Lake Conroe Real Estate - Huntsville TX Real Estate - TexasBlogSpot.com

Ah...the wonders of working in a home office.  Coffee, made at home, tea with fresh rosemary and mint and the view from my porch just outside my office.  It sure is pretty!

There are so many "perks" to working from a home office.  This, along with the commute time, is one of the best perks.

Have you taken time to appreciate beauty today?  It feeds my soul.  I was reminded this past weekend that it is so important to take the time for yourself every now and then.  Sometimes we just need to "breathe."  Ahhhhhh.....Real Estate is alright!

The Red River Rivalry--What a Game!

I really try to not get political--and believe me--in this area of Texas--Football is definitely political.   No one, however can dispute how hard each side fought--Oklahoma and Texas.  The Texas coach-Mack Brown, is always so gracious and supportive of his kids.  He always seems to remember just that--they are kids.  (Goddness knows they look younger to me every year!)  I think Mack Brown is a class act.

Texas A&M is not only political in this area---it's a religion.  Our house is dark red A&M brick, selected by the couple who built it as A&M Brick.  There are so many A&M red cars around here too.

College sports is such a wonderful expression of competition and teach our young people discipline, empower them with a sense of accomplishment and teach them innumerable life lessons.  I know there may be arguments to the contrary, but no one can dispute that when young people are involved in an activity that they enjoy, helps them to grow, and provides a support system, sometimes absent at home, is a positive thing.

I have served as an Assistant Professor of Music and as a High School Choral Director.  It always amazed me how hard kids would be willing to work toward a goal when they were "bought in" and really believed in what they were doing.  It's a beautiful thing to see that light in a young person's eye.  It was an honor.  I still miss my kids and hope they are always in love with music and go forward with all the lessons that music, competition and old fashioned hard work provided.

Home Buying 101--Definitely get the home inspection.  Sure, you--the buyer--pay for the home Inspection, but that makes total sense so that you are the party who chooses your inspector.  The price of Inspections vary with the size of the house, whether or not it has a pool, a septic system, etc.  The price also varies with the market area. 

In the Lake Conroe, Huntsville, Lake Livingston, TX market areas, inspections start at about $250.00.  Again, depending on the size of the home and amenities, the price fluctuates.  Be sure you have at least 2-3 or more Inspectors from which to choose.  Call them, ask questions.  No question is too small or inconsequential.  Within 48 hours, you should have in your possession a written inspection report.

Here are some questions to ask from HUD.gov:  Click here for the full document

Be sure your inspector is licensed with the proper licensing entity--in Texas it is TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) and be sure the inspector comes highly recommended.    Ask your Realtor.  Your Buyers Representative--Your Realtor-- is committed to you having a positive home buying experience.  And on this note, be sure your agent is a Realtor.  A Realtor is different from a real estate agent in that a Realtor is held to a Code of Ethics which ensures that your agent is accountable to the Local, State and National Aassociation of Realtors. 

Back to the Inspection.  The house may look great-but you want to see what is not obvious--latent defects.  "Latent defects" are those defects you cannot necessarily see. So, do the right thing:  For Your Protection--Get a Home Inspection.  They did!  And these doctors look pretty happy

You read that right.  Austin, TX Oct 14, 2009--EARRINGS GONE WILD!!

TREPAC Leadership Training Reception.  I needed earrings, so my new friend who broker in Round Rock went on a search to find me some earrings.  He did good!

I just had to feature them in a flip video exposee.  Sometimes silly is good.  It made me giggle. Life gets so intense and busy, I think it's important and I guess necessary for me, to juyst be silly.  Enjoy this incredible 15 second video.  You won't be sorry!  It is gripping video.

Okay, say you LOVE golf, but you wish with all your heart it were FREE.  So, let me ask you:  If you could find a great house in a great neighborhood in a great little town a little over an hour from Houston and could play all the golf you wanted--I mean every day and then some--for free, would you be interested?

Okay, I'll tell you more.  The place is Elkins Lake in Huntsville TX.  If you have ever driven on I-45 and gotten to a bend in the road about 60 miles from downtown Houston and have seen a giant statue of Sam Houston--That's Huntsville.  You have found us.

Elkins Lake Golfing Snapshot:

Lake Livingston Real Estate is brewing with great deals on great Lakefront properties.  Would you like a waterfront property and still get a great deal and be located less than a couple of hours from Houston?  Lake Livingston real Estate is for you.  Find the right property for you at www.LakeLivingstonPropertySearch.com 

If you live in Houston or the surrounding area, chances are you'd like to get away every now and again.  How about a 2300+ sq ft Cape Cod style property   that is waterfront, complete with deer in the yard, located withing 50 yards of the big water for $209K ?!  Did you just fall off your chair?  It's true  Check it out at www.11IndianHarbor.com   Or maybe you don't mind if it's not waterfront, just want to be close and in a manned and gated subdivision for less than $140K (And you can see the water from this one!)  Check out www.13IndianHarbor.com 

Here is a pic of a satisfied client's daughter (and newly adopted cat--came with the property) on their new dock!

Want to find the right place at the right price on the water?  Lake Livingston Real Estate is the place and www.ETPropertySearch.com  is where to find it. 

Want to sell your lake Livingston property?...Call Mari--the right Realtor for the job!

ETPropertySearch.com...Find Home!

Wow, it going to be a lovely weekend!  What a great weekend to find your dream home.  Lake Conroe Real Estate holds many opportunities to find your dream home, a vacation home, or whatever your heart is set on.

Conroe is less than an hour from downtown Houston and offers lots of shopping, recreational activities, like enjoying Lake Conroe!  Here's the picture: It's a Saturday evening and you are out on your boat and decide to pull up to your favorite restaurant on Lake Conroe.    You enjoy a lovely dinner and return to your water for an incredible sunset on Lake Conroe.  Then you snuggle in with your honey for a great view of the stars out in the middle of the lake where all you hear are the fish jumping.

To begin your search, you need to find a comprehensive website that covers the area and is easy to navigate. You'll find it on www.ETPropertySearch.com  Then call for an appointment.  We'll put you in touch with a great lender, et you pre-qualified, find a house and work with you for a quick close so that you can start enjoying everything that the lake Conroe area has to offer.  Search for Lake Conroe Properties on www.LakeConroePropertySearch.com for properties in the Lake Conroe market area. Or search specific waterfront neighborhoods like Bentwater, Walden and April Sound on www.BentwaterPropertySearch.com, www.WaldenPropertySearch.com, and www.AprilSoundPropertySearch.com 

Lake Conroe Real Estate is the place.  www.ETPropertySearch.com ...Find Home!

I love, love, love my porch.  It is where my husband and I watch the world go by.  It's where we take our laptops and work, and where I play a lot of sudoku and maybe a glass of wine.  When we moved to Huntsville TX from west of Fort Worth, I told my husband, "what I want in Huntsville TX Real estate is a porch."  I want to sit out when it rains and not get wet.  (Moving from west of Fort Worth, I just wanted it to rain!)  I sure did get my wish.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world--4 covered porches!  Colonial homes rock!

Where is it that you like to sit and relax?  Is it outdoors in indoors?  Do you have wildlife in your neighborhood?  We have deer.  Some people hate them because they eat the plants.  I think they are SO cute.  We live in a subdivision called Elkins Lake in Huntsville TX.  We love it!

The title itself is the root of the problem.  It's a different world than Cary Grant's.  See--half of you don't even know who he is.  For the first time in my life (well, maybe not the first), I'm not the young one with the new ideas, taking the newest risks, trying the newest things.

That's it--it's a generation gap.  This is the point where I suspiciously start sounding like my parents.  I Facebook--But I can't be a part of the "Under 40 Social Networking Club" in my MLS Area-seriously, I can't.  For the first time in my life---really this time---I feel older.

So, where does Facebook come in.  As far as Real Estate, I think it probably serves more of a "business" role for agents who are serving an area where they have been for a very long time or grew up there.  Kind of to remind everyone what they do. (Lake Conroe Real Estate, Huntsville TX Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate)  For people in general, it means so may different things and fills so many different roles.

For me, it's kind of a strange and varied place where I meet up with people I haven't seen on 30 years (or 28 years)-like people I went to High School with- (Okay--Cat's out of the bag in terms of age), catch up with former students telling me what's going on in their lives or asking for advice. (I used to be a teacher--always will be,I guess)  Well, for me it's the availability thing.  We--as a people---have become pretty private.  I think Facebook serves as an invitation to kinda "put yourself out there," to become accessible.  Hmmmm...

What is Facebook to you????????????  I really want to know. What's on Your Mind?

This was so much fun.  Yesterday as my husband and I were coming home from our new Target--that's right, Huntsville TX NOW has a Target!!  We are officially BIG time.  I saw some of my clients that I helped find a home in Elkins Lake-- a gorgeous golf community in Huntsville TX.  All the golf you can play--One Homeowners fee--NO green fees!  How cool is that--Wanna know more--Call me!

Okay, back to the story.  Anyway, they were tooling down the road from the clubhouse in their cool golfcart.  Well, I didn't have their new e-mail address, so I decided we would flag them down.  So we did--in a "No Parking Anytime Zone."  That is cool in itself.  Kind of as renegade as I get.  So, we start talking.  I got their e-mail address, then I realized I didn't have their picture on my website.  Well, I just happened to be carrying a SOLD sign, my camera and my Flip Video.  Yeah, that's cool too.

We laughed so hard--people honked at us to move out of the "No Parking Zone," but we were having too much fun.  Then someone on a bike rode up and stopped to talk.  It was another client I had helped to find a home in the neighboring neighborhood.  (Is that a term?)   It was too cool.

I LOVE the people I get to meet and work with and help in this business.  I LOVE THIS BUSINESS!!!  I am having so much fun and make a living---who knew?!

Watch this video and you can see for yourself--It's short--and you'll hopefully at least smile.