Washington Tells Banks to Start Lending!

While many banks have been happy to accept billions of dollars in government bailout money, it seems they are hoarding all that cash and still not making loans. Well, the White House is telling them to get on the ball as loaning money is, after all, the primary purpose of a bank. One concern is that banks may start using the bailout money for purposes other than lending. Tisk tisk… Hopefully with this gentle push from Washington, banks will get back to what they are supposed to be doing – lending money to the people who need it to buy homes!  

Houston Luxury Development Cancelled

For a while I’ve been seeing advertisements for the new Turnberry Tower, The Residences at The Galleria, here in Houston. The piqued my curiosity because they looked so chic and, frankly, absolutely stunning. While The Galleria is a Houston institution and I love it for what it is (the only home for many luxury retailers in Houston), it has become a bit outdated and is in need of a facelift. I guess my main wonder was how these two would fit together; the old and the new. Well, I no longer need to wonder about any of this because I just read in the Houston Business Journal that the entire project has been cancelled due to the current situation with financial institutions. To get the full story, see below…

Turnberry Ltd. confirmed this week that it no longer plans to build a 34-story luxury condo tower by the Galleria Mall that had been in the works for more than three years.

The 184 proposed condo units, priced from $1 million to more than $3.5 million, were to be located west of Post Oak Boulevard, between Hidalgo and W. Alabama.

Buyers were notified of the developer’s decision last week, and have been refunded their deposits plus interest accrued on the money, according to Turnberry.

Jim Cohen, a vice president of sales for the prolific development firm, said in a statement released this week that the project was cancelled because the firm could not get a construction loan during the current financial crisis.

“With great reluctance we have decided to suspend development operations for Turnberry Tower, Residences at the Galleria,” Cohen said in the statement. “This is the first project Turnberry has had to discontinue in more than 40 years in the real estate development business.”

The Aventura, Fla.-based company has developed more than $7 billion in commercial and residential property, including 20 million square feet of retail space, 7,000 apartments and condo units, 1.5 million square feet of office space and 2,000 hotel and resort rooms.

Turnberry’s splashy marketing effort in Houston began in September 2007 with the unveiling of a 12,000-square-foot, multimillion-dollar sales center/model home near the development site.

The sales center closed last week, and the developer has not decided what it will do with the property.

Featured Lease Properties in Houston

UPDATE: These Homes Have Been Leased. Call To See How We Can Help You! 713-465-4646

    

     21207 Crescent Star Court
               Katy, TX 77450
               $2950 / Month

3743 square feet on a cul-de-sac in Grand Lakes subdivision. 4 or 5 bedrooms with 4 full baths and 1 half bath. 2 car garage and a huge back yard! Call 713-465-4646 for more information!                         
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     14707 Harvest Chase Court
            Cypress, TX 77492
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1669 square feet in Cypress Mill Park. One story with 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a 2 car garage. Huge back yard! Call 713-465-4646 for more information!  
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         13002 Bainbridge Trail
             Houston, TX 77065
                 $1950 / Month

3712 square feet in Wortham Grove just off 1960. Two-story home with 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Game room and media room upstairs! Master is downstairs with an oversized walk-in closet! Call 713-465-4646 for more information!
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       17514 Shadow Lawn Way
           Houston, TX 77095
              $1950 / Month

3261 square feet in Riata Ranch. Two-story home on cul-de-sac lot with 4/5 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 1 half bath. Large island kitchen and downstairs master bedroom! Call 713-465-4646 for more information!
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Home Sales In The South Are Still Up!

The Houston Business Journal just released this article regarding home sales in the South versus the rest of the nation. As the summer season comes to a close, we are still ahead of the game down here! Read below:

Sales and prices of existing homes in the South fared better than those nationwide in August, the latest data shows.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday total sales in the U.S. declined 2.2 percent in August from July. But existing home sales in the South region, which includes Texas, advanced 0.5 percent. While the average price of a home nationwide dropped 8.9 percent compared to August 2007, prices in the South fell just 3.4 percent.

“August sales reflect higher interest rates before the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “With higher loan limits and a beefing up of the FHA program, all the mechanisms have been falling into place to increase mortgage availability.

However, home sales will be constrained without a freer flow of credit into the mortgage market,” Yun says.

The South region consists of: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

If you are interested in learning more about residential real estate in Houston please call us at 713-465-4646 or email us at Info@MovingHouston or check out our website! Don’t forget to ask about our Property Management services! We look forward to hearing from you!

FREE Investor Book Available

Now is a wonderful time to consider investing in Houston real estate. Whether you are a veteran investor or looking for your first investment property we can help you. We believe that a smart buyer is an educated buyer. Once you find your investment property we can also assist you with our residential property management services. A wonderful book called The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller is full of useful information for investors. If this is a tool that you feel would be beneficial for you we are offering to send you a copy for FREE! Call 713-465-4646 or email Info@MovingHouston.com to request your copy today. To get more information about the book click HERE. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Services Provided by Houston Management Team

This is just a brief sample of the residential property management services provided by Houston Management Team. For more details go to our website at www.HoustonManagementTeam.com.

Services Provided By Houston Management Team:

• Maintain checking account for each Property Management client in QuickBooks software.

• Collect rent & make deposits into Sterling Bank checking account.

• Schedule repairs with contractors and tenants.

• Pay bills relating to any repairs required at the residence.

• Notify property owner of any emergencies relating to Property Management accounts/properties/tenants.

• Notify property owner of any repair issues over $200, prior to approving repair.

• Reconcile all checking accounts, monthly. Notify property owner of any returned checks or NSF charges to accounts.

We Service These Houston Areas

With a centrally located office and agents living all over the Houston area we are able to service residential properties in and around Houston with ease. We manage single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes… if you can live in it we can manage it for you! If you have a need for residential property management services in any of the following Houston areas please give us a call at 713-465-4646 or email us at Info@MovingHouston.com. We look forward to hearing from you! For more information please check out our website at www.HoustonManagementTeam.com.

• Memorial
• The Villages                                                              
• Inner Loop
  

  609 Jackson Hill in Rice Military

• Rice Military
• Medical Center
• Bellaire
• West University
• Downtown
• Midtown
• Westchase
• Galleria
• Tanglewood
• Briargrove
• Katy
• Cypress
• The Heights
• Montrose
• The Woodlands
• Spring

Who Is Houston Management Team?

Houston Management Team is an affiliate of the Internet Houston Team; a top-producing residential real estate team with Keller Williams Realty in Houston. In addition to helping Houston buy, sell and lease homes, we also offer residential property management services to help make homeowner’s lives easier.

The Houston Management Team has built their business on the philosophy that each property will be managed as if it were their own. By selecting Houston Management Team you will be receiving quality tenant administration, aggressive leasing, low operating cost, and great customer service. They have employed this philosophy for more than ten years and it has rewarded them by generating the highest income and lowest disbursement levels for their clients.

Houston Management Team’s size allows them to provide a very personalized level of attention to each of the clients and their properties. Thus, they have been able to effectively deliver the highest return on their client’s investments through top quality leasing and property management services. This has also allowed the clients to experience an exceptionally well rounded company that is highly qualified in rental home and apartment management.