Anyone interested in a house in the Houston Heights, this baby is close by to me. We could be neighbors!!! http://www.justuscats.com/ P.S. The people who live there are VERY nice. The woman just retired and her husband has been retired so I think they are moving out of town.
Don't you put your christmas tree out on the porch? No thanks, I don't want to deal with weirdos like you.
holy mother of jesus, $230,000 for that house?!!!!!!!!!!!!? Man, maybe I should reconsider wanting to live in a city when I graduate.
Far be it from me to EVER post anything about a house again, but just a couple of responses: Da: It isn't a shack. It is remodeled very nicely on the inside and landscaped outside. These are called Heights "cottages" for a reason. They are under 1500 sq feet in general and most are extremely nice inside and out. By the way, my house is almost exactly the same size as that one. It isn't a shack. Houstone: Not likely given that the house is older than your grandparents and has survived at least 2 major hurricanes. Particle board, it ain't. This is a joke, right? My house has more than doubled in "value" since I moved in 6 years ago. There are more than a dozen historic homes in the Heights. If you want to be trendy, tear down one of these old homes for the land and build 4 homes on the same lot that used to hold one. That's what Perry Homes would do. My grandparents have lived in this neighborhood since the 50's and my mother's parents lived here beginning in the 40's. The kid living next to us grew up on Harvard St. just one block off Heights Blvd where his mother still lives and has since she was a child. My parents, aunts and uncles all went to Regan High School in the Heights much like many of the people who live here. I'd hardly call that trendy. It is far more historic than trendy. Besides, if you want "value" I assume you equate it with size. Given that my wife and I don't require more than about 1500 square feet for a house, anything more is an absolute waste of space. Besides, I'll take my drafty, old, solid wood, handmade, one-of-a-kind, no grass mowin', non-deed-restricted, built-on-blocks, dead in the center of town house built in 1930 over that particle board and vinyl, mold-laden, hermedically sealed, giant lawned, master-planned carbon copy box built yesterday100 miles from nowhere any day of the week. Particularly given the fact that my home value has continued to increase by leaps and bounds over those built out in Sugar Wood or Kingland. If I decided I want to move, I could use the money to buy two of those. Want one?
Why are people so quick to jump on others when they hear how much they spent on an older house? Ask them what they paid for it to begin with. There are smaller homes in the Bellaire area that are probably gold mines to their owners because they bought it at 1/4 - 1/2 the price they're probably worth right now. As someone else in this thread already said, value isn't necessarily in what's on the land, but rather the land itself.
Well, I didn't jump on anyone personally, but I was a little surprised at first when I saw the asking price. I guess that's because I've not seen such an increased value in older homes around here. Sure, some older neighborhoods have become more desireable than in the past and values have increased somewhat. But I don't know that there's anywhere currently in the greater D/FW area where a similar house would go for that much. But I think that's great that people are buying these homes and restoring them and enjoying them and enjoying the neighborhood. Personally, I would rather have a larger, newer house and live in the suburbs, but that's a personal preference based on who I am and what I like (and "value" to me would be the most house for my buck since I'm largely unconcerned about rising values. Like I said before, I'm digging the hole to bury me in once I get moved in). I certainly don't begrudge anyone whose preferences are different. And while it was initially surprising to me to see that price on that type of house, I sure don't see anything wrong with it. I'm sure it's a fine home in a lovely neighborhood that they'll have absolutely no trouble selling.
Given that their house will probably sell for $220K and our's is certainly in the same market as theirs from a quality and size standpoint, that would be an increase of more than 150 percent in value for us in just over six years. As I recall, the house in question was bought for around $110K about 4 years ago so that's double in 4 years. I'm not ragging on anyone's home preference either - just defending my own choices. I know lots of people who live in the burbs and love it and have really nice homes. My in-laws have a beautiful house in Clear Lake. I think we are probably pretty spoiled in Texas anyway - particularly in Houston. I have a friend who is moving to Philadelphia and he and his wife (well, mostly his wife) want 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. In Philly, even way out in the burbs, they are looking at spending $300K+. You could find that here for under $200K fairly easily.
yup... and do you think you could get one of those four "homes" for LESS than to 230K??? hahahaha... I think not. 1500 sq ft, remodeled and 230K is about the going rate. We recently had our Heights home on the market, 1400 sq feet, oversized lot 2 bdr/1bath for 159K... didn't get one offer in 9 months! So go figure....
I actually thought the house was a good deal. It is close to 1600 square feet, had all of those renovations, and looked really nice. My houseis one of those new monsters that replaced an old house not far from Jeff's house. We were never really planning on staying there, though - just did it as an investment - has already gone up a bit in 2 years. Now that we don't even live in the damn thing it is even more like an investment. When we eventually settle, we would definitely prefer older, organic, cozy to large, pristine, and not as well built. And rH is right - the new stuff costs the same.
yeah i know my grandfather's house was worth almost double what our's was and we were way higher on the square footage. his was in the city, ours is in the suburbs. personally, give me the suburbs anyday. i could never fork over 230K for 1600 sq. ft. of course i'm 20 and not even considering a house yet so who knows.
Actually, the house seems a little pricey even for the Heights area. I've seen comparable houses for $50K less. I actually intend to buy a house in the Heights area as soon as I've paid off some of my student loan. You might get a bigger home in the suburbs, but that's about it for the benefits. Give me inner city living anyday.
It has to be definitely the land. Also, Texas must be really expensive to live in. No joke, but the house I'm living in (my granny's) is nicer looking on the outside than that one and it is only appraised for like $60K at the most & that is definitely pushing it. However, it is hard to judge because we don't know about the inside. But it's like that old saying, "Can't judge a book by its cover."
