Rose Cottage Ltd

Some really annoying people were shown on House Hunters International over the past week. Or maybe I am just more cranky than usual since pollen has hit North Carolina and half the time I can’t breathe!

People who only want “American” appliances and “American” sized rooms should NOT, I repeat NOT move overseas. Particularly, you should not move to say Paris, or Milan, or Geneva – unless you have a MASSIVE budget. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time looking for what you can’t afford, will annoy the realtor trying to assist you, and will aggravate people like myself – who are wondering what the heck you were thinking???

Now on to some real estate “gossip” for this week…

++ 5 Tips On How To Enjoy Horseback Riding Holidays
For our rural adventurers!

++ Living Off the Grid – What Does This Mean?

++ Want to live in Beautiful Carmel, California?

++ Are Real Estate Brokers Obsolete?

++ Cities where real estate investors are finding deals

++ 17 Most Magical Houses in the World!

++ HGTV Alert! “Flip or Flop” begins new season April 8, 2014!

++ Do It Yourself Real Estate Forms

++ Sotheby’s Waterfront Properties
You know you want to look!

++ Homebuyers getting priced out in cities across U.S.

Can you guess what the hottest housing market is in the US right now? Answer below – no peeking!

++ Las Vegas

If you think your US rent or mortgage payment is high, spend a bit of time on House Hunters International on HGTV and you may find yourself scratching your head AND counting your blessings.

I haven’t had too much time lately to watch episodes but last night I did manage to catch two I’d recently recorded.

In the first, a couple was moving from Arizona to Mougins area – Provence, France. I didn’t expect this area to be cheap. A quick look at the local real estate listings does confirm, AND it’s part of what is known as the French Riviera, so…

What was their budget? $1.4 million US dollars.

Seems a decent budget to me!!

I was glad they had a LOT of money which should make their options more interesting but I still figured they’d get some (fairly) palatial property. NO! Granted, two of the properties had nice gardens and one actually had “acreage” but the houses were nothing spectacular and one was even a “fixer” with no working bathroom. I nearly fell off my sofa!!

In the second episode, a couple with a newborn was moving from Brisbane, Australia to Papua, New Guinea. You can read what the US State Department has to say about travel and safety issues in “PNG.”

This couple’s monthly rental budget was $7,500. I’m guessing this must be some work subsidy required to get anyone to move from beautiful Brisbane to totally “different” PNG. Even that would not have made ME leave Brisbane!

They ended up with an apartment – granted a large apartment with three bedrooms – but the final selection was made based on it being in a gated, secure compound with 24/7 security.

Wow. $1.4 million purchase with no working bathroom or $7500 rent to live in a closed compound. For at least this one month, I will be somewhat thankful to write what now appears to be my puny little check for my housing accommodation – with bathroom.

As much as I enjoy HGTV, I get so annoyed with some of the House Hunters programs. Well, not the programs, but at those trying to choose new homes. Outside the fact that they should be thankful they have the money and means to be looking for a new home is the rather odd list of “Have-tos” some of them come up with.

So my question for this year is – “What’s up with granite?

I got a little mailer last week with a 3″ x 3″ piece of sample granite enclosed. While reviewing the marketing brochure I found that I too could have granite counter tops in my kitchen for a mere $8,000 to $12,000! Woo-hoo – what a deal! I had a look around my kitchen and saw a perfectly good set of counter tops that are completely in-line with what’s in the rest of the kitchen and what’s in the rest of the house.

If I now go and change over to granite counter tops – that I don’t require to use my kitchen – am I then throwing the kitchen out of alignment with the rest of the house? Quite probably.

If I change over to granite counter tops AND I believe everything I see and hear, I will HAVE to have stainless steel appliances – to go with my new granite counter tops. Apparently, you could be lead to believe that you can’t have one without the other.

Once I have the new granite counter tops – let’s guess $10k for those, and the new stainless steel appliances – we’ll add $8k for those, will I be able to stand (on) my current kitchen floor? (Pun intended.) Will I now require Travertine tiles to match my new granite counter tops and my new stainless steel appliances? Won’t I then need to repaint the walls to match all this new stuff?

You can see where I’m going with this. I started out replacing what were perfectly functional and attractive counter tops in my kitchen and now my frenzy to have “what everyone else has” would have cost me around $25,000. For a kitchen. This is assuming I can still stand the cabinets – which will probably not look right with all my other new kitchen toys.

Before you get on this sort of remodeling treadmill, think about what is really important to you. Granite counter tops may impress your friends, but they won’t make you a better friend, or a better chef. Ending up with a $25,000+ kitchen will NEVER be more than partially recovered in a resale – especially in a lower priced property. If the home improvement bug takes you over, stifle yourself and drop $200 on a really nice upgrade to your kitchen sink hardware (faucet, etc.) You’ll be amazed at how smaller, less expensive (and less invasive) improvements can still make you feel better about your surroundings

Here is one from this morning’s front page at CNN:

“It doesn’t pay to remodel your home.”

Now, all those readers with ADD who just read headlines will have it locked in their brain that remodeling a home is not a good idea.

If you actually read the article, there are several things limiting the title’s accuracy.

#1 They are discussing remodeling in regard to resale value later. This is obviously not the only remodeling reason or purpose.

#2 The numbers they quote re: costs and ROI, are from the Board of Realtors…you know, the people who make money from your buying and selling of property, not from your remodeling.

#3 The article seems to think that everyone remodels just for resale.

#4 Most of the projects they discuss require a professional contractor.

None of the above is really accurate.

Remodeling can certainly be done to help a resale. Almost everyone knows that kitchens and bathrooms, and curb appeal, are the three main areas to work on if you want (or in this economy), need to sell your home. Watch even one episode of HGTV’s House Hunters” or House Hunters International and watch people as they view the homes for sale.

At the same time, look at the same shows with a remodeling focus. How many of those homes are fairly new, with nice kitchens and baths, and great landscaping, but someone STILL turns up their nose at a non-granite countertop, or a non-pedestal sink? Quite a few. So remodeling for the sake of resale means you must have a crystal ball to predict exactly what and with what to renovate.

So, if I drop $20,000 into a bathroom renovation in 2010 and I decide to sell in 2015, how much of the new “latest and greatest” am I still going to have to add? What will the big selling point be for bathrooms in 2015? Pre-heated bathtubs maybe? I’m not playing this game. The risks are too expensive.

Instead, I am remodeling my home to make it what I want – and I am quite happy to do so as long as my health and wallet permit. If I was a gourmet chef I might need or want a $100,000 kitchen, but I’m certainly not going to build one for some potential culinary-focused buyer. If I need a new stove, I’ll buy what suits my lifestyle. If I want a certain shade of paint that matches my color preferences, I’m going to have it. Chances are, if I did ever end up selling this place, I will paint it before showing anyway.

Meanwhile, I live in the house I want and I remodel within reason to make it better – for me and my family.

I’ve flipped houses in the past and there are certain unwritten “rules” of making a house presentable to buyers…muted paint colors, updating lower-cost things like faucets and lighting, sprucing up the yard and landscaping. My advice though is to not live your life, and manage any remodeling projects, with just return-on-investment in mind. Remodeling can enhance indoor and outdoor living spaces – for you, now. Worry about resale if and when it happens.

Who knows? You might just remodel yourself into a home you never want to leave….

As I continue to watch the “House Hunters” and “House Hunters International” on HGTV I am sometimes still surprised at the lack of interest in the “outdoor” portions of a new home visit or, the total dismissal of a great home – simply because it lacks “landscaping.” In some cases, this leaves a great opportunity for the next prospective owner.

Trying to decide, “what to do with the yard” can be filled with so many options and look like so much work that another season may be spent doing nothing. Mow the grass and forget about it. I blame the media a bit for some of this since their “one show” before and after results may intimidate viewers into thinking this has to be an all-or-nothing, big-bucks project. It doesn’t. But it can be…

Who would leave this to vacation elsewhere?

So, sit back in a comfortable lounge chair, get something to drink, and ponder your outdoor environment. Maybe this year, this is all you should do. Here are a few points to consider before spending a dime or picking up a shovel…

Space

No, not the “final frontier,” but how much do you have or how much would you like to restructure or redesign for better use?

A small patio or apartment balcony is “outdoor space.” So is 30 acres, but except in unusual circumstances, not all of that needs structure. No matter how much space you have to work with, how large is your new “room” to be? If your indoor living room is 20 x 20 feet, try marking off a 20 x 20 foot area outside and start designing that. Are you wishing you had a specific grilling and entertaining area outside? How big is your current kitchen? Will that same amount of work space be acceptable for your outdoor grilling and entertaining?

Do you only have an apartment balcony to work with? There are many tabletop fountains available that allow you to add a water feature to your small space. Get yourself a reader’s chair and a good book and let the relaxation begin.

Also study the nature of the space you want to work with. Is it flat or sloped? Are there drainage issues in the area? Sunny or shady? Are there structures that could or should be removed to give you a clean slate to work from?

And speaking of structure…

What structures would you like to see in your yard?

There is a wide open field of possible additions to your outdoor living room, with hundreds of material options to choose from. Walls, patios, walks, pergolas and arbors, fountains, fences…all help define and add interest to your outdoor living space. Once you’ve decided how much space you want to work with, think about usage of the space and how the area should “flow” – maybe from indoors to out or from the first area you design to the next. Low walls and garden paths will help you design the “walls” of your new living area. The use of stone, wood, brick, etc., help you make it your own. Plan on mulching or blocking/covering areas in which you want nothing to grow – you’ll save time later as I mentioned in a prior post.

Plants

This is where you can really customize your new living area outside. Plants are great for privacy, for softening a hardscaped area (brick walls, etc.), for color, and for fragrance. Just remember that in a perfect garden, plants grow. Think about the ultimate purpose for the plant before you purchase. That two-foot Euonymus with the pretty green and yellow leaves can become a monster-shrub blocking out a good hunk of your usable space unless you are willing to keep it trimmed. Plant bee-loving flowers too close to a sitting area and you won’t want to sit there during high Summer. Fortunately, you can find out plant “stats” on almost any plant you can imagine online. Beware going to a nursery without this plant info. You may see a beautiful plant, shrub, or tree that seems to be screaming “Buy Me” – that will be exactly the wrong choice for your space.

I picked out a few things of interest – my online shopping plant “wish lists” if you’d like to get a start on plant research…

Extras

Selecting ornaments for your new outdoor living space can be a LOT of fun! Fountains, stone benches, statuary, pottery and planters…your imagination is all that sets the limits since products are in abundance, and many can be purchased online and delivered to your door. This is an important fact for someone like myself who drives a small car. I don’t have room to carry much in a Mini Cooper unless the item is relatively flat – and there are no “flat” fountains to be had!

But I have managed to purchase 3 fountains for the acre or so of space right around my home. Two are solar, one is not, all are fairly large and were delivered to my driveway – one with free shipping! Cool!

Your lifestyle

Are you formal or informal? Like a bit of clutter or prefer clean lines? Study your current indoor living and that will provide most of the clues you need in designing your outdoor living space as well. I can’t stand clutter. Some backyards I have visited make me actually claustrophobic – while I am OUTSIDE! My outdoor space – with a few ornamental elements and fountains here and there, may seem boring to others who need and want more structure. This is all about personal choice and your personal space being the way you want it.

Time, money, and workload

Time – do we ever have enough of it? Sometimes it doesn’t seem so. If you don’t have a lot of time to build a true outdoor space either limit your expectations accordingly, or have someone else do the work. I have seen more than one person with huge plans who spent a lot of money getting materials and plants, and then never had time to do the job. This is a waste of effort – and money. Although you may be able to just relax and enjoy your outdoor living area in future, it can take a bit of time getting there. In the meantime, a half-completed outdoor project will be sitting there like a silent beacon, annoying you, all season.

Be realistic, from a time standpoint, about your new garden room design.

I see images of outdoor living spaces in magazines and online and I KNOW for sure my garden or managed area will never look like those photos. Although I have had a landscape architect help me plan a backyard re-do in the past, that isn’t happening here. You can, however, have an architect draw up some plans, and work with you to do some of the work, which gains you their expertise while limiting some of the total cost by adding your labor.

Start small versus not starting at all

If you have a large backyard area, take a section of it and just do something. Sometimes it all seems like too much work until you realize how easily you can make an impressive impact to your space. This is how I am managing my current property which is 7 acres with a 4-acre lake right smack in the middle. Each year I have selected a new area to conquer – for lack of a better word – and after 5 years, major improvements and better use of those areas is very evident.

Money – always an object

You can probably pick up a nice mosaic stone table and chairs, and maybe a tabletop fountain for a few hundred bucks. Maybe this year you just buy a hammock and spend some time figuring out where to hang it. Or have a nice brick path put in and do a little updating and maintenance of your grassy areas. If you have $100,000 budgeted for your new space, go for it. You may be able to go from “before” to “after” in a few weeks – with everything you wanted in place. (Please send pictures!)

This is your project. You can break it down to as many small objectives as you see fit. Maybe you buy one really nice Adirondack chair and that one chair starts your outdoor living scheming! Now it needs a side table, etc., etc. Let the plan grow a bit if it needs to – there is no time-clock running on this project and you set the dealines for completion.

Find some additional product ideas and recommendations for your outdoor living space. Be creative and have fun!

I watch a fair amount of HGTV and I am all but addicted to the “House Hunters” programs.

I watched one show recently where constant comments about the “Lack of landscaping” and “We’d have to do all that work” stuck out like a sore, and in their cases, not green thumb.

My first, and less than generous thought was, “Get a condo.” If you don’t like yard work this seems obvious. If you are too busy to do yard work and you’re looking at $400,000+ homes, hire someone to do this work for you and stop complaining. Be thankful you aren’t looking at trailers for rent instead.

My second thought was to note that one couple seeking a new home had two small children, allegedly the reason they wanted the “big yard.”

I’m all for kids having yard space to play in. They need to run and yell, (once and awhile), and to have a chance to get some good Vitamin D sunshine. Maybe they can even have a pet which will hopefully teach them responsibility, and compassion for animals, while having some good clean fun.

But what these new prospective owners were not seeing was opportunity.

One of the houses they looked at had a crap yard – I can’t think of a better phrase to describe. It had about one-quarter acre in the front and nearly a half-acre, already fenced, in the back. Little grass and signs of no maintenance. Lacking “curb appeal” this house was $12,000 less than the house they ultimately chose – although this neglected house had MORE square footage.

Part of the decision-making on similar properties in like areas is price per square foot. Any buyer wants the maximum “bang for the buck.”

How much cheaper would it be to get more house and just improve it’s appearance versus buying a house with 200 or more LESS square feet? I can tell you it is a lot cheaper to plant some grass seed than to build a home addition. At the $125 per square foot price of that house, adding the 200 missing square feet would cost – even a rough estimate such as this – $25,000.

I can do a lot of landscaping for $25,000.

In fact, I could have that yard a showpiece for about $2500 with my own labor – more if I hire out. But the most important thing I would gain is equity. Free or nearly-free equity. I see this as a great opportunity – not a negative.

What is my point?

Too many people seem to talk about yard work like it is true drudgery. Punishment. Hard labor.

In reality, landscaping and caring for your property’s yard is one of the most important things a homeowner can do these days to improve real value and a little can go a long way.

If you have kids, get them involved. Let them select something for the yard and then give them ownership of their chosen plant. Make sure they understand that seeds, plants, grass, and trees need water and weeding – and that the location for their chosen plant is important. This is a great learning experience for kids and I’ve found that most of them actually enjoy it – once they get started.

Take “Before” and “After” pictures of your yard. There is no better way to see how quickly appearances, and equity, can be improved.

In the current real estate doldrums, many people feel there is nothing they can do to improve the situation. In many cases this is true. But don’t ignore opportunities you may have to increase your home’s value.

If nothing else, yard work is a great and productive way to burn off some of that stress…