Phase II - in high gear
Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports.
July 10, 2008
Phase II - in high gear Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
|
We have started closings. As of this moment, 2 deals are closed, 2 are ready to be signed and closed tomorrow, the other 3 will be closed in a few days. We are already working on processing the tenant applicants for the first ones. |
|
|
Looking at these houses now you can see that they are much nicer than you might have expected. High ceilings and other extras really make them look great. |
July 2, 2008
Phase II - in high gear Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
In order to expedite closing, we have installed a temporary asphalt section of the driveways to connect the existing concrete driveway to the street. The city engineers must take measurements and mark the level and slope of the bar ditch and culvert pipes before we can install the permananet concrete sections and both of the City of Dallas engineers who are qualified to do that are on vacation. As soon as they return we will have them do their thing and we will install the concrete section. For now, this will meet the lenders' requirements to pass final inspection so that we can close as soon as possible. We had a bit of good luck in that interest rates dipped at just the time that all the buyers needed to initiate the loans, so the mortgage broker was able to lock in those low rates. Since then rates have crept upward, so we want to get closed at the lower rates if at all possible. That is why we have taken this measure. |
June 19, 2008
Phase II - in high gear Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
Phase II houses' plywood going on and brick delivered, ready to go. The City of Dallas Water Department made a mistake and installed the water meters in the wrong places for the Phase I houses and is now correcting their mistake. Had some more rain this morning. That will hold up pouring driveways a bit more. It's all in a day's work !!! |
June 17, 2008
Phase II - in high gear Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
| Phase II is well underway for sure. Foundations have been poured and set. Framing is started, so you can actually see houses already. |  |
 |
 |
 |
Bathroom fixtures, water heaters, ceiling fans, and other appliances are in now. We had planned to pour driveways today; but a little rain storm might cause that to be put off a day. |
June 11, 2008
| Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
We hope to be able to pour driveways soon, then carpet can go in. We are very close to being ready for the "final inspection" by the city on all 7 Phase I houses. The slabs for the 3 Phase II houses will be poured soon, also. As you have seen, from that point forward construction goes at a very fast clip. | We have started working on the plans for Phase III, which will likely be 6 or 7 houses facing Ravenview Road. Ravenview is slated to be widened by the city and made into a major thoroughfare, which should increase the value of all our houses and lots. We have no estimated completion date for these proposed houses yet because, as you have seen, the navigation through the city's planning departments can be of undetermined duration. We have contracted a surveyor to draw up initial plans so we can present them to the city as tentative plans, which they are sure to modify at least once or twice before it is approved. We are not ready to sell any houses in Phase III as yet. There are, however, 2 houses still available in Phase II, if you are interested. |
June 10, 2008
| Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We are heading into the home stretch now. TXU has connected the electric power to the Phase I houses, door hardware is going in throughout the houses. In a few days the driveways will be poured and carpet laid. Phase II is moving forward in earnest, too. Notice how beautiful the wooded lots are. This land would have been a wonderful site for a million-dollar house. |
June 6, 2008
| Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
June 2, 2008
| Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Vinyl flooring, countertops, and trim are in. Bathroom fixtures (toilets, etc.) to be delivered and installed tomorrow or next day. Driveways to be poured soon. With luck, we should have the Phase I houses completed, final inspected, and ready to close in two weeks. Phase II houses are starting in earnest with the foundation forms already set. |
May 23, 2008
| Click links in Heading line for interesting info.
Scroll down page to see prior reports. |
 |
 |
 |
The interior doors are going in and the trim will follow shortly. Notice how nice the house number plate looks. |
May 21, 2008
 Purchase house in Phase II, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HEREWalker Rents, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
 |
Walls and ceilings are painted. Countertops, interior doors and flooring will go in soon. Trim goes on right after that. Painting the trim is a bit slower than painting walls and ceilings; but things are rolling along on your houses very quickly now. All of your loans for lots 1-7 should be in underwriting now so that they are ready when the house is ready to close. If not, get with your lender and get things moving forward now. Also be sure you have your property insurance lined up and management agreements for property management. |
 |
 |
May 19, 2008
| Purchase house in Phase II, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HEREWalker Rents, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
 |
Lots of progress this week. Drywall is taped and bedded. Brick is on. Wired for cable in 3 rooms. NOTE: vaulted 10-foot ceilings and clay-fired Texas brick (not cheap Mexican brick). Garage doors going in. The post in front of the garage door is to prevent any settling while mortar on the brick lintel dries. These houses are on huge lots and will have driveways of about 48' instead of the standard 30'. That means more privacy and more parking space. Water heater and other appliances are energy-efficient. The rectangular space beside the garage door is for a house number plate. Classy! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
May 14, 2008
| Purchase house in Phase II, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
 |
The metal clips that you saw sticking out of the walls on the outside of the house in the previous status report are for attaching the brick to the frame so that they reinforce one another. Insulation is being put into the exterior walls and then sheetrock attached to the inside. Then the "tape and bed" guys will seal the seams between panels of sheetrock before the walls are textured and painted. Though the roofs are on and much work can proceed even if it is raining, the tape and bed work requires low humidity so that the bedding mud will dry properly and not crack.. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sheetrock is also called "Drywall" sometimes. I suppose that distinguishes it from the wet plaster that was used for walls long ago. |
May 9, 2008
 |
The doors are delivered and will be hung today. Please note the link (to the right of this note) for buying another house. There are two available (Lots 9 and 10) at this time. We are starting construction on them immediately. Our property managers have already lined up some applicants for all of the first 7 houses. All of them have Section 8 vouchers. This does not mean they are leased; but does mean that there is a lot of interest in renting these houses. They will be negotiating with Section 8 as to the rent level to be approved. | Purchase one more house, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
|
 |
 |
May 8, 2008
 |
 |
Purchase one more house, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
 |
 |
The windows are all installed and the doors will be delivered and installed tomorrow. (The supplier took longer than usual delivering the doors; but we managed to not lose too much time anyway.) The blue "paint" you see on the bottom 24 inches of the frame is the best termite repellent you can get. Many builders simply treat the soil around the house, which works until the soil is disturbed or rain washes it away. This treatment costs a bit more; but is well worth it. Sheetrock can start going up immediately after the doors are installed. Look at that Tyvek wrap! Even many high-end builders skimp by using ThermoPly instead of plywood and Tyvek these days. |
April 30, 2008
 |
 |
Purchase one more house, click HERE News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE
(scroll down page to see prior reports) |
 |
 |
Post Tension Cables are stretched to add rigidity to foundations. Electrical wiring is being installed in all of the first 7 houses. Furnaces are in and duct work is being installed. TXU has installed the permanent power poles (no picture) to service all the houses. Very soon we should start seeing sheetrock going onto the walls. |
April 23, 2008
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Roofs are on all 7 houses in the first Phase. We have arranged to also build the houses for Lots 8-10 starting immediately. Tortoise I, LP is now offereing the houses to be built on lots 9-10 for sale. If you or someone you know would be interested in one or both, please contact us. We had to evict the first occupant from one of the houses. His photo is shown here so you will recognize the squatter if you see him again. |
April 17, 2008
 |
 |
News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our building contractor took these photos and sent the corresponding addresses. I overwrote the addresses onto the photos; then he called me saying he thinks he made some errors in matching the photos with addresses. Please take the addresses on the photos with a grain of salt! Nonetheless, if things continue to go well, we will be seeing the electric wiring and plumbing going in in the next couple of days and sheetrock going up next week. You can see that the houses are in varying stages of completion; but they are all within days of one another since work progresses so rapidly now. If luck holds out we might have the first ones completed in 4-6 weeks; so get your financing set up and insurance arranged for.. |
April 15, 2008 (Hope you have all filed your returns!)
 |
 |
News Article, click HERECensus Report, click HERE DFW Facts, click HERE |
April 14, 2008
 |
Extra crews working every available hour to expedite project. | The first roofs are going up. You might also notice plywood with Tyvek insulating house wrap going on to the walls. Tyvek is a premium product that produces better results than cheaper options (such as ThermoPly house panels) that could legally have been used instead of both the plywood and Tyvek. |
April 11, 2008
 |
 |
 |
| The framing is going up on the first houses now. By tomorrow framing will have begun on all 7 houses. We try to preserve as many of the indigenous trees as possible and do not cut down any trees unless it is necessary. Since we had to move some of the houses from their original intended positions when the city required us to modify the lot plans, a couple of the trees we tried to save might have to be taken down or pruned. As you can see, visible progress happens daily at this stage. It is much more satisfying than all those months navigating through city hall to get plans approved. | HINT: You can right-click on any of these photos and "Save Picture As" to save it to your computer. You can view the photos in full size then, if you wish. They are reduced here to fit on the screen. |
April 10, 2008
 |
 |
The first of the 7 foundations are poured. The remaining ones will be poured today. The wood framing will begin being built on the first slabs tomorrow, weather permitting. Fortunately, the big storms last night did not seem to hit our job site too hard and did not cost us much time. The high winds might have been a problem if the frames had been partially up; but we were lucky on that count also. The strategy is to get to the point at which we have the roofs on as quickly as possible because then a rainy day does not necessarily mean any work delays (but it still could, as we discussed earlier). |
April 3, 2008
 |
 |
 |
| 
| We lost a couple of days because of rain; but things are moving forward very noticeably nonetheless. Before we can pour the concrete slabs, the sewer and water lines must be inspected and pressure tested and all must be "green tagged" by the city. They all have been. The slabs will be "post tension" slabs which are considered to be superior to the older "rebar" slabs. The footing trenches around the perimeter of the slab add strength to support the weight of the house. |
March 27, 2008
 |
 |
The trenching is done and "rough-in" plumbing is being laid. The actual connection to the city water and sewer system will be done by a City of Dallas plumber. Concrete will be poured in the next couple of days, then framing will start very soon after. |
March 25, 2008
 |
 |
Heavy rains caused some delays; but we are now back rolling along. Here we see the wooden forms for the slab foundations. Concrete will be poured into them soon. Then the crews are ready to start building the framing on the slabs. |
March 16, 2008
 |
 |
110 truckloads of fill dirt, each containing 10 cubic yards of dirt, have been brought in and spread and compacted in order to produce the desired elevation and grade. Calculations for the design of the lots are done by engineers and must be approved by the City of Dallas. The lots are now ready for the foundations to be set upon them. |
Week Ending March 14, 2008
 |
 |
 |
| 
| Because of the final revisions made to the plans by the City of Dallas, we were required to add more elevation to some of the lots before we can set forms for the foundations. This will also mean better drainage for the houses. The form boards are already on the property ready for the men to begin setting the forms for foundations. The crews will do as much work as possible over the weekend and we hope to have the forms set on Monday. I will try to take photos regularly so that you can watch the progress. After all the painful waiting, we are finally at the "fun" part of the project. |