Raylene Lewis
Realtor®
Read my blog below
Real Estate True Tales Category
Freebirds World Burrito College Station Texas — When Your Hungry for Quick TEX MEX
November 3rd, 2010 Categories: College Station Restaurants, Community Events, Kids, Family & Personal Stuff, Real Estate True Tales, The Realtor's Life
I have always thought of Freebirds World Burrito as originating in College Station, Texas, but they first opening their doors in Santa Barbara, California in 1987. Their motto “Feed Your Belly, Feed Your Soul” and relaxed atmosphere have always been a place my kiddos have enjoyed! If you have never been to a Freebirds, it is pretty much like a Subway restaurant, only for Tex-Mex. You can call it in, order when you get there or even order in advance on-line. I like it that I know I can have food for my entire family in less than 10 minutes, without the grease of some other fast food options.
The first Freebirds came to College Station, TX in 1991, at Northgate across the street from Texas A&M University. College Station now has a total of 4 locations around the vicinity of the area to help fulfill your burrito craving appetite, and there is rumor that there might be a 5th location coming soon! (I’m betting maybe at the new HEB Center off of Greens Prairie?)
Freebirds offers a wide variety of burritos, salads, quesadillas, nachos, tacos, and kid’s menu items!! But the big things to get when you come into Freebirds are their AMAZING burritos! There are many sizes and types to choose from like the Hybrid all the way up the massive 7lb SUPER MONSTER Burrito. – There is also special way to eat their burritos. The idea is to peel the foil your bird, like a banana, as you eat. My kiddos like playing with the foil and creating all sorts of animals, objects, etc. to stick on the brick next to the walls where other burrito consumers have done the same.
Freebirds in College Station, Texas is a place that anyone who comes to College Station needs to try! It is a place many of my clients ask me about and often a place we stop at for lunch while we are touring houses. Once you try one, you will always want another! Let me know if you have ever eaten a MONSTER–I can’t even finish my hybird!
Raylene Lewis– College Station Expert and Realtor
979-218-2235
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Do Haunted Houses Really Exist In Bryan/College Station??
October 12th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate True Tales
In my career as a Realtor, I have sold over 500 homes in the Bryan and College Station area. A few of these properties were homes that had a history; that is homes where previous owners had died on the property.
According to the law in Texas, if the house is considered a “Notorious House,” meaning the home is well known by the general public for what has happened on or in the premises, be it due to a death or a home repeatedly said to have ghosts, it has to be disclosed to all potential buyers. However, an exception to this rule is if a death occurs on the property and it was the result of natural causes, suicide, or an accident unrelated to the condition of the property. Under these circumstances, the death that occurred does not have to be disclosed to a potential home buyer.
Back in my first year of selling real estate, many years ago, I was showing a young couple a home that had just come on the market for sale, when the neighbor walked out and waved us over. “Are you thinking about buying Mrs. Murphy’s home?” she asked. “Yes, my clients answered. It has a great floor plan!” “Well, it’d be mighty fine to have you as neighbors,” she responded…” then almost as an after thought she added “Ya know, she be dead 4 or 5 days in that house before they found her.” Needless to say, we did not write an offer on that home.
Often, when a Realtor sells a home, we have no idea if a death has occurred on the property or not. (We do find out quickly via the neighbors however, if the home has a reputation of being haunted.) I will never forget one listing appointment I went on, where the Seller told me, “The neighbors will tell you this home is haunted, but really it is not. The ghost-lady is only seen peeling potatoes here in the kitchen occasionally.”
If you are a Buyer and concerned about the possibility that someone might have died in a property you are considering buying, the best way I have found to determine if the house has a past is to Google the property address on the World Wide Web. Typically, if something noteworthy has happened to the home, it’s likely there is a police report posted on the web that can tell you all the details. I discovered this when a previous client called me asking why I had not told him there was a ghost in his house before he bought it. I assured the client the home did not have any uninvited inhabitants, as it was less than 5 years old and only had one previous owner—whom we had met at the closing table, just a week or so ago. I asked the client what made him think there may be a ghost in his home. His answer was for me to come over as it was currently standing in the room with him. (Truly, I had no idea how to respond to that statement.) After a bit of research on public records and police reports, I typed in the property’s address on the world wide web. To my surprise, the web pulled up the home right away and, as it turned out, the Seller’s spouse had committed suicide in the master bedroom of what was now my client’s home. We had the home blessed by my client’s church and thankfully, they report no further encounters.
During my career, I have only sold one officially Notorious Home. This was a home where a family of 4 had been murdered back in the early 1970’s and, almost everyone in town knew the home for the events that had occurred there so long ago. I can tell you, property value can definitely be affected by a home’s grizzly past. This property went for approximately $25,000.00 less than what a home in the area would normally sell for—and was under contract 3 separate times— before finding a buyer who was ok with the property’s history.
While I am certainly no psychic, and am not sure if I personally believe in ghosts and deceased spirits roaming the earth, I have shown a few vacant homes where both myself and my clients got a bit of an uneasy feeling walking through the home. I can definitely recall one particular home in Bryan that I can confidently say—“if there is such a thing as a haunted house, this house 100% fits the bill.” Every time I would try to take interior photos of the home, they would come out fuzzy and yellow. The lights inside the property were constantly flickering whenever I went from room to room and, I would switch off a light, leave the property, get in my car, and notice the light was back on! I offered the Realtors in my office a free lunch if any could provide me with interior photos that were not blurry or out of color, and although several Realtors tried, their cameras would die in the home or their pictures would come out like mine. I never had to pay out on my offer with a free meal. Needless to say I was “Oh, So Happy!” when that house sold.
If you are feeling especially brave, and want to stay at a Haunted House, right down the road just about 40 minutes from Bryan-College Station in Calvert, Texas there is a little Bed & Breakfast known as The Hammond House. The TFC Paranormal Research Team, a real ghost-hunting team based out of Bryan-College Station, recorded Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and other readings at the Hammond House. According to Casey Linda Unger, who headed the team, the property definitely has a few ghostly inhabitants.
To learn more about the Paranormal Research team right here in BCS, you can go to their web site http://www.freakuency.org/about.htm and for information on the Hammond House, or to schedule a little get away just go to http://www.thehammondhouse.com/index.php but, if the place is haunted, don’t expect a good night’s sleep!
If you have questions or are thinking about buying or selling your home,–notorious or not– feel free to give me a call at 979-218-2235 or visit my website: www.buyincollegestation.com
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Another College Station Animal Adventure with Raylene Lewis
August 9th, 2008 Categories: 1, Community Events, Kids, Family & Personal Stuff, Real Estate True Tales, The Realtor's Life
OK, so if you know me you know I am a big animal lover, gigantic really. I don’t know why, but my broker and the office manager here at Century 21 Beal, Inc. in College Station TX can attest to the fact that I am always running into unique animal situations. I think it all started 6 years ago when I was a newer agent:
I was on a final walk through on a home in the country. The Buyer noticed that the chickens were still in the coup in the back yard. She didn’t want them, and the Seller was long gone, so to complete the sale I took them home. Truth be told, at the time I lived in a subdivision and although I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh eggs, one day after work I came home to find two of the birds ”nesting” on the top of my roof. After that, they had to go, but I found a great country home for them.
Since then there has been a plethora of creatures cross my path: from squirrels, turtles and rabbits hit by cars, to abandoned puppies, kittens, half-starved dogs, goats, wild birds, abandoned fish in fish tanks, etc, and I do my best to help each time the need arises. I have even assisted a chicken with a broken leg and a mole. Sadly, the mole didn’t make it, but I do have a pretty good track record. ;D
This week, I helped a Buzzard. Yep. A Buzzard. When I arrived home from work, it became apparent that a buzzard had broken his wing (probably from being hit by a car) and had decided to call my backyard his new home.
I already have approximately 12 ducks that live in my backyard (a story for another day). As I have no medical training to repair a wing, and as his beak could easily have removed one of my fingers or one of my kiddos hands, it was obvious my backyard was not a good place for him stay.
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How Much Does A House Weigh?
June 6th, 2008 Categories: Community Events, Real Estate True Tales
Someone sent me these photos, and they were so funny, I just had to share!
So How Much Does a House Weigh?
Apparently, the answer is more than a rural bridge can hold! So, wonder if this is covered under Home Insurance, Car Insurance or Road Side Assistance?
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Are There Haunted-Houses Here in BCS?
May 5th, 2008 Categories: Kids, Family & Personal Stuff, Real Estate True Tales, The Realtor's Life
In my career as a Realtor I have sold hundreds of homes. A few of these properties in the Bryan, College-Station and surrounding area were homes that had a history; that is homes where previous occupants had died in the property.
According to the law, if the house is considered a Notorious House, well known for a death or for being Haunted, it does have to be disclosed. However, if a death occurs on the property and it is not a caused by natural causes, suicide or an accident unrelated to the condition of the property it does not have to be disclosed.
Often, when a Realtor sell a home, we have no idea if a death has occurred on the property or not. If you are a Buyer and concerned about that sort of thing, the best way
| Discussion: 9 Comments »
Say What?! True Statements: at Glimpse of My Life At Work
April 12th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate True Tales, The Realtor's Life
“Mrs. Buyer, I’m glad you like the master tub. Could you get out now so we can fininsh the final walkthrough of the home?”
“Yes, I’m calling about my neighbors home. You have it listed for sale next door to us. I just thought you would like to know the back side is on fire.”
“Yes, I know it’s 1:30am, but I was driving by and saw Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
What the Psychic Failed to See
April 1st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate True Tales, The Realtor's Life
Nearly all of my clients are wonderful. Each comes with their own list of search criteria, personal preferences, quirks and likes & dislikes. And with every client that walks through my door, comes a story and an adventure. Currently two of my clients, I’ll call them Jack and Jill to protect the innocent, Read the rest of this entry »
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