All Forum Posts by: Vesna Marcina

Do you know if the Honeywell Thermostat is low voltage or line voltage? Is the water heater 110V or 220V? That determines your options and how challenging a project it is. If the voltage doesn't match up on the Honeywell and the Amazon thermostats, then the project is much more challenging. 

I wanted to add a smart thermostat to our baseboard heaters, but it ended up being a much bigger job than I wanted to take on at the time. Maybe after we're done remodeling, I will do it. This is what I learned:

--Purchase a line voltage thermostat as Ryan Pearson suggested if that is what is powering the Honeywell. OR

--Purchase a low-voltage transformer to connect to the smart thermostat. This option might not be particularly attractive depending on the placement of the transformer. 

In any case, I found diy.stackexchange.com very helpful. Lots of trade folks there willing to share their knowledge and advice. Here is my question and an illuminating answer that I got there: 
https://diy.stackexchange.com/...

@Shel K.

Hi!

Yes, we did purchase the smaller, less expensive unit. It is a dump, though, so we are currently remodeling. Hopefully, we can put it on the STR market in the summer, but that is very optimistic. It takes considerably longer to get things done in Mammoth. Mountain Time, I'm told--not a time zone, more of a style.

We have been skiing a lot, though, which has been nice, even though staying in the condo is something like indoor camping, given the shape it's in. 

I did not get info about rental revenue at the Westin, but I know that their units are booked. Maybe not on the weekdays, but definitely on the weekends. I did ask for the info, but the seller's agent just would not give it to my agent. I did get info about rental revenues from other condos I looked at, but no one provided any sort of verification. Maybe that's a consequence of a seller's market. 

Are you looking to purchase? I like the Westin, but it was priced too high. The studio, one-bedroom, and one-bedroom-plus-den units cannot be conventionally financed, and I didn't want to take the risk on without a lender by my side.

Yes, Mammoth Lakes is a community whose primary source of income is tourism in the winter (ski resort) and summer (near Yosemite). STR are allowed in most condos, unless the CCRs prohibit it, which is stated in the listing description b/c many condo buyers plan to rent out their unit.

The town has an ordinance that prohibits STR in most SFH. So, they are off the table.

Thanks to both of you for your perspective and advice. I think the high-priced condotel is increasingly unattractive to me. It would make me house rich and cash poor. I am still considering the less expensive condo, but it's only less expensive compared to the condotel. It's still a high price and would require a lot of work (maybe $30K? my husband is saying $50K if we want nice finishes) to make it a plush and attractive unit to overnight visitors. 

I'm not a realtor and am wondering how common it is for a buyer to switch agents or jump ship and buy with another agent. I guess I can imagine a buyer visiting an open house and making an offer through the listing agent or the agent that conducted the open house? 

In my experience, I have purchased a few homes over the course of my life, found the process time-consuming, and can't imagine working with more than one agent, especially if I am limiting myself to one community or area. 

I also agree with the realtor who argued that their value comes in assessing the price, negotiating a sale, and managing the process once a contract is initiated. I do not need help finding properties. I need an agent to show me a property, but the real value is in providing me the data and information to determine whether the listing price is one that is market-based or based on the seller's delusions. 

I cannot speak to the SFH market in California, but I have been watching the condo/townhouse market in a ski resort town composed primarily of second homeowners and STR. That very niche market seems like it's slowing down to me, but it's probably more of a pullback in a long-term channel of rising prices--maybe the result of seasonality or buyer fatigure. Remodeled properties that are on the low end of the price range tend to go quickly. Others are languishing on the market when they need a lot of work or are overpriced.

Several years ago, an agent wanted my husband and I to sign an exclusivity agreement with him. We refused, and he told us we had wasted his time. Of course, had he shared with us from the beginning that he would want us to sign such an agreement, we would not have met with him in the first place. 

Now, I don't necessarily think an exclusivity agreement is so bad, as long as there are expiration dates in it to end the relationship. If it's working out, then the agreement can be extended. If not, the agreement expires and the buyers can find a different agent. But three months is too long--maybe 2 weeks. That's enough time to figure out if it's a good fit. 

I have no experience with the commission aspect of your question. 

Hi everyone:

I visited Mammoth Lakes last week and viewed a couple of condos. The realtor I worked with, though, is not particularly communicative, and I think I will have to tell her that I am going to find another realtor, who is willing to provide some commentary and opinion in response to my questions. In any case, that is why I am here. I am wondering what you all think about purchasing a condo in Mammoth at this point in time, given the low supply and increase in prices. FTR, I would have purchased a couple of years ago, but it took me a while to get my husband on board. 

At the top of my list is a Westin unit whose price is $530K. It's been on the market a while now, and my sense is the owner is unwilling to budge on price. I think he/she is a trapped buyer from 2007 at the top of the market and trying to minimize capital losses. The price is a stretch for us financially. I asked for the rental history, but did not receive it. I was hoping to get a sense of how much of a stretch, if at all. Any condo-tel owners out there?

Next is a unit at the Summit. It's a small one-bedroom that needs work. My husband and I have remodeled a couple of homes, so we could easily do most of the work ourselves. Financially, it falls well within our budget. We could cover the costs while we rehab it.

We would use the condo occasionally--maybe twice a month during the winter--otherwise we plan to rent it out with a property management service. 

If you could share your perspective based on your experiences in the area or based on your experience in other resort towns, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.