Londonderry Spring TX - Market Report July 2007 to January 2008

Londonderry is located in Spring Texas; off of Kuykendahl just south of the Woodlands in Harris County. The homes were built in the late 1970's and 1980's and then there are also sections that were built in the late 1990's and early 2000's. With around 450 homes in the subdivision there is a wide range of architecture.

Most of the subdivision is heavily wooded with towering pines and large hardwoods. Recent sale prices range from the low 90's to over $160,000. Square footage ranges from 1500 up to 3000 square feet. The subdivision is in the highly acclaimed Klein Independent School District.

ivision there is a wide range of architecture.

The subdivision has some great amenities. There is a community center with an Olympic size swimming pool, playground, tennis courts and a small pond behind the clubhouse. This is home to the Londonderry Lightening Bolt swim team. They are the 2007 C-5 Division Champions.

Londonderry Resources

• Londonderry HOA
• Klein Independent School District
• Harris County Appraisal District
• Spring TX Fire Department
• Old Town Spring TX
• Spring TX weather

Pending Sales 

Closed Sales

These statistics were compiled from the Houston Association of REALTORS® data on 1/16/2008 at 2:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

First off I want to thank Active Rain and everyone who has contributed to its inception for providing this wonderful free blogging venue for us.  I know that I would not be to the point I am today in blogging if not for them.  I still have not figured out where they make their money from and how they are able to provide this to us for free but I'm so glad that they have and I do hope the advertising is helping them to make some money.

 I actually started my first blog on Real Talk January 7^th of last year.  My friend Mary Warrenwas blogging and encouraged me to begin.  I was feeling a little frustrated with it so I got on an email forum and someone mentioned Active Rain and the point system.  I did a Google search pulled them up and decided I liked their format a little better so started switching over.  I wrote a few post and everything seemed to be going fine but then I wrote one where several people commented.  The people who commented were Chris Tesch, Danny Smith and Bob Sloop; which I have become better acquainted with since then.  I was amazed that someone found my post.  I noticed that Chris was fairly close to me over in College Station and had lots of points so decided I would email her.  I started to email her through Active Rain and then was afraid that my email might be seen by the world so I got on her personal website and found her personal email.  Since then I have of course found out that it is perfectly safe to email someone directly from their blog. Below is the email that I sent her a year ago.

Hi Chris:  I am new to blogging and noticed you are here in Texas and have lots of points so I hope you don't mind if I ask you some questions.  You responded to a post I made last night on "What to bring to your real estate closing"?  I have had some very nice comments on the post.  My question to you is "how did you find the post"?  I didn't realize it was going out anywhere except on my blog.  I tried to find it myself but was unsuccessful.  The only forum I have signed up for is the "Newbie" forum but I didn't find it there.  Is there a way to make a post that doesn't go out to everyone?  I don't have a problem with that post going out to everyone but I want to be able to talk about my son stationed in Iraq and that would just mainly be information for my sphere. 

Chris didn't just email me back she was kind enough to call me back.  So you were probably wondering; why I have pictures of our Yacht Club for my one year anniversary on Active Rain? This is where the pictures of the Yacht Club come in.  Several of our members have January birthdays (my husband is one of them) and every year the last Saturday in January we have a fish fry birthday party.  You actually can sail all year here but it is still chilly and I personally am a fair weather sailer so this is a chance for us to get together.  Last year during that party Chris called me and explained what Active Rain was all about.  As you can tell from the picture it is a casual Yacht Club so talking to her at the event was no big deal.  At that time she told me to start making at least 10 comments a day because I would get points for them.  She told me about Localism and how wonderful it was to promote your area.  We talked for quite some time and she just really made me feel welcome.  We had our yearly fish fry yesterday so I knew I had reached my one year anniversary.  I have been thinking about writing a post when I had my one year anniversary for quite some time and then read Rich Jacobson's post on Testimonials in the Rain so the timing was perfect.

I thought I would be able to say one year and 200 post and I am close but not quite there yet.  I am a bit of a tortoise when it comes to blogging.  It takes me so long to write a post that I rarely get more than 3 or 4 out a week but I do consistently put out 3 or 4 a week.  I also consistently make my 10 comments a day; probably a lot more.  My consistency has made me a tortoise with points; 3^rd place here in Texas although I do see Jason Crouch coming up on my rear.  I have a bit of an addictive personality and I know that so I always try to keep everything in perspective.  God - Family - Career!  I have worked out of home based sales for 26 years now and one of my previous businesses got of sync with that God - Family - Career model so I always try to keep that in mind.  With Jason coming up on my rear my first inclination was oh my gosh I better post more but then I took a deep breath and said no it is not all about the points you need to just keep doing what you are doing.

One funny little thing that has happened this year is that I have noticed that I have started keeping track of some of life's little ups and downs by my Active Rain points.  Up until Active Rain I have always kept track of time by the age my children  but now that my children are young adults that is getting harder for me to do. Here is a case in point at 50,000 points our son was just getting back in the states from a tour in Iraq and then being stationed over in Germany.  I was so excited and wrote a post entitled 50,000 points and our son back in the United States; as I was sitting here waiting for his phone call.  Now you won't find a post when I hit 100,000 points as I had just found out he was going to be sent back for another tour of Iraq and the headline "100,000 points and our son going back to Iraq" just didn't cut it for me; but I still know that happened at my AR 100,000 point mark.  He took it like a man but as you can tell I took it like a Mom.  I have adjusted to it now so I am at least talking about it.  I guess I will see where those points take me this year as he is deployed again in March.

I would like to have been able to put a slideshow together (I am a carrot grabber and still do like those points) but I don't have any pictures of AR friends and I didn't think you wanted a whole slide show of our yacht club so maybe next year.  My technology skills are not yet to the pocast or video so again maybe next year.  I did get to meet Chris Tesch and Thesa Chambers this year.  Thesa came in to Dallas to visit family and we all met up and had a slumber party in Dallas.  I have no pictures to show you though as I brought my camera but then we were all so busy getting to know each other I forgot to take any pictures.  Hopefully as there are more of us blogging in Texas we can have some Texas Active Rain events and start getting to know each other. 

I have especially liked the Localism part of Active Rain that has been my main impetus in the last year.  At this point I can't point to business that came directly from my blogging on Active Rain but what I do know is that it has helped me to keep my personal website on the first page of Google which I also know brings me business.  My first blogging year has been wonderful I have learned so much and met so many wonderful people from all over the country.  I now feel like I have a wonderful referral network as I am much more comfortable referring someone that I have got to know. Another benefit is all the knowledge that people are so willing to share plus if I run in to something where I am stuck I know that I can write a post about it and get help.

I am just now releasing my own personal blog added to the rear of my website and I would not have felt confident in doing that had I not had all the help from my experience with Active Rain.  SO THANK YOU ACTIVE RAIN!! Even though I now have my own Blog I don't plan on quitting Active Rain I will just have to learn how to be an effective tortoise in both.

I just got back from my New York City trip.  As I told in a previous post we had a Mother/Daughter weekend in New York City going to see the Lion King on Broadway.  I have always loved the story of the Lion King.  I remember seeing it with my children back when it came out in 1994.  The actual Broadway Play started running back in 1997.  For me this was a dream come true as I have always wanted to see a Broadway play.  My daughter has been to several Broadway Plays and this was her favorite so she chose to see it again with us.  Before going I was curious as to whether it would live up to my expectations.  WOW, not only did it live up to my expectations but exceeded them.  The costumes, the music, the choreography, everything was just INCREDIBLE. 

One of the things I LOVE about the Lion King is the story itself.  Simba as a baby cub is doing as most young children do living the carefree fun life.  He gets in to trouble with his friend Nala and his Father has a talk with him.  At the end of the talk his Father tells him "So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you ... and so will I." 

His Uncle Scar plots his Dad's death and makes Simba think he caused it.  Simba runs away trying to escape from his past.  He meets up with Timon (the meerkat) and Pumbaa (the warthog). Timon tells him  "When the world turns its back on you; you turn your back on the world!" So Simba grew up in this happy bachelor life, eating bugs and grubs, until one day, his childhood friend Nala showed up.  He tells her;  "I just needed to... get out on my own. Live my own life. And I did. And it's great." It almost sounds like he is trying to convince himself as well as her. 

Along with meeting up with his childhood friend Nala he also meets back up with the monkey Rafiki.  Who tells him "I know your father, he's alive and I will show him to you." He has Simba look at his own reflection and when Simba says he only sees himself Rafiki tells him to look harder because he lives in you.  He hears his Dad's words "You have forgotten who you are, and so you have forgotten me.  Look inside yourself Simba.  You are more than what you have become. Your must take your place in the Circle of life."

Rafiki then says the most profound words of the whole story "Oh yes the past can hurt but the way I see it you can either run from it, or... learn from it."  Simba goes on to find himself and save the pride and everything else from extinction.

If you are interested in someday seeing the Broadway Play the Lion King I found this cute YouTube clip that goes back and forth between the film and the play.

Isn't this a beautiful life story and in so many ways represents what happens when we transform from a child to an adult.  As I told you in an earlier post we were celebrating my daughter's 26^th birthday and my friends daughters 13^th birthday.  My friends daughter is very sweet but at that 13 year old stage where it is "ALL ABOUT ME". My daughter could see herself 13 years ago.  I can't tell you how many times she apologized to me over the weekend for what I put up with when she was 13; it was quite humerous.  My daughter was a terror at that age.  Thank God she came out on the other side and is a wonderful responsible young woman.

So how does a Texas girl end up living in New York City?  She actually moved there after graduating from the Univeristy of North Texas in Communications Design.  Moving there as a graphic artist she quickly found out that she REALLY DID NOT LIKE corporate America.  (The acorn does not fall far from the tree).  She decides this after moving to one of the most expensive cities in the world.  At this point she ended up getting a job with a Charter Airline based out of JFK as a flight attendant.  The company she works with does mainly International flights.  She is literally seeing the world and getting paid to see it.  The Airline has one of the contracts to move our troops and she loves those troop flights.  By choice she mainly works these troop flights; they remind her of the boys back home.  To be quite honest these are a lot of the boys back home as Texas is well represented in our military.

As far as her art goes it is showing up in other ways.  She has really gotten in to photography and keeps a running photographic file of her travels on Flickr.  She also writes long entertaining emails about her travels.  This might not have been what she ended up graduating in but the life experiences she is getting is incredible.  The same strong willed traits that I fought as she was growing up are proving to be invaluable as a young adult.  If you go to her Flickr site look to the right and you will see the sets.  I pulled up the picture on the left from an Iceland trip.  She has fairly long layovers on these trips and takes full advantage.  As we were heading back to Texas she was heading for a week in Southeast Asia.  She will be going to Japan, Guam and Thailand.  She will spend her actual 26^th birthday in Guam.

Her brother heads back to Iraq with the Army mid March who knows maybe she will be on the flight taking him there.

Windrose Spring TX - Market Report July 2007 to January 2008

Windrose is a master planned community in Spring Texas.  It is located between Kuykendahl and 2920 with easy access to I-45, the Beltway and SH 249.  It sprawls over an area of 1121 acres of land and has approximately 2000 homes.

The community includes an 18 hole golf championship golf course winding through the neighborhood.  The club includes a full service golf shop, PGA golf teaching center, and full service grill. The fairways meander through century old Oak and Pine trees.  The Club Amenities include a Twelve acre driving range, 10,000 square foot driving green.  

There's a Meeting house for the residents to get together.  There are lots of programs and ways to get involved in the community.  Located near the Meeting house you will find tennis courts, volleyball courts and a soccer field.  There are two swimming pools in the community one of them being a Junior Olympic pool.

Within the community Windrose offers a variety of amenities such as lakefront home sites or homes on the golf course.  There is a wide variety of housing available in Windrose from a smaller starter home all the way to executive homes.  This is one of those communities where people often move around within the community. 

Pending Sales 

Closed Sales

These statistics were compiled from the Houston Association of REALTORS® data on 1/16/2008 at 7:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

Coventry Spring TX - Market Report July 2007 to January 2008

Coventry is located in Spring Texas; off of Kuykendahl just south of the Woodlands in Harris County. You take Augusta Pines Blvd. about a mile to get to the subdivision.  This makes for a very quiet subdivision in that you don't hear any busy street noise.  Coventry is located about 35 to 45 minutes from Houston. It is only 5 minutes from Sterling Ridge in the Woodlands. 

Coventry is not a part of Augusta Pines.  You drive through Coventry to get to Augusta Pines but Conventry was in existence before Augusta Pines was. They do share the same municipal utility district (MUD). The subdivision has been in existence since the early 80's but the majority of the homes were built in the late 1990's and early in 2000. Coventry is fairly small with just over 300 homes and has a little bit of a country atmosphere in that the subdivision itself does not have street lights.  Each home has a light pole in their yard and that is part of the subdivision restrictions. 

The majority of the homes were built by Royce or Hampton and are from 1600 to 3200 square feet but there are a few homes that were built in the early 1980's that are larger than that.  Many of the homes have oversized lots and the builders kept the trees when they built the subdivision so you have beautiful tree lined streets. There are towering pines, oaks and sweet gums through out the subdivision.

The homeowner's association recently renovated the clubhouse adding a full kitchen and totally renovating the outside keeping the beautiful original stone and updating with hardy plank. Cement walk ways were added with a pavilion in front of the swimming pool. A play area was also recently added with benches to watch your children play.

I noticed in preparing this market report that 4 homes have come on the market just since the first of the year. It looks like Coventry is gearing up for the spring selling season. 

Pending Sales 

Closed Sales

These statistics were compiled from the Houston Association of REALTORS® data on 1/16/2008 at 2:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

A Mother/Daughter trip to New York City!

I am getting ready to take a trip to NYC this weekend with one of my friends and her almost 13 year old daughter.  We will be staying with my almost 26 year old daughter in Kew Garden in Queens.  My friend wanted to do something special for her daughter's 13^th birthday and in talking we found out that we both had daughters with January birthdays, so we hatched the idea of going to New York City and seeing a Broadway Play.  My daughter is a flight attendant so she was able to plan her schedule around our visit.

We bought our tickets months ago and now the time is almost upon us. Talk about special birthdays we are going to see the Lion King on Broadway.  I have always wanted to see a Broadway play and I am so excited.   This will be my daughter's second time to see the Lion King but she loved it and thought it was the one we should see.  So even though it is my daughter's birthday I feel like I am getting the treat.  I have wanted to see a Broadway play for as long as I can remember and so it will be a dream come true.  It will be interesting to see if it lives up to my expectations.  We also plan to go to ground zero, the Natural History Museum and my friend's daughter wants to shop.  I guess when you are 13 going to the headquarters of Abercrombie and Fitch is a big deal. 

So what do you think after waiting this long to see my first Broadway play will it live up to my expectations?

Augusta Pines Spring TX Market Report- July 2007 to January 2008

 Augusta Pines located in Northwest Harris county just south of The Woodlands is set in a truly beautiful and tranquil setting surrounded by tall pine trees, dogwoods and large oak trees. 

Surrounded by the beautiful Augusta Pines Golf Course and with 30 acres of lakes, streams and open spaces it is a truly magnificant community.   It is peaceful to walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the many lakes.  It is common to see the neighbors walking, riding bikes and just enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

The custom estate homes are on wooded lots between 1/2 acre to 1 acre.  The estate homes offer lots that are in the woods, on one of the lakes or on the golf course.  The homes feature grand entry ways, large kitchens, coffer-ed ceilings and archways.  Many come with large outdoor kitchens for a true outdoor living experience.

For those that don't want the upkeep of an over-sized yard there are communities with regular subdivision lots with homes ranging in size from 2000 square feet to over 4000 square feet.  These homes are priced from $190,000 to $400,000.

If you are tired of yard work there are also Patio communities available.  The patio homes are available between 2300 to 3300 square feet. These homes can be located on the golf course or they can be in an interior area.  These homes start at about $250,000. 

The subdvision has a variety of homes currently on the market.  There is truly something for everything whether you are looking for a patio home or a custom estate home.

Closed Sales

These statistics were compiled from the Houston Association of REALTORS® data on 1/8/2008 at 3:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

Ella's Interiors & Gifts in the strip center in front of Londonderry has been open now for about three and ½ years.  I saw it open and then preceded to drive by it almost every day for about 6 months before I finally decided I needed to go in and check it out.  I'm surprised I waited that long we have lived in the area 11 years and having any type of convenient shopping has been a long time coming.  (I can still remember when Randall's in Panther Creek was our closest grocery store.) Normally I go in to gift shops and walk right out but in this instance I was pleasantly surprised.  The owner Suzzanne Ogrodowicz has put together a tasteful shop at reasonable prices. 

To make a good thing even better Suzzanne has recently added a post office.  This is a full service Tomball post office.  I was a little surprised that being in the strip center in front of Londonderry would make it a Tomball Post Office instead of a Spring Post Office as Londonderry subdivision directly behind the strip center is a Spring mailing.  I don't exactly understand how they decide where one mailing area ends and the other starts but nonetheless it is a Tomball post office. 

For those of us that live in Augusta Pines, Coventry, Londonderry, The Preserve, Traditions or Wimbledon Country a post office is a major trek.  Plus once you get there they all have long lines.   I have waited for as long as 45 minutes to mail a package and that is not even during the Christmas season.  When I go in to Ella's I may have one person in front of me.  You do need to pay by cash or check.  I have had to go back to my house after my check book but since it is so convenient it is no big deal.  Now that I know I just try to keep a check in my billfold; as in this day and age I rarely write checks. 

Post office hours are from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday and from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday.  The actual store is open until 5:30.

While you are in the store you will want to check out all the unique gifts and interior design products.  I love antiques and she has some great buys on antiques.  Our Women's Church retreat was in Round Top during the antique festival this last year.  I wanted to buy some kind of dresser to use to reduce a clutter area in my game room.  I was so disappointed in what I saw and how expensive everything was.  The week after the retreat I stopped in at Ella's and there was the perfect dresser and at a reasonable price.  Here I drove an hour and a half looking for something that was in my own back yard. 

They also have some great cards.  I bought my Mother a Mother's Day card that brought tears to her eyes.  Then I followed up with a wonderful Father's Day card.  I'm not sure how I'm going to top those this next year.  I guess when that time come I will need to go check her selection out.

If you are having trouble finding that special gift Suzzanne also makes custom gift baskets.   As I said earlier I think for those of us that live in the communities of Augusta Pines, Coventry, Londonderry, The Preserve or Wimbledon Countrythis is quite the find.  You can go buy your stamps, mail your packages and purchase that special gift all in one convenient store. 

When I was in taking these pictures she told me she is going to start having weekly specials on different items in the store.  Whatever season you happen to be in you will be able to find those special seasonal gift items at Ella's Interiors and Gifts.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas or Tomball TX 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 TX or Tomball TX please visit my websites at http://agentwithresults.com and at www.ResultsRealtytx.com. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about Spring and the surrounding areas of Tomball, The Woodlands and Magnolia.  If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.

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Copyright © 2009 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved.*Ella's Interiors & Gifts - Tomball Post office close to Spring TX!*