Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Investor Club

Steve,

I think this is an interesting dilemma… I have to look at this taking my New England Housing Partners hat off and realize that we’re talking about Ft. Worth… My take is as follows:

• 1.     What is your goal? If this is strictly business for you and you simply want to flip the home (get in, get it sold, get paid, and move on) then you modernize it… Why? Because you cater to a wider array of buyers and you will have no problem finding the appropriate materials/interior to rehab the home… You get it done and get it sold!  Vintage will not have as many buyers, and would probably stay on the market longer. 

• 2.     Resources- this is Texas, not New England…. You would have zero problem rehabbing this vintage home in New England, but Texas may be a different story… You’re (potentially) limited on what you can do…. You can’t simply say “this is my vision, and I’m going to go out and do it”… It may be a little more difficult here (however, I’ve never rehabbed a home this old in Texas so I could be wrong)…

• 3.     ROI- If you’re truly evaluating your options, find out what your ROI would look like for doing this in this historic area… If you did vintage how would that influence your asking price?

• 4.     Due diligence/Homework- Google search this historic area; see what’s going on in that area… Walk the district and do some door knocking. What do other homes in the area look like? Get to know the neighborhood some and potentially ask some of the neighbors for input. It’s their area, who best to get input from than the people who live there.  

Although I mostly listed cons above, If I were personally doing this, there is no question that I would go full vintage…. I rehabbed a very old home in southern Connecticut and it was a VERY cool project! I think that something like this in Fort Worth is neat and different. People will appreciate the effort that you went to, to preserve the period... It would also be something that you can add to your portfolio of completed rehabbed homes (potentially adding it to your website)… 

Thoughts?

Brian R. Baker, MBA

Texas Housing Partners LLC

New England Housing Partners LLC

brian@texashousingpartners.com

Hey Steve,

Congrats on your next challenge.  :)

I don't know how widespread my opinion is, so I wouldn't base decisions on it.  Instead, if this were my property, I'd pull comps to get the names of listing agents who have sold historic houses in the vicinity and I'd take a couple of them out to lunch and pick their brains to learn what buyers expect in this neighborhood.

My comps would go back a couple years and include Active comps since my goal would be to see which listing agents are most active in the neighborhood.  The ones with the most listings are the ones I'd want to talk to.  If that didn't work, I'd drive around looking at For Sale signs, call and ask how many historic sales each agent has under their belt, and take a couple of the experienced ones out to lunch.

If this suggestion proves to be of value, I wouldn't mind a tour of the property when it's ready to hit the market.  :)  It sounds interesting.  Drop me a line.  

Good luck!

David 

I do plan on flipping this property. I've looked at all the comparable properties within the historical district and was quite surprised to find that the highest dollar properties were refurbished as vintage, but only a few. The remainder of the refurbished properties had average or almost rental grade rehabs. That being said I've made the decision to install contemporary kitchen and baths as I believe that will appeal to the young professionals within the medical district. The remainder of the property will retain it's vintage character.

Pricing - Currently there are sold & listed properties within the district within MLS between $165/sf and $175/sf. Prices are skyrocketing there so I'm hedging that I'll get top dollar for this one. It will likely take me six months to complete this project mostly due to the bureaucracy and waiting game that I anticipate taking place with the historical district... at least that's my budgeted allotment of time. I'll be converting the attic to livable space therefore i should gain another 400 sf helping price even further. 

Brian we should get together at some point and chat since we have some common interests! Thanks so much for your excellent input!

Bruce thanks for the contact! I will seek Jeff's input. Thanks again!

Steve,

Fairmount is an interesting beast. It's littered w investors who made the wrong choices and lost their ... Assets. Do yourself a favor and call Amy Rainey (817) 287-9757. She is a Realtor that specializes in that market, has lived there for many years, has helped other investors over there make big money and is currently selling a rehab she did that'll net her good money. 

If you need more help, call me. 

Greg