When we find a house, if we need/want to have any renovations done, what is the best time of year to have that done? Interior and exterior? Example - in an area that has four seasons, it's better to have heating worked on in summer, a/c done in winter.
If you need electrical done, al-co electric is excellent. I have had them come to my condo 3 times for different projects. He is always on time and does an excellent job.
I bookmarked the carpet company. Why are you having windows replaced? I am considered getting double pane windows and wonder if it is worth it. Another item being considered is solar.
It's worth it Peg, windows and doors are two of the things that have improved a 100% since those early DEVCO days. Clearly windows are the biggest ticket and the bigger bang for the buck; doors are just way more attractive these days and give it a better look. We've added French doors in place of several of the sliding patio doors and love them for the look and how much more functional they are. Timing is critical out here. One of the things to consider, especially if you are year round, is that once winter visitors return, work loads pickup dramatically. The better the contractor or handyman, the busier they are. That allows them to pick and choose which jobs they take and how they price the job. Most of them are looking for substantial projects, so if you've got a bunch of nickel/dime things you want done around the holidays, forget it. Conversely during slow season (summers), they may well take it just to keep busy. I know some contractors who have working relationships with clients that go away for the summer and give the keys to the contractor. That's the best of all worlds (as long as you trust them). It keeps the contractor working during the off-season and you're not stuck in the middle of a renovation job. we've made the mistake of hiring guys who said it would be a month and it took three. We lived through the projects, but it sucks. The AC guys out here want to service twice a year, usually May and October. The big ones run aggressive long term contracts at a reasonable price but their salesmen/serviceman are often paid on commission on parts sold and lordy they do find things to sell you. Be cautious of that. We've gone through several and the game became obvious very fast. Summers are a killer to work in, though there are guys who work through it. The problem is someone is always knocking on your door or leaving flyers. They're short on work and I've had guys do a great job and others that were worthless. Emily is right, word of mouth is the best way. Whenever we have work done (which has been every year), someone stops by from the neighborhood and wants to see what we have done and are we happy with what they did? We've done the same. Do not let price alone be your guide. That old adage about getting what you paid for has rung true way too many times for us. SCHOA's vendor program is a good starting point, but they get on the list with a buy-in fee and a handful of contacts. Not saying that's bad, but it's not perfect. The best feature from them is if you are not happy with work done they will intervene with the contractor. Unless you are buying a fully remodeled home, expect to do some things. We bought it knowing we'd do a project a year, making it ours with the changes we made. It was one of the joys of buying in Sun City. Virtually all of the other Sun Cities we looked at, the homes were done and there would have been little to do. While projects are a pain, once they are done, it's awesome to see the transformation.
Our son in law works for a large HVAC supplier here and when I asked him if I needed to have my unit serviced every year, he said only if it isn't working. They don't need to check your HVAC every year, especially if it is newer. Ours is only 3 years old. We replaced all our windows with Milgard and it makes a huge difference. We also just put on a new foam roof which hopefully helps this summer. Paladian Roofing did a great job for us. We have actually enjoyed doing most of the remodel work ourselves but feel a growing fear of ladders creeping in now.
I believe we have decided that we will buy a true fixer upper - we have a price point set on what we will pay for the property and we will use the rest of the budget on remodeling/updating/fixing. Our goal is to buy our new home, have all the work done, move, and then sell our place in Seattle (all proceeds going into the new place, which we figure will leave us free and clear of a mortgage). Hence the original question. So many decisions - buy this Summer and get the work started, buy this Fall and contend with the snowbirds coming back, buy this Winter (see previous snowbird comment), or buy next Spring and have things done when folks start heading home, aka beginning of Summer. Exterior work first, then interior.
You've taken the first step J, you know what you want to do. The second step will be what everything else hinges on; finding the right fixer-upper. The good news is the magnitude of what you want to do will help secure a good contractor. They love jobs they can sink their teeth into and showcase their work (and be tied up for a length of time). You may want to consider foreclosures, they often come at bargain prices and more often needing a boatload of work. A good realtor can help you find them and better yet a good realtor can quickly identify homes that fit your criteria; sguare footage, number of bathrooms and bedrooms, galley kitchen or full sized, type of garage, location of home. Once you nail down the basics, a good realtor will be able to pinpoint the models that fit your needs. Lots of folks are buying average sized Sun City homes 1400-1500 square and putting on an addition, typically across the back. That gets spendy so I'd try and find a home with the square footage you want/need and start there. You'd be be amazed how many folks are moving here from the Seattle area of late. My favorite story is of a guy I met over at the lawn bowling greens at Lakeview about 3 years ago. He was wandering around and I introduced myself and gave him one of the magazines I had done on the community. He said he came down about 6 months ago from Seattle and bought a place on Viewpoint Lake and loved it so much he bought 2 more that came up for sale because they were priced so well. As you well know, your area has pretty solid home prices and they sell quickly. That's all to your advantage, the biggest thing is to find what you want and get it going. Just as an aside, here's a link to 55Places and the Sun City page, they too have floor plans for many/most Sun City properties.
Shade screens are great for keeping the sun from coming through Peg, but do nothing for heat or air conditioning loss through windows. We've added a number of patio covers and they do a wonderful job of reducing the direct sunshine into the house, but like the sun shades do little to prevent the loss through inadequate windows. And of course one of the biggest items these days is the improvement in air conditioning. The old units (mom still has her original from 1974) is wholly inefficient and she will replace it next year. It runs, but it's way more expensive than a new one.
I'm from Whidbey Island, Washington. You are really going to enjoy waking up to sunshine nearly every day of the year
Thank you. Now I have to get at least 3 estimates for double pane windows. Suggestions for a business in Sun City would be appreciated. Thank You.
Here's the thing that has gone unsaid: 5 years ago the RCSC board of directors (before I was there) made a bold decision. They allocated $100,000 for marketing Sun City. That hadn't been done since DEVCO left in 1978. With all due respect to what Paul Herrmann tried to do at the Visitor Center, he didn't have the financial where-with-all to do what he would have liked to do. Since that initial investment, the RCSC board has been steadfast in that allocation. While there's been some hits and misses with the marketing, we've increased and enhanced our exposure around the country. I absolutely believe it is paying dividends year in and year out. Too often naysayers look at it in the short run, but this is the kind of investment that is built for the long haul. We know new buyers convince their friends and relatives to visit and visitors often become buyers. The plan was for the Visitor Center to become the marketing arm for Sun City. Hopefully that will transition over the coming years and we will continue the investment to our future. There's no question in my mind how bright that future is; the only real question is are we up to making it all it can be?
Walgreens on 99th & Greenway has tshirts that say Sun City - $4.99. Not sure if they are available at other Walgreen stores. I wear mine when I work at the Visitor Center and have been asked where I got it.
During the 50th Anniversary (2010) the Visitor Center had all of the promotional stuff we had put together. From t-shirts, hats, visors, key chains to coffee mugs, Paul had it all for sale. No question it sold well, but stocking an adequate supply of colors and sizes was a problem. I suspect in time, we may see the transition to a wider range of things happening there, but for now I suspect the RCSC is just trying to figure out what shape it will be taking. I still drool over the thought of the Visitor Center being located in the Lakes Club, right next to the coffee bar and ice cream shop; all of which would open to a brilliant patio on the lake. Imagine the sales tool that would have been. Oh well, I guess longer, wider tee boxes are almost as good.
I am rather "off" fast food places after reading what they do with/to food. Also, their prices keep going up, up, up. Actually, I don't like to eat out at all and always end up taking half my meal home in a box. A friend and I go to Elephant bar on 83rd between Bell & Thunderbird. We share the Shrimp Platter. It's good.
