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Vintage Bungalow Renovation in Historic 5th Ward

This soon to be lovely, bungalow located in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of 5th Ward has come a long way in a short period of time. This home was literally sinking into the ground, had holes in the roof and literally was on the verge of imploding.

We knew this property had tons of potential and it was our mission to bring it back to life!

This property was purchased as a teardown and our first goal was to identify what could be salvaged from it. We then had to figure out what the new layout of this home would be as it was functionally obsolete and needed to be rethought and redesigned!

Just a hair under 800 square feet, there is not much space in this home so we had to be very strategic in how we laid the new floor plan out to ensure that it flows well and suits the way people live today!

In the upcoming days we will keep you posted on this gem as it gets closer to completion!

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Househacking Airbnb Design Build Project

House-Hacking Airbnb Design Build Project

This started out as an old bungalow that was being marketed as a tear down property on the MLS when we came across it, but as a premise Houston Vintage Homes DOES NOT tear down old homes! So for us, it was all about envisioning the next chapter in this 100 year old bungalows life…

After conversing with the homes new owner it was evident we would make this one super neat Urban Bungalow that was also ideally suited for Airbnb. The vision for this home involves bringing it up to today’s standards with all the bells & whistles associated with today’s modern home with many of the traditional lines and features that made these homes great when they were originally built 100 years ago!

Some Neat Tech Goodies…

The technology package we have planned for this home is second to none and I can honestly say I doubt there will be any home in the area with some of the features this home will have! I can’t go into details but features like automated HVAC, Whole Home stereo, surveillance & security system are the START of things! Lots of fun to be had here!

In addition to the updates we have designed this home to maximize it’s earning potential via Airbnb and other short term rental platforms! In fact, Houston is Airbnb’s largest market in the US and is rapidly growing, so we wanted to ensure the homes new owner could take full advantage of this opportunity.

Double or Triple Your ROI via Airbnb!

This isn’t our first foray into Airbnb themed units, as we have developed quite a strong level of expertise in renovating & designing Airbnb properties for investors looking to earn better than average returns with their investment properties. 

After paying all expenses (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, repair allowance & property mgmt fees) most investors are happy netting $250 to $300 or more per month on a single family home that may be a 3 bedrooms 2 bath home! Same home rented via Airbnb with the addition of cleaning fee’s may bring in as $600 to $900 per month, same home, more expenses for maids but way more profit! There are people locally netting $1,000 per month and more with properly Airbnb optimized properties!

We have completed and are currently designing several projects that incorporate Airbnb into their design and/or are going to be used solely for short term rentals. This space has exploded in growth and size over the last 2-3 years and is on pace to change the entire landscape of short term housing as we know it. At Houston Vintage Homes we are excited to be at the forefront of the space from a renovation and new construction perspective and bringing awareness to more investors as a potential avenue for profit in their investing efforts.

Community Impact with Airbnb

An added benefit to inner city communities that we have found is that by enhancing these older properties with the right updates and an Airbnb friendly design, we can now help more people afford to live in areas undergoing gentrification! It’s a WIN-WIN solution for the property owner, the community, Airbnb and the city overall as they receive a hotel tax!

If you are interested in learning more about how you can leverage our expertise to execute a similar Airbnb project or urban in-fill development feel free to shoot an email to Tyron@HoustonVintageHomes.com with details of your project.

Stay tuned for more updates on this Urban Bungalow!

 

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New Orleans inspired Bungalow almost complete in 3rd Ward…

Urban Bungalow in 3rd Ward is this close to being DONE!

You wouldn’t believe the condition of this home and how it looked when I first saw it a few months ago…

In fact, this home was in such bad condition the owners couldn’t believe we planned on renovating this home and making it awesome again! Truth be told, I believe the reason they sold this home to us was because our vision was to make this home great again and an asset to this rapidly gentrifying area where most homes like this are being torn down.

The bottom pic is what it looked like when I first saw the home!

Do you see why people thought we were going to tear this home down! Extensive repairs were required as you can see… The entire roof had to be rebuilt, all the siding was removed in fact the only thing that remains from the existing home was the floor joists and some of the studs in the walls! So in essence, it’s a new construction home with the character of a 100 year old home!

We expect this home to be completed within the next 2 weeks and it will hit the market most likely for around $259k! Check back with us for the Open House we will be having once this home hits the market!

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Treetop Villas – Affordable Housing Development coming to Fifth Ward!

Situated on a corner lot blocks from I-10 in the heart of 5th Ward…

The HVH team has been diligently working on the home designs for a development located in 5th Ward called Treetop Villas which will be very exciting to get started constructing!

Houston Vintage Homes was hired to source the land, develop it for multiple units, design and then construct the units! Literally a turn key development which we anticipate will be well received by the marketplace and will produce substantial returns for many years to come!

One of the main design attributes about this project was ensuring the units didn’t look like rentals. It’s quite common to see new construction rental properties that are very bland and basic in design and quite honestly they look like rental property! Our philosophy at HVH is “Our rentals don’t look like rentals!”

What we have found is that if you truly understand your market and you invest the time wisely during the design process you can actually design & build a phenomenal looking unit without breaking the budget. These units are a prime example of this design philosophy in place.

Each unit features 3 bedroom & 3 bathrooms, a 1 car garage and just over 1,100 square feet of living space! Take a look at the floorplan below…

The 1st & 2nd floor

Take a look at the exterior facade…

As we speak these units are going through the permitting process with the City of Houston and we expect to have that process complete and construction begin real soon! Stay tuned as we continue to update the blog with more information on this development.

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Spring Branch Design & Remodel

Conceptual Change to Front Elevation

We have been commissioned to design a Mid Century Modern renovation on this home and here are our initial notes and thoughts on the project!

To give a modern feel and enhance the natural light of the property I am proposing a more dramatic entry and roof line that will greatly impact the aesthetics of the home and make it what’s known as a Mid Century Modern, architecturally speaking.

Until plans are drawn it can be rather difficult to imagine how the home will look once all the dirty work has been done so I have gathered some photos to help you visualize the possibilities.

Let’s talk more about the front of the home and curb appeal via the photos below

  • #1 – I like the visible front door and windows
  • #2 – The inviting entry
  • #3 – For the rear of the home

One of the things we hear commonly regarding homes is wanting to have light come into the house, so I propose altering the front & rear to allow more natural light. In photo #1 – the front door is now visible from the street which can be accent color as you see in the photo. Photo #2 is actually the rear of a home in California but I could see it as a version of your entry allowing more light into the home and offering quite a stunning visual from the curb! Lastly photo #3 is more of the same.

These are used for design inspiration and we take the ideas and concepts you like most along with the particular nuances of your home and we create our own design.

Now let’s move to the kitchen…

With that wall removed and/or opening the kitchen to the entry & living as well as opening it up more to the den off the kitchen I believe the pictures below conveys a few of the possibilities…

  • #1 – Kitchen open to living areas
  • #2 – Kitchen with Island Sitting Area
  • #3 -View of Kitchen from Den

In photo #1 I like how the kitchen is open to the living areas and has the dark floors which is a design theme we discussed when we met. I also like the vaulted ceilings which we may copy but we will pop up the ceiling in the kitchen to create the illusion of more space. Photo’s 2 & 3 are different perspectives on the same kitchen and I’m not fond of the finishes per se’ but the layout and flow is line with what we discussed.

The Houston Vintage Homes team provides a turn key design & build solution for new construction & renovation projects like this and would be happy to speak with you about the opportunities for your next project. 

 

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New Construction AirBNB Rental near Downtown Houston

 New Construction AirBNB Rental… 

One day I got a message on Instagram asking whether I would be interested in a 500 sq. ft. Shotgun house in 1st Ward… I got excited and hurriedly responded, SURE! Long story short, I followed up and went and viewed the property and it was the little house you see on the left!

I contracted the property and began working on the redesign which provided ample challenges starting with the lot size and shape. Ultimately the new property had to be no more than 17ft wide, had to be a 2 story and based on the construction budget it couldn’t exceed 1300 square feet in living space! Although I am not an architect I do consider myself a pretty savvy home designer and to be honest with you I am pretty stoked about the end result!

Here are a few more pics…

Beautiful isn’t it? Just because the property is a rental property doesn’t mean it has to look like one! Located in Historic 1st Ward, this property is literally within the shadows of downtown Houston, close to EVERYTHING and is readily available for rent via AirBNB!

The added benefit for our client on this project is that there is ample space to construct (2) more rental units on this property which should be getting started later this month! If you are wanting to add Brand New Construction Rental Property to your portfolio, shoot an email to me directly at Tyron@HoustonVintageHomes.com to discuss your investment needs!

We are currently developing, designing and building New Construction investment property in several key sub-markets around Houston that are producing great short & long term returns! These units range in scope from single family properties like this one to duplex and small multi-family properties strategically designed to produce the highest returns possible!

Stay tuned for more exciting developments coming from the Houston Vintage Homes Design & Build team!

 

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The Lamar is nearly complete…

This Near Northside bungalow is finally approaching completion and we are excited to bring this one to an end although it’s been a very fun process as is the case with all of our projects.

Here are a few more pics…

There are several cool design features in this home and we believe that it will make a great place to call home for some loving family really soon! As with all of our renovation projects we strive to maintain the historical design relevance while enhancing the home and bringing the mechanicals up to date!

We are excited to bring this property to market and we can’t wait for you to see everything this home has to market!