Property Ladder - New show on TLC - Page 18

Bearcata · 11-20-2006, 10:27 AM

Nice constrast of shows, the first one in Highland Park is obviously the low end and the second show in Hancock Park is the high end.

Highland Park, Ca

Historical District (read old and rundown) is being renovated due to the housing boom. First time flippers Justine & Keri are living on the property while it is being renovated (not a good idea and later the girls confirm that). Now this property is called a duplex cause there are 2 buildings on the property. Now I consider a duplex a semiattached house, 2 houses with one shared wall.

duplex. 1. A two-family house. A house that contains two separate dwelling units. 2. An apartment with rooms on two floors. 3. Separate accommodations that share walls.

Duplex
A building which houses two separate dwelling units.

I got two definitions to make sure we are talking about the same thing. Still things are diffrent in California.

The units are 440 sf each. 1 Bed, 1 bath. Cost $385,000. budget $35,000. Timeline 10 weeks. The floorplans are different in each unit. The upper one is one big room and has only a shower in the bathroom. The lower unit has a bathtub and a wall separating the kitchen and living room. By upper and lower I mean the units are on a hill and the the upper unit is higher up on the hill. The ladies decide to put in hardwood floors and replaster the walls, put in some over head lighting and gut the kitchens and baths.

First day demo is always fun. That goes well. The ladies decide not to duplicate the design in both units. One goes with more classical hexagonal black and white floor tile and subway tile in the bathroom and the other uses a bright blue tile on her bathtub surround. While the bright blue is a nice refreshing color the key to flipping is neutral colors. It also looks as if they redid the heat and ac, plumbing and electrical. Considering how old these buildings are that is a good idea. I did like how the girls had their boyfriends over on wk 3 to put in a fence that was supposed to be done over the weekend but ended up taking several weeks. The project goes way over the timeline but we are not told by how much. The budget also went from $35,000 to $60,000. While the units looked great after they were finished why would anyone buy such small housing. The realto said that it was actually a great rental property and priced it at $600,000 giving the girls a potential profit of $155,000.

The second episode was in Hancock Park a wealthier established area built in the 1920's. Curt has been flipping houses for the past 3 yrs and also owns a successful skin care business. The house is 3,650 sq ft, 4 bds, 3.5 baths, and cost 1.94 million. The budget is $300,000 and the timeline is 4 months. During the walkthrough I was very surprised that the new kitchen with great cabinents and granite counters was being demoed. Although it looked as if the demo team took great care to keep the cabinets intact as they were valuable and could be resold, and the granite could be recut and used elsewhere. There was a small sleeping porch off the back of the master bath and bedroom that Curt planned to take the wall out and expand the master bedroom and bath. Problems occurred cause that wall was a load bearing wall and they need to put in some posts to support the roof when the wall came out. The electrical bid came in at $30,000. The previous owners had covered the front courtyard and the back yard with interlocking pavers and while it was easy maintenance it did not look very pretty and worth 1.94 million. Curt put in a fountain in the front courtyard and flagstone and the in the back replastered the pool so it looked dark blue, put in a hottub and new flagstone copeing around the pool and used it as hardscape he also brought in a lot of mature trees and palms to make the property look much more established and give it that rich mediterrean look that he was going after. They had to put in a new roof underlayment and had to save and reuse all the roof tiles. They added a lot of recessed lighting and chandeliers and wall scones to the foyer, living rooms and bedrooms. Really brightened up the place. This project also went overbudget and over the timeline. $700,000 and 8 months. The realtor priced teh house at $3,500,000. Curt said he was listing the house at 3.15 million for a potential profit of $510,000.

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Brandy · 11-23-2006, 10:45 AM

Hancock Park is very high end. Has been even in the slump.

How'd they find any property there for $300k? Wow. Sounds like they had to put a fortune into it, though. That old adage: You have to have money to make money.

Bearcata · 11-23-2006, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandy

Hancock Park is very high end. Has been even in the slump.

How'd they find any property there for $300k? Wow. Sounds like they had to put a fortune into it, though. That old adage: You have to have money to make money.

The property was bought for 1.94 million the budget was $300,000K.

Brandy · 11-25-2006, 02:21 AM

OH, okay. Somehow I didn't see that part. I was scanning through there and saw the $ sign next to the 300,000. By budget I thought you meant to buy the house. That makes more sense, then.

Wow, that was in terrible shape then, for almost costing $2 mil. But it's still a seller's market here.

Bearcata · 11-26-2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandy

OH, okay. Somehow I didn't see that part. I was scanning through there and saw the $ sign next to the 300,000. By budget I thought you meant to buy the house. That makes more sense, then.

Wow, that was in terrible shape then, for almost costing $2 mil. But it's still a seller's market here.

What gets me is that dump on tonights show in South Central LA. 365 sf for $189,000. That's is outrageous. How in the world do the working poor, those making minimum wage live in LA?? All I can say is thank goodness the market is finally slowed down here on the East Coast but still who has $400,000 for a townhouse or older, smaller, crappier single family home. BTW $400,000 gives you a monthly payment of around $2,797, not including PMI and of course property taxes. You are looking at over $3,000 a month payments.

Bearcata · 11-26-2006, 08:33 PM

Again only one new ep of FTH and no PL.

Sammy has bought a 0 bedroom, 1 bath 375 sf home in South LA for $189,000. Hold on a sec while I get my jaw off the floor. Zero Bedrooms??? Huh! How is the heck does that happen. Oh, the place used to be a laundry and was converted into a home. Sammy has a budget of $50,000 and 6 weeks to turn this place around. He plans to gut the kitchen and bathroom and expand the kitchen into the bathroom. He also plans to pull down a wall in the living room that is part of a closet and expand the living room space. He also wants to add 2 bedrooms and a corridor connecting the two and put in a new bathroom. I must admit the location does not thrill me but Sammy says it is revitalizing. It looks as if he sticks to the timeline and also takes down the old chainlink fence, adds a 6 ft wooden privacy fence in back and on the side and a 3 ft white steel picket fence and gate, a concrete pad for a car and sod for a nice new lawn. He ended up puting tile and carpet in the house but I do have a problem with putting carpet in the front hallway to the front door instead of tile. It will get dirty so fast. There is also no hallway closet. Still the realtor is thrilled with the house although she is disappointed that there is only heat and not heat and AC. Me too it gets hot in LA. What amazes me is that she wants to list the place at $385,000 to $390,000, thinking it will be perfect for a family of four. Who can afford that on minimum wage??? Sammy is thrilled cause he ended puting $90,000 into the house instead of the projected $50,000. Listing the house at $385,000 with give him a projected profit of $106,000.

I must say that this is the first flipped house in a poorer neighborhood that I have seen them put insulation in. Some of these other episodes all it looked like is if they just put drywall over the studs.

Brandy · 11-27-2006, 02:51 AM

That's awful if they (other flippers) put less care into it because it's in a lower income neighborhood. No insulation? That's awful. It does get chilly here at night. Desert climate. (This guy's omitting AC is a glaring oversight too...gets VERY hot here. We had over 100 degree temps for months this yr. and it's not unusual. A combo AC/heat unit isn't that much more costly.)

Sounds like he did a lot of additions to it, that's nice to hear about. From 0 to 2 BR alone makes it a huge improvement. But listing it at nearly $400k? See what I mean about this housing market. Gah!

I just saw something somewhere the other day (can't recall where! CNN or online?) that said L.A. is one of the least affordable markets. Median family income here is $50k or so, and median house price is $500k or so. That's 10 times yearly income! I just don't get who's buying all these houses?? People Must be overextending which is gonna mean a huge buyer's market eventually when banks raise their rates and the foreclosures begin. And a lot of people will be up a creek.

Gahh, it's just so unfair to people in general. I don't get it. As for how people afford to buy a house here, most can't. Most can barely find a decent apartment...and when they do they pay about half or more monthly wage in rent. Just disgusting.

Bearcata · 11-27-2006, 10:38 AM

I do wonder if there are any special programs for first time buyers especially for those not making great incomes. I know they try to do it here on the East Coast, lower rates, etc.... it does help.

Brandy · 11-27-2006, 06:22 PM

There are...or were, four years ago. Good thought.

I'm not sure how much it saves overall though. The other problem the past 2 or 3 years has been scarcity. Even homes rotten with termite damage and smelling of pet urine have been snapped up with overbids in less than a day. I got to thinking about it...did we wanna spend all we had and then some, on something that's just an old bungalow? Not even much storage space or modern amenities, with a tiny kitchen?

For that type of home I'd want to pay less than $300k tops. 10 yrs ago in this area $200k would've bought most of these homes. I'd also prefer feeling I truly chose my home rather than 'what I ended up with after my 3rd bidding war'.

That first time homeowner program might help someone else though. Good call. (Ps, Hubby did own a home with a roomie once, over 10 yrs. ago, not sure if he'd qualify)

Bearcata · 11-27-2006, 06:46 PM

I checked and LA does have a Habitat for Humanity chapter in the area.
http://www.habitatla.org/. Its a small step in the right direction as far as providing habitable and affordable housing for poorer people. Still I do wish their website would provide pictures of the projects.

11-20-2006, 10:27 AM	#171
Bearcata what a strong finger Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: the edge of the beltway Posts: 8,050	FTH - Highland Park and Hancock Park, CA where else Nice constrast of shows, the first one in Highland Park is obviously the low end and the second show in Hancock Park is the high end. Highland Park, Ca Historical District (read old and rundown) is being renovated due to the housing boom. First time flippers Justine & Keri are living on the property while it is being renovated (not a good idea and later the girls confirm that). Now this property is called a duplex cause there are 2 buildings on the property. Now I consider a duplex a semiattached house, 2 houses with one shared wall. duplex. 1. A two-family house. A house that contains two separate dwelling units. 2. An apartment with rooms on two floors. 3. Separate accommodations that share walls. Duplex A building which houses two separate dwelling units. I got two definitions to make sure we are talking about the same thing. Still things are diffrent in California. The units are 440 sf each. 1 Bed, 1 bath. Cost $385,000. budget $35,000. Timeline 10 weeks. The floorplans are different in each unit. The upper one is one big room and has only a shower in the bathroom. The lower unit has a bathtub and a wall separating the kitchen and living room. By upper and lower I mean the units are on a hill and the the upper unit is higher up on the hill. The ladies decide to put in hardwood floors and replaster the walls, put in some over head lighting and gut the kitchens and baths. First day demo is always fun. That goes well. The ladies decide not to duplicate the design in both units. One goes with more classical hexagonal black and white floor tile and subway tile in the bathroom and the other uses a bright blue tile on her bathtub surround. While the bright blue is a nice refreshing color the key to flipping is neutral colors. It also looks as if they redid the heat and ac, plumbing and electrical. Considering how old these buildings are that is a good idea. I did like how the girls had their boyfriends over on wk 3 to put in a fence that was supposed to be done over the weekend but ended up taking several weeks. The project goes way over the timeline but we are not told by how much. The budget also went from $35,000 to $60,000. While the units looked great after they were finished why would anyone buy such small housing. The realto said that it was actually a great rental property and priced it at $600,000 giving the girls a potential profit of $155,000. The second episode was in Hancock Park a wealthier established area built in the 1920's. Curt has been flipping houses for the past 3 yrs and also owns a successful skin care business. The house is 3,650 sq ft, 4 bds, 3.5 baths, and cost 1.94 million. The budget is $300,000 and the timeline is 4 months. During the walkthrough I was very surprised that the new kitchen with great cabinents and granite counters was being demoed. Although it looked as if the demo team took great care to keep the cabinets intact as they were valuable and could be resold, and the granite could be recut and used elsewhere. There was a small sleeping porch off the back of the master bath and bedroom that Curt planned to take the wall out and expand the master bedroom and bath. Problems occurred cause that wall was a load bearing wall and they need to put in some posts to support the roof when the wall came out. The electrical bid came in at $30,000. The previous owners had covered the front courtyard and the back yard with interlocking pavers and while it was easy maintenance it did not look very pretty and worth 1.94 million. Curt put in a fountain in the front courtyard and flagstone and the in the back replastered the pool so it looked dark blue, put in a hottub and new flagstone copeing around the pool and used it as hardscape he also brought in a lot of mature trees and palms to make the property look much more established and give it that rich mediterrean look that he was going after. They had to put in a new roof underlayment and had to save and reuse all the roof tiles. They added a lot of recessed lighting and chandeliers and wall scones to the foyer, living rooms and bedrooms. Really brightened up the place. This project also went overbudget and over the timeline. $700,000 and 8 months. The realtor priced teh house at $3,500,000. Curt said he was listing the house at 3.15 million for a potential profit of $510,000. __________________ "When life gives you lemons, squirt lemon juice in your enemy's eyes."

11-26-2006, 08:33 PM	#176
Bearcata what a strong finger Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: the edge of the beltway Posts: 8,050	Again only one new ep of FTH and no PL. Sammy has bought a 0 bedroom, 1 bath 375 sf home in South LA for $189,000. Hold on a sec while I get my jaw off the floor. Zero Bedrooms??? Huh! How is the heck does that happen. Oh, the place used to be a laundry and was converted into a home. Sammy has a budget of $50,000 and 6 weeks to turn this place around. He plans to gut the kitchen and bathroom and expand the kitchen into the bathroom. He also plans to pull down a wall in the living room that is part of a closet and expand the living room space. He also wants to add 2 bedrooms and a corridor connecting the two and put in a new bathroom. I must admit the location does not thrill me but Sammy says it is revitalizing. It looks as if he sticks to the timeline and also takes down the old chainlink fence, adds a 6 ft wooden privacy fence in back and on the side and a 3 ft white steel picket fence and gate, a concrete pad for a car and sod for a nice new lawn. He ended up puting tile and carpet in the house but I do have a problem with putting carpet in the front hallway to the front door instead of tile. It will get dirty so fast. There is also no hallway closet. Still the realtor is thrilled with the house although she is disappointed that there is only heat and not heat and AC. Me too it gets hot in LA. What amazes me is that she wants to list the place at $385,000 to $390,000, thinking it will be perfect for a family of four. Who can afford that on minimum wage??? Sammy is thrilled cause he ended puting $90,000 into the house instead of the projected $50,000. Listing the house at $385,000 with give him a projected profit of $106,000. I must say that this is the first flipped house in a poorer neighborhood that I have seen them put insulation in. Some of these other episodes all it looked like is if they just put drywall over the studs. __________________ "When life gives you lemons, squirt lemon juice in your enemy's eyes."

11-27-2006, 02:51 AM	#177
Brandy Fort Fan Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,958	That's awful if they (other flippers) put less care into it because it's in a lower income neighborhood. No insulation? That's awful. It does get chilly here at night. Desert climate. (This guy's omitting AC is a glaring oversight too...gets VERY hot here. We had over 100 degree temps for months this yr. and it's not unusual. A combo AC/heat unit isn't that much more costly.) Sounds like he did a lot of additions to it, that's nice to hear about. From 0 to 2 BR alone makes it a huge improvement. But listing it at nearly $400k? See what I mean about this housing market. Gah! I just saw something somewhere the other day (can't recall where! CNN or online?) that said L.A. is one of the least affordable markets. Median family income here is $50k or so, and median house price is $500k or so. That's 10 times yearly income! I just don't get who's buying all these houses?? People Must be overextending which is gonna mean a huge buyer's market eventually when banks raise their rates and the foreclosures begin. And a lot of people will be up a creek. Gahh, it's just so unfair to people in general. I don't get it. As for how people afford to buy a house here, most can't. Most can barely find a decent apartment...and when they do they pay about half or more monthly wage in rent. Just disgusting. Last edited by Brandy; 11-27-2006 at 02:59 AM.

11-27-2006, 10:38 AM	#178
Bearcata what a strong finger Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: the edge of the beltway Posts: 8,050	I do wonder if there are any special programs for first time buyers especially for those not making great incomes. I know they try to do it here on the East Coast, lower rates, etc.... it does help. __________________ "When life gives you lemons, squirt lemon juice in your enemy's eyes."

11-27-2006, 06:46 PM	#180
Bearcata what a strong finger Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: the edge of the beltway Posts: 8,050	I checked and LA does have a Habitat for Humanity chapter in the area. http://www.habitatla.org/. Its a small step in the right direction as far as providing habitable and affordable housing for poorer people. Still I do wish their website would provide pictures of the projects. __________________ "When life gives you lemons, squirt lemon juice in your enemy's eyes."

11-23-2006, 10:45 AM	#172
Brandy Fort Fan Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,958	Hancock Park is very high end. Has been even in the slump. How'd they find any property there for $300k? Wow. Sounds like they had to put a fortune into it, though. That old adage: You have to have money to make money.

11-25-2006, 02:21 AM	#174
Brandy Fort Fan Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,958	OH, okay. Somehow I didn't see that part. I was scanning through there and saw the $ sign next to the 300,000. By budget I thought you meant to buy the house. That makes more sense, then. Wow, that was in terrible shape then, for almost costing $2 mil. But it's still a seller's market here.

11-27-2006, 06:22 PM	#179
Brandy Fort Fan Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,958	There are...or were, four years ago. Good thought. I'm not sure how much it saves overall though. The other problem the past 2 or 3 years has been scarcity. Even homes rotten with termite damage and smelling of pet urine have been snapped up with overbids in less than a day. I got to thinking about it...did we wanna spend all we had and then some, on something that's just an old bungalow? Not even much storage space or modern amenities, with a tiny kitchen? For that type of home I'd want to pay less than $300k tops. 10 yrs ago in this area $200k would've bought most of these homes. I'd also prefer feeling I truly chose my home rather than 'what I ended up with after my 3rd bidding war'. That first time homeowner program might help someone else though. Good call. (Ps, Hubby did own a home with a roomie once, over 10 yrs. ago, not sure if he'd qualify)