Without any fanfare and only a large Now OPEN banner, 55 Degreez Wine Bar has quietly opened in Spring TX.  I was immediately curious about what was behind the darkened windows of its mysterious store front.After I walked in and was able to adjust my eyes from the bright sunshine to the darkened bar I was amazed. I thought for sure that I had just been transported from Spring TX to a hip, cool wine bar in downtown Houston and the lack of a TV told me that this was NO sports bar.The interior is decorated in a Moroccan theme with plush fabric draped on the ceiling, red chairs, and a L shaped granite counter top. The bar's lighting of pendants, glittery chandeliers, and tea lights sets the mood for an evening of casual conversation while enjoying the nuances of wine.My husband and I sat do... 03/10/2008

Imagination Toys & Shoes is now open at Vintage Park, an upscale outdoor shopping plaza at 249 and Louetta in Northwest Houston. They offer educational toys for children of all ages. If you are looking for the latest Crocs or Webkinz, look no further. My nine year old nephew has just discovered Webkinz and has started a growing collection of these plush pets.Imagination Toys & Shoes carry one of the largest selections of shoes including the popular Stride Rite brand. Who would have thought that toys and shoes together under one roof would make business sense? Well, apparently they do because Imagination Toys & Shoes have been serving the Spring area for over 15 years.It moved from its previous location at Louetta and Champion Forest to be closer to what is sure to the mecca of activity ... 03/08/2008

If your Spring Texas home is on the market for between $270,432 and $206,350, you need to say "Thank You" to the FHA. Because yesterday, they just made it possible for more buyers to qualify to purchase your home.As the requirements for subprime loans have become stricter and 100% financing loans are being eliminated, the popularity of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans has been increasing. FHA loans require only a 3% minimum down payment, FICO scores do not apply, they have higher allowable debt ratios than the debt ratios imposed on conventional loans, and the interest rates are competitive with conventional loans.  All good reasons that make a FHA loan a great choice for the first-time home buyer with little money for a down payments and less than stellar credit.Yesterday's i... 03/07/2008

In previous years, we typically would receive the notice of appraisal value of our homes in April. We would have until May 31st or 30 days after the date the appraisal district sent the notice whichever is later to protest the value. But for 2008, the dates have changed.You now have until April 30th or 30 days after the date the appraisal district sent the notice whichever is later to protest. The Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) has not provided a reason for the early protest deadline, but I would suspect that it has to do with the larger quantity of protests the appraisal district received in 2007. This caused our tax bills to be sent out about a month later.The entire process of protesting HCAD's appraised value of your home can feel overwhelming and intimidating. I know I fel... 03/06/2008

On March 7th at 8:00 pm the joint a.k.a The Centrum will be a rocking to the sounds of big band swing jazz performed by Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band.  Comprised of L.A.'s finest musicians this 18-piece ensemble has quickly become one of the most hard swinging jazz ensembles around. The Big Phat Band's debut album "Swinging for the Fences" received two Grammy nominations and Goodwin won a 2006 Grammy for Instrumental Arrangement of Incredits from the film, The Incredibles.If you are lover of jazz, swing, or big band, you won't want to miss The Big Phat Band's first appearance in Spring Texas. Get your tickets now.  Tickets range in price from $30 to $60.The Centrum is located at 6823 Cypresswood Dr Spring TX 77379.Read also:Discover The Centrum in Spring TX    Jill Wente - for al... 02/29/2008

Spring, Texas is a wonderful surburban town North of Houston. Split between Harris and Montgomery Counties and bordered by Houston, The Woodlands, Humble, and Tomball. Spring is perfectly located to access all that the Houston Metropolitan area. Primarily a residential community, with its great Klein, Spring, and Conroe ISD schools, Spring, is growing tremendously and is a highly sought after community. Home to the only amusement park in the Houston Metropolitan Area, Splashtown, Old Town Spring, and the New Town Center you can do relax, shop, and dine at great restaurants. More information about spring is available at its new online community guide at http://www.explorespring.com/. 02/27/2008

If you ask a seller what's the first question he has about selling his Spring TX home, he will tell you its "How much am I going to net?".  Its not "How long is it going to take for my house to sell?" or "What do I have to do to get my house ready to sell?".  Its simply SHOW ME THE MONEY.And why wouldn't it be the first question. Especially since the majority of reasons why people sell their homes and move are due to lifestyle decisions. Not because someone or something is making them move. They are moving simply because a different area or house would fit their lifestyle better.After you have reviewed comparable Spring TX homes, you and your Realtor should have a good idea of your home's potential sales price. Now your Realtor should compute a seller's estimated net proceeds sheet whic... 02/25/2008

  When we moved to Texas 11 years ago we kept hearing this term MUD district.  Coming from another state we thought well it must have something to do with mud.  No it actually doesn't have anything to do with mud it stands for municipal utility district and it may not have anything to do with mud but it has a lot to do with water. If you live in Texas, especially the Spring TX area; it doesn't take long to get acquainted with municipal utility districts.  A Municipal Utility District (MUD) is a political entity created under Texas State law, specifically, Chapter 54 of the Texas Water Code.  Since most of our subdivisions in Northwest Harris County and Southeast Montgomery County are in an unincorporated part of the county we typically get our water through MUD districts.  A MUD is simi... 02/23/2008

Again today, I saw another home in Spring TX that is being advertised as VERY MOTIVATED SELLER. But what exactly is a very motivated seller? Is a motivated seller a seller that wants to sell? And if that is the definition aren't the majority of sellers motivated? I can not say that all sellers are motivated. Because there are those sellers that say "if I can get the price I want for my home I will sell it and if I can't I won't".  Its easy to spot the homes with the non-motivated sellers. They are the overpriced and non-staged homes.These are the homes that should not be but I am glad they are on the market. These non-motivated seller homes help my buyers see the value in comparable homes.  My buyers will make a decision quicker because they don't want their choices to be limited to onl... 02/23/2008

The other day I received a call from a seller who has had his Spring TX home on the market for two years. He was thinking about changing his Realtor and he wanted me to come and talk with him.When the seller told me his house had been on the market for two years, I wondered what could be so terribly wrong with his house that it hadn't sold. Because even in today's real estate market, two years is a long time for a house to be on the market.At my first meeting with the seller, I asked a lot of questions. I wanted to know about the showing activity, the feedback from the buyers who had viewed the home, and why does he think his house has not sold.The seller proceeded to tell me that he had two showings within the last six months. He said his current Realtor had not shared with him the fee... 02/22/2008

When I am out showing homes to buyers I am frequently asked "Can we see the garage?"  Sure no problem, I say. Until I realize that I have just spoken too soon. The home that we are viewing has a detached garage and there is no key or garage door opener to be found. I used to think that it is only a garage and just because we were unable to view it is no reason for my buyers to delay writing an offer. I was wrong. The garage has become much more than where we park our cars. In fact drive down the streets of any neighborhood in Spring Texas and you are bound to see more cars parked in the driveways than in the garages.Our garages have become our personal storage units. And store we do. Everything from lawn equipment to bikes to garage sale items to Christmas decorations to exercise equipm... 02/21/2008

2008 - The year of the Mustang? I know you probably thought it was the year of the Rat. Well its both the year of the Rat and the year of the Mustang. At least it is in Houston Texas.At the end of February, a herd of 28 hand-painted mustangs will go on display to celebrate the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The majority of the horses will be on display at the rodeo, but a select few will be roaming the streets of downtown Houston. After the rodeo is over, the mustangs will make their way back to their owners. Many of them will later be auctioned off for charity or put on display in business lobbies.This is not the first time that larger than life hand-painted items were displayed around the city. Last year in conjunction with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, 85 six-foot high cow... 02/17/2008

Retirement .... the first place that pops into my mind is Florida and the next would be Arizona. It would not be Spring Texas.  Why? Maybe because over the years Florida and Arizona have received a lot of exposure from the press. And until lately I don't think the reporters knew where Spring Texas was yet alone if it would be a good place to retire to. Well they must have discovered our area because lately I am receiving more calls from people living in Florida inquiring about life in Spring Texas.What makes an area a good place to retire to anyway?CLIMATE - Are you tired of shoveling SNOW? In the seven years that I have lived in Spring TX it has only snowed once. And even then the snow was gone by mid-afternoon the same day. The average high / low temperatures during the Winter months ... 02/16/2008

Almost 1.2 million Texans in addition to myself went online and voted for our new state license plate design. I am proud to say the design I voted for "Lone Star Texas" was the clear winner capturing almost almost half the votes. I suppose the Texas Department of Transportation wants to make sure no vote tampering occurred because they have yet to declare the results official. It was really all for fun anyway. Since the Texas Transportation Commission will be making the final decision on February 28th.The new plates are needed because its projected that by the end of 2008 we will have exhausted our current six character combination plates. Its no wonder we are running out since the state of Texas's population increases by roughly 1,000 people every day. In addition to a new plate design... 02/15/2008

This is a continuation of my first post on listing your home, titled "Before you put your house on the market-first steps."  There are some key market factors in selling your home.  People often ask," How long will it take to sell my home."  There is not an easy answer-some homes sell in a few days, others may take several months or more.   Here are some basic ideas on what to expect and how you can enhance the home selling experience. There are several things which could expedite your sale:Location:*Location is one of the greatest factors affecting value.  *Neighborhood desirability is fundamental to a properties fair market value.Price: *If the property is not priced properly, a sale may be delayed or prevented.  Newly listed properties get the most exposure during the first 10-14 day... 02/14/2008

In other states, how much a home sold for is considered public information and is available through tax records. This is not the case in Texas. Texas is a non-disclosure state which means the price the home sold for is not recorded. The Deed of Trust is the recorded document but it only contains the borrowed amount and not the sales amount.Since Texas is a non-disclosure state, Zillow.com is NOT a reliable source for sold information. Zillow.com relies on public county records as their primary data source for their Zestimates which creates challenges when sales data is not in the public county records.So how do home buyers know how much to offer for a home? The best way is to contact a Realtor. A Realtor can provide you with a home price evaluation. The home price evaluation will compar... 02/10/2008

  Northampton is located in Spring Texas; just to the north of Klein Oak High School and just to the south of the Woodlands in Harris County. It is thought that the Live Oak Tree you see when you first enter the subdivision is over 100 years old.  This is one of many trees Northampton is known for its towering pines and hardwoods throughout the subdivision.  The Northampton story give information about the area dating back to the 1750's. The subdivision has been in existence since the 1960's.  The older section is at the front of the community and has large estate homes on equally large lots with lots of hardwoods and pine trees.   Located to the left and to the right of the older homes are Northampton Pines and Northampton Forest.  These have homes built in the last 10 years.  Typicall... 02/09/2008

A Tale of two Spring TX homes - why it pays to clean and de-clutter! When you are putting your house up for sale there are certain factors you can't change.  You are going to have to live with the location of your house, the size of  your yard, your floor plan and what other homes in your neighborhood are selling for.  There are however certain things that you can do to stage your home to get top dollar.  Several years ago I had an incident that really made me aware of how much difference clutter and odors can make in the sale of a home.   I had two homes both in Spring TX; with the same floor plan on the market at the same time.  The homes were not in the same neighborhood but were both built by the same builder and were identical floor plans.  One of the homes was in an neighborhood w... 02/08/2008

Based upon what the national media has been saying, you have to believe that the real estate market everywhere is terrible.  Just the other day, I received a call from a potential buyer who was going to be relocating to Spring Texas. He said that he thought that I would just love to work with him because I was probably not busy. I was puzzled. He continued on saying that based upon how slow he has heard the real estate market is, he thought for sure that I would just jump at the chance to help him. He was right that I would love to help him but not for the reason he thought. Not because I am not busy, but because he was a highly qualified buyer with an immediate need.Now the thing about the national media is they are just that NATIONAL. Real Estate on the other hand is LOCAL. What the p... 02/08/2008

If you ask Realtors how much is the Homestead Exemption for homes in Spring Texas, the majority of them will tell you that its 20%. The sad part is that this is just NOT True. The TRUTH is it depends. Now I know that sounds like a vague answer, but let me further explain. In Spring TX, your home will be taxed by three taxing entities. They are the County which will be Harris or Montgomery, the school district which will be Conroe, Klein, or Spring and the Municipal Utility District (MUD).  The County - Harris County offers a 20% homestead exemption for all qualified homeowners. Montgomery County on the other hand does NOT offer a homestead exemption. The School- Conroe, Klein, and Spring Independent school districts offer the minimum state mandated homestead exemption of $15,000. Some s... 02/06/2008