OT: Open Concept....that stupid term drives me bananas! :OT

GATraveller

DoubleEgger said:

I like her open concept 

Those are some big ol feet. 

Lit

stlcharcoal said:

Lit said:

I like that gray.....looks good.

We've been using "Repose Gray" from Sherwin Williams on about everything (last flip house I did, the charcoal warehouse office & kitchen, my basement, and several of my clients have used it to get their houses ready for market.

Thanks. We put it on all the common areas in the house. I believe it was Behr Classic Silver. 

buzd504

stlcharcoal said:

Lit said:

I like that gray.....looks good.

We've been using "Repose Gray" from Sherwin Williams on about everything (last flip house I did, the charcoal warehouse office & kitchen, my basement, and several of my clients have used it to get their houses ready for market.

We painted most of our walls in fleur du sel, also Sherwin Williams.

saluki2007

stlcharcoal said:

kl8ton said:

We kind of have the best of both worlds.  With our addition, living, dining, and kitchen are all open.  The other half of the house. . . the original part was built in 1900 - All rooms.  

Yeah the open floor plan makes it even more of a problem for the HVAC guys, plumbers, etc because you can't really put that stuff on exterior walls.  You almost need to plan in a closet sized chute up the middle to efficiently run all that stuff.  Otherwise you'll be waiting 2+ minutes for hot water or other inconveniences.  With HVAC you sometimes have to go with a separate unit for upstairs, or go ductless.......love all the new options on that.  But if you get a guy that doesn't know what they're doing, or just sticks the ducting wherever he can, you'll end up with all kinds of problems--including a high utility bill.  You almost have to come up with a concept, then show it to the HVAC guys to make sure it will ventilate efficiently and effectively.

To add to the problem our whole main floor is concrete over a basement.  There was a lot of planning ahead of time with the HVAC, plumbers, electrical, and my Home Audio guy.  Everyone had to plan ahead and then place PVP piping where they were going to need to run wiring or tubing.  That way they could pour the floor and already have their respective holes without having to cut into the floor.

HeavyG

I kinda enjoy this ongoing series of late night old man rants. Keep em coming!

Gulfcoastguy

gdenby said:

I inherited a rather standard 1970's ranch house from my uncle. Roomy, well built, but needed lots of cleaning, painting, etc. Went to sell it. Turned down because the floor plan was too old. The kitchen appliances, which worked fine, and had not been used after my aunt passed decades earlier. They were too old fashioned, and don't even mention those old cabinet doors. Sigh.

If you enjoy ranting against the home shows, check out a satire site called McMansion Hell.

You described my house to a T. The roof is stick built rather than premade trusses. That means that the interior walls are load bearing. I will live in it until the funeral home totes my carcass out. Then the nephews can have an accidental house fire.

KennyLee

stlcharcoal said:

As a former flipper and real estate agent, I'll jump in here.....

Those shows are complete BS.  They're for entertainment, not a real documentary.  The contract/negotiation process is BS, the renovation are BS, it's all BS.  I forget which show it is--where they decide to move in or sell at the end--but they film BOTH endings and run whichever one tests better with the focus group.  All these shows drove up the prices on these beater houses to the point where a lot of people who used to do it for a living can't anymore.  Everybody things they're going to get the house, put $10K into over the summer and then make $50K on the sale......then after a year and much, much more, they get out of it.  I described my buddy (contractor) and I (realtor) like the Property Brothers--but we didn't have the skills, smarts, nor good looks to make it work.  haha

As far as "open concept" goes, that's a big selling point and not because it's "thing" on TV.  It's more about how we live now.  It used to be that houses had a bunch of rooms, each with a certain setting and function.......living room, family room, dining room, parlor, library/den, kitchen, etc.  Going back before central air/heat, it was just easier to keep them small and only heat the ones you were using at the time.  TV or family room was for a 12" TV or radio speaker, not the refrigerator sized 52" projections, or a 80" LED now.  Also, things are much less formal now, so guests usually go to the family room vs. living room, you have tablets/kindles instead of a room full of books, people eat in the kitchen table or island not the dining room, etc.  Kitchens are 3x the size they used to be because they're the most functional room is the house......food preparation, eating, entertainment, projects on the island like folding laundry, homework, etc.   Parents want to be able to be cooking, and see the kids on the couch or doing their homework.  Gone are the days of everybody going to their separate nook for whatever--one big functional room.

As an agent, that makes it a hell of a lot easier to sell because with furniture, you can make that big functional room into whatever you want......you're not stuck using the builder's & society's idea of how that house is supposed to lived in.  It can be dynamic.  Look at strip malls, office parks etc.  They put four walls up on a concrete slab, then whoever the occupant is can puts offices, restaurants, gyms, whatever they want inside in about a week.  It's open, it's modular, it's about making it adaptable as possible for the next occupant.  If you have an "open concept" and want to close it up, that's super easy to put up a wall, partition, etc.......going the other way when that wall is load bearing, has HVAC, plumbing, electric lines inside, then the floors won't match--that's a pain!! 

Been flipping a few years myself and that is exactly right.  Funny because any time anyone I know finds out I've been doing it, they think I'm making money hand over first.  Nope...not how it works, not like on TV.  Not even close. 

Also agree on the open concept....at least when it comes to kitchen/living areas.  That is what sells.  Can't remember how many walls I've taken out of homes built anywhere from the '40 to the '80s. 

Spaightlabs

Man I can't wait to retire!

RRP

Spaightlabs said:

Man I can't wait to retire!

LOL! So you already have your open concept home and can select something in the future that riles you then! Good luck, my man, to make it to my current age of 73 and long after that! 

GrillSgt

While my oldest daughter and her husband are not flippers they have done quite well buying, remodeling and trading up. The SIL is a handy guy and I have been their landscaper.

House 1 Westerville OH. purchased $64K sold $98K. Less than a year in the house. About $12K in hard costs. 

House 2 Westerville OH. purchased $105K sold $155K. 6 months in the house, very little spent other than the time it took them to hand sand the interior trim to bring back to Craftsman status. Also put in a staircase to a huge attic with 4 big dormer windows and he roughed in plumbing to the attic.

House 3 Louisville KY. purchased $208 sold $265. 1 1/2 years in. New floor, landscape and paint. Not a whole lot. We tore deck off that was huge and put in an on ground deck.

They then moved to an apt for 1 year while looking.

House 4 Goshen KY. Bought an abandoned home that they found the owner through Humana (employee) and Facebook. Hired an attorney that specialized in short sales and got it bought for $300K. About 5800 sq ft on 3 floors. House next door sold for $625 the next week. They've spent probably $50K on it so far. They will do a new kitchen that they're budgeting $40 for and a master bath to be determined. They have completely finished the walkout basement to a pretty high end. Hardwoods through out the 1st floor. 1 full bath on 2nd floor done. Also redone and expanded 2nd floor deck to about 1000 sq ft with goodies. Landscaping and a beautiful front door that we bought as a housewarming. I'm guessing after the kitchen and master bath it will appraise for an easy $600. With this market maybe considerably more. SIL wants to do it again, daughter not so much. You guys know who's winning this one. 

GrillSgt

On the other hand, the wife and I have been working on a very nice lakehouse for 5 years now with some more major remodeling this fall. We will never get what we spent, but we don't care. Love every inch of it and will leave it to the kids and the couple above will buy it from the other daughter and SIL.

lkapigian

GATraveller said:

DoubleEgger said:

I like her open concept 

Those are some big ol feet. 

Didn't even notice she had feet, now I see the Adams Apple as well

GrillSgt

I'm guessing that isn't the only long body part.

fishlessman

GrillSgt said:

While my oldest daughter and her husband are not flippers they have done quite well buying, remodeling and trading up. The SIL is a handy guy and I have been their landscaper.

House 1 Westerville OH. purchased $64K sold $98K. Less than a year in the house. About $12K in hard costs. 

House 2 Westerville OH. purchased $105K sold $155K. 6 months in the house, very little spent other than the time it took them to hand sand the interior trim to bring back to Craftsman status. Also put in a staircase to a huge attic with 4 big dormer windows and he roughed in plumbing to the attic.

House 3 Louisville KY. purchased $208 sold $265. 1 1/2 years in. New floor, landscape and paint. Not a whole lot. We tore deck off that was huge and put in an on ground deck.

They then moved to an apt for 1 year while looking.

House 4 Goshen KY. Bought an abandoned home that they found the owner through Humana (employee) and Facebook. Hired an attorney that specialized in short sales and got it bought for $300K. About 5800 sq ft on 3 floors. House next door sold for $625 the next week. They've spent probably $50K on it so far. They will do a new kitchen that they're budgeting $40 for and a master bath to be determined. They have completely finished the walkout basement to a pretty high end. Hardwoods through out the 1st floor. 1 full bath on 2nd floor done. Also redone and expanded 2nd floor deck to about 1000 sq ft with goodies. Landscaping and a beautiful front door that we bought as a housewarming. I'm guessing after the kitchen and master bath it will appraise for an easy $600. With this market maybe considerably more. SIL wants to do it again, daughter not so much. You guys know who's winning this one. 

my house is the size of the out door deck   dirt floor basement, ladder to the attic.  last kitchen remodel was a 1970's sink and counter found on the roadside, they cut it in half and put some of the cabinets above the sink and left the floor wax on the bottom of the overhead cabinets its worth about 300 k and sits on a tenth acre, smaller than that house.  seems like you get a bigger bang for the buck down there

GrillSgt

Yep and if you head west from their house about 3 miles you are in Jefferson Co and you can get even more house due to the school systems. Busing. 

Here's a very funny but related story. The man that the wife and I have worked for for 35 years has lived in Chicago for his business, he owns a commodity trading company. His 8000 sq ft apartment is for sale as they plan on moving back to Manhattan (NY not Kansas) to be close to the rest of the family. His apartment is priced higher than any in the history of Chicago at $7M+, can't get a sniff. If he ever sells it he will have to add $5M or so to it to get something half that size in NY.

pgprescott

GrillSgt said:

On the other hand, the wife and I have been working on a very nice lakehouse for 5 years now with some more major remodeling this fall. We will never get what we spent, but we don't care. Love every inch of it and will leave it to the kids and the couple above will buy it from the other daughter and SIL.

That sounds awesome. There are many ways to look at a home, short term investment is only one of them. Kudos. 

GrillSgt

Thanks. 

Legume

I really thought this thread was going to be about marriages.

littlerascal56

I used to remodel/flip homes.  Lots of work!  Found out it’s much more profitable to build new, sell, reinvest cash in new build, sell, and do it again!  Each house gets bigger and brings in more profit. It’s fun and very profitable, and you can even live in one for a year or two and still make a killing on sale!

Toxarch

I have a lot of relatives and it always seems that everyone congregates in the kitchen. I usually have to run everyone out of my big kitchen at least twice just to get them out of my way. An open concept helps because it gets the relatives out of the kitchen while still letting them see in and talk. I have said that for our family, we just need to skip the open concept kitchen and living area and instead have an open concept kitchen and kitchen area. The family can hang out in one kitchen while the cooks take care of busness in the other kitchen. It's weird when extended family show up. They will be sitting on the couches in the living room like normal people are supposed to be and the entire rest of the family will be in and around the kitchen. It almost looks like the family is avoiding the outsiders. I dunno, maybe it's the norm now cause my old friends hang out in the kitchen when we go to each other's houses for parties. 

Teefus

DoubleEgger said:

I like her open concept 

Pretty gal. Looks pretty high maintenance though. Who has time for that?

Toxarch

She does come across as very high maintenance. Her husband is kind of a dork. Other than money and the real estate license, I'm not sure why he needs to be on the show. She designs and the crew builds. 

thetrim

He ain't her hubby no more.  She moved on w/ one of their general contractors.  Whoever pointed out those large flippers was correct.  I never noticed that before.  Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

sumoconnell

My sister did house hunters.. All I'll say is their house was already under contract when they went looking, the other two are dummy houses that aren't on the market.  My wife was "devastated".  It's a show, complete with some loose scripting..  They had fun, but that was it.

GrillSgt

thetrim said:

He ain't her hubby no more.  She moved on w/ one of their general contractors.  Whoever pointed out those large flippers was correct.  I never noticed that before.  Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

I'm pretty sure it was a contractor that built a pool on the show.