All Forum Posts by: Anya K.

Wow, came out gorgeous!!! What did staging cost?

We just installed an IKEA kitchen in our own house and I absolutely love it!! I think its amazing value for what you get. A lot of features that usually would be considered upgrades in custom kitchens come standard with IKEA cabinets (soft close doors, base pull out drawers, ect). There are many options for customization and IKEA offers all kinds of interior accessories. Also, as @Mags S. mentioned, if something gets damaged you can easily replace it. Everyone that comes over thinks we spent a fortune, when in reality our cabinets were about $5000 (19 cabinets). Also, Ikea cabinets recently ranked highest in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power.  We plan on installing IKEA kitchens in our rentals and definitely in future flips if we go that route.

They do weigh heavily on purchase price. I did try to challenge a higher reassessment this year on two of my properties and they just said that if I paid x amount, the properties must have been worth it and assessments should reflect that. Good luck!

Hi Chiagozie,

The city does a reassessment every few years. Your taxes will go up next time they do it but they won't double.

Welcome Mike and Roxanne! This platform is fantastic and you will definitely make some great connections.

Hi BP community! 

A year ago, my husband and I bought a 3 family that we have since renovated and are in the process of refinancing (This is our first cash-out refinance). We are about a week away from the appraisal and I have heard about putting together a packet for the appraiser that contains comps (if he/she wants them) and a list of work done. My husband and I did 90% of the work and have saved a ton of money on materials. We spent $40,000 (mostly on materials) on renos but it would have been double if not triple if we hired everything out and bought everything retail. The bank knows what we spent; so I am assuming that information will be available to the appraiser. The appraiser will look past the fact that we did most of the work ourselves and more at the actual value everything adds, correct? Also, our bank suggested we list all the materials used, as it increases the value and also highlight property features such as hardwood floors, number of fireplaces, ect. Does anyone have any other tips on what we can do/provide the appraiser with to help get a higher appraisal. Should we include before/after photos? Should we stage the rooms that currently don't have furniture? Also, would anyone be willing to share Appraisal Packet Formats they have used in the past? And lastly, is there anything we should not share with the appraiser that would lead to a lower appraisal?

Thanks in advance for your tips and advice!

We put white kitchens in all our rental remodels. They are timeless! And we actually just finished renovating our own and went with white high gloss cabinets. Here is a great article about why white kitchens are the way to go http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/kitchens/why-white-kitchens-stand-test-time/

Definitely much harder! We just had someone break their lease and leave end of October and we have been advertising for over a month now and dropping the price. And this is a completely remodeled unit that includes heat! Hoping to sign a less then a year lease to put it back on summer leasing schedule.

@David Stott, try smaller banks and credit unions! Northwest Savings Bank, Reliant Credit Union, Genesee Regional Bank, ect. CNB has always been very conservatie in my opinion.