'Fixer Upper' houses can be tough to
sell in Waco, real estate agents argue
Fox News,
by
Janine Puhak
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
8/26/2019 10:50:17 AM
Beyond the glossy shiplap and farmhouse décor is a fact about the “Fixer Upper” homes that many Waco, Texas, real estate agents – and owners – are learning the hard way: they’re not easy to sell.
Earlier this month, the listing agent representing the “Asian Ranch House” featured on Season 2 of the hit HGTV show made headlines when she admitted that the home’s $679,000 price tag was likely burdening its sale. For comparison, real estate agent Marilee Kahler of RE/MAX Centex Realtors in Waco told Fox News that the current, average price for homes sold in the area hovered around $215,000.
"I know big cities do that,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
HPmatt 8/26/2019 11:00:49 AM (No. 162636)
Jobs in Waco don't support more than $200k. Have to target retirees from Houston/Dallas/Austin that can swing the 'deal' you get with a big city house in an tiny college town.
You soon realize you are stuck on I-35 - terribly congested I-35 now past the time you will die - with no local airport - have to go to cool city of Austin or massive metropolis of Dallas-FtWorth to get out of the tiny college town on the muddy Brazos.
5 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/26/2019 11:08:41 AM (No. 162645)
Some basic real estate principles: Don’t overbuild for the neighborhood (or in this case the whole town?). And never buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood. And WTH is an “Asian Ranch House”?
Looking for an interesting article, I found what amounts to a promo for the Gaineses.
10 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
1976Ag 8/26/2019 11:11:53 AM (No. 162651)
It is puzzling to me why anyone would want to live in Waco. The surrounding smaller towns seem to be where most people live. It seems that Gaines are nice and good people but I thought that the glamor they were bringing to Waco would soon fade. They do attract many tourists to Waco but they are just about the only attraction there.
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
ZeldaFitzg 8/26/2019 11:24:28 AM (No. 162668)
Waco is the site of Baylor, founded as a Baptist university. It is home to Truett Seminary and is known to native Texans as "Jerusalem on the Brazos."
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
jacksin5 8/26/2019 11:28:39 AM (No. 162674)
What I learned from another rehab show "Flip or Flop". you're resale value is arrived at, in a large part by the value of "Comparable" homes in the area. Homes, like used cars, are not valued on how much you had to put into them, rather what a buyer is willing to pay.
Besides, the premise of the show is that the Gaines's are creating "Forever Homes" for their clients.
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/26/2019 11:30:03 AM (No. 162678)
From April:
In Episode 13 of the show's second season, Chip found the Reed family a 4,235-square-foot ranch in Waco, TX, for $262,200. Since the family's all-in budget was about $450,000, that left Chip and Jo with a "generous" renovation budget of around $190,000. Cue the sledgehammer!
The Reeds hoped to realize $739K at resale.
Lots of photos. Is this what a Texas ranch house looks like?
https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/asian-ranch-fixer-upper-season-2-for-sale/
0 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 8/26/2019 11:35:08 AM (No. 162688)
You never want to have the most expensive house in the neighborhood. My father built a really nice big home in a very small town in the SE. He was retired military, so his pension made it possible. And he didn't care much about resale value. But, I can tell you that it sat for a long time as we tried to sell it for what the real estate appraisal said it was worth. It was about the most expensive home in the whole town. Eventually, it sold for a lot below the estimated value, just because very few folks in that area earned enough to afford that level of home.
This is an easy trap to fall into.
2 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 8/26/2019 11:35:11 AM (No. 162691)
That price for a fully updated home isn't unreasonable compared to many areas. In our modest neighborhood anything under $400K was probably a meth house, or is infested with squirrels and raccoons.
0 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
ByteGuru 8/26/2019 12:26:51 PM (No. 162761)
Agree with #2 - WTH is an asian home? Does putting curved beams on your front porch qualify? Is that 'cultural appropriation?'
Went to the link provided by #6 ... IMHO that is 'open concept' gone wild. There is no place that is even a little private. Imagine trying to watch TV with the chattering class in the kitchen going at full throat. Yes the kitchen is 20 feet away but even a 12 foot ceiling won't absorb the ambient noise.
Our home is moderately 'open concept'. Over the years I have installed decorative french doors between the kitchen and family room and another set between the upstairs deck and the game room. They really help isolating with the volume of conversations.
1 person likes this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
StormCnter 8/26/2019 12:40:52 PM (No. 162775)
Couple of comments: First, Waco is a lovely small college town. There is, of course, the Brazos. There is the suspension walking bridge over the river (formerly a carriage bridge, but now too narrow for any vehicle). Both the Mayborn and Dr. Pepper museums are great fun for kids. The Mammoth National Monument and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum are terrific for all ages. Lake Waco, Cameron Park and the Zoo are lovely places to spend an afternoon. For those of a ghoulish bent, the Branch Davidian scene is not far from town, but there's not much to see.
The Gaines have brought a wholesome boost to the town with their home renovations and now the Magnolia complex at the Silos. I skip the Magnolia stuff when I am there, but I love Waco.
6 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/26/2019 1:17:30 PM (No. 162820)
Fair market value is what a ready, able, motivated buyer will pay for a property. It is totally market-governed, and not a representation of intrinsic value. A key factor? Locatiion, location, location….
A 1700 square foot home on the street where I was raised just sold for $1+million. Built in 1941. It closed almost immediately, meaning it was a cash sale.
The home the Gainses renovated turned out to be very subjective. It is far too open plan for most and the oddly formal faux French furnishings don’t look right for the house. But I guess some are pushovers for “crystal” chandeliers. IMO, the market for that house would have been small no matter where they did it…
I am still trying to figure out the “Asian Ranch House” bit.
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/26/2019 1:21:45 PM (No. 162826)
Here is Joanna Gaines’s Magnolia at Target:
https://www.target.com/c/farmhouse-decor/magnolia-home-by-joanna-gaines/-/N-4y508Zgvg6w?Nao=0
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Penney 8/26/2019 1:59:25 PM (No. 162875)
This innovative and industrious Texas couple set fine examples of what can be achieved to help small towns and communities throught the country! A drive across America graphically display the many smaller towns which certainly do need a boost asap to regain their quality of life and attractive livability. This couple leads the way in showing how an entrepreneurial spirit can help inspire an entire area. Smaller towns in Texas are great places to raise a family, as are many others throughout the country by those who also love their hometown. ...Love Fixer Upper!
5 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 8/26/2019 2:13:27 PM (No. 162902)
Like the show, but was never much of a fan of shiplap, or subway tile.....and by now, thoroughly sick of both of them. And those silly sliding barn doors hanging on galvanized rails? A distant relative had a nice new home in Mississippi, beautiful all around. With one of those hanging barn doors just over a piece of wall, not doing anything for real. I commented on where the idea came from, the wife was all excited. I was careful not to say what I really thought.
Most of the homes are very nice when they are done. I don't always agree with here choices in interior design, but that is fine.
2 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Geoman 8/26/2019 2:31:23 PM (No. 162924)
Interesting that knocks against Waco are OK, if not mandatory, but don't even think about making a disparaging comment about San Francisco or other leftist dominated cities in California. And for the "insider" comments from obvious outsiders, Waco doesn't have an airport; it has two airports, one of them capable of handling 747, 777, and C-17 operations, and you can get around the area just fine without having to navigate I-35. I'm not a local but enjoy visiting friends/colleagues who have made Waco and its more conservative suburbs their home. And while Waco isn't as "cool" as Austin, neither is it a burgeoning outpost for Antifa recruits. In Travis County (Austin), only 27.4% of its voters pulled the lever for Trump but in McLennan County (Waco), the percentage for Trump was 61.7, and Baptists still outnumber Muslims by a healthy margin. My totally uncool, rural East Texas county voted just under 80% for our president, a percentage that should improve in 2020.
14 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 8/26/2019 2:50:35 PM (No. 162940)
Many HGTV reality shows are fake; THAT is a fact. However, for those that enjoy them, it's wholesome entertainment. I rarely watch, but if i am in the room and my wife is watching, I will spend a few minutes seeing what she believes is factual. If I tell her they are 'make believe', I might have to make my own dinner.
2 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/26/2019 4:23:48 PM (No. 163000)
Wow! Re #15, I must be the oddball around here. Nothing bad to say about Waco, and a Californian who does not defend Liberal Los Angeles an San Francisco...
1 person likes this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
StormCnter 8/26/2019 4:32:40 PM (No. 163008)
Come visit Waco before knocking it. I agree I-35 is crazy-making, but there are plenty of other roads to get around in the area. And maybe the Gaines are an acquired taste. No one is required to watch the show or embrace the decorating style. I suspect most of the show's fans are aware that the setup is already determined before filming. The house has been chosen, the purchase made, the mortgage secured. And if some of the houses go up for resale expecting too much profit, that's not a situation unique either to Waco or to a Gaines-renovated home.
3 people like this.
For those of you not conversant in architectural styles and terminology, the 'Asian Ranchhouse' was developed in the mid-'50's by Frank Lloyd Wong who graduated from the Baylor School of Architecture and Take-Out.
4 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 8/26/2019 5:29:37 PM (No. 163046)
Don't be blaming the Fixer Upper show for the greed of you and your clients ReMax. I have been watching the show for a couple of years now, and they do not promise excessive returns on the homes. Greed of the home owners who work with the Gaines has been a problem since people figured out that they could cash in on the fame of having been on television.
The premise of the show is 'the worst house on the block in the best neighborhood' and has been from the beginning. They go by an all in budget, and most of the budgets allow for a home to be purchased for minimum, then the rest of the budget is for the renovation. Since the Gaines family has made no secret that they are Christians, this sounds like another attack on them and their faith and honesty.
3 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/27/2019 12:09:18 AM (No. 163258)
The entry rooms of that house remind me of the last Hampton Inn I stayed in with its combination lounge, bar, and breakfast area.
0 people like this.
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Wait a minute! At the end of an episode, the homeowners are advised of the current value of their "fixed-up" property, which is usually 100-150 thousand above their purchase price. That doesn't sound excessive.