Brian
Posts:4656
 |
| 03/30/2009 1:22 PM |
 Alert
|
One of benefits of ownership is the ability to customize the house the way you want it. Supposedly, it's sweat equity that adds value to the house.
I think that there is such thing as sweat depreciation.
I've seen some "palaces" with ugly marble tiles, "designer" paint, crown-moulding, cabinets, etc... that need to gutted and redone.
<a href="http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-090018597-1501_Front_106_San_Diego_Ca_92101">
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-090018597-1501_Front_106_San_Diego_Ca_92101</a>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TotoMMB66
Posts:132
|
| 03/30/2009 2:02 PM |
Alert
|
| This looks like a coffee house bathroom... |
|
|
stella
Posts:501
|
| 07/01/2009 5:25 PM |
Alert
|
| The good news is that's easy to fix and probably hurts the price. I like it when I see properties that need a surface cleanup. |
|
|
FSD
Posts:283
|
| 07/01/2009 5:36 PM |
Alert
|
At least from the picture I wouldn't call it a disaster.
For about $500 and some elbow grease you can replace the vanity, repaint the metallic sponge paint wall, replace the mirror and put in a new light fixture.
|
|
|
stella
Posts:501
|
| 07/01/2009 5:44 PM |
Alert
|
My point exactly, unless you're looking to move in and do nothing if the place works in most other aspects this is no issue at all.
I does look like someone's first paint project. I've done a few of those myself. :) |
|
|
Brian
Posts:4656
|
| 07/01/2009 8:43 PM |
Alert
|
Somethings cannot be redone so easily -- like an overdone bathroom or kitchen, or ugly tile flooring. Some Persian palaces in the suburbs need to have everything ripped out.
This bathroom needs at least
1) new primer and paint.
2) New mirror
3) New light fixture
FSD, how much would it cost to hire someone do the the work? More than $500 for the cost of material and labor. You can do everything yourself, if you know how and are so inclined. But work is work and should be compensated.
It's like saying that it costs nothing to manage properties. In that case, then why are property management companies and HOAs in business?
A little bit here and a little bit there... and pretty soon it adds up to $30,000 or more, especially if you buy an old house.
------------
I agree with you Stella that bad decor hurts the price. That was exactly the point. "Pride of ownership" doesn't result in appreciation.
If you can see the potential without needing to "fall in love" with a place, then you will get a better deal. I am looking for an old house in a good location that needs to gutted out completely. It should be priced accordingly.
|
|
|
Jack**
Posts:215
|
| 07/01/2009 10:13 PM |
Alert
|
| That's not bad a all. Poor quality work by homeowners or renters can easily be corrected. I've seen places with "$15,000" in "improvements" and the re agent was proud of the work obviously performed by highly skilled former farm workers. The materials were okay but the installation was seviously flawed. The tile joints were miss aligned and the trim details at room corners, door jambs, and counters was non-existant and down right ugly. How someone good live in a home where the floor levels vary by 2" from room to room just baffles me. |
|
|
scriabinop23
Posts:61
|
| 07/03/2009 7:12 AM |
Alert
|
For this one, you could hire one of the many handy guys on craigslist 20-$30/hr to do this job in 2 hours (an hour each day). Add another $60 each for the light and a mirror. That's $180-200 max. Odds are if rooms are like this, there's other projects in the place to justify multiple visits.
On ugly tiling, you can pay to have tile removed for $1.00-$1.50 a foot.
Very little is irreversible...
|
|
|
Jack**
Posts:215
|
| 07/03/2009 9:07 PM |
Alert
|
| Not meaning to beat a dead horse; but the scariest improvement I've seen more than a few times are homes where the homeowner removed the ceiling joists and applied sheet rock to the under side of the roof rafters to create a vaulted or cathedral ceiling. Over time the roof load will slowly push the perimeter walls outwards until the roof collapses. These improvements were done without permits and without adding a means to keep the perimeter walls contained structurally. After witnessing this a few times, I became dedicated to checking permit histories and reporting potential violations to the local Code Enforcement dept. |
|
|
Brian
Posts:4656
|
| 07/03/2009 10:02 PM |
Alert
|
Jack, I know exactly what you mean.
The tile work you mentioned and other type of flooring disasters are scary.
The problem I see with older houses is that people DIYed the flooring one room at a time. To fix that you have rip-out the flooring throughout the house. I like the same flooring throughout the house, perhaps with some kind of marble in the kitchen and baths. But I could not live with uneven floors and a room here and a room there of different flooring (especially in spaces where the dinning and living room are really one and the same).
As far as removing the ceiling joists, I can picture the disaster happening.
|
|
|
|
|