For Sale by Original Owner

Home Facts

The “Happy House” at 619 E. 7 ½ Street was built for Alan & Tricia Ratliff, the current owners, in 1995 by Steve Watters, a visionary Houston architect with a passion for Victorian architecture. The home is Queen Anne Victorian house in the Historic Houston Heights built on a pier and beam foundation and is based on a George Franklin Barber architectural plan sold in the Sears & Roebuck catalog near the turn of the 20th century. The home faces Mosby Circle and the southside of E. 7 ½ street which contain nine Watters Victorian homes, is bounded on either side by three additional Watters Victorian homes and backs up to five Watters Victorian cottages on 8th Street.

The home is 3,300 air conditioned square feet between the three-story main house and the finished garage apartment which sits above a large two car garage (including under stair storage). The home has five bedrooms (or office spaces), two full bathrooms, two three-quarter bathrooms, and one powder room. The home has wood floors except in the two guest bedrooms (carpeted), two bathrooms, and two utility rooms. The home has a significant amount of covered outdoor space including a large half-wrap front porch, back porch, two balconies, and a one-of-a-kind accessible rooftop deck! (with spectacular downtown skyline views). There is also a large swimming pool, back patio, and back yard astroturf, as well as a long driveway for entertaining.

The house has a yard sprinkler system, front porch elevator, home security system, backyard insect system, multi-speaker networked sound system, a 22 kilowatt permanent generator for the main house, and a portable 8,000 watt generator for the garage apartment. The home is covered by existing service contracts and/or warranties for yard maintenance, swimming pool cleaning, insect system refills, security system monitoring, elevator maintenance, and generator maintenance, which can be extended by the buyer.

The home will SOON be for sale by owners with no seller’s realtor. A series of open houses will be followed by showings by appointment. Offers must be accompanied by proof of sufficient approved cash and financing for the purchase price, and earnest money of 1% of the purchase price will be due within 3 days of an accepted offer and will only be refundable based on the material breach of the November 4, 2024 version of the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) promulgated by TREC. The commission for any buyer’s realtor will be negotiated with the seller. While prospective buyers may arrange for an independent home inspector, prospective buyers and the inspector will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement with sellers.