Which house would you choose?

[Gunslinger08]

I have two options.

House 1: End unit. Nice, plush carpeting throughout. Tile flooring in kitchen/breakfast nook and bathrooms. Upgraded master bathroom vanity. Standard kitchen (corian countertops, standard appliances). Fireplace in room off of kitchen. $10k higher list price.

House 2: Middle unit. Standard, low pile carpeting throughout. Linoleum flooring in kitchen/breakfast nook and bathrooms. Standard master bathroom vanity. Upgraded kitchen (granite countertops, stainless appliances, larger island). Fireplace in lower living room. $10k lower list price.

 

[tfinch2]

All other things equal, you can redo the flooring and bathroom with the 10k price swing.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
All other things equal, you can redo the flooring and bathroom with the 20k price swing.

It's only 10k.

 

[Capt Caveman]

2. Upgrading the flooring will be less expensive and you can do it yourself.

 

[Turin39789]

you forgot to mention the garage and the acreage

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: joshsquall

Originally posted by: tfinch2
All other things equal, you can redo the flooring and bathroom with the 20k price swing.

It's only 10k.

t-t-t-typo, I fixed it.

 

[BigJ]

Figure at least $7-8 per foot installed if you want to redo the floors to hardwood flooring. That gives you enough money for approximately 1400sqf in the difference.

Comparably, redoing a kitchen can be EXTREMELY expensive, and will eat up that $10,000 in a heartbeat.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Turin39789
you forgot to mention the garage and the acreage

They're both townhomes in the same neighborhood. They're about 100 feet apart. 1 car garage and maybe 400 square feet of lawn.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Updated OP with links.

 

[Capt Caveman]

An end-unit is always more desirable. I'm assuming there are windows on the open side?

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
An end-unit is always more desirable. I'm assuming there are windows on the open side?

Nope. Just straight vinyl.

 

[BigJ]

Can't make any decisions without more pictures of the 2nd house.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: joshsquall

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
An end-unit is always more desirable. I'm assuming there are windows on the open side?

Nope. Just straight vinyl.

That's weak sauce. How sound proof are the walls? With the end unit you only have to worry about one neighbor.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: joshsquall

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
An end-unit is always more desirable. I'm assuming there are windows on the open side?

Nope. Just straight vinyl.

That's weak sauce. How sound proof are the walls? With the end unit you only have to worry about one neighbor.

I walked through both around 7pm today and didn't notice any noise in either.

 

[Capt Caveman]

1 actually has corian countertops which are not laminate and pretty nice. An end-unit is always more desirable. If you upgraded the kitchen yourself, it would make it a fast sell down the road.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
1 actually has corian countertops which are not laminate and pretty nice. An end-unit is always more desirable. If you upgraded the kitchen yourself, it would make it a fast sell down the road.

My mistake. The 3rd place we looked at had laminate countertops.

 

[Gunslinger08]

The random column in house 1 really bothers me.

 

[Capt Caveman]

So, which one did you like better?

 

[TallBill]

Don't give a crap either way, would go with a cheaper house though.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I'm torn. I really liked the features of house 1 (plush carpet, tile floors, crown molding, etc.) until I saw the kitchen in house 2. I really liked the kitchen because of the granite countertops (a nice earthy brown with plenty of character) and stainless appliances. I also liked the placement of the fireplace better in house 2 (lower living room instead of room off of kitchen). I'm having a tough time deciding, mostly because of the kitchen in house 2.

 

[Pollock]

Neighbors? May be something worthwhile considering.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
I'm torn. I really liked the features of house 1 (plush carpet, tile floors, crown molding, etc.) until I saw the kitchen in house 2. I really liked the kitchen because of the granite countertops (a nice earthy brown with plenty of character) and stainless appliances. I also liked the placement of the fireplace better in house 2 (lower living room instead of room off of kitchen). I'm having a tough time deciding, mostly because of the kitchen in house 2.

Well, the end-unit is probably worth $10k more than an inside unit. How much less than asking do you think you might be able to get either for?

Any money that you save by getting it less than asking could be used for any upgrades you want.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: joshsquall
I'm torn. I really liked the features of house 1 (plush carpet, tile floors, crown molding, etc.) until I saw the kitchen in house 2. I really liked the kitchen because of the granite countertops (a nice earthy brown with plenty of character) and stainless appliances. I also liked the placement of the fireplace better in house 2 (lower living room instead of room off of kitchen). I'm having a tough time deciding, mostly because of the kitchen in house 2.

Well, the end-unit is probably worth $10k more than an inside unit. How much less than asking do you think you might be able to get either for?

Any money that you save by getting it less than asking could be used for any upgrades you want.

Not sure. Both are foreclosures, so I'm not sure how flexible banks tend to be.

 

[mshan]

If you're sure you're going to live there for many, many years, I'd say just follow your heart about which one you like best.

If you anticipate selling say 3 - 5 years from now, unchangeable features like end unit (only one shared wall should lead to less noise, and has brighter interior because of extra windows) probably make it a smarter investment.

How do list prices compare to what peak sold prices were for comparable units?

(and you really should fine out info if noise is an issue with current neighbors. Virginia is a caveat emptor state, so seller doesn't have to disclose unless you specifically ask).

 

[aphex]

#2

Better Kitchen and use the extra 10k to lay wood floor yourself. We just did it today and can do a room in about 5 hours.