Buying A House: C or D?

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2100-Friendly-Dr-Apt-3021_Arlington_TX_76011_M81930-60259?row=1

Pretty bummed this was 'pending' before I even saw it. $38k with the demolition done - needs floors, paint, countertops and appliances from what I can see.

http://150house.com/

It's another one of those things where the seller will sell you the property for a small amount if your essay is their favorite. But...it's Houston, so fuck that.

Welcome to Los Angeles

Highland Park is one of the new "hip" nabes, and this is a good sized lot, but this is still ridiculous.

Oh man, if you want to live in Columbus, OH and have an affordable retro-modern ranch, today is your day!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2701-Alder-Vista-Dr_Columbus_OH_43231_M48674-96994

http://p.rdcpix.com/v01/l35513b45-m1xd-w640_h480_q80.jpg

I'm sort of in love with this house.

beautiful house, shame about the kitchen and bathroom renovations

I liked 'em.

idg that los angeles house?!?!?!? there are other non-decrepit houses in the same name neighborhood for that price

columbus house is very cool, kind of reminds of cameron fry's house

Bathrooms aren't bad but that kitchen - in that house at least - is awful and totally out of character. I really hate dark cabinets though.

My Columbus friend who posted this on fb had a comment from another Columbus friend that her fb feed was filled with postings of this house and that some people she knows have already submitted an offer. I don't know real estate in Columbus at all, but that asking price seems modest in any locale.

I don't get what's weird about the kitchen and bathrooms, they read totally neutrally to me

probably built on a hellmouth

I am such a dumb sucker for those brick walls like the one outside of the carport.

Probably because they were so easy to climb when I was a kid.

The rest of the place is so very mid-century but the kitchen and bathroom look like 2006 era generic condo flip remodel with the stainless / marble / dark cabinet feeling. Something like this would have been great or at least wouldn't have felt so different from the rest of the place:

http://www.picusdemo9.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mid-Century-Kitchen-Design-Photos.png

joygoat OTM about the kitchen and I hate the tile in the living areas but if something like that popped up in my price range I could live with it for quite a while

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4709-Driskell-Blvd_Fort-Worth_TX_76107_M85019-14092?row=1

This one might be nice, though I'm nervous about the lack of exterior view. I'd eventually want to replace all that glass with energy efficient options (lolTexas) which would get awfully expensive.

Oh shit, that's a great house for $114k. Make a move on it!

Wait, what does "option contract" mean?

> though I'm nervous about the lack of exterior view

there's a google map widget lower on the page. doesn't let you drag the little man but zoom out a bit and the satellite view is enlightening (school one block east, backs onto railway tracks, two, count'em, airports...)

An option contract is kind of like earnest money, I think - a deposit to the owner to hold the house while they work on financing kind of thing

That kitchen's a cut above most flips that I've seen.

that Columbus house really makes me wonder about the windows, though. I'd hope that they've been reworked sometime since the house has been built, because otherwise that place is going to be incredibly inefficient to heat/cool

There was one of that era in a nice part of town that is now up to par because someone bought it and immediately put $40k in replacing all the windows. I think the iconic ones in the southwest get away with it because you can close all the blinds during the day and a/c is more economical than heating and the desert is very cool at night.

idg that los angeles house?!?!?!? there are other non-decrepit houses in the same name neighborhood for that price

― marcos, Monday, May 18, 2015 7:57 AM

Maybe it's the lot size and position, it does look like there'd be a good view if the replacement house were built at the back of the lot. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

I've mentioned this one before, but it's has been fun to watch:

http://i.imgur.com/JAFYxeB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lJrXR0r.png

haha

did someone remove the gold bricks in the basement between listings?

I think they're juuuuuust about there.

Check it out on Google Street View. Once you're there, spin around 180º.

hahaha

sweet deal, walk to work

even sweeter if you're a garden center specialist!

"You could totally build a gas station here. Maybe a Taco Bell."

*five years later*

"Or you know what? Just live here like my family has lived here for the past quarter-century."

Any UK people buying a house at the moment? I'm not but a bunch of my friends are and it's crazy town out there. One friend made the best offer out of 6 people then the estate agent told them to do 'best and final offers' and they got outbid by what the agent described as a 'silly offer'. Another friend made an offer over asking price and still didn't get it - would have offered even more if they'd been asked.

So glad I'm not going through this right now.

Yes, but not in the south east so I think it's a bit calmer. Seems to be going smoothly so far.

dublin

already praying for the next crash tbh

I don't get what's weird about the kitchen and bathrooms, they read totally neutrally to me

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, May 18, 2015 11:28 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Frameless Euro-style cabinets, granite countertops, and (stainless-steel appliances are exactly what someone who's into mid-century style doesn't want.

Roof on the house JF posted is all kinds of awesome.

Not sure what the deal is with the house pplains posted - I wouldn't have thought having a hardware store built across the street would cause it to lose 75% of its value. There must be something else we don't know about it, like fire or flood damage inside.

I think stainless appliances would be fine, esp. if you're going to spring for a Wolf/Viking-style range - Atomic Ranch goes horribly wrong when the houses look like a time capsule from 1962.
It's less that the kitchen needs to be MCM as it needs to be more modern and less subdivision.

Agreed - but the particular S/S appliances in that house are generic low-end, obviously recent pieces. Besides high-end stuff, there are modern appliances available that would have fit in much better, like this oven:

http://www.smegusa.com/smeg_us/images/products/168/170/FU67-5.jpg

the diff between a functional remodel and one that's aesthetically pleasing and upper-middle to high tier appliances for a kitchen that size is prob at least $20k though

Xps to Kinder, I'm looking at the moment and it is ridiculous. Still seems, conservatively, to be increasing at a rate of 15%+ at the lower end of the ladder in some boroughs on the fringes of London. Keep seeing two-bed maisonettes requiring updating in Romford advertised for north of £275k that would have been under £250k even three or four months ago.

You can get a nice three bed Victorian house less than an hour from Victoria for £150k but I can not bring myself to live in Gillingham or Chatham yet.

I wouldn't have thought having a hardware store built across the street would cause it to lose 75% of its value.

The house was probably only worth $75,000 in the first place. It wasn't until they built the Walmart across the street that the owner presumably thought, "Hey! I could make millions off this!"

This house is on my street. Tiny by modern standards, but it is in a desirable location, not-un-cute, and appears to be nicely renovated. Asking $650K, which it will likely get.

jesus

did not know that about arlington

Wulp, some of the price drivers are: Walking distance to the subway, three grocery stores, plentiful restaurants, a shopping mall, bikeshare and zipcar stations. While carelessness is possible here, very few people have the stones to try it (myself included).

But it's the square footage that is the story here. Suburban families rarely live in sub-1,000-square-feet houses these days. My house is only a little bigger, and we find it decidedly snug with four humans and four pets. Relative to our neighbors and peers, putting that many people in that amount of space is tantamount to doing something a bit eccentric, like veganism or Scientology. (Though obviously, city dwellers frequently make do with still-smaller spaces. Just speaking in relative terms here.)

Anyway, new houses in this 'hood are generally 3,000 sq ft. Most renovations of 1940ish houses involve additions pushing toward, again, 3,000 sq ft - which seems to be considered a reasonable starting point for a house that has kids in it.

So who will live in 980 sq ft? A gay couple with a dog. A few young-professional renters. Probably not a retired person. There's also the possibility that a builder or developer will buy it, obliterate it, and replace it with a McMansion that features the currently accepted minimum house size.

Um, I think I meant carlessness and not carelessness.

lol @ y'all, that would be 1.4 million easy round my way

round my way, you have to pay 2 million to live in this jpeg maze
http://www.printableparadise.com/images/easy-round-maze.jpg

haha sic where are you