Help Me Get Out of Mortgage

[z1ggy]

IMO, unless your current kitchen counter is butt ugly or worn and torn, then dont replace it. You are replacing laminate with new laminate. You will net nothing. If the current laminate is agreeable to most folk and looks fine, keep it. Most new buyers love granite or other premium countertop and this would be a true selling point. No real estate agent is going to highlight the presence of laminate countrtop, but if you have granite it will surely be in the listing.

Your best bet is to score a slab of remnant granite which is far cheaper than paying for "new" granite prices. (Dont go to Lowes). Make it a point to visit a few granite suppliers. All of the good ones have tons of remnant behind their warehouse that you can browse. Go there with your measurements

I agree but what I have now isn't even laminate. It's just a thin 2mm thick sheet, yes of liminante, but it's glued onto some particle board which is my actual counter. The laminate that would be replacing it would be a solid block.

But I will go to a stone shop this weekend to look. My counter measured about 109''x 28'', minus the hole for my double sink. I also saw a nice double sink was $400 not including faucets. I'm planning on going with something in the brown/beige family for counter color, so I just feel like a stainless sink will look out of place.

 

[3chordcharlie]

I agree but what I have now isn't even laminate. It's just a thin 2mm thick sheet, yes of liminante, but it's glued onto some particle board which is my actual counter. The laminate that would be replacing it would be a solid block.

But I will go to a stone shop this weekend to look. My counter measured about 109''x 28'', minus the hole for my double sink. I also saw a nice double sink was $400 not including faucets. I'm planning on going with something in the brown/beige family for counter color, so I just feel like a stainless sink will look out of place.

Laminate counter is 'just a veneer' over particle board.

If your counter is significantly damaged it may still be worth replacing.

 

[z1ggy]

I see. Well, an entire side of it is missing, exposing the wood slab.

Honestly though, like Net said, what's the point of spending say $300 bucks for material that won't even up the value of my home (or attract more buyers) when I could spend $1000 on granite and actually up the value some?

I think investing a little money into the kitchen is okay in this case because people want upgrades in the kitchen & bathroom, which is where I am putting all my money right now.

And I found only one stone supplier in my area, about 25 mins away. I will call today to see if I can swing by on Saturday to look. I only found 2 colors they supply that I am interested in. Does anybody know reasonable prices per square foot? At Lowes, granite seemed to range from $20-40 per sqft.

Edit: Ok got the quote. I'm curious as to your opinions.

Granite tier one or any remnant found in stone yard, includes SS undermount sink, all material and fab, std edge detail - $1563
Corian Ground B, std edge detail, white double undermount sink - $2880
Laminate countertop, std edge detail, does not include sink, template or install - $352

Honestly guys I'm leaning granite. I'd get a new sink and a much more desirable material. It will likely blow my budget (didn't want to spend more than $2000 on the kitchen & bathroom combo) but it could be worth it in the long run. Just want to add, the laminate is some special "HD" material that is supposed to mimic the look and feel of granite to the untrained eye. She said it's very popular. In my eyes its spend $350 and get 0% ROI or spend $1500 and maybe get 25% of that back, or an indirect effect of closing a deal faster.

 

[NetWareHead]

I have a few granite suppliers near me and the one that quoted me for a slab on my bathroom vanity gave me a $20 a sq/ft for the slab alone and $50 sq/ft same slab but installed price. This is remnant price.

P.S. Forgot to mention. This is for Cararra marble, which I beleive is more expensive than granite.

 

[z1ggy]

I have a few granite suppliers near me and the one that quoted me for a slab on my bathroom vanity gave me a $20 a sq/ft for the slab alone and $50 sq/ft same slab but installed price. This is remnant price.

P.S. Forgot to mention. This is for Cararra marble, which I beleive is more expensive than granite.

I emailed her asking if the $1500 included install price or not. I'm going to hope it does because if you take $1500 and subtract out ~$400 for a new sink and hardware, given my ~17sqft of counter space, that works out to well over $50 a sqft.

 

[NetWareHead]

well over $50 a sqft.

Yeah, I'd try to find some more competitors. If thats what you pay for remnant pricing, I'd hate to wonder your charge is for new. I'd try and get the sink independently; you know the granite place is making a percentage on the sink. I got 2 big cast iron enamled kitchen sinks at home depot for $20 each because they were display items. Both of them are being installed in my rental units. A sink like that was about $300 normally priced. Use craigslist, secondhand purchases or building material/archetectural salvage. Pick up a guide and learn how to install a sink. If you budget is as low as it is, you are going to need to stretch every dollar. Pay only for labor you lack the precision or expertise for and do as much as possible by yourself.

 

[z1ggy]

So I told my realtor about the quote from the kitchen place, etc. She advised not to go with the granite, that it pretty much ruins my budget and that my real intent here is to make my kitchen look more up to date, and not add in expensive pieces.

I will most likely hold off on kitchen anything until I get the bathroom work started. If I wasn't so constrained by money, I'd do it anyway just because I think granite looks great and will last a really long time. At least if I do get this new "HD Laminate" my realtor can update my listing to say "New counter tops!!!" when that's really kind of a white lie.

 

[edro]

Can you change the title to "Help me get out from under my mortgage?"
This has nothing to do with landlords anymore.

 

[cbrsurfr]

Here is my childhood house that I just flipped: http://www.zillow.com/homes/1254-Mo...PageImplicitClaimGA=false&fromHomePageTab=buy

No major work, mostly just cosmetic.

In the kitchen I spent around $1250 and that included a new stove, cabinet hardware, vinyl plank flooring, new baseboards, deep stainless steel sink, re-laminated counters, SS stick on backsplash, new faucet, and new lights. Take the $600 stove out and I spent $650 on the rest of the kitchen. The kitchen was a disaster before: dog ate a hole through the old flooring and underlayment, 70's faux butcher block counters, none of the doors stayed shut, ugly 90's stove, dirty. etc.

Counters were about $120 for "Gold Flake Granite" HD laminate and gluing materials. Already had a router just had to buy a bit.

You do not need to spend $400 on a sink. Simple stainless sink that's deeper than standard will add value. Don't customize to your taste, customize to what a buyer would want.

Focus on cheap fixes to add value: paint, faucets, nice oval toilet, lights, de-cluttering, and staging.

If you don't want to share pics to everyone, you can PM me or email me and I'd be glad to take a look and offer my opinion.

I'm no expert by any means, but I have turned a healthy profit by doing reno on the cheap. I also had three offers within 1 week of listing on my own through Zillow and sold for 7K above asking. I spent $475 on a lawyer and didn't pay any extra closing costs to the buyer outside of the normal stuff you have to pay for as a seller: title fees, transfer stamps, etc.

 

[DougK62]

Why do you want to get out of the house and move? If it were me, I'd stay in the place another year or two and slowly do all of the updating work to make it more desirable in the market. It doesn't sound like you HAVE to move due to new job, family, can't afford it, etc.

 

[DrPizza]

In my eyes its spend $350 and get 0% ROI or spend $1500 and maybe get 25% of that back, or an indirect effect of closing a deal faster.

You kind of lost me there - out $350, or out $1125, and you're preferring the latter?

Take a look at some of the Formica products - very affordable compared to granite, and they have a lot of very nice looking patterns these days; difficult to discern from real Corian or granite unless you're really up close. And and you can market it to many buyers as "the look of granite without all the necessary maintenance."

 

[z1ggy]

Here is my childhood house that I just flipped: http://www.zillow.com/homes/1254-Mo...PageImplicitClaimGA=false&fromHomePageTab=buy

No major work, mostly just cosmetic.

In the kitchen I spent around $1250 and that included a new stove, cabinet hardware, vinyl plank flooring, new baseboards, deep stainless steel sink, re-laminated counters, SS stick on backsplash, new faucet, and new lights. Take the $600 stove out and I spent $650 on the rest of the kitchen. The kitchen was a disaster before: dog ate a hole through the old flooring and underlayment, 70's faux butcher block counters, none of the doors stayed shut, ugly 90's stove, dirty. etc.

Counters were about $120 for "Gold Flake Granite" HD laminate and gluing materials. Already had a router just had to buy a bit.

You do not need to spend $400 on a sink. Simple stainless sink that's deeper than standard will add value. Don't customize to your taste, customize to what a buyer would want.

Focus on cheap fixes to add value: paint, faucets, nice oval toilet, lights, de-cluttering, and staging.

If you don't want to share pics to everyone, you can PM me or email me and I'd be glad to take a look and offer my opinion.

I'm no expert by any means, but I have turned a healthy profit by doing reno on the cheap. I also had three offers within 1 week of listing on my own through Zillow and sold for 7K above asking. I spent $475 on a lawyer and didn't pay any extra closing costs to the buyer outside of the normal stuff you have to pay for as a seller: title fees, transfer stamps, etc.

PM coming to you.

Why do you want to get out of the house and move? If it were me, I'd stay in the place another year or two and slowly do all of the updating work to make it more desirable in the market. It doesn't sound like you HAVE to move due to new job, family, can't afford it, etc.

I want to move because I want to move on with my life. I don't want to settle down here. I could wait another year or two, but I've already been here for 6 years. I don't see myself raising a family here, although it's not the worst area.

You kind of lost me there - out $350, or out $1125, and you're preferring the latter?

Take a look at some of the Formica products - very affordable compared to granite, and they have a lot of very nice looking patterns these days; difficult to discern from real Corian or granite unless you're really up close. And and you can market it to many buyers as "the look of granite without all the necessary maintenance."

I can look into it. If I knew what the heck I was doing with plumbing, I could do this myself. But like another said, doing something like that for the first time on a house you actively have on market seems like a bad idea. I did little tiny things like paint all the rooms and ceilings, some minor land scape, & refinished the basement floor and stairs.