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BonerGhost posted:If I do the work, it'll mostly meet my standards. If I had a nickel for every time I told myself that and suddenly found myself with lower standards...
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Oct 15, 2020 01:49
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DaveSauce posted:If I had a nickel for every time I told myself that and suddenly found myself with lower standards... Long story short, I'm about to sand it down and redo it the proper way.
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Oct 15, 2020 02:09
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DaveSauce posted:If I had a nickel for every time I told myself that and suddenly found myself with lower standards... Yeah but that's fine because I lower my standards to match the work I did so I'm always satisfied. (That's a lie, my mistakes haunt me)
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Oct 15, 2020 02:34
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I read the OP and the linked posts and it seems kind of unfair to condos. I don't really want more than 700-750 sq feet (I have a 982 sf condo atm and it's too much), so condos are good for people like me who like small spaces. in my area the smallest house I've ever seen is like 1300 SF. This is the area that I both really like living in, and is within walking distance of work. the homes around me are all very big and very expensive. and personally speaking, single family homes seem wasteful to me in general, whereas shared residences make much more efficient use of space I've personally never had any HOA issues in nine years (in fact they finally decided to talk to a lawyer about their governing documents and enforcing the one about renting, which means they are not going to allow any renting at all!) never had any issues with noise or other things in my building. I'm quite sure smoking is not allowed. don't have to do deal with poo poo like lawn mowing, leaf raking, snow plowing, any sort of exterior work I currently pay about 400/month in fees, which has been pretty consistent in the last nine years. That includes internet and cable in my case. we have pretty nice landscaping so that's a big part of it, plus snow removal. also our reserve is 100% funded. I suppose you have to weigh it against the cost of doing all that poo poo in a SFH yourself. Also you could have a major repair to a SFH like replacing or repairing a roof that would cost more than I pay in fees in two years. also there was a post I read eons ago about not being able to do X/Y/Z like painting, changing appliances, etc. etc. this is really bizarre to me. I've changed my flooring, painted, replaced appliances, all sorts of stuff. I think the only restriction is that I can't like... change my front door (lol), or put in hardwood (because we don't have the proper subfloor). You can even totally remodel your kitchen if you want to, tear out all the cabinets, etc. etc. as some people here have done. actionjackson fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 04:59
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BonerGhost posted:Yeah but that's fine because I lower my standards to match the work I did so I'm always satisfied. The secret to a happy
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Oct 15, 2020 05:10
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actionjackson posted:also there was a post I read eons ago about not being able to do X/Y/Z like painting, changing appliances, etc. etc. this is really bizarre to me. I've changed my flooring, painted, replaced appliances, all sorts of stuff. I think the only restriction is that I can't like... change my front door (lol), or put in hardwood (because we don't have the proper subfloor). You can even totally remodel your kitchen if you want to, tear out all the cabinets, etc. etc. as some people here have done. There are absolutely condo HOAs that don't allow poo poo like that. I've walked out of a showing for one, plus declined to see a few that had weird-rear end requirements when I got the HOA paperwork from the realtor.
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Oct 15, 2020 05:17
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actionjackson posted:I read the OP and the linked posts and it seems kind of unfair to condos. I don't really want more than 700-750 sq feet (I have a 982 sf condo atm and it's too much), so condos are good for people like me who like small spaces. in my area the smallest house I've ever seen is like 1300 SF. This is the area that I both really like living in, and is within walking distance of work. the homes around me are all very big and very expensive. and personally speaking, single family homes seem wasteful to me in general, whereas shared residences make much more efficient use of space If you prepay for utilities through HOA do you get to choose a tier of service? Like for internet in my rental apartment I have gigabit fiber right now, I'd dislike moving somewhere where I couldn't change internet service if I needed to, especially if it didn't have gigabit.
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Oct 15, 2020 05:18
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Inner Light posted:If you prepay for utilities through HOA do you get to choose a tier of service? Like for internet in my rental apartment I have gigabit fiber right now, I'd dislike moving somewhere where I couldn't change internet service if I needed to, especially if it didn't have gigabit. You can pay extra for more speed yes The internet and cable is $20/month total as part of the HOA fee Fiber isn't available in my area of the city yet, it's pretty much an xfinity monopoly. But I can then use their cell phone plan which is $15/month! Sundae posted:There are absolutely condo HOAs that don't allow poo poo like that. I've walked out of a showing for one, plus declined to see a few that had weird-rear end requirements when I got the HOA paperwork from the realtor. That's crazy even painting? In that case I agree. But there are plenty of condo HOAs that are perfectly fine. I'd be interested in actual survey data from condo owners if that exists. actionjackson fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 05:24
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I have plenty of friends who own condos and love them. Just do your research beforehand and make sure you know what you're getting into. Having said that, one of the things that I don't like about HOAs is the fact that the dynamic of the HOA board is liable to change as people come and go. I don't like that x factor lingering in the air. There's really no way (that I know of) to guarantee a hostile HOA takeover won't happen a few decades down the line.
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Oct 15, 2020 05:28
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You definitely want to look over the governing documents of course. Ours require 75% to overturn any given rule within which is obviously very difficult. I don't think it's ever happened here. And if the governing board for some reason tries to violate it it's a pretty easy win for an attorney specializing in property law. We had all this come up because several owners complained about rentals, so our board hired such a lawyer and told them they can no longer rent as the governing documents override everything else. I guess I'm not sure about the hostile takeover thing. Any board is still beholden to those governing documents. I suppose if one was concerned they could have all the paperwork reviewed by an attorney before purchasing. I would also say that having a SFH doesn't really protect you from unpredictable poo poo either, it's just different poo poo. actionjackson fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 05:34
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All this talk about HOA's and my wife sends me this tweet this evening. https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1315624667193974787
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Oct 15, 2020 07:16
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There's definitely a difference on average between a condo HOA, where there are genuine common assets to maintain, and an HOA with no common assets other than "neighborhood character"
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Oct 15, 2020 11:32
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Yeah a condo building with more than 20 units is going to be a pretty substantial building, with it's own maintenance needs, probably service contracts for plumbers, electricians, landscaping, elevators, parking garage/lot gates etc etc, maybe pool and hot tub maintenance, or cleaning a shared gym or rooftop deck etc etc Our building is pretty substantial, we have a couple full time employees, HOA pays them directly etc, there's no way you could collect $300 cash from each resident and correctly distribute it to contactors, make sure they're not double billing you, doing payroll etc. Large condo buildings operate more like tiny cities/towns HOA for neighborhood single family homes largely exist to make sure cletus isn't parking a car on their front yard with the hood up etc, but I suspect get packed with bored, dumb spouses who don't feel like they have enough control over their own lives and end up making everyone else's lives hell to make up for it
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Oct 15, 2020 12:16
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Massive-bidding-wars-now-the-norm-in-15647799.phptexas posted:“I can’t find a piece of property,” Parker said. “Nothing stays on the market. They’re selling for $20,000 over appraised value.” laughs in west coastian
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Oct 15, 2020 13:21
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:I budgeted $100k for a kitchen and two bathroom remodels, as well as new windows and a new deck Who are you asking to do the bathroom? $70k generally is not a reasonable price for this especially if you dont need to move parts of the bathroom around significantly.
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Oct 16, 2020 08:18
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To explain, a kitchen does have quite a bit of price attached to it. Here's a brief very vague itemization. A bathroom does not have most of the fees below because there are few material costs relatively speaking. Cabinets: 20k - 25k for the material cost or cheaper if you go for lower quality. approximately 8k-10k for the installation cost Counters: 8k for materials + labor from a decent quartz contractor. This includes slab fabrication, measurement, and installation. Appliances: 10k-20k materials; no installation factored in here Walls and Floors: Assume approximately $6-12/sqft in material costs, and about $6-7/sqft for labor. The estimate here will vary on the type of material, but let's keep it simple for now Trades excluding framing: assume approximately $4000 in material costs for now assuming nothing insane; labor will be probably equal assuming not too many insane changes. Architectural fee: For a kitchen with some changes, probably $5000-7000. YMMV based on structural changes and city. If all you need is a draftsman, it will be cheaper. Here's where things get complicated but are optional. Structural changes to load bearing walls: $3000 for a structural evaluation Modifications to beams and structure/other framing: $3000-5000 labor and materials
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Oct 16, 2020 08:28
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ntan1 posted:Who are you asking to do the bathroom? $70k generally is not a reasonable price for this especially if you dont need to move parts of the bathroom around significantly. Five contractors and two "bathroom remodel" businesses. Master bathroom, all I want is replace everything old with everything new. No changes to layout or where the water comes from, just new floors, sinks, cabinets, shower/tub, closet doors, lighting. Nothing luxury, no heated floor or soak tub or anything wild. Lowest bid I got was 48k and highest 88k
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Oct 16, 2020 08:37
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You're in the SFBA? This pricing is wrong and either all of those bids are obscenely high or your requirements are so insane that they are unlike anything else. Note that right now remodeling is in a giant boom because everybody is forced to be at home. Have you checked with your city what is required for permits? Here, this sort of job could be filed online.
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Oct 16, 2020 17:28
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Portland, Oregon. I collected all those bids last September and imagine it'd be even worse now. My requirements were literally "replace the old tile floor with new tile floor. Replace the old cabinets with new cabinets" etc etc. Nothing was being moved around or changed, just out with the old, in with the new Not sure why the bids were double, triple what people said they 'should' have been. I even got referrals to contractors who had recently done bathroom jobs on the cheap and they told me master baths start at 50k, lol Like I said, I gave up. Everything works, it's just ugly.
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Oct 16, 2020 17:35
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For $75,000 I would get quotes from remodeling people in Detroit or Ohio or something, then fly them out for a month and keep them in a hotel and cover all their expenses, import your own labor and still come in under $50,000
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Oct 16, 2020 17:41
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Indeed, it is bizarre. There must be something about me/the project/the house/the neighborhood that made bids come in at 2-3x the reasonable amount. It's a funky 1981-original master bathroom with super low counters and a deathtrap staircase jacuzzi tub     Scope was: -New floor -New, higher cabinets and counters -New lighting -New closet doors -New shower/tub that will allow me to get rid of the staircase area -Add ventilation fan over shower -New toilet Far from luxury!
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Oct 16, 2020 17:54
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Typical bid:
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Oct 16, 2020 17:57
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You do understand that bid is for $53,750, not $73,575, right?
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Oct 16, 2020 18:13
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Motronic posted:You do understand that bid is for $53,750, not $73,575, right? Yes. My understanding was that even $53,750 was highway robbery to an extreme degree!
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Oct 16, 2020 18:15
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Yes. My understanding was that even $53,750 was highway robbery to an extreme degree! It's still too much - depending on the finished you requested - but that was also confusing since you've been talking about $75k bids and just posted a $50k one that could be misconstrued. Without the finishes you're asking for who knows. Some tie is $.99 sq ft. Some is $120/sq. ft. You're also likely looking at a "neighborhood markup" and potentially a "this one is going to be a PITA from our interactions so far" markup. You also may have only spoke to contractors that are entirely too busy to care and are giving you FU prices.
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Oct 16, 2020 18:23
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i found the set screws on my faucet, so at least i can take it apart and see what's up with the hot/cold. watch this space for further three-stooges-esque disasters.
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Oct 16, 2020 18:27
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Probably they don't want to deal with your non-standard tub. If that's on the ground floor it might have special bullshit with the foundation which means who knows what, pouring new foundation on top of old with a subcontractor, getting that inspected etc Also adding a vent means crawling around in the attic, cutting holes in the roof and then water proofing them, also probably another subcontractor The low counter height is weird and it's not in a straight line but it does increase the complexity somewhat. If they don't measure your countertop just right it won't fit and then they have to buy you a second one. With a rectangle you can always just fudge it to make it work $50 sounds high but there's enough weird stuff I would probably pick another remodel job over yours if I had two jobs to choose from Maybe piecemeal it? New toilet and flooring to start, remove the stairs, then do the cabinets and vent some other time
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Oct 16, 2020 18:39
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Typical bid: Is this from a company that is essentially giving you a price before your choose materials, or did they go over what materials you want to use before handing you that quote? The reason I ask is that when I wanted to remodel my bathroom I essentially encountered two different types of companies. The first type were the former, where they looked at my bathroom and said "It will cost this much, please come to our showroom to pick out materials, certain materials may increase this price, but otherwise materials are priced in." The latter type of companies basically looked at the job and gave me quote on the labor and then told me to go visit some local stores to pick out my materials ahead of time. That second type of company obviously gave me a much lower quote than the first type, but some of that was made back up in the price of the tile, fixtures, etc. In the end I ended up paying double the original quote, but most of that could be tracked back to material costs. If I had picked the first type of company, though, I likely would not have had to worry about the price of different tiles, etc., but still likely would have been overpaying since the place has to make a profit somehow.
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Oct 16, 2020 18:40
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Yes. My understanding was that even $53,750 was highway robbery to an extreme degree! stories like yours make me think of asking contractors what they can do given a budget of $XXX and having them bid it that way. is that a thing that is done anywhere? like, I've got $1500 to make this a beautiful lawn. or I've got $20,000 to redo this bathroom. bid your best work for that budget.
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Oct 16, 2020 18:55
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Yeah, most of the contractors or designers I talked to started with "what's your budget" and my answer was always (a polite version of) "No, what's your bid"
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Oct 16, 2020 18:56
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drat, FINALLY closing on our refi next week. Started it late August... Gonna be about $3,700 to drop from 3.625% to 2.615%. Saves us over $200/mo though, which is great because kid #2 just started day care (which incidentally just had a price increase that washes away most of our refi savings lol).
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Oct 16, 2020 19:17
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Typical bid: If the cost of permits, plumbing, electrical, and all of the loving materials is $19825, what is the other $30,000 paying for? Do you think that design/build firm alone is worth $30,000? You don't want a Designer. You want a GC who takes small jobs. PS: https://www.portland.gov/bds/residential-permitting/services/simple-bathroom-permits You can get a permit in 5 days and literally don't need to send in any architecture drawings or calculations.
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Oct 16, 2020 19:30
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ntan1 posted:
That was a GC who takes small jobs. The $33k was Labor, apparently. The design/build firm quotes were $74k and $88k
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Oct 16, 2020 19:35
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And I'm going to harp on this even more since I just did some mega remodeling. $19825 is a lot considering what you are likely getting with that quote. Let me explain. Material costs. THESE ARE ALL PREMIUM LUXURY MATERIALS. PERMIT FEES: Probably about $2000 give or take for a bathroom based on the Portland Fee Schedule. VANITY/SINKS Toto Sink x2: $186 each California Faucets Sink Drain x2: $109 each Hansgrohe Faucet Module including all controls x2: $140 each Vanity + counter for vanity: $600 per sqft of length (so a 7 inch vanity would be $4200) BATH AREA: Tub: $3000 for a fancy, not whirlpool tub give or take. Grohe or HansGrohe Europlus Shower Control Valve/Trim: $325 Spout/accessories for Shower/Tub: $180 TOILET: Expensive TOTO Toilet with Bidet: $2500 TILE: Porcelenosa Luxury Tile: $8 per sqft, for a total of 200 sqft + 15% overhead = $1840 ELECTRICAL 1x Panasonic Fan with Additional Light: $231 + $90 for including the humidity condensation module Fleurco Luna Halo 24" wide with extra Light x2: $650 each Miscellaneous Switches, etc. Wiring. $500-1000 which is an overestimate for safety. PLUMBING TOOLS $1000 which is an overestimate for safety
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Oct 16, 2020 19:49
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Oh and the labor for my bathroom was $12000.
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Oct 16, 2020 19:52
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I wish this information were actionable! No one will remodel my bathroom for under $50k.
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Oct 16, 2020 19:55
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:I wish this information were actionable! No one will remodel my bathroom for under $50k. Have you tried asking what they can do with your budget rather than just asking for a quote? If I go to a car dealer and say "I want a car what will you sell me" I don't expect them to show me a base model civic. Everyone is doing 'rona remodels right now too. Could be that everyone near you has more work than they know what to do with and are raising rates as a result.
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Oct 16, 2020 20:08
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What was the process you used to find a contractor?
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Oct 16, 2020 20:09
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Rasputin on the Ritz posted:Have you tried asking what they can do with your budget rather than just asking for a quote? If I go to a car dealer and say "I want a car what will you sell me" I don't expect them to show me a base model civic. These were quotes from September of last year. I tried telling a couple I didn't want to spend any more than $30k, and they had a hearty laugh and said that outside of HGTV you don't do a master bath for less than $40k with economy materials Just for funsies i'm reaching out to a few more contractors for corona era quotes
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Oct 16, 2020 20:10
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I think I agree with the idea that you got "I'm not really interested in this job, but you could convince me" prices.
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Oct 16, 2020 20:49
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