What’s the difference between a swank terrazzo-floored Modern home from 1959 or 1960 on a large swath of land somewhere on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Memorial . . . and one overlooking Sims Bayou in Glenbrook Valley?
Couple million, easy. But . . . Sims Bayou, really?
Okay, so the house at 7711 Lakewind St. doesn’t have quite the same design pedigree (or furniture) as the Frame House — nobody seems to know who designed or built this place. But what do you expect for $359,000?
Uh . . . how about something where the vinyl siding has already been removed? Can we get that?
Sure!
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Wanna see a couple “before” pics of that Kitchen?
Listing agent (and Swamplot advertiser) Robert Searcy reports the seller made a few more changes to the 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath property since buying it in 2006:
The 70’s era den paneling that was not original was removed. The redwood trim refinished, hardwoods exposed upstairs. Of course $25,000 in plumbing upgrades, a $20,000 roof and new furnaces don’t photograph so well.
Oh, but can’t you see they tried?:
Feel like taking in this bayou mod view for yourself? This home is one of 3 on Houston Mod’s “Mod of the Month” open house this Sunday.
- 7711 Lakewind St. [HAR]
- Houston Mod: Mod of the Month [ArtsHound]
- Just Listed: Fifties Bayou Cool and Fifties Cool Revived: A Houston Case Study [Swamplot]
Stunning.
Absolutely stunning. If the sellers were insane and would a 100% finance for 50 years at 5%, I would move in tomorrow.
One of the finest attainable mid-century houses in Houston. And my favorite of all houses in Glenbrook Valley. Bravo on the sensitive updates and maintaining the original integrity.
Love the looks as well as the design of this home, Really, wonderful!! I will have a giveaway soon, so come, look, and follow!
Karena
Art by Karena
I do have to ask if the “bayou properties” in Glenbrook Valley include the water moccasins occasionally enjoying a dip in the pool and the copperheads enjoying the shade of the trees, and the hanging baskets, the way they do in Memorial. Not to mention the occasional rattlesnake enjoying the partial shade of the azalea beds.
Gorgeous.
We went thru this house when it was for sale last time…I think it was a Mod of the Month then, too. If you like it, go see it. It’s really inspiring.
I’m sure it ain’t 100% snake free, however, one thing that might keep them a little bit in check is there are a lot of Hawks and Egrets that you see flying up and down the bayou and I think they eat snakes don’t they? Obviously they aren’t going to get all of them, but if you trek out the back of this house and walk all the way to the water, it is a ways out there from the house. From the bank to the house is like a city block.
I think the owners did a wonderful job of updating the house and still respecting its mid-century origin.
Wow. Just wow.
I saw this home a couple weekends ago and it’s great – and it is a good distance from the bayou but has a nice overlook. For some reason the kitchen area turned me off (not sure why because it’s nice and all) but the rest of the house made up for it. Add some neat landscaping and this house has it all..
Thanks to those that came out and showed their support for Houston Mod. Turn out was very, very good. There must have been 80 to 100 people.
This house is 2km from Hobby airport and is in the 100 year floodplain. I wouldn’t touch it with a 100-foot pole.
The house is not the 100 year floodplain. The rear portion of the lot is, not the house. It didn’t flood in Allison or Ike. I talked to everyone who has owned the house since 1969 and according to them it has never had water in it.
The proximity to Hobby is not an issue either. This sits in the middle of the “V” of the runway paths so planes do not fly over.
The open house was fantastic. There were so many cars lining the street! Glenbrook Valley is clearly on the upswing and gentrifying rapidly. Those that are relying on tired old stereotypes are missing some of the best opportunities out there. No planes, nice neighbors, and no floods.
This house was fantastic! A bit crowded by hipsters, but cool none the less.
From Matt Mystery:
Matt, no matter where you live in Houston,if you have a water source, moccasins and copperheads are a fact of life. I live inside the loop nowhere near the bayou and find snakes, turtles, racoons and possums all the time.
Not to mention the wild cats and coyotes that are coming down Buffalo Bayou from out west into the inner loop.
I live inside the loop and have never seen a snake although I know if you’re near Buffalo Bayou you will. I lived by Vargo’s years ago. I saw them all. Copperheads, water moccasins, rattlesnakes and even a coral snake. Although I must say the peacocks are probably more dangerous. They like to chase you. And peck you. Not sure why. Still I’d rather put up with peacocks than snakes. Definitely a snakeaphobic.
> The house is not the 100 year floodplain.
If you look at the current floodplain maps (http://maps2.tsarp.org/tsarp/), the 1% contour (26 feet) runs right through the center of the lot. The house is at 27 feet and the street in front is at 28 feet. That means, as is, the house is in the ~0.8% contour, or a 25% chance the house will flood within 10 years.
And that’s under current conditions. Given the expected rise in sea level, the house will be below the 1% contour soon enough.
Oops… make that 15% chance in 10 years. I slipped a digit somewhere.
Still too risky for my taste.
That’s your choice, but my understanding is the house is in the 500 year, not 100 year and has never had water in it even before the reworking of Sims bayou done maybe 15 years ago.
Quite a bit of Houston that wasn’t in any floodplain map and still isn’t flooded during Allison. So potential for flooding is not necessarily based on Army Corps of Engineers floodplain maps. As for the Army Corps of Engineers, aren’t they the ones who kept patching up the levees in New Orleans?
Me, I would only be concerned about water moccasins slithering around during the flood. Nasty little things they are. Has anyone ever figured out why they like swimming pools?
The TSARP (Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project) maps are revisions to the outdated CoE maps that were so wrong during Allison, and are based on the latest models.
The insurance companies & Fed flood insurance program use these maps to set rates, regardless of whether the homeowner believes them.
That said, I would personally assume the maps err too low, as I expect both sea level and precipitation rates to increase over the next decade. If the house actually sits on the 1% contour, you’ve got a 25% chance of flooding in the next 10 years.
Caveat emptor.
@Patrick,
Seriously, when this house floods, most of Houston will flood—Houston is a swampy bottomland.
We get it, you would not buy the house.
No it won’t. Consider that the lowest elevation in the medical center is 41 feet, and this house is at 28 feet.
Making foolish decisions about where to build things costs us all a lot of money, thus the dead-horse-beating.
So….
A house that does not sit in the 100 year flood plain, did not flood in Allison or Ike, nor has ever flooded in the 50 years it has been there, including the years before Sims bayou was redone, has a 25% chance of flooding in the next ten years. Oh, okay.
Yes, you’ve got it.
mmmkay.
I see you have trouble with math.
Soooo… how about a wager? I’ll bet $500 that this property will flood by midnight on Dec 31, 2020, if you’ll give me 4-1 odds.
Go eat a bran muffin and sit down. Clearly you are not getting enough fiber in your diet.
Didn’t think you would take it.
Last words: let’s assume the flood charts are right and the house has a 0.8% chance of flooding per year. In that case, the odds that it would have flooded once in the last 50 years is only 33%. So not only is it no surprise that it hasn’t happened, but that is the expected result.
However, things change and the long term weather patterns indicate increasing rainfall for the Gulf Coast.
Therefore, a reasonable person should expect a 25% chance of a “Super Allison” event in the next 10 years.
That is all…
I don’t know if more aggressive/progressive storm drainage construction can help…
Or if property owners in south, east & south-east Houston should create a PAC and become legal warriors…
But, surely flooding will continue in older neighborhoods because of both local subsidence & continued development uphill.
I strongly believe, however, that sparring and being hateful won’t solve the issue or allay the fears.
There has already been aggressive storm drainage construction done on SIms bayou. Effective enough that the 100 year flood plain shrunk in that vicinity post Allison. Under the right circumstances ANY place in Houston could flood, but this property doesn’t sit in the 100 year flood plain, it didn’t flood in Allison and per previous owners has not flooded. Those are the facts. The rest is idle speculation. Speculate away.
Patrick, not sure what you are talking about. The TSARP maps clearly show the house in the 0.2% floodplain. The house sits up on a big hill, raised well off the bayou. Uh BTW, the Med center has flooded, this house has not. It floods in Houston where it rains. Everyone should have flood insurance. Local factors also need to be taken into account, such as drainage and topography and the ease in which drainage channels get obstructed!