Quote:
Originally Posted by icemncmth
I think the interesting thing is the Brownstones start at $600,000...I went with a friend who was interested in buying one and like everyone else looking that day was really fired up after looking at a the show homes..As we were driving away I started asking him questions like....Do you think these brownstones will keep their value?..
Or how much does it cost to fix the elevators in them..or do they have to be inspected every year and how much does that cost?..I kept asking him questions and in the end he wasn't so fired up...
The brownstones are very nice but. they are not worth 600,000+ and most of them will cost more that that because the cost of building materials is going up..
Now comes the interesting thing...they are building this community and most haven't been built.....
So will they be able to build and sell all of the homes and will they all be over half million or will they sell a few high dollar units and then have to build cheaper models? If they do build cheaper units will that drive the value of the expensive units down....
The problem I see with the urban community downtown is the average income in OKC isn't that high...and these and other units are being built for people on the high end of the income scale.
I guess we could do what they do in a lot of other areas..take a interest only loan on the place!
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There is an elevator maintenance contract you can purchase for about $500 a year, or you can simply pay for an inspector to come out once a year and inspect the elevator for even less (I checked on this). I was told that residential elevators are rarely a maintenance problem because of their low use. I calculated all the costs of maintenance on the brownstones, and they came out to far less than I am paying for my house in terms of yard maintenance, tree maintenance, painting, etc.
In addition, because of the build-block construction and heat pump, they're estimating utility costs will be about half of the usual amount for a house that size.
Do I think the brownstones will hold their value? How does anyone know the answer to that regarding any house nowadays? If downtown development continues as it has been, then yes, I think they will keep their value. I think the movement of Sandridge downtown, the statement by Larry Nichols that Devon is going to increase employees, all of whom will work downtown, as well as the addition of retail and grocery store, pharmacy, potential improvement of mass transit, etc will increase the desirability of downtown living, which will at least ensure that homes there keep their value. If more people live downtown it may be more attractive for other businesses to relocate downtown.
If you look at how the brownstones are built, it's not surprising that they are as expensive as they are. How many of the houses in Edmond mentioned above have slate roofs, all brick construction,cast stone trim, copper guttering and 8 inch concrete and rebar exterior walls? Inside the floors are wood, all granite countertops, three fireplaces per townhowe. That kind of construction is expensive.
New things are always a bit of a gamble, but I like the idea of a gamble when everyone I talk to things it's an exciting idea. I've got multiple friends who are talking about moving downtown and several who are already there and love it. It would be really nice if there was housing for people of all income levels downtown, but this is a bit of a gamble for the developers as well, and they're probably just now figuring things out. When the Centennial was built, there weren't even any downtown comps for the appraisers to use, I was told. So, this is a learning process for everyone and hopefully developers interested in lower priced housing will figure this out.