Raylene Lewis » Woodcreek

Update on the Pond: What Killed the Fish in In South College Station

Raylene Lewis — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:50:41 +0000

I walked out behind my home in College Station this Sunday to find over 100 Buzzards behind my back yard with over 120 dead fish floating in the pond behind my house or scattered along the bank. See Blog All of the Fish in the pond Appear to Have Died Overnight! What the? And a big thank you to the Home Owner’s Association for cleaning up the mess so quickly!

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has concluded that the fish in the pond all died due to lack of oxygen. This is also sometimes referred to as the pond “turning over.” My understanding is that this occured because: we had a long period with no rain, then lots of rain at once, with not a lot of natural vegetation in the pond, and a fountain that had recently broken. Apparently, once the amount of oxygen decreases to a certain level in a tank, it will kill the fish overnight. Now we have tons of algae in the tank and the whole thing looks nasty and green.

This brings me to my latest problem. I hand raised approximately 14 ducks and 2 geese last spring for the the Home Owner’s Association and then released them into the lake. At this point, the lake is clearly less than desirable and the ducks have moved into my back yard.

My two and four year old think it is Easter with the eggs in my back yard! The Tree Walker coon hound See Meet Snoofy: A College Station Animal Rescue in Need of a Loving Home is definitely NOT a hunter and is no help at all!

And it has become such an issue in the last 2 days to get water, they are even brave enough to reside on the back porch and drink out of the dog bowl! They don’t go to the South Lake, which is beautiful and in working order because another flock lives there. I am worried they are going to distroy my back porch and kill the grass. Any suggestions would be most appreciated! ;D

www.buyincollegestation.com

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Thinking of Selling your College Station Home? What to Expect When Interviewing A Realtor

Raylene Lewis — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:16:48 +0000

When it is time to sell your home in Bryan College Station, and start interviewing Real Estate Agents, you will want to meet with each agent separately. As you call to set up interview and make appointments, take special note of who you get on the phone right away and how long it takes for your phone call to be returned. The time it takes for you to get through to the Realtor will likely be the roughly the same amount of time as if a prospective buyer had called with questions about your home. When you and the agent communicate with one another, you should expect the Realtor to ask you a few questions.

The questions will likely start with a qualifying nature to determine your timeline in selling. Common questions Realtors ask are:

When are You Thinking of Placing Your Home on the Market?
Have You Interviewed Other Agents?
How Fast do You Need to be Out of Your Current Property?
Do You Know what Price You Want for Your Home?
What Are Your Goals?

You want to be honest about what you are looking for and where you are in the selling process. If you are looking to stay in the area, see if the realtor has any suggestions of homes currently on the market or responds with news of interest from the area you are wanting to live in. This indicates the realtor is knowledgeable about the market and what is going on in the area. You also want to be ready with a few basic questions, yourself:

How do You Plan to Market My Home?
How Will We Communicate and How Frequently?
How do You Come Up with a Market Price?
May I see a List of Your Awards and References?

A good Realtor will meet you at the door with a business card and notebook in hand. When they enter your home, no matter what the flooring or condition, they will remove their shoes to show respect for your property. You don’t want a Realtor who is going to give you an instant evaluation of what your home is worth.

It is impossible to correctly evaluate the value a property without looking at all its details and special characteristics first. Give special bonus points to agents who write down notes as they go from room to room and point out special selling features of your home as they are viewing it.

You also want a Realtor who has already done their homework before coming to your home. This means they will have brought with them a CMA or Comparative Market Analysis. A Realtor who has a CMA to view with you has already scoped out your competition (other homes).

This is extremely important because this type of agent: is better prepared to answer objections, more likely to arrive at the correct asking price for your home, has the data that shows what has to be done to get the home sold, and is ready to help you meet your desired goals. You should also ask the agent for a written copy of their marketing plan. A professional agent will also have marketing examples at the listing appointment for you to review as well.

At the end of your visit, a good Realtor will ask for your business and will ask you to sign a listing agreement. The length of the agreement should reflect the time it takes to sell a home in your area. A listing that lasts between 3 and 6 months is not unusual. Remember, any reputable agent will allow you out of your contractual listing agreement with them, at any time and at no cost to you, if you are truly unhappy with his/her service or if your plans should change.

Feel free to call or email me with any questions you may have. Happy Selling!

www.ahouse-soldname.com

City Council’s Schedule to Improve Area Playgrounds Disappointing

Raylene Lewis — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:00:28 +0000

If you have young children, chances are you know which subivisions have the good playgrounds and which don’t. There are many playscapes in College Station that don’t meet current safety codes and the City knows it. I went to a Parks Council meeting on this very issue at the end of 2007 because I felt the playground Woodcreek needed a serious safety overhall. They agreed with me, but stated that there were others in far worse shape. Worse than the one in my neighborhood? Now, that is saying something! The City replaces one to two playscapes a year. A playarea is suppose to be replaced at the latest every 20 years. My understanding is that the Woodcreek Playscape is already 19 years old. Guess what? It is on the books to be redone–in another 9 years. That means, it will be safe to play on when my eldest is 13 years old. Unreasonable and Dangerous, I’d say so! Therefore, we did what any parent who could afford it would do…we bought one for our own back yard. Want to see some seriousally cool backyard playscapes? Go to http://www.cedarworks.com/ And what about Splash Pads? City of Bryan really has their act together when it comes to this issue! They also have 2 wonderful Water Splash Pads for the kiddos to play at during the Summer; one in Tiffany Park and the other at Tanglewood park. The only Splash Pad in College Station is in a less than desirable location especially to have children out and playing about. What were they thingking? Come On, College Station! It is the safetly of our Children! Get it Together!

Drivers in Woodcreek Need to Watch Out!

Raylene Lewis — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:49:27 +0000

As a resident of Woodcreek, I have been very disappointed lately in the number of cars Hot-Rodding through the subdivison. A lot of this problem has to do with the fact that the Rock Prairie Road Exit is closed for the next year. This has changed and diverted traffic in all sorts of ways, one of which means an increase in the number of cars driving through Woodcreek. With the help of the subdivision’s HOA, my husband and I bought and raised 14 ducks for the Lakes in Woodcreek. Families and children love visiting the lakes, fishing, feeding the ducks and taking a stroll around the common property area. Woodcreek recently won the “Keep Brazos Beautiful Award,” and it is a shame that people in their cars are driving too fast and refusing to pay attention to what is going on around them; destroying part of the beauty of Woodcreek. Since Jan. 1, 2008 alone, 9 Woodcreek ducks have been killed by speeding motorists. There are so many children in the subdivision that also play in the common area, I truely worry for their safelty. If you are driving in ANY SUBDIVISION i.e. any place where there are houses, DRIVE SLOW & PAY ATTENTION to what is going on around you. If you accidently hit a squirl, a raccoon, a opossum or a duck, etc. you need to re-evaluate how you are driving. It could have been a child.