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workinprogress
 
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Default Repair Or Replace Kitchen Cabinets?

I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't get
back on resale.


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effi
 
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"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install
everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house
shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't
get
back on resale.



paint the cabinets, use a theme consistent and complimentary to your home's
interior, add new knobs and visible hinges, if any to give it an upgrade
look; the sales persons who sell you this stuff should be able to tell you
how to use it (key word "should", doesn't mean will)

recover any counter surfaces if necessary to maintian the theme of the
kitchen

consider new lighting, like track lighting, avoiding recessed lighting
unless it has airtight housings (and then they may not be 100% airtight)

cost should be a couple hundred bucks if you get great deals


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Doug Kanter
 
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"effi" wrote in message
...
"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks
worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install
everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house
shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't
get
back on resale.



paint the cabinets, use a theme consistent and complimentary to your
home's interior, add new knobs and visible hinges, if any to give it an
upgrade look; the sales persons who sell you this stuff should be able to
tell you how to use it (key word "should", doesn't mean will)


He said the cabinets were covered with veneer. Painting would not be a smart
option, unless your goal is for prospective buyers to whisper to themselves
"Jeez...what a cob job....next house".


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Doug Kanter
 
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"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install
everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house
shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't
get
back on resale.



First things first: Interview some realtors, and pick one who will be your
selling agent. He or she should be able to offer some guidance. When I was
looking at houses, I saw quite a few upgraded kitchens that were obviously
done for the sole purpose of selling the house. While all the cabinets were
at least of acceptable quality, the choice of color & style was often not
what I would've chosen. It was impossible to negotiate big bucks with people
who'd spent time & money on these upgrades. It would've been easier if they
left in place the old built-in-place cabinets. At least that way, both
parties know what's worth what.

Visit some open houses, which I assume you have in your area. See what other
people have done to their kitchens. You'll be surprised to find that
although kitchens don't have to be palaces in order to sell the house, they
can't be disgusting, either. With that in mind, you might want to check the
yellow pages for places that work on countertops. You should be able to find
someone who can come out and reglue the cabinet laminate, unless it and the
underlying particle board are damaged.

I think you're better off adjusting the price of the house to take into
account the fact that the buyer will probably want to remodel the kitchen,
and be honest about it. Either that, or go over the top and do an amazing
design/remodel job on the room. Most sellers I saw did sort of a halfway
job - nice, new cabinets, but not much effort on the rest of the room.
Matter of fact, the house I bought is like this. If I stand in the kitchen
and turn around 360 degrees, it's like I'm seeing the work of 3 different
minds at work.

Bathroom: Your idea sounds good.


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He said the cabinets were covered with veneer. Painting would not be a
smart
option, unless your goal is for prospective buyers to whisper to
themselves
"Jeez...what a cob job....next house".


And he also said they look ok. I'd fix any things that were not ok and
would clearly detract from the sale. Sounds like the bathroom vanity
fits that description. As for the kitchen cabinets, IMO, unless they
stand out as noticeably bad, I wouldn't fool around with them. To do a
decent job, it's going to cost a lot more than a couple hundred bucks.
And who knows if what you wind up with is what a buyer wants anyway.
Personally, I'd prefer to do my own upgrade after I purchased the house
rather than have someone else choose what to do.



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" I saw quite a few upgraded kitchens that were obviously
done for the sole purpose of selling the house. While all the cabinets
were at least of acceptable quality, the choice of color & style was
often not what I would've chosen."

I can say that applies to other parts of the house also, and that the
quality of the parts was usually the cheapest obtainable.

  #7   Report Post  
j.duprie
 
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I would suggest not fixing them (unless they're really bad). the realtor
will probably try to pressure you into spending money to make them look
better. when I've been selling or buying properties, I'v always left things
as they were (as long as they weren't too bad), and had the realtor explain
to prospective buyers that the (insert item here) is a bit "used", but its
also 20 years old. Rather than fixing it up tio what I think a buyer would
want, I adjusted the price down to allow them enough $$ to do what they
want. If a buyer really wants me to replace the item before they buy, I'll
take care of it, but add theprice to the cost....

when I've bene on the buying side, I've walked away from properties because
the "fixing" was clearly a quick and dirty "make it pretty to sell", or
because the taste of the seller was very different from mine, and I wasn't
going to pay the seller the cost of the fix, knowing that I'd just be
ripping it out. I *have* made offers on properties where I've subtracted the
cost of making a seller-made fix into something I could live with. On the
other hand, I have had a number of good discussions with sellers that have
left things as they are, and reduced their selling price accordingly. I have
owned a number of these properties, andthink that they're the best all
around solution. Typically, the seller underestimates the cost fo the fix a
bit, but its such a small amount that it gets lost in the overall prioce of
the buy. So I pay a little bit extra, but get to renovate into what I want.

YMMV
--JD



"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look

closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install

everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house

shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't

get
back on resale.




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Edwin Pawlowski
 
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"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen.


Clean, neat, bright. That is what will sell. Putting in cheap cabinets to
make the house sell will often end up with the new owner tearing them out
anyway. Paint if needed, clean the cabinets well, get the stuff off the
counters. Now see if anything more needs to be done.


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SteveB
 
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"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install
everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house
shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't
get
back on resale.



We just did a remodel of our kitchen from 1978 cabinets. In 1984, I built a
house, and custom cabinets were $4300, I believe. These ran $22,000. Even
at Home Depot, cabinets are spendy, and I do not believe you would recoup
the cost. And then, you have to do the countertops, and all the stuff that
gets messed up when you take out old cabinets.

Just MHO. The new cabinets look like a million dollars, though. They
should.

Steve


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Doug Kanter
 
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wrote in message
oups.com...
" I saw quite a few upgraded kitchens that were obviously
done for the sole purpose of selling the house. While all the cabinets
were at least of acceptable quality, the choice of color & style was
often not what I would've chosen."

I can say that applies to other parts of the house also, and that the
quality of the parts was usually the cheapest obtainable.


Right, but in other parts of (most) houses, you're probably not talking
about huge, expensive objects bolted to the wall, like cabinets. In other
rooms, the stuff you don't like usually involves things you can fix
yourself, like paint colors, or hideous light fixtures, chandeliers with so
much crystal that you wonder "just which of the servants is going to dip all
that crystal into cleaning solution a few times a year".

My realtor and I got into a pretty good pattern when looking at houses. Most
of the stuff involved things that the professional inspector would look at,
too, but you need to know whether you should even make an offer on the
house, so you have to check these things yourself. For any defect found,
deduct an amount of money that reflects what your weekend time is worth. I'm
a fisherman and a gardener. One weekend day is worth $1000.00.

1) Roof: I brought binoculars

2) Basement: I brought a huge flashlight, and a very sensitive nose. If I
was going to make an offer on a house whose basement raised doubts, I
would've brought halogen work lights. Basements are shadowy places. You want
to illuminate, and very thorougly.

3) Furnace: Check the dealer stickers, take notes, research the make &
model. If you're getting close to making an offer, insist on having YOUR
favorite HVAC person inspect the system. That cost me $75, and was worth
every penny.

4) Windows: Besides being relatively modern, make sure the ones you want to
open in nice weather actually WILL open. If not, find out why not. If
they're painted shut, insist on being able to bring tools for opening them.
If you can't get them open using normal measures, and you know what happens
to wood frame windows when they need to be brutalized, deduct $1000 per
window to cover the bull**** you'll have to go through to make them work,
and repair the cosmetic damage from getting them opened.

5) Electrical outlets: Bring a 3-prong circuit tester. First, you want to
check for proper wiring. Equally important, you want to see if the outlets
seem like they're going to pull out of the wall because some dumb ******
didn't have to sense to install the box up against a beam as god intended.
If they flex the wall when you pull out the tester, that's $1000 per outlet
if you intend to move the outlet and you're doing the work yourself.

6) Check ceilings very carefully for any signs of irregularity, especially
if they're textured. It may indicate water damage from roof problems or ice
damming. If the current owner has been there for many years and claims to
know nothing, insist on a polygraph examination, or move on to the next
house.

7) Toilets: Make sure they flush energetically. Also, see if they rock - not
correctly attached to the floor, in other words. If they do, call a plumber
and find out what he charges to install a toilet. Deduct that amount, based
on the assumption that if they're going to be checked, tightened, whatever,
it's not a bad idea to uninstall, replace the seal...the whole routine.
Deduct $2000.00 if you intend to do it yourself, especially if you've never
installed a toilet before.

8) Does the current owner smoke indoors? Do you intend to paint after you
buy the house? Deduct $1000 per room.

The reality is that the major stuff you look at - the kitchen cabinets,
carpet, these are things that are relatively easy. You just need the money
to do them, and most of the time, you pay someone to install. The stuff I've
mentioned - these are things that will drive YOU crazy. You need to get paid
for the trouble.




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Norminn
 
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workinprogress wrote:
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't get
back on resale.



I would be inclined to leave the kitchen as is. A purchaser of a
"modest" 2BR is likely bargain shopping. Repair or replacement can be
the buyer's choice. Take care of defects, like the water damaged
vanity, patch holes, fix what is broken, tidy up the landscape and give
the place a clean, neat presentation. Needed repairs are not a
turn-off, as long as folks can see what needs to be done. The last time
I sold a house (14 years old), it was in very good condition but needing
a new roof and some interior paint. Neither was considered a problem
and it sold quickly. The interior had the original paint job, one minor
wall crack, so it was easy to see that nothing had been concealed.

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Ross Mac
 
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"workinprogress" wrote in message
...
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look
closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install
everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house
shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't
get
back on resale.



A trick I have used when selling homes is to tell potential buyers you will
have the problems repaired. Then get some quotes and leave the money in
escrow so that the buyer can have the work done themselves. This also
empowers them to be in control of not only the colors and finishes but also
the contractor. As you know, once the seller leaves the contractor is not
answerable to the buyer since the buyer did not hire them. It will also
limit your liability to future repairs if you word the contract correctly.
This is particularly import for section one termite repairs where the only
person they have to satisfy is the termite inspector, who also does not work
for the buyer.....good luck on your sale....Ross


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Matt
 
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Oh god there she goes with her can lighting again.

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Sexytom976
 
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Now is some funny **** to read. 1000.00 an outlet???

New toilet bowl and wax seal 2000.00????

If a seller would EVER accept this, run from the house because
there are probably more major things wrong on the house than you even
expected.

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E Gregory
 
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workinprogress wrote:
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't get
back on resale.



If I were your prospective buyer I would perfer to take some $$ off the
price and redo myself, at least in the kitchen. If the bathroom is
really bad your idea to replace the vanity is good, shouldn't be too
expensive, doing this in the kitchen would be expensive. Clean things
up in the kitchen, make whatever minor repairs you can (like reglue
veneer that's loose), and put her out there! To me this would be much
better than if you do a half-fast remodel job.

Good luck,
Eileen


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Doug Kanter
 
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"Matt" wrote in message
ups.com...
Oh god there she goes with her can lighting again.


:-) :-) :-)


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workinprogress
 
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"E Gregory" wrote in message
...
workinprogress wrote:
I'm preparing to sell my house. It's a modest dwelling, 2br 1 bath. My
kitchen cabinets are slab particle board with a thin veneer. They look
"ok". Some parts have the veneer starting to come off if you look

closely,
which a prospective buyer probably would. The bathroom vanity looks

worse
as moisture has taken it's tool on the particle board; I'll probably

just
replace that outright.

I'm just trying to get a feel for which direction I should go in the
kitchen. I've heard of cabinet refacing and if that would make it look
decent at a lower cost I'd go with that. I think I could install

everything
myself even if I got all new cabinets. My main goal is that the house

shows
well enough without me having to spend thousands of dollars that I won't

get
back on resale.



If I were your prospective buyer I would perfer to take some $$ off the
price and redo myself, at least in the kitchen. If the bathroom is
really bad your idea to replace the vanity is good, shouldn't be too
expensive, doing this in the kitchen would be expensive. Clean things
up in the kitchen, make whatever minor repairs you can (like reglue
veneer that's loose), and put her out there! To me this would be much
better than if you do a half-fast remodel job.

Good luck,
Eileen



Thanks so much to everyone. Based on all of the suggestions I think I'll
stick with leaving the kitchen cabinets and replacing the bathroom vanity,
which is really the answer I wanted to hear so I'm doubly happy. I'm going
to re-paint inside and out myself also so that should sparkle things up too.


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Doug Kanter
 
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"Sexytom976" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now is some funny **** to read. 1000.00 an outlet???

New toilet bowl and wax seal 2000.00????

If a seller would EVER accept this, run from the house because
there are probably more major things wrong on the house than you even
expected.


Funny ****? :-)

Remove outlet, and damage the wall in the process. Whether it's plaster or
sheetrock, you've got at a day's worth of work, if you add up the "spackle,
let it dry, spackle again, let it dry, sand it, paint it, paint it again..."
Now, if you're lucky, the previous owner left you some partial cans of
paint, which were sealed properly, and maybe even labeled as to which room
they belong with. If you're really lucky, maybe you only need to paint the
one wall. But, probably not.

Now, make a hole in the correct place for the NEW outlet. Will it have
access to the same vertical wall cavity as the wire that went to the old
outlet? Murphy's Law says probably not. Pull the wire down into the basement
(if you're lucky). Is it long enough to reach the new box? Probably not.
Deal with that issue in the basement, one way or the other.

Upstairs again: If the wall is plaster, making the hole for the new box will
be interesting. I'm real good with plaster, but I still got some jagged
edges when making holes for outlets. So, more
spackle/wait/spackle/wait/sand/prime/etc.

I don't know what YOUR time is worth, but weekend during
fishing/boating/gardening season is worth $1000.00 to me. :-) And...you KNOW
one project ALWAYS leads to another for some damned reason....

Toilet bowl: Who said anything about "new toilet"?? I'm talking about a
toilet that's loose from the floor, which (if you have a brain) makes you
think "I could just tighten it....but since it's been rocking for god knows
how long every time someone sat on it, I wonder if the the seal's not good
any more. Hmm. Would I rather replace it, or clean sewage off the ceiling
below, and the living room carpet?"

I've never done a toilet removal/reinstall, but it sounds like a whole
weekend to me. Penalty to owner for not dealing with it: $2000.00. Hey...I'm
funny that way. Works sometimes, though. I got $5,000.00 off the asking
price of my house for various little bull**** things.


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xrongor
 
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If I were your prospective buyer I would perfer to take some $$ off the
price and redo myself, at least in the kitchen. If the bathroom is
really bad your idea to replace the vanity is good, shouldn't be too
expensive, doing this in the kitchen would be expensive. Clean things
up in the kitchen, make whatever minor repairs you can (like reglue
veneer that's loose), and put her out there! To me this would be much
better than if you do a half-fast remodel job.

Good luck,
Eileen



Thanks so much to everyone. Based on all of the suggestions I think I'll
stick with leaving the kitchen cabinets and replacing the bathroom vanity,
which is really the answer I wanted to hear so I'm doubly happy. I'm
going
to re-paint inside and out myself also so that should sparkle things up
too.


hoping all the time that some buyer decides not to buy the house in the
future because they dont like the color(s), but you want to get the cost of
the paint job out of the sale.

this is just my opinion, but unless the paint is literally falling off, i
think you are wasting your time. let the new owners paint it how they want.
they probably will anyway....

randy


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Edwin Pawlowski
 
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"xrongor" wrote in message
hoping all the time that some buyer decides not to buy the house in the
future because they dont like the color(s), but you want to get the cost
of the paint job out of the sale.

this is just my opinion, but unless the paint is literally falling off, i
think you are wasting your time. let the new owners paint it how they
want. they probably will anyway....


I've read many articles about pre-sale fixing up of a house. The payback is
minimal or non-existent on expensive items, but the payback on some fresh
paint can easily be 100 fold. This does not mean the entire house must be
done, but any questionable rooms are worth the $30 investment.




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chester
 
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Doug Kanter wrote:
"Sexytom976" wrote in message
oups.com...

Now is some funny **** to read. 1000.00 an outlet???

New toilet bowl and wax seal 2000.00????

If a seller would EVER accept this, run from the house because
there are probably more major things wrong on the house than you even
expected.



Funny ****? :-)

Remove outlet, and damage the wall in the process. Whether it's plaster or
sheetrock, you've got at a day's worth of work, if you add up the "spackle,
let it dry, spackle again, let it dry, sand it, paint it, paint it again..."
Now, if you're lucky, the previous owner left you some partial cans of
paint, which were sealed properly, and maybe even labeled as to which room
they belong with. If you're really lucky, maybe you only need to paint the
one wall. But, probably not.

Now, make a hole in the correct place for the NEW outlet. Will it have
access to the same vertical wall cavity as the wire that went to the old
outlet? Murphy's Law says probably not. Pull the wire down into the basement
(if you're lucky). Is it long enough to reach the new box? Probably not.
Deal with that issue in the basement, one way or the other.

Upstairs again: If the wall is plaster, making the hole for the new box will
be interesting. I'm real good with plaster, but I still got some jagged
edges when making holes for outlets. So, more
spackle/wait/spackle/wait/sand/prime/etc.

I don't know what YOUR time is worth, but weekend during
fishing/boating/gardening season is worth $1000.00 to me. :-) And...you KNOW
one project ALWAYS leads to another for some damned reason....


But that is simply ridiculous. You can have that work done substantially
cheaper than $1000/outlet by a professional. Why should I pay for your
time to do the work because you are too cheap to have it done
professionally, and too inexperienced to do it efficiently.

New toilet bowl and wax seal $2000! Again, a professional would not
charge this much, so why should I pay you to do it?

A polygraph? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA

$1000/room to paint? Jesus man where do you live?
Why should I deduct the price of this because your tastes are different
than mine. Go find a different house if you dont like the color and want
me to pay YOU (a ridiculous price) to paint it.

Now a smoker's house-that is a different story. That could be 5-10k
deduction for repriming/repainting every single surface.

On the other hand, a kitchen that needs replacement is not worth
negotiating over? We just did ours over for about 6k (ourselves-IKEA
cabinets), and probably could have done it ~1.5-2k cheaper, but we went
with some nicer stuff because we are using it. Nevertheless I know we
will get our money back when we sell, but that is our market.

When I was looking at houses recently, the FIRST thing I noticed was the
kitchen. If it was crappy, my interest in the house went WAY down. If it
was nice, I was more intrigued. IMHO a DIY kitchen done resonably well
will return the investment (depending on the market I suppose) and sell
the house easier/faster. Other problems will tend to get overlooked
easier if the kitchen pops out (Not by you, I suppose, but most people).
And most people do not want to go through a kitchen remodel. It is
stressful, a hassle, and very expensive when done professionally.

Maybe these "negotiations" fly in your market, where there is a glut of
houses on the market (?), but not in mine...

You must only buy new....

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Doug Kanter
 
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"chester" wrote in message
...


Maybe these "negotiations" fly in your market, where there is a glut of
houses on the market (?), but not in mine...

You must only buy new....


I never said the figures I mentioned were in any way related to the cost of
having a pro do the work, or the cost of materials if I do the work. I said
the figures reflect what my time is worth on weekends when I could be doing
something I love, like fishing. Nobody but me can place a value on that
time.

Read slower.


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