homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

[joshh]

I don't know how you guys can afford a home and renovation of it. Even in Portland homes vs salary aren't very good. A decent (not falling apart) home is $250k. The payment is around $1600 month after insurance. Even on my salary that isn't happening any time soon.

[TeXJ]

I don't know how you guys can afford a home and renovation of it. Even in Portland homes vs salary aren't very good. A decent (not falling apart) home is $250k. The payment is around $1600 month after insurance. Even on my salary that isn't happening any time soon.

move then.

[mjimport]

Ugh, one of many reasons I would never move to the West coast.

[mbonder]

I don't know how you guys can afford a home and renovation of it. Even in Portland homes vs salary aren't very good. A decent (not falling apart) home is $250k. The payment is around $1600 month after insurance. Even on my salary that isn't happening any time soon.

If I could find fixer-uppers in the $250-300k range in Northern NJ I'd be in the business of flipping houses all day every day. Most homes around me that are worth anything are $450k+.


On the shower pan front, you should see if you have a dealer for Tile-EZ. These are prefabricated shower pans that drop right into whatever space you are building your shower. They are custom built to your measurements and utilize a compression drain that is sloped for proper water flow. Because it's one piece it will never leak. Way better than any acrylic lining will ever be.

[bradmer]

Shower pans

Shower pans are no different than anything else, when done correctly they are fine on any substrate. Find a guy that can hot mop a pan in your area, someone who has worked in a region previously where that sht gets inspected by the local AHJ. They will know how to do it right the first time, it's worth the $250 for piece of mind over a liner.
Liners leak because they are installed by tile guys with little or no plumbing experience.
I have installed hundreds of shower pans at schools, prisons, hospitals as well as residential and never had a leak with this method.

When you grout, roll your sponge upward as you slide it across slowly at a 45 degree angle to the joint, it will eliminate the hazing as you will pick up more of the cement. Fresh sponge with each swipe.
Seal your project, tile and grout with a good sealer, I used to use chemical based Miracle, they have a matt and wet look that creates an invisible non slip surface.
Good luck

[Powling]

I don't know how you guys can afford a home and renovation of it. Even in Portland homes vs salary aren't very good. A decent (not falling apart) home is $250k. The payment is around $1600 month after insurance. Even on my salary that isn't happening any time soon.

Yeah $250k is stupid cheap. In the General Toronto Area, for a basic suburb home you are into the $750k range to START. Just bare bones home in a bare bones neighbourhood.

I live 1.5 hrs outside of the Toronto area and my place was $325k and that was cheap for the area we are in.

...and this is all with the real estate bubble bursting earlier this summer. Over the winter some families were into the 1 mill range just to get a home that ticked their basic necessities of space and location.

[Todd Black 88]

Don't move here then.

I think the median price in Vancouver is something like 1.3 million now.

My in laws just listed their house in North Vancouver for 1.945 million. It needs a full renovation. It was built in 1969

[M-technik-3]

What did they pay for the place?

[Todd Black 88]

$110k in 1973.

[flyboyx]

wow. thats retirement money right thar.

[Todd Black 88]

The fully renovated, 52 year old condo they just bought was 1.435 million for 1075 square feet.



Prices here are bonkers!

[M-technik-3]

Yeah they are. We are working on million dollar condo's right now but that is only because foolish people will pay asking price for them. Granted they are 3k sq feet but it's still a condo and has no land but they are on an xclusive golf course in Lennox Ma.

[flyboyx]

man, you guys flipping high end property better be careful. the housing market is cooling off in a big way right now.

personally, i'm not going to buy shit until it really goes to hell if it does indeed go that direction.

[z31maniac]

man, you guys flipping high end property better be careful. the housing market is cooling off in a big way right now.

personally, i'm not going to buy shit until it really goes to hell if it does indeed go that direction.

I think that depends on where you are, in Tulsa and OKC (where I just bought a house) the market is absolutely nuts.

I had to come in above asking price, the day the house went on the market to get it. I'd lost plenty other houses, or they'd go under contract before I could even look at them, etc.

[MR E30 325is]

man, you guys flipping high end property better be careful. the housing market is cooling off in a big way right now.

personally, i'm not going to buy shit until it really goes to hell if it does indeed go that direction.

xfuckingmillionsandtrillions

Not the time to be flipping, unless you have at least two viable exit strategies, or you are a top dog with some substantial backup.