Home Improvement

Palum_sl said:

Was there no option to replace deck with a deck? Or is that in the future?

The fixes are obviously a plus but that color is ... bold.

Click to expand...

I did not want a deck, with only a 6 foot fence between me and my neighbor to the east we would have no privacy. Also, keep in mind my property is over an acre, the fenced portion of my backyard is about a third of an acre so I like being down on the same level as the fenced yard. Regarding the color choice the front of the house has brick so the charcoal gray with white trim really makes the brick pop. I would show you guys a picture of the front of my house but with google maps and shit I really don't think I can trust (some of) you guys.

joeboo_sl said:

A raised deck vs a concrete patio is a tough choice. On the one hand the raised deck gives you a better view of the surrounding area/neighbors, but they can also see you better. Being down on ground level with a privacy fence is much more...private. Also much safer to do things like grilling and firepits on the concrete patio than a raised wooden deck. The concrete looks nice

Click to expand...

Those are 24" x 24" Charcoal Sandstone HydraPressed Slabs by Abbotsford.

Sandstone

Picasso_sl said:

I like the new color and improvements. You should have guards on that stair railing

Click to expand...

There are guards, really hard to see from that distance with the lighting etc. So I just went out and snapped a picture.

I made two identical frames out of 2" x 2" for each section. I then cut Horse Fence aka "No Climb Fence" to fit the area and trapped it between the two frames. This was WAY cheaper per lineal foot than anything you can purchase. It also gives it a custom finish look that I like, kind of a rustic meets modern look.

It also gives me peace of mind. I have a Bull Dog that no matter how many times she goes through the doggy door she thinks it is a brick wall that she has to blast through full force!

It was not my first choice, I wanted cabling, but I went so over budget I had to figure something out. That seemed like the best option and it does look much better in person vs that picture. I think it will look even better when I paint next spring.

Just to give you guys an idea on of the size of the patio it is 1528 sqft in total, the main area is 1408 sqft 44' x 32' then a strip of 4' x 30' along the garage, basically just a walk way.

EDIT: Oh and the string lights are on a dimmer...bitches love ambience

Xarpolis_sl said:

A girl is renting the property across the street from me, and they saw all of the work I've been doing to the place to get it ready to sell. She stopped by today with some interest. I told her how much I was going to list it for and she was VERY interested. She's interested in using a lawyer instead of realtors. They earn a lot less in the sale of a house vs. a realtor's 3% (on each side) commission. Neat.

Anyway, do any of you have experience with that?

Click to expand...

I bought my current house using a lawyer. I was in the Mortgage Industry for about 10 years, so I was pretty comfortable with the in and outs of a purchase contract. So I grabbed a contract off line and wrote it up, I showed it to my then land lord and she was cool with it (no signing, just a verbal). I then paid a lawyer a flat fee of $500 to redo the contract on their letter head with basically the same verbiage. I did this to keep the contract at arms length, not only to protect me, the seller as well. The signed lawyers contract was the one I opened escrow with.

Since I did all the leg work I got the home for roughly 7% under market value, the land lord was happy. She figured it was either going to a realtor or giving a family she liked some extra equity since she did not have the knowledge or understanding of how to get stuff executed on her own.

In your case you can pocket 1% - 7% more if you play your cards right and orchestrate the rest of the process.

One of my closest friends is a realtor in Vegas and he is probably the only Realtor I would ever hire again. For the most part (in my experience) Realtors aren't worth their wage. I would much rather pay a lawyer a flat fee then give thousands of dollars to two people that know less about Real Estate than me.

If you want more info PM me.

The joys of % based compensation.

How the hell has zillow and the internet in general not killed that "profession" yet?