Good Bones - General Discussion

[3 is enough]

5 hours ago, MaKaM said:

I'd rather have the marble on the wall than on the countertops.

Seconded!  But I also question putting it in a shower, which Mina loves to do. Surely the steam and soap scum don't do it any favours. Actually, come to think of it, my sister-in-law had a shower with a marble shelf in it and she had to have it polished and resealed, so I guess it isn’t the best choice.

A backsplash seems the least objectionable use, unless you have a very messy cook who constantly splashes tomato sauce all over the place.

I think the bathroom floor in my childhood home had those little marble tiles that are all the rage again.  It held up well.

Edited July 16, 2020 by 3 is enough

[LittleIggy]

Karen looks so pretty when she dresses up. I liked her hat. That wasn’t the one she found in the house, was it? I would go nuts in that antique place they went to as well.

[Grrarrggh]

18 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

A transitioning or up-and-coming neighborhood wouldn't interest me at all.   Being the nicest house in a not too great neighborhood isn't a good idea, especially for a buyer with two little kids.   

What neighborhood was it?

[bilgistic]

"Transitioning neighborhoods" is generally code for low-income Black and/or brown communities that are in the process of being gentrified by white people, i.e., pricing out traditional community residents. We've discussed in this forum how what Mina's company does is pretty much gentrification, and how she (and other developers) are driving up home prices. She's hardly the first and won't be the last to do it. She validates it by saying she's keeping the homes' integrity or charm or whatever, while putting in hideous green cabinets, which is why she earns my snark.

She mentioned that the community in which they were building (Old Southside) was getting a city grant for new infrastructure and housing (for "moderate-income" citizens), so the city is taking part in the gentrification as well. This, too, has taken place historically all over, including in my own city in what was once called Brooklyn Village. Arguably the most famous case of violent gentrification was the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921.

Neighborhoods aren't inherently dangerous. The systemic racism and white supremacy that makes areas "dangerous" are what's dangerous.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I still remember the episode a couple of years ago, where the granddaughter of a previous owner contacted Mina to sell the house, because she knew it would be restored instead of razed.      Then the house was too expensive for the family to buy back, so someone from Mina's real estate company bought it.   When they rent them out, to wait for finishing others they've bought to remodel, then I'm betting the rent isn't affordable for anyone who lives in the neighborhood either.     Just look at Mina's house that Tad was renting, where they didn't fix it up until he moved, and then they had to rent it out to wait a few years for the neighborhood prices to go up.    No one who ever lived in that house will be able to rent or buy it. 

If they intended to sell or rent to anyone local, then they could do a thorough remodel on infrastructure, and not do the over the top, super expensive finishes, and have a lower price.      Their market is the better paid urban professionals, and not just to fix the houses up.    Almost all of the houses the first and second season were abandoned, or foreclosed on by the city, and I suspect a lot had evictions.   Now, I actually laughed when Mina said the city was subsidizing the moderate priced houses, because that's never been the company's aim, and even the 'potential' home buyer knew that.   

If they were aiming to get middle class people into homes, the finishes, and special features would be more decent, but stock cabinets, porcelain tile, with bigger tiles to minimize labor, and speed installation.    No fancy walls of tile, or extra cabinets all the way to the ceiling that will never be used.      I'm guessing they could save a lot, and make the houses more affordable.   I wonder if high-end rentals are more of their aim in a lot of cases.    

Edited July 16, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

On any series, I roll my eyes at the high upper cabinets one would need a ladder to reach. No one will use those.

[pasdetrois]

All I could think about the wall o' marble was getting up there to clean.

I liked this house more than some of the others.

I enjoyed the discussion about setbacks and firewalls because those are real-world urban code issues.

Agree with the gentrification discussion; that's really what's going on in many of these shows. They rave about saving old homes but the developers are really seeking wealth.

My neighborhood was working-class whites when I bought, which I did to be near a subway stop. Now the homes (not mine) sell for $1 - 2 million. Older people who've been here forever struggle with affording property taxes. If they want to downsize they have to move far away because they can't afford one-bedroom condos in their current neighborhoods. My county has an affordable housing program and recently established a middle-income housing initiative as a way to try to balance things out.

[RoxiP]

48 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

On any series, I roll my eyes at the high upper cabinets one would need a ladder to reach. No one will use those.

I would like having high ceilings and those high cabinets - that's where my holiday and "fancy" stuff would live - that stuff that you only use maybe once a year but are too much of a hoarder to get rid of (LOL).  That's why there are kitchen ladders (and I'm only 5'3).  Of course I already have to use a ladder to get to my higher cabinets.

You can never have enough storage in my book.

[3 is enough]

Restoring falling down old homes is great, but pricing residents out of their neighborhoods is not.  

I like the idea of using lower grade finishes to make the houses more affordable, but let's get real, HGTV would not be interested.  And honestly, I think the majority of the costs come from the structural repairs, which is something they cannot skimp on.  The houses are usually quite small, so using lower end finishes would not save them that much money. Maybe eliminating the ensuite bathrooms in almost every bedroom would lower the costs more.

And I just want to say I am so over arabesque tile.

Edited July 16, 2020 by 3 is enough

[LittleIggy]

48 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I would like having high ceilings and those high cabinets - that's where my holiday and "fancy" stuff would live - that stuff that you only use maybe once a year but are too much of a hoarder to get rid of (LOL).  That's why there are kitchen ladders (and I'm only 5'3).  Of course I already have to use a ladder to get to my higher cabinets.

You can never have enough storage in my book.

I’d rather have practical storage space I could use everyday.

[RoxiP]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I’d rather have practical storage space I could use everyday.

I just wish I could make myself do a thorough cleanse so I didn't need as much storage!  I think we can both agree that a plethora of storage is always a good thing (just  in my case a plethora of stuff is not).

[dleighg]

How does a house get that full of absolute junk? And who is moving out leaving all that behind?

[3 is enough]

31 minutes ago, dleighg said:

How does a house get that full of absolute junk? And who is moving out leaving all that behind?

I wonder if there were squatters there at various times and they just left all of their stuff behind?  Or maybe the owner died and no one emptied the place out.  Another possibility is that it was known to be deserted and people started dumping their junk there.  

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, dleighg said:

How does a house get that full of absolute junk? And who is moving out leaving all that behind?

Ever watch Hoarders? 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Some renters don't move furniture, they just move from place to place, leaving everything behind when they move, and squatters do the same thing.   So the house may have been a hoarder house, or just renters leaving everything.   I suspect that house was a boarding house, and that's why everything was a bedroom, and when the people moved on, they left everything, or just dumped their stuff in the extra bedrooms.  

The house with the front porch rail turned into a headboard, and foot board did nothing for me, that bed frame, and the twine lamp for the bedroom would have been out on day one if I bought that townhome.    I don't like the hanging wood/rope planters on the porch either.   Was that real wallpaper Cory and the designer put in the half bath?   It looked like peel-and-stick to me, and that's going to be a pain to get rid of unless you do it quickly.     The half bath didn't look cohesive at all, nothing matched any other part, there wasn't any kind of theme or color coordination. 

Edited July 18, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[dleighg]

Those two big posts under the counter projection in the kitchen were absolutely necessary-- that countertop was rather thin. Some idiot is bound to try to sit on it at some point and WHAM. I still think that's a danger, even with the supports.

I liked the repurposed fireplace surround, but the empty spot underneath still looked "empty." Not sure what a good solution is. 

And I really disliked the "dining room" being right inside the front door.

[mojito]

Quote

I like the idea of using lower grade finishes to make the houses more affordable, but let's get real, HGTV would not be interested. 

I wouldn't be interested in selling a home for a $15K profit after four months of work when I could make $40K. Compared to other flippers, these ladies aren't raking in much money at all.

I do agree with your sentiment, however. So many people make enough to maintain a home, but not enough to buy one. They're destined to be renters. 

[irisheyes]

6 minutes ago, mojito said:

I wouldn't be interested in selling a home for a $15K profit after four months of work when I could make $40K. Compared to other flippers, these ladies aren't raking in much money at all.

I do agree with your sentiment, however. So many people make enough to maintain a home, but not enough to buy one. They're destined to be renters. 

I think they make a lot of their money in volume. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think they also rent out a lot of the homes, until the market improves in that area.   The market improves because the company buys multiple homes side by side if they can (Easy or E street for example), on that one street they bought five or six empty homes, cheap, fixed them up, and I think rented the first few out, and then when the prices on that street went up sharply, they probably put them on the market.   The same thing they did with the house Tad rented for several years, then he moved, and they redid it (that one was personally owned by Mina, and Steve as an income property), and then rented for 3 to 5 years, and then will sell at almost 30% more.   

[buttersister]

Show is heavy on the sad. Gentrification too frequently does not allow for the area residents to remain in neighborhoods they've called home for many years, sometimes generations. Developers couldn't care less about anything other than profit. So I guess this is the remodeling version of Shark Tank? The houses are the investments.

I prefer remodeling shows where people have already bought their place and say, Ben and Erin improve it. And they don't use macrame. (Which is worse than that one horrendous ropey wall hanging, please stop, Erin.) 

[chessiegal]

Ben and Erin's show is Home Town, not Good Bones.

[irisheyes]

In Mina and Karen’s defense, they’re not buying homes that anyone wants. Most of the homes they are buying are abandoned and dangerous (and probably drug houses).  Unfortunately, the costs of restoring them mean that they’re going to have to sell them for $200K+.
 

I wish there was an easy answer for the housing crisis that is happening in every city. There aren’t any easy answers, unfortunately. 

[Grrarrggh]

10 hours ago, irisheyes said:

I wish there was an easy answer for the housing crisis that is happening in every city. There aren’t any easy answers, unfortunately. 

There are a number of easy answers. Some people just don't like them because it will cost them money (that they don't really need) or force them to live next door to Black/Brown/poorer people.

[irisheyes]

On 7/19/2020 at 8:37 PM, Grrarrggh said:

There are a number of easy answers. Some people just don't like them because it will cost them money (that they don't really need) or force them to live next door to Black/Brown/poorer people.

But, how would one fix the house on last Tuesdays show without spending almost $200K?  The house before was an eyesore that was pulling all the values down. Mina and Karen don’t usually take housers that are cheap but still livable and flip them. The houses they renovate are awful.  They’re in it to make money. I just don’t see how they can fix a house and still make it a price a lower income family can afford. 

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, irisheyes said:

But, how would one fix the house on last Tuesdays show without spending almost $200K?  The house before was an eyesore that was pulling all the values down. Mina and Karen don’t usually take housers that are cheap but still livable and flip them. The houses they renovate are awful.  They’re in it to make money. I just don’t see how they can fix a house and still make it a price a lower income family can afford. 

Like I said there are easy answers to the housing crisis but the involve people not being greedy. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Grrarrggh said:

Like I said there are easy answers to the housing crisis but the involve people not being greedy. 

Then they aren’t easy.

[tessaray]

Just a quick note... a few side comments on gentrification and capitalism aren't a big deal but discussion of the deeper societal ills surrounding housing should be taken to one of the "Everything Else" threads on the site. Thanks! 

[MaKaM]

Some note:

1. Mina's house is seriously overbuilt for the neighborhood. The way it towers over the neighbors and the street just looks weird.

2. Don't use butcher block with an undermount sink. Terrible idea.

3. I am not a fan of the weird music choices this season. What is with the random song snippets? One of her relatives has a band maybe?

4. That house from the aerial view was terrible too. Too big for the area no matter what it looked like on the front. Why don't they do basements? It is frickin' Indiana. I could get over their usual tiny living rooms if they had full basement play room/family rooms.

[Scatterbrained]

1 hour ago, MaKaM said:

4. That house from the aerial view was terrible too. Too big for the area no matter what it looked like on the front. Why don't they do basements? It is frickin' Indiana. I could get over their usual tiny living rooms if they had full basement play room/family rooms.

Interestingly enough, some Ross Chapin Cottage style pocket neighborhoods have been built in the Indy suburbs WITH BASEMENTS (because, like you said, it’s Indiana!) (Carmel and Zionsville are the Indy burbs with these cottage neighborhoods).  Example of current home for sale in this type of neighborhood. There is a fact sheet on the last real estate image which talks about included basements.  A far as I know, these are the only Ross Chapin neighborhoods (Throughout the US) with basements.
 

I always think about the similarities and differences between the two types of neighborhoods when I watch this show.  In both cases, the homes are small, but the homes in the burbs have ATTACHED garages (multi-car!) and really friendly porches where you could actually sit and chat with your neighbors.  The school district ratings are much better in the burbs.  
 

Oh, and I bet they don’t do basements on the show because it would cost too much to dig down, replace more crumbling foundation and pipes.  Sarah Richardson once did a show where she purchased a property to flip and had a much better property with what seemed like a decent, but unfinished basement.  She had to dig down to meet codes (IIRC) and said she would NEVER do that again!

Edited July 22, 2020 by Scatterbrained

[suebee1212]

2 hours ago, MaKaM said:

3. I am not a fan of the weird music choices this season. What is with the random song snippets? One of her relatives has a band maybe?

Whew, I am glad someone else has noticed this! The first time it happened, I thought maybe they needed some filler...but no, music in each of the new episodes.

2 hours ago, MaKaM said:

4. That house from the aerial view was terrible too. Too big for the area no matter what it looked like on the front.

I figured anyone living there would need a skateboard or something. That addition was really, really long!

And now, to Karen's project. She told the guys looking at the motorcycle table that they would never see another one like it(and who would want to?) BUT I have seen one quite similar! Where you ask? Flea Market Flip! Actually that is a show for Karen to be on....just think of what she could find and build!!!!!

[LittleIggy]

From what they said at the end, the house hadn’t been sold yet (as of the date the episode was finished). I liked the grey cabinets in the kitchen, but the rest of the house was too much grey for my tastes. BTW, I love Karen’s smile. It just lights up her face.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I just wondered how long the coffee table motorcycle parts art lasted in the house?    I would put that for sale very quickly, I really don't see the point of the art stuff, unless it's to add quirky filler for the show.    The addition looked like a bowling alley, as usual.   

 The overhead shot of the house was awful.    It filled the entire lot, and looked like a bowling alley.    I think they over built for the area, and should have done a shorter addition, instead of 4 bedrooms, and that would have allowed at least a small back yard.   I didn't notice if there was an alley, but I'm guessing the garage was built off of the alley.     

Edited July 22, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama
I wasn't paying attention to the show last night, apparently

[pasdetrois]

I hated the house. An ugly monstrosity out of proportion to the other neighborhood homes. And too much gray is depressing, especially during the winter.

But Jack continues to be adorable.

[dleighg]

I imagine the neighbors are "thrilled" to have this thing blocking every bit of sunlight they used to have from the formerly empty "back yard."

I only got a quick glimpse, but it looked like there was still a huge crack in the concrete on the front porch. Why didn't they try to fix that???

Edited July 22, 2020 by dleighg

[RoxiP]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I just wondered how long the coffee table motorcycle parts art lasted in the house?    I would put that for sale very quickly, I really don't see the point of the art stuff, unless it's to add quirky filler for the show.    The addition looked like a bowling alley, as usual.    Is there even any off street parking with these houses?   Or do you have to find street parking somewhere?       

I think Mina said no garage, or parking with the house, and in a snowy area, that would be a deal breaker for me.   (I've lived where they had snow emergency routes, where cars had to be off the main arteries, or they ticketed and towed your car).     Also, no garages in a 'transitional' neighborhood?    The overhead shot of the house was awful.    It filled the entire lot, and looked like a bowling alley.    I think they over built for the area, and should have done a shorter addition, instead of 4 bedrooms, and that would have allowed at least a small back yard.   I didn't notice if there was an alley, but at least a big, solid carport with a storage area on the back would have been useful.    

I'm pretty sure she said there was a 2 car garage several times.  

[dleighg]

25 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I'm pretty sure she said there was a 2 car garage several times.  

yeah, she did. They didn't show it, but they did talk about the F&*^-up with the foundation with respect to the garage, and that they had to redo some stuff.

[3 is enough]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I only got a quick glimpse, but it looked like there was still a huge crack in the concrete on the front porch. Why didn't they try to fix that???

I noticed that too.  All I can think of is that when they showed the house it was too cold for any kind of concrete patch to set.  Hopefully they came back and fixed it. That would set alarm bells off for me for sure.

So the garage was in the back and accounted for some of the length of the house.  Still, that was a long house.  Can't say it was something I would be interested in buying.  If I am not mistaken the guys who were looking at it did not buy it (as usual)?

Edited July 22, 2020 by 3 is enough

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

I'm pretty sure she said there was a 2 car garage several times.  

Yeah, there was a garage. Shown on the plans.

[RoxiP]

48 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

I noticed that too.  All I can think of is that when they showed the house it was too cold for any kind of concrete patch to set.  Hopefully they came back and fixed it. That would set alarm bells off for me for sure.

So the garage was in the back and accounted for some of the length of the house.  Still, that was a long house.  Can't say it was something I would be interested in buying.  If I am not mistaken the guys who were looking at it did not buy it (as usual)?

I wondered why the heck they would want a house  that had four bedrooms when it was only the two of them and their daughter, but they may have had lots of friends and family.  

It did look like the houses around it had been redone, and one was in the process of being redone, and they were considerably larger than the original house (and let's face it - anything they did to that dump was definitely an improvement).  Of course for all we know that could be their company redoing those houses also (should be interesting to watch in the future).  I don't know why she did such a long house - but at least it didn't tower over its neighbors.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I fixed my previous post.   They built a 2 car garage on the back, apparently with alley access.  I wouldn't have touched that house with the cracked front porch, even if they fixed the crack.   A sinking, cracking concrete porch is not a good thing, and I would wonder where else the house was settling. .   

Edited July 23, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

I liked Karen’s velvet blouse (wore it when visiting the furniture/furnishings store). I would want that tortoise, too, with all the little ones as well!

[Cherpumple]

I think they would have been better off tearing down the original and starting fresh, to avoid the incredibly awkward addition. I have nothing against bikers, but the "history" of the house was nothing to brag about and not really worth preserving IMHO.

Also, the dominant design aesthetic of "urban industrial" made no sense to me, since it didn't fit the suburban surroundings and I associate that style more with young hip singles or childless couples, not big family homes. And, wow, that TINY toilet room painted deep ox blood red?! Yikes! It was a horror show. And I laughed out loud during the shopping expedition, when Mina said they were looking for something for an urban industrial house, and ended up with a mustard velvet bar set. WTF.

And I just want to chime in with the dislike of Mina's own house. It may be lovely/functional on the inside, but the outside is a monstrosity. Just a big ugly box with no sense of design that towers over her poor neighbors. If it were in my neighborhood, I'd use it to give directions to visitors. "Turn left after the big ugly white house." "What if I don't know which one you mean?" "You'll know..."

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think Karen's house, with the carriage house addition on the alley, Mina's old house, and Mina's new house are in a row on the same side of the street.   I think the neighbors are Karen, Mina, and whoever lives in Mina's old house.   

On the biker bar house, Mina did say something about owning four or five houses on the same street, so I'm guessing they're in a row and close to each other.    

I hated the gold bar this week, and the red bathroom made me want to reach for the paint roller, or with that color hire a pro to do all four coats of beige or off-white that would cover that stuff.  

Edited July 23, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[3 is enough]

21 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think Karen's house, with the carriage house addition on the alley, Mina's old house, and Mina's new house are in a row on the same side of the street.   I think the neighbors are Karen, Mina, and whoever lives in Mina's old house.   

On the biker bar house, Mina did say something about owning four or five houses on the same street, so I'm guessing they're in a row and close to each other.    

I hated the gold bar this week, and the red bathroom made me want to reach for the paint roller, or with that color hire a pro to do all four coats of beige or off-white that would cover that stuff.  

I can't stand "Harvest Gold".  It can stay in the 70's where it belongs.   

Surprisingly, it is easier to cover dark paint than to paint light walls dark.  At least that has been my experience.  My daughter's old room had a red accent wall, and while I think it originally took me 3-4 coats to get a good result, I covered it completely with only 2 coats.  I think the newer paints with built in primer help immensely.

Edited July 23, 2020 by 3 is enough

[Grrarrggh]

17 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

And I just want to chime in with the dislike of Mina's own house. It may be lovely/functional on the inside, but the outside is a monstrosity. Just a big ugly box with no sense of design that towers over her poor neighbors. If it were in my neighborhood, I'd use it to give directions to visitors. "Turn left after the big ugly white house." "What if I don't know which one you mean?" "You'll know..."

 

The problem is it's just as horrible inside as out. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're showing the older episode of the tiny house on East Street (on Flipping Across America) with fire damage, and that's one scary house.   However, on the remodeled house, there is a first floor master, with French doors going out the back to the deck.  However, the only back yard route is through the master bedroom.   I can't believe the only back yard access is through the bedroom, including on snowy or rainy days.   

Then there is the whining about the lead water line being ripped out by the city, and the buyers (Mina) will have to pay to replace it.     So even if Mina knew the house had a lead water line, she wouldn't have replaced it except the city ripped it out?    I'm hoping I misunderstood that, because lead in water is a major issue. 

On the biker house, I hate stacked washer dryer, unless they can be the front loaders with full size tubs.     I wouldn't buy a house with only a tiny stack washer/dryer.    I thought the space planning in the addition was horrible.   

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[bilgistic]

The biggest WTF for me (of many, let's be real) in this house was it being built out to 2100 square feet and four bedrooms, but only had a stacked washer-dryer in a closet! That was just stupid.

[pasdetrois]

I watched Flipping Across America and the Boise dudes painted an entire bedroom in a muted kind of brownish rose and the kitchen cabinets a muted dark green, Stunning compared to the more garish colors Mina uses sometimes. I think it's a matter of experience and taste.

[MaKaM]

16 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Then there is the whining about the lead water line being ripped out by the city, and the buyers (Mina) will have to pay to replace it.     So even if Mina knew the house had a lead water line, she wouldn't have replaced it except the city ripped it out?    I'm hoping I misunderstood that, because lead in water is a major issue.

I believe (not an expert, trying to beat the information out of my brain) that lead pipes are not an issue as long as they are in constant use and there is some additive in the water. The issues in Flint were because the local government cheaped out and didn't put the additive in which leads to the pipes corroding and shedding their lead particles into the water. So Mina's pipes might not have been a problem but could become one in the future.

[mojito]

Quote

I imagine the neighbors are "thrilled" to have this thing blocking every bit of sunlight they used to have from the formerly empty "back yard."

Well, they don't have to worry about offending the neighbors in the back. 

I couldn't see spending $312 with a junky industrial area, parking lot, and apartment building so close by.  And no back yard.

The back part of the house reminded me of pictures of seen of the old Pullman Sleeper Car (trains).

I was reading these comments while on my desktop computer and it occurred to me that I hadn't seen this episode. Thus, I captured two of the things most talked about it while I watched the show.

I wonder how many people looking for a home that size would care anything about the structure's biker origins? A Harley Davidson medallion embedded in a closet wall would be more than enough for me. I also don't get the time and effort spent on non real property craft projects. Or the special shopping trips for things like the fugly bar and stools.