Even with the range turned off, there’s an ember glow in the tile ringing an updated kitchen within a converted 1963 townhome-condo. It’s located on Yorktown, in the lineup of converted garden-style complexes on the south side of Richmond Ave. near S. Rice Ave. This blackened-and-laquered unit is 1 of the 2 largest in the property. It landed on the market late last week bearing a $160K asking price.
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Most of the property’s 34 units feature 720-sq.-ft. floor plans; 6 are mid-sized, at 1,190 sq. ft. This 2-story one, however, occupies 1,664 sq. ft. In the kitchen, the main sink and wet bar (pictured at the top of this story) flank a column, forming a service counter (above). The stainless appliances are recent tweaks, the listing says. Other updates include the wooden floors and paint. But where’s the home’s north-facing entry? Could it be this double door by the mirrored wall of the living-dining area?
The 13-ft.-by-25-ft. room’s triple window has an upper set. That’s the level that appears to be the unit’s main source of sunlight. The ground level windows, meanwhile, peer into a patio further enclosed by a slanted roof (with skylights) . . .
over the multi-jet hot tub,
Upstairs, the paint-it-black color combo continues:
Both bedrooms are on this red-carpeted level; both appear to have one wall that’s open to the stairwell:
Sliders in this room access a balcony overlooking the swimming pool at the center of the property’s buildings:
Both bedrooms appear to share the updated bathroom located upstairs — the one with the new double shower (at right) mentioned in the listing. The half-bath is downstairs. Though shared with other units, laundry facilities make it easy to handle dark and light loads at the same time:
Behind mesh gates, covered parking lines the property’s perimeter. Some of the homes sit above it. This unit is toward the center of the property around the pool.
The $888 monthly maintenance fee includes utilities, cable service, and trash removal. HCAD indicates a 1977 renovation of the Mansard-roofed property.
Oh! that mirrored 4×4 post! Really opens the space up.
To lawsuits.
I see you guys found my old digs…
$888/mo for utilities, cable service, and trash removal?
I always wonder what is going on when the maintenance fees are larger than the monthly note, especially in modestly priced townhomes or houses. Did the prices go down while the fees remained? Is the association hoping to raise their values through luxury levels of upkeep? There are a lot of places where the cost isn’t that expensive, so I assume it’s not necessity driving the fees, but I may be making a bad assumption…?
I also don’t get the maintenance fee issue with some of these places. It can’t be about raising the value through intense groundkeeping since the maintenance fees drive down the value of the property. My only guess is that there are either some major structural issues that need to be addressed in the near future and they haven’t maintained an appropriate cash reserve, and are trying to build it up now, or there is some sort of “super-owner” or management company that is pocketing tons of money off of the maintenance fees. Either way, the purpose of buying is so that you don’t have to rent, and maintenance fees like this are just another form of rent.
Also I feel like I would need to own a silk robe and a bunch of Debbie Gibson albums to live there.
Debbie Gibson? That’s about a decade too late. Maybe Grace Jones…
There used to be a Chinese buffet called “Happy Town” out on Mason Road in Katy that had the same black and red decorating scheme. Viewing the pics gave me a sudden craving for deep fried egg rolls.
Hot tub, but no washer/dryer in the unit?
For a $888 monthly maintenance fee I would want my own damn washer/dryer connections. Those machines in the laundry room look like they are leased from Coinmach. We have Coinmach washer and dryers in the laundry room of the apartment complex I live at. It’s a royal pain in the ass to get them to fix the machines in a timely manner when they break and even more so to keep them repaired.
That color scheme is just atrocious. It reminds of a brothel from the “Black Lagoon” anime or a Chinese restaurant with questionable health code practices.