Brick stain and remodel questions

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aftons1983

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I am new to flipping homes. I am buying the house pictured below. It needs about 25k or so done to the inside. I am trying not to go too high on the exterior due to this home being in an undesirable area. However, I know the curb appeal can really raise the value. I am not trying to be lazy here but I am new/ignorant and kind of stuck on what to do after tons of research and drawing.
Please give me advice! Some things we discussed are: putting a gable on porch (expensive I know), staining or painting brick (staining will look better but leaving mortar white will cost a lot in labor while painting requires maintenance to the future home owner), just painting the porch and taking lattice off or replacing with something better, adding thickness to the side and front of porch roof to give it dimension and make it flow better with the other roof, covering porch rafters with siding, moving porch stairs to front of porch (even though the sidewalk would have to be moved), different landscaping options with shrubs or flower bed and hanging baskets on the porch, new windows and doors is a definite since most of the windows are not double pane, replacing 3 small columns with 2 large ones, just taking off porch roof to leave it as a deck, and you cannot see the carport but there is a make shift carport on right side we are tearing down bc it looks rough so we wondered should we put some kind of cheap carport up like a metal one on top of the slab or just leave it bare. I dislike metal carports but I know not having carport or garage is huge deal because here in Georgia most homes come standard with them. This pic is old and yard has no shrubs or trees. Just overgrown grass. We are doing shutters to match roof. We are putting a new roof and I decided metal will sell better. Plus we can get either type for same price. Contractor also mentioned bringing metal down around porch roof to help look although I cannot visualize that well. Metal color will depend on what color brick ends up. I know with staining it we can give it a modern brick look like some newer homes but dad keeps saying way too expensive. So if we paint it, maybe taupe, light green, grey, or white paint. I know no one would want to do this on their own home bc of maintenance but if it would help sell it I think it might be worth it. I wish I could do everyone of these things. But we would be in the hole. Any ideas or are any of my ideas going to help sell? I put this in the brick section because the best idea I could think of was changing the outdated brick and maybe some experienced person might know the easiest way and if it will add a lot of value. I love brick, just not the 1970s color of it. Thanks so much for any advice and thanks for taking a second to read. Maybe some day I will be able to contribute and pay it forward on here.

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I would not do anything to that brick unless it's dirty, then all I'd do is clean it!
Someone would have to do some like home sales research to figure out just how much to be spending on improvements.
Bad area, other homes in about the same condition in that area, spending to much money on improvements may help it sell faster but there will be little or no return on your money.
All we have is a picture to go by, but a few things I think I'm seeing looks like an older 3 tab shingled roof, a window A/C instead of central air, what looks like a trump in the middle of the yard that should have been cut off and ground down.
 
First of all thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate you taking the time to read that loooong msg and all. I am definitely considering your concept of minimum changes and just cleaning it up. We are putting in central heat and air. The inside of the home will have all standard things. In GA everything is considered standard except a 4th bedroom, garbage disposal, and large utility room. We are even making a half bath into a full bath to give it 2 full bathrooms both of which are being gutted and replaced with new stuff. I figured 2 baths was most important. Also we are rewiring due to the wiring being an old fuse box. The kitchen is also being gutted. It has the only paneling wall and although the cabinets are good and just need new stain, they do not match. The top ones are different from the bottom ones. So we are even replacing those with a very modern stain. We are covering the outdated wood floor with vinyl plank. I was back and forth on that one. It is about the same price to refinish them as it is to put vinyl plank over but 2 people have now told me that folks will not like the older looking very small wood sections that was popular in the 70s. Walls are being repainted, some ceilings are having to be redone due to an improper fix after a water leak many years ago. All doors and windows inside and out except one window that is current (the one with the a/c hanging out lol). We are making this look modern on the inside. That is easy for me because those are things that have to be changed anyway. The stuff I am on the fence about on the outside would be purely cosmetic (except for the porch and I have drawn and googled for about 10 hours trying to figure it out). It is hard to find images of raised porches like that (only back yard decks). Thanks again for your response. Anybody else agree with minimum change on exterior by just cleaning it? Also if so can you give me any idea on what you would do with that porch in addition to pressure wash and remove/replace lattice? I was thinking paint it white maybe but should I also change the build of it? We have leftover wood from taking down the make shift carport that has a lot of wood and the wood on the carport is in better shape than the wood on the porch as the carport is fairly new. Just hanging weird.
 
Take a photo of the next 5 houses each side of it and the five across the street and we may be able to give you an idea of how far to go. Get a point of what you paid for it and the comp price based on those homes and what you need to get out of this one.

Just the stuff you listed sounds like you are going to be over 25k budget pretty quick. Are you doing all the work yourself and are you applying a labor cost to your time.
 
I would not do anything to that brick unless it's dirty, then all I'd do is clean it!
Someone would have to do some like home sales research to figure out just how much to be spending on improvements.
Bad area, other homes in about the same condition in that area, spending to much money on improvements may help it sell faster but there will be little or no return on your money.
All we have is a picture to go by, but a few things I think I'm seeing looks like an older 3 tab shingled roof, a window A/C instead of central air, what looks like a trump in the middle of the yard that should have been cut off and ground down.

You want to what with trump?:nono:
 
Painting the brick is what we see on TV rebuilds now. But that is pretty much irreversible and if the brick is in good shape I would find a better place to spend the money.
 
What do you think is a better way to spend the money making the outside look better? I was hoping there was a better way than painting the brick. Even though my job is not to worry about routine maintenance and the first time buyer most likely will not care, I still want to give them a maintenance free wall exterior if possible. The brick was the only idea that came to me. The contractor gave the gable idea. I put a gable on it with this app and it seemed to help maybe a little. There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews on brick. Of course if it is your house you do not want to add the maintenance but also some people like the look of that old school brick.
 
Here are the homes I could screen shot off of google map. Just because it will be a few days before I am back over there. These homes still look pretty much the same except that some of the yards have gotten slightly more junky. The homes are mostly brick and slighly larger than this one I am getting and with better carports. The only except is there are 2 doublewides and one home with wood siding. The 2 doublewides are nice with very kept yards (I sent image of the less nice of the 2). Anyway in my opinion, the home I am buying is almost the least nice one on the street.

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As mentioned , tight budget. The stump and chain link fence don't help, have the roof cleaned if possible. Other houses have a gabled roof over the front porch and shutters on the windows which makes them more attractive.
 
We are leaving the fence but the stump is no longer there. We were doing shutters (I was also considering window trim as I like it better than shutters). I was noticing that many had a gable to when I was snapping photos. Thanks for your help!
 
We are leaving the fence but the stump is no longer there. We were doing shutters (I was also considering window trim as I like it better than shutters). I was noticing that many had a gable to when I was snapping photos. Thanks for your help!

If you had to do a new roof, the gable over the porch would be good plus.
I don't think you can get a window trim in there but shutters will add that little bit of interest.
 
Personally, I would NEVER buy a brick home where the bricks were painted. To me, that is a huge negative to the value of the house. It becomes a maintenance headache on what should be a more or less maintenance free exterior. Powerwash and clean it rather than paont it in my opinion.
 
Yes I feel the same way. I just do not think most first time home buyers will think that and I am trying to cater to them. I am afraid they will see the outdated brick of their childhood home era. We are leaning toward not doing the brick but I am still afraid it is a mistake. We shall see. Thanks for your advice :)
 
What make you think the first-time buyer will be your target. I see an older person or couple downsizing just as easily. That age group will be cash in hand and know what they want.

Flipping houses is not at all the TV show version.
 
Yes good point. The buyers in this particular area seem to be young and first time buyers. I am sure that changes for more expensive homes. We have a lot of town homes and that seems to be what older downsizing people go for. The town homes go really cheap too. While it is possible an older person who cares more about maintenance than modern might be interested, they will be the minority. Like I said we are shying away from the painting mainly because of the price and my dad hating the idea (him having that mentality of what he would want done to brick on his own house). Dad thinks the gable will update the home more than paint will so we are going to do that instead I think. Then we are tearing down ugly carport, putting a metal roof (current roof is not old but has some missing shingles and is ugly chicken house looking light grey shingles), redoing the rough looking porch (although not exactly sure how yet), replacing wood with vinyl siding (on side of house you cannot see in pic), putting cement patio out back, and putting some shrubs in front of home. Hopefully this will be enough and I will send a pic update when finished. Hopefully this will help more people in the future trying to modernize a brick ranch. However if anybody thinks I am messing up or has any other ides, please share. Thanks!
 
The whole front porch would really pop if painted white. The weathered PT just looks DIY-ish and I know this is a DIY forum. White shutters and white porch. Low landscaping and a clean look and it won’t be the same place. The gable end will look much better also. Looks like some of the neighbors are doing metal roof. With the right color on there that would help also. With the gable you are going to have to do the roof anyway.
 
You want to fix that house up to livable and clean and sell it to someone that has the skills to make it beautiful. So you have to sell the dream. Cheap enough that a small family can squeeze their budget and get in the door and make improvement over time. They don't want to live in a dump so just have a clean place to start with at the right price is great.

After you have figured out how to get them there and talking, you have to be able to answer every question.
If you deal honestly and fairly, they will bring their friends to your next open house.
People will ask tough questions like what insulation is in the wall, how old is the roof and what would it cost to replace. same with the windows. Have the septic tank pumped and find out how big it is will it service if someone adds to the house.

All the honest information with a house move in ready gives you an advantage.
Often sales people drop off flowers or something for the buyer, that fine for the wife, he needs a saw or something.
 
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