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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
DH and I bought our house in early 2005 at the height of the real estate market. We bought a 3 bed / 1 bath cape in West Islip for 415. Since then, we have fully finished our basement as well as add a half bath. We've done some cosmetic work like paint and landscaping too.
We had our house appraised by Bethpage recently and it came in at 380. Needless to say, after 13 years of home ownership in a good area with modest improvements, we were disappointed.
We love our house and town. We would also like to dormer at some point but we need much more equity to do this. I know I can't effect the general market but I want to do everything I can as an individual owner. Are there some ideas on how we can speed up appreciation?
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Posted 2/19/18 1:18 PM  |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
I don't think there is anything you can do. Isn't home value based on comps in the area. So unless the area goes into a boom and all values go up, yours will probably keep with that rate.
As for improvements, you could continue to do them but will probably never increase your home value enough for them to pay for themselves. And you will have over improved the home and may not be able to see.
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| Posted 2/19/18 2:11 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
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| Posted 2/19/18 5:08 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
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| Posted 2/19/18 5:20 PM |
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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
Can I ask how much you spent to dormer?
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| Posted 2/19/18 5:58 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Honestly, you are not. If you love your home, and can afford to dormer, maybe that is the answer, otherwise, sell and buy something else.
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| Posted 2/19/18 9:17 PM |
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PhyllisNJoe
My Box Is Broken
Member since 6/11 9145 total posts
Name:
Phyllis
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by bella321
DH and I bought our house in early 2005 at the height of the real estate market. We bought a 3 bed / 1 bath cape in West Islip for 415. Since then, we have fully finished our basement as well as add a half bath. We've done some cosmetic work like paint and landscaping too.
We had our house appraised by Bethpage recently and it came in at 380. Needless to say, after 13 years of home ownership in a good area with modest improvements, we were disappointed.
We love our house and town. We would also like to dormer at some point but we need much more equity to do this. I know I can't effect the general market but I want to do everything I can as an individual owner. Are there some ideas on how we can speed up appreciation?
I’m surprised it appraised for less than what you paid for it. The houses have been selling pretty high. I’m in west islip too. Are you north or south of sunrise? Only other thing I can think of is how is the kitchen and bath-updated?
I will say if you love it here, stick it out. We bought at a low in 2011. The houses here (just north of Montauk hwy) a few years before we bought were showing in the low $500’s. It’s turning around.
If you do go for the dormer, be ready for the taxes to immediately become ridiculous. We are in an already dormered cape (dormer is 3bd & 1bath upstairs - we kept small bdrm downstairs as office and turned old downstairs master into dining room ) and with star it’s just over $11k.
Message edited 2/19/2018 10:15:39 PM.
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| Posted 2/19/18 10:13 PM |
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Dolphinsbaby
My 3 little guys!
Member since 12/10 2943 total posts
Name:
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
I wonder if it’s because it’s only 1 bathroom? I feel like no matter how beautiful someone’s house is, with only 1 bath the value will never be its true worth? This is of course my own uneducated non real estate opinion, but just a guess.
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| Posted 2/19/18 10:39 PM |
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mommy2Alex
3 babies for me :)
Member since 5/05 6683 total posts
Name:
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by bella321
DH and I bought our house in early 2005 at the height of the real estate market. We bought a 3 bed / 1 bath cape in West Islip for 415. Since then, we have fully finished our basement as well as add a half bath. We've done some cosmetic work like paint and landscaping too.
We had our house appraised by Bethpage recently and it came in at 380. Needless to say, after 13 years of home ownership in a good area with modest improvements, we were disappointed.
We love our house and town. We would also like to dormer at some point but we need much more equity to do this. I know I can't effect the general market but I want to do everything I can as an individual owner. Are there some ideas on how we can speed up appreciation?
We are in W. Islip too. Bought in 2007 just before the bust. We paid 485K for our Cape and when we sold in 2015 we only got 415K. We wanted to dormer and had several architects come in but the cost didn't seem to be beneficial. So we cut our losses and sold and moved to another house around the block which we wouldn't have been able to afford in 2007.
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| Posted 2/20/18 7:57 AM |
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LizD
LIF Adolescent
Member since 4/06 763 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
we are in Bellmore too and I find that some of the prices are crazy high. The new builds, on weird streets are selling for major amounts, it's crazy. Bellmore always seems to do well.
where in Bellmore are you?
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| Posted 2/20/18 8:21 AM |
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loveus
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/13 684 total posts
Name:
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How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
I would call the agent who gave you the value and ask how he/she came up with it and suggestions on how to increase value.
Message edited 2/20/2018 8:38:49 AM.
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| Posted 2/20/18 8:38 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
 Bellmore is a VERY desirable area, particularly because of the schools. Many houses are going for very close to asking or even over, especially if they're priced right.
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| Posted 2/20/18 9:56 AM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by NYCGirl80
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
Bellmore is a VERY desirable area, particularly because of the schools. Many houses are going for very close to asking or even over, especially if they're priced right.
Houses go for asking, but I feel like that’s a different animal from spending $250k to dormer your house and recouping all that money. I have an undormered cape and dormered capes are going for $25-50k more than mine. I couldn’t dormer for that amount of money.
A house is only worth what someone will pay for it. I just can’t see making gigantic renovations and expecting to recoup your costs. Now if you’re going to do extensive renovations because it’s your forever home and you love the area that’s completely different. But personally, I would not dormer as a means to vastly increase the value of my home because I don’t think you actually do.
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| Posted 2/20/18 11:07 AM |
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chilltocam
LIF Adult
Member since 11/11 9141 total posts
Name:
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How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Did you have an actual full appraisal done? If so, look at the comps and see what they sold for and compare them to your house. If they sold for more, are there things about those houses that you could do to your house? Or, if they sold for more and you can't really change those things about your house, (lot size, etc) then I don't think there is much you can do to "speed up" the appreciation. (Although, house prices are crazy right now. I was sort of looking in W. Islip and $380K seems pretty low compared to most of what is on the market now)
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| Posted 2/20/18 11:45 AM |
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
What was the purpose of the appraisal? Was it for a refi? Or to get pmi removed?
Just asking because sometimes an appraised value doesn't always translate into true market value.
Honestly, even when appraisals are done for a purchase mortgage, they are not necessarily "market value." It's just to ensure that the bank is making a good investment in the loan. Often, the appraised value comes back identical to the purchase price, and the buyers get upset. But bank appraisers don't like to bring the values in too high, even if a house could get more on the open market or the comps are much higher.
Message edited 2/20/2018 12:42:15 PM.
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| Posted 2/20/18 12:41 PM |
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by NYCGirl80
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
Bellmore is a VERY desirable area, particularly because of the schools. Many houses are going for very close to asking or even over, especially if they're priced right.
I agree w/ this. Merrick and Bellmore are hot towns, pretty much because of the Babylon LIRR. If you ask me, the best LIRR line is Port Wash followed by the Hicksville line, then Babylon. It is a very desirable area due to express trains (esp for NYC workers).
We bought in North Bellmore in 2016 - we are just a block south of the East Meadow border, north of the SSP. We lucked out because the Seller was itching for a fast close due to their tenants buiying a house in Suffolk county, so when we negotiated the price, he agreed to accept almost 30K less than what he asked for. On the day of inspection, seller received an offer for close to ask but because we had almost 50% downpayment in cash - seller took the house off the market and pushed for a quick close date. We paid just a little over $500K. This was after months of losing out on bidding wars for crappier houses in Oceanside, Baldwin, Wantagh and even Plainview (DH wanted to stick to south shore). After the stress of house hunting and trying to sell our old house in a flood zone, I can def say the entire process SUCKED!
Message edited 2/20/2018 5:12:29 PM.
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| Posted 2/20/18 5:10 PM |
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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by Christine Braun - Signature Premier Properties
What was the purpose of the appraisal? Was it for a refi? Or to get pmi removed?
Just asking because sometimes an appraised value doesn't always translate into true market value.
Honestly, even when appraisals are done for a purchase mortgage, they are not necessarily "market value." It's just to ensure that the bank is making a good investment in the loan. Often, the appraised value comes back identical to the purchase price, and the buyers get upset. But bank appraisers don't like to bring the values in too high, even if a house could get more on the open market or the comps are much higher.
The house was appraised for a HELOC. I really made an effort to point out the upgrades but the numbers don't lie.
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| Posted 2/20/18 11:51 PM |
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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by PhyllisNJoe
Posted by bella321
DH and I bought our house in early 2005 at the height of the real estate market. We bought a 3 bed / 1 bath cape in West Islip for 415. Since then, we have fully finished our basement as well as add a half bath. We've done some cosmetic work like paint and landscaping too.
We had our house appraised by Bethpage recently and it came in at 380. Needless to say, after 13 years of home ownership in a good area with modest improvements, we were disappointed.
We love our house and town. We would also like to dormer at some point but we need much more equity to do this. I know I can't effect the general market but I want to do everything I can as an individual owner. Are there some ideas on how we can speed up appreciation?
I’m surprised it appraised for less than what you paid for it. The houses have been selling pretty high. I’m in west islip too. Are you north or south of sunrise? Only other thing I can think of is how is the kitchen and bath-updated?
I will say if you love it here, stick it out. We bought at a low in 2011. The houses here (just north of Montauk hwy) a few years before we bought were showing in the low $500’s. It’s turning around.
If you do go for the dormer, be ready for the taxes to immediately become ridiculous. We are in an already dormered cape (dormer is 3bd & 1bath upstairs - we kept small bdrm downstairs as office and turned old downstairs master into dining room ) and with star it’s just over $11k.
I'm north of Sunrise, presidential section. I'm already paying $9,600 in taxes now.
The bath and kitchen are in good condition. The kitchen has all new SS appliances, cabinets are probably 20 years old but we changed out the hardware. The bathroom we re-tiled.
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| Posted 2/20/18 11:53 PM |
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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by NYCGirl80
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
I think it depends on location. I could turn my house into Buckingham Palace and could only get so much for it because no one with deep pockets has a burning desire to live in bellmore.
Bellmore is a VERY desirable area, particularly because of the schools. Many houses are going for very close to asking or even over, especially if they're priced right.
Houses go for asking, but I feel like that’s a different animal from spending $250k to dormer your house and recouping all that money. I have an undormered cape and dormered capes are going for $25-50k more than mine. I couldn’t dormer for that amount of money.
A house is only worth what someone will pay for it. I just can’t see making gigantic renovations and expecting to recoup your costs. Now if you’re going to do extensive renovations because it’s your forever home and you love the area that’s completely different. But personally, I would not dormer as a means to vastly increase the value of my home because I don’t think you actually do.
I completely understand. It is our "forever" home but I'm unsure of how we will qualify to make the changes we would like if the house is not appreciating.
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| Posted 2/20/18 11:55 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by bella321
Posted by VickiC
The only way to do it is to dormer. We had a Cape and made it a Colonial. Our pre-renovation value was $350k, after renovation was $525k. Unfortunately, the market is the market and you can't speed up appreciation.
Can I ask how much you spent to dormer?
All in, we probably spent about $125,000 in renovations. We added 950 sf to the house. We have 3 BR (huge master with walk in closet), large bathroom, linen closet on second floor. We also added a porch and have a full length stand up attic. We added CAC, completely re-wired the electrical in the entire house (1950's wiring was wearing out) and re-did the bathroom downstairs too and upgraded some plumbing.
No matter what, it will most likely cost you around $100,000 to dormer depending on what finishes you choose, etc.
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| Posted 2/21/18 12:49 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by bella321
I completely understand. It is our "forever" home but I'm unsure of how we will qualify to make the changes we would like if the house is not appreciating.
We couldn't qualify for a HELOC because our house also was not appreciating. At all. We used money we had saved, a construction loan through our contractor and some CC's for unexpected things that popped up (like the re-wiring of the house and re-doing the downstairs bathroom due to plumbing issues.)
We qualified for a HELOC after construction was done and we paid off the CC's we used.
It was an awful catch22 we were in. Our roof was literally peeling off the house and we needed to renovate to stop leaks in the garage...but the bank wouldn't give us the money because we had a tiny Cape that was old.
Message edited 2/21/2018 12:54:18 PM.
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| Posted 2/21/18 12:53 PM |
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bella321
Blessed!
Member since 3/09 1952 total posts
Name:
Kristy
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by VickiC
Posted by bella321
I completely understand. It is our "forever" home but I'm unsure of how we will qualify to make the changes we would like if the house is not appreciating.
We couldn't qualify for a HELOC because our house also was not appreciating. At all. We used money we had saved, a construction loan through our contractor and some CC's for unexpected things that popped up (like the re-wiring of the house and re-doing the downstairs bathroom due to plumbing issues.)
We qualified for a HELOC after construction was done and we paid off the CC's we used.
It was an awful catch22 we were in. Our roof was literally peeling off the house and we needed to renovate to stop leaks in the garage...but the bank wouldn't give us the money because we had a tiny Cape that was old.
Wow! Thanks for the insight. Glad to know there are options out there! Were you happy with your contractor? Who did you use?
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| Posted 2/21/18 1:26 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: How can I get my house to appreciate faster?
Posted by bella321
Posted by VickiC
Posted by bella321
I completely understand. It is our "forever" home but I'm unsure of how we will qualify to make the changes we would like if the house is not appreciating.
We couldn't qualify for a HELOC because our house also was not appreciating. At all. We used money we had saved, a construction loan through our contractor and some CC's for unexpected things that popped up (like the re-wiring of the house and re-doing the downstairs bathroom due to plumbing issues.)
We qualified for a HELOC after construction was done and we paid off the CC's we used.
It was an awful catch22 we were in. Our roof was literally peeling off the house and we needed to renovate to stop leaks in the garage...but the bank wouldn't give us the money because we had a tiny Cape that was old.
Wow! Thanks for the insight. Glad to know there are options out there! Were you happy with your contractor? Who did you use?
I'll PM you
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| Posted 2/21/18 4:05 PM |
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