Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
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Post by Lizard Queen on May 27, 2015 14:43:38 GMT -5
I used to love HGTV, especially in the days of Trading Spaces and the like. We don't have it included in our cable package any longer, but it doesn't matter. It seems like they just run the same shows over and over these days, like Love it or List it. (I see it at my mom's occasionally.) It's just not the same as it used to be. Property Brothers is okay, but not nearly as fun as Trading Spaces was. *sigh* the good ol' days...
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Ryan
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 16, 2014 13:40:36 GMT -5
Posts: 2,202
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Post by Ryan on May 27, 2015 15:47:07 GMT -5
I'm really annoyed at the HGTV crowd. DH and I put our house on the market last week. We paid $273K for it in 2003. Over the years we replaced nearly all the windows with Pella (wood frames, not the cheaper aluminum), enclosed part of the deck as a sunroom, put in granite countertops, replaced the crappy linoleum in the kitchen and carpet in the master bath with bamboo, and removed nearly all the popcorn texture from the ceilings. We put in another $18K getting ready to sell- tiling 2 bathroom floors, replacing carpeting in MBR and family room, repairing cracks in cement around pool and having it textured and painted ($5K all by itself)... enough!
It's listed at $310K, which I thought was reasonable compared to the one down the street that went for the full listing price of $315K on the first day. Both have pools and similar taxes, they have some improvements we don't and vice versa. It's been less than a week but I am SO discouraged. The feedback (realtors can enter it through the automating scheduling service) is pretty much the same. Ken and Barbie can't afford all the money it will take to upgrade the light firxtures, the carpeting, the appliances, etc.
If they think it's going to cost $X to upgrade, why don't they offer $310 minus $X? Unless that value is so low they know it will be an insult- which implies the house is priced properly.
Or they don't want the hassle of having things done while they live there.
Or (DH's theory), they really don't know what they want so they need a place that already has walls in the latest fashion colors (ours are mostly white, freshly painted), an updated tile backsplash in the kitchen (we have one but it's not as flashy as the new types), painted cabinets, pedestal sinks, all that crap, so they don't have to have a vision.
We're in Atlanta for a family wedding and I see street people pushing around their worldly goods and I know our problems are Rich People problems, but it's still ruining my sleep.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Ah, I think you're transferring the blame onto the buyer a little too much. Sure, you did some nice upgrades, but most homeowners do not want to move in and start taking on a bunch of projects. We moved into a turn-key house and we’ve already spent about $20K on various projects. If you walk in and think you’d need to spend money on a kitchen, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, painting, etc, then it becomes pretty difficult to figure out how much everything will cost. Plus, you now pretty much lose the opportunity to roll that into the mortgage. The other thing that people don’t consider is that when you do a big project like new windows, the buyer has to kinda wonder if they would’ve made the same decision had they had the choice. The guy I bought my home spent a HUGE amount on new Marvin windows (wood frame). If it were me, I don’t know if I would’ve spent that much on the windows. I might’ve gotten the vinyl ones and saved a bunch of money. He also put on a very expensive addition for a sunroom (fireplace, radiant floor heating, new laundry room, etc). Again, if it were me, I would’ve put in a new master bedroom instead. So even though everyone can acknowledge that that a lot went into it, not everyone would’ve spent the money the same way as you.
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thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,447
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Post by thyme4change on May 27, 2015 16:30:30 GMT -5
Prior to me ever having any serious repairs done on my house, I assumed that the HGTV prices were reality. Then I started getting quotes for various projects around the house and I started hearing these crazy high numbers. All of this was supported by the numbers you see on angieslist and the work that was performed. Then a few months ago, I talked with a guy that used to coach my son in t-ball who is a home remodeler. He mentioned that prices usually shock people and it's mostly because they are comparing it to what they see on tv. There are a lot of reason that the prices on the show are so low. They get huge discounts fr suppliers. If you watch closely you will see them show name brand boxes or go shopping at Lowes. Also I don't think they charge labor. So they will completely remodel a kitchen with cabinets counters and appliances for $10k. When I did my kitchen I paid $12k for my cabinets. Why doesn't HGTV estimate the real cost? I'm fine with them getting free stuff so their actual cost is lower than the norm. But I hate that they tell every person that has basic cable that it only costs $22k to remodel an entire house.
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Deleted
Joined: May 20, 2024 7:45:43 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 16:56:25 GMT -5
What I don't find realistic is that almost always they include new furniture. It looks nice, but maybe I would have preferred Hillary update the bathroom at least a little rather than spend $5000 on new living room furniture. Sure, it won't show as well when she is finished, but it certainly would improve my resale value if I choose to sell. The new furniture might not look that great in my new house, anyway.
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alabamagal
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 23, 2010 11:30:29 GMT -5
Posts: 8,121
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Post by alabamagal on May 27, 2015 18:34:12 GMT -5
And she always puts in new high tech washer dryers even if the couple had them. The new ones look so much nicer for $3k!
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Deleted
Joined: May 20, 2024 7:45:43 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 9:35:05 GMT -5
Ah, I think you're transferring the blame onto the buyer a little too much. Sure, you did some nice upgrades, but most homeowners do not want to move in and start taking on a bunch of projects. We moved into a turn-key house and we’ve already spent about $20K on various projects. If you walk in and think you’d need to spend money on a kitchen, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, painting, etc, then it becomes pretty difficult to figure out how much everything will cost. Plus, you now pretty much lose the opportunity to roll that into the mortgage. The other thing that people don’t consider is that when you do a big project like new windows, the buyer has to kinda wonder if they would’ve made the same decision had they had the choice. The guy I bought my home spent a HUGE amount on new Marvin windows (wood frame). If it were me, I don’t know if I would’ve spent that much on the windows. I might’ve gotten the vinyl ones and saved a bunch of money. He also put on a very expensive addition for a sunroom (fireplace, radiant floor heating, new laundry room, etc). Again, if it were me, I would’ve put in a new master bedroom instead. So even though everyone can acknowledge that that a lot went into it, not everyone would’ve spent the money the same way as you. Funny you should mention the wood frame replacement windows and the sunroom- we did both! But you're kind of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you put in granite countertops half the buyers won't like what you chose. Maybe they wanted marble or they don't like the color. If you leave the cheapie Formica countertops the other half will complain that it's not updated. Same with everything else. DH and I just looked at a house last night that's at the top of our list. It's lakefront, occupied by the original owner and in superb condition. I hate the wallpaper and DH wants a gas cooktop instead of the electric cooktop that's in there now. I can rip off wallpaper- did it in our current house all over the place. I can do it again. It's slow and messy but it's not brain surgery and the house is liveable during the work. The range will be a big expense but we'll roll that into the mortgage. Again, no hurry. The downstairs (overlooking the lake) has an in-law suite with a full kitchen. Anyone want to visit if we get this place? I'm thinking we could defray the cost by putting it on AirBnB.
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Ryan
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 16, 2014 13:40:36 GMT -5
Posts: 2,202
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Post by Ryan on May 28, 2015 22:39:32 GMT -5
Ah, I think you're transferring the blame onto the buyer a little too much. Sure, you did some nice upgrades, but most homeowners do not want to move in and start taking on a bunch of projects. We moved into a turn-key house and we’ve already spent about $20K on various projects. If you walk in and think you’d need to spend money on a kitchen, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, painting, etc, then it becomes pretty difficult to figure out how much everything will cost. Plus, you now pretty much lose the opportunity to roll that into the mortgage. The other thing that people don’t consider is that when you do a big project like new windows, the buyer has to kinda wonder if they would’ve made the same decision had they had the choice. The guy I bought my home spent a HUGE amount on new Marvin windows (wood frame). If it were me, I don’t know if I would’ve spent that much on the windows. I might’ve gotten the vinyl ones and saved a bunch of money. He also put on a very expensive addition for a sunroom (fireplace, radiant floor heating, new laundry room, etc). Again, if it were me, I would’ve put in a new master bedroom instead. So even though everyone can acknowledge that that a lot went into it, not everyone would’ve spent the money the same way as you. Funny you should mention the wood frame replacement windows and the sunroom- we did both! But you're kind of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you put in granite countertops half the buyers won't like what you chose. Maybe they wanted marble or they don't like the color. If you leave the cheapie Formica countertops the other half will complain that it's not updated. Same with everything else. DH and I just looked at a house last night that's at the top of our list. It's lakefront, occupied by the original owner and in superb condition. I hate the wallpaper and DH wants a gas cooktop instead of the electric cooktop that's in there now. I can rip off wallpaper- did it in our current house all over the place. I can do it again. It's slow and messy but it's not brain surgery and the house is liveable during the work. The range will be a big expense but we'll roll that into the mortgage. Again, no hurry. The downstairs (overlooking the lake) has an in-law suite with a full kitchen. Anyone want to visit if we get this place? I'm thinking we could defray the cost by putting it on AirBnB. I hear you, but I think you're rewarded more if you do the work. You might get 50% that don't like what you chose, but 90% probably don't like that they have to put in granite countertops themselves. I wouldn't have chose the countertops or the cabinets that the prior homeowner went with, but I can live with them.
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thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,447
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Post by thyme4change on May 28, 2015 22:54:29 GMT -5
Funny you should mention the wood frame replacement windows and the sunroom- we did both! But you're kind of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you put in granite countertops half the buyers won't like what you chose. Maybe they wanted marble or they don't like the color. If you leave the cheapie Formica countertops the other half will complain that it's not updated. Same with everything else. DH and I just looked at a house last night that's at the top of our list. It's lakefront, occupied by the original owner and in superb condition. I hate the wallpaper and DH wants a gas cooktop instead of the electric cooktop that's in there now. I can rip off wallpaper- did it in our current house all over the place. I can do it again. It's slow and messy but it's not brain surgery and the house is liveable during the work. The range will be a big expense but we'll roll that into the mortgage. Again, no hurry. The downstairs (overlooking the lake) has an in-law suite with a full kitchen. Anyone want to visit if we get this place? I'm thinking we could defray the cost by putting it on AirBnB. I hear you, but I think you're rewarded more if you do the work. You might get 50% that don't like what you chose, but 90% probably don't like that they have to put in granite countertops themselves. I wouldn't have chose the countertops or the cabinets that the prior homeowner went with, but I can live with them. I agree. There are many people that don't want to make those decisions, or go through the hassle. I am the kind of person that thinks everything in a house is fixable (even floorplan) - so I have bought two "projects." But, even I am a little weary now that I have been here 14 years and still have undone projects. Maybe if I had bought a house that was completely done, I could have changed the 3-5 things I ended up not liking, rather than the 1000 things I haven't gotten to yet.
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