The Importance of Granite Countertops

When Mark threw his back out I had to reschedule a couple of days worth of appointments. But you can only delay them so long because the option period clock is ticking, which means that I had to step up and help out. I became the designated driver. Since I can't actually do anything on the inspection other than carry stuff in and out, I had plenty of free time to look around a vacant house.

An investor is buying it. Another investor is selling it. It's small - two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, a dining room, a small kitchen and a room at the back with an undefined function. Even though it was built in the 1930s, it has a reasonably usable layout. It would make a decent lake cottage, except there's no lake anywhere close.

The selling investor has "rehabbed" the property. It's been painted inside and out. All the interior walls have been painted a dark taupe and all of the woodwork has been painted white. Some of the painted walls are paneled while others are plain sheetrock that has been stapled and painted. (Taping and bedding was apparently too much effort.) The woodwork consists primarily of rough-hewn 1 x 4s. There is brand new carpet in the living room, bedrooms, and two thirds of the back room. There is also brand new wood-plank-look vinyl in the dining room, bathroom, kitchen and one third of the back room. I don't know how long the vinyl will last because it buckles in the dining room when you walk on it. I think it's because the floor isn't level - you can tell by walking on it.

The water heater looks ancient and there's a hole inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink. There was a light on in the back room that did not seem to have a control switch. The toilet and sink in the bathroom look brand new and the tub looks relatively new. I would have expected one of those vinyl tub enclosures, but this was all ceramic tile. Some of the ceilings are sheetrock and others have been covered with acoustical tiles which have been painted taupe along with the room. There's a washer hookup in the backroom where the vinyl flooring is, but the dryer vent is located where one would need to have the dryer in the carpeted part of the room. A bit odd. I think the technical term is functional obsolescence.

The kitchen cabinets are probably original. The cabinet doors are painted plywood. The door pulls had escaped being painted, but not the hinges. Many of the doors no longer close and many of them no longer align with the adjacent doors.

There is no heating or air conditioning in this house. But it has granite counter tops in the bathroom and kitchen. Are granite counter tops really more important to buyers and tenants than heating and air conditioning? This is why I personally don't invest in real estate - I clearly have no understanding of the market.