My fellow Texans, here is your chance to go online and cast your vote for our new 2009 state license plate. The voting started on February 4th and you have until noon on February 11th to submit your vote for one of five designs, including the current license plate. All four new designs feature Texas on the top and "The Lone Star State" on the bottom.The four new options are:1.  New Texas - A red, white and blue design featuring a composite of Texas urban skylines at the bottom.2.  Traditional Texas - Blue highlights and a white background with a gold Lone Star.3.  Lone Star Texas - A white Lone Star in the top left-hand corner of the plate against the Texas sky with a mountain range across the bottom. This plate gets my vote. It reminds me of what my idea of Texas was when I was growing... 02/05/2008

Numerous articles have been written and seminars held addressing the needs of the first time home buyer. But very few to help you, the FIRST time Spring Texas home seller. You have one real estate transaction under your belt as a buyer, but what you need to know as a seller is so very different than that of a buyer.  So if this is your first time at selling a Spring Texas home, here are some things you should know:1.  Sellers Disclosure Notice - Texas law requires you to provide a sellers disclosure notice for the property. The notice is a disclosure of your knowledge of the condition of the property as of the date completed and signed.2. Getting your home ready for the market - Once you put your home on the market, the rules change. Your home has just become a product and it needs to l... 02/04/2008

The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Northwest Houston is hosting its second annual "Student Art Competition". Students in the Aldine, Conroe, Klein, Magnolia, Spring and Tomball Independent School Districts are being encourage to produce their best original artwork. The theme of the contest is "Flora and Fauna in the Greater Cypress Creek Area". The purpose of the competition is to educate and provide an appreciation for the arts in the community. Art Competitions are a wonderful way to challenge the creativity of students. I enjoyed entering art competitions when I was in school. My pieces of art were not good enough to win any ribbons. But I still enjoyed them. Housed in my memory box is some of my early artwork that I had created for competitions. Registration and entry forms ar... 02/03/2008

The Fed controls the Fed Funds Rate. They DO NOT control the mortgage rate. Although what the Fed does can affect what happens to mortgage rates. Now what I just wrote may sound like a foreign language or even worse, a hard Algebra word problem, but try to stay with me as we delve into this a little further. Mortgage rates are tied to mortgage bonds. As the price of mortgage bonds go up, rates in turn get lower. When the price goes down, rates go higher. People basically have two options when investing their money. They can either put it in stocks or bonds. Stocks are risky than bonds and thus reward their investors with a higher yield. Bonds on the other hand are a safer investment and yield is lower. When there is positive news about the economy such as low unemployment and high capit... 01/31/2008

You followed all the tips and staged your home to sell. It is now on the market and you are impatiently awaiting that first call from the showing service saying that the buyers and their Realtor are on their way. To get the most out of every showing of your Spring Texas home, follow these tips:Convenient - Make the showing of your home as convenient as possible to buyers. Buyers have many homes to choose from and if they can not get in to view yours they will just move on and find another home. Comfortable - Although the buyer is a guest in your home, make them feel comfortable. Don't expect them to remove their shoes. Leave the house. The buyer can not freely look at the house and envision it as their house with you still there. Temperature- Now is not the time to worry about saving a ... 01/29/2008

Since the 2004 bond election, Klein, a fast growth school district in Spring Texas, has experienced 16% growth.  And the district does not see the growth stopping. As they are projecting the growth to continue for the next 10 years at a rate of 4% a year. That means by 2016, Klein school district is expected to grow by over 17,600 students. Where is all this growth coming from? Since the last bond election in 2004, approximately 98 new subdivisions and new sections in existing subdivisions have been built in the Klein school district. Since all of the previous bond funds have been spent or designated for current projects, the district has started exploring a new bond election. A steering committee comprised of 110 members of the community, parents, teachers, students, and other district... 01/29/2008

    Londonderry is located in Spring TX; off of Kuykendahl just south of the Woodlands in Harris County. The homes were built in the late 1970's and 1980's and then there are also sections that were built in the late 1990's and early 2000's. With around 450 homes in the subdivision there is a wide range of architecture. Most of the subdivision is heavily wooded with towering pines and large hardwoods. Recent sale prices range from the low 90's to over $160,000. Square footage ranges from 1500 up to 3000 square feet. The subdivision is in the highly acclaimed Klein Independent School District. ivision there is a wide range of architecture. The subdivision has some great amenities. There is a community center with an Olympic size swimming pool, playground, tennis courts and a small pond b... 01/28/2008

Kent Rathburn, the chef at Jasper's in the Woodlands, Texas, has just completed one of the most stressful shows of his life. The local chef recently competed in the Iron Chef America program on the Food Network. In the ever popular, Iron Chef program, world class chefs battle the legendary Iron Chefs of America: Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto and Cat Cora. Its all hush, hush on which Iron Chef Mr. Rathburn chose to compete against, what the secret ingredient was, and who was the winner of the competition. We will just have to tune in for the airing of the program at 8 pm CST on February 24th to find out "Whose cuisine reigns supreme". Jasper's, which describes its cuisine as Gourmet Backyard, is hosting several events in conjunction with the airing of the program. On Februa... 01/24/2008

The latest Pollstar Magazine affirms that word has officially gotten out about the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Pavilion ranked fifth in the top 100 amphitheaters in the world based on number of tickets sold in 2007. The blend of atmosphere and world class performances has made the Pavilion one of the most popular venues of its kinds. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion accommodates more than 16,000 guests at its performances. It presents approximately 75 events every March through November. The performances run the gamut including rock, classic, jazz, country, and ballet. 2008 looks to be another strong year for the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion as it is anticipating strong ticket sales from its upcoming acts of Moody Blues, Rush, and Avril Lavigne. If you have never experien... 01/24/2008

You have just closed and moved into your Spring Texas home and now you are dreaming of ways to personalize and make it yours. But before you get your paint buckets out, complete the following 5 must dos:Change your locks - at closing you got the keys and the garage door code from the previous owners. They seemed like nice people and for that matter they probably are. But what you don't know is who has a copy of your house key. Did they give the key to someone to walk their dog when they were out of town? Or what about their maid service, or the contractor who did repairs on the house, or prior tenants, do they still have a key? You have know way of knowing who previously had your house keys in their possessions. So do yourself a favor and get the locks changed and change the garage door... 01/23/2008

                                                  Well, it's a crummy, wet, cold day in Houston today but when I saw this driving down the street today I said Woah Horsies!    I had a better picture lined up until a Cop showed up and made me move my car.  :(  (oops)Ok, so this is just a teaser.  Sorry.  Hints for now....Nah.    01/23/2008

Vintage Park, an upscale lifestyle shopping destination, located at 249 and Louetta in Northwest Houston has two new stores now open. The ever familiar and ever popular Starbucks coffee has opened its doors and drive through window for business. Its location at the front of Vintage Park and drive through window is sure to make it an instant hit with the many on the go commuters traveling down Louetta. Also jumping at the opportunity to move into space at the 84 acre mixed use development of Vintage Park is Alan Murphy Salons. They have been ranked among the top 200 Salons in America by Salon Today for the third consecutive year. You will feel like royalty when you visit Alan Murphy Salons. They have created a warm and inviting space that has you enjoying the entire salon experience.As t... 01/20/2008

Welcome to The Vintage, a master planned community in Northwest Houston. Come home to Vintage Lakes, custom homes built by Kickerillo, sole builder of these elegant family homes. Vintage Lakes is a gated community set behind a 50 ft natural tree buffer with two beautifully landscaped lakes. Minutes from State Highway 249 with easy access to area hospitals and all areas of the Houston Metropolitan community. These homes range in price from the high 500's to 3 million and are zoned to the much sought after Klein ISD. Your younger children will go to Brill Elementary while your middle schoolers will go to Kleb and high schoolers to Klein High School.Total tax rates after homestead exemption are estimated to be about 3.145/per 100. of valuation. Annual maintenance fees are 1650. and include... 01/17/2008

  Windrose is a master planned community in Spring TX.  It is located between Kuykendahl and 2920 with easy access to I-45, the Beltway and SH 249.  It sprawls over an area of 1121 acres of land and has approximately 2000 homes. The community includes an 18 hole golf championship golf course winding through the neighborhood.  The club includes a full service golf shop, PGA golf teaching center, and full service grill. The fairways meander through century old Oak and Pine trees.  The Club Amenities include a Twelve acre driving range, 10,000 square foot driving green.   There's a Meeting house for the residents to get together.  There are lots of programs and ways to get involved in the community.  Located near the Meeting house you will find tennis courts, volleyball courts and a soccer... 01/16/2008

  Coventry is located in Spring Texas; off of Kuykendahl just south of the Woodlands in Harris County. You take Augusta Pines Blvd. about a mile to get to the subdivision.  This makes for a very quiet subdivision in that you don't hear any busy street noise.  Coventry is located about 35 to 45 minutes from Houston. It is only 5 minutes from Sterling Ridge in the Woodlands.  Coventry is not a part of Augusta Pines.  You drive through Coventry to get to Augusta Pines but Conventry was in existence before Augusta Pines was. They do share the same municipal utility district (MUD). The subdivision has been in existence since the early 80's but the majority of the homes were built in the late 1990's and early in 2000. Coventry is fairly small with just over 300 homes and has a little bit of a... 01/16/2008

   Augusta Pines located in Northwest Harris county just south of The Woodlands is set in a truly beautiful and tranquil setting surrounded by tall pine trees, dogwoods and large oak trees.  Surrounded by the beautiful Augusta Pines Golf Course and with 30 acres of lakes, streams and open spaces it is a truly magnificant community.   It is peaceful to walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the many lakes.  It is common to see the neighbors walking, riding bikes and just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The custom estate homes are on wooded lots between 1/2 acre to 1 acre.  The estate homes offer lots that are in the woods, on one of the lakes or on the golf course.  The homes feature grand entry ways, large kitchens, coffer-ed ceilings and archways.  Many come with large outdoor kit... 01/15/2008

Your chances of catching a fish at the lake in Meyer Park in Spring Texas will increase after January 11th, 2008.  On Friday, Harris County Precinct 4 will have its annual trout stocking event. Meyer Park's 1 acre lake will receive 2,000 youth trout courtesy of Harris County Precinct 4 and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The youth trout will be joining the catfish and other trout that currently call Meyer Park home. Anglers under the age of 17 enjoy FREE fishing. Each anlger is limited to a daily catch of five trout. But there is no minimum length limit. Anglers 17 or older will need to purchase a $5 freshwater fishing stamp and have a valid Texas fishing license. What a great way to spend the day. When is the last time that you spent the day fishing? If you can't remember then... 01/10/2008

   Enjoy a southern lifestyle at Augusta Pines located in Spring TX.  There is something for everyone in this golf course community located about 30 minutes from Houston; with easy access to The Woodlands.  Homes range in price from $200,000 to over a million.  There are re-sale homes and new homes available.  The builders are getting ready for the spring selling season and there are many new speculative homes available.    4th Quarter Augusta Pines residential real estate statistics for single family homes: Under $300,000~ 8 Active Listings - Avg. DOM 79, 0 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings - Avg DOM 126 $300,000-$400,000 ~ 10 Active Listings - Avg. DOM 166, 5 Pending Listings - Avg DOM 14, 1 Sold Listing - DOM 79 $400,000-$500,000 ~ 14 Active Listings - Avg. DOM 115, 3 Pending Listing... 01/09/2008

Top 30 things to do before putting your home on the market.  Make your home's "First Impression" its "Best Impression" Trim your shubbery Add color with flowers and potted plants  Powerwash the front sidewalks and driveway Clean the pine needles from the roof Repaint to a neutral color walls with vivid colorsWash the windows   Refinish your front door and polish the hardware Get a new door mat that says "Welcome" Clean up after your pets Organize the garage to make the space seem larger   Make sure all your light bulbs are working and replace any burnt out ones  Replace old, stained, worn out carpet. If they don't need replacing have the carpets professionaly steam cleanedRemove excess furniture that make your rooms look smallWipe down the walls. If the walls need more than a thorough c... 01/09/2008

Before you purchase that new home to call Home Sweet Home, Read our Top 10 tips for NEW home buyers.Location, Location, Location - The lot you select will impact the home's future resale value. In Spring Texas, the characteristics of your lot becomes even more crucial since there are No Zoning Laws. If vacant land is viewable from the lot, you want to find out if the land has been platted to be part of the subdivision. If it is not part of the subdivision, anything can be built on it (Walmart, apartments, grocery or convenience store). Homes that back to commercial properties, busy roads, cell phone towers, or water storage tanks all negatively impact the home's resale value. Get the best loan for your needs - Builders often offer monetary incentives for you to use their preferred lende... 01/07/2008