missjanel

Kudos to anyone who can live through a year of restoration (even though they were not living in the home). I'm sure that it will all be worthwhile once they are able to move in. I know I'm jealous. I didn't realize that one of the benefits to obtaining historical designation is an exemption from property taxes on renovation costs for up to 15 years. It would certainly make major restoration less cost prohibitive for some homes in poor condition. The article mentioned an unusual mural that was highlighted in a previous edition of absolutely! Magazine. Interesting to say the least. Here's a copy online. http://tinyurl.com/22yko2

The Flatow Moore house was reduced today. At $152,000 tempting for some I'm sure.

August 06

Probably one of the best threads on HAIF IMO. Fascinating stuff. This house is pending sale and is slated to close at the end of January. I wonder if the buyer knows that the house was not really built in 1856 and what the new owners new plans will be.

I guess it doesn't really matter. It's now option pending. Some lucky buyer.

331 Electra went on the market today. No interior pics on HAR though. It's on a very large ravine lot. www.har.com/8226540

I was in it about 2 years ago and it wasn't pretty. Honestly I think it would have to be completely gutted. Hopefully someone could salvage the kitchen cabinets if not have new ones built in the same design. Personally I think it would be too much money to spend on that particular house due to it's location, nearby busy streets plus the complex that is behind is less than desirable. It's not so much visable as there is a lot of bamboo growing in the back but that doesn't help to cut down on the noise associated with multi-unit housing.

I think the MB access to door was there to cut across to the 4th bedroom which was used as a gym with the adjoining sauna. Also the utility room could not be accessed from the inside of the house only by cutting across the patio. The plans show: A House For Stephens' Company Al Fairfield Builders, Inc. Waller S. Poage AIA 12502 Winding Brook Houston, Texas 77024

I don't have any knowledge of the home previously flooding but it very may well haven given it's proximity to the bayou. A sellers disclosure is not available since the house is a foreclosure. The current asking price is just under $103 per square foot which is one of the lowest priced homes in Meyerland. The house is large and the lot too is quite large. The downside is that it's at a busy intersection. But it's pretty well preserved and has lots of potential.

No offense taken, hence the seriously comment. I do agree that some realtors don't really make much effort but for the most part realtors really do try. But I don't want to turn this into a debate a photographic quality or good and bad realtors. The topic is really about what great potential this house has and highlighting it's original features. I hope my pictures did that and I'm glad you enjoyed them.

I take offense to that. But seriously people need to realize that taking good photographs requires expensive equipment and a trained eye for what looks good. I spent many years in portrait photography and technology before I became a realtor. The photographs that I posted were taken with a DSLR with a wide angle lens and off camera flash. Not every agent is able to spend several thousands of dollars for photographic equipment or spend months in the classroom learning to use such equipment. Agents do the best that they can with what they have or they hire a professional to do it for them. No agent listing a foreclosure is going to have a professional come out and take the shots. At least I have yet to see a professional marketing piece spread for a foreclosure. The prices are usually low enough that the house sells itself or people buy it just because they 'think' they are getting a good deal. FWIW I think the photos I took are awful but I didn't have a tripod with me and I was in a huge hurry as I had someone waiting in the car for me. I hope to go back and retake them when I have a little more time. I don't want to sound ungrateful for the praise because I'm not ungrateful. It's just that I see both sides. The greatest compliment though would come from someone actually buying the house because of the photographs posted on this forum. That would be awesome. Anyone, anyone???

I stopped by MCIA this morning and no one who was authorized to check out plans was there. I'll stop back by this afternoon or tomorrow morning hoping for better luck. I stopped by the house and snapped some pics. Two are posted here and more can be found here http://tinyurl.com/2pead5 This house is in pretty good shape considering that it is a forclosure. I think it has ton's of potential. Very few modifications have been made over the years. The original sconces in the living area, hallway and master are very striking. I also really like the rocket shaped door hinges. There was lots of formica, included on the walls too.

I can go tomorrow and pick up the plans if they are still available. I heard a while back that this house is actually the "House of Formica", not the house on Moonlight Drive as previously mentioned in the other thread. I'm not sure which one is correct, but just something I was told by a lifetime Meyerland resident.

I agree. The house changed hands sometime around the middle of September. But once the article came out he didn't waste any time getting the house demo'ed. I drove by today to see with my own eyes and now I wish I hadn't. It's very disturbing to see something so great reduced to pieces for the landfill.

I love the interior pics both with and without the Cohens. Just to get even a small glimpse of what the interior looked like has made it all the more important to document the homes interior. I would love to see a pic of the kitchen. Does anyone have one?

I thought I remember someone saying that they wanted a mid century church to convert to living space. Obviously it's not exactly in town but it might be an option for someone not commuting into Houston daily. www.har.com/ 9259316

I had the plans checked out for a while but turned them back in when I became consumed with my own Meyerland "ranch disaster".

Point taken. I'll rephrase. For anyone that might possibly want to document the home you can contact the new owner Marvin Granit of Granit Builders at the website listed above.

Actually that's what I had requested when I originally posted about it being bought for the construction of a new home. Seeing that the house was intact and that the original architectural plans were readily available I wanted to see if someone could document the home before it's demise. But I really don't see the new owner being so quick to let in the very folks who tried to prevent him from purchasing the home. However it's worth a shot if anyone is interested. You can check out what the future holds here: http://www.granitbuilders.com/

I doubt there is a permit for demolition yet since the transaction has not yet closed and won't until about the middle of next month. But when I asked for the blueprints today the HOA already knew that it was being bought for development of a new home. FWIW the HOA said that they don't go out of their way to throw away the blueprints when new homes occupy the lot. They said that the blueprints "may" get parsed from time to time but that most are probably still in the HOA files. Anyone can check them out for the nominal deposit I mentioned previously. But to answer your question it's on Moonlight.

Here's a nice pic of the exterior. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomanderson/381929338/

Yes, it was the home of Robert Cohen. And it is under contract and will be demolished by the new owner who is building himself a home.All I wanted was for someone to take pics and secure the blueprints for the future enjoyment of modern enthusiasts. I understand that people have day jobs and don't have a ton of free time for such endeavours. I wouldn't have so much time to house stalk either if I wasn't looking for a home to purchase myself. Once it closes I am still going to try and see inside with a breathing filter just to enjoy. I will try to take some pics then.

This HOA actually lets you check them out with a $100 deposit. If you don't bring them back they cash your check. If you bring them back they give your check back to you. I still have the plans for the house we were trying to buy. I torture myself with them regularly. If the house is being bought by someone wanting to tear it down then I will ask the HOA to keep the plans. Who knows maybe someday we will build a new house on the old plans. It was designed by Charles Sawyer. I believe before he became an architect. As for the other house I will check to see if the plans are available and who the architect was. It's sad to see it torn down as it's such a unique home. The living room was round and the builder told me the oven opens in a gull wing fashion. Here is a pic from a couple of years ago before the mold took over. I'm usually poor at posting pics so forgive me if it doesn't show up.

I have been looking for a house for sometime and it's proven to be quite challenging lately (even for a realtor) since there is such a shortage of available homes on the market. I did find one home that I felt was priced low enough and had enough potential to undo all the heinous changes that had been made by the current owner in the last 5 years or so. But negotiations didn't go as well as I had planned and the home is now selling to someone else. (It's a long story, please don't ask as I'm extremely bitter about the whole transaction). What I learned from the process though was that the homeowners association still had the original blueprints on file which was going to make putting the house back together much easier. I'm hopeful that I will find another house in the same neighborhood and have been driving around daily in hopes of finding a FSBO or vacant house that the owner might be interested in selling. I know this is long but I promise I'm getting to the point. As if bemoaning the one that got away is not enough I have to witness the never-ending teardown craze of homes that are nearing execution day. While I was driving around today I ran into a builder who is in the process of purchasing one of the nicer homes in the area to demolish and build his own custom home. He admited that at first his interest was in renovating the home but that it has so much mold and is in such disrepair that all that will be salvaged is the exterior rock facing. So I began to wonder what happens to the blueprints when a home gets torn down. I'm pretty sure the HOA just throws them away. What a loss! I am not a member of Houston Mod so I am not sure what the organization does to preserve the record of homes that will demolished. But these home are going to be torn down whether we like it or not. Is Houston Mod capable of taking ownership of the blueprints and documenting the home before it's demise? I realize that storing blueprints takes up space and none may be available but what about having them scanned and stored digitally? As I mentioned I am not a member so this may be something that the organization is already doing?

I didn't see it in person but I believe the pool was in the front yard hence the privacy fence. I think that contributed to ackward parking.