The Titus Woman Ministry is a 501 (c)3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the community through the holistic development of women in need.

One of our primary goals is to construct and operate a homeless shelter for women and their children in the Waller area, with the intent of equipping the women to enter (or re-enter) mainstream society and become self-sustaining and providers for their children. This proposed shelter will be constructed in Waller County, Texas and will house families from all the surrounding communities.

We have opened a resale shop, name Grace & Mercy, on March 1, 2008. Funds obtained from sales of merchandise at the Grace & Mercy resale shop will help fund this project, we are asking for the support of your church and the community to make the vision a reality. Come out and buy our resale merchandise.

Any donations to this worthy cause will be appreciated.

The shop is called Grace & Mercy for it was God’s grace that gave us the vision and His mercy will allow us to carry it through. Can we count on you?

The resale shop wiill carry furniture, clothing (for the family), household goods, and much, much more. It is located at 71 Scroggins Lane Waller, Texas (off FM 1488 In the Held Store Mini Warehouses). The grand opening was March 1, 2008.

For further information and/or donations, contact Rosemary Butler @ 936-931-1726; 281-682-4177 or Carol O’Brien @) 281-302-S333 or Fern Poyser at 936.931.3344. Pass the word and support this God given vision. We thank you in advance for what you will do.

While it seems no one has a crystal ball about the housing market, you’d assume it’s a bad time to build that dream home – at least until the market comes into some kind of balance.

But the truth is, it may never be a better time to build. The silver lining in all this is that land prices have been and continue to go down, materials prices are competitive and there are a lot of contractors out of work, willing to resort to bargain basement prices for their services.

According to CNN Money, framing lumber is now 18 percent cheaper than it was a year and a half ago, while drywall is selling for 40 percent less. Even land prices are 20 percent lower in some areas due to developers having acquired too much land before the bubble hit.

Thanks to a 34 percent decline in new home starts, you won’t have to get on most builders’ waiting lists, either.

According northern California-based Kensington Homes’ custom homebuilder Jeremy Bernau, just a few years ago when the real estate frenzy was in full bloom, the cost of materials, land and labor was skyrocketing.

Because contractors and trades were so busy, they could charge pretty much anything they wanted for their services. Of course, all that has now changed and a lot of the costs now are reminiscent of ten years ago.

To top it off, many cities and towns are making it easier to cut through the red tape when building a home these days. Building permit and impact fees are adjusting downwards in some areas as a response to changes in the market.

Of course, building a new custom home isn’t something to enter into lightly. Building on speculation or to “flip” a property for a profit may not be a safe bet right now.

But if you’ve been hanging on to land for just the right time to build your dream home to stay in for the long term, it just may be time to dust off those blueprints and get busy getting some bids.

The Titus Woman Ministry is preparing to take Waller County for Jesus!

We have secured retail space in the Fieldstore area of northern Waller county to open the Grace & Mercy resale shop.  This will enable us to be open more often in an effort to generate the funds necessary to work towards the shelter for women and children in Waller county.

We praise God for this small stride and look forward to many, many more fruitful days and bountiful blessings as we reach out to the community.

A recently enacted law (HB 1530, 80th Legislature, Regular Session) requires any person applying for or renewing a broker or salesperson license on or after January 1, 2008 to provide their fingerprints, in a specified format, in order to enable an FBI criminal history check to be performed. These new fingerprint requirements apply only to brokers and salespersons. They do not apply to other TREC licensees, such as home inspectors. Once fingerprints are on file with DPS for a TREC license, a licensee will not need to be fingerprinted for subsequent renewals.

This new fingerprinting requirement for Texas realtors is very welcome.  This is good news for the real estate community.  It will give homeowners and property owners a greater sense of security knowing that the people responsible for selling or showing their homes are not wanted for any crimes.  Also, should any criminal activity occur within or on a property owner’s property, the law enforcement agencies can quickly and easily identify the perpetrator(s) through this new fingerprinting requirement.

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) conducts background checks on ALL licensees.  This new fingerprinting requirement will NOT affect current licensees’ licensing status UNLESS that person has committed a new crime and is convicted of a felony offense within the state of Texas. 

If a licensee has committed new crimes and has new felony convictions which were not reported to TREC since he or she last applied for a real estate license, the new convictions resulting from a background check may or may not hinder the issuance of a real estate license.  TREC will decide if the licensee’s license should be renewed after conducting their own independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the new felony conviction.

Under no circumstances will TREC suspend or revoke a licensee’s license unless (1) they falsify or try to hide any new felony convictions (2) they willingly lie about having new felony convictions (3) they refuse to submit to fingerprinting and background checks and (4) they fail to pay their renewal fees or honor any delinquent debts owed to TREC.

While homebuilders all over the country are searching for ways to beat the odds in a depressed housing market, one small New York builder is doing it one house at a time.

Former commercial builder Charles Petersheim left Manhattan right after 9/11 for Sullivan County, a remote stretch of the Catskill Mountains.

The first job he landed there was fixing up the barns. It was then that he got the idea to create homes that echo the past using a well thought-out combination of salvaged and new materials. The result? The Catskill Farms — brand new 100 year old farm houses. While capturing the charm, beauty and character of the early 1900’s, all the hassles and maintenance related to an old house are eliminated.

These vintage style homes boasting reclaimed barn beams, old mantels and banisters, clapboard siding, wide-plank floors, cast iron radiators and clawfoot tubs are built from the ground up – but are also appointed with all the modern conveniences, such as whole-house audio and automated security systems — giving the term “shabby chic” new meaning.

His buyers? Urbanite New Yorkers cramming themselves into small rental spaces during the week have been buying one of Petersheim’s homespun creations for weekend retreats — a welcome alternative to taking on the types of projects featured in TV programs like “This Old House.”

Just goes to show you that they CAN build them like they used to — only better.

FERN POYSER HAS JOINED THE TITUS WOMAN MINISTRY LAUNCHED BY ROSEMARY BUTLER IN WALLER, TX.

Titus Woman Ministry has opened a resale shop on March 1 in Waller, Texas.

WALLER – The Titus Woman Ministry is a 501 (c)3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the community through the holistic development of women in need.

One of our primary goals is to construct and operate a homeless shelter for women and their children, with the intent of equipping the women to enter (or re-enter) mainstream society and become self-sustaining and providers for their children. This proposed shelter will be constructed in Waller County, Texas and will house families from all the surrounding communities.

We will open a resale shop, named Grace and Mercy, March 1,2008. To help fund this project, we are asking for the support of your church and the community to make the vision a reality. Come out and buy our resale merchandise.

Any donations to this worthy cause will be appreciated.

The shop is called Grace and Mercy for it was God’s grace that gave us the vision and His mercy will allow us to carry it through. Can we count on you?

The resale shop wiill carry furniture, clothing (for the family), household goods, and much, much more. It is located at 71 Scroggins Lane Waller, Texas (off FM 1488 In the Field Store Mini Warehouses). The grand opening was March 1, 2008.

Thereafter, the resale shop will be open the first Saturday of each month with the same operating hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..

For further information and/or donations, contact Rosemary Butler @ 936-931-1726; 281-682-4177 or Carol O’Brien @) 281-302-5333; 713-294-1476 Fern Poyser @ 936-931-3344. Pass the word and support this God given vision. We thank you in advance for what you will do.

I love New York, but there is absolutely no comparing New York and Waller.  How vastly different are these two cities!

On a recent trip to New York, I made an interesting observance:

High rise gardens!  Yep! That’s right! Gardens 30 stories high!

Here in Waller, Texas we have become accustomed to living in wide open spaces, on acres of land.  The land just seems to go on forever and ever.  There is an abundance of trees, shrubs and greenery of all types and sizes, not to mention wildlife!

New Yorkers have a few inches of space (literally in some areas) within which to live … and grow a garden.

Did I mention the abundance of ponds and lakes in the Waller area available for fishing?

A trip to New York’s Coney Island yielded this beauty! What a catch! No catfish on these shores!

Even though I live in Waller, I still love New York and always will.  Highrise gardens and all.

Builders are learning that smaller, affordable homes have big selling power in the sluggish housing market.Among the nation’s larger builders, KB Home of Los Angeles is leading the way toward downsizing. “Smaller homes generate lower revenues, but they sell faster, therefore the cash returns are better,” says KB Home’s chief executive, Jeffrey Mezger.

Other major builders, including Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton Inc., also have started downsizing some home offerings

KB embarked on its strategy nine months ago to build more small, affordable homes. It declined to disclose national sales figures, but has said it sold 48 units in the past eight weeks at a Las Vegas community where homes range from 1,267 square feet to 1,608 square feet with prices that start at $195,590.

These homes are about 500 square feet smaller than KB believed home buyers preferred a year ago, Mezger says.

The prices also are as much as 20 percent cheaper than they were before the downsizing, although buyers can still opt for a bevy of amenities that drive up the final price.

Source: The Associated Press, Alex Veiga (07/05/2007)