New and hopefully improved but who cares

[Beebs52]

First off, we have a new computer (which I posted about before so excuse me for repeating). It's a laptop and it works. It isn't virus-ridden, it's sparkly and new, even if cheap, and, IT WORKS. It does have Windows 8, Microsoft 2010 WHICH BOTH SUCK, THANK YOU. I mean, it took me a day to figure out how to shut the bugger off correctly.

Be that as it may, it still works and it's new and we have wifi!!!!111111 Eleventy woots for us. We've entered the 2000's.

Which makes me able to play Words with Friends on my new sparkly Samsung Galaxy SIII without using data. Am I all that informationtechologybitch? Oh yes. When I'm 70 I'll be excited about computerized cars.

Oh. We have those. They suck. Bring back old cars, please. Passing an emissions test would be nice. Assholes.

BUT, the big thing is, we have committed to the remodel guy we're going to use to make our house into a new sparkly (sparkly is my word today leave me alone) sellable chunk of real estate so that we can downsize.

We're talking a largish chunk of change to do this, and, yes, we're gonna get a realtor to tell us some of the finer details we may have forgotten, but the guy we chose is quite awesomely awesome. Recommended by known people who have had major renovations done and he understands that we're trying to sell, not upgrade to some level to stay here. We need to get out of this because it's two story, on a big lot for here and the taxes will kill us in the next few years.

It hit me that we are actually en route to getting it done. It's quite invigorating. 23 years in this house where the kids grew up, we grew up, animals grew up and left and new ones came around (including rats and squirrels) and it has a huge wonderful history woven into its floors, walls, halls and nooks and crannies.

I shall have to compartmentalize while the doings are going on because, while I don't give a rat's ass what color tile/paint/granite I put in because it's just for someone elsebutwehavetosellit....it will be annoying to have to tiptoe around to keep it pristine and the actual worktime will be a challenge with the pets. However, we're given a six week timeframe, which is totally reasonable.

I've been dreaming about this stuff lately, which is scary. I need to redirect the dreams to the new place, which who knows where it will be (though still around here) and how I can paint a wall some glossy teal blue or something and get a lamp that lights and whatall.

Thanks to Jeff's Dad for helping this to be a reality.

[Ritterskoop]

Transitions R fun.

[Beebs52]

Transitions R fun.

Isn't it the truth? It's very exciting. Plus, I'm looking at an end to working in a couple of years which is like a big fat toffee/caramel candybar in my head.

[christie1111]

wifi!!!!111111 Eleventy woots for us

I think you are on the right track!

Eleventy woots to you!

[jaybee]

Beebs - I want to throw a professional wrench in your plans. Take this as you see fit:

Facts:

1. I'm a general contractor specializing in remodels. Have been since the 80's.

2. One area we specialize in is getting houses ready to sell. This has been even more popular in the last few years with the crappy housing market.

3. Currently, our project with the longest "time to sell" once we go over it is 12 days from day of listing. Most have sold in the first few days. While there is no guarantee to this, we do know what we are doing.

4. To make a house sellable, our method is really simple - Fix everything that is wrong, upgrade fixtures in important areas like kitchen, bathrooms and front entries. Concentrate on making things look as much 'like new' as possible - I.E. - completely empty the garage, patch all the misc. holes in the walls and paint the entire thing. If a good cleaning works than that is enough, if not, then a fresh coat of paint will do the trick.

5. Always fix up with neutrals. Forget your own tastes as it does not matter. Go for popular, easy, bright and not unusual.

6. This one is a biggie: You never, never, never, never get your money out of a remodel for resale. No exceptions. None. At best, you are looking at a 60% to 70% return on your investment. That's the best case, the reality is closer to 50% or less. This is not just our findings - Remodel magazine (a mag aimed at professional contractors) does an annual survey of cost vs value of ten popular remodels. Numbers differ in various parts of the country but the general consensus is that you need to live in your house for at least 2 years to justify the cost of a remodel. Meaning that you are only to remodel for your wants, not to make a house sellable.

7. Please read #6 again. Please. Really.

8. The only way you can justify a large remodel in a selling situation is if your house needs so much done to it that it is unsellable. Even then, you will not get a return on your money but there is a value to being able to move your house quickly. So if your kitchen cabinets are falling apart, your laminate counters are pealing apart and there's a big soft spot in the floor in front of your harvest gold range then you could justify chunking down $35k for a kitchen remodel. Just keep in mind that you'll only be able to sell the house for $20K more (but it will sell faster).


Now that I have butted into your business, can I ask what basically you are planning to do to the house?

I am posting this because I too am an awesomely sparkly contractor type guy. I have had clients who call us in to remodel so they can sell. They often feel that their house will need some major renovations to make it marketable. They call me in for advice - And my advice is, "Don't do it". A big remodel would be great for my company to make money - not so great for our homeowner as an investment. Our usual 'house for sale" project runs between $3,000 and $4,000. I don't know how far you are committed to this yet but my advice for you would be to talk to a realtor that you trust. They know what sells and what doesn't in your area. We usually work from three lists: The list of the homeowners impressions of what the house needs, the list that we make as to what the house needs and the list from the realtor. The areas that make all three lists are must-do's to sell the house. Anything else is a balance between how much money you want to spend and how fast you want to move the house.

And a side note that I am adding because it's a pet peeve of mine: You have an older house. No matter what you do to spruce it up, it will still be an older home. A typical condition of buying is to make an offer contingent upon a home inspection. No matter how much work you do up front, the home inspector will find many things that are not up to par. The problem is that you are setting a sell price based on the fact that you have an older home. But, the buyers will use the home inspection to lower your already lowered price. The sad part about this is that the majority of home inspectors are well meaning but grossly untrained - yet their report can cost you thousands of dollars or even the sale.

[Beebs52]

Beebs - I want to throw a professional wrench in your plans. Take this as you see fit:

Facts:

1. I'm a general contractor specializing in remodels. Have been since the 80's.

2. One area we specialize in is getting houses ready to sell. This has been even more popular in the last few years with the crappy housing market.

3. Currently, our project with the longest "time to sell" once we go over it is 12 days from day of listing. Most have sold in the first few days. While there is no guarantee to this, we do know what we are doing.

4. To make a house sellable, our method is really simple - Fix everything that is wrong, upgrade fixtures in important areas like kitchen, bathrooms and front entries. Concentrate on making things look as much 'like new' as possible - I.E. - completely empty the garage, patch all the misc. holes in the walls and paint the entire thing. If a good cleaning works than that is enough, if not, then a fresh coat of paint will do the trick.

5. Always fix up with neutrals. Forget your own tastes as it does not matter. Go for popular, easy, bright and not unusual.

6. This one is a biggie: You never, never, never, never get your money out of a remodel for resale. No exceptions. None. At best, you are looking at a 60% to 70% return on your investment. That's the best case, the reality is closer to 50% or less. This is not just our findings - Remodel magazine (a mag aimed at professional contractors) does an annual survey of cost vs value of ten popular remodels. Numbers differ in various parts of the country but the general consensus is that you need to live in your house for at least 2 years to justify the cost of a remodel. Meaning that you are only to remodel for your wants, not to make a house sellable.

7. Please read #6 again. Please. Really.

8. The only way you can justify a large remodel in a selling situation is if your house needs so much done to it that it is unsellable. Even then, you will not get a return on your money but there is a value to being able to move your house quickly. So if your kitchen cabinets are falling apart, your laminate counters are pealing apart and there's a big soft spot in the floor in front of your harvest gold range then you could justify chunking down $35k for a kitchen remodel. Just keep in mind that you'll only be able to sell the house for $20K more (but it will sell faster).


Now that I have butted into your business, can I ask what basically you are planning to do to the house?

I am posting this because I too am an awesomely sparkly contractor type guy. I have had clients who call us in to remodel so they can sell. They often feel that their house will need some major renovations to make it marketable. They call me in for advice - And my advice is, "Don't do it". A big remodel would be great for my company to make money - not so great for our homeowner as an investment. Our usual 'house for sale" project runs between $3,000 and $4,000. I don't know how far you are committed to this yet but my advice for you would be to talk to a realtor that you trust. They know what sells and what doesn't in your area. We usually work from three lists: The list of the homeowners impressions of what the house needs, the list that we make as to what the house needs and the list from the realtor. The areas that make all three lists are must-do's to sell the house. Anything else is a balance between how much money you want to spend and how fast you want to move the house.

And a side note that I am adding because it's a pet peeve of mine: You have an older house. No matter what you do to spruce it up, it will still be an older home. A typical condition of buying is to make an offer contingent upon a home inspection. No matter how much work you do up front, the home inspector will find many things that are not up to par. The problem is that you are setting a sell price based on the fact that you have an older home. But, the buyers will use the home inspection to lower your already lowered price. The sad part about this is that the majority of home inspectors are well meaning but grossly untrained - yet their report can cost you thousands of dollars or even the sale.

You are brilliant sir and have pre-read our minds. All that you have said we have taken into account. The guy we have, who has an actual company, NOT a find me on the internet company, but recommended by people we know who have had major stuff done, knows that we want to sell. He works with realtors. We are going to get a realtor to reinforce what we "really" have to do as opposed to what we "think" we have to do. He has discounts built into his entire estimate.

We have a prime location in The Woodlands. It's a custom home, 23 years old, and with the renovations should hopefully bring somewhere between 450 to 500. If we were to do nothing, we'd get a bit less, although there are bidding wars going on due to development in the general area. If we put 50 into it we'll get at least 70% of that back. We HAVE to remodel the kitchen, floors, paint, carpet, baths. Have to. Deck is a DUH. Landscaping is just a regular thing for curb appeal so we've figured that in. Our roof is relatively new. We're replacing appliances, like the stovetop in the island (already did the oven/microwave) and things like the AC, outside spa and waterheaters we're going to just say-after inspection-add it onto the price.

I think we have a good handle on stuff but appreciate your input, which is essentially what our guy has said.

[Beebs52]

Also, we've divested ourselves of a lot of furniture and we're throwing away massive crap. We've checked out renting a Pod/storage unit, etc. Our house will not be "staged" in each room because we don't have shit to stage. We're buying new when we move. So, it will be essentially move in ready when fixed.

[jaybee]

I think we have a good handle on stuff but appreciate your input, which is essentially what our guy has said.

[/quote]

That makes me feel a lot better about what you are doing. My main concern was everyone saying, "Let's remodel, Let's remodel!!!" without really considering what is necessary.

While you still will likely get less than $50K more on the sale if you do a $50k remodel, you will find less of a hit with that amount since your house is in the $500K range already. If the house were only in the $250K range, getting your $50K back out would be much harder. Of course, if adding the $50K in improvements makes the house sell quickly vs having it languish around in the market for months and months, then it's still worth it.

Good luck with everything.

[TheConfessor]

Beebs - I want to throw a professional wrench in your plans. Take this as you see fit:

Facts:

1. I'm a general contractor specializing in remodels. Have been since the 80's.

2. One area we specialize in is getting houses ready to sell. This has been even more popular in the last few years with the crappy housing market.

3. Currently, our project with the longest "time to sell" once we go over it is 12 days from day of listing. Most have sold in the first few days. While there is no guarantee to this, we do know what we are doing.

4. To make a house sellable, our method is really simple - Fix everything that is wrong, upgrade fixtures in important areas like kitchen, bathrooms and front entries. Concentrate on making things look as much 'like new' as possible - I.E. - completely empty the garage, patch all the misc. holes in the walls and paint the entire thing. If a good cleaning works than that is enough, if not, then a fresh coat of paint will do the trick.

5. Always fix up with neutrals. Forget your own tastes as it does not matter. Go for popular, easy, bright and not unusual.

6. This one is a biggie: You never, never, never, never get your money out of a remodel for resale. No exceptions. None. At best, you are looking at a 60% to 70% return on your investment. That's the best case, the reality is closer to 50% or less. This is not just our findings - Remodel magazine (a mag aimed at professional contractors) does an annual survey of cost vs value of ten popular remodels. Numbers differ in various parts of the country but the general consensus is that you need to live in your house for at least 2 years to justify the cost of a remodel. Meaning that you are only to remodel for your wants, not to make a house sellable.

7. Please read #6 again. Please. Really.

8. The only way you can justify a large remodel in a selling situation is if your house needs so much done to it that it is unsellable. Even then, you will not get a return on your money but there is a value to being able to move your house quickly. So if your kitchen cabinets are falling apart, your laminate counters are pealing apart and there's a big soft spot in the floor in front of your harvest gold range then you could justify chunking down $35k for a kitchen remodel. Just keep in mind that you'll only be able to sell the house for $20K more (but it will sell faster).


Now that I have butted into your business, can I ask what basically you are planning to do to the house?

I am posting this because I too am an awesomely sparkly contractor type guy. I have had clients who call us in to remodel so they can sell. They often feel that their house will need some major renovations to make it marketable. They call me in for advice - And my advice is, "Don't do it". A big remodel would be great for my company to make money - not so great for our homeowner as an investment. Our usual 'house for sale" project runs between $3,000 and $4,000. I don't know how far you are committed to this yet but my advice for you would be to talk to a realtor that you trust. They know what sells and what doesn't in your area. We usually work from three lists: The list of the homeowners impressions of what the house needs, the list that we make as to what the house needs and the list from the realtor. The areas that make all three lists are must-do's to sell the house. Anything else is a balance between how much money you want to spend and how fast you want to move the house.

And a side note that I am adding because it's a pet peeve of mine: You have an older house. No matter what you do to spruce it up, it will still be an older home. A typical condition of buying is to make an offer contingent upon a home inspection. No matter how much work you do up front, the home inspector will find many things that are not up to par. The problem is that you are setting a sell price based on the fact that you have an older home. But, the buyers will use the home inspection to lower your already lowered price. The sad part about this is that the majority of home inspectors are well meaning but grossly untrained - yet their report can cost you thousands of dollars or even the sale.

Great post, Jaybee! I wish you lived around here. I could definitely use your help to extricate myself from my 1941 house that was built by people who didn't know what they were doing. Actually, the original house isn't as bad as the amateur additions that were done in subsequent years. In my case, I can't really justify putting much money into improvements because any buyer might prefer to bulldoze the house and start over. But I still want it to make a decent first impression.

[jaybee]

Ed - Had your avatar jumped the fence while it was burning then this may have fixed itself.

The key in selling is to know your market and put your house there for as little money as possible. If you are correct in thinking that if sold, your house would be demolished to make room for a mini-mansion on your beautiful lot, than any money added to fix up the house is really wasted. However, if there is an actual market of buyers who would buy your house to keep it and live in it, then spending just a little can make sense. If the 'bad' things about making your house sellable are that everything is way out of date then at least make it an out of date house where everything is working. Painting dingy rooms, fixing a stuck door or having all the toilets flush correctly will go a long way towards making the house show as "out of date but in good shape" which can add more money to the sell price than what you invest for "honey-do" type repairs.

If that doesn't work, maybe you could market it as a 'celeb" house for game show wannabees.

[Bob Juch]

Beebs - I want to throw a professional wrench in your plans. Take this as you see fit:

Facts:

1. I'm a general contractor specializing in remodels. Have been since the 80's.

2. One area we specialize in is getting houses ready to sell. This has been even more popular in the last few years with the crappy housing market.

3. Currently, our project with the longest "time to sell" once we go over it is 12 days from day of listing. Most have sold in the first few days. While there is no guarantee to this, we do know what we are doing.

4. To make a house sellable, our method is really simple - Fix everything that is wrong, upgrade fixtures in important areas like kitchen, bathrooms and front entries. Concentrate on making things look as much 'like new' as possible - I.E. - completely empty the garage, patch all the misc. holes in the walls and paint the entire thing. If a good cleaning works than that is enough, if not, then a fresh coat of paint will do the trick.

5. Always fix up with neutrals. Forget your own tastes as it does not matter. Go for popular, easy, bright and not unusual.

6. This one is a biggie: You never, never, never, never get your money out of a remodel for resale. No exceptions. None. At best, you are looking at a 60% to 70% return on your investment. That's the best case, the reality is closer to 50% or less. This is not just our findings - Remodel magazine (a mag aimed at professional contractors) does an annual survey of cost vs value of ten popular remodels. Numbers differ in various parts of the country but the general consensus is that you need to live in your house for at least 2 years to justify the cost of a remodel. Meaning that you are only to remodel for your wants, not to make a house sellable.

7. Please read #6 again. Please. Really.

8. The only way you can justify a large remodel in a selling situation is if your house needs so much done to it that it is unsellable. Even then, you will not get a return on your money but there is a value to being able to move your house quickly. So if your kitchen cabinets are falling apart, your laminate counters are pealing apart and there's a big soft spot in the floor in front of your harvest gold range then you could justify chunking down $35k for a kitchen remodel. Just keep in mind that you'll only be able to sell the house for $20K more (but it will sell faster).


Now that I have butted into your business, can I ask what basically you are planning to do to the house?

I am posting this because I too am an awesomely sparkly contractor type guy. I have had clients who call us in to remodel so they can sell. They often feel that their house will need some major renovations to make it marketable. They call me in for advice - And my advice is, "Don't do it". A big remodel would be great for my company to make money - not so great for our homeowner as an investment. Our usual 'house for sale" project runs between $3,000 and $4,000. I don't know how far you are committed to this yet but my advice for you would be to talk to a realtor that you trust. They know what sells and what doesn't in your area. We usually work from three lists: The list of the homeowners impressions of what the house needs, the list that we make as to what the house needs and the list from the realtor. The areas that make all three lists are must-do's to sell the house. Anything else is a balance between how much money you want to spend and how fast you want to move the house.

And a side note that I am adding because it's a pet peeve of mine: You have an older house. No matter what you do to spruce it up, it will still be an older home. A typical condition of buying is to make an offer contingent upon a home inspection. No matter how much work you do up front, the home inspector will find many things that are not up to par. The problem is that you are setting a sell price based on the fact that you have an older home. But, the buyers will use the home inspection to lower your already lowered price. The sad part about this is that the majority of home inspectors are well meaning but grossly untrained - yet their report can cost you thousands of dollars or even the sale.

Great post, Jaybee! I wish you lived around here. I could definitely use your help to extricate myself from my 1941 house that was built by people who didn't know what they were doing. Actually, the original house isn't as bad as the amateur additions that were done in subsequent years. In my case, I can't really justify putting much money into improvements because any buyer might prefer to bulldoze the house and start over. But I still want it to make a decent first impression.

I could send Guido the Torch over.