I was pleasantly surprised to see that Sarah Richardson used Ikea cabinets in her house on TV. It was nice to see her finally coming in under budget on 1 of the rooms.
I don't think that the house has sold yet though. Can't be that Ikea kitchen - it looked great!
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You're right Arizona - in fact, during the intro to each show she says something like "let me show you how to build the house of your dreams". Definitely not a show specifically about flipping.
I'll probably rewatch the first and last Sarah's House episodes again but I'm thinking Sarah's House wasn't so much of a flip show like Peters was(obviously).
I think she was showing how you could turn your new house purchase into the home of your dreams while respecting a budget (giggle).
In the real world you would have several years to make up your investment so you actually made some money off your improvements and updates.
What some selling has taught me is it's even more finite than regional when it comes to what you do. It has everything to do with neighbourhood and who the buyers are for that particular house. What sells to one buyer won't to another so you have to know who you are dealing with. It depends on the house, what stage the neighbourhood is, and what the attitude/sophistication level of the buyer might be. That's where the Realtors and a knowledgeable stager can make all the difference in what you do and don't do to a house you intend to sell and where some of these 'sell' shows fall flat because they have nothing to do with what happens in some areas.
There are also lots of things like the stone mentioned where you won't get a dime back because they are 'nice to haves' and can help the house sell faster (if they are the right colour/choice for that buyer) but that's pretty much the only benefit. Pick the wrong one and you just added a liability that could cause someone could knock the price down.
That seems to be the experience Peter brought to his show as he asked his Realtor about every room before he tackled it. He's done this for years yet he still had his Realtor there to tell him what was good for that particular house/buyer. Sarah didn't seem to do that as much as she was opting for what she would want and that might have been a critical error if her goal was to sell quickly and for a profit.
I remember viewing a home in an area that I was interested in living & the seller had granite in the kitchen.
Everywhere, the counters, backsplash, floor & a custome made dining table.
I did not like the choice of the colour of granite and having so much of it really turned me off and I sure would not have liked to pay an extra premium into the sale price of the home with features that were not appealing to me.
I think regional differences make the biggest impact to choosing finishes too. I asked a realtor if I should do stone countertops in my kitchen and she said it was a personal decison but not to expect to recoup the money for them in the selling price unless a quick sale wasn't necessary. She said in this area people like and want stone countertops but they aren't really willing to pay for them. There is a maximum buyers are prepared to pay for any area no matter the finishes.
I assume any show that shows a store or company name got a discount but it'd be unfortunate for us viewers to be given the discount price in the totals. Doesn't help us much when we are trying to figure out what works with our budgets.
I'm not sure how reliable this source is but I read on a wedding forum that the costs Sarah uses are her discounted costs, not the same retail prices we would pay at a store.
Okay for those who are curious, I just saw the final episode for Home to Flip and saw the address of Peter's house on the MLS listing they showed briefly on the show. It is on Garnet Avenue (Dupont and Christie).
That reminds me, I don't believe the cost of reupholtering the dining room chairs was included in the tally at the end.
I like it when Peter Falico gives the specific breakdown at the end of Home to Flip so you can see how much things really cost.
The thing I wonder is, does the buget for her rooms include the furniture. I do upholstery for some pretty high end designers and the numbers don't add up to me :confused:
It is terrible to not have sold the house and I would be very upset to have put X amount of money into a place fully expecting to get it back and then some and then have the market and economy turn like it has. Who could have forseen that happening earlier on in the year? She's either going to have to lower the price in order to make it more attractive to sell or she's going to have to wait it out which could be a very long time and vacantcy permits on house insurance policies are very expensive so it might boil down to the same thing in the end.
there are a few buyers I could see wanting furniture. Think the newly divorced guy or someone who basically just wants to move in and isn't particularly interested in decor, furniture etc. Also a company house if it was in a convenient location (here there are companies that own condos and such they use for new transfers or someone who is maybe brought in to work a temp period). Maybe even someone who buys as an investment and uses it as a rental. Bit expensive neighbourhood for that maybe as anyone who I could see renting in that kind of situation probably is a family with furniture. Who knows. At least in Sarah's situation, even if she has to store the furniture after she has some opportunity to use it with other projects and clients maybe. You or I would probably end up having to write it off since we'd never get the money for it back.
Anyway you look at it, especially given the carrying costs she now has, she probably won't make a nickel on that house. Hopefully the sale of show makes up for it.
The ad for Sarah's house says that some of the furnishing are for sale, but it's can't be included in the price. She's probably sweating that it hasn't sold - that's a lot to carry. She was pregnant when she was making the show and she's had the baby by now, so it's obviously been a while.
I can't see buying a house with the furniture. Like other posters, I've collected my own furniture over the years - I'm 57 - so I have a lot that I love now.
Just watched the episode again - does anyone else find it odd that the only "opening" to walk in or out of the kitchen is near the front hallway? This means that if you are in the kitchen you need to walk around and through the living room to get to the table. I am not sure it would bother me that much [I]if[/I] there were room for four chairs at the counter height eating bar...
Absolutely, DBD... plus the fact that the market started to turn in the early fall. The value of Sarah's house has probably dropped considerably, like most homes throughout the country, with buyers waiting in the wings until they feel prices have settled. What a shame for sellers.
I remember when Peter was on that other show - "Small Spaces"??? Can't remember the name for sure. He was always the DIY project guy (and still is for that matter - always showing us how a project can be done). So... ya... I knew that he was more of a builder-guy. It's neat to learn that he's been doing this since he was in his early 20s though! I know that at the beginning of this particular program he mentioned that he'd flipped before. But for the purposes of this program, he's acting like he's relatively new at it (asking questions, acting surprised at costs, etc.) which - I have to admit - I find a smidge annoying.
It would be nice if he did that. By what I was reading trying to find info, it looks like this is actually Peter's business and that he's been doing it since his early 20's. I just assumed he was a designer but that would explain why he always seems to have a designer on his shows if his expertise is actually from the reno end. Maybe the design stuff he does is more of a talent he picked up along the way.
For sure if he had his house ready in Feb. that would make a huge difference in selling vs Sept (seems to me that is when Sarah's went on the market). With her location being more suburban, it's much harder to move a house in the fall/winter usually than in the spring. Around here, inner city can sell anytime because it's a different buyer than the burbs (which often hinges on school year dates) but spring is still the best season, so timing is everything when flipping.
Maybe viewers will get lucky and they'll include the marketing and, hopefully, sale of the house as part of the program! Since Peter's show is about flipping, you'd think he'd go that far if he could...
Does anywhere know where Peter Falico's house is located from Home to Flip?
I just did a fast look up on Falico's house and couldn't find anything more than a mention of it being in one of Toronto's up and coming neighbourhoods. I assume that means it's a more inner city, older area, but not being in Toronto, I have no idea how many of those there might be. Apparently they finished that house last Feb so it probably already sold and won't be on the MLS any longer.
With Sarah's kitchen coming in under budget, do you think it is because of creative accounting? No flooring costs, painting, because those costs were allocated in other areas...
I can hardly wait to see Peter's kitchen and dining area - saw a peak of it last night, it looked beautiful.
Arizona, creepy would be one way to describe the emotions that offer created. I don't think it would be creepy if they had just wanted a couch and some chairs, but they wanted everything, my kids framed artwork, cheap prints, beds, etc...
I find it bordering on creepy if someone wants your furnishings. Maybe I'm too attached to my furnishings but it took me a long time to complete my "collection" and I would hate to start over.
Watched Peter last night and wondered where the heck was his house too! :laugh: Maybe it sold already.
epav1, I have thought the same thing about her leaving the furniture (and Peter Fallico). Although the furnishings finish off the house and I really like Sarah's design and decorating, I really like some of the things I have collected over the years and would not part with them. I actually did not even realize I felt this way until we were selling our former home and we received a very, very generous offer - the catch - it needed to come with all the furnishings; as good as the money sounded, we couldn't take the offer.
I hate the new MLS site I can never get it to work. I put in the mls# and nothing happens. Grrrrrrrr
No it hasn't sold yet. It's on Realtor.ca, MLS®: C1481244. She doesn't leave the furnishings when it is sold, does she?
Does anywhere know where Peter Falico's house is located from Home to Flip?
Of all the rooms she has completed in this house I wonder why she chose to come in under budget on the kitchen?? IMO she should have gone full out on the kitchen & saved in some of the other rooms ie. the laundry room.....not to suggest that the kitchen didn't look fab because it did! No matter I still love Sarah's work! :)
It's hard to come under budget when doing a kitchen:clapping:
They were very plain doors, and she had the uppers spray painted. I don't know the name of the style.
The house is featured in Style At Home magazine, and sure enough, it's Ikea cabinets and Ikea granite counter. I have Ikea cabinets and love them.
I missed a lot of last nights episode, I wasn't sure where she got the cabinets, I thought it might have been Home Depot's Venue line. Which Ikea door did she choose?
I was shocked when I saw she came under budget, you can really get carried away in a kitchen and I figured she would blow it big time in there.