A Million Bucks by 30

Author:Alan Corey [Corey, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780345504517
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-10-13T13:00:00+00:00

PART III

Brokering and Budgeting

Chapter 12

Treasure Hunt

THIS bathroom is disgusting. It’s the only thing keeping the apartment from being considered above average. If I make over the bathroom, I’ll have more equity in the place because it will be worth more. If I ever move out, I can rent it out for more. Man, what is happening to me? I bet this is what adults think like all the time: “Let’s do bathroom makeovers!” Didn’t I just throw a massive beer bash? What’s happened to me? Jesus H. Wheelchair, I’m getting so old!

Eleven months into property owning, I was spending a lot of time thinking about bathroom makeovers. It was slightly unsettling, like the feeling of finding yourself caring about an American Idol finalist. But I had saved enough money to get one, so I decided to go ahead and do it. I got estimates from several contractors and handymen and went with the second-cheapest guy, who was also the one who promised the work would be completed the earliest. I even had him sign an agreement that if the job wasn’t done by the date we agreed on, he’d take $300 off the bill, which actually brought his price down to the lowest bid I got.

I did a complete gut renovation of the bathroom: new shower, new tile, new sink, new toilet, and new overhead lights. The total price was $6,000.

Now, when you renovate your home, and you do it right, you raise the value of the property close to equal, or sometimes even more than, the money you spent to fix it up. Studies show that bathroom and kitchen renovations are the most effective in helping owners recoup expenses and increase the value of their home. Buyers (and renters) care about these two areas the most when looking at properties. It probably has something to do with our society’s obsession with food and potty humor. My bathroom was in such bad shape, I figured that if I spent $6,000 to renovate it by buying tile, a toilet, and a sink at discount prices, hired a low-priced quality contractor, and painted it myself, I could end up adding $10,000 in value to my apartment. It seemed like another win-win situation to me. I got it done quickly and for the cheapest price. (The job was completed a day late, so I got $300 knocked off the price, as agreed.) And it looked great; the apartment was now complete. Now I just had to find a way to buy another one.

Around the time of the bathroom makeover, my two-year anniversary of extreme saving was approaching, and I was getting ready to check my finances once again. It was two and a half years since I had moved to New York City. My checking account balance was low after paying for the bathroom makeover, but I reminded myself that my equity had gone up because of the money I had spent. Additionally, my equity had also increased because, as I had hoped, the New York real-estate market was on the rise.

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