With all of the recent home sales activity, there's been a flurry of properties bought and back on the market almost immediately. Used to be investors would buy them, take their time remodeling and even rent them as they waited for the market to come back. I've been following home sales closely the past 6 months and it's almost staggering to see how many of them have been bought since early and mid 2015. It's almost like watching episodes of Flip or Flop on HGTV. There's been a plethora of homes bought in the 120-130 K range and are now surfacing for $180,000 and well above that. At least from photos' posted, these guys are doing way more than those back when we first moved here. The local, now defunct, Tri-Star Realty firm were classic flippers; a coat of paint, new cheap carpeting and walla, add 30 or 40 thousand dollars to the price. They also had a Ponzi scheme of sorts going where they lured investors in by claiming they were first on titles when in fact there could be 4 or 5 investors attached to the deed. Ugly, but that's another story for another day. A good number of the properties back on the market look like they are doing a nice job. The old adage of kitchen and bathrooms selling a home, appears to be their focus. Let's face it, it doesn't take much to transform those 60's and 70's kitchens and bathrooms. Hell, just taking down the butt-ugly wallpaper makes a world of difference. These guys are doing much more though. Granite counter-tops, back-splashes and re-facing cabinets go a long way. Upgraded appliances (you can buy stainless packages for under $3000) cap off the kitchen. The vinyl flooring that looks like tile/wood boards is inexpensive, yet looks great. Sun City bathrooms are small by todays standards so the cost of doing a couple of reno's in them with a new vanity, a small slab of granite and new fixtures and flooring is also budget friendly. And of course a fresh paint job with some lively colors make a world of difference. It's all good stuff and for buyers looking for the no muss/no fuss buy-in, these are obvious choices. Of course for those willing to do the work themselves, they can put in higher-end upgrades and not be paying someone else to do it. It's one of the reasons home sales are exploding this year; selling the same home twice in one year is curious as this phenomena apparently will continue. What's your choice...do it yourself or buy one already done?
And they all end up with the same contractors finishes. That's not necessarily bad, it's a sign of the years in which they were remodeled just like the original styles show the year in which they were constructed. But I am tired of the brown cabinets and matching brown granite in the kitchen. It looks dated already. I do, however, understand when people want move it ready. I would like to, but no one does even close to how I want it done. I prefer to sweat through doing it on my own. I even enjoy most of it..it really doesn't take more than a few months if you can organize property and find a good contractor. My SC house has no updating other than an added Arizona room. It looks ok, but not as livable as I will make it.
This is great for the PIF, but it can mess with appraisals when buying - if you want to know more, just let me know.
You having problems with your apprasail ? One of the fun things about Sun City is making it wwhat you want C; ounds like you are track to do just that.
We wanted to remodel a home to make sure the electrical was new, insulation redone, and new energy eff windows were installed. The ones that just have the cosmetic finishes don't float my boat and I am one who is sick to death of granite. It is fun to tackle one of these if you have the nerve and solid marriage lol.
Exceptional comments F (all except the granite :smiley_simmons: ). These guys in most cases aren't doing the big ticket items you tend not to look at. Most of that will fall back on you, which becomes something people don't think about till after the fact. The glitzy new appliances and upgrades tends to lull folks into thinking more about what has been done than what hasn't. The key to buying one that needs it all is the price. If you can buy it right and hold on tight, it's the best of all worlds. Of course as you pointed out, getting through it without getting divorced is kind of important. It's why we don't do reno's ourselves; way to easy to take it out on the spouse when things go wrong...and Lord do they go wrong.
We were with Joan today and I heard it all worked out. Amazing how a little hand holding on this end by a good realtor can make a difference with some of these nervous Nellie professionals.
