In many states, you can only claim and advertise square footage if it is “heated”. Additionally, anything you add onto the house would have to have been legally permitted (more people than you would think add rooms without getting a building permit). You can certainly advertise unfished areas as having the potential to be finished and become additional living space but it can’t be included in the overall published square footage.
Personally, houses with many different floor choices make me twitch. The exceptions (for me) are bathrooms or laundry area with tile. I don’t understand the choice of multiple wood floor finishes in one home - unless possibly if the rooms are on different floors (but even then).
If cost is an issue, I’m fine with painted cabinets as long as it done by a professional and as long as the cabinet doors themselves are a more modern, clean, updated style. Updating the cabinet pulls can also make a big difference.
A close friend of mine lives in a popular county in southern California, her house was new in the 80’s. Outside, it is a beautiful house, gorgeous landscaping and backyard pool area. Inside, it is an 80’s time warp - pink oak cabinets, original white appliances that have now yellowed (they all still work!) Formica counters, shag rugs in the bathroom! On a recent visit, we were talking in general about home remodeling and because we’re good friends and she knew I wasn’t insulting her taste, I asked her if she ever considered doing a remodel on her home. She said that in her market it would be waste of time. She could sell her house in hours, likely with a bidding war, and they would come in and gut it anyway.
Our Southern California home would be an 80’s time warp too, but as @ChoatieMom said we have remodeled for ourselves. We have replaced all kitchen appliances, but that is our last area to update hopefully in the next year. No plans for moving so we want to enjoy our place.
I am convinced one of the reasons our house sold so quickly and for such a good price last year was that we had updated. We never did a complete kitchen remodel but it was updated enough so it did not look 25 years old (which it was). We got rid of the traditional furniture (which we had had forever and I was tired of) in favor of IKEA stuff and changed the neutral colors from beiges to grays. We had redone the primary bath 5 or so years before and we updated the others.
A house down the street from that one sold not long after. The pictures on line screamed “late 90’s”. I would have at least painted and taken down the heavy drapes. The house itself was larger than ours, had a great yard, etc. It just needed a bit of updating. It sold for considerably (think 6 figures) less.
We have just finished ( I think!) renovating the home we have lived in for 25 years. About 21 years ago we added a 2 story addition so as we sat home at the start of the pandemic we started discussing are we staying or selling soon? We decided to stay put and renovated 3 1/2 baths, kitchen, mudroom, living room, office, master bedroom. Now we’re just fixing a few small things. We renovated to our liking but the plan is to sell in maybe 5-7 years but who knows.
We replaced the tile floors on the first floor with wood to match the other rooms. Had tile in kitchen/mudroom/powder room. So glad that is all gone - the one flooring look gives this old house ( built 1938 ) a more cohesive look. I also probably have millenial taste – white kitchen, neutral colors — this is a look I’ve always liked - I like a pop of color in a pillow and dislike a lot of patterns, etc.
I’ve already had 2 inquiries if we’d like to sell - heard our house was all updated and it has lots of curb appeal.
When we were renovating a house over the past few years (and currently renovating ours!) I looked at sooo many Zillow listings to see what was current for flooring choices, finishes, etc. So helpful!
When picking the replacement floor for our first floor a few months ago - I checked out new construction Zillow listings at various high-end locales all over the country. Figured they had expensive designers, market analysis, etc. It really helped us select a color we liked and (hopefully) will work well when we sell in a few years…
Unfinished basement space (no walkout needed, typical basement windows - if any) is now added to the total Redfin SF figures in the Seattle area. It is very misleading. One listing even mentioned ‘high’ basement ceilings, which later stated they were 6’-9" tall (assumed to bottom of joists).
Definitely floors throughout. We just bought a house that had different floors in every room in the house. It looked like it got broken into and vandalized by a circus. We found some waterproof laminate floors at Home Depot and just told the contractor to rip everything out and install them everywhere. They’re absolutely stunning. And it was well worth the money.
I’m reading with interest. Looked at two properties this week that have been rentals for many years. Renters have been groups of people not families with turnover of roommates every few years. The owners (family) want to sell. We are local and my husband will decide what should be done. The flooring in both is terrible. Stained carpets that need replacing. I’m getting the consensus that it’s best to replace the entire house with the same flooring.
There are two ways of going about this process, one would be to sell as is and let the new owners do the fixing up. The other is to paint inside and out and replace flooring and maybe new vanities. Not quite turn key ready but clean and livable.
We’ve been looking at potential vacation/retirement homes up and down the southeastern coast for the past year and a half. We’ve seen a mix of those that have been remodeled with the hopes of increasing the sales price, and those that are being sold “as is” (many of the latter remind me of the Golden Girls decor style).
My husband is “in the business” and knows quality workman(woman)ship. Most of the remodeled homes we’ve seen have more of a DIY vibe, with remodelers going for whatever is in the discount section of the Home Depot on any given day. Also a head scratcher are the remodelers who do an entire house in the white and gray palette, and then stage it with, you guessed it, more white and gray furniture and accessories. If I’m paying a premium for a remodel, I don’t want to have to pay more to paint over all the gray walls. I can work with white cabinets and throw down some area rugs to break up the gray-washed flooring, but having it everywhere just makes me feel like I am in a sterile environment. I hope we can collectively move on from the white and gray trend soon!
Several families I know who inherited old/outdated small homes were advised to sell as-is (even before the hot market a few years ago). Real estate agents said young couples wanted a low price point to qualify for the mortgage and the ability to renovate per their own preferences down that road.
We just had this discussion this morning. I feel if you’re doing work it shouldn’t be the cheapest stuff from Home Depot. My husband is a general contractor but he isn’t actively building so we would hire people. The realtor has several people she has worked with. I’m thinking Swiss coffee for the inside wall color. These houses are beat upand I think they need some work done, painting and flooring at the minimum.
Two doors down from us a flip is going on. We knew the former life long dear woman and friend who lived there and died pretty estranged from her family (she was never married) from Covid in 2022. Her house was in ROUGH shape. Not good on the outside and after seeing pics, worse on the inside. Habitat for Humanity came and did an outside “facelift” a few years ago and helped with some major roof issues but it was still rough and desperately needs windows.
It was bought this spring at auction by a realtor who has dozens of properties or has flipped dozens. I can clearly see they are flipping as cheaply as possible including just painting the horrid windows. This would be a starter home and they are in high demand in our area. He will flip this as cheaply as possible and not give this potentially charming stucco home the life back in it it deserves. Just a cheap coat of awful black paint right now on the trim outside….
The problem with flipping a house is that it makes no sense to put quality materials.
I also think that people underestimate how much money it takes to upgrade and how much materials and labor costs have escalated.
The key is to put just enough money in so that you make maximum profit.
The house I mentioned in my OP dropped their price by $40,000 today. Where I live the soil is extremely sandy and irrigation systems are key for green grass, a majority of homes have an irrigation system. For some reason the system is not on, and the lawn is not in good shape. It’s also hot out and this home does not have air conditioning, something that most homes in our subdivision also have.
Most of my neighbors are convinced that this is a flip and a poorly done one at that. It’s not terrible but I don’t think you can effectively turn over a house in my area in 6 month. 6 years, maybe?
You’re right I wouldn’t expect top notch materials. But I feel like windows - the current ones are probably original to the house which I’m guessing was built in the 1930’s…and have rusted out screens….will be a turn off to a buyer because it’s such a cost and process.
To be honest, I’m also mad because it’s now going to be an ugly house in the neighborhood! Lol. My husband said “they are flipping a house to list it as a “fixer upper” - we will see at the end but it appears that the minimum is being done to just get it on the market.