Lights in the Heights

Deck the halls with boughs of holly and let the fun begin! It's that fabulous time of year when Woodland Heights hosts Lights in the Heights. I was driving around the neighborhood this weekend and saw so many people putting up their Christmas lights. This is going to be a great year primarily because the organization has made some changes to improve the event.

This year's Lights in the Heights will be held on Saturday, December 10 beginning at 6:00 p.m. and end at 10:00 p.m. No vendors will be permitted on the Norhill esplanade and security will be tighter. And since they haven't been widely publicizing the event, there may be fewer people attending. These changes promise to make it a cozier event.

So for those of you who do not know what this event is, here's the scoop. Woodland Heights is comprised mostly of Victorian and Craftsman Style homes. Beginning about 25 years ago, the residents began heavily decorating their homes for Christmas. They would then block off a couple of streets one evening to allow the people within the community to celebrate with one another. Each year it grew from just one or two streets to several. Recognition is offered for houses with the best decorations.

During the event itself, many homes throughout the community will be hosting musicians who will be playing Christmas music from the front porch. The style of music will be anything from 4-string quartets to jazz to a cappella. This year, rock music will not be permitted as the community wishes to keep the noise level down.

Please note, that there will be several private parties throughout the community; so be careful not to crash any of them.

Should you find you are unable to attend Lights in the Heights, take a leisurely drive through the community any night in December and enjoy the beautiful decorations; many are worth seeing in daylight as well.

Corporate Housing - Houston

Corporate housing is basically a furnished apartment. Initially, they were leased by corporations for their employees who were temporarily residing in Houston. Now, anyone can lease furnished apartments for a variety of reasons.

The process of acquiring a corporate rental can be rather complicated and boring. So, I'm not going to put you to sleep with a bunch of details. However, there are some basics you need to know.

1. Houston does not have an inventory of furnished rental apartments just waiting for someone to lease. These days, you pick your property and a third party converts it into a furnished unit.
   
   
2. Your options include two different types of properties: Apartment communities and privately owned properties. Sometimes private owners will have their property set up specifically as a furnished apartment or home. These are rare but they do exist.
   
   
3. Most properties require 1 year leases. There are some apartment communities that will accept shorter term leases. Most condo and hi-rise buildings do not allow short term leases. This really limits your choices.
   
   
4. A furnished unit may or may not include utilities and maid service. When negotiating for a furnished unit, it helps if you know what you need. Expect to pay about $2000 above the base price of an unfurnished apartment or home. This number can be lowered by placing utilities in your own name, hiring a maid or even reducing the number of televisions in the unit.
   
   
5. Once you find your property, you'll need to allow up to 5 business days for it to be converted to a furnished apartment.
   

Finding a furnished apartment can be a lot of work and very frustrating. Use a Realtor who is experienced in leasing. They can make this process easy for you and prevent you from wasting a lot of time.

The Accidental Landlord

I'm sure many of you have seen the reports that home sales have dropped in Houston. True, it's not as bad here as it is in other parts of the United States.

Even so, many home owners are either not in a position to lose money on the sale of their home or just don't want to. Still they need to move on to their new home. So, what do they do?

They lease their house instead of selling.

Many of the homeowners that take this path never planned to be here, they sort of "accidentally" got here. And the thought of being a landlord keeps them awake at night as they toss and turn envisioning their home being torn up by complete strangers.

Yes, there are risks to being a landlord. However, if done correctly, the benefits can outweigh those risks.

I've discovered there are 4 things that give a person pause when considering becoming a landlord.

1. Will my tenant pay their rent on time?
2. Will they fulfill the lease agreement?
3. Is my tenant going to tear up my property?
4. Is the tenant going to call me every day complaining about something that needs fixing?

There are things that can be done to ensure that landlords sleep at night while renting out their property.

A very good start is to hire a real estate agent to list your property for lease. Just by doing this one thing, you can eliminate people you might not want renting your property. I have discovered that people who are not comfortable having their backgrounds checked usually don't approach Realtors to assist them in their property search. Beaudry Properties checks an applicant's Credit, Criminal, Check Writing and Criminal History. We also conduct Employment and Rental Verification either in writing or through phone interviews.

We are also able to provide all the forms necessary to lease your property beginning with the application and ending with the lease agreement and all required addenda. Not only do we provide the forms we also do the paperwork for you - of course your final approval/signature is still required but you are not left to determine the process on your own.

A typical security deposit is the equivalent of one month's rent. That is usually enough to handle small repairs in the event such are required. Should your tenant have a pet, you can also collect a pet deposit.

As part of the lease agreement, the landlord can require tenants to pay upfront for repairs that are not deemed the responsibility of the landlord as outlined in the Texas Property Code.

Through our partnerships we are able to provide property management services. And our sister company, Inner Loop Landlords is just an added tool we use to market our client's lease properties.

If you think you might be an "Accidental Landlord" and you find the entire process daunting, you are not alone. Contact us and we'll help you through the process.

Midtown Madness

Midtown is one of Houston's newest inner loop neighborhoods. Well, that's not exactly correct. Truth be told, the area has many historic landmarks. However it has only been within the last five years that it actually defined itself as one of Houston's managed districts. A lot of the area in Midtown was just just empty lots and dilapidated buildings until investors and developers arrived with some vision.

Now, Midtown has defined boundaries and it falls within a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone a.k.a. TIRZ. What exactly is a TIRZ? Good question. According to the Midtown Management District, a TIRZ "is a special district created by the City to help finance the cost of redeveloping an area that would not otherwise attract significant private investment in development in the foreseeable future." These taxes are not levied taxes, either. A portion of the ad valorem taxes are invested back into the district.

A great feature of this neighborhood is the strength and enthusiasm radiating from the community itself. People within this community are involved. Local residents can enjoy events such as Art in the Park where local artists display and sell their art in one of Midtown's beautiful parks. Or Plant and Pedal, a project that fosters improvements through planting flowers and trees.

The list of restaurants in the area is quite impressive: Brennan's, Cyclone Anaya's, Reef, Farrago's, Ibiza and Crave Sushi are just a few. And if one wants a little late night fun, there's Howl at the Moon, Pub Fiction and 13 Celcius.

In sum, Midtown offers one a completely stocked and established residential community close to downtown. For more information about Midtown and everything it offers, visit their website.

MAY 2010 Housing Market Newsletter

Just leased a 4 bedroom right off Washington for $2475/month!!! That is a steal!

May's Housing Newsletter just came out!
Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.

Please click here to view the MAY-2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter:

The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau, Realtor.org reports and other sources.

It also includes press releases with charts and videos, key market indicators and real estate sales and price statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.

If you are interested in determining the value of your home, click the “Home Evaluator” link for a free evaluation report.

Sound decisions can only be made with accurate and reliable information, and I am happy to be a trusted resource for you. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with this monthly eNewsletter, and I look forward to answering any questions you may have and to the opportunity to be your REALTOR® in the future.

Investor Tip #1 - Begin the process with the right agent.

Envision that you found what you thought was the right investment property to purchase. You clean it up, you put it on the market but nothing happens. No one is leasing the property. So, you hire an agent to lease the property for you and discover you have to come down on the lease price significantly more than you thought. What happened?

Perhaps hiring an agent with strong leasing experience when you initially purchased the property would have helped.


We have had several investors approach us for our help after they purchased an investment property because the agent who sold it to them didn't "do leasing". Oftentimes the investor discovers that the agent who sold them the property wasn't exactly accurate regarding the market lease rate for that specific property. The anticipated cash flow didn't happen. Understanding the lease market is an important first step if you want to maximize your investment from the start.

I began my Real Estate career in leasing having written up at least 300+ lease contracts to date. In these transactions I represented the Landlord, the Tenant or both. I understand the market and what drives tenants towards specific properties. I know what can be detrimental to getting a property leased and what makes it a coveted prize.

Buying an investment property at a good price is only a great deal if you can get it leased at a rate that makes it worthwhile. Partnering with someone who can see it all the way through to the end really can save you a lot of headache and stress.

Houston's New Kid on the Block - Highland Tower

A much awaited Highland Tower is starting to move in its first tenants this month. The newest high-rise condo in Houston is located just inside the loop, opposite the Galleria and within walking distance to Highland Village Shopping Center. They have one, two and three bedrooms available for sale starting in the $300s.

Of course there are penthouses available, and there have been several buyers who have requested walls be taken down to create their own floor plans with the help of prestigious Ziegler-Cooper Architects, who had a hand in helping the developers at Pelican Builders with the design of the tower. They did a fantastic job!

Construction started in 2008 right before the market declined, and the tower has been able to survive with 35% of the building's 93 units already being sold before tenants could move in! I truly believe this high-rise will succeed in comparison to similar projects such as the Mosaic and the Royalton. Both towers have succumbed to leasing after sales decreased, which drove property values down. Due to the state of the economy, there won't be construction of another condo tower project in town at least for the next couple of years - meaning, the Highland Tower can claim to be Houston's newest condo for a long time. I'd definitely recommend this new project to anyone looking to buy a city condo!