Trey's Blog: July 2008

Attention College Station Gardeners!  Here are Some Great Plants for Texas Heat.

If you are always on the prowl for unique and lovely plantings for your outdoor landscaping in our area of Texas I would like to recommend "Moonflowers." Moonflowers are wonderful either planted in over sized pots or directly in your flowerbeds. They do well in heat and just require average watering. The blossoms are gigantic white trumpets that begin opening in the evening and at a peak in the morning before wilting shut.  The seed pods are large and prickly .  Just save a few  pods for for next year's planting. A great addition to the patio or yard! :) 

And Spider Lillies!  They attract a certain kind giant moth at night that is as big as a humming bird and very entertaining.

An here are two more allstars for Texas Sized College Station Heat.....Purple Sage and Yucca Plants!  A great combo together for texture and color contrast.  These 2 plants require very little water. 

All 3 photos of these flowers were taken on days when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees  .

Well, we currently have 4 cats , 3 dogs, and 2 birds...at least at last count. Now you can imagine what the feed bill is around our home. Recently I noticed the cat food bowl has been emptying out quicker than normal and in the past it was due to a stray cat, who finally adopted us . 

Well I heard a noise at the back door last week and got out of bed and discovered the source of the noise and the disappearing cat food. Sorry for the poor photo. It was taken through glass with a flash at night.

Have a great week!

www.treythurmond.com

Today I heard several reports on the news that they think granite counters could be unhealthy in homes because they think granite can harbor germs. I know granite has tiny fissures and cracks in it, and those tiny cracks are part of what gives it character. Well that may,  or may not be the case.   I am sure the grout in ceramic tile joints can harbor germs. Just about anything can harbor germs including us. So what do we do?  We keep everything clean.

I don't believe it is a good idea regardless to put food directly on counter tops. Probably safer to use cutting boards that can be washed and sanitized in the kitchen sink.

Many of the new homes in the College Station area  have granite counters at least in the kitchen. In fact granite has almost become a household name even in modestly priced new and retrofitted homes, compared to years ago when only the finest homes had granite.

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College Station has done a good job over the last few years in building new and state of the art fire stations.  Strategically locating them to take care of all the new growth areas, and to take care of the existing neighborhoods has not been an easy task, but the city has not let the citizens down in this area. Protecting property from fire is so important and quick response is the the key.  Fire Station numer 5 is located on William D. Fitch Parkway accross from Pebble Creek Subdivision near Meadows Subdivision  and is just a couple of years old.

In our exreme climate it sems like that the trees have to be exta hardy to survive. One tree that really has proven itself lately in landscaping has been the Bald Cypress. In the College Station and surrounding areas we are seeing more and more builders and architects incorporating this rugged tree. The cypress is in the redwood family and does shed its needles if you call them that.  It also has cones , which are comparqatively small , just like those on the giant redwoods are small .

They are not only a rugged tree but are very handsome, can grow to rather large sizes and are an excellent shade tree.  Also they can stand the extreme weather changes we see here in Texas. Freezing in the winter and hot-hot in the summer.  Even though we tend to think of them as a tree only for the swamps, they do just fine with just a regular watering schedule and grow ratrher quickly also.

The bald cypress can reach 50 to 75 feet in height. The wood resists rot and insects and is excellent when used for siding in a home.

www.treythurmond.com

Hwy I travel the stretch of Texas Hwy 6 between Hearne and Bryan Texas, twice a day going to and from work, sometimes more often. It has been a fairly dangerous route over the last few years and particularly with all the oilfield trucks using it continuously right now.

A few years ago a friend of ours daughter was killed at the location in this photo I took yesterday coming home from work. Last year there was a large truck that overturned in this spot and it took a month to clean up the environmental mess.

I came across this fire and couldn't tell what was behind the flames until I got close enough. It appeared to be a brand new truck. Poor guy . He was standing off to the side so I guess he was alright and they wouldn't let me stop. 

The state fully intends to improve Hwy 6 all the way from Bryan to Waco and they have currently been working on it.

In the meantime be careful when you travel this route!

Have a prosperous week!

The Andy Aderson Arboretum in College Station, Texas began in 1976. It consists of 17 acres adjacrent to Texas Ave ( business Hwy 6). It also adjoins the cemetary and Bee Creek. There is a shelter and a nature trail in the park.

If you just want to escape the office for a little while, or simply need something different to do with the kids this summer, then don't overlook the arboretum located at 1900 Anderson. From Texas Ave. go west on Southwest Pkwy, then go left on Anderson.

An Arboretum is a place where trees ,shrubs, and plants are cultivated to study.

Located within view of the College Station Walmart, this 4/10 of an acre parcel is zoned commercial use. It has approximately 78 feet of frontage on Morgan's Lane and is about a block off of Texas Ave. (Business Hwy. 6)  Neighbors include an Auto Parts Store, a funeral home and a large office building. Speculators and users are urged to take a look at this great buy in College Station.

Asking $74,900  mls#50565     Contact Trey for complete details on this property.

Milam F. "Trey" Thurmond, Broker, CRB, GRI  
Classic Realty Inc./ GMAC Real Estate
3600 Hwy 6 South Suite 100
College Station, Texas 77845
(979) 694-8844 -110
Cell: (979) 229-8465
Fax: (979) 694-2299
trey@txcyber.com

www.treythurmond.com

Located on the new Dartmouth Street Extension in College Station, Texas this 1.6 acres is just feet away from Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM 2818) and currently has residential zoning.  The property fronts a creek and has floodplain so the seller has given it an affordable price of $30,000 and is offering seller financing for a qualified purchaser. State Hwy 6  and Texas Ave. are also nearby. Investor speculators should give this property a look.    mls #50563

            30 Years of Service to BCS!

Full Time Broker

Milam F. "Trey" Thurmond
Classic Realty Inc./ GMAC Real Estate
3600 Hwy 6 South Suite 100
College Station, Texas 77845
(979) 694-8844 -110
Cell: (979) 229-8465
Fax: (979) 694-2299
trey@txcyber.com
www.treythurmond.com

So This is for Dear Diary and any one else who may benefit...

Drear Diary,

Nothing frustrates or disappoints me more than a new agent that just refuses to acknowledge that there are certain things that work for all agents.....yes all agents. These things do work for all agents but only if they are willing to implement them. Now I am perfectly content to acknowledge to myself and anyone else ,that there are many things that only work for a few agents , and we as a company would never push those techniques on any agent...only suggest that they at least examine them and maybe try them. But what I am concerned with here are only those things that work for all agents. Systems and tools that have stood the test of time,  and that work well in today's real estate market, and result in much business day in and day out for agents in all parts of this country. Those systems and tools that reveal themselves to be ironclad results producers in all areas of real estate and in all states.

It is like this....You have to put a key in the ignition to make a car start and go. You can, if you must, and if you have lost your key..... sometimes hot wire a car and make it go. So what! You have improvised, and made it start and run. It worked in a pinch.  But it isn't very practical to have to hot wire your car on a daily basis now is it.  So why do some agents keep Hot wiring their business?

What are some some absolute necessity things that practically all agents need to conduct business professionally? And by that I mean just about all agents.  Well maybe 99.9 %.

• Business Cards......gotta have em. Or do you just scribble your name on other agents cards you borrowed like cigarettes.  I hate this! Or do you  print out cards on typing paper? Boy that will impress those clients!
• Cell phone......hey its 2008!  What are you gonna do...stop and use a pay phone?.....bet you can't even find  a pay phone.  Anyone know what they cost these days?
• Car......what are you going to do..... ask the client for a ride? I knew an agent once that did it regularly. He does about 2 transactions a year...just enough to cover his expenses...maybe.
• Website.....unless you are really into newspaper ads.  You will never be found in the galaxy of agents without your website   or two  or three or......
• Digital Camera  or do you still draw pictures with words. ( I personally love a good verbal description)  but prospects gotta see pictures!  Lots of pictures. More the better.
• Computer......it's the toilet paper of today's business world.  Everyone and anyone must absolutely have it...no exceptions. If you don't things can get pretty messy!

• Are you just hotwiring your business...just getting  by? What else do you see as an absolute bare essential necessity to conduct you business in a professional and successful manner.?

www.treythurmond.com