Old Houses Out On Highway 59 South

[jm1fd]

Anybody know of any 20s, 30s or 40s subdivisions still in tact out in the direction of the SW freeway? Preferably inside the belt. I'm switching to a new job at Greenway Plaza, and since I haven't bought a house yet, I thought I'd look for something out that direction instead, and I really like 20s/30s/40s houses. Oh yeah....I don't want to spend any more than $150k

[rps324]

Anybody know of any 20s, 30s or 40s subdivisions still in tact out in the direction of the SW freeway?  Preferably inside the belt.  I'm switching to a new job at Greenway Plaza, and since I haven't bought a house yet, I thought I'd look for something out that direction instead, and I really like 20s/30s/40s houses.  Oh yeah....I don't want to spend any more than $150k

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nothing really was developed SW pre-WWII in that direction (towards the beltway) was it? Bellaire is the oldest thing going that way and you know what the prices are there. Anything west, north, or south is of that is 50's or newer. The areas SW that were developed during the 20's - 40's are all pretty exclusive now, River Oaks, Montrose/upper Kirby, West U, old Braeswood, some parts of Bellaire, etc.

Of course 50's era stuff in available SW in that price range all day long in Robindell, Westbury, Sharpstown, etc. If you have your heart set on a older house in the $150k or under range you would still have better luck looking eastern. Washington Terrace, Lindale Park, Idylwood, etc. which would all at least keep you inside the loop if you could find something.

House hunting can be so frustrating, and the challenge that makes it difficult with most people is they have to make a reconciliation between location, style/design, & price. Price is usually pretty fixed, and it usually boils down to being able to buy a house you don't really love in the location you want, or finding a house that is what you really want, in a location that isn't.

[Guest danax]

Anybody know of any 20s, 30s or 40s subdivisions still in tact out in the direction of the SW freeway?  Preferably inside the belt.  I'm switching to a new job at Greenway Plaza, and since I haven't bought a house yet, I thought I'd look for something out that direction instead, and I really like 20s/30s/40s houses.  Oh yeah....I don't want to spend any more than $150k

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If I were you, I would be patiently waiting for a fixer in Washington Terrace. Those homes, as I know you know, are the ultimate Houston 20s-30s homes. but I don't know if you have children and schools etc might be an issue. I looked over there before I bought my current home but was a little wary of the neighborhood and never found a sound house in my price range. I don't know, maybe 150K won't by anything over there anymore except a real wreck.

I would also check out Garden Villas. Some cool old homes from that era and huge lots. The drive on surface streets to Greenway would be fairly quick and easy.

Sorry to lose you as a potential Eastender. But, if you really want a house from that era, I wouldn't worry as much about location. Anything that old will be fairly close in anyway. There is a certain pleasure that you get constantly when you live in a house that feels right AND that you have taken under your wings, so to speak. As an owner of an old house, one that most people would've laughed at (some still do), I have been in near constant happiness here despite the construction-zone atmosphere. You couldn't give me a new house. I didn't just buy shelter, I bought a lifetime art project. Of course, you might not want to spend a lot of your extra money and time creating a personal masterpiece but I say lucky is the person that finds something that allows creativity to flow, and, as opposed to say, a painting or a piece of music, you get to live in your work, and constantly improve on it.

I do have a friend that lives off of Bissonett near the Valley View Country Club (I think that's the name of it) and he's got a 1958 house that's big and has nice wood floors. I too like them older than that but, as rps said, that Southwest area really didn't get built up until the 50s.

Don't sell out, man. Don't let em talk you into some featureless box, unless you just plan on "selling in 5 years" anyway.

[rps324]

Garden Villas can offer some incredible bargains. With all the trees that canopy every street it has a real lush, green feel that makes you think you are way out in the country. The houses are a real mixed bag in there. There is a two-story 1920's frame colonial with a guest house and a big circle drive on something like an acre, backing up to an old oxbow of Sims Bayou. I think it is $187,000 or something like that. It has a fireplace in the master bedroom. and one FP down. It might be worth perusing the choices in there.

[jm1fd]

I don't know if I can handle driving 13 miles from Garden Villas to Greenway....there are definetly some neat houses in there, though.

I can't stand Washington Terrace....yes, the houses are killer, but there are about 3 trees in the entire 'hood. I can't stand that....I feel like I'm in a war zone.

The Forest Hill house deal fell apart because of the deed restrictions (which I didn't know about until I was calling around pricing the rental market, talking to somebody else that has a house over there). The house I was going to buy has a rental unit that I planned to rent out, but the deed restrictions prohibit that, and I wasn't going to buy the property and end up in a legal battle to overturn the restrictions, and the sellers didn't think it was a problem because nobody had said anything heretofore. I'm just glad I found out before it closed.

I think I'm going to look for a late 50s house out the SW freeway somewhere.....

[LarryDallas]

Sharpstown is the best kept secret in homes that are from the 50s and would make your jaw drop if you saw how they look inside. I recently went to an estate sale a few blocks from Sharpstwon high school and I was just amazed at the house and the $140K price it is valued at for taxation with Harris county.

I can't recall the exact address but it was on Jason about 2 blocks west of the high school. The neighbors have immaculate yards and it looks like it is the 1950s as represented in film and TV less the modern cars. The floor was all genuine hardwood (not laminate fake stuff), all dentin crown moulding, the 5 inch baseboards, etc....small stuff that makes a big impact.

Another street I suggest you drive in Sharpstown is Tree Frog which is located a few blocks from the interection of Fondren and Bissonett. The lots those homes sit on are HUGE wooded densely and it feels like you are not in a big city. I'd kill for a house on Tree Frog! They probably price in the mid 300s because of the land value.

Another house I've always been curious about is the one on Bissonett directly across the street from Braeburn Country club east of Gessner. The lot is probably a good 5 acres with a maybe 3000 sq ft house on it. The owner used to have just a wooden fence for years but now has a very ugly chain link one in front of the broken up wooden one.

If he built a stucco or brick wall around the perimeter that was a good 15 ft tall it would be a paradise in town. His lot has plently of mature trees and lots of greenery.

Look for something like that. Sure the area will be bad if you drive a few blocks form your house but that will help control property tax in the future. Bissonett has ton of apartments which are in bad condition and leased to illegals. This also makes those shady C-stores run well. In other words this sort of thing discourages developers from making some mega buck development near you and making it so you can't afford to live there.

The supreme court did what it did and there is a thread about that but with so much decay in Sharpstown I doubt it will be attractive to investors. For a homeowner with a big lot that is a good thing.

[Casual Observer]

Larry Dallas, I don't know if Tree Frog would be considered Sharpstown. Here's Why: Sharpstown Map. I would think Braeburn. Poor Braeburn is fighting to keep from becoming the next Sharpstown. With all the more recent renewal efforts poured into Myerland, Westbury, & Maplewood, I think it has a chance.

The true problem is that with all the apartments along Fondren, the Belfort ghettos to the south, and of course good old reliabe Alief to the west, its going to be an on going fight to preserve that neighborhood.

I hope that eventually the renewal will spread through Sharpstown. I sometimes think though, that US59 running through the middle of it will prevent that from happening.

[LarryDallas]

No matter what occurs in SW I would still want to buy my dream house on Tree Frog. Anyone who has never been on that street needs to get in a car and drive it to get what i am talking about.

Bareburn sufferes not so much from what is in it but what it is surrounded by. The strip malls with pawn shops and dollar stores along Gessner are a real disaster.

I agree with you on Sharpstown. It seems as if it is a lost casue. Momentum Volvo and BMW pulled out from around the Arean Theater years ago to move closer to the belt and 59 south. Across the street from the mall Gillman Mitsubishi/Honda did the same and left a giant billboard that says "Thanks for 36 great years Sharpstown".

I speculate their cars were getting broken into and vandalized since the dealership was built back when dealer inventory was not what it is these days. Many of the cars had to be parked out front by the sidewalks which is a bad idea. Their complex was in total decay and disrepair for a long time. Now that they have pulled out the giant lot left after the demolition is a prime candidate for more of those disgusting strip malls.

This is the exact same thing that occured when Bill Heard (later Apple Chevy)...closed the Hillcroft and 59 location. That huge parcel of land was divided and devloped by someone on crack. In the first stages they opened a Chevron on the corner and a strip mall on the side with acres of land behind them that had no way to accessed incase of a future buildup. I think the owner was just in need to rent fast so he got what he could ASAP. The "Little India" mall has masked how poorly planned that land was a bit but I fear the same thing is going to occur on Bellaire.

The only new significant buiding in that area is the new Circuit City on the south side of Bellaire close to the highway. I wish they had just waited and built at the corner of Bellaire and Fondren where the car dealership was.

[jm1fd]

Tree Frog looks interesting....there's a lot for sale in the MLS nearby at 7505 Wanda.

HCAD Map of Tree Frog

[rps324]

The country club terrace section of Sharpstown has some nice homes. Robindell still has some good bargains and a lot of those houses are William Floyd designs. But I don't know that you would save any distance vs. Garden Villas though.

[jghall00]

I kinda don't want to say anything cause I want it myself :/ but there's a fixer-upper on blodgett between 288 and caroline going for 160,000. The neighborhood is marginal, but it's down the street from the museum district. If any development starts, it's going to be in that area before it leapfrogs 288.

We need to do a Houston Architecture tour-the-town, and show each other all the interesting neighborhoods.

[jghall00]

I just took a look on har.com.  Is it the one that says "PENDING CONTINUE TO SHOW"?  If so, then you're probably already too late. 

That's not a bad neighborhood at all.  I used to live in an old apartment building on Jackson at Binz.  I loved being able to walk to the museums and to Hermann Park.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not necessarily true, for a variety of reasons, any deal in the making can fall through. The condo I own now had 2 or 3 contracts fall through before I purchased it. If there's no earnest money, perhaps a competitive bid and a quick closing might do the trick. The house isn't zoned to a good school, and it's a somewhat borderline neighborhood, but damn it's a steal IMO. I feel bad that I can't buy it!

[jm1fd]

I kinda don't want to say anything cause I want it myself :/  but there's a fixer-upper on blodgett between 288 and caroline going for 160,000.  The neighborhood is marginal, but it's down the street from the museum district.  If any development starts, it's going to be in that area before it leapfrogs 288.

We need to do a Houston Architecture tour-the-town, and show each other all the interesting neighborhoods.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ick...that house is almost on top of the freeway.....I'll pass. Looks like some fool bought it, though.

[jghall00]

Ick...that house is almost on top of the freeway.....I'll pass.  Looks like some fool bought it, though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're right, it is bordering 288; I can see why that would be a turnoff. I'm not sure how familar with the area you are, but 288 doesn't have developed feeders like the other local freeways. That particular section of freeway is elevated, so the noise isn't too bad adjacent. The roadway next to the freeway is lightly trafficed and has a sidewalk. It's really not quite as bad as it may seem. Take a look at the satellite photo on google maps.

[MidtownCoog]

No billboards, either.

[Perimeter285]

As a person of "decent means" living in Sharpstown, I can tell you it is nothing to be afraid of. I have to admit that the nearby apartment complexes are DISGUSTING, but they'll never change unless people move into this neighborhood and invest. Never once, though, have I feared for my safety. All of my neighbors take great care of their property and look out for each other. My house is distinctive (mid-century modern), has real hardwood floors, and I'm ten minutes from downtown. I didn't let some preconceptions keep me from realizing a bargain when I saw it.