Remodeling

NOW is the time to get into Lansdowne Merrick

by John Rice

Pepperhill

Lansdowne-Merrick.  Kind of reminds me of Kenwick in a way.  I mean, here are two neighborhoods that have an awesome location and have been the bargain of the 40502 zip code.  Kenwick was underpriced all the way up until the late 90’s.  It has arrived.  Lansdowne-Merrick on the other hand, is about to arrive.

What makes this neighborhood so right?  The location.  Just like Kenwick, it is surrounded by super desirable neighborhoods costing much more.  Check out a map and you’ll see what I am talking about.  You’ve got Lansdowne Estates and the Glendover area just across Tates Creek Road.  Across Alumni Drive is Turkey Foot and Lakewood.  Warrenton Woods is right beside you.  Castlegate is across Chinoe Road.  Oh, and you have a large park and elementary school in the neighborhood too.  Throw in being 5 minutes to The Lansdowne Shoppes, Chinoe Shopping Center and the Romany Road area, and you can see how you are getting the 40502 lifestyle everybody wants for half price.  I’ve always considered this neighborhood to be the “Lite” version of Turkey Foot.

This is a 70’s neighborhood.  You get some ranches, 2 story houses, a few split foyers.  You will see some wood sided contemporary homes too.  Most range from 1800 square feet to 2500 square feet.  Some have basements.  Some have finished basements that would add to that square footage.

The value range is mostly $200-300k.  Towards the lower end, you’ll get a solid house that may need some updating.  On the higher end, you should expect either a nicely updated house or a larger one with a basement.

I have been saying for a long time that this place will pop like Kenwick did.  I’ve noticed a few super updated houses on the market lately.  Today, I saw this house that is undergoing an extensive renovation.  They are blowing out the back of the roof to add more space.  When you start seeing this, you know it is a good time to get in the neighborhood.  You just cannot beat this location.  As prices in surrounding neighborhoods have gone up, this is the last undervalued spot to be in 40502.

Other neighborhoods on my watch list:  Meadowthorpe, Idle Hour and the front part of Gaineway.

How cost vs. value really works when updating your home

by John Rice

I am sure you have seen those articles in magazines that say stuff like “Get back 89% of the cost when you update your bathroom.”  It’s not that I think they make that stuff up.  It’s not that I doubt that really happens.  The problem I have with it is that it makes people believe that the money they spend now is guaranteed to make them money in the future.

Here are the factors that are often overlooked when people think about cost vs. value:  Age, condition, style, design and quality are a few.  Why does all this matter?  The reality about value is that your improvements must be both desireable and have enough life left in it for the new owner.  Everything has an economic lifespan.   With updates, you also have style to consider.  New hardwood flooring that most people think is ugly may not add any value.  High end maple cabinets that are now 10 years old (and show it) may not add any value either.  Think I am crazy?  Ever see a high end remodeled bath from the 80’s with a blue toilet and gold fixtures?  Somebody spend a lot of money for that during the 10 minutes it was in style.  Had they sold it THEN, it would have been worth it all.  The same goes for pickled cabinets.  I have them in my house and I am sure they were an upgrade!  Now they hurt the value of a house.

Do you have to update in this market to sell?  No, not at all.  But you aren’t going to get any where near the “Potential Value” for your house.  Believe it or not, that isn’t a bad thing sometimes.  I have a great example.  I sold a house for a lady a few months back.  She built the house new 10 years ago.  She had not put one penny into any updates.  All the appliances were original, the carpet was worn out, the water heater was original…………you get the picture.  We sold it for about 94% of similar houses in the area that had been updated some.  Think about this!  Who really came out ahead here.  The buyer needed to put in all new flooring and paint everything and even then they still have all the original appliances and mechanical systems.  The seller “Lost” that 6% of value (about $15,000) but NEVER, EVER spent a penny over 10 years.  I think she is the winner here.  She got use of all the stuff that typically gets updated and passed them on to the buyer when they were of no value (depreciated).  Most of us would have spent more than $15,000 for updates over 10 years and wouldn’t have come out as good as she did!

That story leads me to the most cost effective update:  Paint!  I really think that if my seller had painted the whole house we could have gotten  a lot more money for it.  Most painters charge $1/square foot of floor space.  To paint a 2400 a square foot house would be about $2400.  If you do it yourself, it is even cheaper.  Paint is the biggest bang for your buck when it comes time to sell.

I will skip the stuff about updates that everybody has seen on HGTV.  I assume everybody knows that you shouldn’t over/under-improve for your neighborhood.  

 The bottom line is that yes you can get most of your investment back when you sell BUT it has got to still be in style and still look pretty new.