Steve Castaneda's Blog: All Categories

To the Northwest you'll find a part of Houston filled with a bustling city lifestyle, yet also with an environment filled with tress, parks, and towering trees.

Cypress real estate features homes that are built in master planned communities and subdivisions with an appeal to those wanting large, mature trees and a landscape to enjoy on those breezy summer days.

You will also find that Cypress is located in one of the best educational districts in Houston. This is of vital importance to not only your family, but with your home's ability to appreciate in value as well.

 

Master Planned Communities

Master Planned Community - a large scale development designed to offer home owners an attractive and convenient lifestyle within the confines of the…

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So a man has until the ripe age of 127 to pay off his 25 year mortgage.  Pretty interested read; I highly doubt the bank didn't think of a contingency plan before giving this man an interest only 200,000 mortgage (in pounds).  For the most part, perhaps they have some kind of next-of-kin clause where they can pursue the debt with the debtors family?  I'd be neat if a mortgage professional could chime in on this one and add their two cents.

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Steve Castaneda, Realtor is a Houston Real Estate agent specializing in the Northwest part of Houston. Read Full Post

I had a chance to read an interview in Realtor Magazine - April 2007 with NAR chief economist David Lereah, and I think he had some great insight into the reason why much of the real estate market began to forget about the localization of real estate market.
During the boom, people forgot about the fundamentals and started seeing real estate as a single market.

In response to a question from the interviewer about why it's important to dig deeper than the metro-area level for market distinctions, Lereah responded:

...that's why the role of Realtors and lenders is so critical. Essentially what I learned is that real estate sites like Zillow and Trulia, though great tools to look at, really don't help the real estate consumer besides showing them a… Read Full Post

Houston is on fire with talk about an up and coming master planned community set to make it's full debut in 2007. Bridgeland is a 10,000 acre master planned community located in Cypress, Texas, set to house 65,000 residents in 21,000 homes. Homeowners will be able to enjoy a wide variety of features an amenities that only a community like Bridgeland, one that's been in the development phase for years, can provide.

The residents of this luxurious community will enjoy a system of waterways, lakes, parks, trails, fishing, an 18-hole golf course, baseball fields, and even open space for leisure sports such a throwing a frisbee. Bridgeland is devoted to providing a community built around nature, will massive planning going in to preserve the natural wooded…

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Located on the corner of Highway 290 and Barker Cypress, Coles Crossing is quickly becoming a fantastic place to live. Residents of Coles Crossing will enjoy many amenities through nearby shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, and access to a major thoroughfare into the center of Houston. The Northwest part of Houston is growing at a rapid pace. New master planned communities are hitting the map each and every year. Coles Crossing was a community that is taking advantage of this wave, providing steady appreciation rates to homeowners.

Coles Crossing has it's fair share of amenities to those living and visiting the area. Newcomers are greeting with a "country-living" lifestyle, while not forgetting to provide the latest technologies to it's residents.…

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In 2003 the Rock Creek master planned community built by the Caldwell Watson real estate group began to take shape. Built on 215 acres, Rock Creek offers their residents many amenities to enjoy. These amenities include streams, five connected lakes, jogging paths and an greenbelt system to enjoy. You'll also be pleased to know that the Rock Creek community center has an olympic-size swimming pool, a luxurious clubhouse, and a playground for your children to enjoy.

Rock Creek is located in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district, which is a highly regarded school district in Houston. With recognitions such as a "Recognized" rating on TAAS scores, and the many schools which carry the "Exemplary" rating, your children are in one of the best educational…

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I received an offer in on one of my real estate listings yesterday, and I went through the normal routine of asking myself, “How can technology help me present this offer in its best light?”. I jumped into my contact management program, Top Producer 7i, and quickly found my way over to the financial section to work on a seller net sheet. Using this tool is very simple and intuitive, and it helped me create a professional looking net sheet that is presentable in a professional way.

The last thing I want is to scribble down a net sheet on a piece of paper, and that’s exactly why Top Producer’s net sheet calculator shines. It has a nifty built in report function that will print out and summarize the expenses and income of the sale. At the bottom of all the…

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Beginning in 1988, the Friendswood Development company purchased 3,200 acres of land in Northwest Houston with the intention of housing 5,000 families in a community filled with amenities. Amenities include a basketball court, fitness, special events room, and classroom areas. You will also find a competition size swimming pool, tennis courts, and a lovely baseball park for your family to enjoy. Fairfield is currently homes to eight lakes, six neighborhood parks and pools, and numerous greenbelts and smaller parks.

Since Fairfield is a very large community, homeowners also have their own medical centers, police and fire departments, schools, churches, and shopping to suit all ages. Fairfield is located in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district, which is a…

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