Mission, Vision and Values for Katy Realtor I completely believe in the concept of keeping as much as possible for my business as simple and direct as possible. Readers will not take the time to read let alone understand long and drawn out posts and let alone Mission, Vision and Value statements.  Below are the Mission, Vision and Value Statement for Bob Gilbert of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties in Katy TX. : ( the name of the Broker is a mouthful to say the least) Mission: To assist individuals and families with being able to live the American Dream by owning or renting their own Homes while providing superior Client Service.  Vision:  My Real estate business to become a huge player and successful one in the Katy, Sugarland and Cypress Real Estate markets while abi... 08/22/2016

Olympian Spirit ActiveRain Challenge here in Katy TX  ActiveRain August Challenge is to discuss the Olympian Spirit and how it applies to each of us. The Olympics are over today as iis this Challenge. I thought about this post and wrote it in my head but never took the time to just write it. I think I have to start with what I think constitutes the Olympian Spirit  and then cover how it applies to me and my life.  The research I did found a man named Pierre de Coubertin invented the modern Pentathlon and he intended the sport to be educational. The olympic Charter established by de Coubertin states “ The practice of sport is a human right”. Everyone should be able to play sport with discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic Spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit o... 08/21/2016

Money Monster is a Flick to See We watched Money Monster on Comcast (we paid) last night based on a recommendation from a friend of ours. This movie stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts. The story is of a TV based personality who reviews the stock market and makes stock recommendations. We believe it was using an existing stock TV program where the stock guy uses all kinds of unconventional methods and quirky means to present and review the stock market.  I have though for a long time the stock market is a controlled market where computerized traders and hedge funds squeeze small individual investors. The stock market is a zero sum game. Money Monster discusses computerized stock market algorithms to do numerous trades of buying and selling every day. In addition, the head of one stoc... 08/21/2016

Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin  Birthday Day is Today Aug 20 Robert Plant lead singer/front man for legendary rock group Led Zeppelin birthday is today August 20. Robert was born in 1948 in West Bromwich Staffordshire England. Led Zeppelin fame began in the late 1960’s and continued until 1980 when drummer John Bonham passed away at Guitarist Jimmy Page’s home. This group has had numerous hit songs and albums.  Robert Plant along with all the other original members of Led Zeppelin have been voted by various music publications or music authorities as one of the best ( top 10) all time for singers, guitarist, drummer and bass/keyboard musicians. An example is Planet Rock voted Robert Plant as the Greatest Voice in Rock in 2008. Since I am huge Zep fan and I heard on the radio it was Robert’... 08/20/2016

Alert : Unknown Animal Spotted during Early Morning in Grand Lakes Earlier this week I was out walking our dog at about 6:10 AM and I saw an unknown animal in the street and hugging the curb while moving very quickly. This was on Center Village Dr. and S. Pavillon Dr. (street that runs around the square shaped Park). This creature was black in color, fairly long but not very tall. It was not a roof rat which are common here and certainly was not an armadillo or a possum which are also common here. Maybe a muskrat?  As I said above, while I was walking our dog I saw something moving in the street, I put light from my flashlight on this creature and that is when it moved even faster than before. I was uncertain where it was headed so I picked up our small dog so she would be safe in my ar... 08/19/2016

Attended Continuing Education (CE) Class Today  The State of Texas through the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) requires all realtors who have over 2 years of experience to take 18 CE hours every two years. If you have less than two years of services there is a much higher number of required hours. Check the TREC web site for the required SAE hours. My licence expires in Feb 2017 and I need to take my CE hours when I have an opportunity. Today I attended Platinum MLS Training class ( 3 hours of credit) at the Pulte Homes model in Pin Oak Enclave Katy TX. The class was free of charge and thank you Pulte Homes.  All Houston Association of Realtors members can sign up for Platinum MLS services. I did as I saw value from the provided services and the cost to me was $129 for the year. The... 08/18/2016

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Reflection on the Lake Below is a picture of one of the Lakes in Grand Lakes Katy TX neighborhood which shows the reflection of the American Flag and a home in the neighborhood. I really like water reflection pictures even though this not a really good shot.  Posting this type of picture might not be politically correct these days in some quarters but then again I am not politically correct about much of anything! Oh Well..  Almost Wordless Wednesday - Reflection on the Lake 08/17/2016

Harris County TX Conducts Citizen’s Police Academy  Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman is inviting Harris County residents to attend Citizen’s Police Academy which starts its 11 week program on Thursday August 18, 2016. These classes are held one night each week for the 11 week . The mission is to educate citizens about the realities of law enforcement while receiving their feedback and concerns.  Participants are taken behind the badge which gives them a view of law enforcement from an officer’s perspective who is patrolling the streets. These classes include classroom instruction and is combined with hands on experiences that in many instances is similar to the training all officers have to go through.   Participants will be exposed to arrest procedures, firearms training simulator, li... 08/16/2016

Seven Lakes High School - Spartan Spectacular  Seven Lakes High School which is one of seven traditional High Schools in the Katy ISD system will hold its Spartan Spectacular on Tuesday August 16, 2016. The event starts at 5 PM and lasts until 8 PM. It will be followed by a Pep Rally at which starts at 8 PM.  This event provides students with time to pick up their schedules, register for numerous club opportunities and arrange on-campus parking prior to the first day of school.  Seven Lakes High School is located at 9251 Fry Road, Katy TX 77494 and phone is 281-237-2800. Ted Vierling is the principal.  Katy ISD starts the 2016-2017 school year on Monday August 22, 2016. Drivers be alert as children of all ages will be walking to school or catching buses once again. Slow down in neighbor... 08/15/2016

Almost Speechless Sunday - Austin, TX There are many major advantages of living in Katy TX and certainly taking a trip to Austin, TX is one of those advantages. Austin is approx. 125 miles from Katy, TX and taking Highway 71 from Interstate I-10 makes this trip a manageable and not a nerve racking drive. I-10 is usually loaded with traffic and most drivers are traveling at high rate of speed.   We went to Austin yesterday for a quick trip and returned this morning. Yolanda had a rare Saturday off. We met an old and dear friend in Austin last night we had seen for sometime. We also had  lots of fun walking in Downtown Austin as we stayed at the Driskill Hotel which is Hyatt Hotel.  Here are a few pictures..  Willie Nelson in Downtown Austin.    Almost Speechless Sunday - Austin, TX 08/14/2016

Home Seller Tip #3 - Don’t Forget Front Door and Porch This is the third post in my series of home selling tips which are aimed to be short in length and cover items which are many times overlooked by sellers and or agents. See list of prior seller tips with links at bottom of this post. The front door and porch should not be ignored or forgotten about by sellers. I have seen on several occasions homes for sale in Katy and the surrounding areas where the front door was a mess and or the whole front porch and entryway appeared to be in poor condition. Many times just a simple cleanup would have made a huge difference in the appearance. A potential buyer walks behind their Realtor and waits while the Supra key or lockbox is attended to and the door is opened. Their eyes cannot miss a poor... 08/12/2016

Katy ISD to Open School for Dropouts Fall 2016 Approximately 275 students every year drop out of Katy ISD for various reasons. These include teen pregnancy, necessity for the teenager to work and rocky homelife. This issue of school dropouts has never been addressed until now at least here in Katy and the surrounding areas. A KISD Academy in partnership with the Simon Youth Foundation will begin fall of 2016 holding classes for dropouts at Katy Mills Mall. The class schedule starts around sometime in September with a Grand Opening set for September 22, 2016. This program needs the support of both local mall and school district.  The Simon Property Group owns and operates Katy Mills Mall and created the Simon Youth Foundation (SYF) which is a non-profit organization who partners with pub... 08/11/2016

    Almost Wordless Wednesday - fitbit London Underground Badge I started wearing a fitbit Charge back in Mid-June here in Katy TX. Data from some specific days has not been recorded as the fitbit was being charged or I could not charge the unit. The fitbit has to have its internal battery charged up every few days. The fitbit charge is pretty accurate except when you use a treadmill and it does not pick up about one mile of steps. Why?? I have no idea..  My walking data is actually higher than reported. I finally remembered to sync the unit on this past Monday to their online dashboard which keeps all of one’s statistics being steps each day, sleep, calories burned, exercise if recorded, food if recorded, etc. Fitbit gives folks recognition for certain achievements. I got their London ... 08/10/2016

Home Seller Tip #2 - Good Street Visibility of a Home is Critical This is the second post in my series of home selling tips which are aimed to be short in length and cover items which are many times overlooked by sellers and or agents. The street visibility of any home which is for sale is extremely important. This means as buyers drive by or stop to look at the outside of the home or even walk past, the view should not be obstructed. In the past, I have had buyer clients who told me to go to the next appointment when the front of the home was not easily visible for whatever reason from the street.  I have recently seen homes which are for sale in Katy TX where and anyone driving past or even stopping to view cannot get a good look at the home. The cars are owned by the homeowners. Many... 08/08/2016

Serendipity Sunday - Chicago Trip 2014 I found some pictures this morning I took on our short stay trip to Chicago during Oct 2014. I grew up in Chic Town but had not been back to see the city since I left in the late 1970’s. Chicago certainly has changed for the better since those days and especially Downtown. I found these pictures and it put a  huge smile on my face. There are so many things to see and do in Chicago as the list goes on and on. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time during our too short of a stay trip.     Serendipity Sunday - Chicago Trip 2014  08/07/2016

Working in Backyard Today in Katy TX I has arranged last week to have Bruno come by today to power wash the back yard patio tile and the pea gravel that is around our pool here in Grand Lakes.  I wrote a post last Saturday about the great job Bruno did on power washing our driveway and sidewalks. This of course forced me to move everything off our covered patio and purge things that needed to be thrown away.  While Bruno worked I pulled all the weeds in the back beds. Many years ago we had my step-sons be in charge of pulling weeds back here and we have had a weed issue in these beds ever since.  The long term objective is get our home cleaned up, updated and ready to list for sale. So far this year we have had to replace the master bath toilet ( I still cannot believe how expensive a t... 08/06/2016

Bill Anderson Air an Excellent Choice for HVAC Service We discovered Bill Anderson Air a few years ago from using Angie’s List. They have serviced our heating and cooling needs since then. We have had our furnace replaced by them: recently had them replace one of the AC units and they have done all the needed maintenance work every Spring and Fall for our home in Grand Lakes. Bill Anderson Air in my opinion does a wonderful job. Residents of Houston/Katy like most major cities have the real need to find reputable service companies to maintain cars, HVAC systems, yard work, sprinkler systems, security systems, the list goes on and on, etc. It usually is a struggle to find reputable, dependable and honest service folks to provide the needed services. We have been fortunate as we found Bil... 08/05/2016

Abilities Expo August 5 - August 7, 2016 at NRG Center  The Abilities Expo is being held tomorrow Friday August 5 thru Sunday August 7, 2015 at NRG Center Hall E. This Expo has a clever name as it is geared for individuals who unfortunately have some type of disability. The main mission of the Expo is to empower folks who have some type of handicap to overcome their disability and enjoy life to its fullest. The Expo starts each day at 11 AM and runs till 5 PM and Sunday it ends at 4 PM. There is No Admission charge. NRG Center is a fairly easy drive from Katy on a  summer Friday to be there at 11 AM and also easy drive on both Saturday or Sunday.  The featured events are : State of the art tech; Leading edge products; Assistance Animals; Adaptive Sports; Inclusive Dance; Vital Services;... 08/04/2016

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Istanbul Turkey During Spring 2013 we were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to spend a few days in Istanbul, Turkey. I thought of Turkey as recently  I heard there was a travel advisory issued by US State Department stating American Citizens should not travel there due to potential danger. This advisory was issued after the failed military coup.   We had a great time in Turkey and we found the people to be very friendly and most we encountered liked Americans. Fascinating country with so many wonderful sites to see and new things to experience/learn including the call to prayer. Yolanda wishes she had gone back before these recent events took place. We did hire a local tour guide and that was the only way to go in my opinion for numerous reasons.  Turk... 08/03/2016

Fort Bend County TX - Dogs must be on a Leash I have seen and heard about numerous occasions where dogs or pets have not been restrained by a leash in Grand Lakes and in several other local neighborhoods. It is the law in Fort Bend County TX that all pets must be vaccinated for rabies, registered and  restrained in a fenced backyard or on a leash. All Just when they are outside the confines of a fenced back yard. Do not assume you pet is harmless when the pet is being walked in any neighborhood. Use a leash. I cringe every time I see a dog not on a leash while being walked.   If you find any animal roaming around freely in the a neighborhood it is advised to call Fort Bend Animal Control at 281-342-1512. Be very careful approaching any roaming animal as you do not know how they will rea... 08/02/2016