DIYbanter - View Single Post - HOAs

wrote:
There was a horrible derelict house one down from mine when I bought my house.
I did not like it being so near but I did like the price of my house. I've
been here less then a year and that horrible run down derelict that was
attracting the criminal element and was a total eyesore has been renovated.
It's the second most valuable house on the block now and it looks gorgeous.

Heh, that was the story of my house; I'm told before it was renovated
it was the number one eyesore on the block! The renovator did a
beautiful job, gutting it inside and out, not just upgrading it
cosmetically, but also replacing all the studs and upgrading the
plumbing and electric. (Everything but, sigh, the roof!).

In the past three years since we've lived here, two additional houses
have been completely reno'd, with a third is in progress, all by the
owners who are getting ready to condo-ize and sell as starter homes or
empty nester homes, and then they can retire on the profits. A third
house, non reno'd, just went up for sale, and the listing bills it as
"perfect for the developer."

What motivated all these owners? The reality that if they sell as a
mulitfamily without reno'ing, they may make $550K (the going rate
around here - we live in an expensive market). But if they reno and
condoize, they can make as much as $650K on the upstairs unit, and
$525K on the downstairs unit (and that is in a flat market - I just
checked housing prices last week - it was higher last year). Yep! That
is a great motivator, don't you think?

Meanwhile down the street and around the block on the corner is the
scariest empty house you've ever seen, with boarded up windows. It
looks completely abandoned for decades..... except for the giant fancy
brand-new yacht and the classic automobiles (with drape clothes over)
parked in the backyard, which is kept meticulously mowed. And someone
is coming around to take the cars out every now and then, and maintain
the yacht. We figure it's the owner, and he must live somewhere else.
He's likely waiting until just the right time to sell this corner lot,
which is dual zoned residential/commercial. Ideal location to put in a
trendy restaurant. When the timing is right, the owner will make a
mint. Lesson: not all abandoned vehicles littering a lawn are bad for
resale values! Having an expensive yacht or auto parked on your yard
can actually be a very *good* sign!

Timing may be coming sooner rather than later: the commercial strip
down the street is slowly going gentrified. We just got our first
high-end clothing boutique. It looks kind of out of place for the
neighborhood right now, but they seem to be doing brisk business.

jen