Why so few upgrades/remodels in Phoenix? (Scottsdale, Chandler: fit in, sales)

[grassfeeder]

I personally would never buy a remodeled home. why pay a premium for someone else's taste? why not remodel to your liking since you're going to be living there? perhaps it's the OCD designer in me, but I sees value in buying a remodel.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by grassfeeder

I personally would never buy a remodeled home. why pay a premium for someone else's taste? why not remodel to your liking since you're going to be living there? perhaps it's the OCD designer in me, but I sees value in buying a remodel.

Maybe it's done to your liking and you don't want to go through the hassle yourself?

[asufan]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

What would be the price range for a remodeled home? We intentionally kept our range low. It's based only on my income because my DH will need to find a job here and we don't want to make any assumptions about what he's going to make and we still own a house here in Chicago that we will need to rent or sell.

Were these remodeled homes builder grade to begin with? The higher priced homes I see online were bigger and in more exclusive neighborhoods and probably came with higher end fixtures when they were built.

ETA the big difference in prices in Ocotillo seems to be driven entirely by square footage and the part of Ocotillo not updates in the house. In the older parts, I don't see houses that looked to have been dealer grade that have been updated and now sell for what a house sells for in the newer neighborhoods.

Well, that depends on what exactly you are looking for in Ocotillo. Ocotillo is made up of many subdivisions built between ~1986-2015 (new). There are various views, some on the 27-hole golf course, some on the various lakes that are scattered around, some are nearer to Intel which would be an inferior location, etc. If you are OK with an older home on a smallish lot with smaller livable area and no views, you might be able to find something updated within that price range.

I would disagree that square footage is what drives the price in Ocotillo, I would argue that the larger square footage puts you in a superior subdivision within the master plan, perhaps one with gates and water views, maybe built by TW Lewis, Toll Brothers or Camelot built in the 2000's versus the 1980's UDC homes. I recall looking at a resale in Ocotillo lakes in 2013, it was a ~2000 built TW Lewis home, 3,000 SF 1-story, 3 car garage, pool, BBQ, 12,000 SF lot. They wanted $525,000 for it, similar houses across the street on the water were selling for over $700,000. Problem was it had baltic brown granite, which is now about as popular as laminate, it had brass accents throughout, smaller and less popular ceramic tile, an electric range vs gas, etc. Similar homes with more modern upgrades were going for $550K at the time, so there was a premium for the upgrades, just not much. The value is mostly in the land (location) and the house and views.

If you are looking for something with decent size and a nice sized lot with perhaps a swimming pool, I would look at some of the adjacent subdivisions that are not as pricey as Ocotillo or Fulton Ranch such as Avalon, Fox Crossing, Carino Estates, maybe even as far away as Geneva Estates. In Ocotillo for the above criteria, $400-$450K as a starting point will open up a lot more options, but even at that price point you may be disappointed depending on what you are looking for.

[grassfeeder]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Maybe it's done to your liking and you don't want to go through the hassle yourself?

To be honest, I've never seen a flip or remodel done more than 60% to my liking. Especially in the PHX area.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by grassfeeder

To be honest, I've never seen a flip or remodel done more than 60% to my liking. Especially in the PHX area.

That's true. There are lots that are not done well. I give them credit on this one; at least they tried to make the house somewhat unique. https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale.../home/27223224

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

That's true. There are lots that are not done well. I give them credit on this one; at least they tried to make the house somewhat unique. https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale.../home/27223224

I would tear out the butcher block countertop, the herringbone pattern brick floor, wallpaper, faux brick accent wall and barn door bypass doors.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

I would tear out the butcher block countertop, the herringbone pattern brick floor, wallpaper, faux brick accent wall and barn door bypass doors.

I love the counters. So much better than boring, overused granite. I'm not a big fan of the brick but I like that they didn't go cookie-cutter.

[JTW2013]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I love the counters. So much better than boring, overused granite. I'm not a big fan of the brick but I like that they didn't go cookie-cutter.

I keep seeing barn doors on HGTV shows but don't like the look of them and think I'd get pretty sick of dealing with them in a house.

I'm bored with granite too and like the look of butcher block but worry about how practical it is in a kitchen.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

I keep seeing barn doors on HGTV shows but don't like the look of them and think I'd get pretty sick of dealing with them in a house.

I'm bored with granite too and like the look of butcher block but worry about how practical it is in a kitchen.

I'm OK with the barn doors in this case. They add a bit of a rustic touch in a modern space. They're way better than standard bi-fold closet doors.

I too wonder about the long-term practicality of butcher block counters. They're pretty inexpensive though.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I'm OK with the barn doors in this case. They add a bit of a rustic touch in a modern space. They're way better than standard bi-fold closet doors.

I too wonder about the long-term practicality of butcher block counters. They're pretty inexpensive though.

This is exactly why you DON'T put barn doors in a remodel, you have two people against it and one that is OK with it. If they were standard 6 panel painted hollow core doors, the doors would not be brought up at all. Gotta appeal to the masses.