Nice Flip! Silver Lake House Gets Makeover, Price Boost

This cute little house in Silver Lake, CA was looking a little sad, wearing yesterdays’ fashions:

Blah colors and a dated wrought iron exterior make me sad for this little home.

But a team of designers scooped up this little prom-outcast, and gave him a whole new look:

Primped and refreshed (have you had work done?) this house is ready for his big debut!

So much better, right?

The quick and dirty on this fix-up job is this: A couple of designers bought it in December 2009 for $331,000. They worked their magic in a few short months, and now the house is back on the market, ready for its dream date buyer, with an asking price of $499,000. It’s got 2 bdrms/1 bath, bonus office “retreat”, 896 sq ft.

There’s no question the house looks much better. The real question is, is the house $168,000 better? Is it 50.8% better? And, even more relevant, will someone pay what they’re asking? Only time will tell. I don’t know enough about the local market to say, but I do know that the real estate community is abuzz over this major makeover of both home and price.

If you like the exterior makeover, be sure to check out the interior pics on Take Sunset. If you’re a fan of mid-century Danish modern, prepare to get weak in the knees.

What do you think - is it smarter to buy this house post-flip, or would a savvy buyer scoop it up at $331,000 and do the work themselves?