Katy Homeowners: 10 Tips for Hiring a Remodeling Contractor
Today’s post is an abbreviated version of a Rismedia article:
“When deciding to undertake a remodeling project, there are several invaluable tips to keep in mind as you discuss your home make-over with potential contractors.
Through advice and stories shared by both contractors and consumers, StageofLife.com, a blogging resource for homeowners, discovered 10 important tips on how to find a trustworthy home remodeling contractor.
Tip #1: Does Your Contractor Have Proof of Insurance?
Ask the contractor to have his insurance company mail or fax a copy of his current contractor insurance card to you. If the contractor can’t do this – stay away, do not use this company. The general contractor should also have active insurance cards for all subcontracters; insist they be faxed or mailed to you as well.
Tip #2: Did You Check References and See Photos?
Ask for at least three references – with two of them being for the same type of project you are planning – and then call the references. Additionally, ask the contractor to provide photos of previous work, especially for the same type of project.
Tip #3: Does Your Contractor Take Debit or Credit Cards?
Besides your ability to earn a few points, bonus miles, or cash back on your project, a good sign that a contractor is financially savvy and has a bank behind his business is his ability to take debit and credit cards.
Tip #4: Manners and Appearance?
If the contractor drove his work vehicle to your home to give you an estimate, take a look at the way he keeps the equipment. Are things clean? Neatly arranged? The way a contractor treats his tools is a direct connection to how he’ll treat your home. During the initial meeting, does the contractor present himself in a professional way? Do you feel comfortable around him or his employees?
Tip #5: Clean Up Policy?
Ask about the clean-up policy. For example, if your home improvement is a multi-day project, will the contractor be cleaning up at the end of every day or will he leave the dust, wood chips, and other mess laying there?
Tip #6: Will the Contractor Put It In Writing?
Is your contractor willing to put both his bid and the scope of work in writing? If not – walk away immediately.
Tip #7: Availability?
Can the contractor get the job done in your timeline? There’s nothing more frustrating than if a contractor tells you that a job will be done by a certain date and then it isn’t . On the flip side, if you can’t find a good contractor that’s willing to commit to your timeline, your expectations may be too high.
Tip #8: Does Your Contractor Use “Subs?”
Does your contractor plan on doing everything himself? Or will he “sub out” work to the “trades?” For example, if you are remodeling a bathroom, you may need a plumber, electrician, and carpenter. It’s okay if the contractor subs work out to these specific trades – it shows he wants the work done right.
Tip #9: Quoting & Billing Procedure?
Ask the contractor about his quoting procedure. Will it contain general information, or will it be specific? For example – most contractors will charge you for a fuel surcharge, material up-charges, waste removal, labor, etc.
Also – what is the payment or billing policy? Is money required upfront? If so, go back to #1 and #2 above to make sure you have the contractor’s references checked and have a copy of his contractor’s insurance.
Tip #10: Did Your Contractor Get the Permits?
Ask your contractor to take care of the permits. Although permits cost you money, the inspection process is meant to protect you from poor workmanship and to make sure that everything is being built to code.
By following these 10 tips for hiring a home contractor, you’ll feel more confident that you’ve found the right contractor for your remodeling job.”
To to tour area properties, contact me at 713-818-2404 or via my website, FuellingKaty.com.
Morton Ranch High School FFA Craft Show
Save the date, September 25th, for the Morton Ranch High School FFA Craft Show! If you are interested in participating and want to have a booth, please mail your $65 registration fee to:
Morton Ranch FFA Booster Club
C/O Cheryl Robbins
3739 Havenmoor Place
Katy, TX 77449
Make checks payable to “MRHS FFA Booster Club.” Tables are available for an additional $15 per table. For more information, please e-mail mrhsfaboosterclub@yahoo.com
New UT Study: The Affect of Foreclosures on Crime
According to a recent study from the University of Texas at Austin, while foreclosures may “destabilize and disorganize” communities, they don’t directly affect crime rates.
David Kirk, assistant professor in the department of sociology at UT and the lead researcher on this study said, “Foreclosures do not indepentently affect crime. Rather, both foreclosures and crime are the products of similar community-level factors, which include a community’s clout, (or lack thereof), poverty and segregation.”
Derek Hyra, associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech, was the co-author of the study. Crime and foreclosure data from Chicago during the period of 2000 to 2008 was calculated. During this time, foreclosures tripled. Research focused on the consequences of those rising foreclosure rates including effects on the community structure and crime statistics.
Kirk said. “We were able to statistically adjust for confounding influences such as segregation, the political hierarchy of communities and other unobserved factors predictive of both foreclosures and crime.”
To research foreclosures and to tour properties, contact me at 713-818-2404 or via my website, FuellingKaty.com.
McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, LLC staff helps in the Gulf Shore Oil cleanup
Venice, Louisiana July 22, 2010 – The staff of McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, in conjunction with the National Audubon Society, spent the day on the Gulf Coast as volunteer wildlife transport liaisons.
The staff volunteered in three different locations throughout the coast and Plaquemines Parish: Venice Beach, Joshua Marina, and Delta Marina. The volunteer effort was a success; each employee reiterated that giving back to the community was both gratifying and rewarding. “The oil spill has really hit our community hard, but with everyone’s efforts we can do our part in helping the cleanup and recovery,” said Lee Youngblood, co-founder of McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, and a New Orleans resident.
McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, LLC’s primary volunteer responsibility was to make sure that personnel at Unified Command-Houma Dispatch were assisted in the transportation efforts of affected wildlife to the rehabilitation center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana. McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting staff worked closely with National Audubon Society employees and animal transportation experts.
The animal activity was abnormally low on this day, which experts said could be both good and bad. The decreased pelican sightings were most likely caused by the looming tropical depression Bonnie, said animal transportation expert, Chris Trahan. “Animals naturally go in to hiding when weather patterns change,” said Trahan. The recovered pelicans have been tagged and released in Georgia, Florida, and Texas. Overall, the volunteer efforts were a success, with every McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, LLC employee saying that the experience was both gratifying and rewarding.
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McIntyre Youngblood Recruiting, LLC specializes in direct hire employment, consulting, and temporary staffing of accounting, finance, legal, administrative, and information technology (IT) professionals in Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans. With 30 plus years of experience we provide experienced candidates at all levels including management consulting. MYRecruiting is a certified Woman Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) and HUB qualified. Visit us at www.myrecruiting.biz
Fifteen of Sixteen Cinco Ranch Schools Receive Exemplary Rating
Fifteen of the 16 Katy ISD schools serving the 7,600-acre Cinco Ranch master-planned community have earned the highest possible rating in the 2010 Accountability Ratings just released by the Texas Education Agency.
The 15 schools were all rated Exemplary, the highest of the four ratings assigned by the TEA.
An Exemplary rating means that a campus must have at least 90 percent of its students meet or exceed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) standard on each subject, including Reading, English/Language Arts, Math, Writing, Social Studies and Science. A campus must also have a dropout rate of 2 percent or less to earn an Exemplary rating.
Taylor High School, the only school serving Cinco Ranch that was not rated Exemplary for 2010, received the TEA’s second highest rating, Recognized.
Katy ISD schools attended by Cinco Ranch students include eight elementary campuses: Creech, Exley, Fielder, Griffin, Kilpatrick, Rylander, Stanley and Williams. Middle schools include Beck, Beckendorff, Cinco Ranch, McMeans and Woodcreek. Students also attend Cinco Ranch and Seven Lakes high schools.
“Outstanding schools are a major reason why Cinco Ranch is the number one community in the nation for new-home sales in 2009, and we applaud the students, parents, faculty and all community members for their hard work and achievements,” said Heather Gould, marketing director for Newland Communities, developer of Cinco Ranch.
The 2010 TEA ratings are the latest good news about Cinco Ranch schools. The 2010 “America’s Best High Schools” study by Newsweek ranked Cinco Ranch High School and Seven Lakes High School within the top 3 percent of the nation’s high schools. The study ranked schools based on the number of students taking Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests, divided by the number of graduating seniors.
To tour Cinco Ranch Homes, contact me via FuellingKaty.com. I have sold Katy real estate for 21 years and would enjoy touring Cinco Ranch together.
Cinco Charities Hosts “Sip n Stroll” Wine Tasting
Katy Residents now have their own event for wine lovers! Save the date, Thursday, Sept. 23rd, 5:30 to 8:30, for the 1st Annual Cinco Charities Sip n Stroll. There will be over 20 wine tasting stations, restaurant and chef demos, a specialty brew sampling station, a silent auction and live music.
Villagio Town Center provides the perfect venue. Centered around a cobblestone courtyard with a picturesque fountain and clock tower, Villagio has the atmosphere of a Tuscan village. Villagio is located at the northeast corner of Westheimer Parkway and Peek Road.
Ginger Hopper, Chairperson for Cinco Charities, said, “The Sip n Stroll will be a first of its kind Katy event. We’re excited to partner with Food and Vine Time to make this event a regional favorite.”
Cinco Charities, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing temporary housing for individuals and their families who are hospitalized or receiving treatment in local medical facilities for a serious medical condition. It has been providing housing since 2008. Keller Williams Katy, also located in the Villagio Center, founded and sponsors Cinco Charities.
For more information and to get your tickets contact Sip n Stroll. Tickets are $25 and only 1,000 tickets will be available.
What’s the Current State of Foreclosures in Katy?
Nationwide, foreclosure inventory fell for the third straight month in June. Realty Trac, a subscription service that tracks U.S. foreclosure rates, reports that nationwide foreclosure filings last month dropped 2.81 percent from May’s statistics. This year’s national figures are down 6.98 from June 2009.
Katy has never suffered from the foreclosure disaster at the level plaguing many other areas of the country. Still, there are opportunities to purchase a foreclosure in Katy with inventory on both sides of I-10.
Considering only houses in the Katy Independent School District, there are 24 houses in foreclosure on the southside of I-10 and 36 on the northside.
Most people are surprised to find out there are Read more
HEB at Katy’s Main Street Scheduled to Open
The date has been set, Saturday, August 14, for the opening of the new Katy HEB grocery. The store is located on the south-side of I-10 at the intersection of I-10 and Pin Oak.
The Katy Main Street project, of which HEB is the anchor store, is being developed by Woodcreek Development Company. Eventually, it will include retail shops, restaurants, banks, hotel and office space. A Walgreen’s drugstore was the first business to open. The HEB gas station has a tentative opening date of July 21.
There are three other HEB grocery stores in the Katy area; locations can be found at the Grand Parkway at Fry Blvd; Mason Road at Highland Knolls; and, Fry Road at I-10. The new store will be extremely convenient to residents of Woodcreek Reserve, Firethorne, Old Katy, Pin Oak and the Falcon neighborhoods.
Children’s Parade of Decorated Bikes
Children are invited to decorate their bikes or trikes and show them off at the annual July 4th parade, held at Katy Heritage Park, 5990 George Bush Drive. More details, including times and registration information, will be announced closer to the event. Visit www.katyheritagesociety.com.
It’s Hurricane Season and Flood Insurance Policies are in Congressional Limbo!
According to the Texas Association of Realtors, 1400 homes per day in the United States require flood insurance policies to close. The problem is that no new flood insurance has been written since May 31.
Even though we are in hurricane season, the National Flood Insurance Program has been unable to issue new policies, increase coverage, approve renewal policies or pay claims since the end of May.
Why? The most recent temporary extension, approved by Congress, expired on May 31. The proposed extension of the National Flood Insurance Program is tied to a bill that would provide a temporary extension of unemployment benefits, COBRA health insurance subsidies, and highway and transit programs.
While the bill passed the House of Representatives prior to the June 1 deadline, the Senate defeated the bill in mid-June over concerns that the extension of benefits, those attached to the bill, would increase the federal deficit.
The National Flood Insurance Program was designed to be renewed every five years. However, since expiring in 2009, the program has received only temporary extensions of only 30 days to six months.
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America sent a letter to Congress that said, “The expirations have called into question the very stability of the program as a whole among consumers, agents and companies.”
Four Katy ISD High Schools Make NEWSWEEK’s America’s Best High Schools List!
NEWSWEEK recently released the 2010 list of America’s Best High Schools, representing only 6% of all American public high schools and Katy has made the list, not once but four times as among the top schools in the nation!
Of the top 1,622 schools Cinco Ranch High School ranked # 478, Seven Lakes High School ranked #689, Taylor High School came in at #982, and Katy High School at #1387.
Rankings are determined by a combination of the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge (AICE) tests given at the schools, compared to the number of graduating seniors. To view the full list, please click here.
June 19th and 20th: Katy Open Houses–Grand Lakes and Cinco Ranch’s North Lake Village
A brand new listing in Grand Lakes, a one-story with all the desired bells-and-whistles, and an updated two-story in coveted North Lake Village in Cinco Ranch will be held open this weekend, June 19th and 20th, 2-4 p.m.
The Grand Lakes home, 5406 Faircreek, will be held open on Saturday. North Lake Villages’ 2030 Crystal Downs will be held open on Sunday.
5406 Faircreek: No carpet in this home, stunning wood and tile throughout. Gorgeous granite in kitchen and all baths. Plantation shutters accent all windows. Island kitchen opens to den and breakfast room, great for entertaining. Covered back patio is a great place to relax. No back neighbors. Sprinkler system already in place. One block from a stroll around the lake. All you need to do is move in and call this wonderful house “home”! $364,900. See you there on Saturday, June 19, 2-4 p.m.
2030 Crystal Downs: Very tastefully updated with new paint inside and outside. Granite counter tops. Jennaire cook top, stainless steel kitchen sink and stainless hardware. Wood flooring. The house has rich marble two-story foyer. Plush carpet. Near Cinco Ranch Golf Course. Five bedrooms plus game room/media room and library with hard wood floors. $390,000. Hope to meet you on Sunday, June 20, 2-4 p.m.
For driving directions and/or to schedule a private tour, see FuellingKaty.com.
Tax Credit: Will the Close Date be Extended?
For home purchasers, the first time home buyer’s and existing home owner’s tax credits were extremely popular. The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for existing home owners applied to sales contracts signed no later than the end of April and closing no later than the end of June.
The program was so successful that pending home sales, (contracts signed but not yet closed), in April 2010 rose 22.4% (nationally) when compared to April 2009! However, with increased underwriting turn times, (the time it takes for a mortgage to be approved), many people that met the requirement by signing a contract before the end of April will not be able to close in time. Under the current law, they will lose their tax credit.
With the rush of contracts written, unfortunately, some home builders promised June delivery and they cannot meet that deadline. These buyers will also lose their tax credit. Additionally, there is growing concern that because of the time it takes for banks to complete transactions such as short sales, many of these home purchases would not be complete before the deadline through no fault of the home buyer.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut have introduced an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that would extend the closing time from June 30 to September 30, 2010. It remains to be seen if the proposal will pass; I will keep you posted.
Note: If you did not sign a purchase contract by April 30th, there is no extension for you. The proposed extension is only for those that signed a contract in time but just can’t close on time.
For more information, contact Julie Fuelling @ FuellingKaty.com.
In Memory of Nicole King: Benefit this Weekend
She was a beautiful girl, a precious daughter, sister and loyal friend to many. She was a freshman at Katy High School, full of dreams and hopes for her future. She was a student council member, an athlete and a cheerleader. She was a Christian and enjoyed doing mission work through her church Epiphany of The Lord Catholic Church.
Nicole King was killed in an auto accident involving a person under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Read more
Mortgage Interest Rates Experience Small Increase
Mortgage backed securities, see my article at FuellingKaty.com on Mortgage based securities (MBS), lost 69 basis points last week which caused 30-year fixed rates to increase for both government, (FHA and VA), and conventional loans.
According to Network Funding’s, a local mortgage lender with several locations, Weekly Mortgage Newsletter, “The prior week, mortgage rates were at their best levels of 2010. MBS pricing decreased, (which causes mortgage rates to go up), due primarily to a rebound in the stock markets which pulled some money way from bonds.”
Financial indicators appear to show shows sign of economic expansion. This growth takes a toll on long-term bonds such as MBS. However, it is very important to see the big picture: Mortgage rates remain at fantastic levels!
For specific rates, contact me at FuellingKaty.com. I will be happy to put you in touch with an experienced lender. I have sold Katy real estate for more than 20 years. Experience does count!
Outdoor Kitchens a Favorite Feature of Katy Homebuyers
Have you visited higher-end new construction lately, particularly homes over $400,000? At this price, stunning outdoor kitchens are more a standard than an exception in Katy area model homes.
Buyers are greatly attracted to this feature and many Katy home buyers will pay the substantial price of adding an outdoor kitchen to their new home. Prices vary. Some buyers select the minimum features: An oven, refrigerator, sink and traditional barbeque pit. Others opt for many more upgrades.
Every Katy outdoor kitchen I have seen features stainless steel appliances. A large covered porch is standard. Most homeowners also have or add a pool.
According to RISmedia, ” “Homeowners want a space where they can entertain for large parties, cook meals for the family and comfortably enjoy the outdoors without leaving home.”
RISmedia goes on to state that a deluxe package might feature “a summer kitchen, 96-inch projection screen, full wet bar, extended lanai, pool house, bathroom and outdoor family room.”
The RISmedia article discusses a family who remodeled their home to include all the above features plus outdoor furniture and decor. They spent in access of $90,000! I have never heard of Katy homeowners spending this much money. Every builder and remodeler has their own price list; it is best to contact them directly. I Googled “outdoor kitchens Houston” and got quite a few links.
Like a swimming pool, the entire cost of an outdoor kitchen can rarely be recouped when selling a house. However, Katy houses with this much desired feature usually sell quicker than those without.
To tour houses, both new construction and resale, that feature outdoor kitchens contact me at 713-818-2404 or via email. I have sold Katy real estate for over 20 years. Experience does count!
Katy Texas Buyers: Find Affordable Housing Programs
The federal tax credit may have expired, but there are still many programs in Texas available for Katy home buyers. That’s why the Texas Association of Realtors® created TxHomePrograms.org, a searchable online database of homebuyer-assistance programs.
You can find programs, such as down payment assistance and below-market interest rates, available only in Texas. Many, though not all, of the programs depend on household income and whether the consumer has owned a home in the last three years.
TxHomePrograms.org also has a glossary of real estate terms, outlines the home buying process, and provides information on issues that affect many first-time buyers, such as predatory lending and credit repair. There is a section with advice on how to avoid foreclosure.
Call me at any time, 713-818-2404, for more information. I am always happy to answer your inquiries. I have sold Katy real estate for more than 20 years.
