 | Houston Area Real Estate Blog |
 |
|
Sunday, 28 June 2009
HOUSTON — June 22, 2009 — Realtor Michael J. Ross will star as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ hit musical “The Producers”, playing at Houston’s Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, July 24 – August 2, 2009. As a real estate professional, Ross is a member of Don Puryear’s top-producing team at RE/MAX Metro. As a performer, Ross has appeared on Broadway, sung across the U.S. and Europe, and on virtually every stage in Houston. For tickets, call 713-315-2525 or visit www.TheHobbyCenter.org.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Derrick DeCristofaro had a full-price offer on his renovated Idylwood bungalow for about $243,000, but when the appraisal came in low at $206,000, the sales contract fell through.
|
Less than a week after putting his newly renovated house in Idylwood on the market, Derrick DeCristofaro accepted a full-price offer of $242,900 on the 1940 bungalow.
But the appraisal on the 1,780-square-foot home came in at just $206,000. The buyer couldn’t come up with enough cash to make up the difference and DeCristofaro wasn’t willing to drop the price, so the deal fell through.
On top of already sluggish home sales, appraisals are becoming the newest threat to the local housing market.
Real estate experts said sales are collapsing because appraisers are being more conservative and valuing homes for less than what buyers have agreed to pay. Some owners can’t refinance because appraisers say their homes are worth less than they had counted on.
In DeCristofaro’s case, the low appraisal affected the would-be buyer’s ability to get a mortgage for the contracted price.
“Their lender naturally wouldn’t approve that,” DeCristofaro said.
His house is under contract again to a backup buyer, but because of new rules regulating appraisals, and a more conservative lending environment in general, DeCristofaro is worried about the new sale closing as well.
“It’s shocking. If we just pulled a buyer out of thin air, it would be a different story, but we had multiple offers coming in. It seems strange the lenders wouldn’t support that,” said DeCristofaro, an interior designer who is an investor in the home, which has two other owners.
Real estate broker Robert Searcy has seen a number of sales fall through because of low appraisals.
And that has the potential to hurt property values, too, he said.
“The biggest challenge isn’t the economy, or buyers who can’t qualify for loans. It’s appraisers coming in with ridiculously low appraisals,” said Searcy, who is listing DeCristofaro’s house.
Part of what’s at issue is a new rule that went into effect May 1 prohibiting loan officers, mortgage brokers and real estate agents from selecting appraisers.
New rules for lenders
The rule falls under the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the result of an agreement between Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the New York state attorney general to enhance the independence and accuracy of the appraisal process. It applies to lenders that sell single-family mortgage loans to the government-sponsored enterprises.
The rule was meant to prevent inflated appraisals like those that proliferated during the housing boom.
Houston appraiser Chris Catechis said there were a couple of times in recent years when he felt pressure from mortgage brokers to “hit a value” on a property. If it didn’t, they threatened to take their business elsewhere, which is what he said he advised them to do.
While the appraiser, a partner in Catechis, Campbell & Associates, understands why the new rules were implemented, it has cost him business.
Lenders are now using more appraisal management companies when they select appraisers. These companies often charge a fee to the lender and pay an outside appraiser like Catechis a portion of that fee.
Unfamiliar with the area
One of the unintended consequences of this system, however, is the chance that a management company will hire an appraiser who isn’t familiar with the neighborhood where the house is being evaluated, said Catechis.
“When you have appraisers coming from different parts of town and not knowing areas, they aren’t doing justice to the people that are trying to refinance or sell,” Catechis said. “It really skews the whole appraisal process.”
The appraisal business, in general, has become more difficult in today’s residential real estate market because there are fewer sales — many of which are foreclosures.
Some OK with caution
Catechis said he’s now often required to get two comparable sales that took place within the past 90 days. If there are none, he’ll have to look at similar subdivisions nearby.
“There’s a lot more detail involved in an appraisal for a lesser price,” he said.
Not everyone is as concerned about appraisers taking a more cautious tack.
David Zugheri, of Envoy Mortgage in Houston, said he hasn’t seen a high percentage of homes for sale not appraising.
While the industry is more conservative, “if the value is less than the sales price there’s a strong case that the value really is less than the sales price,” he said.
By NANCY SARNOFF
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
HUD tweaked stimulus tax incentive so first-time home buyers get instant assistance with down payment and closing costs.
First-time homebuyers will now have access to quick cash to help them with their down payments.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that first-time homebuyers using FHA-approved lenders can now get an advance on the $8,000 tax credit created by the stimulus package and apply it toward their down payments or closing costs.
"We believe this is a real win for everyone," said HUD secretary Shaun Donovan in a speech before the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). "Families will now be able to apply their anticipated tax credit toward their home purchase right away. What we're doing today will not only help these families to purchase their first home but will present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing."
As part of the stimulus package, Congress created a refundable first-time homebuyers tax credit in hopes of helping on-the-fence buyers to take the home-purchase plunge. But buyers couldn't collect the $8,000 credit until tax time, rather than at closing time -- when it's needed.
The delay created an obstacle to reigniting the housing market because most first-time buyers -- the ones who would buy much of the available inventory -- have only saved enough to cover 4% of the purchase price, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The mechanics of the new program, according to NAHB economist Robert Dietz, allow lenders to purchase tax credits from the buyers and then collect the rebate from the IRS. Homebuyers must still come up with FHA's mandatory downpayment of 3.5% on their own, but they can use the tax credit to lower their principal balance and save on monthly payments.
The initiative also authorized downpayment help programs already offered in Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and other states. To quickly infuse cash into their housing markets, the housing finance authorities in these states created bridge loans to allow buyers to borrow against the $8,000 credit and then repay it with their tax refunds.
There are also non-profit groups, such as ones affiliated with the National Home Ownership Programs for the community organizer NeighborWorks America, that offer bridge loans for downpayment assistance that will be repaid with the tax credits.
Under the state and non-profit programs, the tax credit can provide the entire downpayment; there's no requirement that homebuers put 3.5% down.
The first state to launch such a plan was Missouri, which rolled out its Missouri Housing Development Commission Tax Credit Advance Loan program on January 14 -- a month before Congress approved the stimulus package. Since then, Missouri has approved applications by more than 360 borrowers and closed on 166 of them.
Lamar Cherry and his wife, Chrishanna, used the program to augment their down payment when they bought their home in Kansas City.
The couple purchased a four-bedroom, three-bath split-level home for $150,000, putting about 6% down. Much of that $9,000 came from the loan program, which they tapped so they wouldn't have to drain their reserves.
"We had money saved up that we were going to use for the down payment," said Cherry. "Now we can use some of that to buy some things we need for the house."
At closing, the Cherrys, like all buyers in the program, signed for their first mortgage, plus a second mortgage issued by the state. The second note is good for 6% of the price of the home, up to $6,750; there is a $350 set-up fee, but no interest is charged if the debt is repaid by June 2010.
In Missouri, borrowers can only access $6,750 of the $8,000 credit for down payments. "We wanted them to have a cushion below that $8,000 in case other tax liabilities show up," said Greg Spurgeon, the single-family homeownership administrator for the Missouri Housing Development Commission.
If borrowers don't pay off the note, it becomes a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage with an interest rate one-half percentage point above that of their first mortgages. For example, borrowers paying 6% on their first mortgages would be charged 6.5% on the second.
So far, Spurgeon said, a significant proportion of participating homebuyers have repaid their loans. He expects most of the others to do the same before the deadline.
Cherry has claimed the federal tax credit on his 2008 taxes, but he hasn't gotten his refund yet. He definitely intends to repay the loan before the 2010 deadline because, he said, not doing so would add about $75 a month to his house payments. 
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 1, 2009: 9:22 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
 The kitchen is often the most expensive room in the house to remodel. It’s not unusual to plunk down tens of thousands of dollars for custom cabinets, professional-grade appliances and lavish countertops.
Done well, of course, those upgrades can offer great returns when it’s time to put your place on the market. “Kitchens really sell houses,” says interior designer Carla Aston.
You don’t need an astronomical budget to create an appealing space, though. Here’s how to remodel for less.
Cabinets
If your existing cabinets still do the job, upgrade them with moldings, brackets and legs, Aston says. Cut panels out of the doors and install glass — textured, etched or leaded to hide clutter — for added depth. Even tweaking one pair of doors among many will break up a monochromatic kitchen. Paint the interiors of glass cabinets a contrasting color that coordinates with something else in the room.
To create open shelving, remove the doors and hinges, says Joetta Moulden, a photo stylist and self-described “interior redesigner.” Add molding for a finished look, fill in any holes and paint.
If you’re investing in new cabinetry, stock items are cheaper than custom. Add cornices to the top, and embellish corners to customize, suggests Joanne Kellar Bouknight, author of All New Kitchen Idea Book (The Taunton Press, $19.95, 218 pp.).
Storage
Eliminate dead space, says Moulden, who is redoing the kitchen in her 1950s ranch-style house. “I’m concentrating on storage; in an older, small kitchen, that’s what you need.” She is installing Lazy Susans and pull-out shelving, contraptions that are more about function than drama.
Countertops
Not every surface must go. Aston recently finished a project in which the Corian perimeter countertop remained while the island received a new granite top. Just make sure whatever stays is still in good shape. You can also purchase a custom butcher-block countertop at IKEA and stain it a rich color, Moulden says. Seal the surface before you use it.
Decorative hardware
Replace dated cabinet pulls and knobs. If you like modern, Moulden recommends the brushed nickel fixtures at IKEA (www.ikea.com).
Appliances
Consult Consumer Reports for the best brands and models, then visit local stores to narrow your choices.
Backsplash
It doesn’t have to be tile.
Lighting
Ditch the fluorescent box lighting, which shows a kitchen’s age more than anything else, Aston says. Puck lights (so-called because they’re shaped like hockey pucks) or rope lights from home-improvement stores will brighten counters, cabinets and backsplashes. Pendants and chandeliers will add style.
By Mary Vuong
Home Writer
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Friends,
Looking for an EASY way to raise money for needy animals? Well, here it is! I have attached our new Kroger letter for June 2009 - May 2010. Each year, we apply to get the benefit of the Kroger Neighbor-to-Neighbor Donation Program, so even if you scanned one of these letters to your card last year, you have to DO IT AGAIN this year to keep raising money for Scout's Honor every time you shop at Kroger.
It is really simple -- all you have to do is print this letter and take it to Kroger just one time! The checker will scan the bar code on the letter and connect it to your Kroger Plus Card, and each time you use your Kroger Plus Card, you are raising money for Scout's Honor Rescue and all of the animals in our care. How easy is that!?
I hope each of you can help Scout's Honor take advantage of this wonderful program. Last year, we raised $1600, simply from you scanning your cards, so if more people can do it, we can easily double that number.
So, PLEASE, print the letter and take it to Kroger, and PLEASE forward this email to all of your animal-loving friends!
Thanks!
- Laura
Scout's Honor Rescue, Inc.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
From ground laid bare by Hurricane Ike springs Keep Heights Green, a new nonprofit that aims to plant 100 trees in the area by year’s end and grow more green projects in the years to come.
The all-volunteer organization is the brainchild of Christina Moreland, who lives in Shady Acres and found inspiration, in part, from the 60-foot sycamore that fell in her neighbor’s yard and other trees lost the night Ike raked through Houston.
“It’s difficult when you see a neighborhood like this where everyone is taking care of what’s there and committed to maintaining it,” said Moreland. “Keep Heights Green is a way for us to contribute and be able to see the benefits from the trees we plant. We can actually experience what we do. It’s exciting.”
The group already has partnered with Shady Acres Civic Association in its Friends of Ella project, helping to plant 18 live oaks along the boulevard’s esplanade through the neighborhood and capping the ends with decorative plantings.
It’s now working to do a similar project on T. C. Jester.
“We’re trying to identify the areas that need to be done,” Moreland said. “We’ll start with the biggest needs first.”
Fundraiser is June 18
To achieve its 2009 goal to plant 100 trees, Keep Heights Green will hold its first fundraiser from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at Indian Summer Lodge, 605 Columbia at White Oak.
The venue has been donated along with food, wine and entertainment, Moreland said. The evening includes a silent auction and raffle; items donated include gift cards, spa packages, custom florals and prints from Heights area restaurants, businesses and artists.
Guests are asked to RSVP through the Keep Heights Green page on Facebook or by e-mailing Moreland at ctmoreland@sbcglobal.net. A donation of $25 per person at the door will further the cause.
“It’s just beginning. Everybody we’ve talked to is very supportive of what we’re doing,” Moreland said. She hopes the fundraiser will not only raise awareness about the nonprofit but also help recruit volunteers and raise money.
Booth at 1st Saturdays
The organization also will have an information booth at the monthly Heights 1st Saturdays Art Market, 548 West 19th Street.
Trees in the Heights will continue to be lost to natural causes such as old age or disease, Moreland said. Developers who remove trees, then replace them at the end of construction can earn a tax break by working through the nonprofit to acquire new trees, she said.
She compares Keep Heights Green to another one of its partners, Trees for Houston, which was founded in the wake of Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and continues to plant trees – 324,000 to date.
While replanting areas of the Heights hardest hit by Ike is the first job of Keep Heights Green, Moreland expects to continue replanting trees and become an educational resource that also promotes other green projects, such as re-purposing household goods like unused paint.
To learn more, contact Moreland or visit the organization’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-Heights-Green.
Monday, 08 June 2009
  
HOUSTON -- The fenced-off remnants of a gutted Fourth Ward church are about to become the centerpiece of a new Houston park.
The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to buy the land and what’s left of the Bethel Baptist Church, which caught fire in 2005. Now, the Parks Department and city engineers will examine the building to see if ambitious plans for the park’s development can take shape.
Since the fire, Pastor Robert Robertson has struggled with vandals and the weather—the two forces that often knock down the barbed-wire fence surrounding the property.
“African American slaves built this building,” he said. “We are hoping and praying that the history of this building can be saved.”
Robertson says members of his congregation struggled to decide whether to sell the property to the City, but ultimately decided the Church would not be able to raise enough money to restore the crumbling building. “The congregation got together after a lot of prayers and a lot of thinking,” Roberts said. “We had to come to the decision that it was a dangerous building.”
Descendants of slaves completed the Bethel Baptist Church in 1950, on a plot of land in the Fourth Ward that had belonged to the church since 1896. Now its four walls stand without a roof to connect them, in the shadow of downtown skyscrapers. The weeded lot is surrounded by sleek condominiums and an apartment complex in what is now known as Midtown.
“The history of this community is important,” Robertson said. “I hope and pray that the history of this community will remain.”
A “TIRZ,” or “Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone” has come up with roughly $360,000 to buy the property and build a park there. The plans call for three of the church’s four walls to be reinforced and serve as stand-alone borders for an outdoor garden.
Houston Mayor Bill White says the park will be a monument to the old Fourth Ward, a section of Houston settled by former slaves. “Houston has turned a corner in recognizing that historic preservation is worth it,” he said.
Monday, 08 June 2009
   Want buildings suited to these troubling times? Consider the 12 winners of the 2009 Design Awards, given by the American Institute of Architects, Houston. Though the projects got off the ground years ago, most feel eerily in tune with the zeitgeist. Like Studio Red’s New Regional Planning Office (which won for Renovation and Restoration), almost all are modest and ecologically sustainable, substituting careful planning for square footage and expensive materials.
ARCHITECTURE
• The Grove at Discovery Green,a restaurant designed by PageSoutherlandPage, feels like a natural extension of its park location. The building — set to be rated LEED Gold — is super-ecosensitive.
• For the John Cooper School in The Woodlands,Morris Architects designed a performing arts theater. Despite the project’s modest budget, it delivers a 550-seat full proscenium theater a black-box theater, and classrooms for band, choir and dance.
• For Baytown’s New Horizon Family Center,a shelter for both male and victims of sexual assault, Brave Architecture designed two buildings separated by a courtyard rock garden. The garden was nixed due to budget constraints — but toward the end of construction, Brave Architects, the center’s contractors and sub-contractors and the United Way of Baytown chipped in to create it pro bono.
RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE
• A shady double-height porchlinks an elegant 1,800-square-foot house to the owner’s 700-square-foot office. Open rooms offer peaceful views of trees — a rarity among new houses in the inner city.
“I think what is particularly pleasing about this project was that it was not made with expensive stone exterior,” wrote judge Robert Silver. “It was not made with very fancy interior finishes. Rather, it depended upon for its effect the clarity of its organization.” Designed by Nonya Grenader.
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
• How to keep a low ceiling from making a high-tech startup’s offices seem dark and dim?m+a Architecture Studio exposed the ceiling structure and kept the furniture low and open. Judge Robert Silver praised the project’s “economy of means.”
• For a global management company, Rottet Studio designed a sleek office space.
• For a global management company, Rottet Studio designed a sleek office space.
“We like this design because of the restraint that was exhibited,” wrote judge Dan Rockhill.
RENOVATION AND RESTORATION
• When Rice University’s engineering department needed space for students to build things,it suggested rethinking the school’s old Central Kitchen, a modernist brick box that had been turned to office space. In the eco-sensitive remodeling by Stern & Bucek Architects, walls and low ceilings were ripped out, creating an open, factory-like space. A new long window gave the building style. And atop the old loading dock, the architects added a new classroom.
• Studio Red won for its New Regional Planning offices. (See Lisa Gray's column, A Mod gets modernized.)
ON THE BOARDS
• How to make a place for little kids in a neighborhood full of warehouses, commercial buildings and tear-down houses?In its plans for Blossom Heights Preschool, Truitt Foug Architects reuses an existing house as offices, and partially surrounds a grassy area with new construction, creating a cloistered, safe-feeling play area.
• Morris Architects drew up proposals for six primary schoolsin the Republic of Trinidad andTobago.
“Very intelligent in response to climate and function,” said Rockhill.
CITATION FOR ROOFTOP TERRACE
• In Kansas City, advertising agency Barkley leased the 50-year-old TWA Building to make a statement about sustainability and historic revitalization. Its renovation included a spectacular rooftop terrace.
“What was previously an unused and unusable part of the building has been transformed into really a delightful space with plantings and deck and trellises and small enclosed areas,” wrote Silver. What was once “the wasteland at the top of the building” became “the most elegant and most pleasant part of the entire project.”
CITATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY
• SPACE, the Solar Powered Attractive Container for Everyone,consists of two 20-foot shipping containers reconfigured as a prefab building. Judges were especially taken with the solar panels that allow the building to function off-the-grid.
Designed by Metalab as part of the University of Houston’s Green Building Components Research Initiative.
Tuesday, 02 June 2009
We would love to extend an invitation to you to participate in our GREAT DAY HOUSTON show or audience on Thursday June 4th. We will have the well known PET COMMUNICATOR SONYA FITZPATRICK in studio to tell you what your pet is thinking.
Please call asap to reserve a seat in the audience or to bring your pet. 713-284-7721
The Houston, TX Real Estate market has many opportunities for dog lovers. Always be sure to find out if the HOA of a particular neighborhood you're considering has a limit on the number or size of pets allowed. Click here to find you and your four-legged friends a new place!
|
