Convenient and comfortable laundry rooms are an increasingly popular feature among home buyers.

Tom Byrne, president of Rockville, Md.-based Chadsworth Homes Inc., says they are more popular than such features as studies and media rooms.

“In the past few years, 30 percent of the homes we build … have a laundry room with granite countertops, a single-level kitchen-style faucet, and the laundry tub will be an undercounter sink,” Byrne says.

Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders, concurs.

“These rooms are becoming larger and more multifunctional, with organizers, a table for folding, ironing stations, and windows with a view,” Melman says.

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.

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.

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.

Money spent sprucing up the yard with trees, shrubs, lighting, and patios is well worth it — especially when it comes time to sell the home, a new study says.

The report, by Arbor National Mortgage, found that 84 percent of real estate professionals believe a house on a treed lot would fetch at least 20 percent more than one on a lot without trees.

Another of the company’s surveys suggested that while shelling out for top-of-the line landscaping may only bring in an additional 4 percent to 5 percent, spending minimal amounts has a penalty. Home with average landscaping sell for 20 percent more than homes with just fair landscaping.

The American Society of Landscape Architects suggests budgeting 5 percent to 10 percent of a home’s value for its initial landscaping.

Before launching into a landscaping project, keep these pointers in mind:

· If you can’t afford to hire a landscape architect, check out the services offered by nurseries and big-box home improvement retailers, such as Home Depot. Many offer design services — sometimes without charge — if you are buy plants there.

· You can save about half the cost of landscaping if you do the work yourself. But keep in mind that large trees are often killed when carried uncovered in the back of the buyer’s SUV from the nursery to the house, not because they are planted poorly. Also, most nurseries won’t guarantee plants they don’t install.

· If you’re trying to stick to a tight budget, remember that a few larger plants will have a greater visual impact than many small ones.

· Before planting trees, determine how large they will become and what leaf pattern will develop. If you plant a big tree too close to the house, the growing roots could cause the foundation to crack. And if you place it too near a sidewalk or driveway, root expansion could cause the pavement to buckle.

Beware.
Plenty of home owners have tapped into their home equity in recent years to finance improvement projects in the hopes of boosting resale value. However, it’s important to avoid overimproving,
as owners likely will not recoup their costs when they sell.

If owners must unload their property quickly, there is even a chance that they could owe more than the dwelling is worth.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a fairly significant core of the population spending more than half the value of their home on improvements,” says Kermit Baker, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Remodeling expenditures hit $127 billion in 2004, marking a gain of 6 percent from the previous year, according to the center. To avoid overimproving, home owners are encouraged to consult a real estate professional, who can conduct a comparable sales analysis and provide information about how certain projects would impact
resale value.

Experts also discourage unique designs that are not likely to be appealing to a wide range of buyers. The 2005 Cost vs. Value Report, which is published jointly by Remodeling magazine and REALTOR® Magazine, shows that home owners can recoup more than 100 percent of the cost of upscale siding and mid-range bathroom upgrades, 95 percent
of the cost of a two-story addition, and close to 99 percent of the costs of a minor kitchen remodel.