One Man's Trash...

You won't miss the brightly decorated warehouse at 4300 Harrisburg Blvd.

I have always liked looking through people's trash in search of treasure--not literally, but at flea markets and the like. And since becoming an old house owner in 2008 (Ours was built in 1920.), the salvage yard is somewhat of a new discovery to me.

When we added a family room onto our home, I was very particular about using whatever old house parts I could to make the addition look as seamless as possible. Even though the vaulted ceiling might give it away, the doors and floors and most hardware are all the real deal, salvaged from some little old house that met its sad fate to the wrecking ball.

I found two of my doors at a salvage warehouse in Houston that I did not realize at the time was co-founded by my next door neighbor, now a locally famous photographer. Soon after I bought my doors, the Montrose warehouse went out of business, and my project completed.

Now a few years later, the Historic Houston Salvage Warehouse is back up and running, temporarily I think, in Houston's East End, near the up-and-coming "EaDo" section of our city. Last Saturday I took a gander. It is gigantic and--something I didn't expect--dark. But it is chock full of good finds for your home renovation projects or old house repairs.

I ran into a friend who purchased an ornate mantle to add some charm to a blah addition on her house. I like her thinking! While I didn't pick anything up for myself this time, I will be back as my plans to renovate my kitchen percolate.

Historic Houston's Salvage Warehouse is currently open the first Sunday of every month from 10AM-4PM, and membership is $40+. Everything for sale has been donated, rather than sent to the landfills. So keep that in mind, too, when your contractor plans to haul your old stuff away. Don't forget your flashlight, or download an app for that on your smartphone! Now, a few photos to inspire you...

Cool cast iron sinks

My camera's flash disguises how dark it was in this back corner.

I think this is part of an old bathtub fixture.

Great door with transom window and antique hardware

Antique bricks, perfect for a small patio project

These solid wood boards were super heavy! I think they'd make cool shelves.

Tons of reclaimed hardwood floors and windows

Sublime clawfoot tub hiding in the darkness

Divided light window

And finally, a shout out to the kitty lover in me!

Protecting Our Neighborhood's Character

Two single-family homes are torn down to make room for seven townhomes.

Houston is booming! I have buyers, but nothing to show them. The latest reported housing inventory by HAR was 3.2 months. That means it would take only 3.2 months to sell everything on the market. Bidding wars are the norm. It is a tough time for buyers.

With this is much construction. It seems like a new apartment complex is going up on every other corner. And in neighborhoods with old houses, the wrecking ball is moving in quickly to make way for bigger, and unfortunately not always better, new construction--often at the expense of a neighborhood's character.

In the neighborhood where I live, a quiet pocket in Montrose with houses dating to the early 1900s, we have set out on a journey to protect our neighborhood's character, thanks to some powerful tools made available by City Council last April. Since we don't have historic restrictions in place and our deed restrictions are not yet strong enough to protect our interests, we applied for two ordinances, Minimum Lot Size (MLS) and Minimum Building Line (MBL).

What are MLS and MBL exactly? If 70% of the homes are on 5,000-square-foot lots, 5,000 square feet is the smallest a lot can be. And if 70% of the homes are set back 15 feet from the street, then new construction cannot be any closer than 15 feet. 

Signage announcing our applications

While I am an advocate for preserving older homes, these ordinances really only address the preservation of the neighborhood as a whole, to prevent density where it wasn't intended (i.e townhome development). These protections are available both in and outside the Loop.

Our neighborhood awaits final approval from City Council after a process that has been in the works for about six months. First, we applied with help from the Planning and Development Department. Petitions were signed by homeowners. Signs were posted. A few protests were made, and as a neighborhood, we addressed those protests in front of the Planning Commission. The Commission approved our applications, and now our fingers are crossed that City Council will do the same, which would protect our neighborhood for 20 years.

For more information about this process for your own neighborhood, information is available on the Planning and Development site. Good luck!

Bettering Our Bayou Trails

Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail 

I have an affair with Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) in Austin. Don't worry, my husband Chad knows! We both love Austin, but it's the lake and its hike and bike trail that get me every time. I love watching the kayaking, rowing and stand-up paddlers, the dogs, the strollers and exercisers, the soccer players at adjacent Zilker Park, the bats at Congress Avenue and the Austin skyline, ever-changing. While we both wouldn't mind living in that great city again one day (We both lived there for college.), for now we will just be visiting. While Houston has no Colorado River running through it, we do have a very prominent bayou: Buffalo Bayou. Sadly, we have not given it the attention it deserves.

So, what is a bayou? According to dictionary.com, a bayou is:

 –noun, plural -ous. Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.
1. a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
2. any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.

I strongly believe that our marshy arm and the hike and bike trail around it could be so much better than it is today. Maybe it will never be the caliber of Lady Bird Lake, but it can most certainly be better than it is today. After all, we have the skyline, the bats, the exercisers, the dogs and the occasional strollers.

While Houston gets a bad rap for its hot, humid weather, just this week we have had some bluebird days. Perfect days for a bike ride, wouldn't you say? There aren't many cities where you can go on a pleasant bike ride this time of year. New York City, for instance, received 19 inches of snow yesterday, God bless it.

Last month we had some similar beautiful days, so Chad and I decided to go on a bike ride around Buffalo Bayou along Allen Parkway and down Memorial Drive. I brought my camera to document the ride. I felt a bit like Aron Ralston in 127 Hours. (Great movie, by the way!) Look at these photos--the sad trails and happy improvements--and imagine the possibilities.

Sad trail

Happy! A new pedestrian bridge at Montrose 

Sad trail along Memorial Drive, great skyline

Sad trail under Memorial Drive nearing Downtown

Happy! Improvements underway, connecting to the Heights

Happy! Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade

Sad trails headed west toward Waugh

Oh-so-sad trail at Montrose and Allen Parkway

Sad trail along Allen Parkway and by the Wortham Fountain

Close-up of the Wortham Fountain and a happy, hopefully inspiring, image to leave with you

While the Buffalo Bayou Partnership has made tremendous strides the last several years in improvements, there is still a long, long way to go. Think about Austin's Town Lake. I know we can get there. While this blog's namesake harks back to an old Houston nickname unbeknownst to many today, the "Bayou City" is not. Let's own up to it!

Merry Christmas Lights!

One of my favorite things to do at this magical time of year is to drive around at night listening to Christmas carols and admiring Christmas lights. I have to say that this year in particular the Magnolia City has done an impressive and inspiring job. The Woodland Heights neighborhood, who hosted Lights in the Heights a couple weekends ago for the 24th year, was quite a sight. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me then. But, I did take a spin the other night with my camera and snapped a few beauties in Montrose, Boulevard Oaks, Southampton and River Oaks. Enjoy! And from our house to yours, Merry Christmas!

 

Montrose

Montrose

Montrose

Boulevard Oaks

Boulevard Oaks

Southampton

River Oaks

River Oaks

This Old House: Leveling Out

When we bought our house, it was evidenced in our inspection report that the foundation needed to be shimmed. The listing agent said the sellers did not ever do this because they didn't want to deal with the aesthetic damage that might result (namely cracks in the sheetrock). So, I negotiated the needed repair into our sales price, but we did not take care of it until we had to: today, just more than a year after we took possession of our home.

Our front door was sticking ever so slightly when we moved in, so my carpenter sanded the bottom of it. But it progressively worsened. A crack appeared in the corner of the door frame toward the ceiling and worsened every time we had to forcefully open or close the door. By the end of the summer, our door was inoperable.

Per a contractor's suggestion, we had a "door pro" help us to get it functioning again. He shaved the bottom of the door at an angle, realigned the hinges and added some pretty serious weather stripping. As he shaved it, I fearfully watched every millimeter of that original 1920 door come off. He almost quit due to my micromanagement, but he completed the job thanks to my begging.

I added gutter to the front of the house where water pooled in heavy rains. It could be argued that this water was causing some of the front door issues. This should, in fact, help us going forward.

Well, about a month after the "door pro" fixed the door, it was sticking again. And soon after that, it was inoperable...basically all winter long. Theories existed that the wood was expanding and contracting with the weather. Perhaps some, but the root of the issue--I finally found out--was the foundation. 

I had three foundation companies who specialize in pier and beam foundations come out, all highly recommended by other agents in my office. I ended up going with the quickest to respond, Golden Construction, a family-run business where all in the fam seem to know a lot about foundation, old houses, construction and even politics.

Lois Golden and son, JJ, of Golden Construction Company stand at our storied front door with their level.

 

I learned a lot from them, including the fact that a pier and beam house needs to be adjusted every once in a while, whereas a house on a slab shouldn't. The warranty on foundation adjustment for pier and beam is only good for a few years, whereas the slab warranties are usually transferable and sometimes good for life. In fact, Golden had a whole file on my house--records of times they had come out to give a bid and records of the work they'd actually done. They knew more about my house than I did! They explained that Houston experienced a major drought last summer, causing movement in most all pier and beam homes.

I am glad to report that we are back on level ground. Granted there are a couple cracks that need patching and touch-up paint, but our furniture is no longer shaking and the front door works. The groundhog will tell us for sure tomorrow, but my guess is we will soon be able to enjoy the Troutman rocking chairs we received for Christmas. If business this past week is any indication, I'd say the promise of spring is just around the corner because the spring selling season has definitely sprung!

Home for the Holidays

While people may think that home sales slow down during the holidays, it is not the truth. Many homes sell (or go sale pending) between Thanksgiving and Christmas. John Daugherty, Realtors sold some $60 million in December two years ago. (Last year sales were down due to Hurricane Ike.)

Riding on the tails of a successful October and November this year, where we [JDR] have sold well over our monthly goals set at this time last year, we are expecting another active December to close out 2009. So 'tis the season for home shopping, and Bah, humbug, to the naysayers!

To anyone thinking of relocating to Houston from a snowy city like Syracuse, New York, know this: While Houston does not often enjoy white Christmases, we do get snow on occasion (roughly every four years). Below are some photos that I took last Friday at home and in the neighborhood, when Houston's earliest snowfall on record made national news. Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Bottlebrush under the snow

Roof collecting snow

Backyard bench

 
Snow in motion

A car parked at Cherryhurst Park covered in snow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This Old House: Knob and Tube Wiring

After a brief hiatus from the blogosphere, in what I will call blogger’s block, I am back with a new collection of posts named This Old House. While the moniker obviously comes from the well known fix-it magazine, I have chosen it to dedicate posts that show my passion for old houses—selling them (or wanting to), living in them, and just generally appreciating their existence. From the gas cook-tops and the worn wood floors to the wood-burning fireplaces and the wavy glass of the original wood windows, I just love old houses. One day, I will fix one up myself. But for now…

It has been one year since my husband Chad and I put an offer on the place we now call home. How time flies. The house was built in 1920, but someone--Leonard Rutan we later found out--put some real TLC into our old new home, adding granite countertops, recessed lights, a built-in speaker system and plantation shutters, among other modern amenities. [Leonard Rutan owns a women's clothing store in the River Oaks area.] The house is charming, yet still very functional, almost 90 years later.

What we didn’t know when we fell in love with what we saw was that some of the internal aspects of the house were not as updated as the external ones. Our house had an unidentifiable amount of still-active old wiring, called Knob and Tube, which was common in houses built before 1930. While there are houses that still fully operate with this type of electrical system and minds that think the system is--in some ways--superior to current ones, the powers that be say it’s just not safe.

One of my go-to inspection companies, introduced to me by the late, great Realtor Warren Strauss, is Fox Inspection Group. Here’s what inspector Mark Chalmers of Fox has to say about Knob and Tube: “When electrical wiring gets old, the insulation can become brittle and fall off. If that uninsulated area comes in contact with something flammable, it can start a fire. For this reason, homeowners insurance is difficult to obtain and is priced higher than it is for newer homes.”

While Chalmers says he would live in a home with active Knob and Tube--depending on its condition, what my husband and I found out was that it was more than difficult to obtain the required homeowners insurance on a home with active K&T wiring--whatever its condition. If it’s active, it’s a no-go.

Due to time, heat and possibly hungry critters, a home inspector on oldhouseweb.com says, “This [K&T] system is rarely intact after 80 or so years of use.”

While Steve Hartwig of John R. Ray & Sons worked tirelessly to find us insurance to cover it, after hearing “no” from about nine companies to finally hear “yes” from one, we questioned its safety ourselves.

Though it was not cheap to do (about $6/square-foot), we had our entire new old house rewired by a licensed electrician and his team before moving in. They had to get permits from the City of Houston, and their work had to be inspected. It was a week-long project, but the headache was worth it. We feel comfortable living in an old house with all new wiring that stands up to 2009 code.

As a Realtor, my reader is probably questioning why I didn’t know more about Knob & Tube than I did. Our inspection report (not performed by Fox) briefly mentioned it, but did not call great attention to it. As Realtors, we are not experts on electricity or home building. We are experts in negotiation, the real estate market and servicing our clients. We learn with experience about the other things, but will direct a buyer or seller to the appropriate expert.

So with the above in mind, I plan to send this post to the Texas Real Estate Commission in hopes that they will add “Presence of Active Knob & Tube Wiring” to the Seller’s Disclosure form, just as “Previous Use of Premises for Manufacture of Methamphetamine” was added in 2007. I have no doubt that this would help all parties involved in a real estate transaction of an old house.

Photo: OldHouseWeb.com

CLASSIFIEDS: That 70s Shop

FOR SALE: Location! Location! Location! Cherryhurst residents [my husband, Chad, and I] seeking quality, new owner for That 70s Shop. Price: $1,500,000.00, which includes more than the 4,136-square-foot (per owner) retail space that is That 70s Shop. (Click here for more details.) Suggested use: coffee shop serving Fairtrade coffee, tea, wine, craft beer, fresh juice, creative sandwiches and tasty pastries with free Wi-Fi...or...fine restaurant, à la across-the-street neighbor, Da Marco...or...something more affordable, like Empire Cafe up Westheimer.

Lunchtime in H-town

Tuesdays through Thursdays for Realtors are "broker open house" days, for Houston at least. When I am not holding a listing open myself, showing property or scheduled to answer the phones on prime duty at the office, I do my best to hit a few open houses in the neighborhoods I service. It is a good way to preview what is on the market and also a good way to meet other Realtors. Houses are held open from noon to two, and although I rarely partake, lunch is often served—a tactic used to draw more eyes to the house. So, to keep this post real-estate related, I am breaking down my favorite places for lunch in H-town according to open house days. If you are a buyer, keep in mind that these broker open houses are also open to the public. So don't be shy if you see a sign or balloons on a Wednesday during your lunch break!

Tuesdays, Areas 16 & 9: Afton Oaks, The Heights, Hyde Park, Lynn Park/Highland Village, Memorial Park, Midtown, Montrose, Oak Estates, Rice Military, River Oaks, Upper Kirby

Let's start in the heart of River Oaks, where on the bustling corner of Kirby and Westheimer Stone Mill Bakers is serving up creamy chicken salad on Dakota bread with avocado and lettuce. Their new granola cookie is addictive! Zoe's Kitchen, on Shepherd, also has a great chicken salad. I add a few dashes of pepper to it to make it even better. Their coleslaw is also tasty, and my sister, Laura, loves their chocolate sheet cake, which always looks tempting but I’ve never fallen prey. (Though I haven't been yet, Zoe's just opened a new outpost on the hip and happening Washington Avenue, also in Area 16). If I’m meeting a friend, Barnaby's on Kirby does the trick. They have a delicious chicken salad sandwich with artichoke hearts and basil mayo. It comes with fries, which I substitute for the sweet-potato variety. Their portions are extra-large, so I try to split. At its sister restaurant, Brown Bag Deli (pictured), I get roast turkey, Monterrey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard on their warm Honey Whole Wheat bread. Another few spots to meet a friend: Paulie's, Tiny Boxwood's or Ruggles Green. Paulie’s is famous for its iced sugar cookies. For lunch, I usually get the Mediterranean Pasta Salad. At Tiny Boxwood’s, Tiny’s Trio has a perfect mix of green salad, chicken salad and fresh fruit, set in the pristine garden of Thompson+Hanson. Their just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies are to die for! At "Houston's First Certified Green Restaurant," Ruggles Green, the Goat Cheese Salad is a satisfying choice for lunch, served with Texas goat cheese. Near Memorial Park, Shandy's has a good chicken salad sandwich that comes with a cup of cubed tropical fruit salad. I’m beginning to think I should have named this post “Chicken Salad in Houston.” But, at Neilsen's Delicatessen, I go for the tuna salad sandwich—junior size. I add Baked Lays between the bread for crunch and saltiness. I also get the tuna salad—the one with the cranberries mixed in—at Whole Foods Market, on Kirby. And at Kraftsmen Baking on Montrose (slated to be at West Ave soon), I opt for the Green Gobbler, a turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, alfalfa sprouts, green apple slices and apple butter on Biologique bread. Last but not least is Epicure Café on West Gray. This is a good place to go alone or with friends. Truthfully, I go for the alfajor (an Argentine cookie), but their tomato basil soup and fresh mint tea are both worth the stop as well. While Area 16 has so many wonderful options, I still have to say: I miss Mom's Kitchen.

Wednesdays, Area 17: Bellaire, Boulevard Oaks, Braes Heights, Medical Center, Museum District, Rice, Southampton, Southgate, Sunset Terrace, West University, Woodside

My list is much slimmer in this locale, most likely because I am obsessed with Picnic's chicken salad with sun-dried tomatoes (pictured). The little side of fruit is accented with mint, making it quite the refreshing side dish. Though I can never pass up their cookies, usually going for the Peanut Butter, they aren't as sweet as I'd like them to be. Edloe Street Cafe & Deli is good for lunch, but doesn't ever really call to me like Picnic does. A little French place called Croissant Brioche, in Rice Village, is also a good spot. There's another Brown Bag Deli in the Village, too, but I always forget it's there and have actually never been, because who am I kidding? If I'm going to Area 17 for open houses, I'm going to Picnic.

Thursdays, Areas 22 & 23: Briarbend/Charnwood, Briarcroft, Briargrove, Brairgrove Park, Briarmeadow, Galleria, Larchmont, Memorial Villages, Sandalwood, Tanglewood

I can get in a rut in Areas 22 and 23, but there really are some fine lunch establishments. I love the little side salad that comes with all of the sandwiches at the Argentine Deli, although it is actually called Yorktown Deli. Like Epicure, I really go there for their alfajor—and I actually like it better than Epicure’s. The deli’s walls are covered in snapshots from their patrons’ travels, all featuring their yellow menu. As seen in the photo above, my husband and I took the menu with us to Africa this summer and shot it in a Maasai village. Look for it on their wall soon! Nearby, Jersey Mike's sub shop is pretty good. I like it "Mike's Way," with Italian seasonings and oil. I get the same treatment to the Skinny TKY at Potbelly in Uptown Park. But beware: Potbelly is dangerously close to Crave, a cupcake shop with every flavor cupcake imaginable. Also in Uptown Park is Andre’s, which I failed to mention is also in Area 16 (but I rarely go to that one). It’s a good spot to meet a friend. I order the tuna salad on croissant "portion-size;" the menu can be confusing. A few doors down, Café Express is a sure bet, but never gets me very excited since Wendy’s bought it. I know the Del Grandes bought it back, but still... I love Neiman Marcus' Mariposa, but it doesn’t leave you much time for open houses when you are in a department store! In Memorial, I like A Moveable Feast. It's a health food store and restaurant. They have a crunchy Apple Pecan Tuna Salad, and you just feel healthy eating there. There’s another outpost of Stone Mill on Voss, although I don’t think it’s as good as the one on Kirby. Occasionally, I will go to Dessert Gallery, which is not just dessert! I like the California Dreamin' sandwich, but sometimes their bread is stale and they are not shy with the Chipotle mayo. Although always crowded at lunch, Barnaby's new-ish Tanglewood spot is, of course, good. I’m also très excited that Zoe's is opening on San Felipe and Bering soon! The French House: duh. I get the chicken salad plate that is served on a bed of lettuce with avocados. Delish! In the Briargrove Shopping Center, Cafe Mezza starts off every table with pita chips and an addicting olive oil-based dipping sauce. I like to follow it with their yummy—and quite interesting—chicken salad sandwich. Lastly, at Smoothie Island, aka Island Grill, I order the "Eric the Homebuilder Pita," a wonderful medley of roasted veggies and hummus on warm pita bread. And being that a homebuilder dreamed it up, I'll say it’s an appropo way to end this post.

If I have missed any obvious lunch spots in any of the aforementioned areas, do tell me in the comments section. It was either an oversight, we like different foods at lunchtime or I am missing out. Happy lunching!

I ♥ Cherryhurst

Amongst my colleagues at John Daugherty, Realtors, I am considered young in the business. Maybe so, but there's an opportunity being young did afford me recently: stepping into the shoes of a first-time homebuyer. This, my husband Chad and I accomplished at the end of last year, when we stumbled upon and purchased our first home in Cherryhurst, an adorable subdivision tucked quietly inside of Montrose.

It was an uncertain time in the economy. Houston was just starting to feel what we did of the recession, which they say has maybe turned a corner now. If it is in fact turning a corner, Houston did not experience it like the rest of the country did. We had a mild case of the recession. But at the time, interest rates were low--not as low as they got, the house fit the bill and we were eager to become homeowners. Fortunately, we were eligible for the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit that is paid back over the course of 15 years. Unfortunately, we missed the cut--by seven days--for the new-and-improved $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that never has to be repaid!

We already knew we liked Cherryhurst. Its location cannot be beat. It has culture and an urban vibe with a twist of traditional neighborhood feel. Cherryhurst is about four streets wide by five streets tall with Cherryhurst Park at its center, offering tennis, a community center, a field to throw a football or run the dog (future dog for us...one day!?) and a playground. While we haven't made use of the park on a regular basis yet, we have enjoyed walking to nearby restaurants (our favorite: Hugo's), shops and bars--something you can't often do in Houston, whose walk score is the definition of average at 51/100. Montrose ranks second within Houston for walkabilty, with Downtown ahead at numero uno.

While I could go on about how I ♥ Cherryhurst, learning a few things about the home-buying process would probably be more worthwhile to my loyal readership. So, here are a few tips:

• Get organized with your lender sooner than later. You don't want to fall in love with a home you can't afford. You also don't want to drag on getting your loan approval and have your earnest money up for grabs if you don't end up getting the loan approved in the time prescribed.
• Don't worry about bothering the sellers during the option period. The option period is your time to bring in all kinds of specialists, not just the inspector himself. Get everything suspect checked out and know what you are buying.
• Try to keep it friendly with the sellers. You never know when you'll need to ask them a question about the house down the road.

Buying your first home is both exciting and scary. Trust your instincts and you will make the right the decisions. And expect to keep learning about home ownership every day.