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Back in the dot com days, one of my friends bought a brand-new house and then proceeded to gut most of it to install more expensive fixtures and cabinets and flooring and so on. The improvements ended up costing twice what he paid for the house in the first place.
He later had to sell the house. Needless to say, he had a big loss.
If I felt the need to have a house exactly like I wanted in every regard, I would custom build.
But, I don't feel that way so I would not be willing to invest the time/energy in either custom building or buying a house and gutting everything to make it exactly like I wanted.
I would have a hard time ripping out new stuff especially if it was quality stuff just because it wasn't exactly what I would have chosen. I could afford to, but I would rather leave that money to my children.
I am also really practical as far as resale, so I would never renovate a house to the point it was the most expensive in the neighborhood.
Just boils down to your preferences and priorities.
If something has been remodeled and priced accordingly, I'd better like it. I would not move into a place that was completely renovated that I didn't like because: (1) I want to enjoy my home and (2) I do not want to pay to remove something brand new. If I'm already paying for updates and then tearing them out, I'm going to be out a lot of money.
So, I'd either buy a remodel I mostly like or something that is priced lowered and needs updating. If I think the renovations are okay, I could probably make due because who knows---it might grow on me. But if it's something I hated? No.
I don't see anything wrong with making changes if the house is in a perfect location, and the changes will not cost too much. It sounds like OP should probably build.
My son and DIL bought a nicely remodeled ranch...very expertly done, with high end finishes. They intend to do a major bathroom renovation because they have only a half bath in the master, which shares a wall with the main bathroom. They cannot figure out why on earth the people didn't put a shower in the master bath, since they were spending a lot of time and money on renovating the two bathrooms. Its a shame to undo everything, but its necessary.
Unless the new stuff was falling apart or looked comically bad - I'd just keep it the same and see how I feel in 10 years. I read an article a while back that mentioned how home improvement could become an unhealthy obsession. On one end of the spectrum you have slobs and at the other end people who's life is devoted to the tiniest of details involving their home....kinda makes me wonder if "I just want everything to look pretty" could be sign of something deeper.
Thanks for worrying, I do read this everyday. And I gotta say, I'm still torn. I see houses online, and even see threads here, where people are updating just before resale.
So here is a brand new master bath with a huge, beautiful master shower, but no tub. With remodeling, it's in my price range. Do I make an offer, knowing I will be tearing out a two or three day tile job (and can you really save the tile?) or do I pass and hope someone else will snap it up because they love the large showers and don't use a tub?
For some reason, if the remodel is 8 or 10 years old I don't have that dilemma, as I figure the shower and all the work has gotten a reasonable return on investment already.
I did like the comment about over improving for the neighborhood, and would have to keep that in mind.
My husband threw out the plan of downsizing, but only if we can get a home that we can make exactly the way we want it. So now I'm purusing homes online with a gut price range, assuming if the house is X I can put X+$150K and remodel everything to my liking. Occasionally I'm finding home in the neighborhoods I like within that price range with brand spanking new kitchens or master baths. My first thought is to toss those into the "no" pile, as the remodel isn't exactly what I would do. But I'm wondering, it's in the gut price range. Should I be tossing these updated homes? What would you do?
Have you ever done major remodeling in your home? It can be a nightmare! I would totally keep those homes on the list, especially if I liked the kitchen, even if it wasn't my dream kitchen. Also, you could still make some small changes to it that might make it closer to your taste, without re-doing the whole thing.
I will also add that I probably wouldn't hesitate to tear out a new bathroom if the seller had only upgraded to sell - usually those last-minute remodels are done in the cheapest possible way and end up needing to be re-done anyway. We currently have two bathrooms with all new tile that is now falling out (after 5 years).
Well, if you feel like it and can afford it, why not? Actually, check out [url]http://piaggi.co.uk/store[/url] - it might give you some ideas!
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