Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Austin Architect Cindy Black. Cindy Black is the Principal of Hello Kitchen, an architectural firm specializing in kitchen design. She also collaborates with her husband at their firm, Rick Black Architect, and together they are recognized for modern, sustainable projects in Austin and the Texas Hill Country.

Before owner meets architect, there is that hazy and exhausting period of searching for just the right property to build upon or house to renovate. Austin is not known for its supreme housing stock, and the older, central neighborhoods are full of houses that often require so much maintenance that there is not much left in the budget for design.

When possible, our clients will involve us in the site selection process, and we provide analyses and design possibilities for each property under consideration. The goal is to find a property that has been built upon a history of good decisions; in other words: good bones. So for anyone embarking upon the search for a property to improve, we suggest taking the following into consideration.

The Site

The old realtor notion of ‘location, location, location’ shouldn’t be limited to the draws of a good school district or popular neighborhood. One should consider the specific dynamics of any property, which include proximity, site qualities, and potential.

Proximity to and from:

Arterials: an arterial is a major thoroughfare that connects between cities and suburbs. Examples of this road type are I-35, 360, and FM 2222. Try to avoid properties within view or sound range of these heavily-trafficked roads.

  Bad: Highway in view

Collectors: often used as a route by EMS and other large vehicles, and which usually defines the boundaries of a neighborhood. 15^th Street, Koenig Ln, and Slaughter Ln. are all collectors. I recommend staying at least 1 ½ blocks away from any collector, which means that you can get to and from your property using local roads at rush hour.

Local roads: your address should be on a local road, with a collector within 4 blocks. Too far from a collector and your property becomes isolated, difficult to visit and without the relief of commercial centers.

Green space: a park, greenbelt or playground should be within walking distance (15 minutes or less on foot).

Good: Accessible green space

Public Transportation: what if your reliable car suddenly becomes unreliable? Or what if you want to hop on a shuttle to go to ACL or a UT game? Proximity to a Cap Metro stop is a good idea – within 3 blocks is reasonable.

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You may have noticed that things have been a bit slow around Inspired Austin lately. I have been travelling quite a bit, most recently on a long overdue vacation.

In any case, I have some work to do to get my Modern Home List back up to date. The Austin Board of Realtors recently changed the data format of their MLS feed. As a result my modern home lists and search will be down for a bit. If you need help in the meantime send me an email.

While I’ve got the hood open I plan to tweak the design of the site as well. If you have any feedback on the layout, content, etc. please let me know. One common complaint is that my contact info is too hard to find, so here is my email:

ryan at inspiredaustin dot com

I also apologize to those following my remodel blogging. I did not live up to the example of timely blogging set by the Erwins and Schusters who went before me. I do plan to finish out the series as I believe it is helpful for those planning a similar path.

I am now living in the home, and I love it. Photos to follow, but here is a sneak peek of the exterior:

Again – please don’t hesitate to email with any questions or feedback on the site.

Here are some recently updated listings on my Austin Modern Home list:

5500 Spanish Oaks Club – $3.75M

3108 Rivercrest – $2.5M

4709 Via Media – $1.299M

1600 Lipan – $469k

3815 Red River – $456k

1181 Hargrave – $339k

You can also view the full Austin Modern Home list, or search for Austin Modern homes.

Apologies for the stagnant data – the Austin Modern Home searches are now up to date.  In February I’ll have to do some rework due to a change in the Austin Board of Realtors data format, hopefully no more service interruptions.  As always – let me know if you need a custom search – useful for sellers or buyers.

The links:

Austin Modern Home List

Austin Modern Home Search

A few of the updated listings:

This is the second post about my modern remodel in Austin, Texas.
Click here for all ‘My Remodel’ posts.

We started our home search about 4 years ago. We wanted to find a small home in Central Austin that we could live in immediately and remodel in the future. Like every home buyer, we were first concerned with location and price.

Step 1 – Use Map data to find target areas

To help narrow down our options we began by plotting homes for sale in a way that would allow us to quickly evaluate the price relative to the area. We used Google Earth to visualize this data, here is an example map (icon colors indicate relative $/sqft):

Mapping the relative prices of homes for sale allowed us to quickly identify areas and properties we could afford, or where there was an anomaly (a good deal). We honed in on these areas and began looking at houses.

Step 2 – Look at houses to buy and to learn

We probably toured at least 100 homes. Large homes, small homes, new and old. This gave us an excellent understanding of the home values for the different areas. Seeing the new homes gave us ideas for what to do (and not do) when it came time for our remodel.

Side Note: It is a good idea to check out remodeled homes in your area when planning a remodel. This not only gives you ideas, but also helps you understand values in the area.

Step 3 – Evaluate houses for living and remodeling

When we found a good price/location match, we then had to examine its potential for remodeling. Here is a list of the criteria we considered:

• Lot size & orientation
• Tree locations
• Power lines at side or rear
• McMansion Ordinance Implications
• House condition (aesthetic & structural)
• House location on lot

All of the above will determine the possibilities for an addition/remodel. In our case the lot orientation and tree locations as well as the condition of the existing home were most important. The lot orientation and tree locations not only determine where you can build (due to protected trees) but also the sun exposure and prevailing winds – very important for an efficient home.

As to the homes condition, we had two rules:

1. The home had to be livable, because we needed to move in immediately. This was not only to get a feel for the existing spaces and the lot, but also to meet the neighbors and enjoy the area.
2. The home had to be mostly original. We did not want to pay for someone else’s remodel that didn’t meet our taste or standards.

Conclusion – What we found

Ok, I know what you’re thinking – “Get to the point. What did you find?!” We found a few great homes, made offers on 4, and had 1 offer accepted. During the option period we had an architect and builder review the site to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. With a clean bill of health we closed and moved in to this home:

Click below for more photos and details…
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