breaking the silence...

Whew. Last week was busier than the previous week for me. I'm glad for a relatively quiet day to catch up. Maybe even on folding and putting away laundry! Anyway, I was very interested to preview a ton of houses last week. It's amazing, though that there are so few houses of substantial restoration available for sale in the 250-380K range. There are actually some spectacular houses on the market which need a complete renovation and restoration- wiring/roofs/foundation/plumbing....not to mention finish out, in that price range and above. There are, however, a ton of small liveable houses which are available under $150,000. I just wish cute and charming were applicable to their description. It makes it hard showing the city and neighborhoods to prospective buyers. But, as I'm from the "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade" school of Pollyanish claptrap, guess what I'm going to do? I'm going to find interested buyers and match them with houses! ANd have fun while doing so.
My recent stint of working at the Opera House has come to an end. The season of needing Wardrobe Workers is done for a while. I enjoyed it greatly.
I am always amazed to discover links and relationships in the people I meet. When Montana Rep was here, I worked with people trained by my first Director and teacher at Emporia, the late Jim Kriley. (He hated me. I was scared of him.) With Hairspray, I worked with a woman whose husband I had worked with in Dallas, as well as a friend of my friend and former classmate from Texas Woman's University, Stacie Johnsen. This past weekend I was able to work with a company for which 2 old friends work for, and discovered one of the singers was a man I worked with many years before- and he's close friends with a woman I grew up with!
The same thing has happened thanks to the Real Estate business. Last week I worked with a man who was once a roommate of a dear man I'd worked with in Fort Worth at a flower shop. Our mutual friend vanished into southeast Texas years and years ago. He's now back home in Australia, and thanks to an applicant for a leased property, we're back in touch!  SMALL. WORLD.
On a sad note, a friend called Saturday with the news that he's got a bizarre and likely easily cured cancer. My dear friend Christy Jump passed away Saturday night. Tim goes in for a new Hip on Wednesday. I'd bet I spend more time musing online and less running around when he gets home Friday!

I may try to take Monday off.

Last week was an astonishing week. Thursday I made sure to attend the homes preview tour of the Galveston Multiple Listing Service, which is held every Thursday at 8:30. A quick preview of the 15 houses took until about 11 AM. The rest of the day was just as busy.
Friday I was honored to be invited by Bill Baldwin, the owner and broker of Boulevard Realty to attend a 7 AM breakfast honoring the top 25 Realtors and Real Estate Teams of Houston. It was at the fabulous Houstonian Hotel and Spa- which, of course, is about 65 miles away, or about an hour and a half drive, even starting at 5:45 AM. You would have been proud of me: bathed,shaved, brushed, perfumed and discreetly suited (with a TIE!) by 5:30 in the morning.  The coffee was superb, the fresh berries and yogurt were a perfect start. The croissant was crisp. Yum.It still took much of the morning, and in spite of having a Blackberry, I really cannot do all that I need to do for my career while driving to and from big doings in Houston.
Then, Saturday, of course, when I could least afford the time, I agreed to take a dressing call for the National Tour of Hairspray. So, yesterday was a doozie- starting at 6AM to unpack the show. Two performances and then a load out. It came to about 18 hours of work, not counting the Real Estate related calls and emails in my down time.
I enjoyed today's open house at 802 Omar, in Woodland Heights. It's a plushly redone little bungalow from the 1930's. It has been added onto in a very thoughtful way adding a deck and Master Suite at the back of the house. I'll confess, at $450,000 for a moderate three bedroom/three bath house, I'd like to see a better kitchen- more storage and maybe upgraded counters- and, I'd much prefer a gas range.

But, really and truly, you can hardly beat the neighborhood or location. I was also quite happy to see the owners have a taste for Laurell K Hamilton novels as well as Janet Evanovich and Charlaine Harris. I thought those were kind of a secret sin sort of read. Trashy. Just what I like!

Who ever knew?

Just a short note while waiting at the Galveston Ballet to learn the Noble's Dance. I'm writing this on the "crackberry" as I'm here rather than at home watching City Council. I've been cast this time as The Mayor so instead of just being stage furniture, I will really have to dance!
Tuesday was another long round of Dickinson houses, and there were two really outstanding properties. Most were rather innocuous, and a couple were truly sad. Overpriced and under cared for.
I guess we've decided to build. How else the right floor plan and finishes in the right neighborhood? Who expected that too?

Another interesting week....

Sunday was spent with a delightful couple looking for a house in the Dickinson/North Galveston County area. We saw a charming 1948 vintage house in the Dickinson city proper, surrounded by almost a full acre with towering pines.

The added on extension of the house was almost a small ballroom- well, 3 couples could dance with lots of room to spare. And it was about $170, 000 for over 2000 square ft of charm. There was a great fireplace. But, the back hall/Master suite like area was kind of odd and immediately adjacent to the kitchen. Still a whole lot of house and land convenient to a freeway for a reasonable amount of money. We also looked at new construction by BayWay Homes. Quite nice houses in a pleasant subdivion. And with a generous price reduction in the last week. For a house with a warranty and all new construction under $170,000 for over 1700 sq feet, I can well understand the appeal. Then again, I'm so not a new neighborhood sort of person. My youngest house was the same age I am. I've chosen established neighborhoods all along, with a real variety of neighbors and a deep sense of place. I guess that's why I've chosen the Island.  Today I got to work with another couple looking for something entirely different in the same general area. We got to see what seemed to be a hunting lodge in the woods off Deats Road with a stunning yet small living room with soaring ceiling and a starkly contemporary staircase to the second floor bedroom and bath.

We also found an appealing recently built cottage in the country with a great deck and hot tub as well as a large outbuilding set up as a game room and guest house. It makes me look forward to tomorrows foray back into Dickinson and League City to see what else one can find for under $150,000 for a 3 bedroom house with 2 baths. There are really some well priced and intriguing houses to see. Wish me luck!

West End Real Estate may be looking up....

This week, I've been focusing on higher end properties on Galveston's Beach Communities. As of today, since September 1, 2009 (Just over 6 months of sales) 18 properties have changed hands over $500,000. Three properties were over $1,000,000. That's a pretty good volume with the economy being somewhat challenging. Remember, I think understatement is sometimes better. Granted, there are yet 63 properties on the market on the West End priced at $500,000 or greater, but that's just 18 months of stock at this rate. In the same period of 2007, 24 properties changed hands, over $500,000, 2 of which were over $1,000,000. Looking at what was on the market for sale, surprisingly there were again 63 unsold properties. In 2007 the average time on the market was 140 days, this year, 212 days. It's definately slower, but that may have something to do with the challenges of borrowing money and obtaining a mortgage. Two years ago you could virtually sign your name and buy a house. Today: not so easy. The lenders are trying desperately NOT to let you have access to money in spite of the government bailout.
In summary: sales aren't so bad in the higher range of beach houses. And that's better news than I'm hearing on the evening news.
More later. It's been a busy day.

The week has blown by! Way to much going on to convince myself to sit and muse for your benefit. This is very much like a Buddhist Practice: Easy to begin, easy to do, and very difficult to continue. There's been a great deal of real estate activity this week. Many calls inquiring about properties, many emails, quite a few showings, and even some negotiations! With the weather improving, so it also appears that the general outlook is improving.
My week is going to end with a bang. Working today prepping for the weekend. Tim's neice and a friend coming in late tonight from snow bound Ohio for a wedding on Saturday at the Hotel Galvez, so we're having some sort of lavish dinner tomorrow night (note to self: plan lavish dinner menu). Saturday, I've the honor of working at The Grand 1894 Opera House with Porgy and Bess. It's not quite a vacation day as I'll be working on Sunday plans on my breaks and free time, when not prepping and dressing the show. Sunday will be great fun with clients from the Netherland Antilles in the afternoon and then perhaps a Birthday dinner for a friend. Oh yeah, and I need to make sure that the guest room is ready. I know the sheets are fresh, I've been working on polishing the floor...guess I'd better scoot to ready for my first appointment this morning in an hour. I'll come back and review the week in real estate on Galveston Island.