Anyone want to give house opinions?

I think that once you have your own furniture and a little paint in there, the 90s oak will look a lot less glaring. That stuff doesn't bother me--I don't need it all new and shiny and 2015. It's Nebraska, not Manhattan. I'd like to see wood floors in at least the main rooms, but for that price you could pay cash and still have money to rennovate. Is it out in the boonies? Bad schools? Far from shopping? Or are prices just that cheap there? I think it's a pretty house and I could see myself living there.

Since moving to Omaha I have developed an aversion to driving long distances (after too many years in Texas where everything is a long drive). Nice house, but Gretna would be too far out for me. I live near UNO and think Village Pointe isn't worth the drive. :-)

I really like the house. The brick is a weird colour, and the exterior paint could be spruced up if you want. I'm not a huge fan of that brick red. 

I love the bay window wall and the layout--except the kitchen could have been arranged a bit better. 

I know a lot of people love oak, but I'm not a huge fan of the shiny, yellow oak. I have lived in a 1905 Craftsman bungalow outside of Chicago. There was a lot of oak, but it had a darker stain in a much less shiny finish. It was beautiful. 



The cabinets could be painted with a solid colour or could be painted over with a darker stain--my mom did this, using a darker stain/polyurethane all in one formula. You can choose how much wood you want to keep showing. Cabinet makers will also remove the cabinet fronts, strip them, refinish, and replace. This facelift is a lot more economical than a total redo. The cabinets look really nice and sturdy, just a little dated.

You can also change the look completely by just changing the hardware on the doors and drawers. Dh and I had a house outside of Detroit, that had a huge gourmet kitchen. For some reason the owner put huge hammered bronze hinges on light ash contemporary European cabinets in a kitchen with sleek stainless steel professional appliances and corian countertops. I'm not saying that there was anything wrong or ugly about the hinges--I think they can be really gorgeous on the right furniture. I also think if the hinges were a bit nicer, they'd have looked nicer.

We found some stainless steel looking simple handles and hinges at an old hardware store for $1 each. Our cabinets had 52 handles, so we couldn't afford more expensive handles. They really looked nice. There's also a lot more places online to purchase hardware than when we fixed up our place in 2002. 

The bathroom could look really awesome with a new floor--turn the tiles on the diagonal for a more professional look--it looks like the lines of the floor keep going under the fixtures instead of looking grid like. This does use 10% more material, but the look is so much more luxurious. You can also put stone or tile on the front of the tub. I love that tub and would use it all the time. 

Painting the trim white or different shades--like that double chair rail--can change the look of the room completely. It's whatever your personal feelings are, but I've heard a lot of people say they feel like they can't paint over "good oak". I really like the examples of trim colours from Martha Stewart's design books. 

That room with the double chair rail trim would make an amazing study. You can do more woodwork under the chair rail--simple boards to make a checker pattern and painted the same colour as the wall and trim makes an amazing looking design. I have an example on pinterest that I'll have to find. You can also paint the brick. 

The basement is amazing and will give you a great area for a home theater and the craft room of anyone's dream. It could also be an inlaw suite, which would really increase the value of your home.

I really like this house and would purchase it myself. 




 

House has great bones but I'd definitely do some updating, especially in the kitchen. I do adore the fireplace in the kitchen!

OTOH, that house was built in 1991. Some of those finishes are 25 years old, not 10. It looks very well kept and clean, and I'm guessing someone took good care of it but didn't really update it much.

But no - I haven't either. Half my house is still builder beige and the baths and kitchen have some dated finishes too.

When I say the finishes are a little dated I don't mean it needs a gut to the studs renovation. Nothing is nonfunctional. It's actually very nice.

By a little polish inside, I mean maybe some paint, window treatments, maybe a light fixture in the kitchen. The same stuff my house would need if I were putting it on the market. I try to do little things to keep my house looking fresh inside but the big stuff has been put off for a long time.

The 90s weren't 10 years ago. It's also important to consider what your competition is in that price range. Can you get a new build with the same sq ft, bed/bath, etc for the same money? If so, then you have to price your house to compete with that or update. Buyers in our market don't have the time (and most don't want to) to do a lot of renovations/changes, especially when they have other ready to move in options.

Op-are you buying or selling?

That would also be 800k in my town (at least!) I like the layout of the house -- the rooms are more interesting than simple boxes. I'd want to see the inspection report -- what are the bones of the house? How much insulation, how's the roof, what are the building materials? How's the HVAC? If that was all quality, I'd definitely consider it.

It is bland inside, but most are easy cosmetic changes. How much would it cost to change them? Does that fit in my budget? For example, painting that entire house would be a huge DIY. I'd have to hire a painter. They charge 800-1500 per room for those spaces where I live. I'd have to factor that into my decision.

You need to think about what your requirements are. Sounds like some of us couldn't live there without the cosmetic work, some don't like it all, some would be happy moving right in. I'd have to factor in any problems with the building structure.

I like it despite its 80/90's wood. I don't think I need 4 bathrooms but I do want 4 bedrooms so I can have the 4th to use as my craft room.

Once you get rid of/cover up all of that outdated wood, it would be lovely!

Love the finished basement!

My comment was that people were commenting about 'decades' 

It does seem like a great house - a bit beige, but I'm thinking that the realtor suggested fresh, neutral paint. Way bigger than I need, but when I was raising my 3 boys, it would have been great. As others have said, the roof, a/c, heat--the mechanics would have to be in good shape, but it can be painted into wonderful! Good price - where I was in NJ that would be way closer to $1m.

I think I need to move. In this area it would be at least $2m.

The exterior isn't my personal style, but that aside, it's got great potential. The oak everything is very dated and for me would need to go. But it looks like whoever owns it now has looked after it and it's definitely move-in ready.

I don't think you'd find any home in the Midwest built in the 1990s that doesn't have central air, to be honest. Especially not at that size/price point.