Struggling financially and getting frustrated? | Page 12 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Struggling financially and getting frustrated?

Scuba Steve said:
My first house was old and run down but livable, dealt with it for a few year till I could afford to update things slowly. If it works live with it and change it when and if you can afford to. I had a 50's kitchen, aluminum single pane window with storms and fuses for the first 4 or 5 years no big deal.
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When we bought our first house we did some work as it was really dated (hence the 420k price for a townhouse). Floors, kitchen cabinet doors (not boxes as they were good), patio window, granite, paint, etc...I think total cost me about 15k if that. Took about a month (I took the time off and we continued living in our apartment in Toronto) but I basically did all the work myself, or through family and businesses.

The place we bought now, floors, kitchen cabinets doors again, granite, paint, deck, gazebo, garage tear out. This was done over the course of 3-4 months, plus now still doing some small stuff. I think I'm at about 50k total. But I also put a lot of money away for the work, and the only thing I didn't do through family/myself is the floors. Would take me a week, whereas the guy did it in 2 days.

Just found out we may have a critter in the roof, and when I get home I'm drywalling up the garage finally and installing the insulation. About damn time. After the garage is finished, I'm done until next year. I'm tired, and I want to rest. Plus need to rebuild the account.
 
nobbie48 said:
There are super homes with second kitchens. One to look at and the other to cook in.
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I make my living building those. Most people have no idea how the wealthy live. We just quoted a job today. Dressing room with 70' of cabinetry. Plus 2 islands.
 
george__ said:
I guess you could wait but then then you need to move stuff from room 1 to room 2 for Reno. Might as well do it and forget about it.

Items ASAP.....
Upgrading the power panel is supposedly a big deal and very pricey???
^^ Insurance companies are picky about this?????

These older homes may use non standard sized windows?? pricey???


If any members here bought a old house, message me !!
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The electrical panel I would guess a few grand. If there's knob and tube wiring it will be a lot, lot more At one time they would allow GFIs to the knob and tube but I suspect that is gone.

Replacing K&T wiring means spending a lot of time routing to avoid destroying plaster. If it's K&T it will be lath and plaster. A total gut lets you do it all at once with a big cheque.

Windows are usually custom made so no big deal. Some older houses had stained glass which would be a different matter.

I would be looking at a good roof, dry basement and reliable furnace before doing the trimmings. A leaky roof can destroy the designer kitchen.
 
@GEORGE, your asking about renos on older homes, I've done a bunch over my lifetime, a LOT depends on who built the home originally, the 70's and 80's were a hayday for subdivision tract builders and the average quality was crap. Subdivision builders have a mandate, make money. And in the 40's 50's energy was cheap so insulation was lax. Nobody expected much in kitchen appliances beyond fridge, stove, toaster. 1 tv , no 220v hottub loads.

My only advice if you need an electrician or roofer and are in an area where you know nobody, go to the local electrical wholesaler, or roof mart and ask for a name. Do not ask at a Lowes store. The people supplying equipment often know who's busy, trustworthy and has a cleaner record. The local building dept at town hall cant "really" give a recomendation but they can tell you who they have the most trouble with. Asking is free, the guy on kijiji that can start the same day? not the guy you want.
 
GreyGhost said:
Do what one GTAM member did and move out for some months at that time and gut/replace wiring/rebuild. Then is worth 700+ (if you make the right choices).
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We did that. Moved out for 7 months. Lived in 7 different places during the reno, all the while I just started a new job. We are lucky to have only made a few mistakes along the way and each room is exactly the way we wanted it to be. Thanks to all those who gave such good advice on this forum, because our house and reno experience was much better for it. We know that this house is now a very well built home because of the feedback given here. We thoroughly love it now!

Earlier it was also mentioned that real estate is generally a good investment vehicle for those who prefer forced savings. I would tend to agree with this too, because some of suck at saving and are not as disciplined as one needs to be when managing stocks or funds. When we bought this house we were on a combined income of under $100k and carrying a mortgage of $450k. It made sense at the time, based on the reasonable expectation that our earning potential would rise and therefore the house would become more affordable as time went on. That turned out to be correct as we make more, our mortgage has gone down and the equity we have has gone up.

But it’s not lost on me that much of it has to do with timing and good fortune more than personal skill or knowledge. For those entering the markets (real estate or investing), ask questions and listen before acting. I'm not sure how I would do it now if I was single and making $60k with no savings. Certainly start with no toys, save up as much as possible in 2 years and then find someone responsible and honest to co-purchase a place with.
 
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crankcall said:
@GEORGE, your asking about renos on older homes, I've done a bunch over my lifetime, a LOT depends on who built the home originally, the 70's and 80's were a hayday for subdivision tract builders and the average quality was crap. Subdivision builders have a mandate, make money. And in the 40's 50's energy was cheap so insulation was lax. Nobody expected much in kitchen appliances beyond fridge, stove, toaster. 1 tv , no 220v hottub loads.

My only advice if you need an electrician or roofer and are in an area where you know nobody, go to the local electrical wholesaler, or roof mart and ask for a name. Do not ask at a Lowes store. The people supplying equipment often know who's busy, trustworthy and has a cleaner record. The local building dept at town hall cant "really" give a recomendation but they can tell you who they have the most trouble with. Asking is free, the guy on kijiji that can start the same day? not the guy you want.
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If you call someone who gives you the "Sky is falling" routine, you're living in a death trap and we can rush over and take charge, hang up.

Ad to the list that there are a lot of 90 - 100 year old houses on the market and the foundations may be deteriorating. I've seen spalling concrete block and at some point the house will require mega six figure underpinning. Make sure the neighbourhood values are in line with that kind of number.

When you go to sell people only pay for square footage and to a far lesser degree, granite and marble. It's nice that you paid $30 - $40K for waterproofing but if they could get the same sized house down the road with a damp basement for less, yours would sit.

The way most flip - renos guys work is to buy a fixer upper and do a tart up kitchen, paint and drywall the basement to hide the flaws. I wouldn't touch one of those with a ten foot pole. And No warranty.
 
shanekingsley said:
We did that. Moved out for 7 months. Lived in 7 different places during the reno, all the while I just started a new job. We are lucky to have only made a few mistakes along the way and each room is exactly the way we wanted it to be. Thanks to all those who gave such good advice on this forum, because our house and reno experience was much better for it. We know that this house is now a very well built home because of the feedback given here. We thoroughly love it now!

Earlier it was also mentioned that real estate is generally a good investment vehicle for those who prefer forced savings. I would tend to agree with this too, because some of suck at saving and are not as disciplined as one needs to be when managing stocks or funds. When we bought this house we were on a combined income of under $100k and carrying a mortgage of $450k. It made sense at the time, based on the reasonable expectation that our earning potential would rise and therefore the house would become more affordable as time went on. That turned out to be correct as we make more, our mortgage has gone down and the equity we have has gone up.

But it’s not lost on me that much of it has to do with timing and good fortune more than personal skill or knowledge. For those entering the markets (real estate or investing), ask questions and listen before acting. I'm not sure how I would do it now if I was single and making $60k with no savings. Certainly start with no toys, save up as much as possible in 2 years and then find someone responsible and honest to co-purchase a place with.
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This x 100
Its amazing how much good advice and perspective you get on a motorcycle forum
 
nobbie48 said:
The way most flip - renos guys work is to buy a fixer upper and do a tart up kitchen, paint and drywall the basement to hide the flaws. I wouldn't touch one of those with a ten foot pole. And No warranty.
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Every time we went to an open house or look at a house I would go to the basement, open up every door, every closet, everything...9 times out of 10 I would still find the remainder of the materials used. Cheap paint, cheap laminate, cheap cheap cheap.

My ex-realtor did this. He even told me. Buy cheap, throw on some paint, ****** floor, bad/cheap granite, and flip for 100k or more....'most idiots have no clue what they're looking at and they just want shiny, and a fresh paint smell.'

I disagree with the method...but he's a rich mofo so obviously doing it well.
 
mimico_polak said:
Every time we went to an open house or look at a house I would go to the basement, open up every door, every closet, everything...9 times out of 10 I would still find the remainder of the materials used. Cheap paint, cheap laminate, cheap cheap cheap.

My ex-realtor did this. He even told me. Buy cheap, throw on some paint, ****** floor, bad/cheap granite, and flip for 100k or more....'most idiots have no clue what they're looking at and they just want shiny, and a fresh paint smell.'

I disagree with the method...but he's a rich mofo so obviously doing it well.
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First thing I look at now is the furnace/AC :ROFLMAO:

I bet if an electrician is buying a house first thing he'll look at is the wiring and breaker panel
 
bigpoppa said:
First thing I look at now is the furnace/AC :ROFLMAO:

I bet if an electrician is buying a house first thing he'll look at is the wiring and breaker panel
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Usually most of the junk materials are stashed behind the hot water tank / furnace / crawlspace.
 
bigpoppa said:
First thing I look at now is the furnace/AC :ROFLMAO:

I bet if an electrician is buying a house first thing he'll look at is the wiring and breaker panel
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A friend bought a house with an old furnace and planned on replacing it as soon as they moved in. I told them as a first cut make sure the installers ran two pipes for the furnace as if they dont bother with that, assume the rest of the work also sucks. They assured me that they had confirmed this. Yup, furnace installed with fresh air drawn from basement. Boo. Just because it's legal doesnt mean it is a good idea.
 
GreyGhost said:
A friend bought a house with an old furnace and planned on replacing it as soon as they moved in. I told them as a first cut make sure the installers ran two pipes for the furnace as if they dont bother with that, assume the rest of the work also sucks. They assured me that they had confirmed this. Yup, furnace installed with fresh air drawn from basement. Boo. Just because it's legal doesnt mean it is a good idea.
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Might not have been a high efficiency one, they draw air from outside and expel air outside as well

Older ones or lower efficiency ones usually draw from within the house
 
bigpoppa said:
Might not have been a high efficiency one, they draw air from outside and expel air outside as well

Older ones or lower efficiency ones usually draw from within the house
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This was high efficiency. 636 for exhaust, 636 stub for intake. $@^#^ers.
 
Some furnaces(not all) are designed to and give you the option to install it either way(direct vs non direct)

https://imgur.com/XbpHuQG
 
bigpoppa said:
First thing I look at now is the furnace/AC :ROFLMAO:
...
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You'd be looking for a long time, all you're going to find is a water system and an air exchanger thing that looks like the inside of a submarine.
 
Scuba Steve said:
My exes parents lived next to that dirt bag he was in his 40s with an 18 year old wife at the time.

Sent from my moto g(8) plus using Tapatalk
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So....Dan PlowTEEN?

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 
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