Sell a Fire Damaged House in Central West Austin

The Cap Costs the Most Where the Land Is Worth the Most

A 0.4 floor to area ratio produces a bigger absolute number on a bigger lot, and the tent still limits what can be put above the second floor regardless of how valuable the ground beneath it is.

On a 12,000 square foot lot the ordinance permits 4,800 square feet of countable floor area, which sounds generous until you consider what a buyer at these values would otherwise build. The gap between what the market wants and what the envelope allows is widest here. The full position is on our page covering what the lot can hold now.

Does the Tent Really Constrain a Large Lot?

Which Makes the Multi-Unit Route Interesting at This End Too

Counterintuitive, because these are the neighbourhoods least associated with density. But the arithmetic does not care about that.

Two and three unit residential uses fall outside Subchapter F, eliminating the tent and permitting a higher floor to area ratio, with building coverage and impervious cover limits applying instead. On a large lot in these neighbourhoods that is a substantial increase in permissible built area.

Would Anyone Actually Do That Here?

We publish no values or floor area calculations for central west Austin. Countable area under Subchapter F involves lengthy exemptions that have generated litigation, and a local architect will produce a reliable figure for your parcel.

Restoration Competes Strongly Here

The other consequence of high values. Where the fire was contained and the structure survived, restoring a house in these neighbourhoods frequently beats any land play, because the finished value supports substantial investment and the existing building is not subject to the constraints a new one would be.

So the honest first question here is not what the lot could hold but whether what stands can be saved. An engineer's assessment answers it and is trivial against the values involved.

Central West Austin in Context

Where lots are smaller and the infill market strongest, see our page about the east side neighbourhoods. Where the mapped boundary generally does not reach and replacement houses are less constrained, see our page for the northern suburbs inside the city.

The Numbers on a Large Central Lot

A 0.4 floor to area ratio or 2,300 square feet, whichever is greater, is the cap on a single dwelling inside the mapped Subchapter F area adopted in 2006. The tent planes rise 15 feet and angle inward at 45 degrees beneath a 35 foot base height.

Two and three unit uses escape those planes entirely, subject instead to a 40 percent maximum building coverage and a 45 percent impervious cover limit. The multi-unit route requires 5,750 square feet, which most lots in these neighbourhoods clear comfortably.

Central West Austin Questions