Property Ladder - New show on TLC

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by Brandy

90 miles, huh? That's quite a commute. Still...

I'll have to ask Hubby if he's heard of Durham. One has to be careful - some of the outlying towns are known as meth towns. And I've read about buying meth homes - even a year or more later those are still health hazards. Sometimes they're rehabbed and the buyer has no idea. But Durham could be a nice town, who knows. Thanks, Bearcata.

Man, that's scary. The things you don't know and never heard about. That's what I love about this site.

[Google]

 

[causingchaos]

Originally Posted by Bearcata

just adding url tags

Oh My God, $1,000,000. The house is not worth it.

Can you have fake bids on Ebay??

The bids jumped frm the $200,000 range right up to a million. Looks a little fishy to me.

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by causingchaos

The bids jumped frm the $200,000 range right up to a million. Looks a little fishy to me.

I just checked the bids. Isn't it a little weird to see the same person bid over and over against themselves. I don't go to Ebay normally but that was a little strange. Then to go from $244,900 to $1,000,000 why make such a big jump that makes no sense, and as Judge Judy says 'if it doesn't make sense than it isn't true'.

[Bearcata]

I was pleasantly surprised with the folks in this show. A brother and sister who own their own skateboard park design firm decide to purchase the house across the street add a master suite update the kitchen and sell it on the market in 12 wks. Brothers fiance is suppling the 90,000 to renovate. Wish I had a finance like that, and Dad helped purchase the $669,000 home. The brother and sister want to renovate for $90,000 and put it on the market for $900,000 for a profit of $140,000 split between Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Brother's finace and Sister's finace. Sister also named Kirsten prepares a spreadsheet for the timeline and budget. Kirsten Kempt our expert says that's tight cause they are putting on a 350 sq ft master suite, and the market is selling and becoming more of a buyers market then a sellers market. Oh did I mention that brother and sister are both going for their real estate licenses. On paper this looks good 6 family members helping. The house has been inspected and the only problem is all the plumbing needs to be replaced and brother Matt is going to do that after work, Brother and sister put in 60 hr work weeks, and weekends. Can I see problems with the timeline already here. 3 wks into the project and brother Matt goes and enters the Baja 500, a motocross race. Also the back fence is rotten, and full of termites but Kirsten does not want to replace it because it will cost thousands of dollars. Ok, the side fences are concrete block so you only have to replace 5 or 6 panels in the back. I just checked www.homedepot.com and you can get pressure treated shadow box wooden panels for $47.97, 6 of those would have cost $287 without tax. The trellis and plants cost over $300 and most died and needed to be replaced. This in my mind was a big mistake on Kirsten part. You don't need to use ceder the pressure treated wood would have cost less then the plants and looked good. The research was not done. During a renovation labor is the most expensive item but Matt took 5 months to do the plumbing and that held up the time to do other projects. Flipping is about doing the work in a tight timeline and selling while the market is hot and not getting greedy with the price. Now in every show I have seen the thing I hear over and over again is kitchen and bathrooms sell the house. The Kitchen remodel was great and the master bath and the original bath were great. I like how relocating the tub in the original bathroom opened the space and made it look huge. What I didn't understand is that when they did the wiring the code stated that flourescents must be used in the kitchen and bathroom. Huh! I have never lived in a house, apartment or college dorm, or hotel where there has been flourescent lighting in the bathroom. I hate the fourescents in my kitchen but that is just a cheap alternate to the regular lighting you can have, that was a weird building code. Has anyone every heard of that building code????My other pet peeve besides the back fence were the closets in the master suite. Now, in most families and or couples the females has the final say if they buy the house or not. So why in the world would a dumb ass man, sister's finace have the final say in how large the closets are in the master suite. He said closets are not important. I guess that nail he got in the hand the first day of building put a hole in his brain. The closets in the master are no bigger than hall closets. You need closest for storage. I have bigger closets in my spare bedroom than the closets in that master. Big mistake. Still the final project looked great. I honestly thought that on paper these folks could do it, as Kirsten Kempt said they made the mistake of trying to save labor costs by doing it themselve vs saving time using professional labor. Also only devoting what 2 or 3 hours in the evenings and weekends was not going to get the project done so a 12 week timeline got blown out to 20 weeks (5months) and the house was put on the market at too high a price to recoup their losses. Result no offers.

Then I can cool down and watch Flip That House in peace and contentment watching professionals work.

FIrst episode is a condo in Huntington Beach, I think that is where Chris Knight and Andrienne Curry from 'I Married a Brady' live. The condo was purchased for $340,00, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. The Renovaton budget is $10,000 and the timeline is 8wks. The lady also owns a surf shop and is a realtor and has done flips before and is doing this for the spring house buying timeframe. The downstairs with get a laminate floor, the upstairs will be recarpeted and the bathtub reglazed with a new sink and cabinent. The Kitchen will be the wow factor receiving stainless steel appliances, granite slab counters and they are keeping the cabinents but getting new doors and knobs. I do like how they also take out the overhead cabinents on the pass through, that really opens up the kitchen. There is a buick wall by the stairs and I am glad that they cover it up with beadboard, it looks butt ugly. See the professionals have a project manager that is on the project full time unlike in Property Ladder were they only work after a full day at work and weekends. When they needed help to meet their deadline the lady got it. I do like that in the master closet they put in a closet organizer, and extra shelves in the weird storage space. I do agreed with the realtor that they should have out in overhead ceiling fans with lights for extra circulation and illumination. I also like the deeper stainless steel sinks that went in the kitchen and the grantie slab counters. It really made the place look good. Although the budget went from 10,000 to 12,000 the house will be listed for $399,000 and she can expect a nice profit of over $47,000 for 2 months worth of work.

The other FTH was in San Diego by Corey Loomis. BTW my drool factor set in and I wished I had a boyfriend like that. Into his career but not an ass$ole about it. Corey is a real estate developer and seems to know the market and what he is doing. What was interesting was that the flip was the house he and his roommate were living in, he bought it for $500,000 plans to put in 30,000 and hopes to make a $250,000 profit on it. The timeline is 6 wks. The house is 1400sq ft, 3bdrms and 2 baths. There is a swimming pool, that has been refinished and what is neat is that the backyard is on two levels. The pool in on the lower level and they are 2 staircases on either end of the yard to a raised flat grassy area. Mowing that must be very interesting. Since it is San Diego outdoor living is very important and there are 2 decks built one of the master bedroom. This house also has ocean views which is a great selling feature. Corey will be working on the house fulltime with 2 of his friends. Unfortunately, several weeks into the project Corey had several houses in escrow that needed work done on them so his timeline got pushed out several weeks, and the corner kitchen cabinent was the wrong size so the kitchen was on hold until that got fixed. Still the master bath was really gorgeous. Corey put travetine tile everywhere he could in the house and they master bath got most of it. He had a his and hers bowl sink, a separate shower stall and soaker tub,beautifully done. The kitchen also had cherry cabinets with a lighter granite counter that matched the travetine floors. Corey also added extra light to all the rooms by putting doors with frosted glass inserts. The realtor wanted to list the house from $675,00 to $715,000. For the finishes done to the house and the backyard this house in that area is a bargain.

[jguitar]

Also only devoting what 2 or 3 hours in the evenings and weekends was not going to get the project done so a 12 week timeline got blown out to 20 weeks (5months) and the house was put on the market at too high a price to recoup their losses. Result no offers.

Very nice recap Bearcata, but it took them a total of 32 weeks (12 + 20), they really seemed like they knew what they were during at the top of the show so it shocked me that they could not meet their timeline.

[Bearcata]

Ugh, what are there no more PL episodes to rail against. In its infinite wisdom TLC put on a show about Lottery winners. I certainly hope it is a one of. Still we did have an hour of Flip That House. The first half hour about was a 1600 sq ft condo in Bel Air, that Halli, an interior designer and photographer was flipping for the first time. She bought it for $640,000, planned to put in $100,000 and to be done in 3 months. (2 bdrms 2.5 baths) I liked this lady she knew was she was doing. Being a professional interior designer helps. She had contact in the industry and used them. After taking several interior design courses I realized how hard it could be. You have to space plan everything, you have to put in a lighting plan, do some drafting, do costs and figures work with a budget, understand ordering materials. I do think her job prepared her very well as a first time flipper because she has exerience in renovating just not on her own project. I liked how she kept the original floor plan and didn't move the bar just updated everything and the finishes were terrific. I would love to live in that condo. The finishes in the kitchen were outstanding and the power room, was a wow. I like how she had her tile guy cut that carrera tile into narrow subway tile like strips and use it as a repeating mofit in the kitchen, both bathrooms and used the glass tile to repeat the effect. I liked how the producers and editors are puting little FYI snippets in such has nylon carpet is a higher quality. At the end of the show the realtors wanted to put the condo on the market for $1,050,000.00 for a potential $305,000 profit. You can tell Halli was surprised.

The next episode was a nice contrast to Bel Air, going to Austin and the booming market there while it has cooled of elsewhere. We meet Neil who after trying to become a rock and roll star for the last 10 yrs had a fall back career as a carpenter (thanks to his dad, see nothing wrong with going after your dreams but have a fall back plan) and is going to use that to flip a 1700 sq ft house 4 bdrm 2 bath home he bought for $222,000 and plans to put in $50,000 and be done in 10 wks. Neil says the house has good bones just needs updating and opening up the rooms so it flows better and has better light. I liked what they in the kitchen and family room. The most lived in area of the home and it was big. Sacrificing one of the bedrooms to create a formal dining room was a good idea and it also opened up the hallway and by blowing out the walls brought in a lot of light into the house especially the front hallway. It also looks as it there was another room off the hallway, probably the living room that Neil put in french dooors and that also added alot of light into the house. I am glad that he updated the spare bathroom (it sounded as if he might not) and the master of course. I did not like the vanity in the master. While I like granite and the glass bowls were nice they seemed off stylewise or proportion in this room. All said and done the realtor told him to put it on the market for $335,000 and that would mean a projected profit of $63,000.

[Bearcata]

No Property Ladder but two new Flip That House.

First ep is in San Diego, California in a part of the city called El Cajon. Greg and Terry, husband and wife, truck driver and hair dresser., first time flippers. Still from what Greg says I get the impression he has some prior home renovation or home improvement experience. They bought a 1,550 sq ft house, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with a pool in the backyard for $415,900 and has a budget of $40,000 and wants it done in 4 - 6 weeks. Greg has already figured into account that is may sit on the market for 3 months. Wow, someone who was thinking, that's refreshing. They plan to spend the most on redoing the kitchen although Greg balks at using granite slabs because of the expense and what's to do granite tiles cause they are less expensive and he has done tile work before. They want to blow out a kitchen wall to create an open floor plan and remove the popcorn ceilings, remove the fake beams from the family room at a gazebo in the back, replaster the pool and redo the pool heating and plumbing and replace the roof due to termite damage and rot. Looks as if someone had a house inspection. Also, wants to replace the windows with new double plane low E windows. Greg seems incredibly calm about the whole process and never yells at his wife when she is there. He also hires professional to help get the work done fast. The pool and spa are done and ready in 3 weeks and we see Greg hanging out in the pool alot. The back fence is a mess and instead of replacing it they end up hanging bamboo screening . Again it depends who actually owned the fence and the cost. It seemed a bit of a nickel and dime issue here. The house is done in 11 weeks at $60,000, $20,000 over budget. I like a lot that Greg and Terry did. They painted the house landscaped the front yard in such a manner that really showcases the home. They put in a new garage door and a new a rood and skylights instead of that 1970's opening that the house originally had. I like the neutral color palette in the house. But was surprised that Greg and Terry did not put in a stove or hood vent or microwave in the home. As a flip it needs to be move in ready condition. I did like how they made the master bedroom seem part of the house and the additon it was. I did learn something about carpeting and putting in quality padding and never using polyester carpet. See these shows are helpful. Still I thought it again was niggly nickels and dimes not to put in a new window in the one bathroom when you have replaced all the rest of the windows. Also needed to something with the fireplace, he had done nothing to it and as the realtor said the house looked brand new except for that. People do notice details like that and it implies cutting corners and makes people wonder what else you cut corners on. Still a nice job for a first flip. The realtor told Gregg to put it on the market for $585,000and a potential profit of $109,100.

The second episode is in Palm Springs and the flipper is Mark Cassie. He bought a 1953 house for $580,000. It has 2177 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. He wants to renovate and keep the 1950 retro feel of the home and get rid of the 1970's mediterreanean redo with the low wall in the front yard and the arches on the front porche and inside. He has a budget of $60,000 and wants to get it all done in 4 weeks.The timeline is blown by 3 weeks and the budget by $140,000, yeap a $140,000. The final buget was $200,000. I wish they had shown why the budget blew up so much cause this guy is an experieced flipper. The inside of the home has a real reto Rat Pack feel to it the master shower is great with all the body sprays, the front landscaping surprised me a bit. I have seen xercascaping before but the plant material was very bare and I would have like to see move agave or something. I liked what Mark did in the back cause he was really capitallizing on the mountain views and he had phone and electric and cable lines running overhead through the backyard. For $500 he was able to carry the phone and cable lines underground and reduce the number of cables running above the yard by 60%. Also the landscaping in the back was very nice. The best thing besides painting the house a new color was replacing the single steel poles holding up the porch roof with the double squared off ones. Visually very interesting and much more balanced then the single poles. I also liked what he did with the fireplace in the living room taking off the metal doors and covering the brick step with black slate, looked very modern. The realtor mentions that pricing the house is very important cause you don't want it too high you want people to think its a great price and buy it quickly. Mark was very surprised when the realtor wanted to list the house for $929,00 cause Mark would have been happy with $879,000. Still if it sells at $929,000 Mark is looking at a potential profit of $149,000.

[Bearcata]

10/14/06

Again no new Property Ladder and only one new Flip That House.

Sunland, California. Ray and Fran a married couple are flipping a 900 sq ft 2 bedroom 1 bath home. They bought it for $425,000 and plan to put in $30,000 and work on it for 4 months.

They need to put in central air and heat, that will allow then to take the closets holing those utilities and combine them to make really large closets for both bedrooms. They plan to install laminate wood floors in the living room and kitchen to get a sense of flow and make the house feel bigger, carpet the bedrooms and gut the kitchen. With the new AC & Heat systems going in they can take out the old heat registers and because of that they will move the living room wall and open up another section to the kitchen again to make it feel bigger. They are also going to add a front porch and a new concrete driveway and wood deck in the back. Ray’s gives some advice about over improving a house and putting in too much money cause you will never get it back. The couple also works on the garage and put in a new door. The biggest expense looks as if it is the driveway. Instead of putting in a new deck they end up putting in a little concrete patio and stairs to the garage. I like how the stairs are done as they look very handicap accessible. Still what I don’t understand is that they go over budget and end up spending $75,000 on the house. I would like to know on what. $45,000 is a lot of money to go unaccounted for. Still the realtor wants to list the house at $525,000 and the couple is happy with a potential profit of $25,000. Still the next episode is a repeat but the comps are similar and for a budget or $50,000 they look like they got much more bang for their bucks as far as a great kitchen and great bathrooms. The workmanship is not even comparable.

[Bearcata]

again no PL and only one new FTH

West Corvina, CA a suburb about 14 miles north of LA

Meet Craig Martin a real estate investor. He had some very interesting things to say, such as buying the house at the right price. How he buys at the entry market level because it is the biggest market, has the most inventory and the biggest pool of buyers are first time buyers. He also mentions that when renovating to keep the price within the range of that community (don't over build and over price). I like how he was also listening to what his buyers like and was using the light maple cabinets, and flooring and neutral color on the walls and he finds out what his customer base likes in a home and he gives it to them. He also says that he has 6 - 7 houses going at a time and sells 3 - 4 homes a month.

Stats:
house build in 1954
1800 sf
4 bedrooms
3 baths
budget $70,000
finish in 6 weeks
bought for $400,000

The kitchen and all 3 bathrooms will be gutted, the master bathroom and one of the others will be enlarged. Install new double pane windows. Tile in the kitchen, carpet in the family room and bedrooms and hardwood floors for the living room and reface the fireplace. There is dry rot and termite damage that needs to be addressed. Also the outside will be restuccoed and landscaped. There is a pool, that needs to be cleaned and all he equipment inspected. A pool can be a huge drain on the budget especially if it needs to be replasterd, new hardscape on top and new pumps etc... Hopefully no cracks cause the water has to go somewhere and that somewhere is usually the foundation of the house.

So as many projects as Craig has going on he is on site alot and you have to be to direct the contrators. He put in a new wooden fence and if he had not been on site the fence would have been installed 4 inches shorter then he wanted. He had a professional pool guy look at the pool and ended up saving money cause nothing needed to be replaced. What I liked about the window installation is that on the family room he put in a 3'x5' window the previous one was only about 18" wide and that made a huge difference in letting in light and being able to look out over the backyard and pool. He also installed french doors in the family room and master bedroom. When he had the house stuccoed he also had the one concrete brick wall done and it just make the place look so finished.

It took 7 weeks to complete the house but it was $2,000 under budget. The realtor suggested that he put it on the market for $619,000. The house cost Craig a total of $467,000 so he has a potential profit of $152,000.

[Bearcata]

Wow, 2 brand new FTH. Again both are in California near LA but the first one is the high end of the property ladder, a million dollar home and the other is a shack but with the prices being what they are it still cost a lot.

The first flip is in Aliso Viejo, which is in Orange County, CA. The flippers are Brandy and Matt Vadderbeek. The house is 3200 sf, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and cost $1,050,000. The budget is $75,000 and the timeline is 4-6 weeks. First let me say that I don't have lot of sympathy for folks who are redoing a million dollar property that was built in 1999 and then are saying all the fixtures are outdated. Hey it was only 7 yrs ago. It is a planned community, stucco on the outside carpet and tile on the inside how dated can you be. Still, I know how my house appreciated in the last 7 yrs so it is very feasible that this house started at the $500,000 mark. Which is still alot for most people and seems very unattainable. The couples premise is in this market that couples are busy with their kids and careers and want houses that are move in ready and have everything already done. The big ticket item is the flooring. They plan to put in travetine throughout the ground floor and in the master bath and master closet which is accessed through the master bath. Most of the budget will go to the master bath and kitchen. The cabinets in the kitchen are find but the tile counters need to go and be replaced with granite slalbs and of course the floor with travetine and stainless steel applainces. The master bath flooring will change and be laid out in the Versaille pattern, which is the new hot pattern in laying out tile, a seamless glass shower put in and marble countertop to the vanity and instead of a plain glass mirror they will have 3 beautifully framed mirrors spanning the same space. The fixtures will be bronze also known as Tuscan Brown. The traventine tile raised the level of the floor so all the doors had to be shaved down. Several trees were cut down to make the back seem bigger and the perfectly good sod was replaced with more prefectly good sod. That didn't make much sense. Brandy and Matt have a professional stager stage the house. Staging costs about 1.0 to 1.5 percent of the list price. But what staging does is gives scale to the room and helps people picture their furniture in the house. Staged houses also sell faster and for more than unstaged houses. The final budget was $100,000 and the realtor that appraised the house say that it should be listed at between $1,250,000 to $1,300,000 for a profit of $100,000 to $150,000.