in some San Francisco neighborhoods..i would accept haunted.

I bought an 80 year old house in Maryland a number of years ago. The previous owner left to go to a retirement home and died a few months after selling (very nice lady, may she rest in peace). There hadn't been any significant work done on the house in probably 35 years, so I faced the classic homeowner's dilemma.

I seriously thought about redoing all of the underlying mechanical and electrical stuff, and installing plexiglass windows and inspection panels to show off the new work. "Look here, in Exhibit C, how old cast iron pipes were replaced with PVC!"

In the end, the buyers that chose my house did so because they needed the oversized garage as a spare play space for their autistic son. I could have saved tens of thousands of dollars on actual quality work and done flipper-grade stuff, and made the same sale for the same amount, for all they cared. (sigh)

We took over 2 years to find the right one. It was worth the wait.

It's quite amusing. People walk around an open home looking at the furniture and art on the walls, talking about how much they love the house.

Argh, as a landlord/renovator I can spot a poorly done makeover very easily. When GF was looking for another place she must have looked a dozens that were a fresh coat of paint over rot and rust. The one she did buy was also a time capsule that an old lady had owned. It needed a makeover but I didn't need to "undo" all sorts of half arsed attempts at modernisations that people seem to do every ten years. Plus the very shabby appearance scared off the average punter.

Same as selling a car. Many people look only around the top and inside. Nobody every bends over to even see if something is leaking out the bottom. :confused:

So, do you ab dive and spear fish Vash? If not, I can teach you. :) At least get on the ocean with an angler kayak if you don't go IN it!

G

We're looking for a house now. Same story with us. Some houses they couldn't give us. Why in the hell do people do these things to their houses? They will NEVER sell!

And the flippers have no clue. Flipping a house with small bedrooms only gets you new tile in the bathrooms and new floors and paint. The master still is 12 x 14.

We'll sell you ours!!

Then you'll know where I live. :)


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Its a distraction so you don't see all the poor patches and mistakes.

Vash, hang in there and keep looking. The more you see the better you become at looking for those tell tail signs of trouble. I can only assume houses are gone within a few days when they are in move in conditions. The marked should be hot up there. We flip them too, but ours are completely rebuilt with new plumbing and electrical. With those items done, and custom kitchens and baths (I have a cabinet shop, so its pretty easy for us) are the next to address. Buyers are really after new kitchens and bath. No one, I mean no one, likes an old kitchen, especially an old bath. Gross!. We try to design our flips based on the neighborhood and the type of folks are moving in them and have had a pretty good thing going.

You are a good guy, so if you ever want to talk or have questions about buildings, call me. I am much better at talking then typing with my three left thumbs (Jim Richards can tell you that). I will do what I can to help you out or at least tell you if things look "right" and where to look and find answers if they are not. PM you my number

Jeff

Jeff. I'm gonna rent a black van and kidnap you. Burlap over your head.......:)


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No need, just brew coffee and I will follow the scent trail. Don't be shy, call if need help, I am serious.

Holy smokes. I just went on Zillow to look at Sonoma. You have to be kidding ... where are the jobs to support $1mil starter homes? I compare it to my town and while home prices may be similar, my town has 50% higher average family income, being close to the Si Valley ...

Looks like the Asian population will double with you moving there! :)

Sonoma, California (CA 95476) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders

G

Lots of truth here.

I bought a 1940s era house with a relatively new roof, new electrical service and wiring and had a new boiler installed as a condition of sale. The structure is actual dimensional framing (a 2x4 stud actually measures 2"x4" not 1-⅝"x3-⅝" or 1-½"x3-½"). I'm reasonably sure I could park a few city busses on the roof if I ever wanted to. They certainly built things strong back then!

It is (or was) definitely a "fixer-upper". It was a foreclosure and I got it for a song. I bought at the bottom of the market (timed it very well too) and have had to put a considerable amount of sweat equity into it but I'm going to leave here with a few tens of thousands in my pocket when I sell (not bad for 5-6 years ownership) or pretty darn close to $0 (self-sustaining) rental property even factoring in PM costs. It might even turn me a bit of a profit occasionally (equity bank / tax break!) depending in which way I eventually go. I like the idea of renting but I've heard so many horror stories about long-distance landlord int - even with a PM company - that I may just sell outright so I don't have anything to worry about and no "strings attached" to this area when I eventually go.

My $0.02 echoes the above: definitely look for a good roof, good structure and good MEP! All other stuff is cosmetic and relatively simple / inexpensive. It never ceases to amaze me the silly minutia that real estate types will get hung up on - I could care less about the new carpets - do you really think I'm not going to be ripping those out on Day #1 anyway?!?!

Be wary of the flipper houses, they are generally done by non-contractor wannabes, who no doubt have skills and connections, but also are doing it on a very short time table, and budget. We have been in our house for 21 years now, and quite frankly, plan to be here another 21 years, and have been slowly doing all the projects that need to be done. (new sump pit and pump in the basement, new drain lines throughout the basement, new dishwasher, and countertops in the kitchen all over the last month).

I would much rather be sure things get done properly by myself than to buy a flipped house and not know.

Again, some truth but I'd be careful making broad generalizations. In my experience "contractors" (partucularly residential contractors) are nothing to write home about. Yes generally speaking a layperson idiot with power tools can do more damage than a professional with power tools (the really dumb "professionals" tend to not make much money and not last too long but unfortunately for every one that hangs it up there are three more waiting to take their place!) but it's a dangerous generalization.

A dedicated homeowner who has even basic skills will usually end up with a much better end product than the average hired residential wood butcher. It's the same with cars - you will always care more about your car and put more love, effort and attention to detail into it than a paid mechanic will. Sometimes it doesn't matter, sometimes it does depending on what you need done. I've seen some absolutely awesome "self-restored" houses (and cars) and I've seen some terrible ones. I've also seen some awesome restorations that were simply contracted out - and the opposite as well. Just because someone isn't a "contractor" doesn't mean they don't have good vision, skill, craft and ability to create a truly dynamite end product.

A contractor usually is good at exactly four things: (1) doing good enough of a job to not get sued, (2) getting out of there and onto the next job as quickly as possible, (3) identifying extra / change order work not specifically called out in the base contract and (4) invoicing as much as possible, as early as possible (particularly for the aforementioned change order work). That doesn't make them all bad but neither does it make them all good. as said above, sometimes it makes sense to hire one and sometimes (most times if you're careful and reasonably skilled) it makes more sense DIY - particularly simple finish work stuff.

I had to sell my parents house a couple of years ago. My wife brought over some of her "expert" friends for advice on selling the house. Both of them had grand designs of ripping out the kitchen and bathroom, refinish the floors, change the ceilings and on and on. Since they were friends of my wife I was polite and said I would think about it, and my decision was hell no.

What dump a ton of money into a house and likely not do it the way the future owner really wanted.

I left it along and sold it as "as is." The kid that bough it seems like a good kid (he was late 20s or early 30s) loved the pink and green bathroom. He liked the old fashioned kitchen. The main thing is the house was affordable for him. He could make changes as he wanted and not have to add a lot to his monthly mortgage payment.

In the end I sold it without using a realtor. I did actually pay a realtor friend o mine $1,200 just to handle the contracts and to set up the closing at a local title company. I had never sold a house and the endless number of things that needed signatures were beyond my ability.

I suspect the new owner is living there happily as did my parents. It is not a modern new house that I would want to live in, but it fit his needs perfectly.

another important part of the equation: neighbours. the corner lot lessens the exposure, somewhat.
potential deal breakers, for me, would include nearby basketball hoop set-ups, trampolines, and swimming pools full of kids. I like to avoid having "monster truck" type neighbours, as well.

the AVERAGE house price in Vancouver is now 2.5 million.
it is still a seller's market.

My dreams of being Mayor.........:)

Two words: Panda Express.


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