Yellow walls not so good
I think the curb appeal and the main living area are what sells a house. People will accept a smaller bedroom or not up to snuff kitchen but if nice living room or family there sold. Nice fireplace and cabinets.
Trim work and the right paint a good neutral color but enough color to make white trim work pop.
We always evaluate the sold comps in our area and go a tad bit above from a quality stand-point.
The key is to find great deals on good material…ie scratch and dent appliances in stainless, granite remnants, leftover carpet rolls, etc. I have found guys that will fabricate and install granite for about $28 per sf.
Use Craigslist as a good resource as you can always find deals on leftover materials.
One trick we use is to paint the entire closest a white semi-gloss color which is usually the same color we use on our base-boards. This will give the room a very clean feel and make the closets seem much larger.
Just my two cents.
I think it totally depends on the area and or market your rehabbing in. Your not going to try to create the Taj Mahal in a low income area…even if the comps are high in the area. You make your money by making it …Safe , Clean , and Presentable. Granite and marble will work only if your living in the home. Control your costs and only put in what the home needs. You don’t need a stove and fridge. washer and dryer. Heck …all you need to provide after the rehab is complete, is a clear title and a buyer ready to close !!!..Make the front of the property appealing by placing shrubs or plants …Give it curb appeal !!..Its the first thing the potential buyer sees and will give the impression your rehab was thorough…and all things were planned out. Nobody needs to know it didn’t cost an arm and a leg !!
I actually use high end materials when I flip homes. One of the things I do is purchase used appliances from outlet centers or floor model centers, and even scratch and dent stores. I weekly check for close out bargains on kitchen and bathroom fixtures and material. I search news papers for people selling there cabinets and counter tops. I purchase granite left overs from dealers. I basically look around for deeply discounted material buy them ad stor them in a self storage unit or my basement. I recently bought over 5000 sqft of pre-finishsed hard wood flooring from lumber liquidators’ closeout for 17 cents/sqft. Basically that’s it. Curb appeal, kitchens and bathrooms it’s a suprise what white rocks or mulch can do to the re-sale value of a home.
I always put marble on the bathroom floor and vanity top. And in todays IT age I pull phone and cable to all rooms. I get a lot of complements about cable in the bath.
Just started buying a brand new stainless steel frig and stove for EVERY remodel I do. They are no longer big money items. I’m also installing granite counter tops in these homes. Granite got so popular during the BOOM years that TON’S of people got into it. THEY’RE ALL DYING FOR WORK NOW. I give them a $45/sq ft budget and tell them that’s all I have, take it or leave it. For the small 3 bed Capes and Ranches I buy, it amounts to a 12 foot counter top in most of these homes. (about $1000)
For these price point homes NO ONE gets these upgrades. My last home with this type of kitchen sold in 6 days.
TTIWWP…
well, not totally worthless, but link up some pics, folks! I want to see your work (motivation).
Thanks
Always new counter top, new faucets in kitchen and bathrooms, and new flooring. And I always spend some money on the landscaping and curb appeal.
I haven’t had the right place yet, but I heard a suggestion from someone one time that a great way to make a house stand out is to spend a couple thousand a build a really nice deck. Everyone remembers a nice deck!
I do everything from granite and hardwood to TRAY ceilings and stainless steel appliances. My tray ceilings are a big draw in my houses. You can see them framed on my website. Just click on the Hopkins Project and follow it from start to finish. My big seller is the low voltage lighting and structured wiring with a custom home theatre in the basements. I go all out in the area I’m in.