Real Estate in your city

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by JManc

I think the problem with MCM is that in addition to the house, you tend to have to have a thing for MCM in general which means furniture, art and theme. A modern sofa set or trendy bathroom fixtures won't vibe with the style of the house.

Right, MCM is hard to furnish, hard to update. It's just hard, unless you have a passion for such design. I remember looking at the unique windows and wondering how to replace.

Which is probably, in part, why the typical higher end buyer goes for the schlocky McMansion.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by bnk

Thats a good deal. Nice property. Well remodeled. Lot's of out buildings and a pool. Wonder why is so cheap? 1.4M
Location likely. If I could plop that down in my area I would buy it.

Not George Washington this time, but it's a house that has had both Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin in it. The guy who had it built in 1832 (i.e. it was built in Mexico) then went on to sign Texas' Declaration of Independence and was appointed Secretary of the Navy for the republic. (He also had a county named after him.)

Pretty affordable too ...







https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...7_M89599-07449

[JManc]

It's in Matagorda, that's why it's relatively affordable. Not exactly a happening town. Unless you like to fish.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

It's in Matagorda, that's why it's relatively affordable. Not exactly a happening town. Unless you like to fish.

I'm impressed it survived the "Runaway Scrape" that followed the massacre in Goliad (March 1836); I thought all towns in that area were burned to the ground by the Texians fleeing towards the northeast. Obviously Matagorda was spared for some reason.

I'm trying to justify buying it. This tiny town isn't even touristic enough for this place to have a chance of making ends meet as an Airbnb...? It's got the beach and (apparently) great fishing.

[JManc]

If you want to buy something to rent out along the TX gulf coast, Galveston is your best option or South Padre. My wife and I are looking for a place in Galveston as a weekend home and something to Airbnb when not there. Plus much cheaper than a 900k house in the middle of no where.

[lio45]

I've got one that I'm looking at in Galveston, but it's pricier than the one in Matagorda and less historic.

(The interior is gorgeous, as you'd expect.)

The options are really limited because I have "must predate Civil War" on the list of criteria.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...0_M72922-87156

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

If you want to buy something to rent out along the TX gulf coast, Galveston is your best option or South Padre.

I did take a look at SPI just for fun, but unsurprisingly, there's nothing there that meets my criteria.

[JManc]

I think you'd get a bigger ROI on a couple small and cheaper houses within proximity of the Seawall and/ or the Strand than that monstrosity. You'll get raped in property taxes and any house pre-1900 hurricane is subject to Galveston's strict preservation restrictions.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

I think you'd get a bigger ROI on a couple small and cheaper houses within proximity of the Seawall and/ or the Strand than that monstrosity. You'll get raped in property taxes and any house pre-1900 hurricane is subject to Galveston's strict preservation restrictions.

You are certainly correct; the best ROI, if it's what I were after, would likely be obtained by continuing to expand in my hometown, which is kind of booming at the moment and where I have tons of useful contacts by now (after 15+ years in this field).

I can't even justify it as a pied-à-terre in warmer Southern climes as I've already had that for a while (~10 minutes drive from the ocean, which is better than the Gulf IMO; plus it's warmer in winter than anywhere in Texas).

I guess I'm nearing that midlife crisis moment and I suppose I'm even more interested in old historical buildings than I am in fast cars. It wouldn't be a fully rational / optimal ROI decision, that's for sure.

Also, "subject to strict preservation restrictions" isn't a problem, but rather the opposite: a clear sign that I picked the right area I would not want to butcher that home, I'd want to treasure it. Preservation restrictions wouldn't get in my way.

[dave8721]

One person making the move back to NY from Miami:

Christian Slater sells Coconut Grove home after three-way bidding war

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/0...y-bidding-war/



And Larry Ellison selling his Palm Beach estate for a cool $145million if there are any takers out there:
https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/0...down-for-145m/
This one: https://www.google.com/maps/place/12...!4d-80.0464521

[Yuri]

Coconut Grove and Coral Gables are so charming! And I imagine they are not flooded by the obnoxious horde of tourists that always head to Miami.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by lio45

I've got one that I'm looking at in Galveston, but it's pricier than the one in Matagorda and less historic.

(The interior is gorgeous, as you'd expect.)

The options are really limited because I have "must predate Civil War" on the list of criteria.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...0_M72922-87156

Galveston has a boatload of historic homes, but if you buy, you need to keep in mind the potential damage from hurricanes (e.g., Hurricane Ike).

[lio45]

Yeah, I know that. It's the main (only...) factor in the "cons" column. As I might have mentioned already, I am not unfamiliar with hurricanes as I have had a bunch of coastal real estate in FL for 10 years now but all of it was deliberately selected to be as hurricane-proof as possible (and all extremely solidly built). I went through pretty major worry three times so far (Matthew, Irma, Dorian), but so far I never had anything worse than broken tree limbs and shingles taken away from older roofs - which I turned into an opportunity to re-do them with the most hurricane-proof materials.

The sellers of that particular house brag that its very sturdy construction allowed it to survive the 1900 Hurricane as well as Ike in '08 with only minor damage, but I'm not sure at all it would resist a direct Cat 4-5 hit, which is something that could very well could eventually happen one day.

[JManc]

A house surviving a hurricane doesn't mean it wasn't or won't be damaged. My fiend lives in a pre-1900 house and he had 8' of water during Ike. House was relatively ok but lost a lot of stuff.

[lio45]

Damn it, the 1730s mansion of the main drafter of the NH constitution in 1775 and first Governor of the brand new State which also was among the ~0.0000001% of existing U.S. buildings that actually had George Washington in them, is now off-market, but I don't think it got sold, maybe the seller changed their mind and decided they didn't want to part with such a historical treasure (can't blame them!)

[lio45]

P.S. You know it's pretty damn historic when the plaque is that old:

[JManc]

Where in NH?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

A house surviving a hurricane doesn't mean it wasn't or won't be damaged. My fiend lives in a pre-1900 house and he had 8' of water during Ike. House was relatively ok but lost a lot of stuff.

I don't mind hurricane damage being kinda frequent, it's almost "upkeep" that comes with the territory, the only thing I'm afraid of is a hurricane powerful enough to turn the house into a pile of rubble (which would also mean that most of what's architecturally interesting in Galveston would be gone too).

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

Where in NH?

About as far from me as possible, which sucks for me but is good for property values, as it's like one mile from the beach/ocean and also within acceptable distance of Boston.

13, Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, NH

Link:

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/13+...!4d-70.8659952

[lio45]

Ideal real estate acquisition for anyone who wants to make an addition to this forum's database




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212 Milam St - Entire City Block in Downtown Houston

1.45 Acres of Commercial Land in Houston, TX

JLL is pleased to offer Block 18 - 212 Milam, which is considered the best remaining development site in Houston’s CBD. Consisting of a full city block, the Property is located in an Opportunity Zone at the north end of Houston’s Central Business District with unobstructed views across north, west, and east Houston. The property is a premier CBD development opportunity with excellent ingress/egress. Its irreplaceable location will allow the future development on the site to be highly visible & a prominent addition to the downtown skyline.
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Wonder how much it would sell for. Things in Houston seem to be offered at ~2x the City's assessed value (in San Antonio, I've observed it's more like +40%-50%), so, ~$10M.

However, this lot is fairly unique, so maybe the owners are asking for something less attainable. Unique properties are often arbitrarily priced.