Canyon Creek Area in Richardson - Old Homes Replaced by New? (Dallas: new house, safe neighborhood)

[delongchampsnoir]

I'm considering buying an old house near Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson.

Is it common for old homes to be torn down and replaced by new construction.

I'm presently debating the pros and cons.

Any ideas?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by delongchampsnoir

I'm considering buying an old house near Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson.

Is it common for old homes to be torn down and replaced by new construction.

I'm presently debating the pros and cons.

Any ideas?

Does it happen? Yes. Is it common? No.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by delongchampsnoir

I'm considering buying an old house near Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson.

Is it common for old homes to be torn down and replaced by new construction.

I'm presently debating the pros and cons.

Any ideas?

Those are called "tear-downs" around here. Yes, they happen, but not much in CCCC. Happens more in Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, M Streets ~ much more desirable neighborhoods with even older houses.

[BigDGeek]

Basically you see teardowns in areas where the lot value is very high but the value of the house is not. Canyon Creek's housing stock might be the same age as the housing stock in areas with lots of teardowns, but that doesn't mean that the residents there are actually tearing houses down. It does happen sometimes, I've seen some new builds sprinkled in. But it is not common at all. The lot values aren't high enough. Canyon Creek homeowners tend to gut to the studs instead of tearing down.

Why do you ask, anyway? If you see new builds in this part of Richardson, it's usually due to the home being torn down due to fire or because it had fallen into a state of such extreme disrepair that it was too expensive to fix. I know of one on Newberry that was torn down for that reason and it is being replaced with a hideous, oversized, vinyl-sided monstrosity that sticks out like a sore thumb (thanks a pantload, Shaddock & Caldwell). There is a brand new home on one of the streets off Floyd in Richardson Heights, very close to the intersection with the 75 service road. The original house burned down last summer and was a total loss.

There's also an empty lot on one of the streets off Newberry just south of Arapaho; that house exploded when someone not qualified to work with gas lines made a boo boo and blew up the house. There was loss of life and damage to surrounding homes. That happened years ago and nobody has built on the plot since. Bad juju I guess?

[DitsyD]

Ideas?
First, consider why you want to tear it down. More room? More efficient? More open? Then price what it would cost to hire a contractor do everything that you want to change. Then price what it will cost to tear down the existing home and build the new house you like. Compare the differences. Which way makes more sense for your family? Can you get the financing to purchase the house and then add new construction cost on top of that? You would probably need to talk to a lender.

If you do a tear-down, would you be able to recoup (or be close to recouping) your total expensive of the purchase and new build when you one day re-sell the house? (Mainly, is CCCC a hot bed of sales?) Do you like the lot so much that the house expensive doesn't matter?

Unless the house value is minimal compared to the land value, it can be a hard decision to make. Good Luck.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by DitsyD

Ideas?
First, consider why you want to tear it down. More room? More efficient? More open? Then price what it would cost to high a contractor do everything that you want to change. Then price what it will cost to tear down the existing home and build the new house you like. Compare the differences. Which way makes more sense for your family? Can you get the financing to purchase the house and then add new construction cost on top of that? You would probably need to talk to a lender.

If you do a tear-down, would you be able to recoup (or be close to recouping) your total expensive of the purchase and new build when you one day re-sell the house? (Mainly, is CCCC a hot bed of sales?) Do you like the lot so much that the house expensive doesn't matter?

Unless the house value is minimal compared to the land value, it can be a hard decision to make. Good Luck.

If CC is anything like my neighborhood...which it is...the value of the lot is minimal compared to the value of the house. My lot is worth $40k on the county tax appraisal record. The house is worth many times that. No reason to believe CC is any different.

Personally I feel it would not be financially feasible to recoup your investment on a teardown in CC unless you were to hold onto the property for many years. Even then, if you build a Rolls Royce on a street full of Hondas and Lexuses...that's going to create a problem for you.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

If CC is anything like my neighborhood...which it is...the value of the lot is minimal compared to the value of the house. My lot is worth $40k on the county tax appraisal record. The house is worth many times that. No reason to believe CC is any different.

Personally I feel it would not be financially feasible to recoup your investment on a teardown in CC unless you were to hold onto the property for many years. Even then, if you build a Rolls Royce on a street full of Hondas and Lexuses...that's going to create a problem for you.

I agree with what you say. Not knowing the lot though, it could be one of those 'not maintained and ready to fall down' or 'mold infested' houses. The OP knows their bottom line and what they can and are willing to afford though.

[Lakewooder]

Also you need to check for zoning or deed restrictions - I don't think Richardson has historic and conservation districts like we have in East Dallas - plus something called NSOs Welcome to the City of Dallas, Texas - Sustainable Development and Construction but there may be limits on what you can do...

[Sushi cake]

Of course you can but why would you want to?

[sandiegotodallas]

Why do people insist on writing about issues they are obviously not informed on? Seriously people, it does absolutely no good to comment, just so that you can have your voice heard.

To your question:
"Is it common for old homes to be torn down and replaced by new construction."

While these individuals that responded may know a thing or two about their own neighborhood, they have probably never even been to Canyon Creek. Granted, maybe a few years ago it wasn't common, but times have changed.

I live on the Prairie Creek side of the Canyon Creek Community and they have torn down over 20 homes in just the last 12 months alone. Here is an example of one that was purchased for $300K and then promptly demolished:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68SScipCagE

The reason they are being torn down, is because people are moving in from out of state (myself included) and are willing to spend $750K+, so long as they have a great school, safe neighborhood, convenient location and parks, old growth trees etc.

This area, while not Highland Park, is one of the few affordable options left. In fact, I have not seen a house sell for under $300K that wasn't torn down. Keep in mind that it probably costs another $50K to tear it down, so the lots are ostensibly valued above the $300K threshold, making a teardown/rebuild very attractive.