The Wonders of Walker County and Great Lake Livingston!

Huntsville is 35,078+ people proud. Another 17,000 students at Sam Houston State University fill our streets at any given time! We are blessed with the historical tales of Sam Houston himself and offer a terrific Museum with artifacts and his original homestead filled with authentic relics. Our town square is quaint with gorgeous architecture and historic buildings. Antiquing is one of my favorite past times while walking the square. The feeling of Pride is everywhere. Sam Houston State University brings culture and talent to our city.

Lake area real estate is getting more and more difficult to find. The old adage "they're just not making anymore waterfront" is so true. Our beautiful Lake Livingston is a man made reservoir that covers over 90,000 surface acres and reaches into Walker, Polk, Trinity and San Jacinto counties. We are only 1 1/2 hours drive from Houston, Texas and 3 1/2 hours from Dallas. All ages are looking for that SECOND HOME for a weekend getaway, an investment property, or a future home to hang their hats. With interest rates still at record breaking low's it's a great time to buy! The great Trinity River provides the portal to Lake Livingston and its creeks, coves, canals and private Lake areas. The fishing is great! Skiing, fishing, swimming, jet skiing, boating, or just watching the sunsets are some of the favorites on everyone's "things to do list".

FYI:

HUNTSVILLE: Population (year 2000): 35,078. Estimated population in July 2005: 36,699 (+4.6% change) Males: 21,210 (60.5%), Females: 13,868 (39.5%)

SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY (about 14 miles; HUNTSVILLE, TX; Full-time enrollment: 15,800)

ANGELINA COLLEGE (about 56 miles; LUFKIN, TX; FT enrollment: 2,773)

NORTH HARRIS MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT (about 63 miles; HOUSTON, TX; FT enrollment: 13,933)

TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY (about 67 miles; COLLEGE STATION, TX; FT enrollment: 41,117)

PRAIRIE VIEW A & M UNIVERSITY (about 67 miles; PRAIRIE VIEW, TX; FT enrollment: 5,823)

HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM (about 70 miles; HOUSTON, TX; FT enrollment: 21,140)

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER (about 70 miles; HOUSTON, TX; FT enrollment: 2,595)

HUNTSVILLE MUNI (about 3 miles; HUNTSVILLE, TX; ID: UTS)

MONTGOMERY COUNTY (about 27 miles; CONROE, TX; ID: CXO)

MADISONVILLE MUNI (about 31 miles; MADISONVILLE, TX; ID: 51R)

TRINITY: Population (year 2000): 2,721. Estimated population in July 2005: 2,780 (+2.2% change) Males: 1,250 (45.9%), Females: 1,471 (54.1%)

RIVERSIDE: EAST TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER TRINITY (about 9 miles; TRINITY, TX)

HUNTSVILLE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (about 14 miles; HUNTSVILLE, TX)

EAST TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER CROCKETT (about 33 miles; CROCKETT, TX)

ONALASKA: Population (year 2000): 1,174. Estimated population in July 2005: 1,355 (+15.4% change) Males: 568 (48.4%), Females: 606 (51.6%)

POINT BLANK: Population (year 2000): 559. Estimated population in July 2005: 622 (+11.3% change) Males: 272 (48.7%), Females: 287 (51.3%)

GROVETON: Population (year 2000): 1,107. Estimated population in July 2005: 1,138 (+2.8% change) Males: 506 (45.7%), Females: 601 (54.3%)

LIVINGSTON: Population (year 2000): 5,433. Estimated population in July 2005: 6,401 (+17.8% change) Males: 2,497 (46.0%), Females: 2,936 (54.0%)

If you have not yet visited the area of Huntsville, Texas, I must encourage you to do so. It is fabulous. Towering Pines, gently sloping deep green hills, blue waters and lots of sunshine. Culture and fun all wrapped up in a great little package. Next time you pass the Sam Houston Statue come on in and see what we're all about.

For your personal tour contact Debra A Brooks, Brooks Prime Properties. 936-295-0005

I JUST WANTED YA'LL TO SEE A GREAT WAY TO FEATURE A PROPERTY FROM YOUR OWN WEBSITE.

 

This gorgeous retreat is located within minutes of the Trinity River and Lake Livingston, Texas. Just one of our many premier properties!

 

 

FANTASY CORPORATE RETREAT-RETIREMENT-SPA-
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!

 

Welcome to the beauty and tranquility of this private retreat. 

 

For the FIRST TIME EVER we are offering the most incredibly kept secret in Trinity Texas!  Or, should I say "All of Texas".  Imagine an Idyllic Fortress that will take you back to nature. One that would entice you to just stay put. Well, this is it. Your lovely gated entry with electronic key pad leads you into your very own 16+/- fenced, gently rolling, lush and beautiful Fantasy Retreat!

 

 

 

BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM HOME - Pull through your electronic keypad gate and drive between fenced pastures to the gorgeous Austin stone, 2 Bedroom 2 Bath home and note the flexibility of living space it provides. The metal roofed building is not your ordinary home, offering customized details throughout.

 

FINE PORCELAIN countertops and top of the line custom wooden cabinets filled with dishes, slate kitchen sink and large pantry are just the tip of the iceberg of this working/serving kitchen. Porcelain flooring along with warm wood detailing is carried throughout the home. The home boasts 14 foot ceilings, a flex room with Billiard table, 2 owners' suites overlooking the lake, separate office space, pewter multi jet shower, jet tub, and fixtures chosen for their exquisite details. The attached oversized two car garage offers its own surprises.

 The kitchen is stocked and ready for the biggest groups, families, or the simple pleasure of entertaining.

 

 

One of a kind counterops and richly detailed furnishings abound throughout this home.

 

WALLS OF WINDOWS allow you to enjoy the great outdoors without stepping outside.

This custom design is tailored as an Architectural "ONE OF A KIND" for pure enjoyment of the surrounding views!

 

 

 

CUSTOM FISH TANK IN LIVING AREA creates ambience and a natural live visual 24/7 with low neon lighting for the evenings and is a beautiful thing to see. 200 gallon tank and fish will remain with the house.

 

 

 

CEDAR FURNITURE and Cedar Rocking chairs rock gently on the 2000 square foot Cedar Wrap Porch overlooking the water, your pier and floating dock.

 

A beautiful view to behold indeed...

 

YOUR PRIVATE LAKE is approximately 4 full acres of fresh SPRING FED clear waters and is for your private use only. Wildlife abounds on the banks, on the water, in the water, in the air and all around you! Climb in to your 4 seater paddle boat for fun, exercise or just to get to the other side.

 

 

EVERYTHING YOU NEED to care for your family, both tame and wild. Wonderful working Chicken/Bird house is perfect shelter for all the avian cohabitants in the family. 

 

 

 

Encompassed within the Oversized Attached Garage is the cedar lined tack room and two cedar horse stalls that make it so easy to feed for the night, you won't even have to take off your house slippers.

 

 

 

 

The goats are in heaven with their ample sized house and fenced room to roam around the far side of the lake.

 

 

 

The oversized storage garage located near the goat house is ideal for housing all those implements needed to manage your wild bunch.

 

 

 

So, WHAT COMES WITH THE PROPERTY? Absolutely EVERYTHING. Everything you would like to have is yours for the price. From the animals to the GORGEOUS FIESTA DISHES AND SILVERWARE SET. From the beds to the paddle boat.

JACK AND JILL, PHYLLIS AND DILLER, HANSEL AND GRETEL will all stay if you invite them! All of the hand raised DUCKS, GOATS, GEESE, GUINEAS, EXOTIC CHICKENS, and PEACOCKS will call your new home, their home. 

Jack the Lap Goat Says Hi!

RETIREMENT? RETREAT? SPA? The possibilities are endless and opportunity is now.

Contact Debra Brooks with Brooks Prime Properties for your personal tour of this magnificent property today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Goodbye:

Last night our lovely dog Buddy lay in the living room floor and wailed in pain. He was reacting to my daughters' sympathetic, melodic voice. He had been so brave and was always a talker. My husband would pull out the bag of dog food each evening and Buddy would begin his song of "Ri Ruv Roo" with distinguishable syllables. His tail would rotate full circle and his smile with his impressive white teeth would mouth, "hurry up and feed me" while doing his Labrador dance. Buddy was a drop off. An unwanted drop off. But, after two attempts at giving him away he was brought back for the final time and we decided he could stay. We already had Sadie, our very large Rottweiler, and Jill, our needy Australian Shephard.  We soon lost Sadie and Buddy stepped right into the role of taking care of Jill.  He became a part of our family.  We spent the evening saying goodbye.

This morning:

My husband, a devoted man to his family and also a Realtor accepted the responsibility of handling our loss. This entailed kissing me goodbye and helping me wipe away the tears, giving Buddy as much reassurance and love as he could and taking him to the Doctor to say Goodbye. This was more than I could deal with he told me, and he was right.  He took care of all the details including the grave and it was just he and Jill.

The day:

I woke up and went to work like any other day. Except for the pain I was carrying. I found myself much more cognizant when I was handling customers and clients. I found myself driving around the lake for showings and I felt as if I were in a fog. I turned down a Farm To Market road with clients following me to see a house and ended up at the end of a road that dead-ended right in the lake. Oops. I was driving in circles trying to look like I knew what I was doing. I picked up the phone and called the Sellers agent to tell her I had taken a wrong turn. I told her I was all messed up with so much in my heart and head and this is what she said. "No one expects us Realtors to have a life".  Up to that point I was accepting sympathy. When she said that I felt defensive. I was enjoying the folks behind me. I felt better when we were talking about the houses and the lake and so forth. I felt like I was doing what I wanted to do and not what I had to do. My head cleared for the sake of my clients and I forged right on ahead.

My revelation:

My husband and I use to get a kick out of the pictures of Realtors and their dogs!! Jill is alone now. What are we going to do? We don't want to get another companion for her. I don't think I want to love and lose more dogs! So, soon Jill will be going to the office with one or the other of us. And, as I think about it, you may be seeing Jill in the picture with us too! Our family grows smaller yet stronger. We are proud to be Realtors!

NEVER LET THE SUN SET WITHOUT SAYING, "I LOVE YOU". IT COULD BE THE LAST OPPORTUNITY YOU WILL HAVE.

Have you been wanting to purchase a getaway, lakehome, second home or investment property but are now hearing of the possible Real Estate Industry Slump?

                    This slump will not affect the Lake Livingston Real Estate Market!

                       If you are a strong buyer with good credit you will not feel the affect! 

This slump is caused by simply loaning too much money for too little interest to buyer's that were not sufficiently qualified.  Adjustable rate mortgages are about to begin their climb which will again cause more shakey loans. One in five houses (homesteads) are defaulting and being returned to the lending companies.

                                                     Now is the time to buy! 

Real Estate
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the vacation home market has experienced unprecedented growth. The facts, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, April 2007:

• Vacation home sales hit a record high, rising to 1.07 million in 2006, from 1.02 million in 2005. Second homes purchased as a vacation property or investment accounted for 36 percent of U.S. home sales in 2006.
• Eighteen (18) percent of vacation home owners purchased their home to rent to others, up from 13 percent in 2005. According to NAR, second home buyers show "only modest interest in renting their properties to others." However, HomeAway surveys show that while many buyers do not initially intend to rent their vacation home, they do so after finding it more expensive than anticipated and not used as often as planned.
• "Second homes" are somewhat of a misnomer: 86 percent of vacation buyers purchased one vacation home, 12 percent purchased two homes and 2 percent purchased three or more vacation properties.
• With large expendable incomes, baby boomers continue to drive the vacation home market. The typical buyer is 44 years old, with a median household income of $102,200.

The vacation or retirement home market is able to escape the downturn because of strong demographic forces.

Here at Lake Livingston and throughout the state of Texas, our waterways are the most desireable of all Real Estate. We can be assured that where there is water there is value. Some 10,000 Americans will turn 60 years old daily over the course of the next 10 years. The ideal dream is to live by the water. With Houston only 1 hour away and Dallas under 200 miles away, Lake Livingston is being considered a highly desirable retirement area. With our wonderful climate, towering pines, Nationally acclaimed medical facilities within easy drive time and shopping and culture galore, we are the pick of the litter!

                   Again, now is the time to buy! They're just not making anymore Lake Livingston waterfront!

contact Debra Brooks for information about our Lake Area and Lake Livingston Real Estate. www.lakelivingstonprime.com or www.brooksprimeproperties.com