Originally Posted by betts

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.