Cozy Cottage in Little Forest Hills Has Updates Plus Original Character

October 29, 2014 | Joanna England | | Lease of the Week

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8919 Forest Hills Front

If you think you’ve seen this cute little cottage at 8919 Forest Hills Blvd., your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. We actually featured this space before, but at that time it was the office of interior designer Kim Armstrong. She transformed this home from a hoarder’s hellhole to a gorgeous, cozy little Little Forest Hills cottage.

And now, because she’s got tons of projects and another baby on the way, she’s decided to office out of her Lake Highlands home and rent this cutie out. If you need evidence on what a huge transformation this was, check out the post Kim wrote for us.

8919 Forest Hills Front Porch

8919 Forest Hills Numbers

8919 Forest Hills Living to Dining

8919 Forest Hills Dining To Kitchen

8919 Forest Hills Kitchen

We’ve talked about this before, but in the land of leasing in Dallas — and this goes doubly for single-family homes — you have to act fast. True to form, Kim says they had nine people view the home over last weekend just days after they advertised that the home was available. Of that group, six people applied to lease the home, and after some interviewing and credit checking, Kim says they found a wonderful tenant.

I initially did a “free listing” on the website www.showmetherent.com, then I thought to use social media as a way to promote the property,” Kim said. She decided to turn to the Lakewood Online Yard Sale group on Facebook, which allows you to post by-owner properties for rent. She immediately got several inquiries for more information.

8919 Forest Hills Bedroom

8919 Forest Hills Bedroom 2

“So the internet exposure and the social media were key to letting potential tenants know about this unique rental property,” Kim added. “Also, when you post a listing on a website like showmetherent.com, other websites like Trulia, Zillow, and Hotpads picked up the listing and posted it on their website, which gave the little cottage even more online exposure. I posted on Thursday, and I showed the property Friday and Saturday morning. I slept on it and made my decision on Sunday who to lease it to.”

Good for Kim, because this home was like a baby to her. She oversaw the renovation of this adorable Little Forest Hills cottage, which has two bedrooms, one bath, and 774 square feet, every step of the way. She was asking $1,600 for this sweet little spot, which considering the attention to detail and high-end finish out, isn’t unreasonable. I have been inside this lovely home and it is just perfect for a busy single person or a young professional.

8919 Forest Hills Office 2

8919 Forest Hills Office

“I think what made this rental so unique was the care and quality of the renovations we did on the property, as well as the location of the rental,” Kim said. “Too many landlords want to dump as little as they can into a property just to make it rentable. I have a different theory: Go the little extra step to make your property ‘special.’

“There are benefits on so many levels. No. 1: your property is more desirable, and you can charge a higher rent because of this. No. 2: It doesn’t sit on the market nearly as long as the ugly ducklings do. No. 3: You get to be more selective in your choice of a tenant because your property becomes a ‘hot commodity.’ No. 4: Your tenants will be happy living in your rental and your turnover rate will be less. No. 5: Your tenants will be proud of where they live and will be more responsible in caring for the property,” Kim said.

8919 Forest Hills Bath 1

8919 Forest Hills Bath 2

The location is absolutely perfect — just down Lakeland from the Dallas Arboretum, and a quick walk to White Rock Lake — plus the calm streets of Little Forest Hills are popular with pedestrians and cyclists. You can really live an urban lifestyle in a wonderfully quiet, suburban neighborhood right next to Dallas’ Crown Jewel!

Not only that, but it has a wide open back yard and a board-on-board privacy fence, so your pup will be living large along with you. Plus, there’s that adorable front porch with that cute pergola. That’s a wonderful spot where you can read a book and enjoy getting to know your neighbors. Congrats to the luck tenant! We hope your move-in is stress-free!

8919 Forest Hills Backyard

This experience has definitely motivated Kim to expand her rental portfolio, so stay tuned for more great designer leases! What about you: Does this inspire you to remodel something rundown so that a tenant can fall in love?

Posted in Lease of the Week