Seeing as it’s been well over a year since we’ve been checking out houses, I thought it might be kind of fun to revisit some of the ones we’ve looked at to see how they’ve been upgraded or remodeled. we’ve checked out over a dozen, so I think I’ll split this up into a couple posts. Also, I of course won’t be able to go inside these, so it’ll mostly be a check up from the outside. A couple of the places were flipped, so that actually gives a nice chance to see some good before & afters. Which are always fun of course 🙂
1. The one with the pool and shack
This is what it looked like from the outside when we went to see it
And this is what it looks like now
I’m actually not a fan of these super cool colors for outside. And as much as I LOVE blue, it’s just too much blue for me. But the landscaping does look really good. The inside is definitely a transformation as well
Here’s the foyer/living area before
And here it is after
I am WAY over barn doors, but I have to admit, it looks open, airy and very pretty. They did a good job.
The kitchen before
And after
The kitchen actually looks a lot smaller to me now, but it’s really on trend and looks quite lovely. And they mixed metals well.
The bathroom before
And after
Yeah, wow. I am a stickler about not liking the same material on the walls as on the ground, but the dark cabinet looks very nice against all the lighter colors in this room.
The backyard before
And after
Obviously they ripped down that structure and they also filled in the pool. In its place they put a deck
I can’t really tell if in this area a pool is a plus or a minus (it certainly gets warm from time to time, but it’s not really H-O-T for the whole summer or anything – although it felt like it was this year).
What do you think? For as judgmental as I am about flips, I actually think they did a pretty good job. Of course you can tell nothing about construction from photos, the finishes they picked are nice and it doesn’t have a cheap look – which I find is frequently the case. It’s already pending after only being on the market for about a week. It went $100k over asking originally and was offered at $849 after the flip. It’ll be interesting to see what it sells for.
2. The one that was too much work for us (and way too big)
This one ended up being on the market for several months, which, for around here these days is on the more rare side. I was curious what it would sell for and it ended up going for a bit under asking, but not too much. I don’t think the person who bought it got a great deal because it was already on the more expensive side and it needed a SHIT TON of work. You could have easily dropped $200k because it was over 3,000 square feet and EVERYTHING needed to be redone.
It wasn’t flipped, so I don’t have great “after” shots, but the other day Chris and I drove by it when we were in the area and took a looksie. Amazingly it doesn’t really look very different from the outside
The roof has obviously been redone which is good because the roof before was in desperate need of help. I liked that it had been a cedar roof, but I understand it not being updated with a new cedar one. I couldn’t quite tell if the house had been repainted from the street or not, but there was masking in all of the windows, so there was certainly painting going on inside. I’d be interested to see if the house goes back on the market in the next couple of months as another flip. I definitely didn’t get the vibe that it was under construction for someone to live there. Most of the time in that case contractors aren’t quite as messy because the family will have to live there after and deal with neighbors being annoyed. Usually flippers don’t give a shit what anyone thinks and are messy as hell. This wasn’t a terribly dirty job site, but there definitely were job materials strewn about everywhere.
I’ll definitely be on the lookout to see if this one pops back up on the market in the future. Just for nosey sake 🙂
3. The one that’s boring and looks the same
Remember this one? The builder special that wasn’t on too big of a lot but LITERALLY the next door neighbor was the giant Knowland Park? I drove by this one yesterday: not a thing has changed on the outside. I’m hoping things have changed on the inside because it didn’t appear to be built very well and the finishes were less than desirable (at least in my taste). Whatever floats your boat I guess.
4. The one I kinda forgot about
This was the house Chris and I kinda forgot about. We liked it, the space was nice (though it could have been a hair bigger). It was nice that it backed up into a green space. But we just spaced on it and missed when offers were due. We even looked at it twice. I guess it wasn’t really meant to be then because we didn’t care enough to remember to make an offer. Cute enough house, but really not memorable at all.
The new owners got a new paint job, and it certainly looks better
I used to LOVE a house painted deep navy blue, but now I’m seeing it everywhere and it’s not really my jam anymore. I do love navy and white paired together (have you seen the exterior of our house…) I do love houses painted darker colors and kind of wish I had had the balls to do it on our house, but with such interesting architecture, I didn’t want a super bold palate as well. To me it’s one or the other: bold architecture or bold paint. If it’s both it overwhelms me a little. The house still looks cute enough, but again, a tad forgettable. In fact, even with the address in hand I almost drove right by it.
5. The one that got away. Tear.
Ahhhhh, remember this one that started the hunt?
Ugh, it just makes me depressed looking at it. I still get so fucking sad that we missed out on it. Now it looks like this
I must confess that I HATE the paint choice and landscaping. Barf brown and darker brown for the trim – so fucking boring. And it doesn’t do anything for the brick. And the landscaping: boring. Plus, I hate shredded redwood for ground cover. It just sticks to EVERYTHING and itches like hell.
Can you tell what a baby I’m being?
The truth is I can’t drive by this house without getting sad. I still wish SO MUCH that we had gotten it. And it’s been over a year. Every time Chris and I look at another house, we’re reminded about this one and the awful breakup we had. This house ripped our hearts out and stomped on them. Bastard. I can only still pine for something to come along that will be better. I know something will. Right?
I am of course very curious of the inside and wish I could see it. Though I know it will only make me depressed. This front room and little sun porch thingy had so much potential
Judging from the BORING front they did, I’m sure the inside isn’t as fun as I would have made it. Fucking damnit. Time to go have a pity party for myself. Clearly… 🙂
Welp, that’s the first round of visits. I think with the other 10 or so houses I may break this up into 2 more posts. I still have to drive by most of them. I like giving a good amount of time to see if there are any changes apparent from the outside. I mean, I know we’re all disappointed that House Hunters now always revisits the owners when they’ve only been in their new house for like 2 weeks. What’s the fun in that? There have been no changes in that time House Hunters! Get it together.
gracefulvintage says
What part of town were these homes located in???
meryl rose says
How familiar with the neighborhoods of Oakland are you? (I can get crazy specific, or just general)
gracefulvintage says
Crazy specific works…..
meryl rose says
The first was in Redwood Heights, 2 & 5 were in Chabot Park and 3 & 4 were in Grass Valley.
Anonymous says
Hi Meryl. Check your gmail account–I sent you an email. We leave for Portland on Friday and packing up I found a silver teaspoon that says Merritt! I wanted to send it to you.
-Lesley