West Ave - Oooo La La

Gables West Ave is the ambitious mixed use residential development at the corner of Kirby and Westheimer. The project takes up one city block and is a combination of residential living quarters and retail shopping.

Mixed use developments are a result of the desire to be able to live within walking distance of shopping, dining and playing. This recent phenomenon in Houston is born from the rising cost of fuel and a desire to leave behind smaller carbon footprints. In a city such as Houston where the absence of zoning laws make it difficult to provide an effective mass transportation system this is especially true.

A recent visit to this pedestrian friendly development left us almost totally speechless. Words that immediately come to mind are, chic, hip, elegant and stunning. The first thing that strikes you the most is that the property has high ceilings almost everywhere. Then you notice the details, the elegant stone work and the Art Deco.

Each apartment unit comes with nothing short of 10' ceilings and if you should reside on the top floor, your ceilings are as high as 12' or 14'. Add ceiling to floor windows to the mix for an elegant home you'll never want to leave.

Interiors include Brazilian hard wood floors, two-toned granite in gourmet kitchens, painted accent walls, stainless steel appliances and digital programmable thermostats. Our favorite interior feature is the I-Pod docking station that feeds your desired tunes through a built-in speaker system. They really get their clientele!

The entire residential part of this community is apartment living. We assumed that some aspect of the project would include condominiums since Gables recently converted their sister property on Kipling into upscale condos and sold them off. No such plans seem to be in the making for a similar fate at this property.

They have started leasing their residential units and have exciting plans for the retail aspect of their project. Tootsies, a high fashion women's retail store is slated to move in shortly. Robert Del Grande is planning on opening a restaurant along similar veins as his restaurant Cafe Annie as are the owners of Eddie V's planning to open something special. Oh, and let's not forget the 10,000 sq. ft. Roman day spa.

Pedestrian friendly communities seem to be the next attraction for various locations in Houston.

Other mixed use developments are on their way to Houston, too. Houston icon, Ed Wulfe, since 2005, has been developing the area at San Felipe and Post Oak. And GID Group out of Boston is in the planning process of Regent Square located at the corner of Allen Parkway and Dunlavy.

Woodland Heights

If you're looking for a charming historic area of Houston in which to live, Woodland Heights is the place to be. Platted in 1907, this area is one of the closest residential communities to downtown Houston.

The homes in Woodland Heights are generally bungalows or arts and crafts style homes. One can still find several of the Craftsman homes that were so popular last century. Many of them have been renovated to include modern features while keeping with the original feel and layout of the home when it was originally built.

This community is bound as follows: 11th street to the North, I-45 to the East, Studewood to the West and I-10 to the South.

Single family homes and lots in this area start well above $200k.

Woodland Heights also has a lot of personality. Every year, one Saturday in the month of December, the community hosts an event called Lights in the Heights. Residents during this time of year totally redefine "bling". And each year, it becomes more interesting. For just one evening, large sections of the community are corded off so that pedestrians can walk up and down the streets to enjoy the creatively decorated homes while sipping Wassel and listening to various performers play Christmas music.

Some even say the community has a quirky side to it. We would have to agree. Always in good taste, residents of this community find fun and creative ways to express themselves.

If you would like to learn more about this community, you may do so here: Woodland Heights Civic Association

Changes in FHA

If you are a first time home buyer and you are looking to buy a house but don't have a lot of cash to put down, FHA financing is still a good and viable option.

The attractive aspects of FHA financing are two-fold: flexibility regarding credit and the low downpayment requirement.

There are some changes occuring in FHA financing, an effort on their part to improve the health and strength of the program.

If your credit score is less than 580, you will now be required to put a 10% downpayment on the house. Before the new ruling, you were required to put only 3.5% down. Regardless, 580 is still an achievable credit score.

Another change is that the seller can only contribute 3% towards closing costs, whereas before, the FHA allowed up to 6%.

And then, finally, the agency has increased the required Mortgage Insurance Premium from 1.75% to 2.25%; the result of this change will be an increase in monthly payments.

In sum, these changes will require the buyer to have more cash on hand for closing costs and perhaps a lower priced home in order to cover the increase in monthly payments resulting from the change in Mortgage Insurance. None of these changes are severe enough to create any huge change in demand for FHA financing.