About Katy's West Memorial

We receive many requests from first time buyers and out of State transferees for neighborhoods that have prices they can handle, schools within walking distance, close to work (main highways), and near shopping and medical facilities. This would be a tall order in any area but we may have just the right neighborhood they are looking for right here in Katy...and it is called West Memorial!

West Memorial is a small (by Katy standards) subdivision conveniently located just south of I-10, west of Mason Rd, and north of Kingsland Blvd. It is bordered to the west by Governor's Place (a higher end subdivision of larger homes). The homes in West Memorial are older (by Katy standards), all built in the 1970's and 1980's. The majority of the homes are one story and usually range in size from 1500sqft up to about 2500sqft. The price range for homes in West Memorial run from just under $100,000 to about $150,000.

Many residents in West Memorial chose the neighborhood because of the Elementary and Jr High School campus that is situated in the center of the subdivision. These schools are within walking distance of virtually the entire community. The pool, park, and meeting clubhouse are quite nice...and for the use of West Memorial residents (an extra charge for the pool applies each year).

The proximity to amenities is what sets West Memorial apart from many competing neighborhoods. It is just minutes away from the new Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Katy Mills Mall, the Houston Energy Corridor, and the Mason Rd shops and stores.

For Questions about West Memorial or any of our fine Katy Subdivisions please call or e-mail Team DiMuria at 281-492-5916 or jeffreydimuria@garygreene.com

Team DiMuria can be reached on the web at: www.KatyHomeFinder.com

History of WEST MEMORIAL SUBDIVISION

by Liz Carter, owner/broker Liz Carter & Team Realty

This area in Katy Texas was one of the very first subdivisions to be built in the far west area of Houston. It is located at I-10 @ Mason Road and host approximately 2000 homes. The building began in the very early 1970's and was built as most of the area homes are on what used to be rice fields in the Katy Prairie. There was little else around in those days so the sunsets over the vacant land were spectacular. It was also common to see the thousands of geese flying and landing, they were drawn to the rice fields, and Katy Texas also lies in their migratory path. The subdivision was well planned and laid out almost in a square that boarders I-10 to the north, Mason Rd. to the east, Kingsland Blvd. to the south, and Coppersmith to the West. There are two main boulevards that cut through the area, Provincial Blvd. that runs east to west and Promenade Blvd. that runs north to south. 37 years later the trees along Provincial form a canopy that reach across the four lane street and in some areas touch the trees on the other side.

Another great thing in this subdivision is there are two schools almost in the center of the subdivision that are within walking/biking distance from the whole area. West Memorial Elementary and West Memorial Jr. High are located at the intersection of the two boulevards that also feature a circle in the middle planted with shrubs and flowers. When I first started showing and selling homes here my office was in Houston at I-10 and Bunker Hill in 1976. Buyers would start to wonder were the heck I was taking them around Hwy. 6, since there literally was nothing between that stretch of I-10 except the beginnings of Park Ten. I really liked the peace and small town atmosphere of the area and moved my office to I-10 @ Mason Rd. in 1978 and also bought a home in West Memorial that I lived in for the next 17 years. I even remember the first time I noticed the trees when they reached the point of being visible from I-10 and were higher than the roofs of the homes J...the good old days! However there were a few drawbacks, no grocery stores, no restaurants, no shopping, no movie theaters, etc., now that has certainly changed. Mason Road at the time dead-ended at Highland Knolls, and Hartz Chicken was about our only choice for lunch or dinner. As with all areas of Houston during the "oil bust" in the late 80's, early 90's, prices plummeted, however West Memorial tended to be a little better off than some of the areas north of I-10. Now many of the homes have been remodeled, and the taxes for the area are far below almost all of the other areas since the MUD taxes have been paid off. This area offers many benefits especially price. Pictured is the large park area, there are also two pools.

Below is a chart/snapshot of homes and prices in West Memorial for 2007 from Houston MLS. There were a total of 74 homes sold, and there are currently 23 homes for sale, and 2 pending sales. A=active for sale, S=sold & closed, DOM=days on market, SP/LP=% of asking price to sales price (some variables not noted i.e. buyers closing cost paid by seller rolled into sales price)

Liz Carter area specialist since 1976, http://www.lizcarter.com/. 281-391-SOLD (7653)

FUNNY TRUE STORY; CLUELESS REALTOR IN KATY (Houston) TX.

I got my real estate license in 1976 and was very excited about my new career. I was given a desk complete with a phone (they were rotary back in the old days) and told good luck...that was the extent of my training. After about a week of sitting at my desk and staring at my phone expecting something to happen I got bored (and more brook), so I went to my manager and ask if there was something I should be doing? He told me, "Well why don't you go knock on some doors". Actually good advice however I did not know it at the time plus that's all he said, he didn't tell me what to say or offer any other insightful ideals.

With nothing to loose except my dignity I got in my car armed with some brand new business cards (any one out there remember the franchise Red Carpet Realty?), and off I went in search of some doors to knock on. After driving around until my gas gage indicated I would have to stop soon or else. I gathered up my courage and business cards and got out of the car in a neighborhood that was fairly close to my office in the SPRING BRANCH area of HOUSTON. I went to the first house on the block I had stopped on and went to my first door and "knocked"....THANK GOD NO ONE WAS HOME :), what a relief! Arriving at my 5^th home, there was a man on a ladder painting his house. I called out, "Hi my name is Liz Carter, (my first brilliant word of the day), and I'm with Red Carpet real estate". Fortunately he was a nice man and came down of the ladder and shook my hand. I see you are doing some painting...DUH, my next brilliant statement, he responded with yes since he had just found out he was being transferred was fixing up his home to sell. Remember this was 31+ years ago and I still remember the conversation vividly. Well I just stood there, and he finally said, "Would you like to see the house?" Yes of course, triple DUH, and in we went. Not having a clue what to do next, thank God my office was close by and after several trips back and forth from his house to my office and back, he and his wife signed a listing agreement with me. The whole time spent from start to finish was around 6 hours; this might be the longest listing appointment of recorded history!

In about a week the seller called me and said that one of his co-workers wanted to see his home and could I meet them there? Is there another word for Duh???, so off I went and low and behold after viewing the home they said to me, "We would like to buy this house". The saying, you could have knocked me over with a feather comes to mind, and I managed to say let's go back to my office. I promptly and of course barely able to hide my excitement went in search of someone to help me, since I was still CLUELESS. Thank goodness my manager was there and went in and explained everything to the buyers and wrote the contract. Then wallah in about four weeks I got a check, and thought boy have I found the right "job"! The transaction went smoothly and no one got hurt, surly there was divine intervention. This is a funny and scary at the same time true story of my fist real estate transaction. Now looking back, with thousands of closing later I of course realize how disastrous this could have turned out.

It's sad but the consumer today faces the same problems many years later, getting stuck with a clueless agent who is totally untrained, under educated, and has no ideal of what they are doing. Most agents do not get proper training even today, they are told to take floor time, hold open houses, run print ads, and hope someone calls them. When I was licensed it only took 30 hours of classes, pass the state test, join the MLS, and you became a HOUSTON Realtor. Thank God we have increased that and there have been other good things, but still sadly we have too many people who hold a license who should not.

I just finished writing on active rain my TOP TEN REAL ESTATE THINGS TO BE POSITIVE ABOUT IN 2008 .Positive for 2008; Represents a golden window for buyers to find excellent deals on homes with excellent financing, by Liz Carter . One of them was we will have less competition since when the business gets tougher agents leave the business and they have been doing so in record breaking numbers. That is a great thing for us and for the consumer; it is a purge of the real estate industry. Let's all keep growing, learning, and doing the best job we can for our clients. Helping new agents with a mentor program when they first start is a great way to help them, and our industury. Give some of your time, knowdlege, and expericance when a new agent comes on board. I even go out of my way to help agents who work for another company, it's just the right thing to do.

Would love to hear from you on the strange and funny things that have happened to you also, maybe we should write a book? It's good to laugh, especially at yourself. My post of things to be positive for in 2008 has been posted on active rain in case you would like to read it.

Wishing everyone the best year of your life in 2008! Liz Carter, owner/broker Liz Carter & Team Realty. Serving the greater Houston, Katy and Sugar Land areas of Texas. http://www.lizcarter.com/, 281-391-SOLD (7653.

Yes this is me under water, back in the olden days of FILM, it took Bill (my better half, sometimes), many shots to get this picture I use in all my advertising. A fish would swim by, I would have to take a breath, so bubbles were all over the picture, a current with come up and I'ld loose my position, the list goes on and on, but we finally got it. We had a blast. I've used this in my ads for 20+ years, with the tag "Before you dive into buying or selling a home...talk to someone who knows the waters" I get strange calls, like, "I need to talk to that lady with the goggles", or "Can I talk to that lady in the water".