Help me figure something out...

justkris10

The post on the real estate intervention show got me thinking (more) about my own house; we have a small, VERY old house (1904)...it's a half duplex and its about 1000 sq. ft. incl the partially finished basement. We have kinda come to the realization that it'll probably be at least 1 or 2 years before we're able to sell it and get into another house link to mls listing: http://tinyurl.com/yzscpdb That being said, our house is in serious need of upgrades - everything is outdated and being so, makes the house look crappier than it really is (imo). Do you think its worth it to do some of the upgrades (with a hopeful market uprise in 1.5 to 2 years) or just try to sell it as is whenever that may be... I ask because we despise our house just due to the outdated and "oldness" of it...what sort of professional would be good to discuss these type of options with? fwiw - DH is VERY handy with a lot of things and has a good amount of friends in different trades

erikag23

i can't wait for user's reply.

justkris10

why? did I say something stupid

erikag23

no, not at all.  he and brad are really into selling home, value, upgrades, etc.  it should be a good reply

kewltif

The link brings me to the website, but not the house.  What's the town and price? I can probably find it that way.

Laurms15

They always say that you make the best returns on kitchen and bathroom upgrades. That being said hardwood floors throughout are a huge plus too.

caketime

MLS listing isn't working.  Do you have the number?

justkris10

Yeah idk why the mls listing isn't working Try searching Warren County - Washington Boro is the town - and just put minimum listing price of $100K...mine is listed at $119,900 and its a green duplex The hardwood floors are "great" but ours are horrendous - they are 105 years old and you can surely tell -- Our kitchen is small and old and the cabinets have been painted at least 64,000 times and the bathroom is unbearably tiny (the only one)

justkris10

MLS# 2713746

kewltif

I took a look and it's cute! Not nearly as bad as I was expecting.Here's the thing- by the time you can sell and break even, do understand that anything else you will buy will also be more expensive.  Say the market went up 5% (just making this up) then your house would be worth $125k but the house you're looking to buy might go from $300k to $315k.I don't think in the price range you're looking to sell your house in, that a new kitchen will yield a financial gain.  Even if your DH could do EVERYTHING himself, the materials would still be several thousand dollars.  I don't think you'd get that much more for your house with a new kitchen.  What you can do relatively inexpensively is redecorate.  You can buy new furniture (that you could bring to your new home with you) and repaint the walls to try to modernize it a bit.  A little decoration can go a long way.

caketime

It's really cute and great pictures. That being said I'd say get your hardwood refinished.  Then you have "original" hardwood floors that are just done very nicely.  For the kitchen maybe you can catch a break during the holidays and a store will have them discounted or check craigslist if anyone is getting rid of cabinets for cheap.

Laurms15

I think it looks really cute from what I can see in the pictures. Resurfacing the hardwood floors would make a huge difference. But I also like older homes with some character.

USER876

How long has it been on the market?I didn't think you could even buy a lot for 100K in NJ  :)Anyhow, I can't comment on the price because I don't know the address and can't run comps.The house looks very charming.  You do have to look at your competition though.  I see the lot is deep but very narrow.  Is that typical of the area?Room sizes are not that bad, and a 3 bedroom is a plus.  The floors can be refinished but that will cost.  You can get a few more area rugs if you want spice the rooms up a bit.  I would also dress up the baseboard heaters and take the wallpaper down (border). It's probably not worth redoing the kitchen and bathrooms at that price point, but see what you can do inexpensively to make them show better.  In the bath....New shower curtain, rugs, (maybe tile floor if the room is small), new wall hardware, vanity lights, and sink faucet.In a home that old, I would be worried about things like, boiler, windows, plumbing, roof,etc.  Perhaps offer a buyer a 1 yr home warranty, they typically cost 500 dollars.Also, what does the basement look like?  Finished?  A nice basement may sell the house, basically as you have seen in all the shows, one really nice feature of a home, will often make a buyer look past other things.......can you rent it?  At that price point, seems like you may be able to cover costs with a renter.....

justkris10

Tiff you're right. We just want to make it more enjoyable for us especially if we'll be forced to stay for a while Redecorating definitely goes a LONG way you're right - problem is neither of us are really any good at it (at all). I am going to call and see about getting the floors resurfaced because I can't stand the ugliness of them (hence the rugs galore) But DH was able to refinish that small area of the basement (the blue room) for like $350 -- he ended up getting the real hardwood floors for next to nothing and the rest of materials he either had or we had to buy (sheetrock that's about it) so I just always think of fixing things up as cheap projects I'm definitely going to look to craigslist for cabinets - good idea - we have such a small area of them I can't imagine it would cost us THAT much

Mye

kitchen and bathrooms will give you the most bang for your buckhave your floors refisnished, its not very expensive, and remove all area rugs, great hardwood is a major plus def needs more neutral colors, that green with the wall paper is not for everyoneremove all the clutter and unneccessary pieces of furniture or itemsgive your house the cleaning of a lifetime

justkris10

To User: Its been on the market only since August but last year we had it listed from October to March as well on my street the narrow and deep is typical...its a very main, busy road unfortunately and that's what ALWAYS drives people away (we've had over a dozen showings) 3 bedrooms -- 2 on the 2nd floor and the 3rd BR is through one of those BR (a converted attic...carpeting, separate heating system a small closet - the room with the pink carpet) -- the baseboards are despicable I don't know what to do to "dress them up" - I plan to change that room with the border/green Bathroom - i just bought new curtain, rug, towels to match, etc. - I want to upgrade/change the vanity/faucet but the floor is actually decent in there I've had a home warranty since I purchased it and plan to sell it with it as well - the boiler is new, the plumbing kinda sucks, the roof is fairly new and the furance is old as sin but a good brand that's been maintained The basement is 1/3 finished (the blue room) - the other 1/3 is just carpet over a dirt floor with a bit of shelving for laundry room, etc. and the other 1/3 is dirt floors, rock wall (creepy) - each 3rd is separate by a wall I refuse to rent - I got royally screwed like 3 years ago renting out a different place and won't do it again

CM1206

We started thinking of updating our kitchen but I'm afraid we'll price ourselves out of the area. Especially for our area. If you find a guy to do your floors, let me know! Our house isn't as old as yours (1920) but the floors need some much needed help.

USER876

Please don't take this personally, but I your realtor could of done a better job with the photos.  I am a strong believer of good pictures, because it makes the difference whether a lot of people ever even schedule an appt or not.The lighting is bad, the lens isn't wide enough so the rooms look small, and there is too much clutter.  I would ask your realtor to redo them or have a  professional do them.I will also comment on each picture....1.  I would of taken it from the left side to soften on the presence of the telephone pole.  Also crop the bottom so you can't see the street2. Take the clutter off the table and the buffet table3.  Take clutter and baby seat off the table.  Pull the table out to the middle of the room more so it doesn't look so cramped.  Also, fix the baseboard heater (easy)4.  Take the dog out of the picture.  What is on the left side of the room?5.  Again, pull table out, remove clutter, and get rid of all the stuff on the fridge6. Take boxes out of the picture.  Pull power cords out of the wall and hide for the picture7.  Remove toys from picture at least the ones on the left side.  Room will look bigger8.  Remove or organize toys9.  Not bad, try and get more of the room in the pic8. 

erikag23

i can't imagine how hard it must be showing a house with a kid and toys all around.  i fee lyour pain though because al likes to make "piles" throughout the house which was a huge pita when our house was on the market.def need to de-clutter.  i bought those huge tubaware tubs nad just put all of our crap clutter in them.  def made a huge difference and made our home appear bigger (we have a small 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom ranch).  gl!

USER876

Just de-cutter for the pictures.......that will at least get more people into the house which is better than nothing.  Try to borrow a camera from someone with a wider lens.  Put lights on and take pictures with no flash, but try to keep the lights out of the pictures.  Take them in the daytime, when natural light is coming in, but not when the sun is shining directly in the window so the window looks "blown out" (or produces a lot of shadows).  If I was closer, I'd take them for you.

justkris10

What can I do/how do I fix the baseboards to make them look better?

erikag23

also, take off all the magnets on your fridge...little things like that distract buyers.

USER876

You can replace the covers, or just paint them.  They don't look bad, but the dining room one looks the worst because it is exposed.  The rest are hidden by furniture.One more comment....the room with the red/pink rug....perhaps get some inexpensive base and crown molding to make it look more finished and hide the gaps.

lmcit23

I have no tips to help but just wanted to comment on how I love that you have a Manolo Blahnik's shoe box in your bedroom photo.

kewltif

I would reconsider the renting thing.  I did the math and if you could get like $900 a month you'd basically break even.  That's not very high rent for a 3 bedroom, so perhaps you'd get more. Unfortunately, I think it could take a lot longer than 1.5-2 years for your house to reach the value of a few years ago.  Estimates are closer to 20 years to hit 2006 prices. Down the road you might be happy you kept it. The next time the market goes crazy high you might be able to cash it in to a builder for way more money.

justkris10

Tiff you couldn't be more right...I've tossed the idea for months! With taxes our mortgage is $1,072 - which means I'd have to rent it for $950 - $1K/mo. to not really "lose" on the deal + tenant would have to pay all utilities on their own - feasible, maybe I would love to keep the house and own multiple properties - that's obviously ideal but it just worrys the crap out of me what people may end up doing to my house, because they don't care, obviously

USER876

Renting isn't always as rosy as it sounds.  It can work, but it can also be a hassle to evict someone that is months behind on their rent.  Also 1.5 months security deposit won't even put a dent into some of the damage that could be done.  That being said, I wouldn't rent (myself) unless I was making a profit (not breaking even) of at least 10% per yr of the cash downpayment I have tied up in the house.I don't think it will take 20 yrs for the market to come back, but we are still 5 yrs + away in my opinion and it may still get worse before it gets better.  Heavy gov spending can't even seem to turn it around and that can't last forever

justkris10

User that's exactly how I feel about renting. it just doesn't settle well with me at all - i don't trust people, ever so "loaning" my house to someone makes me very uneasy and like you said, for no return, but a loss makes no sense I think we're going to tackle some good redecorating, decluttering, and minor DIY projects over the next couple months will keep ya's updated with pics (better ones!) thanks for everyone's advice I really appreciate it

Angie550

Kristen, not sure which cabinets you are looking to replace, but FI and I replaced the cabinets in our kitchen when we bought it and it was inexpensive and they look awesome.  Lowes carries unfinished (or finished) cabinets that you install yourself.  FI is very handy, as you said your DH is, and was able to install them with his fathers help and they look awesome.  We then got an inexpensive black formica countertop and re-painted the room and it looks like a new kitchen for under $1,000 - minus the appliances.  I know you can do the same for bathrooms.http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&Ne=4294967294&category=Kitchen+Cabinets+%26+Countertops&N=4294900502

melissa82

We rent FI's condo out. Obviously we're in a situation where we don't live in NJ so we can't occupy it ourselves, but it's not worth it to sell right now and we may one day want to live there.We try to be very proactive about really checking people out--checking their credit score, calling employers and past landlords, etc. There's been a few people who seemed nice and normal when we met with them, then we checked them out and they were complete liars! It's not a guarantee, and people could still lose their jobs, etc., but we've been lucky so far for the past two years. ::fingers crossed::

allymp13

I think little things make a big difference.  Instead of replacing our cabinets, doors etc.  We got all new hardware and everyone who came over kept asking if got new cabinets. I think some new paint, new door knobs, cabinet hardware and fixtures can go a long way to spruce things up without doing a complete and major overhaul.