YOU BOUGHT A LOT. NOW WHAT?
YOU FOUND THE PERFECT LAND FOR YOUR DREAM HOUSE. IS THERE A MANUAL FOR WHAT COMES NEXT? READ ON TO FIND OUT…
When you’re 43 years old, there aren’t a lot of ‘firsts’ for you anymore: you’ve pretty much tried what you want to try and are pretty set in your ways. But the pandemic brought SO MANY FIRSTS for us! And let me tell you – firsts are super exciting, super intense and super nerve-wracking all at once!
What in the world am I talking about? Drumroll…
Y’all, we bought a lot!!! We are now bona fide Texas landowners! And for those of you who speak Hindi or Urdu, Zamindars!
I love that word… Zamindars! For a split second, we considered naming our younger child, Zameen… total side story there.
ANYWAY…
For all the real estate we’ve bought and sold over the years in multiple countries and multiple states, and all the homes I’ve worked on both internationally and in the US, I have never, EVER, once owned land. And suddenly I find myself building a house from scratch on land that we own!
Do you know what that means?
This interior designer – the one who loves to obsess over the details and who could spend all day looking at new design ideas - gets to design EVERY SINGLE THING in her new house! Crazy exciting!
Can you hold on for just one second while I do a little happy dance?
Okay, I’m back!
The funny thing is, we never intended on buying land. Like everyone else and their brothers, the pandemic made us ache for more space. Not in terms of our house – we are blessed to live in a 4,000 sq ft masterpiece of a Spanish Revival house, so we had plenty of space to stretch out - inside. But absolutely nothing on the outside. We’re concrete jungle all the way.
What did we expect living in the middle of Houston? Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret - if you haven’t been to the glorious city that is H-town, get here pronto. This city has a lot to offer ‘inside the loop’, including broad tree-lined avenues and gorgeous neighborhoods with not only amazing public schools, but also generous yards and little cul-de-sacs smack bang in the middle of it all. I’m looking at you Boulevard Oaks, Braes Heights, River Oaks and West U! And then there are so many gorgeous up and coming areas, like Linkwood and Knollwood and the oh-so-stunning Riverside Terrace, that I think are all SO undervalued!
Some would say it costs a pretty penny to live in these places. Having lived and spent months and months in some of the biggest cities in the world (Hong Kong, NYC, Mumbai, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore), let me tell you, this city is a bargain. If I were you, I would get in on the ground floor while you still can.*
But I digress… So how does one end up buying land they never intended to? Funny story that… Pour yourself a glass of wine and let me tell you.
Through the pandemic, I took my two girls, Ziggy and Olive, to a standing Friday afternoon play date at our closest friends house. Caro - one of the most fabulous art advisors you’ve ever met - and I would share a bottle of sauvignon blanc on a ‘monkey mat’ in her front yard, basking in the sunshine, while our kids roller skated, learned to skateboard or ran around having a blast. They live in this quaint, quiet neighborhood near the bayou that is steeped in mid-century homes, rolling lush yards and lots of big Texas sky on view. Sitting there on her front lawn chatting with the neighbors walking past, or hanging out in her backyard, surrounded by all that green space, was truly meditative. And - for this city girl from Hong Kong - a slice of the American dream I had watched on sit-coms growing up.
I found myself coming home feeling a lot less stressed and happier with the world after I’d been over to her place. And I think I must have sounded like a broken record to my husband, the Doc, because one day he said, ‘Lets go look at this house across the bayou from them”. One house turned into four, and pretty soon, we were actively looking for our next home with one major feature: a backyard big enough for a pool and lots of green in and around the neighborhood. A place where our kids could ride our bikes and run around and skateboard, and just be kids. Somewhere where we knew our neighbors.
We weren’t the only ones with that idea. It felt like every house we went to see was snapped up within minutes, and we usually got an offer in on the same day as the showing. And the few that we managed to get an offer in on, always ended up selling for much more than the list price (and more than we were willing to pay).
We finally found a gem – a rambling mid-century 4000 sq ft house on a 15,000 sq ft corner lot. The house needed a LOT of love. It needed to be raised (because so much more of Houston is in the 100 year flood zone after Hurricane Harvey), stripped down to the studs and built up again. The selling agent told us to go look around ‘at our own risk’ and we did. Despite smashed in windows, fallen down ceilings, peeling wallpaper and the smell of a house that has been sitting in disrepair for years, the house had beautiful bones and we were in LOVE. I started redesigning the house in my head. Here it is on the right.
We put in our offer and… we lost the house to a developer that wanted to tear it down and build a spec house. Boring and sad.
I was devastated. I had already started daydreaming about all the things I would do to the space. So we counter offered. And then counter offered again, all the while thinking of what we’d do to the house when we finally got it. While we waited to hear back, we did some legwork and got quotes into how much it takes to actually raise a house of that size and repair that foundation. Y’all, we were floored! We were naïve to think it was worth doing that. Now that I know what I know, let me tell you: it’s only worth raising a house if the house is one you love for sentimental reasons and you can’t bear to part with it. Or you can afford to spend extra money. Is it better for the environment? Probably, although I’d have to do my research on how much that extra concrete adds up. But financially, it’s just not a wise decision. And it is - at least at the moment - much more cost effective to build a new home.
This is a HUGE conversation for another day and while I love history and will always argue for conserving the magic of old homes more than your average bear, the can of worms that is weakened foundation, old electrical and plumbing that is not to code, not to mention stucco damage and structural issues, is not one I want to pry open. Add to that the fact that you’re spending hundreds of thousands on stuff you will never see, and then will have to put in more money on the aesthetics, and you may as well start with a new build with a floor plan and architectural details and all the things you’ve dreamt of forever.
So we started thinking, ‘What if we bought the house for the lot itself, and then built anew? What would that cost?’ I did a quick price check with some builders I’ve worked with in a professional capacity and started dreaming of now this fabulous new build I was going to do. Except… the sellers got a better offer and sold the house to another builder. A spec home. Ugh.
Devastated.
Gutted.
Betrayed.
That’s how I felt. Which is ridiculous considering the house was never ours and hell, we weren’t even really looking to move! Were we? The next day, I had lunch with Caro, who tells me her neighbor had just decided to put his once-flooded home on the market at lot value.
Definition: Lot value is the price of the piece of land, whether or not there is a house on it. Usually, if someone is selling at lot value, they’re either looking to get rid of the property pronto or the house is uninhabitable.
Anyway, I looked up the address Caro gave me and said: find out more, I said.
That same night, I get home and the Doc tells me about a lot for sale in Caro’s neighborhood. The very same lot!
We put in an offer directly with the seller and seven days later, it’s ours!!!
It all happened so fast, my head is spinning. And now we own this glorious piece of land with a run down house that needs to be razed to the ground. But we have 13,000 sq ft of FOREST in the center of Houston.
No joke, y’all, we have 21 old-growth trees on the property, including water oaks and cedar elm and a huge oak tree with branches that hang over the entire front beautifully – you know the kind you hang a swing on? Yeah, one of those. The kind that a girl who grew up in Hong Kong – the big city – dreamed of as a kid watching American family shows on TV. THAT kind of tree. And it is probably going to be the only place in H-town that is shaded this summer!
This is all a very long way of saying:
We bought a lot. Now what????!!!!!
If you bought a piece of land and now don’t know where to start in terms of building, it’s your lucky day, my darling.
There is precious little information out there on how exactly to start the building process. And that is why I’m here, ladies and gentlemen. I’m going to show you how to go about building that dream house of yours by walking you through our home build.
And because I’m an interior designer, I’m not really starting from ground zero. But I know you are. So my goal is to make this as clear as that wine glass you pulled out of the dishwasher for you.
Step by step, Brick by brick, Stage by stage.
Phew! You’re welcome!
Now stop throwing roses at me, roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work shall we?
And another thing to remember: ALWAYS Tell A Story with your Home.
Love you, mean it!
xxx Tash START HERE:
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*I am not a real estate professional or a financial advisor and any opinions or statements on this website are not intended as financial or real estate advice. Please consult your real estate professional and/or financial advisor for advice on all decisions concerning investment in real estate.
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