The unthinkable has happened. Like you, I have been watching a very slow-moving tsunami overtaking the entire world. We have all been hearing stories of the heroes on the front lines and the loss of loved ones we can’t say goodbye to. All the people I work with have heard me say “all things happen for a reason.” I don’t know where the good will come from this, I am hopeful we will see an end soon.
The real estate market, like all business, is being impacted. I will share some facts with you and try to keep my opinions to myself. The Bain of Modern Miracles:
“I’ve got one word for you, Benjamin: Plastics”. This of course is from the movie the Graduate. How many products, medicines, and miracles of man have turned out later to be ticking time bombs waiting for their downside to kick in? One I see in homes all the time is asbestos. Last year we had record snow falls in February and March. In one 6-week time period I raked my roof 8 times. My garage roof at one point had 3 feet of snow on it and we had a forecast for rain. I was tempted to leave it, it would be nice to have a new garage, but I raked it anyway.
Even having raked my roof on the house, I still had water damage on the living room ceiling. It wasn’t that bad and only took a few days to repair and paint but man, I don’t like letting winter win! The Twin Cities real estate market has changed dramatically in the last 4 years. I have noticed in the last year it is becoming more difficult to locate homes that have normal floor plans and are in good condition for less than $300,000. The location I work most often is in the Cities of St Paul and Minneapolis.
At 4:00 am I am chanting this rhyme in a state of semi sleep. My wife and I bought our home 2 years ago. Since then we have had 2 modest size rain storms and we have gotten significant water in our basement. The previous owner did disclose by saying, “we experience some water in the basement during heavy rain falls”. It should have read, “We experience some water in the basement during heavy rain falls and you’re going to have to stay up all night with a shop vac and remove over 150 gallons of water to protect the finished half of the basement”.
It happens to us all, we expect it and we accept it. Not so true when it comes to our roofs however. The first day I take buyers to view a property, I talk about what to look for structurally and mechanically. At least 40% of roofs are showing signs age.
As a Realtor I keep a list of qualified trades people that I gladly share with my clients. Here’s a problem that only seems to be getting worse. Many of my guys are retiring and not enough young men and women are going into the trades to replace them.
We don’t hear much about the devastating California “Camp Fire” on the news anymore. In many ways the real story is happening now. Those homeowners are now discovering valuable lessons about being under-insured or not insured at all. The result can mean paying for a significant portion, or all, of the rebuild out of pocket. On top of losing every personal possession and irreplaceable mementos some people are living in homeless shelters or even under bridges.
In the movie “A Christmas Story” Ralph gets his favorite toy, the Red Rider bb gun. His mother’s last words before he goes outside is “don’t shoot your eye out”! Of course his first shot ricochets around the back yard finally striking the huge icicle hanging from the roof causing it to break , hitting Ralph scratching his face and breaking his glasses! I love that movie. I don’t love huge hanging icicles!
The most expensive room in a home to remodel is the kitchen. An entry level kitchen, using a handyman not a contractor, is going to start at $30,000. If you need to make some structural changes to the floor plan of the kitchen the entry price will start at $50,000 to $60,000. It is not unusual to see people spend $100,000 for kitchen remodels. I’ve even seen a $100,000 kitchen that I would not have paid $30,000 for. The best time to remodel a kitchen is when you first buy your home, this way you can enjoy it before the time comes to sell.
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