All Forum Posts by: Kristi Buell

Looks great Brian Pulaski ! Interesting to hear about the AC - I know one thing I'm going to struggle with is not adding all of the things so I need to concentrate on learning what features will add enough value to justify the cost in my market. Is this house in Meriden?

@Raymond B. Thanks!  I know, it seems like we're pretty few and far between.  Or an appropriate number based on the size of our state...  I'm currently working my way through the podcasts and loving them.  I really needed a break from Dave Ramsey, haha.  

@Cary F. Thanks, I am :)

@James Wise Thanks!

Jay P. I can't really speak to what most (or any) investors do, but I've really only used Photoshop to help envision what a new exterior paint color, or landscaping, etc would look like. And that's mostly because I already own a very old version from my college days. If you're looking to do something along those lines, I'm sure you could just use the online version or Photoshop Elements, both of which are a fraction of the price of the Creative Suite. As to floor plans, you might want to look into something like Google Sketchup. I think there was a thread relating to this recently with a bunch of programs that offer both 2D and 3D. Hope that helps!

@Jason Arcuri I make it a policy to never pass up an opportunity to go to Starbucks... Or any other coffee for that matter.  In all seriousness, that would be great.  

Jason Arcuri yes that is pretty much exactly what I'm worried about but a $15k profit is much better than a loss! Since we're planning on being in this house for a while, I went for much nicer finishes than I did for our first house and it's going to be hard dialing back again. I also got used to my husband (electrician) and brother in law (carpenter) doing most of the work so even with my higher material costs, we still ended up in the black. Thankfully, I've found some really good sources for finishes so I think as long as I do enough due diligence/market research, I'll be ok. The naivety of a newbie :) Are you investing in Southbury? My husband grew up there and keeps saying I should start there since I could probably get a better price on a property but I feel like my style would be better received in Newtown. Is it weird to think it would be that different in neighboring towns?

Jonathan Makovsky that is an excellent idea! I've been trying to brainwash her into the construction side of things but maybe I should concentrate on getting her into sales/marketing which is definitely my weak point.

Really thought provoking subject, huh?

My husband and I have successfully rehabbed two personal residences, first in Stamford and now in Newtown.  We've been in this one - our "forever" house - about a year, and I'm getting the itch to start another project so I figured it was about time I worked on getting some non HGTV education on the subject of flipping houses so I can rehab for profit instead of personal use (and don't put him in the loony bin).

I come from a design background so I'm curious if anyone has made that transition successfully, and how the budget went on their first project if they did!

Other than that, all the books are on their way to me and I've been working my way through the podcasts - my daughter's second word is going to be "equity" - but would love any other suggestions for helpful materials and I'm looking forward to finally making progress on this goal.

Jeff Bridges I may be a day late and a dollar short but I love doing kitchen layouts so just for fun, here are my thoughts... If you did a stacking washer/dryer (which I would think would be acceptable given that this doesn't seem to be a large house but you'd know better for your market), you could move the new wall to the left in the drawing. You'd then be able to fit an upper and lower next to the dishwasher. On the range wall, you could extend the cabinet run to match the extra cabinet added either by adding another upper/lower next to range in order to gain cabinet space OR a full height pantry next to the refrigerator. Another thought if you didn't want to do a stacking washer/dryer - I've seen lowers in 12-15" depth that could be put behind the peninsula cabinets, facing into the dining room. Not sure if that would intrude too much into dining based on your drawing but I like to give options :)