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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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25 comments:
Does anyone have any opinions on roofing?
There's a landmark style shingle that gives a textured look. It's a 30 year shingle too rather than a 25 year 3 tab shingle. The price difference is on the order of a few hundred dollars and something I consider neglible given the total cost of installation and the life of the product. What I didn't realize was how many color choices are available!?
I'm looking to put something on a brick house. The brick skews a bit more towards orange than red. In walking my neighborhood, I tend to like the medium grays and the gray/blue/red mix shingling the best.
Anything else I should consider?
Thanks,
My $0.02
http://franklymls.com/DC7224480
assessed at 442, great interior looks like they spent 50K
cleaning it up, sells for
320K with 8 k buyers bribe.
so 30-40% down....
light color, grey to white will halve your AC budget.
white is ugly.
http://franklymls.com/DC7386631
assessed at 481 sold for 223K
60% off in 11 days, good value here
great job by the selling agent of this N Arl SFH: below tax asses., 9% off listing and DOM was 26! and it's a clean, nicely staged/updated house! s/he's good.
MM, IMHO, the buyer's agent did the great job there. Although the house is very small (is that why you weren't interested?), it is nicely updated and the yard looks as though it's been well-cared for all along (as opposed to being fixed up just before the sale). It appears to be a really good value for the price.
MM,
That's a great find and I like that comp! My house is basically the same floor plan. My third bedroom is actually that sitting space with the closet in the second master bedroom picture. Well, actually, from the front of that tall 6-ft dresser and back. In my place that's where a closet and wall would be to frame off a small 3rd bedroom. I think most of the homes in that neighborhood are all fundamentally the same minus additions.
I also find the kitchen interesting. I'm thinking I will tear out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, and replace it with a half wall - sink on the kitchen side, bartop and stools on the dining room side.
And mine will soon have a new roof.
My $0.02
I'm going to have to agree with Ace. I don't know anything about the Arlington market, but most homes I look at in Fairfax County sell for a good bit over tax assessment. I'd say the buyer's agent did a good job getting a lower price for her client.
Jeremy-
You can't really compare assessments between Fairfax and Arlington. Fairfax is significantly more active in changing prices and cares about how nice the inside is and whether the house is on a busy street. Arlington doesn't take these into account so their assessments aren't as useful.
I do agree with all of you that it appears like a pretty good deal for the area.
HB, I agree with you about comparing Fairfax and Arl. assessments, and why FFX does a better, more accurate job.
But in this particular instance, I think it's interesting that the house sold for near the Arl. assessment even though the assessed value did not include the value of the upgrades. Also, I don't think the house is on a busy street (I don't know the neighborhood as well as mytwocents and perhaps others do). So I agree with Jeremy that, typically, that type of house would sell well over assessed value in Arlington too, so that's one reason why I thought it was a good price for the buyer relatively speaking. Maybe there's another factor (e.g., bad neighbor nearby) that I don't know about.
ps I'm totally speculating here, but it appears that the basement is unfinished, so maybe there was some reason it could not be finished, keeping the value a bit lower.
White needs color balance to look good, thats all
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/images/mb/Channel4/4homes/buying-and-selling/buying-and-selling-abroad/country-guides/greece/greece-white-building-lg.jpg
Ace,
it's 2/1 so not what we need. as you point out it has no basement, and in recent comps 'true' 2/1s are just not selling well.
still a very good deal- more so if the basement can be finished. i really need to start lowballing instead of waiting....
(btw i refuse to use "buyer's agent" but call them "selling agent".)
White needs color balance to look good, thats all
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/images/mb/Channel4/4homes/buying-and-selling/buying-and-selling-abroad/country-guides/greece/greece-white-building-lg.jpg
Pat - im guessing that pic is from the city of Thira, island of Santorini (Greece). Its an unbelievable place. Is that where the picture is from?
btw, Ace, how does one find out there's a bad neighbor nearby???
Ace-
I agree and I think it was a good deal I was just trying to point some of the dangers of comparing Arlington to Fairfax assessments
MM,
Hehe. no one got that you were saying the same thing... Jeff Royce from Frankly always calls himself the selling agent not the buyer's agent in conversation. It's just more accurate. He's selling you a house, just because he has little stake in which house that happens to be is not the point. Or, at the very least it is the accepted jargon.
MM & Cara, thanks for pointing out the terminology.
As for bad neighbors, I wish I knew a fool-proof method. But here are a few things probably everyone knows:
1) check the VA police sexual predator list;
2) when you drive around the neighborhood, look for poorly kept properties, esp. right next door to your prospective home--not only trash in the yard but also old wood piles, neglected trees, overgrown shrubs, etc. If they can't or won't care for their own place, they aren't going to respond if you complain that there are rats in their wood pile coming into your yard or their tree is about to fall on your house. This is not to say that I have no sympathy for retirees or others who physically or financially can't do as much as others.
3) Do they have noisy or threatening dogs in the yard?
4) When you go there early in the AM and after typical work hours, are people walking, bicycling, jogging? Are they stopping to talk to other neighbors?
5) I once saw a neighbor working in her yard next to a house that interested me. I asked her if she had time and would be willing to talk to me about the neighborhood. She talked for nearly 15 mins. Very helpful. Prospective neighbors have sometimes stopped and talked to me when I have been out in my front yard and I've always been willing to talk if I had time.
6) Is there any evidence of a hoarder (property or animals)? Any drug, gang, etc. issues?
the net for the 'good deal' house is actually $556,500, not $532K. apparently it was input wrong yesterday.
that's more inline with other comps.
Ace, tks for the post re neighbors
Interesting, MM, I guess it shows we are on top of this market, eh?
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