Looking Out From the Garage

I just wrote a post a few minutes ago about 'The Bandwagon' and all of the folks climbing on-board to trash a book based on its title. 

But there is something else that has been bugging me... 

There is a disregard for DiYers that I see all too often.  It comes from agents, inspectors and others.  There is an assuption that if the home owner does ANY repair to their home, it will be sub-standard, not up to code, poorly executed and solely for the purpose of killing kittens and puppies. 

I am a car hobbyist.  I do a LOT of my own work, and I have spent a good deal of that time correcting the work of professionals.  And of course there is the time I have spent arguing with technicians and service advosirs about exactly what needed to be repaired. 

It isn't that I am perfect... it is that they aren't either.  And there is something else...  There are a LOT of bad professionals.  There certainly are some great ones, but plenty that just don't give a turd for the quality of their work... do it fast, cheap, get paid and get out. 

But the home owner often has another motivation... not doing it again.  There is usually pride in their ownership, too.  Of course, if they are selling the home, then maybe that doesn't play as large of a role.  But I have seen a lot of home owners going to great lengths to make sure that the home they delivered exceeded the expectations of the buyers.  Just as I have seen sellers of collector cars search out that last little part for the buyer... even though they didn't have to do it. 

Mom always said something else...  Don't Assume...

Recently, there was a post about a book here on Active Rain.  The book was about tips and tricks that pros use while remodeling and repairing homes.  Honestly, I'm not crazy about the title... 

But, reading through the comments, one might draw the conclusion that the book was purely evil. 

How to Cheat at Home Repair

Like I said, not crazy about the title...  But, the title doesn't tell the whole story.  Here is a short except from the book:

Here’s another situation where a panic response will lead to misery and unnecessary expense: the times when you need to call in a professional to perform repairs around the house. At a minimum, you want to have on hand the names and contact information for a handyperson, a plumber, and an electrician—professionals whose backgrounds you’ve already checked. If you just flip open the telephone book and pick the first name that sounds  professional—or the first company with an impressive display ad—you’re in deep trouble. Your odds of getting good work at a reasonable price that way are very low. When you do your research and find repair professionals that you’re comfortable with, it’s wise to treat them like family, pay them fairly, and pay them promptly. For more on hiring professional help, see chapter 13.

The section is called Build a Support Staff. That sure isn't bringing the evil.  OK, there is a mention of 'nose oil' and duct tape.  Of course duct tape is designed for ducts... not ducks, so there is actually a place for it in lasting home repairs.  And nose oil is something that I employed on more than one occasion to rescue damaged negatives as both a photographer and photo store manager.  Still not evil. 

When you have to drive a lot of screws into wood, the friction from the screwdriver can leave your hand raw or even blistered.  Making screws easier to drive is simple.  Keep an old candle in your toolbox just for this purpose.  When you have to drive a screw, rub the candle against its threads first, lubricating the metal.  This makes the screw easier to turn and saves the hands a lot of pain.  If you don't have a candle handy, soap will work well, too (but with greater potential to get messy).  Or spritz the pilot hole for your screw with spray lubricant.

I have not read the whole book, and I am sure that there are things in the book that I will disagree with.  I read the portion of the book available through Books.Google.com.  I don't have the book, and I doubt I would run out to get it... but there are some good tips in it for those that might not be really experienced in home repair. 

But that isn't the point... 

The point is that it is easy to villainize the book because of its title... especially for those of us in the real estate business.  It doesn't take an inspector to recognize some of the pure crap that most of us have witnessed... poorly done repairs, cover-ups and camouflage.  But before sentencing the writer to the 7th level of Hell, it might be a good idea to actually do a little research. 

I guess the part that bothered me was 'The Bandwagon' and the fact that EVERYBODY was on it, and nobody seemed willing to find out what they were talking about...

My wife has been wanting a Roomba for a long time.  Kind of like I have wanted a TIG welder for a long time.  I have a MIG welder... and it works quite well for what I do, but the TIG would make prettier welds.  I don't NEED it, but it would be a little cooler.  We HAVE a vacuum cleaner, and it does a nice job (and, yes, I drive it a LOT), she loves the thought of unleashing a vacuum to do it's thing while she does something else... especially if it doesn't whine (in my voice) while running. 

BUT...  There was no way that we were going to drop a couple hundred bucks to get one. 

But, Mrs. GarageGuy can sniff out a deal.  She found one at a nearby garage sale for $15.  I didn't forget a zero.  $15. 

Obviously, she snapped that little monster up and happily paid the seller.  It came home and she spent an hour cleaning it of all traces of cat hair (we're both allergic).  She charged it up overnight...  And it has been checking out our rooms ever since. The battery life isn't what it should be (not the companies fault... this IS a used unit, and we will be on the lookout for a battery at some point)... 

So, what do we think?

As mentioned, we will replace the battery before long.  The other drawback is that makes noise (like we shouldn't expect that?).  But it is quieter than the "big" vacuum.  We will probably still have the drag out the monster to really knock out the traffic areas.  But the Roomba does a few things that the big one won't do... like getting under and behind furniture we normally have to move.  It also gets behind some items that we normally have to move.  The best part is that we can unleash it in a room, close the door and let it spend it's time cleaning without having to babysit it. It also runs in a pattern that no person would use to vacuum the room... and that means that it actually helps to revitalize the carpet by operating the beater bars (brush) in a different direction that the way people normally vacuum.

And it entertains the dog for a few minutes, too...  She thinks it wants to play. 

Now I just need her to find a deal like that on a TIG welder...

Water is essential for life.  Without it, everything dies.  But... sometimes it can be a pain in the butt... like when it is in the wrong place in the house... or outside of the house...

I have a buyer that is under contract on a beautiful home... or more accurately, a home that could be beautiful.  But it has problems.  Water. 

The biggest issue is one that people usually don't think of...

Gutters

There are several damaged gutters around the house, and some that we suspect are clogged.  Furthermore, the downspouts are in less than great condition... blocked, broken or poorly moving water away from the house.  This has led to damaged window and door frames, as the water has caused rot in several places.  It has also led to damage to carpet in the basement, erosion around the deck supports and erosion of the landscape.  

All of this is easily correctable... or at least the direct causes are easily addressed.  The damage is more involved.  in fact, we don't know how much damage there might be... we are currently dealing with contractors to see if we can get a handle on it. 

And there is another issue that people often don't think of...

Paint

As mentioned above, there are several damaged window and door frames.  While the water is the damaging agent, the reason they could be damaged is that the paint was seriously lacking.  The home is only 7 years old, but the trim hadn't been repainted, and the original paint wasn't super high quality. 

Again, the base condition is inexpensively and easily corrected, but the damage that has been caused is much more involved. 

And the last problem is another one that usually escapes notice...

Landscaping

Ok, admitedly, I'm not talking about grass here... I'm talking about landscape design.  As it stands, the ground around the home is actually channeling water TOWARDS the house rather than away.  It is a testement to excellent waterproofing by the builder in the basement that there aren't any places where water is coming in.  But there are actually places where the erosion is trying to undermine concrete slabs and footers. 

Here, the correction is a little more involved... but still not terribly difficult.  The lot will need to be re-graded with a slope away from the house.  Additionally, a swale will need to be built into the landscape design to route water coming on to the property well away from the house.  French drains will need to be installed, and the downspounts routed into them... all in an effort to move the water around the house. 

Finally, the landscape design needs to incorporate appropriate plantings and ground covers to stop the red clay from splashing up on the sides of the house.  It is likely only cosmetic, but the bottom two to six feet of the house is stained red... requiring the house to be repainted. 

When we do inspections and look at homes from potential problems, the things that usually concern buyers are systems like the HVAC and electrical, or areas like the roof or deck.  But, from this house we can see that it is VERY minor repairs and maintenance that have caused the problems.  Keeping the gutters in good repair and trim painted are both simple. 

This home hasn't had a real "owner" for a few years.  Depending on the estimates, it may soon have one.  Homes NEED people in them. 

So...

This should be a good case study in why keeping up with the little things can be very important... spending a hour cleaning out the gutters and $100 on trim paint might save $5000 in repairs later.  In this case, $1000 in gutter cleaning and trim painting may have save $15,000 or more in damage.  And the value of the home might have been $50,000 or even $100,000 higher. 

That is a solid RoI (Return on Investment). 

If you are looking for a deal, they are out there, but many "cheap" properties are actually money pits that will require way more money than they are worth.  This one should give the buyer a solid equity position when they are done.  And, as with most properties that are "deals", they require resources... money, time and skill... being invested BEFORE they return that equity. 

Call me if you want a deal in or around Gwinnett County... especially 4+ car garage homes, as well as homes in and around Lilburn. 

(I am NOT including pictures of the home because my buyers haven't closed on the property...  They are aware that I am blogging about it, but I don't want the property identified.)

Here is a loaded term for a car guy.  Maintenance.  We do it for our rides, and just about nothing can stand in the way.  I've known guys that bordered on religious about changing their own oil.  I've seen them pull into a rest area along the interstate, slide under the car and change their oil.  A quick refill and clean-up, and they were on their way again.  We would never think of leaving something undone.

Houses aren't much different.  They need regular maintenance.  They don't need oil changes, but they need those air filters changed pretty regularly.  Painting, pressure washing, and caulking are all maintenance items to be checked off.  There are scores of other things as well.  Not only that, but one of the most efficient ways to keep a house up is to take care of anything that pops up.  And to take care of it quickly and properly.  When things are left undone, or poorly dealt with, the deeper the problems will become.  Foreclosures and REO (bank owned properties) are usually the worst about maintenance.  When people can't afford their house payment, they generally aren't spending time and money painting or keeping the septic healthy.

When resale time comes around, things can be a little more complicated.  Sellers start looking at the payback for the money spent.  In some cases, they think that there should be an increase in value for every dollar spent on anything.  But, that isn't always the case, and maintenance is one of those times.  The flip side is that failure to spend money can detract from the value... and cost money.   There is a significant difference between increase and decrease in value (seems obvious enough), but many fail to realize the difference.  Let me outline it here. 

Generally, when we are talking about property value with a seller or other interested person, we are assuming that the property is reasonably maintained.  If there are obvious deficiencies, or the property is visibly rundown, that will probably factor in to the value, but those little things (which do add up will probably get glossed over).  But, if the property isn't reasonably well maintained, that expected value starts to slip.  If major issues are dealt with, that were previously factored in to the value, it may bump up.  But, don't expect that the roof that went on last month costing $15,000 is going to add $15,000 to the value, especially if the previous roof was serviceable.  It will make the house more attractive, though.  

Finally, buyers notice maintenance.  If a house looks great, but the details aren't kept up with, the buyers will wonder what hidden issues there might be.  If a house seems to have a tremendous amount of maintenance performed just before listing, the buyers will wonder if there are underlying problems that the sellers might be trying to camouflage.

Just like with our vehicles, don't let it fall behind the maintenance schedule, and there will be fewer issues, and it will be more natural to buyers.  The house will also cost less to maintain than it will to repair.