Skip to main content

Buying a Fixer-upper


For the last few days, my agent and I have been looking at apartments in need of renovations. In other words, fixer-uppers. As mention before my budget is small and therefore I'm willing to make some concessions on my wish list items, such as updated kitchen and updated bathroom. I am not willing to compromise however on closet space, that is an absolute deal breaker to me.  Needless to say we were hoping to get a bargain. Neither apartment were in my ideal neighborhood and I decided that I would compromise on the location because they were not too far away from where I wanted to be. Apartment # 2 best fit my location wish list as it was close to a subway station and lots of buses. It also has a business district which includes shopping, restaurants, etc. Apartment #1 was in a more quiet area and is less than 10 minutes away by driving and maybe about 15 by bus. I like that Apartment # 1 had a balcony, as I really wanted an apartment with some outdoor space.

  I actually liked Apartment #1.  I'm scarred of the amount of work that is needed. Firstly, it was severely outdated but it has a lot of  potential.  And perhaps most important, It has a balcony. if it hadn't been for the water damage in the bathroom and the confusion over who's responsibility it would be  (mine or the coop board) to fix the pointing issues that are causing the water damage, then I would have definitely made an offer on this property on Saturday.
outdated kitchen with formica walls and counter top

Stained flooring in master bedroom and plastic covering the opening in the wall were an AC should be

water damage in bathroom wall caused by pointing issues

the roof of the balcony

water damage in bathroom ceiling caused by pointing issues

damaged flooring

pointing issues
Apartment#2 I was less found of. I hated the building and felt that it wasn't very well kept. There was peeling paint on the lobby walls and building exterior. I know it seems petty but this is actually a pet peeve of mine. The building didn't look the way I wanted it to. Let me get to the unit. It was dark. And small. And the owners had divided the small living room into two, using one half as a third bedroom.  the property is listed as a two bedroom but I suspected that it was originally a large one bedroom that was turned into a two  to maximize it's rental potential. The listing agent said the unit was previously rented to college students. Below are the best pics of this space. The other images were too dark to publish. Trust me when I saw that the unit was horrible.
the small livingroom

the small master bedroom

bathroom, the best part of this apartment


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Urban Cottage

I’ve finally moved into my first home.  I’m bursting with excitement and happiness to share all my design and décor ideas that I’ve been pinning from google images and home décor magazines for many years. I am now the proud owner of what I’m calling my “urban cottage”, a small three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house in New York.  I’m so excited to make this home my dream home.   For the past several weeks the cottage has been under renovations. Within days after closing we realized that there was leaking behind a wall in one of the bedrooms (which wasn’t noted on the home inspection report).   Apparently, there was an issue with the gutters and instead of falling away from the house when it rained, the water was seeping through cracks in the brick façade. Thankfully we were able to identify the source quickly and fix it. Initially, the renovation work was estimated to take about five weeks, however it’s ended up at nine weeks. And as I’m writing this no...
Post a Comment
Read more

I bought a house!

This morning I woke at about 4:00 am and couldn’t return to sleep. I was too happy knowing that in just a few more hours I would get the keys to my new home.   All that was left to do was sign a bunch of papers and this charming home would be mine. Well, I didn’t get the keys to my new home. Last night was the final walk through and to my surprise the sellers were still in the home and hadn’t packed a single thing.   They informed me that they needed more time and that they hired movers who would haul away their belongings on Monday. What? I was trying to be super understanding so I smile and nodded. However, my internal voice was screaming. At the closing, my attorney tld me that I would be compensated for every day that the sellers remained in the home.   On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet the sellers at the home where I will complete another walk through and then will be provided with the keys. Still, I bought a house, a house that I will not have access to for se...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.
Post a Comment
Read more