Be very afraid of Florida. Their RE taxes are more based on the outcomes from a random number generator than anything else. The biggest being that they capped increases for those livingin their homes. However, when that house is sold, the property taxes are "caught up", so last years property tax for the owner could very well be 10% or even 50% or more less than what you would spend. And this is just the idiocy that is easiest to explain.
to koala bears: food, water, shelter and something to crap on."
a realtor near kissimee told me some years ago.
homes were taxed at 1% of retail value, primary residences get a 25% discount.
So a $100,000 homes tax was $1000, less $250 for primary residence.
$750 bucks, around pittsburgh its about 3 grand:( plus florida has no state income tax....
They come up with them using facts, and not asking people whether or not they like their remodel and think it's worth it. To me, it sounds like someone whining about how you paid too much for your car, and it's not any good, and you were a fool to buy it, even though you love riding around in it, how it drives, and how you look to your envious neighbor. It's all numbers, and I don't see any statements from people who have remodeled. I like it, what's THEIR problem?
Similar experience, and doing a three room remodel right now, only using less money. Trading out a lot of stuff, but still doing it in granite, new tile, texture, knocking out walls, putting in headers to open up the space, new cabinets, and appliances.
You can find facts to support any conclusion. Sounds like the story was made up before they went out and got any figures.
And you, if like me, like them just the way they are. We have two in Las Vegas, and when we to there on business, we usually stay there unless rented out on vacation rental basis. See them at
A lot of people don't care if they sell their houses, because they like them. A lot of people don't care if they only break even on a renovation because they get to enjoy it. It is only if you are trying to flip a house and make some money that you have to crunch the numbers, and in today's market unless you almost get the house for free, there's not a lot of wiggle room.
Again, it's someone who's obviously been to college and educated beyond their capacity prattling on about their impression of the real world.
See above paragraph.
And keep those numbers, and go to vrbo and look at my remodeling skills. Mention this newsgroup, and we'll give you a discount. IF you pay cash, of course. ;-)
Steve
Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Learn how to care for a friend.
I moved from The People's Republic of Vermont and bought a house in Eastern Alabama. My taxes went from $6,000 to $1,700. My most recent bill was $1,500, definitely in the right direction. There was no way I was going to retire in Vermont if I had to pay $500/month just to own my house. I might as well rent. Oh, and the weather in Vermont sucks just as badly as the politics.
There are exceptions. I redid the floors in my old house and it did make my house more sellable. I don't think it drastically raised the price but it probably did make the house sell a little faster. I didn't spend much money because I did the work myself. I just took up the carpet and sanded and refinished the existing wood floors.
Do all the cheap things, but save the major renovations for the new owners. Don't try and second guess what they want to do with their new house.
There is a house down the street from my house for sale I could have ready to sell in a couple of weeks but it's going to sit for along time and it just needs new siding and a fence fixed. Simple stuff like that is a no brainer. It's a shame because it's a nice house and they are asking well below market.
Jim
Would that be on a house of the same value both places?
Or did you manage to buy a comparable house for less money?
Most places tax on the actual value and I have heard the NE is one of the highest. Here it is about 10.50 per 1000 of valuation and I consider that onerous. Old-timers get to whack 20K off the assessed value. Whoopee!
Colbyt
Almost identical (within a half percent).
Same money, far more house. It's about 50% larger (2600ft^2 vs. 1700ft^2), an additional bathroom, and far more features. No basement. :-(
Indeed. It's about .5% here. That includes a 50% "homestead deduction" for owner-occupied housing. A second home would then be double, but that's still only half of $6K.
Agreed. Landscaping, particularly in the front, makes it more saleable. Any money put into selling should go into exactly what you say; make it look like new.
Concur. We redid the vinyl flooring in the downstairs hallways, kitchen-dining room, with bamboo. I replaced all the crappy floors in the bathrooms with tile (though I did most of that before deciding to sell) and had the house recarpeted just before we sold. I also went through the house and pulled down all the woodwork and doors, restained and replaced what was bad, and put it all back up. I wasn't working (retired, though not permanently), so had some time. All in all, I put perhaps 10K into the house the two years before selling it. All of it I would have done if we hadn't sold, though perhaps not with the same materials on the same time line.
Paint is cheap. Paint a neural color - make it look new. They can paint it black.
Are they in a bind financially? Can they have the work done, or are they (and their agent) just clueless?
My guess is they moved and just left the house the way it is. This street has a few rentals. May have been a rental and now the owner wants to sell.
I agree totally on the front yard. Also the main entry doors are something everyone sees and touches. Cheap to fix and/or replace.
Jim
I can think of a couple of "home improvements" that WILL add more to the sale of a house.
Most of us are somewhat handy and little things - for relatively little cost - can add to the overall value. For example, my 4-car garage came with one garage door opener. Diligently watching Craigslist yielded one more for free (needing a $17 gear) and another for $50. I'm still looking for the fourth.
I replaced a crummy enameled kitchen sink with a stainless one (with faucet and flexible washer) for a mere $15.
And so on.
Many times it's the little things, and attention to detail, that can make a house a great attraction.
income properties is a great show.....
I made $$ on renovating my moms old home, sold before the economic collapse.
Value went from 80 grand to 115 grand, cost of renovations half that:)
at the time realtors all reported 90% of buyers want a home in move in condition, they will change the colors later.....
this means a home in run down shape automatically losses 90% of all buyers........
which is why home flippers exist.
ME, I would prefer a fixer upper since I enjoy home repairs
" snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
With one house in VT, for about the last 8 years I owned it the taxes were more than the mortgage. Saw one of those "Yahoo top 10" list on worse taxed states. VT was one of the top 3. Not sure which.
Still true.
Still true.
"Colbyt" wrote in news:p6adnRXAbNKXfXzRnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@insightbb.com:
He is comparing apples to apples for the most part.
" snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Oh, forgot. You outta get a chuckle outta this.
I have an indoor/outdoor weather station. Radio controlled to an indoor display. Updates like every 30 seconds. Also monitors some satellite for the date/time every few minutes. Often they don't connect during the day but pick up the signal evenings/early am. Normal.
Clocked changed the 11/1 at 2am. I turned off the DST setting. It did not resynch until 11/5.
On 11/14/2010 4:39 PM Robert Green spake thus:
Which is why a recent job I did for some folks is all the more perplexing.
Helped a couple get their house ready for sale while they looked for a new place; they're moving from their detached (semi-) urban house to a condo in a "golf community". The guy's an engineer (concrete), built and remodeled half the house which is quite, well, strange. At least very idiosyncratic; very impractical, but with a lot of really nice touches. Kinda looks like a house built by hippies on the outside, but nice on the inside. Lotsa wood (including a *lot* of really nice redwood).
Anyhow, the guy's getting on in years and less inclined to do projects, and practically allergic to all maintenance chores. Which is why I was called upon to do about 20 years worth of deferred maintenance. With the result that their home is now, finally, much closer to the way they've always wanted it; I put up trim that they'd been intending to do for
*years*. And they're moving out of it in a month. To a place with much less "character" (and subject to the rules of the HOA). Go figure.
My work system didn't reset until yesterday (well, sometime over the weekend). It was an hour off all last week and refused to be told differently.
Well, the article specifically described additions and improvements as opposed to fixes. And, since the whole concept of "home value" (as in "adding to home value") only becomes realized through the sale of the home, I could never understand why people do any improvements just before putting the house for sale.
You are right, there is no way to second guess what the new owner would want. Maybe all they want is a cheap house which they'll use as blank canvas to improve it the way THEY want it. Maybe the reason they are buying is because the house is 15 min drive from their work and not because it looks nice.
I would put any money that would otherwise go into improvements/additions before the sale into a special account I'd call "bargaining power savings account".
I had a rather old A/C in the last house I was selling when the market was already very bad. It would have been a $6000+ expense to replace and there was really no telling that it would improve the chance of selling the house a single bit. So I didn't do it. It turned out offering a $2,500 discount and $2,500 seller assist seals the deal better than any $5000 improvement would.
------------------------------------- /\_/\ ((@v@)) NIGHT ():::() OWL VV-VV
All good points. I'll remember that "bargaining power savings account". I've only had 2 houses, and sold none, so my experience is limited to that. I'm the "blank canvas" type. Probably more likely to reject a house because of "improvements." A lot is personal taste. I remember when we were looking for our first house the realtor bragged up the finished basement in one we looked at with the "Pride of ownership" line. When I saw it the first thing that came to my mind was, "Man, I'm going to have to tear all this stuff out." I'd feel the same if I saw a hot tub or jacuzzi or swimming pool. "Move in" condition is probably most important for a fast sale. Hard to figure what turns a house on for a buyer. When we bought this house it was empty, clean, and newly painted. Nothing needed repair. Price was right. Small kitchen without much counter space. Old built-in cabinets with worn formica counter tops. I thought it'd be all over when my pro cook wife saw that small kitchen. Nope, she loved the place. Go figure. And as you said, cutting our commute time from 45 minutes to 12 didn't hurt at all. That's why we were looking here.
--Vic
You wouldn' believe how many 30,000 kitchen renos and 20,000 basement redos I've seen torn out by the new owner - less than 6 months after the original owner did the work to "improve" the home for sale. Solid oak cabinets with granite counters, island, florida ceiling, and new stainless steel builtin appliances - GONE - most of it into a dumster And a few months later the whole basement stripped back to the bare walls to install a new "media room", or the "media room" stripped out for a kiddies play-room.
Adding a second bathroom in.a house that has only one will usually get you your money back. A third bedroom in a 2 bedroom house will get you about $15,000. A dated kitchen will cost you about $6000, while redoing the kitchen will cost you a minumum of $8000 to $10,000. Better to sell for $6000 less than spend $8000-$10,000 to get your price.
A good driveway, solid and attractive front porch, good sidewalks, good paint and/or maintenance free soffitt and Fascia, and doors and windows that fit are all worth spending a bit on because their lack will cost you more than it costs, generally speaking, to bring them up to standard.
If you are going to spend money on a house to sell it, new roof (if required) and windows (again, if required) are usually a pretty safe bet.
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