A Renovated Brick Ranch Style Home In My Old Hometown

by Randy

Architectural Styles, Bang For The Buck, Kitchens

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A recently renovated 3 BR/1 BA brick ranch style home, circa 1966, in Aiken, SC is my subject for this post. This is no ordinary renovated brick ranch home. This is one of my childhood homes and it is still owned/maintained by my parents, but not for much longer. They had been debating selling the old place after renting it to tenants for years. They’ve recently renovated it on their own with the goal of selling it. They are both recently retired and just wanted out of the landlord biz so they could enjoy their golden years together (on the beach) without having to worry about their rental property (tenants can be quite frustrating at times).

Who could blame them!

It Pays To Diversify Your Real Estate Marketing Methods

They employed a couple of different real estate marketing strategies once the work on the house was complete. They listed it online with homesbyowner.com, a nationally-based real estate listing agency. They had a choice of paying a 1% commission fee or a flat rate of $294. They chose the latter. I don’t believe they received any inquiries through the site.

They also advertised through a local "classified" listing firm called IWANTA CLASSIFIEDS. It is local to the CSRA, a.k.a. Central Savannah River Area. This includes the Augusta, GA / North Augusta, SC / Aiken SC area. It lists both online and on newsprint. They offer different fees based on how lengthy your ad is, pictures, etc. Mom is super frugal so she chose the "20 words or less" option that was FREE. That’s right…absolutely no charge.

Well, they recently received an offer on their ranch style home and the owners-to-be found their home through the free ad, Not bad!

Investigate The Top ROI Aspects of Home Renovation

Tip Bathroom and kitchen renovations are your first areas of attack!!

Their renovation plan was geared strongly towards getting the most bang for their buck. My dad is pretty darn handy so he did much of the work himself with the help of my mom on occasion. They left the plumbing and electrical to the pros but managed the rest on their own to save money. If they had purchased the home just a year ago and you looked at it now, you might have thought this was a flip because of the amount of work they put into it and the magnificent final results. The home also features a hardwood floor in the master bedroom with the rest of the home hiding hardwoods (with the exception of the den, kitchen and bathroom) under the carpet where it’s just waiting for someone to come along and refinish them, if they wish.

Here’s a list of projects they did themselves or contracted to a professional and you might be amazed at everything they were able to accomplish in such a short time span:

  • vinyl siding on the sides and rear of the home (it’s a brick front only)
  • aluminum gutter and downspouts with gutter guards
  • rebuilt the laundry room floor and installed new linoleum floorcovering
  • upgraded the washer/dryer connections to meet code and installed a GFCI receptacle
  • rebuilt THE bathroom floor including new floor joists, subfloor and vinyl floor tiles
  • installed a new tub/shower surround
  • new toilet
  • sink, cabinet and light fixture in the bathroom
  • 4 new 4-panel interior doors
  • installed all new exterior decking and custom benches
  • new paint and wallpaper throughout
  • repaired the storage shed and installed new roof shingles
  • 12" x 12" tiled kitchen floor
  • new HVAC unit (2004) with "auto-temp control vents"
  • hot water tank (2003)
  • new stove/refrigerator
  • 25 yr. warranty Owens-Corning FiberGlas roof shingles (1997)

 It was appraised in 2003 for $57k and most recently appraised for $78k after all renovation work was complete. They bought the home in 1975 for $19,000! Man..oh man, how times have changed! The offer they received was top dollar for what the selling price range was expected to bring in. I’m happy for them! They’ve earned it.

I won’t give away how much they spent on the renovation but let’s just say they knew what they were doing.

Rememb
er that I mentioned that it was a 3 BR / 1 BA home. Did I also mention that it wasn’t just my parents and myself living there? I also had 3 older brothers to share the place with. Yes…it was cozy…but you know what, it didn’t matter except when the bathroom was occupied. I went through my teen years there so some good times were had under that roof. Mom & Dad…if you’re reading this, you don’t really want to know just how good of a time we had there. I jest!