Galveston ... hasta luego baby

Galveston Island

 Twenty five years of good times....   starting in the late 90's and as of today (!), sold our second/final home on the island.  Truly gut wrenching decision for me since we love going down there so much.  Hell, just a lil' over a year ago we were considering buying a third (selling the other two to buy it) on the canals nearer the bay side.  A truly beautiful home with a pool and garages that we could have moved to full time.  We made an offer, but wouldn't pay the asking price. When we opted not to do that one, I think it may have set things in motion mentally.  Additionally, we'd been going down to the coast in MS more often to see my nephew and his family for Jeep events.  The more we went there, the more I appreciated it and saw some glaring differences that I couldn't ignore.

My neighborhood - Karankawa Beach

My neighborhood - Karankawa Beach

 

Galveston has always been about the ease and simplicity of getting to the Gulf quickly for my family.  Once there, so many things we enjoyed that we didn't have here in Greenville.  I don't know how many times folks would ask "WHY?".  I mean, it's not the clear waters of the Emerald Coast in Florida. Not the same as the Caribbean islands and countries down that way.  I could go on and on.  But, my answer has always been ... .  we wake up, jump in a vehicle and 4.5-5 hours later we're sipping a cold one on the gulf enjoying the view .. the breeze ...  on the Island. The last eleven years or so we've had homes on or nearly on.. the beach.  There's nothing like it, waking up to that sound. That view.  All day, all night.  But, things change.  And some of them, I don't necessarily like.  The Island has had a major resurgence with the tourist industry.  After Hurricane Ike back in late '08 we got a reset.  Lot of locals left (folks that work the tourism industry and earn the lower wages).  The tourist industry as a whole had slowed down.  Building new homes seemed to almost halt.   But in the last decade it's taken off again.  Tourism is crazy busy right now.  Homes are being built it seems everywhere.  Real Estate prices are going through the roof and along with that ... property taxes.  

Texas doesn't tax your income, but they bend you over on property taxes.  This year, they are out of control and for the first time I'm pushing back on it.  Then throw in the cost of Insurance on the island; home, wind and flood... 3 of them!  I've always overlooked it all, but after last year... I guess it pushed my buttons. The final button for me is when I came to believe the City of Galveston doesn't really give a shit about the home owners on the Island as a whole.  They are focused on the tax base the tourism industry provides, but make it difficult for us home owners.   Simple example would be last year we had a storm that came it and eroded the dunes in front of our beach front home.  To make it worse, we lost about 15' of our yard to mother nature.  Now, common sense says Galveston would replace the dune and it's my problem to replace my yard with dirt/sod.  But they put it all back on us.  Then to make it worse, we needed permit after permit and they made it difficult, almost impossible.  Made zero sense to me.  And to be honest, we were already on the fence for something different so this was the straw that broke the camels back?  So, we flipped 'em the bird mentally, did some cosmetic fixes on the home and gave our realtor a call.  On the Market!  

Within several days we had an offer.  We'd put the home on the market for what I perceived was top dollar , got a low ball offer in, dropped it a notch in good faith while simultaneously pointing out all the upgrades and fixes we've done the last seven years with it.  They pushed back, we held our ground knowing we had a lot of showings that week scheduled .. within 24 hours we all agreed on a fair price for both parties.  Now the paperwork BS, inspections and the wait.. .. .while watching the gulf weather. Sure enough Hurricane IDA pops up within days and we're getting nervous!    Well, it'd head straight for Louisiana with it's destruction missing Texas completely and barely scathing MS (the one we bought a few months back).  Whew!   Now... the waiting game...   watch the weather, count the days until closing!  Not to be outdone, few weeks late, Nicholas pops up as a CAT 1 hitting the Texas coast just to the west of us.  No severe damage to the home, but wiped out the dune in front of us and took out power for several days.  Some siding on the beach side, some rail posts .. lot of lil' things, need some help. Walkway to the water, took a hit.  No insurance claims this time around; hate the god damned paperwork!  Our super stud Handyman friend is taking care of it as this is typed. So .... .. back to pins and needles and counting the days until closing!

All fixed .... then .. the buyer runs into a financing snag and a 2 week delay. Deep down in the dark depths of my brain I'm a notch concerned.  So many things can still go wrong, go sideways.  And if they fall by the wayside, did we miss a perfect opportunity with the housing market? Or did we actually leave money on the table by accepting too early?  Two weeks of more... pins and needles. 

They play by play ...

Email rolls in ... Buyers got a 2nd Lien approved and we'll be closing next soon, on time.  All looks good now... .. hmmmmm.. we shall see.  This past weekend the realtor grabbed her lock box.  Tells me she's a believer for the first time?

It's game day week.  Still no update.  We're planning on a Virtual closing so we don't have to drive down to Galveston, but ... crickets.   I hate this crap.  Nada.  Zilch .. quiet...  but hey .. it's Columbus day .. everyone is celebrating?

It's Wednesday, 13 Oct as I type this line.  Supposed to close in two days virtually. No contact from the Title company as of yet.  This reeks of incompetence.  My realtor is my life line, yet ...   wondering if anyone has a clue.  Two days to go.............  Buyers supposedly close at 1pm

Well.. it's Friday morning.  I close at 1000 hrs this morning.  Buyers at 1300 hrs.  Then .. wait for the funds to show up.  This one has wore me out.  The final payout is $2k less than what I'd expected, but ....   have refunds on 3 diff' insurances coming in I'm sure that are more than that together?  Still when the smoke clears...  I have to pinch myself that over the last seven years....  it all worked out.  Didn't cost me a dime for all those good times.  God Bless Texas!

Late Friday morning ....   Notary Public wit all the papers just showed up, all signed and we are a go on this end.  At 1300hrs, buyers sign.

As I type this ...  Buyers have closed.  All in the rear view mirror..  just waiting for the funding to hit the bank and I'll disconnect all the cameras and security systems. Monday .. everything disconnected (water, etc).  Done!

 .....................

 

We're going to miss it .. but...  not everything.   For those that have been to Galveston, 61st Street is the entry point for many.  You follow it all the way to the seawall then.. Left or Right .  If you head right, you are headed West along the waters' edge to basically ...  the homes.   Thousands and thousands of vacation homes and many with full timers with some condos and apartments in the mix.  Take a left and you're headed East into the chaos.  Traffic can be ridiculous and it gets a lil crazy on weekends and holidays.  It's the sign of progress, but not one I enjoy anymore.  When it's busy, finding a place in a restaurant can be a pain in the ass.  Parking can be a pain in the ass. Traffic is obviously a pain in the ass.  And it's getting worse. Now you've got golf cart rental locations popping up everywhere and they are allowed east of 61st. Moped shops popping up. Slingshot rentals.  You name it!   Now, once you get past 25th street not too bad .. but ....  that area is starting to grow as well, though slowly.   Downtown on the strand isn't as bad, but as the cruise ship industry gets back on it's feet it'll join into the fray as well.  Places we used to go, don't appeal to me anymore.  You've got to get off the beaten path to find some good spots (which still exist), but ....  it's just changing as am I.   Now, contrast that to MS where we go and the two locations are night and day. MS is much quiet/less touristy and I like it.  Hundreds of thousands love and enjoy Galveston and it shows. I don't blame them.  But, they can have it.

Another pet peeve .... the lack of respect of the homeowners by beach goers. All Texas Beaches are 'public' beaches so you have access to them.  If a developement doesn't provide a major entry/parking point to the water, they have to allow one to park on the street with paths to the beach between private property. But, now you have 'strangers' parked on the street and they don't always follow the 'rules.' What is it about people that feel they can use your faucet, your outside shower... park in your driveway...  try to use your walkover (locked!) ...  cross over the dune (illegal!) ..   happens daily sometimes... weekly ... too often.  I swear too many people are just idiots.  I honestly don't get it.  I've yelled/screamed at too many over  the years.   If it was legal, I'd have smacked some sense into them.  I've come to believe...  too many people nowadays lack simple common sense.  They surely don't have respect for other's property.  But now... no longer an issue.

 But.. I've got choices I can make.  And we did.

 

Tourist Mecca

 

25th st area