Post by underwaterrhymes on Dec 19, 2014 20:12:49 GMT -5
So we have been looking at houses in our new area.
There are two with the exact same floor plan in the same neighborhood / same schools that we absolutely love.
House A: Needs some paint / new interior doors, as it has really ugly wood trim and wood doors. (It's a newer build - from the 90s - so I feel okay with painting over the trim. It's just ugly trend wood trim, as opposed to early century wood trim). We also would like to replace the counters in the bathrooms (because they are teal and blue respectively), but there's no huge rush on that. It has a large deck in the back and a smaller yard that sort of slopes, but it is three houses down from a playground. It has a finished basement, with not much outdoor light. It does have a new roof that was just replaced 2 years ago, but there appears to be some warping on the siding in a few places. House A is priced at @ $290,000. We would pursue a traditional loan with this house.
House B: Is bank owned. It needs a new kitchen, complete with appliances, and would need the vanity replaced in the master bath. It needs completely painted on the interior, as well as a new carpet upstairs and in the basement. It has a much bigger backyard and a deck as well, but there is some road noise as there is a fairly busy road not too far away (although not abutting the property). It's also not too far from the playground, albeit not as close. It's is on a cul-de-sac, which is nice, and has a partial brick exterior with none of the warping siding issues, but it will probably need a new roof at some point in the near future. The basement -also finished - has a TON of natural light as the windows are above-ground. House B is priced at $250,000. We would explore either a renovation loan with this house, or put down a smaller downpayment, and use the remainder for renovations.
Post by underwaterrhymes on Dec 19, 2014 20:17:10 GMT -5
Also, if you have a compelling reason why you picked the house you did, please let me know.
H wants one and I want the other, so I'm curious what your reasoning is. (Really, I'd be happy for either, but I'd love to be able to share the stories that support my side. LOL.)
Post by rosiedozie on Dec 19, 2014 20:18:29 GMT -5
For House B would you be able to do all of your desired renovations before move-in? Right after move-in? Or would they be spread out over the next few years?
For House B would you be able to do all of your desired renovations before move-in? Right after move-in? Or would they be spread out over the next few years?
Oooh, good point.
We would do it before we moved in. We'd be breaking our lease where we are renting, and have to give two months notice. So we have a little leeway.
For House B would you be able to do all of your desired renovations before move-in? Right after move-in? Or would they be spread out over the next few years?
Oooh, good point.
We would do it before we moved in. We'd be breaking our lease where we are renting, and have to give two months notice. So we have a little leeway.
And have you been able to estimate how much $$$ you would put into House B - including your cosmetic renovations along with the new roof?
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
We would do it before we moved in. We'd be breaking our lease where we are renting, and have to give two months notice. So we have a little leeway.
And have you been able to estimate how much $$$ you would put into House B - including your cosmetic renovations along with the new roof?
The guy who showed us the house today has done quite a few renovations on his own and estimated it would be about $40,000 (excluding the roof, which he thinks might have 2 - 3 years in it and would probably cost about $12,000 additional).
We think the bank is going to drop the price in about a week because it will have been on the market for 30 days. Looking at other bank owned properties in the areas, we can expect a $10,000 drop by the end of December.
So, without the roof, the properties are about equal. And since we'd have to paint the interior of Property A and replace the vanities, as well as possibly the siding, I think the difference in cost between the two would be minimal.
Post by jennysmitten on Dec 19, 2014 20:24:17 GMT -5
House B sounds expensive and like a lot of work. I have a habit of thinking "it won't be that hard/expensive/take that long". And I am always wrong, haha. So I picked A.
Post by crazycakes on Dec 19, 2014 20:25:32 GMT -5
I picked A because 1. Renovations add up quickly, especially kitchens 2. Road noise sucks and 3. I would prefer being closer to the park. Mostly 1. We are not handy people, so I would almost always go with the more turn key home.
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
Post by usuallylurking on Dec 19, 2014 20:26:58 GMT -5
I'd choose B, but H and I love doing renovations and he would be able to complete a lot/all of the work on his own. It's especially appealing because you wouldn't have to live amongst the renovations. I think enjoying the basement space would be great, as would a large deck and outdoor space. You would be able to choose your appliances, flooring, countertops, vanity, paint color, etc which are all things homeowners tend to eventually swap out as they live in a home anyways. At least this way it would be done from the get-go!
ETA: AND your kiddo is about old enough to walk/ride a bike/whatever to the park, so it being a bit further away wouldn't be too big of a deal to me. Well, until you imagine having. Fit about coming home and not wanting to walk/bike, lol, but who thinks of those things ahead of time?!
If both houses were identical and the only difference was location- which would you pick?
First off, the notion of the playground? This matters for so short a period of time- TBH, a playground is an attractive nuisance that'll attract loud older kids and teens long beyond when your kids are bored with it. I used to live right next to a park/playground- never again. I would prefer a cul de sac to a through street.
The $40K difference, assuming you can access those funds would go along way to redo the kitchen, paint and carpet. If you do some DIY or do an IKEA kitchen, you might even be able to do the roof. Traffic noise can be mitigated with the new windows both houses will need in the next 5-10 years.
I'm guessing you could do a nice IKEA kitchen for about $15K (a friend did one over the summer for just about $12K. My recent roof was under $6K w/ a tear-off. I'm pretty sure you could paint a 3BR house for about $2500-3000 and carpet at about the same price point. My guess is the siding replacement would cost about as much as a roof.
You can't fix a smaller sloped lot or a dark cave-like basement of House A.
Post by DotAndBuzz on Dec 19, 2014 20:38:01 GMT -5
House B sounds like a massive pain in the ass, and will cost you way more than 40k (the cost difference between the 2 houses) to do the updates needed. Hell, the kitchen and roof alone could run you near that.
Updates get really expensive, really fast. Like, for example, H's "simple" update this week to our powder room. Here's what we did: order new light fixtures (single bulb sconces), new faucets and handles, 1 gallon of paint, new toilet flusher handle. Total cost is now approaching $800-$900. Because the lights were around $300, and it turns out we needed a plumber to deal with the sink because it had to be disassembled and pipes re-cut to just replace the hardware. So that's a tiny powder room without even replacing the sink and toilet (which I don't like, but we're keeping because hello - more money). And I haven't even found a mirror yet.
Home projects are ALWAYS more than you expect. Sounds like house A is good bones, and has stuff you don't like aesthetically, but isn't an absolute MUST in terms of replacing.
I voted B. The biggest things that swayed me were all the light in the basement and the cul de sac. There are 11 kids that live in our cul de sac. It is so safe for all our kiddos riding bikes, scooters, etc.
We did just move, but I'm pregnant and we are in a small two bedroom. We will have family traveling to stay with us after I have the baby and don't want to be in this property as we don't have the space for them. We also don't want to move in the third trimester.
Also, we are crazy. We've moved a LOT, so the move itself so soon on the heels of the other doesn't faze us. It probably should, LOL.
I voted A, for many of the same reasons that other people noted.
However, I can understand liking the idea of B, and could probably be talked into it. It sounds as though, done well, it could have a higher resell value (especially if the windows in the basement of B are the kind that could turn it into a home with a larger number of bedrooms). It may depend upon how long you intend to stay in the home.
I would choose B, but the road noise is a dealbreaker for me. Add in less of a need for immediate renovation and I think A is the wiser choice of the two. In all honesty though, I'd probably keep looking.
I voted A, for many of the same reasons that other people noted.
However, I can understand liking the idea of B, and could probably be talked into it. It sounds as though, done well, it could have a higher resell value (especially if the windows in the basement of B are the kind that could turn it into a home with a larger number of bedrooms). It may depend upon how long you intend to stay in the home.
Both houses have a bedroom and another bathroom in the basement. To be fair, House A basement is not dark or dank or anything. It's just not as bright and airy as House B.