I'm surprised the contractor that triggered the leak wasn't liable. Nothing more agonizing than seeing your brand new renovations inadvertently destroyed by someone's mistake. It must have been extremely deflating.
127
Not sure what aspect of this story makes these people 'flippers' but...okay.
85
When we bought our house in 2007, the only homes we could afford were homes that needed some work. Nearly all the houses on the market needed some work though, so even with flippers gobbling up real estate we found a good house in a nice neighborhood (that needed some work).
Today, nearly every house on the market looks like it came out of decorating magazine. To even get someone to list our home we'd have to pour a ridiculous amount of money into it. We'd like to eventually downsize but the way things are going, it looks like we are stuck here. To buy a house today you need to be a lot richer than we were when we bought this.
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It would be a cold day in Hades before I bought that house. So much could be wrong within its framework. Good luck to new owners.
38
Update and enjoy the house then put it on the market. Life is short, don't deprive yourself of joy in your own home.
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"But I turned into one when we had to gut and renovate our 1920s house after an epic flood last summer while we were in the middle of selling it."
"Selling a house, dealing with a disaster and going through a whole-house renovation can all be stressful."
Your flood was not "epic. I am Superstorm Sandy victim.You didn't have 8 feet of ocean (or worse, sewage ) in your home.
Your house's having flooded was most unfortunate, but it was not a"disaster."
Sandy was a disaster. Katrina was a disaster. Harvey was a disaster. Tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, & mudslides are disasters.
The following are just a few ways to differentiate disastrous flooding from other flooding :
1. Has the National Guard driven past your home in Humvees following your house flood ?
2. Has FEMA been sent in ?
3. Has insurance covered your flood ?
If insurance covers your flooding, it was not the result of a disaster, because homeowner's insurance will cover it.
If you are a disaster victim, your flood insurance company
will tell you that your first floor is basement, or find some other way to weasel out of paying out on the policy into which you have been paying for decades.
If you have fish swimming in your house your flood was a disaster.
By no means do I intend to minimize that which had happened to you or to offend you and apologize if have. I am a traumatized Sandy victim and responding as such.
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@DJS
I'm sorry you've been dealing with Sandy's aftermath, DJS. I think you brought up some good points.
I've never been through anything like you have. Although I enjoyed reading this story, it also made me feel the same way so many NY Times pieces make me feel--like they're written for rich people, not for people like me.
I wish you good luck going forward.
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Our motto: make the changes to your house while you can enjoy them, rather than doing it for someone else when you go to sell.
We also had the experience where part of our house was ruined by an event, in our case a fire, and we used the insurance money (and some of our own) to make improvements. We didn't plan for, or cause, the event, but it sure came in handy!
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As a RE broker and a house flipper, I can tell you that updating a home is key to getting it sold at the highest price possible, especially kitchens and baths. Keeping it immaculate and smelling pleasant is another must. A paint job goes a long way. And the exterior should be appealing as well.
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@Imma
Of course, - getting it sold at the highest price possible may make more money for the agent than the seller, if the latter has to put out a fortune to do updates.
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Or 1922 red brick center entry colonial with arched windows and original decorative plaster bouquets was restored lovingly in the late 1990s. That owner installed custom cabinets in a country-French colored cherry that is timeless and classic. The craftsmanship is so good that 18 years later there is barely any wear and tear on the cabinets even though the handles were made out of the same wood as the cabinets. Contrast this with brand new white cabinets that I have seen installed in high-end kitchens where the paint starts chipping around the garbage cabinet handles within two years. The former is a classic, the latter is a anonymous façade of white paint. But guess what our real estate agent wanted to do when we were selling? Paint them white! (I am a pretty practical person but I just flat out refused).
It’s pretty sad when many buyers do not recognize the value of anything except facades. They have been over-exposed to Instagram and houzz.com where every kitchen pretty much looks the same. They have no idea what quality is, just a fixed view of how things should look to get the maximum likes for their Instagram posts. These types of buyers kind of deserve what happens next, which is windows failing, cheap wood warping and chipped cabinets a few years down the line.
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@Mon
If I was in the market I would be more inclined to purchase it in the original condition rather than a cheaper looking updated one.
My house is 1946 and I try to keep it as original as possible.
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A house on our street was recently flipped after the prior owner gave up on renovations. The kitchen was awesome, great layout, quality solid wood cabinets, superb craftsmanship. But the cabinets were a blonde finish - it looked great, but wasn’t white.
The flipper gutted the kitchen, created a poor layout and used builders grade white cabinets. Prospective buyers loved the white. Like most stainless steel appliances, just lipstick on a pig.
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My wife and I have terrible neighbors. We'd love to move. Like yesterday. Yet we just planted nine emerald green arborvitaes (10' but will grow to 18') to create a screen. We also are going to replace all the windows in our lovely 1936 Arts & Crafts home. Then we though an update to the 1950s kitchen would be great so we're meeting with a designer this weekend. And now we think doing some landscaping would make the place so much nicer. It's our first home together and we've been here for 11 years. It sort of just keeps telling us we should stay. And we're listening....
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@misterdangerpants
Consider keeping your historic windows. An experienced carpenter can fix them up - replace any wooden trim pieces that have had too much weather exposure, tighten them up against the elements and make the sashes have their full range of motion.
Replacement windows are a racket - they lack the charm of the originals, generally have less glass unless you do a very expensive full frame replacement, and are not a big source of drafts. You lose maybe 10-15% of your heat through windows. You'll never recoup the cost of a replacement with lower energy bills. Window salesmen are overzealous.
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@Andy Totally agree. True divided lights are superior to any new window that is crafted to look like them. I wish we hadn't replaced our circa 1897 windows. It was a terrible mistake. But we thought it was our only option. If I knew then what I know now.
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i have read that renovating existing is as practical...
17
We are still trying to sell our large family home after a year in a very very slow market. Our home nurtured 10 people at its peak. The last to move went Into care due to dementia. My wife and I find the house too big and a sad remainder of what was and never will be again.
A young family sent us a letter and put in an offer subject to the sale of their home. We hope they succeed as our home is an ideal family home.
Ultimately the house was a huge blessing to all who lived in it and we want to pass that blessing on to another family who are at the same place we were 18 years ago when we built the house.
But now my wife and I want to move to a small place from which we can visit our scattered children and their families and help them turn their new houses into homes.
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We own an 1882 house in Oregon and I can't imagine trying to impress buyers by changing anything. Our house is made with full logs underneath, split and debarked with axes. Our house has been remodeled, but kept within the original design. It has great bones but is common on top. People are worried about climate change, but want granite counter tops. Where do you think the granite comes from? Stop being over consumptive when it comes to your house. Think about the environment.
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@RCJCHC
If your area is anything like Long Island, New York, if you sell, it is likely that buyer will knock down your home and replace it with a larger ,ugly structure.
I was a raised in a beautiful house that had six bedrooms , four bathrooms, and big backyard that had flower beds, 2 pear trees, a cherry tree, raspberry bushes, a tomotato patch and beautiful maple trees,
My father died young and suddenly. My mother sold the house after the last of the five children grew up. I slammed on the brakes when I drove past my childhood home.
The new owners had erected pillars that extended to the sidewalks, They had knocked down a home that some have described a mansion, and built a larger ,ugly structure
that looked like school building. .There was no yard left.
The local paper called the new house "The monster home."
It was the first "monster home" in the neighbored.
That was in 1995. In 2019, the house that was labelled "the monster house" in 1995 is one of the smallest houses on the block.
What I understand least is that people are knocking down beautiful homes and replacing them with hideous structures that look like school buildings.
I'm imagine the same people paving over Monet's gardens and getting rid of his Lilly pond. They'd probably paint over. Monet if it did not have cash value.
It's such a shame.
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@DJS Most people do not understand how inferior any new structure built with today's wood is when compared to anything built before 1960.
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One of the lessons here is to have some money put aside to address unexpected repairs that will crop up when you try to sell your house. You never know what an inspection will turn up.
The buyer of our home insisted on a sewer inspection, which uncovered an old "repair" where the owners before us (at least 25 years ago) dug down and broke the clay sewer pipe on purpose because they couldn't get a snake past the clog, then placed the clay shards over the break, covered it with plastic, and put a big rock on top of it before reburying the pipe. That one cost us about $1,300 to fix.
All told we spent over 11k to spruce up the house and fix other problems that we felt detracted from the attractiveness of the house, most of which involved material only with my labor. Add another 10k for moving across the country to the opposite coast.
Multiple offers over asking and only 45 days from listing to close of escrow made it all worth it, since we got 30k more than we had hoped for. The stress of about ten different inspections, which resulted in more issues identified by individuals with an incentive to find something wrong, and a stepped up timeframe to vacate the house exposed a basic truth that selling a house is not for the weak of heart.
But buckle up and forge ahead, success is best achieved by the bold.
35
The white comforter, the shaggy fur pillows and hiding the coffee pot are all too familiar. The part about the shaggy fur pillows made me laugh. We recently sold our home in California and during the process our relator brought in a stager. We had to rent a storage unit to hold some of our furniture and the stager went to work. I returned to the house to find fake plants in every room and a shaggy fur pillow resembling a small animal sitting prominently in a chair in the living room. I called my realtor and asked that either she get me a pair of goggly eyes to glue on the pillow as a joke, or replace it with something classy. I do not know who invented the shaggy fur pillow look, but it is hilarious.
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This wasn't really the "practical advice" article I was hoping for. As stressful as that situation no doubt was, it's much different when one cannot only afford contractors to do the work, but know that one will likely come out ahead, as opposed to the situation of needing to renovate on a shoestring budget, not being able to afford contractors any more than necessary and still not knowing if any of the costs of needed repairs will be made back in the sale.
Furthermore, it would be devastating to take that gamble and experience what the author experienced, especially when one does not have such comprehensive coverage.
It really makes one think harder about whether it is worth it or not! To the author--thanks for sharing your experience and so glad it worked out in the end!
25
@Rhonda the only practical advice in the article was to have first class homeowner's insurance.
It saved them from when the pig under the lipstick snorted.
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@grumpyoldman True, which I'm sure one could afford if one's home is worth $1M. Still, people with money face stress, too, just over different things.
12
@Rhonda. check the replacement provision of your policy. it may be at least 30 per cent less than full replacement. A fire may not burn down the house but it can very likely cause smoke damage in all the house. Personal experience talking here.
18
When a house is empty for an extended period turn off the water. Turn it back on for the inspection and open house. And any buyer should go through and test every toilet, faucet, and water outlet. After I put in an offer, I flushed a toilet and it flooded the second floor bathroom floor (immediately turned it off). A seal had aged and failed. It would have destroyed the ceiling below. Water always wins.
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@poslug
Wrong. Do NOT turn off the water !
17
What a roller coaster...always. But it was inspiring to think that the set backs allowed the author to re-envision things and come up with a stunningly more appealing (and marketable) place than the original one. Who takes those brave leaps if the good-enough version can limp through till the end?
10
A house is just a place to live.
15
19th century houses have an internal ambience and wandering space that create a special place. They are more than just a place to live. They are solidly constructed. Have you ever seen the scrap Wood Many modern builders hide behind their insulation?
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@DC
until you try to sell it !
7
@DC It can also be a huge pain in the neck.
5
Wow what a crazy experience. Sounds like you came out even better on the other side and knowing a family will grow there is so wonderful.
10
@Galadriel I understand this emotional connection between seller and buyer - the former hoping the latter is as good as they are - but in reality - this is like dreaming of a perfect wedding. This is written from a buyer whose seller took all the lightbulbs from the fixtures as well as the battery from the remote control for the garage door openers.
25
@Paul
Not as bad as the seller of the house we bought on Hilton Head in the 90s who stripped all the beautiful shelving etc from the master closet and moved it to their new apartment! When we arrived to move in, there wasn't even a clothes pole and the walls weren't painted! Just raw drywall. Both the realtors involved denied responsibility and the sellers were becoming retirement home neighbors of our parents. And then we found the other hidden flaws that the "inspector" had missed!
15
@Paul. leaving toilet paper is the true test...
21
All the drama in this house sounds like it is made up in a Ponzi like insurance scam!
Why .... so a new reality show can be made ... Love it-List it-Flood it.
8
As someone hoping to be a first time home buyer in the next 6 months this article terrified me.
55
@todji Sometimes renting is better. Expect home repairs to be about 10% of a home's value annually, which you should put away in savings for future repairs. Expect to replace the roof, heating/cooling systems, repair/replace faucets, floors, carpets, and fresh paint - and it ain't cheap to maintain a house. Most builders put the cheapest appliances, roof, flooring, sinks/faucets as possible. If you are buying an older home, then expect big expenses in upkeep. Some things will not come up in your home inspection, which can really upend your expenses. You should demand to have a newly built home inspected too - do not listen to the builder's "it's brand new, no inspection necessary" garbage. New homes have problems too, which can be fixed only if the house gets an inspection. And don't close the sale until everything is fixed, as once you close, the only recourse you have is a lawsuit to force the seller to complete repairs.
35
@LovesGermanShepherds All good advice, except the part about renting being better. Maybe in the short run, but if you are smart about where you by (e.g., good schools, if urban near public transport, if suburban, near main roadways or quick access to them like major highways) you gain equity in an asset that will appreciate over time. If you rent, or lease, you do not gain that equity - and lose in the long run.
12
@Long Islander "you gain equity in an asset that will appreciate over time" Yeah, unless you buy at the top of a bubble (say, for example, in 2005) and try to sell in a recession/slump (2011 or 2012). You could get stuck when you want to move on because you can't afford the loss.
Sorry, but the overly sunny take on never losing in real estate has got to stop going unchallenged...sometimes the mobility of renting is well worth any potential tax savings of owning.
46
Our house is in a place where the housing market is yet to pick up after the depression era. The suggestions we have got is to airlift/teleport the house to the Bay area/Silicon Valley area.
Author of this article should be happy that at least the housing market is hot.
30
Wow. I sure hope the massive water damage was disclosed to the buyer. There's likely mold growing inside walls, ceilings, floors. Unless a total gut job was done to open everything up. Feel bad for whoever bought it.
41
If the water problem was fixed, and building materials were dried then mold cannot grow, including whatever may have started behind walls when water leaks occurred.
20
@Matthew
No. It is not likely that there is mold growing inside the walls ceilings , floors, etc.
It seems that you did not read the following :
"Chubb immediately sent a flood damage remediation company to tear out drenched carpet and soaked walls, and bring in industrial-strength dehumidifiers. All the building materials that had been carted into the house to primp it for sale were carted back out and thrown away.
It took more than a month to dry out the house and then a few more weeks until the town’s inspectors could issue permits to begin the renovation. "
32
@DJS
Yes, I did read that DJS, but again, unless everything was opened up - including removal of insulation - there is no way to know for sure.
"Water spewed from pipes on the third floor like fountains, pouring down through every room in the house....the boiler had overfilled and had sent water through all the radiators around the house, probably for more than 24 hours straight."
That is catastrophic. That water went EVERYWHERE. And mold is a tough problem when that happens.
My point is simply that I hope the water damage was disclosed to the buyer. But of course, with this prominent article, it most definitely has been now!
15
When the home I grew up in was sold when it was in the middle of exterior painting to the highest of nine offers before it hit MLS, we had unexpected repairs during the 6 month period between accepting the offer and closing.
We had a clogged shower drain in our vintage 1928 bathroom. The plumber used some form of sulfuric acid without realizing the pipe was galvanized.
The next morning after my shower, I came down to eat. The kitchen lights made strange buzzing noises in the globes and I quickly realized water was everywhere.
New kitchen ceiling and bathroom drains later, all was well when we closed on Halloween.
I can empathize a bit with these home sellers. Glad it worked out in the end.
17
Why didn't you just knock some money off the original list price and sell it as is? I don't understand people renovating houses, which is always stressful, just to sell them to someone else.
102
@Rupert They probably did better financially if Chubb picked up the renovation/repair costs but I would have tried to work out a number that made sense and walked away pre-renovation. Perhaps Chubb would have assigned benefits to new owner?
10
Because renovating instantly got them multiple offers for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they would have gotten if they’d sold it as is...
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@Rupert
I agree. You almost never get back what you put in repairs and fixings.
26
An emotional roller coaster on several levels. So glad it worked out. And the updated kitchen looks amazing!
32
The moral of your story to me is that despite your renovations’ mind-numbing trials and tribulations, your most vivid, long-lasting memories will continue to be those of raising your children in the “old” house. They will be indelible and, for the most part, wonderful.
63
@Nedro - When we moved into the house that eventually became our version of this. there was a letter & photograph from the previous owners expressing the same sentiments & wishing us the same joy in the home as they had had.
We left a similar note when we moved out.
31
Isn't it a kind of magic, the way that things sometimes turn out right after turning out so very, very wrong? It really is the travelling, not the arrival.
62
The anxiety and drama in this article makes me want to live in a tent. I've lived in expensive and expensive houses....give me an easy to maintain condo...ANY DAY.
79
@MSW
When we lived in a high rise condo years ago, the penthouse owners turned on the dishwasher and left for Africa. Imagine the damage to condos on 33 floors!
17
@MSW
I spent years subjected to water pouring into my condo and the resultant hazardous mold because the condo board refused to repair the roof. I was willing to pay to remediate the mold out of pocket, but it could not be remediated while there was active leaking.
My health has been destroyed by being forced to live with to water pouring into my condo and the resultant deadly mold in the condo which you believe is "easy to maintain."
17
Thanks, enjoyed this, and your account of it has provided practical, edifying advice. Chubb does have a wonderful reputation, too.
47