The Morgan: Multifamily At 2401 Westridge St.

[Citygirl]

The Morgan: Multifamily At 2401 Westridge St.

I was a single mom in the apartment industry for 15 years. The industry was very good to me in that I was able to raise my daughter alone - take vacations, pay for good childcare, etc. The downside (I suppose) was that I moved along with with my new title/assignment every 12-24 months (free or deeply discounted apt). Wanting a stable life for my daughter in spite of moving all the time - I only accepted postions that would allow me to keep her in the same schools. I originally placed her in Holloway Day Nursery (in Bellaire) as a result of word of mouth recommendations. (I was very young and new to Houston at the time) Then, because I wanted her to remain with the kids at the nursery - I enrolled her at Longfellow, then Pershing, and now Bellaire (and worked at locations that were zoned accordingly). (Thank God for those original referrals - I "fell" into the cream of the Houston crop)

I have since gotten married, opened my own small business (still in the industry) and purchased a home in Westridge. I purchased the home two yrs ago while still single. The thing is, now we are busting out of our 1950's bungalow...as our family doubled with a teen son, new hubby, and dog!

When I bought this house for $125k in 2004, it was the only thing I could touch inside the loop or zoned to Bellaire for that matter! It had been minimally redone cosmetically (inside) and was move-in ready. Having just painted inside and out - I have spent almost nothing on the house thinking all along it would eventually be a "tear down". Well, aside from being cramped - we are starting to be forced to spend money on the house....new a/c this year, need new windows terribly, all doors stick etc.

(long story even longer - ha) I prefer to restore rather then rebuild, but I am not sure that it makes sense to restore this house. It would be a huge undertaking (elec, plumbing, structural, foundation, etc.) We really hate the Mc Mansion thing (which has begun in our neighborhood), but think that it makes more financial sense to tear down rather than restore....but would do our own thing so as not to be cookie cutter. Of course if it does make sense to renovate (extensively - down to the studs, and even add on) then we would. Either way, we are in a better postion to hold on to this property rather than sell and find something else in the area. (There is NOTHING in our price range zoned to Bellaire that would make us happy in the long term.) We did put the house on the market and quickly pulled it off - after doing our homework - we didn't expect the response - We listed it "high" (we thought) then had three offers within 48 hrs (though not full price). We realized it was not in our best interest to move after seeing what was available to us in the our range!

So, the question is: How do I determine whether it makes sense to renovate a typical 1950's houston bungalow....or tear down and start over? (either way we will have to rent during construction) We plan to live here indefinitely... our budget to do either would be $150k which I know would be REALLY tight on new construction....we would like a 2000 sf house.

[musicman]

I was a single mom in the apartment industry for 15 years. The industry was very good to me in that I was able to raise my daughter alone - take vacations, pay for good childcare, etc. The downside (I suppose) was that I moved along with with my new title/assignment every 12-24 months (free or deeply discounted apt). Wanting a stable life for my daughter in spite of moving all the time - I only accepted postions that would allow me to keep her in the same schools. I originally placed her in Holloway Day Nursery (in Bellaire) as a result of word of mouth recommendations. (I was very young and new to Houston at the time) Then, because I wanted her to remain with the kids at the nursery - I enrolled her at Longfellow, then Pershing, and now Bellaire (and worked at locations that were zoned accordingly). (Thank God for those original referrals - I "fell" into the cream of the Houston crop)

I have since gotten married, opened my own small business (still in the industry) and purchased a home in Westridge. I purchased the home two yrs ago while still single. The thing is, now we are busting out of our 1950's bungalow...as our family doubled with a teen son, new hubby, and dog!

When I bought this house for $125k in 2004, it was the only thing I could touch inside the loop or zoned to Bellaire for that matter! It had been minimally redone cosmetically (inside) and was move-in ready. Having just painted inside and out - I have spent almost nothing on the house thinking all along it would eventually be a "tear down". Well, aside from being cramped - we are starting to be forced to spend money on the house....new a/c this year, need new windows terribly, all doors stick etc.

(long story even longer - ha) I prefer to restore rather then rebuild, but I am not sure that it makes sense to restore this house. It would be a huge undertaking (elec, plumbing, structural, foundation, etc.) We really hate the Mc Mansion thing (which has begun in our neighborhood), but think that it makes more financial sense to tear down rather than restore....but would do our own thing so as not to be cookie cutter. Of course if it does make sense to renovate (extensively - down to the studs, and even add on) then we would. Either way, we are in a better postion to hold on to this property rather than sell and find something else in the area. (There is NOTHING in our price range zoned to Bellaire that would make us happy in the long term.) We did put the house on the market and quickly pulled it off - after doing our homework - we didn't expect the response - We listed it "high" (we thought) then had three offers within 48 hrs (though not full price). We realized it was not in our best interest to move after seeing what was available to us in the our range!

So, the question is: How do I determine whether it makes sense to renovate a typical 1950's houston bungalow....or tear down and start over? (either way we will have to rent during construction) We plan to live here indefinitely... our budget to do either would be $150k which I know would be REALLY tight on new construction....we would like a 2000 sf house.

If you have 150k to spend..... you can EASILY do with you want to with the house you're in especially if the square footage is ok. If you're willing to do some work, you definitely have no problem.

[TheNiche]

So, the question is: How do I determine whether it makes sense to renovate a typical 1950's houston bungalow....or tear down and start over? (either way we will have to rent during construction) We plan to live here indefinitely... our budget to do either would be $150k which I know would be REALLY tight on new construction....we would like a 2000 sf house.

If you did new construction, you'd have to budget at $75psf. That's doable, but it certainly wouldn't be anything at all fancy. Also, the interim rental of an apartment unit large enough for your family could cut into your budget.

You should be aware that all it takes for you to get your kids into the school of your choice in HISD is to contact the Superintendent's office and verify with them that you'll provide daily transportation. Approvals for transfer are typically very easy to come by. With that in mind, perhaps your options are broader than you'd originally thought.

...but for the moment, I'd advise that if you're absolutely sure that you want to stay where you are, you should renovate and add on.

[musicman]

You should be aware that all it takes for you to get your kids into the school of your choice in HISD is to contact the Superintendent's office and verify with them that you'll provide daily transportation. Approvals for transfer are typically very easy to come by. With that in mind, perhaps your options are broader than you'd originally thought.

HISD is transporting children from ALL over Houston to certain schools. Guaranteed transportation on your part would only be a plus.

With gas prices rising though, many school districts are cutting back on the long distance transporation so make sure they know you'll be able to bring them.

[Citygirl]

Well, let me ask you guys this. Because this is an old vinyl sided house rather than a 1930's architecturally interesting brick bungalow, and was never a fancy house: (I think they originally sold for 8-10k in 1952) Is it throwing "good money after bad" if we spend a boatload to renovate (to nearly new standards?) I mean re-sale wise. Or will it still be considered a tear down and pretty much go for "lot value" due to it's age in the future? I think it's one thing to make it a little show place for us to enjoy over the next 10-15 years - but I am always mindful of future loss/gain. By the by, the house is about 1500 sf.

[TheNiche]

Well, let me ask you guys this. Because this is an old vinyl sided house rather than a 1930's architecturally interesting brick bungalow, and was never a fancy house: (I think they originally sold for 8-10k in 1952) Is it throwing "good money after bad" if we spend a boatload to renovate (to nearly new standards?) I mean re-sale wise. Or will it still be considered a tear down and pretty much go for "lot value" due to it's age in the future? I think it's one thing to make it a little show place for us to enjoy over the next 10-15 years - but I am always mindful of future loss/gain. By the by, the house is about 1500 sf.

The tear-down trend hasn't hit the old Bellaire homes that are of substantial size quite as hard as it has hit the smaller homes. The more value you put onto a lot, the higher is the opportunity cost for a developer to tear it down.

Having said that, the Bellaire market is still rapidly being built out with McMansions and is beginning to face a diminishing supply of lots. As lots become more scarce, prices will rise geometrically. So it is very plausible that the opportunity costs of demolition that you would add could be overcome in the 10- to 15-year horizon.

You're probably at or pretty close to lot value as it is, so one strategy that a lot of people in your situation shoot for is to thoroughly 'use up' their home. Defer maintenance wherever possible. Any improvements must be designed for low-cost without much regard for rapid depreciation. If you need a new roof, either go with roll-on or aluminum mastic. Let the slab deteriorate. Don't worry about termites. Convert the garage to an extra room to provide your needed space; then add a carport in front of it if the City will let you. And bear in mind that replacing the air conditioning is eventually going to be a necessary cost incurred wherever you happen to live, so just chalk that up to an unrecoverable expense related to comfort more than to your real estate investment.

If you're already at lot value, these low-cost practices won't come back to bite you. In fact, by waiting out the proliferation of McMansions, you'll just be sitting on an appreciating investment.

[jm1fd]

Well, let me ask you guys this. Because this is an old vinyl sided house rather than a 1930's architecturally interesting brick bungalow, and was never a fancy house: (I think they originally sold for 8-10k in 1952) Is it throwing "good money after bad" if we spend a boatload to renovate (to nearly new standards?) I mean re-sale wise. Or will it still be considered a tear down and pretty much go for "lot value" due to it's age in the future? I think it's one thing to make it a little show place for us to enjoy over the next 10-15 years - but I am always mindful of future loss/gain. By the by, the house is about 1500 sf.

If your horizon is 10-15 years, then just do whatever makes you happy. There's no way of knowing what values are going to be like in 10-15 years....it could be worth big money, or unforseen events could make property nearly worthless.