Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Happs
Participantis photography becoming a crime in the United States?
ParticipantI just had new mid grade KCMA certified maple wood kitchen cabinets from a major nationwide manufacturer installed last week and I’m noticing a few defects already. First, there is some de-lamination/peeling on the inside top part of one cabinet. I notified the dealer/kitchen designer and a claim was put in. Not sure what that means specifically.
I have noticed with two doors on two different upper cabinets that they appear to be warped, for a lack of a better term, as the top portion of these doors are not flush with the cabinet (they bow out). When you push the slightly bowed out doors when they are closed on the upper part of the door, they make a rattle/vibrate sound vs the door right next to them on the same cabinet. Can this be adjusted by the installer or does it require a new door? These are semi-full overlay, framed upper wall cabinets. One cabinet that has the warp/bowing out is 42 inches, the other is 36 inches. Each door has three hinges.
In addition, on one cabinet, the bottom horizontal pieces on the doors are at different heights. They weren’t cut evenly at the factory. The left door bottom panel has been cut 1/8″ shorter than the same panel on the right door, and when these two doors are leveled properly by the installer it will become even more exaggerated to the eye, since this is the centerpiece cabinet. A ruler/tape measure verifies this as does the eye when you look at it straight on, at an angle, and from a distance.
Another issue is that the top portion of the drawer box pieces that are attached to the back of the drawer face frame parts of the drawers vary in color and smoothness and one is beyond rough and “chewed” looking. Some do not feel like they have been sanded smooth and there is a wide range of color variation in them. On the other hand, in the bathroom vanity cabinet ordered at the same time from the same manufacturer that same piece of wood that is attached to the back of the face frame is absolutely uniform in color, matches the rest of the drawers and is super smooth. The drawers are soft close, full extension and dovetailed.
I placed the order in late April and received 30 out of 41 pieces on June 14. 11 pieces (mostly trim pieces and crown moulding) are backordered. I was told this when the delivery driver came to my house. No definite ETA for them either. Hence, the installer hasn’t completed the job and the KD/dealer hasn’t been paid in full.
On an encouraging note, I received word that the KD/dealer contacted the local manufacturer’s rep and asked him to make an on-site visit to look at these issues. If that were to take place, do you have any tips for me as a customer on what to say or not say to the manufacturer rep? Is my KD/dealer in this scenario an advocate for me or a neutral party?
ParticipantNo, I don’t plan to sell in the next year. I think I might just keep the existing light if it can come out in one piece or buy another bathroom bar with globe lights and then right before I sell spend $300 on a new, more contemporary bathroom bar if globe lights haven’t come back into style 8 years from now.
ParticipantI did exactly that and determined it was costing me about $25/month. Ouch!
ParticipantThe recorded owner who I have never seen lives out of state and I am 95% sure he hasn’t ever been on-site to look at or oversee the remodel. The crew foreman keeps giving neighbors bogus answers or empty promises on the completion date. I remember in December he said the house would be finished by Christmas, then the first week of February he said two weeks, then on March 1 he said two weeks, etc. I’ve mentioned the prolonged remodel time and hours violations to the board, but they seem to look the other way and don’t want to take any action. Hence, my suggestion of a rule on time limits for remodels. I don’t want other owners to follow suit and spend 8 or more months on a remodel that should take three months max, giving lots of people grief along the way. A neighborhood shouldn’t be a perpetual construction zone. I’m not an HOA gestapo type person. A weed or two in front yard doesn’t ruin my day nor does a car parked on the street overnight. Hearing construction noise, workers working past 5:00pm, working on Sundays and Holidays in violation of the CC&R’s, for 8 months does.
ParticipantOne of the reasons why I live in an HOA is to have stricter quality of life rules and better maintenance of a neighborhood that what a city council can offer me. It’s past 9:00pm now and the remodeling crew is still working with spotlights shining in the garage and construction tools scattered all about. Construction hours end at 5:00pm, but these violations continue as the remodeling is in its eight month on a 2,000sq/ft tract house.
ParticipantI agree with the sentiments expressed about gated communities and them not being foolproof, but do any of you live in a community where there is a card system managed by a third party, where each homeowner gets a certain number of cards that can used to gain access anytime, vs a general contractor who is doing remodeling or a real estate agent’s card would only work for a limited number of months and only during certain days/times of day?
Presently, each homeowner has the name code and they give it out cavalierly to general contractors who give it out to all the subs, tradespeople even for one day jobs etc. I think a system with no code and only cards, and where a plumber for example, is forced to dial the homeowner at the gate to be buzzed in is best.
ParticipantI don’t expect them to lower the HOA dues after stopping bulk cable, but eliminating a $75,000 per year expenditure can help build up the reserves or delay future HOA dues increases.
I’ve checked out previous posts on here about dropping cable and they have been helpful. I don’t expect to teach the older members of the Board and condo complex about technology, but rather mention to them in a cursory way how computers are changing the way we view television programming. I will emphasize instead how the HOA is forcing its members to buy a product they might not want or need.
ParticipantWant_to_Retire: Good post and points. The math you give makes it seem like an great investment, business plan/model and source of income.
How would you be impacted if banks start to unleash REO’s and a new cable television show about people buying them and getting jobs as landlords and being successful at it, akin to the shows about buying storage units? All of a sudden many houses in your rental neighborhood become rentals?
Do you also have a long list of trusted, vetted, reliable and reasonably priced people in the trades? How long did it take you to come up with that list? Suppose the tenant calls and says someone threw a rock in the living room window and it needs to be replaced. Would you know of an honest glazier?
The math makes it all seem like peaches and ice cream. I’m not being sarcastic, but I wonder why more people aren’t getting into it, because it sure beats a regular wage job.
ParticipantFor the true individual investor or mom and pop who doesn’t have a “property manager” I would think that even a thorough background check can’t prevent a tenant from moving in who could cause unreasonable wear and tear, thus eroding profits. I read apartment reviews of large complexes owned by big corporations who do credit and criminal background checks and on tenants, yet people in reviews write and complain about “trashy” people in the complex.
ParticipantGreat post. I appreciate the detailed explanation of the numbers.
However, what if more “wage slaves” decide to get into this business (at the $100,000 or less house level) and the market become saturated with “everyone and their neighbor” becoming landlords and flippers? Won’t that drive down prices?
Suppose interest rates go to 15% and housing prices plummet as a result of it. Will rising rents compensate for it?
ParticipantI’ve noticed that in MLS listing, real estate agents video tours, and on house tv shows, no one looks at or mentions the brand name of kitchen cabinets or if they are KCMA certified. Also not pumped up is full overlay, soft-close etc. Does that mean that one can get away with less expensive, but good looking cabinets and then wow a potential buyer with counter-tops and built-ins?
I’ve also read that soffits are outdated and a “staggered” look to cabinets is in. Is this true?
ParticipantLooks like there is a housing price boom going on in the Phoenix metro area.
ParticipantExcellent idea on converting the space for a built in microwave into a shelf where one can put a countertop microwave.
-
AuthorPosts