homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

[mrsleeve]

Yeah I got that flyboy, I thought I sent you a reply ( edit nope never hit send I guess its not in my out box either). My self am not opposed to such an option its just I likely will have pay some very high labor costs to get someone else to put them together thus negating nearly all the savings....

Yes thats the plan is to make it much nicer than what it is, just not going nearly top end stuff, its just the fact that the Hardwoods we like are pushing 10 bucks a sq/ft to install (since I will likely not be home to do it) and even in our fairly small house that adds up fast...... Kitchen is going to be expensive, the granite for the island is going to be 3500ish on its own ( yes its a BIG ISLAND)

[flyboyx]

Honestly, if their layout isn't ideal, I could see that really affecting potential buyers. I'd say that I'm more educated about real estate than the average homebuyer because I worked in construction on the residential side, but I have learned that especially for many female homebuyers, if it visually looks off in some way, that's the death knell for that sale. Often women (and I'm using my wife and mother as the examples here as well as women that I've worked for) can't even tell you why they don't like it but they'll tell you something just doesn't look right.

The reality is that if that's the case, it's not like you can change it easily like you would a paint color or some wood trim or doors. So people will walk rather than spend the next 30 years paying for something they don't think is ideal.

If your house has a good layout and you plan to be in the home for 5-7 years I'd say as long as the market doesn't grenade you'll see the return on your investment in better materials. Plus even if it costs you 10% in the end, I'd still say it's worth that to be able to truly enjoy your home. Sometimes I feel like people are so set on getting every last dollar back that they don't actually enjoy owning the property because every decision is based on money rather than desire.

Being financially responsible is obviously of utmost importance, however, you seem to have your ducks in a row when it comes to money, make sure you enjoy yourself every now and then too, otherwise, life ain't worth livin'!

i think there is a lot of wisdom in these paragraphs. i am fortunate that my wife can see potential in crappy homes we look at. unfortunately, she sometimes doesn't have a realistic idea of the cost of fixing it.

for me(us really), if i am going to go to the trouble of renovating something, i am going to make it nice. it won't be top end, but it won't be builder grade either.

i know where to buy beautiful kitchen cabinets very cheaply(i sent you a pm about it last week sleeve). i know where to go to buy porcelain tile and wood flooring at the contractor's price. i am always looking at the closeout aisle when i go to the home center. the reality is that if you install it yourself, you can do a gorgeous bathroom for two grand and an amazing kitchen with granite countertops and stainless appliances for well under 7k. (at least in this area anyway) those kind of prices should fit into anyone's realistic budget.

[mbonder]

Honestly, if their layout isn't ideal, I could see that really affecting potential buyers. I'd say that I'm more educated about real estate than the average homebuyer because I worked in construction on the residential side, but I have learned that especially for many female homebuyers, if it visually looks off in some way, that's the death knell for that sale. Often women (and I'm using my wife and mother as the examples here as well as women that I've worked for) can't even tell you why they don't like it but they'll tell you something just doesn't look right.

The reality is that if that's the case, it's not like you can change it easily like you would a paint color or some wood trim or doors. So people will walk rather than spend the next 30 years paying for something they don't think is ideal.

If your house has a good layout and you plan to be in the home for 5-7 years I'd say as long as the market doesn't grenade you'll see the return on your investment in better materials. Plus even if it costs you 10% in the end, I'd still say it's worth that to be able to truly enjoy your home. Sometimes I feel like people are so set on getting every last dollar back that they don't actually enjoy owning the property because every decision is based on money rather than desire.

Being financially responsible is obviously of utmost importance, however, you seem to have your ducks in a row when it comes to money, make sure you enjoy yourself every now and then too, otherwise, life ain't worth livin'!

[mrsleeve]

Neighbors place is bigger, by about a 1/3 for sq//ft and 1 additional bed room, but while the additions look good from the outside they were poorly executed on the inside as far as lay out and functionality go. Its mostly done in "good" lowes / H.D. quality materials and it is a decent place. They have more out buildings but we have more under roof work/clod storage space and much more finished and heated shop/barn space. Lot is same size.

They listed at about 100k more than we paid for ours this spring, and for the area, and so on it was an aggressive price, but should have sold they have come down about 30 and are stuck there as that pay off, so we have been told. since they got a ton of improvement loans on the place a few years ago.

Weird thing is, rents around here start at about 1200 and range all the way up to 4500, 1200 gets you a dump where the toilet may work or may not and the furnace is iffy at best. So them listing where they did falls into the category in general if you can afford to rent a 4b/2.5ba at 2k a month you aught be able to buy it.... So is it not appraising, or are the inspectors finding something thats a deal breaker, or are all the people writing the offers just trying to get to far outta of their affordability.

So if its not appraising well, we are afraid of putting money into this place with hardwoods and tile and really good kitchen and then pricing out of the intended market this place falls into with living space and simple lay out. Even though ours appraised for about 5% over our sale price as is..

Tim your right its all about balance and "how long" do we intend to stay here, for the next 5 years maybe 7 and then move up so is the really good vinyl plank from the flooring store that goes down fast and is indestructible good enough. Vs the time and effort and 25% extra expense of hardwood we love worth it. We can afford what we want, but is it worth it when its time to move on, is the question.

thanks guys

[tim88325is]

Were those PEX supply lines installed by a pro or DIY? Just curious...

Builder grade versus premium is really toss up like everything else in life, a balance between immediate enjoyment and potential return.

I just put a Lowes Kohler kitchen sink in my place because I decided to do it on a Sunday morning when a leak started. Is it a massive improvement to the 30yo stainless steel one, most definitely but is it as nice as a real one?

The Lowes sink will look good for the next ten years and "real" Kohler might look good the next 20 but where do I plan to be in that time frame? Should I spend my cash now for those extra years of quality that I may or may not enjoy?

[evandael]

well, why has the neighbor's not sold? have you toured it? often if people cut corners, buyers will know, and that plants the seed that maybe there's a better place.

out of curiosity, what are they asking? i don't know your market, but in pittsburgh, most houses (unless they are in a hot neighborhood) sell for 90% of list price.

so, some quick math:

take their list price * .90, then you have your sell price
take your purchase price + planned reno budget * .10 (contingency), then you have your investment
divide your investment by .70, and if it's lower than your sell price, you have a solid investment (works out to around 20% ROI + costs of sale)

[mrsleeve]

^
I am kinda in that spot with the place we bought this summer. I feel like we bought it right, and it is livable as is. That said the more she has been here, and now that I have about 3 weeks in my own bed there is more we want to do to it than I think we can get back out of it. Our neighbors has been for sale since july and not sold even though it has had a ton of intrest in it. Not sure why, people keep waking away from it or why its not appraising . So I am worried about dumping 30-40k into this place and pricing my self outta my neighborhood/ price range of buyers looking for something lik this place....

We are not looking to do builder grade finishes, if we were to do that I could make flip it and make a bit of money there but thats not what we have now and its only 13 years old ....... why replace crap with more crap right.. Thanks for your candor.

[evandael]

sleeve, great point. i would not have gone to the lengths i did in this project if my market didn’t support a profit. as it stands comps are showing that i could have nearly 50% ROI.. part of that was i got lucky when i bought it, but also that i have a RE license (so no commission loss on the listing side), and of course shopping hard for subcontractors and the value of sweat equity!

[mrsleeve]

Wow that is awesome work, I know your not planing in selling/flipping, but are you at all worried by the end of this that you will have an order of magnitude more into this place than your neighborhood can support if you were to need to get out of it.....

[ajhostetter]

Awesome work!

[TeXJ]

wow, really nice!

[MR E30 325is]

Excellent work!

[evandael]

Update: I am about 6 weeks away from completing a gut renovation on the place I started this thread about.


Glad to see this thread continued in my absence!


Here are some pics (sorry, iPotato/instagram)..







the reason I gutted it.. tons of water damage/general shittiness




pointed front/back, new parapet, all new steel lintels.. significant cost!










my favorite modification: widened this rear opening for a roll-up window at bar height, really opened up the kitchen and engaged the rear courtyard space for gatherings/entertainment




framed in all exterior walls for insulation/chases and new interior walls for bathrooms




found in the ceiling




we installed all the windows/doors.. was a fun time, honestly! marvin ultrex/wood casements and thermatru fiberglass doors. flashed with dupont tape. oh and lots of shims (we built the bucks as true as possible but still needed them)












all new plumbing from soil to stack. 2 full baths, laundry, kitchen. gas dryer and range.




all new electrical from the panel. my favorite contractor! if anyone is doing home reno in Pittsburgh with electrical needs, PM me and i'll get you his name.




fully spray-foamed insulation. closed cell on all exterior walls and roof cavity.




basically a before/after pic




laying the cement board for one of the bathrooms. you'll see the shower pan at the bottom right. it's cement-reinforced XPS foam. barrier free.




some products:

finger-jointed walnut hardwood and butcher blocks for the whole house. still waiting to be installed...




heat pump hybrid water heater. went this route because i could not vent gas from the laundry room (abuts sidewalk).. expensive piece of equipment, but they're way more efficient than resistance electric!




speaking of heat pumps, i also went with a heat pump minisplit system for heating/cooling. again, went this route due to ducting issues. no pics, but they work amazingly well so far, and we've already had some cold nights (15*)


polished the original slab in the kitchen. it almost looks like terrazzo. i sealed it (and the exposed bricks) with a matte sealer




here's a shitty shot of the cabinets. there are more cabinets than this, but i seem to have forgotten to take any pictures. the granite is installed. i'm going with open shelving. there will be an island on casters.




some materials/finishes






the whole house is painted (not too many pics). i went with a brand of paint carried at Construction Junction. it is recycled latex and covers quite well, washes up easily, has a great palette of colors, and is amazingly 1/3 the cost of a comparable paint from Behr or Glidden.





currently the electrician is in there tying up loose ends. remaining work includes kitchen/bath tiling, plumbing the fixtures, replacing the stair treads/risers, laying the hardwood, and trim/touch up stuff. 6-8 weeks is my timeline, because i do this after work and on the weekends with help from family/friends!

[mjimport]

Does anyone have a recommendation for wifi alert system?
Looking to get moisture detection, power failure, and maybe something that's expandable to accept multiple inputs like cameras and door/window sensors.

I'm trying to decide to either go cheap and just get wifi moisture detection for now($100?), or spend a bit more money but would want an expandable platform ($500?)

[joshh]

Makes you wonder who's buying all these homes. I have noticed many people own extremely modest cars compared to the home they purchased.

The Portland market is interesting because there isn't enough housing and new homes are being sold in foundation stage by large builders in many cases.

I'd love to get back into a home but this market is crazy.

While you can find homes in this area for 250k that aren't falling apart, they aren't what I would consider fixer uppers either. The ceiling for remodeled homes seems to be capped while new homes are selling for god awful amounts. That's a bit general but that's what the market seems to be doing up here.