Dignowity Hill Houses Featured in the Express-News

Here's a compilation of houses from our neighborhood that have made an appearance in the Newspaper over the past few years. I had them in separate posts, but I think it's time to bring them back together in one post for everyone to enjoy.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/real_estate/article/Spaces-A-Dignowity-Hill-home-gets-rehabbed-back-2133096.php#photo-1542722


http://www.mysanantonio.com/real_estate/article/Spaces-A-work-in-progress-in-Dignowity-Hill-2185899.php

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Spaces-Could-a-Rose-look-sweeter-1378358.php

http://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/home-garden/article/Artists-start-new-chapter-in-1910-house-5377125.php

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/District-retains-charm-1389053.php

Rivard Report article on Dignowity Hill

From our friend and neighbor Bekah. Great article, as always.

http://therivardreport.com/dignowity-hill-update/

Rehabbing a house? Attention to detail is a must.

 As a REALTOR I get to see so many odd things people do that I started to take pictures, and I will continue to add them to this blog post. These pictures come from different houses all over San Antonio. Unfortunately, I missed many opportunities over the years, but I'll do my best to take a picture of every oddity I come across from now on - so stay tuned.


When a potential buyer comes to look at a house that has been restored, remodeled, updated, etc. he's going to look carefully and notice any flaw.

If the most visible work doesn't look good, isn't done right, for example if the painter was sloppy or the electrician cut two face places and connected them together rather than use a double plate - one can't help but wonder about what's behind the walls. What about all the work you can't see? Buyers will walk away, no, RUN away if they notice that the contractor didn't put all the care he possibly could put into the visible details of his project.

Take the picture to the left. The original wood floors were stained, but you can still see glue from the vinyl tiles that used to cover the wood. What happened there? The glue wasn't completely removed and the floors weren't sanded. Someone thought it was OK to stain those floors. Who was in charge of that project? Was the same person in charge of choosing the electrician who rewired the part of the house that had burned because of an electrical fire?

 

This looks pretty good, right?



 But take a closer look at this paint job...












 See what I mean?

And the ceilings? This is just a small sample what you can see throughout the large dining room where the sheetrock comes together - it's coming apart at the seams.

I see this way too often.

A homeowner pressure-washed his bare exterior wood. It's not easy to see here, but all of the wood grain is raised - badly. He may have created more work for himself...now he has to sand down all this wood...
 

Another face plate not covering the whole hole.

There must have been something there...

This painter decided to paint the face plate too.

A wider piece of trim to cover the gap?

This exterior trim could use some scraping and sanding, then fresh paint.

Since we're in a neighborhood going through revitalization, here's an article about gentrification, from our San Antonio newspaper:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Gentrification-raises-fears-and-becomes-top-5175581.php

"Gentrification is sometimes viewed as a bad thing. People claim that it is detrimental to the original residents of the gentrifying neighborhood. However, a look at the data suggests that gentrification is actually beneficial to the financial health of the original residents. From a financial perspective, it is better to be a resident of a low-price neighborhood that is gentrifying than one that is not" Click HERE for the full article.

Fabulous new listing in Dignowity Hill - offered at $139,900

Highly desirable Dignowity Hill Historic District

This beautiful home located within walking distance from the Riverwalk, the Pearl Brewery, the Hays Street Bridge, and much much more is ideal for the urban dweller. Do you work Downtown, at Fort Sam Houston or SAMMC? That's great! You won't have to leave home at an unreasonably early hour to get to work. The close proximity to several major highways also means that you don't have to spend hours on the road to get anywhere. Traffic jam on the highways? Take surface streets and get where you need to be. I live in the neighborhood myself and find that at rush hour I'm always driving against the traffic.

 Check out the new metal roof! In fact this house has been completely updated.

Doesn't this kitchen make you want to cook?




 

The well-thought-out, very efficient floor plan leaves little room for wasted space.

Guest bedroom

 The spacious master bedroom has a large walk-in closet.

A very inviting, super cozy bathroom

The Cottage is getting a new look

Here's a view of the front. Sylvie Shurgot Real Estate sold this cottage back in February and the new owners have decided to make a couple of small changes to the back of the house.

So here are a few "before" pictures:

The house was very cute already, but the changes are going to make it more practical to live in as well as esthetically pleasing. This is a work in progress and we won't get pictures of the final look for a while, but the following images will give you an idea of what's happening.

To be continued...

Grace Cottage now available on airbnb

Rent for one night or more, fully furnished, walking distance from Downtown San Antonio. A whole house for less than a hotel room would cost!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/975058