Results Realty Buzz: Texas: Spring

One of the many things that I LOVE about living in Spring TX is the accessibility to all that Houston has to offer. If you are looking for something to do when YUCKY weather arrives visiting our many museums may be the answer.  Recently when our daughter was in town we re-visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We had tickets to see Bugs in 3 D at the IMAX but went early so we could also tour the museum.

We have visited a lot of Natural History museume across the country and have loved them all.  Houston's museum is not just Natural History but also Natural Science.  You won't want to miss the Weiss Energy Exhibit and there's also a wonderful collection of gems.  It is only appropriate that Houston's Science Museum would have a HUGE focus on energy. 

I don't have pictures from our Imax experience (Bugs in 3D) but I can tell you it is well worth the investment.  It was a little pricey as the tickets were $11 apiece but we totally enjoyed it.  Bugs in 3D follows the life cycle of a preying mantis and a butterfly from their birth to their encounter in the rain-forests of Southeast Asia, where predator meets its prey.

I was not the only one there with my daughter; I saw lots of children there.  I was probably the only one there with my 28 year old daughter though (lol). Our daughter has always had a HUGE fascination with bugs.  While in college she had a Tarantula (Creepy Carla) and a millipede as pets.

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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-Tomball TX please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring-Tomball TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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Copyright © 2010 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved.*Houston Museum of Natural Science - A Spring TX day trip!* Picture taken by Tarina Peterson all rights reserved

This is the second time that I have written a post about litter in Spring TX and I still don't get it .  We had a heavy rain overnight and as I was driving down Hufsmith-Kuykendahl this morning the ditches were full of water.  These are big ditches so when I mean full I mean full.  I was almost overwhelmed looking at the trash that was floating in the ditches.

I just DON'T GET IT.  I love our country and I'm proud to live here.  I can't imagine throwing trash out the window.  Precinct 4 here in Spring TX maintaine our roads using prisoners to clean the roads.  I see them once or twice a month picking up trash but it is NEVER ending process!! 

I don't know what the answer is.  I know there are suppose to be fines for littering but I don't think it is something that is enforced.  Maybe a little more enforcement needs to happen.  What do you think?

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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Copyright © 2010 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved. *Litter in Spring TX, I still don't get it!!!*

The Houston Chronicle had a great article today about plant survival in freezing temperatures.  We are supposed to have several days of frigid temperatures starting tomorrow (lows in the mid 20's).  Here in Houston we rarely have frigid temperatures and for sure not several days in a row.  I am going to share the highlights for those of you that missed the article. (Which would have been me had a friend not told me so I stopped and bought a paper). I love all the tropical plants that I'm able to grow in Spring and I for one don't want to have to start over.

After reading the article I realized that I've not been going at this correctly.  According to the article you want to mulch, water and cover.  They recommend watering if it has not rained.  Water and mulch should be enough for certain plants.  Those plants would be abelia, azalea, boxwood, eleagnus, Hawthorne, holly, ligustrum, loropetalum, mahonia, nandina, roses, wax myrtle and yaupon.  According to the article after an extended freeze these shrubs will probably show foliage damage without cover but should put on new leaves in the spring.  Since we have not had rain I ran our sprinkler system this afternoon before covering our plants.

If you want to go the extra step they recommend covering plants with fiber row covers, sheets or blankets.  This will raise the temperature a few degrees depending on the cover.  For even extra protection add a layer of heavy plastic over the cloth covers and secure it with bricks and stones.  The article said not to place plastic directly on the plants. (This is where I have been going astray).  My plants are all now double wrapped so we shall see how they do.  Of course move any potted plants inside.

Do not wash frost or ice off the plants the morning after the freeze.  If you wash the frost off it raises the temperature too fast and can damage the plant's cell tissue.  After the frigid temperatures are over it says to assess the damage but NOT to prune.  It says that freeze damaged wood will protect live wood farther down the branch (should we have more frigid temperatures). 

In the spring prune to green at your normal pruning time.  I have always heard mid February for pruning. 

I hope this is it for our frigid weather.  We have lived here 14 years and I don't ever remember covering plants this much.  I remember a radio commentator years ago saying we have two seasons in Houston summer and January.  The scary part is that the month of January just started.

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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Copyright © 2010 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved. *Cold facts on plant survival for Spring TX plants!!*

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year from Spring TX.  Having moved here from the north I still find it weird when I see the fireworks stands opening before Christmas.  I'm thinking the fireworks stands must be doing a GREAT business this evening as our dog is cowering at my feet as we hear fireworks in all directions. 

2009 has been a wonderful year; of course capped by our son getting out of the Army in June and becoming a college student here locally. What a blessing it has been having him here this holiday season. My heart goes out to those whose loved ones are serving far away; many in harms way.  Please remember to keep our troops in your prayers. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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Copyright © 2009 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved. *Happy New Year - Fireworks in Spring TX!!*  Picture taken by Tarina Peterson all rights reserved

Shortly after moving to Spring TX we were introduced to the book Gulf Coast Gardening by Randy Lemmon.  We have lived in 4 different states and one of the things we have learned along the way is to plant according to what plants are native to the area.  We started listening to Randy Lemmon's garden-line Saturday mornings on 740AM and ended up purchasing his book Gulf Coast Gardening.  His book is now tattered and dog eared but has helped us to find plants that are native to our area.

We have heard Randy Lemmon talk about raised bed gardening for years but kept putting it off.  For our fall garden we finally started our raised beds.  We intend to make 5 raised beds but to start off we made two.  (We probably would have done all 5 but I wasn't ready to give up my okra).  I figured two beds were enough for my winter garden. 

We decided on a very simple process.  We bought untreated wood and my husband put them together.  On Randy Lemmon's advice we put layers of newspaper before we put our soil in the beds.  I can attest to this helping with the weed problem. Randy recommended using two parts Rose soil and one part organic compost but we found that to be a bit expensive so we decided to use a garden mix.

 

I am AMAZED at the difference I am seeing between the plants in the raised beds and the plants that are not in raised beds.  I found that I had more plants than I had room in the raised beds so I planted the same plants in the beds that were not raised.  You can look and see the difference for yourself.  We are already eating bib lettuce from the raised bed gardens but the bib lettuce in the regular garden isn't ready yet.  I thinks sometimes a picture speaks louder than a thousand words and I'm now a big proponent of raised bed gardening.

Randy Lemmon was recently at our local Ace Hardware to answer questions and sign books.  I wrote a post about it at The Woodlands Ace Hardware - Customer appreciation Day!! I had thought about thanking him for his raised bed gardening advice but the line to talk to him was long so this post will have to suffice as my thank you.  

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

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Copyright © 2009 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved.*Spring TX raised bed gardening - Thanks Randy Lemmon! *

I have been asked by many Spring TX first time home buyers what they will need to bring to closing. The first item that comes to mind is of course funds to close. I have had a few Veterans who did not have to bring funds to the closing table but not many. With the changes in the loan industry most 100% loans are gone so you will need some cash.

The money to pay all your fees and closing cost will need to be in the form of "guaranteed funds" such as a Cashier's Check. Your agent or escrow officer will notify you of the exact amount. You will receive a closing document required by HUD that outlines the settlement cost. The Title Company prepares this document. The HUD statement is a little difficult to read as you read it backwards. You start with page two and then go back to page 1. Page 1 is the page that shows the funds you need to bring for your real estate closing. For additional information on HUD statements go here.

In a perfect real estate world a Spring TX first time home buyer  would receive the HUD statement the day before closing so you would have time to go over it before closing. Unfortunately real estate is not perfect; I can't tell you how many times we get the HUD from the Title Company at the closing table. I honestly don't know why it takes so long but it is a very complex process. Should that happen you can bring a check using the figures your lender have come up with from your good faith statement. Should you not bring enough money you can write a personal check to the title company for up to $1500. On the flip side if you bring too much money the Title Company will cut you a check for the overage.

The other item you will need to bring is a picture ID such as your driver's license or a passport. A number of years ago I had a client who was moving to another state. He came back to Spring TX for the closing and to get his furniture. A few days before closing I found out that he had turned in his driver's license to the other state and only had a piece of paper for a drivers license. He did not have another picture ID. Back then I talked the title company in to letting us get a membership at Sam's Club and using it as a picture ID. As I told you this was quite a few years ago I'm not sure if that would fly today.  Long story short I highly recommend not turning in your driver's license if you are planning on buying a house unless you have another type of picuter ID.

This is a Spring TX first time home buyers series and as I add additional post I will add the links.  Please feel free to visit my prior post.

1. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 1 - Loan Pre-approval!
2. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 2 - The Web Search!
3. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 3 - The Home Search!
4. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 4 - What price do we offer!
5. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 5- The Home offer!
6. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 6 - The Texas option fee and your home inspection!
7. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 7 - The Title policy
8. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 8 - Why you need to live in an HOA!
9. Spring TX First Time Home Buyers Guide - Part 9 -  What to bring to your closing!

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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader

I am often asked; "why should I use a REALTOR® when buying a new home in Spring TX"?  The advantages of having me help you purchase a new home are the same as those for purchasing a resale home...knowledge of the market, help in finding the perfect home quickly, expertise in contract writing/negotiation, and closing assistance. The builder has a professional representative watching out for his needs, and you need the same expert representation.

I want to repeat that last part again. The builder has a professional representative watching out for their needs and you need someone that is watching out for your needs.  Typically these professional representatives are very nice people but keep in mind that they represent the builder's interest not yours.  Buying a new home in Spring TX is a little more difficult and time-consuming that buying a resale home.  It is important that your interest be professionally represented. 

I will give you an example of a new home that sold here in Spring TX where the couple did not have representation.  This home happened to be in the subdivision that I live in.  The lot that the home was built on in my opinion should have been reserved as a subdivision park.  This lot is on the main road coming in to the subdivision, backs up to a mobile home park and is across the street from the community clubhouse.  When buying a home it all comes down to location, location, location and in this particular instance this location was not a good location.  I can't tell you how many times I told my husband that I was sure that the couple who bought that home did not have a real estate agent looking out for them.

Several years later I was called to go on a listing appointment for this house.  In the course of the conversation I found out that as I suspected they had not been represented by a REALTOR.  I explained to them that this house was not going to be worth as much as other homes because of where it was located.  Needless to say I did not get the listing. I watched the other agents sign languish in the yard for over a year until the price got down to what I had told them.  This is a long story to explain some of the pitfalls that can happen when you don't have representation while buying your new Spring TX home.

My mentor years ago told me to never sell a home that I could not re-sale.  I took this message to heart and I'm always looking to make sure there's nothing that would cause a home to be difficult to sale later on.  This also applies to any changes that you make in the floor plan.  For instance I recently saw a home where they had put two small bedrooms together to make one large bedroom.  By doing this they made the home functionally obsolete.  In our area there's not a very large market for 2 bedroom homes.

Typically you DO NOT get a price break for NOT using a real estate agent.  Most builders build the real estate commission in to the price of the home.  Just as in any re-sale Spring TX home the seller (which in this case is the builder) pays for the real estate agents fees.

In our current, fast-paced real estate market, there are many new home communities to choose from. You need to ask yourself some pertinent questions when looking for a new home. Is this a good builder? Does he have a solid reputation?  How many years has he been in business? How does the quality of this builder's product compare to that of other builders? What are the existing inventories of the various builders? How do builder models meet your needs (floor plans, square footage, and location)? If I sell in a few years, what upgrades should I include to be competitive?

When you find the answers to these questions, ask yourself if the time spent in researching these answers was time well spent - put a dollar value on your time. Real estate professionals can be a valuable asset in collecting information in areas which may affect your decision on the purchase of a new home.

It only makes sense to have your own representation.  Your new Spring TX home is probably one of the biggest expenses of your lifetime.  You would not think of buying insurance without an insurance agent or making a trip to Europe without a travel agent.  If you depend on people in the service industry for travel needs, filing a claim for hail damage to your roof, or other legal matters, then why would you want to represent yourself in the most expensive and probably most important purchase of your lifetime your new Spring TX home?__________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas 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 please visit my websites at www.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.

Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.

Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.

Subcribe in a reader