Striving to create a better life for everyone by sustainably solving real estate problems

(512) 807-8777

Tag Archives: Taylor

Project Lessons Learned: Taylor Homestead

(co-written by Sue Ann)

Next in the series on Lessons Learned from our recent projects is the Taylor Homestead project. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we’d wanted to do a house in that area for a long time, and were excited by the potential in the place. Yes, there was a lot of potential, but our private money funding did not give us the budget to do all the things that would have truly made the house a home. So, basically, we made it cleaner and safer, so someone else could finish the rehab or rent it out.

All this curb appeal didn’t cost that much. Renovations were barely over budget on the Taylor house.

How Did We Do?

It appears that we lost money on this one. Factors include how long the project took to get started and the fact that we sold it for much lower than we actually intended to sell it for, because an old listing was still up and we felt obliged to honor it. Continue reading →

11Shares

Closings, Closings, Closings

It is ALWAYS good to share happy news, and we’ve needed some lately. The last two days have been really nice. Carol has been busy signing our names to many official pieces of paper.

Happy Dance Time

SOLD! REALLY!

Yesterday, we closed on the Meadow Arbor 2 house, and today we closed on the Taylor House. This means the project managers finally get paid! Frank and Anita say, “Yay.”

We also finally tracked down the insurance people for Meadow Arbor 2 and got our payment for replacing the hail damaged roof. It’s things like unexpected repairs that drive profits on rehabs down, so we’re glad we were able to get reimbursed for that one.

Selling Soon?

We are still working on the Roadrunner house deal, and having long legal discussions. But we are really optimistic that the family will be in the house and paying rent by next month, and we’ll officially sell it later in the year.

It also looks like the Villa Park casita has renters. We just have to build them a fence for their very attractive dog. We were going to do that anyway.

 

19Shares

Happy 2018 from Us!

Hermann says don’t forget us if you have a deal!

It’s a new year, and we are full of renewed energy after a little break. We want to send all of our readers good thoughts for the coming year. May all your projects go smoothly, and may you make a profit! We wish that for us, too.

Our projects are marching on, of course! Here are a couple of quick updates:

Chaparral: We had someone Carol knew come in and quickly repaint the “pink” walls on the second floor and power wash the driveway to get rid of plants growing in the cracks. He also put in some nice perennial plants where the flowers had been in the fall. That’s good. But even BETTER is the full-price offer we received last week! Of course, there are interesting features to the offer, but we are working on getting a family with ten kids into this big house. They are a great fit!

Oakridge: The exterior color is better, and the trim should look great when done.

Oakridge: The exterior painting is complete and they’ve moved on to the interior. We have an in-progress photo to share right now, but will add a finished picture later today, so come back! Carol is busy on a marketing plan for this house. Know anyone looking to buy in Round Rock? Let us know!

Meadow Arbor 2: That should close any day. We put on a new roof, which of course had a permitting glitch, but we’re dealing with it. And we are waiting to hear on the insurance for the roof.

Taylor: It’s on schedule to close. Yay.

Chaparral: That is NOT pink. Ahh.

Blue Ridge: We are negotiating the replacement of the HVAC unit with the renters who would like to buy it.

Saint John: Still looking for the ideal buyer for that one.

12Shares

How’s Our Year End Looking?

Well, it’s a bit of a strain, actually. But like Lee has been saying, you need a plan to get through the rough times, so you can enjoy the good ones. We have positive movementum, though, and there’s actually lots of GOOD stuff in here. It’s time for the weekly update.

This is just a teaser for a more detailed progress report on the Oakridge house.

Oakridge

As Russell said, “lots of good progress” on this one.  We have a plan for the remodeling of the kitchen, and lots of pictures to share, which you can look forward to tomorrow! This one’s moving right along. It certainly has a lot less mess in it, and we are even on the second dumpster of junk. There was a barbecue pit inside a room. That’s not legal. The plan is to get rid of the walls and make it a nice open patio.

Saint John

This one has the most news. First, Carol has made a new virtual tour for the house. It’s really pretty, and we think we will be able to use it to market it on the MLS and not just on the ListingSpark tool we’d been using.

Continue reading →

5Shares

Taylor Homestead: All Wrapped Up, Like a Holiday Present

Old Lady Taylor, our nearly 100-year-old rehab near downtown Taylor, is ready for her debut on the world stage! She’s on the market now, so check out the official listing! See the gallery at the end of the page for lots of before and after pictures.

No one will miss the exterior water faucet feature formerly in the master bathroom.

She may no longer look from the outside like the sad old lady we first encountered several months ago—we’ve given her gorgeous new paint and stonework—but we didn’t have her turn her back on her past. All through the rehab process, we worked hard to retain and polish the early 20th-century features of this special property, from the crystal knob and the scroll gingerbread on the front door and cornice to the egg-shaped interior knobs on the original solid wood 5-panel doors and layers of crown molding in the formal dining room to the bay window with sidelights overlooking the huge backyard full of mature trees to the bath fixtures, while keeping our eye on what today’s homeowner wants and needs.

Improvements

This is the bathroom that didn’t need much fixing, but it does now have a lovely light fixture.

But we also made many improvements. The master bath was almost completely gutted, and a new toilet, vanity, tile, lights, and fan were added. The back foyer and staircase were stripped of the ugly blue carpet, the picket fence wall treatment that covered almost the entire foyer, and the log round and tape measure that ran along the wall next to the backdoor. Our contractor, Chris, did an amazing job repairing the stairs, adding new shoe molding, painting the rich brown I picked and using it to accent the skirtboards that lead the eye up the staircase. His suggestion that we move the chandelier from “Granny’s bedroom” (aka the downstairs bedroom) to the back foyer was exactly the right, elegant touch that was needed.

Continue reading →

33Shares