Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Reality Home Pt 2 - The Rebuild


It's been a very busy few weeks here in Tampa.  We had 2.5 weeks of unprecendented monsoon rains that really put a lot of delays on several projects.  The sun is back out and we are moving along so it's time to catch up with my friends Jon and Kindra and see how their "reality home" renovation is coming along.

This home is a 2400 sq ft 3 bed 2 ba 2 car garage pool home in the Lake Magdalene section of Tampa.  It also has an enclosed sunroom that represents about another 300 sq ft.  It was built in 1978 which is older by Florida standards but all things considered still a very modern home.  PVC and Copper plumbing, no lead paint or asbestos issues, etc.  These older homes are popular because they sit on much larger lots than modern day new construction subdivisions.  Lets take a look at the before pics.
Beautiful mature trees and landscaping

A well cared for but HIDEOUS kitchen.  The cabinets appear to be the original ones just repainted numerous times.  Notice the soffit all around the kitchen.

another view of the kitchen, the french door fridge is great except that the bottom freezer opens up right into the peninsula!

Living room with blue gray slate tile and popcorn ceiling!

View from the living room into the sunroom.  Sunroom was created within the last 10 years and was constructed fairly well.

sunroom

Pool and backyard landscaping

Huge backyard

Laminate flooring in the bedrooms and office areas.

This home was listed at 249k which quite frankly was a pretty solid price.  It's not the most stylish home but the laminate flooring was newer and in great shape, the square footage is tremendous and it has a pool and big well landscaped yard.  To be under $100 a sq foot is a steal.  The problem this house had is that buyers looking at homes of this size are really looking at a home they are going to live in for the long haul and they want it to be beautiful, not mediocre.  Buyers in this neighborhood generally aren't willing to do the work involved in updating a home despite the fact that they may be able to afford to.   

Insert Jon and Kindra.  In true HGTV Property Brothers type fashion, they understood that they would get far more long term value plus the ability to customize to exactly what their tastes are if they bought a fixer upper rather than inheriting someone elses style (or lack thereof).

Chip and Hammering up the Tile
The kitchen is no match for teenage angst!

Pups want in on the fun!

Scraping 2400 sq ft of popcorn ceiling!

Bye Bye Soffits, Hello Pot lights!

Opening up a pass thru from the foyer to the kitchen

relocating the water line to make the kitchen larger and flow better

New Floor tile has arrived!

Bowser the Pug says "If you won't let me inside to do demo, I'm gonna demo the entire back yard"

Stay tuned! There is lots more to come as this reno kicks into high gear!


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