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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Cape Owners
Has anyone blown out the wall when you first walk in to open it up? Our cape has the stairs as soon as you walk in, closet to the right and living room to the left. On the other side of the closet is the master which I use as a dining room because I wanted all bedrooms on the same floor. We would blow out into the would be master. It’s a pretty big room.
How involved/expensive is this? Effects on resale value? It would take us from 4 bedrooms to 3. We would be selling in 1-2 years so that is a big consideration.
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Posted 1/2/18 2:53 PM  |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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Cape Owners
this is my house exactly, except my master bedroom is still there because our upstairs is still unfinished.
My neighbor has the exact same layout but it's dormered. They did exactly what you want to do, but also knocked a few other walls down, so I'm not sure about cost of just knocking that one wall down. I will say it looks stunning though. They made their dining room the room to the left, and a formal living room/sitting area in the room to the right (master bedroom originally). looks nice with the exposed staircase. In the back of the house, they knocked everything down and made it an open floorplan. It's the kitchen and den/living room area with the door to the basement stairs in the middle and a bathroom in the hallway
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| Posted 1/2/18 7:57 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Cape Owners
Thanks. I think it would look great. DH doesn't want to put the money into it since we're going to sell relatively soon and he's concerned about 4 vs. 3 bedrooms.
I say if I'm stuck living here I should at least like my house more!
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| Posted 1/2/18 8:07 PM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
Posted by LuckyStar
Thanks. I think it would look great. DH doesn't want to put the money into it since we're going to sell relatively soon and he's concerned about 4 vs. 3 bedrooms.
I say if I'm stuck living here I should at least like my house more!
not sure where your house is located, but they bought at 550k in 2014 and now are being told it can sell for close to 700. They have 3 bedrooms upstairs and 1 bath, no beds on the first floor with 1 bath, and a finished basement with a half bath (no permit)
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| Posted 1/3/18 7:49 AM |
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loveus
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/13 684 total posts
Name:
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Cape Owners
I wouldn’t change the layout since you only plan to stay for another year or two. I don’t think you would re-coop all your money in any renovation project in such a short time. You would also need to do everything legal which adds up and can turn into a headache. Do you want to live in a few months of construction and then sell?
As for the bedrooms I would only need 3 and also prefer they are together. My wish list included a dining room so that would be a positive for me. I know a lot of people like first floor master bedrooms so you would be losing those buyers.
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| Posted 1/3/18 8:15 AM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
Posted by loveus
I wouldn’t change the layout since you only plan to stay for another year or two. I don’t think you would re-coop all your money in any renovation project in such a short time. You would also need to do everything legal which adds up and can turn into a headache. Do you want to live in a few months of construction and then sell?
As for the bedrooms I would only need 3 and also prefer they are together. My wish list included a dining room so that would be a positive for me. I know a lot of people like first floor master bedrooms so you would be losing those buyers.
This is his reasoning, too. My concern would be that no one would want 2 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. We have a decent sized dining area next to the kitchen. If we were going to stay I’d knock the wall down and then expand the kitchen into the current dining area to make it huge.
It blows my mind that people prefer a first floor master. The window looks right onto the street. We would wouldn’t have bought the house if there wasn’t an upstairs bedroom big enough.
Probably best to leave it as is and then let whoever buys it decide what they want to do with it.
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| Posted 1/3/18 8:36 AM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by loveus
I wouldn’t change the layout since you only plan to stay for another year or two. I don’t think you would re-coop all your money in any renovation project in such a short time. You would also need to do everything legal which adds up and can turn into a headache. Do you want to live in a few months of construction and then sell?
As for the bedrooms I would only need 3 and also prefer they are together. My wish list included a dining room so that would be a positive for me. I know a lot of people like first floor master bedrooms so you would be losing those buyers.
This is his reasoning, too. My concern would be that no one would want 2 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. We have a decent sized dining area next to the kitchen. If we were going to stay I’d knock the wall down and then expand the kitchen into the current dining area to make it huge.
It blows my mind that people prefer a first floor master. The window looks right onto the street. We would wouldn’t have bought the house if there wasn’t an upstairs bedroom big enough.
Probably best to leave it as is and then let whoever buys it decide what they want to do with it.
Alot of people like to retire to home with first floor bedrooms so they don't have to do stairs. My parents are looking for a house like mine currently. They want to sell their colonial because it's too big, and want to downsize to a small cape with two bedrooms downstairs.
Unless your upstairs was fully dormered with 3 bedrooms upstairs, I wouldn't do the work you're explaining. The neighbor I told you about in my previous post has a fully dormered 2nd floor and attic, so she could afford to lose the bedrooms downstairs
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| Posted 1/3/18 11:27 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
If you're going to sell the house, I'm not sure why you'd want to do major renovations. It looks like the housing market will level out - and perhaps fall - due to the new tax laws, so I'd be worried about recouping the costs of taking down a wall.
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| Posted 1/3/18 1:15 PM |
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lightblue
LIF Adult
Member since 1/17 2249 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
Since you're planning on moving in a few years I wouldn't do anything.
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| Posted 1/3/18 2:02 PM |
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jlm2008
LIF Adult
Member since 1/10 5092 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cape Owners
Posted by lightblue
Since you're planning on moving in a few years I wouldn't do anything.
This.
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| Posted 1/3/18 4:48 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Cape Owners
Yeah we’re not going to do it. I would love the look I think but you guys are right, it’s a PITA.
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| Posted 1/3/18 6:09 PM |
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Re: Cape Owners
Posted by mommy2be716
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by loveus
I wouldn’t change the layout since you only plan to stay for another year or two. I don’t think you would re-coop all your money in any renovation project in such a short time. You would also need to do everything legal which adds up and can turn into a headache. Do you want to live in a few months of construction and then sell?
As for the bedrooms I would only need 3 and also prefer they are together. My wish list included a dining room so that would be a positive for me. I know a lot of people like first floor master bedrooms so you would be losing those buyers.
This is his reasoning, too. My concern would be that no one would want 2 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. We have a decent sized dining area next to the kitchen. If we were going to stay I’d knock the wall down and then expand the kitchen into the current dining area to make it huge.
It blows my mind that people prefer a first floor master. The window looks right onto the street. We would wouldn’t have bought the house if there wasn’t an upstairs bedroom big enough.
Probably best to leave it as is and then let whoever buys it decide what they want to do with it.
Alot of people like to retire to home with first floor bedrooms so they don't have to do stairs. My parents are looking for a house like mine currently. They want to sell their colonial because it's too big, and want to downsize to a small cape with two bedrooms downstairs.
Unless your upstairs was fully dormered with 3 bedrooms upstairs, I wouldn't do the work you're explaining. The neighbor I told you about in my previous post has a fully dormered 2nd floor and attic, so she could afford to lose the bedrooms downstairs
My parents just downsized from a colonial to a cape. 2 bedrooms upstairs and the master on the first floor. It's perfect for them not having to worry about stairs in the future. the master faces the yard not the street though. The kitchen and dining room were opened up to be one large room.
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| Posted 1/8/18 2:12 PM |
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