Some years it is a little depressing to be still running our airconditioner during the holidays. Just last week most of the days were a warm 80 degrees and I was becoming quite tired of the heat. I love my jackets and rarely get to wear one an entire day. I have purchased only one coat since moving here in 1979 and it took more than 25 years to wear it out. Most of the wear took place when I was at NAR conventions in places like Chicago or Washington DC. I'm not … (4 comments)
When I read Joe Pryor's tribute to his Mom, I was struck by the similarities of our experience. Just before his Mother's passing, he came to Houston to see his Mom in the hosptal. I live near The Woodlands, just north of Houston, and was in Oklahoma City at the time he visited here.
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