Well there are many housing developments here in California that were designed by significant architects. The house that I was interested in is in a small (originally middle class) neighborhood where all the homes were designed by Donald Wexler. I do think you are smart not the update the character right out of the house.
just for fun, heres a blog on really nice mid-mods here in LA
http://takesunset.com/blog/mid-century-modern-real-estate-architecture-los-angeles/