Morph Expert

Samantha Strong will be making another guest appearance on MPR's Midmorning with Kerri Miller this Friday, January 27, from 10:00-10:45. John Trostle, an FHA-certified home inspector, will be joining her again as well and they'll be answering listeners' questions on winter home repair.
Be sure to tune in Friday at 10am, or keep an eye on our Media page to listen to the broadcast's archive.

Introducing Morph Experts: A weekly blog feature where a "Morph Expert" answers some tough questions about their field. Everything home related - real estate, leasing, construction, and design!

How much should my kitchen project cost?
by Morph Expert: Samantha J. Strong

I get this question a lot. "How much should I budget for my kitchen?" That is a loaded question, since everyone's situation is different. It's not a question of if you have the money, it's how you should spend it. In this market, with the volatility we've seen, the last thing I'd suggest to do is sink more in to your house than you can reasonably expect a return on. Generally speaking, a kitchen renovation will recoup 80% of your expenses. Obviously, a DIY project will recoup much more, while a project done by a company charging high Profit & Overhead will recoup less (and that's a whole different conversation, to be addressed later).
The first question I ask is, "How long are you going to stay in this home?" Of course, life happens and no one knows for sure, so unless I hear an adamant "They'll be taking me out of here in a box!" then we approach the project more conservatively. A really basic budget guideline for a kitchen renovation is about 10% of your home's value, or what I call The 10% Rule, give or take a few thousand. If you want to go out and splurge on the best of the best, go right ahead. But remember, when you go to sell (you're not in your last house, right?), the next buyer likely won't be willing to pay much more for that honed slate countertop or Viking range.
So this 10% Rule is just a measure to help guide your decisions.

On the flipside, a kitchen done by a contractor will cost more than doing it yourself, and probably more than you thought it would. There will be a lower limit of what it costs to get new cabinets, countertops, flooring, electrical, plumbing, and even heating. If the number still is too high, maybe it's time to revisit the scope of work (do you really need to open that wall?) or look for more affordable appliances (black is an attractive substitute for stainless and shows less fingerprints).

We do a little calculation of our own here. On every project, I do a "gut check". If the numbers and the results don't make sense for the value of the home, it's time for a heart-to-heart with the homeowners. Maybe it's time to reduce the scope of work, or even consider moving as the best long term plan. You see, I can't sleep at night if we're only helping you get yourself into a resale nightmare. We want to work with you again and again, each time making smart, attractive improvements to the biggest investment of your life.

By Morph Expert: Samantha J. Strong, EcoBroker® & General Contractor.

Do you have a question for a "Morph Expert"? Submit it here.

Introducing Morph Experts: A weekly blog feature where a "Morph Expert" answers some tough questions about their field. Everything home related - real estate, leasing, construction, and design!

A Foreclosure Guide for Renters - Part 2: What happens when the bank is my new landlord?
by Morph Expert: Sarah Logterman

This one was hard to find an answer for. We asked our landlord, we talked to an experienced Realtor, and we looked at Minnesota’s tenant laws online. They all gave us a little bit of info, but no one source had all the answers. But here’s what we pieced together:

On the date that the six-month redemption period ends, the property owner no longer has any rights to the property. It is now owned fully by the bank, for them to do with it as they please. Usually, they want to sell it. So, since it’s easier to sell a house when it’s vacant, they just want the renters out of there. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. BUT – they can’t immediately kick you out.

But let’s back up a minute – how do you know when the official redemption period end date is? You might think that it would be exactly 6 months after the sheriff’s sale, but ours was more like 8.5 – not sure why. Here’s how I found out mine: about 3 months after the sheriff’s sale, we came home to a sheet of paper taped to the door requesting that all tenants of the building call this phone number to give information on its occupancy. The phone number was for a real estate agent that had been assigned to this duplex by the bank. His job was to put it on the market once the bank owned it and to facilitate negotiations with the current tenants. A few months after giving him the info he requested, I called him again to ask him what would happen to the property once the bank owned it. He was more than happy to help me. Not only did I get the official redemption period end date, but I got a lot more information about what to expect once the bank took over.

And here’s what happened:

As soon as the bank owns the property, the real estate agent will post a notice on the door of all the units with tenants still living there. This notice will give the tenants a few different options:

#1: Sign up for a month to month lease with a property management company at the current market rate rent amount.
#2: Vacate in 90 days, which is the legal amount of time they are required to give you.
#3: Vacate sooner than 90 days in exchange for relocation assistance money.

We got our notice on a Monday, since the redemption period technically ended over the weekend. We had 10 days from the date on the notice to tell the agent what our choice was.

So what do all of these choices mean?

#1: If you choose to stay and rent the place, just note that you’ll have to pay current market rate rent, which might not be what you’re used to paying. Do some research on Craigslist and see what “market rate” might actually mean for your apartment. We didn’t explore this option, so we didn’t see any numbers or lease terms. Also, remember that the bank will want to put the house on the market soon, so be prepared to put up with showings if you’re going to stay there for a while.
#2: Vacating in 90 days means that you have exactly 90 days left to live there – without paying anyone rent. Period. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? (This is the option that we chose.) All you have to do is be totally moved out on the 90th day after the date you got your notice, and leave the place in a “broom swept” condition.
#3: Relocation assistance money, or “cash for keys”, means that they give you bonus money if you vacate sooner than 90 days, again leaving the place in a “broom swept” condition. Here’s the deal that they offered us: Vacate in 4 weeks and get $877. Vacate in 2 weeks and get $1277. (I’m not sure where these dollar amounts came from, so don’t count on your offer being exactly the same as this.) So, if you already have a new place lined up, getting some cash out of the deal isn’t a bad option. But, we needed a little more time to move out, so we chose the 3 months free rent instead.

One thing that the agent did tell me was that with both of the vacate options, they would not be putting the duplex on the market, which was reassuring. It had been on the market for almost a year before the foreclosure, and putting up with showings every week was a nightmare. So we told him we would take the 90 days to vacate, and that was that!

By Morph Expert: Sarah Logterman, Office Manager & Property Management Specialist

Do you have a question for a "Morph Expert"? Submit it here.

Introducing Morph Experts: A weekly blog feature where a "Morph Expert" answers some tough questions about their field. Everything home related - real estate, leasing, construction, and design!

Tips to help you enjoy your remodeling experience:
by Morph Expert: Kari Nelson

Remodeling is exciting. Remodeling is stressful. Remodeling can be nerve-racking and it can be really fun. It can be a little bit of everything. It is important to remember this when starting your project. You will likely feel a wide range of emotions throughout the process. That being said, there are a few ways to make the entire experience more enjoyable. And trust me – if it’s enjoyable for the client, then it’s enjoyable for the designer, and for the builder. We are all in it together! Here are a few tips that you, the client, can do to help make your remodel experience a positive one.

Start Early:
Begin thinking about your project well before you actually want to start construction. If a client comes to a designer and says “I want to have my kitchen remodel complete in 6 weeks,” the designer will likely cringe a little and then try to make it happen. Rushing the design and construction process can lead to unnecessary oversights. By giving both the designer and builder time to establish what you want, get the bid prepared, and organize all of the materials before construction, you will all start the process on the right foot.

Make a list of Priorities:
Sit down and start a list of priorities right away. Have a column for “Need”, “Want”, and “Would Like”. This list will fluctuate a bit throughout the design process, but 9 times out of 10, your original list of priorities will remain important to you. Of course, with many of these items, there will be a dollar sign attached to them. You will likely have to make adjustments to fit your budget.

With every project, there is going to be an aspect of Quality, Quantity, and Price. Generally speaking, you can choose which of the two are most important to you. Unfortunately, you often don’t get to have all three. For example, you can have a lot of really nice items (Quality & Quantity), but then you will have to pay for it (Price). You can choose to have a few of your selections be high end and still maintain a moderate budget (Quality & Price), but the quality may be sacrificed on some of the items (Quantity). And so on. It is up to you which two items will guide you in the decision making process.

Establish a Budget Range:
The emphasis is on the word “range”. It is unrealistic to walk into a remodel project thinking “I would like to spend X amount of dollars on this”. There are hundreds of small decisions that go into a remodel project (many of which you won’t have to worry about, as your designer will make these decisions instinctively), and each of these decisions affects the budget. It would be miraculous (and perhaps somewhat suspicious) if your budget was $50,000 and the bid came in at $49,999. Have a range – it is more realistic, and it will help you to incorporate your list of priorities more effectively. Also, be open with your designer about your budget range. It will help them design your project to fit your budget from the onset. But remember, your budget will directly affect the quantitative and qualitative items in your project, so be reasonable. A small budget does not simply just mean you will have to pay less for your remodel project.

Have Patience:
Your builder should probably tell you the following items at the start of the project:

- “The construction will temporarily affect your lifestyle.”

- “There will be days when no one is working.”

- “You will have to pay for changes.”

- “Mistakes may be made, but they will be corrected.”

- “By the end of the project, all of the small details will be addressed, but for a time, it will look like they were neglected.”
(This is an actual progress photo of one of our projects. It looks unfinished, and that's because it is! Quality work takes time.)

If you find a designer that you like and a builder that you like (or better yet, a design-builder that you like!), trust them to give you a final product that you feel great about. It is important to be aware of the progress, and to make sure that things are being built as you were expecting, but a lot of it won’t become visible until the very end. And remember, as I said at the beginning, “We are all in it together!” Everyone wants an end result that meets the client’s priorities and budget, and looks beautiful. With a little patience, your remodel can be a wonderful experience!

By Morph Expert: Kari Nelson, Designer & Project Manager.

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Introducing Morph Experts: A weekly blog feature where a "Morph Expert" answers some tough questions about their field. Everything home related - real estate, leasing, construction, and design!

Q: "My daughter has allergies. What features should we be looking for in our first home?"
by Morph Expert: Samantha J. Strong

A: First off, glad to hear you're house hunting! I cannot think of a better time in recent history to be buying than right now. Low interest rates and lots of inventory means that you are in the driver's seat. But regardless of the home you buy, there will be some basic things you should consider when trying to find the one with the best indoor air quality.

First off, carpeting is a no-no. All sorts of nasty allergens, from pet dander to dust, gather in the fiber and padding. But don't discount a home just because there's carpet. Check to see if there are wood floors hiding underneath. If you get them refinished before you move in, it'll be like the carpet never existed.

Next up, your heating system: forced air heat versus radiant heat. A boiler system, most commonly identified by radiators, is a closed hot water or steam circuit. It is the cleanest type of heat available, ideal for people with allergies. Forced air incorporates a furnace and ductwork. Depending on how old the furnace is, if pets ever lived in the house, and the last time the ductwork was cleaned, that furnace could be blowing all sorts of dust and other allergens all over the house. In this case, I'd recommend getting the ductwork cleaned asap, and changing the filter on the furnace every 30 days. And here's a tip, unless the furnace was made to accommodate a micro-filter, use the least expensive fiberglass filter you can buy. If you put a micro-filter into a standard furnace, the repeated stress of forcing air through the filter will actually cause your furnace motor to fail sooner. And that's a headache you don't want to deal with.

And then there's the third possible source. Some people freak out when I say it, but it's true, there is mold in every home. No, I'm not talking about shower surround mold. This is mold hiding in the dank corners of your home: basements, attics, porches. There are a lot of causes of mold growth, but to simplify, it's potentially in any area that's gotten damp, either through water intrusion or interior humidity, and hasn't dried out properly. When I'm looking for mold, my primary culprit is the basement. If it's finished, with sheetrock or panelled walls, I look for water stains. Even more obvious are the big, black, blotchy spots. You're looking at it: mold. When a wood framed wall has mold, the only solution is to tear it all out. Otherwise you're subjecting your daughter to continuous exposure to a nasty allergen. Heck, even for people without allergies, mold can wreak havoc on your sinuses and lungs. And to be safe, always use gloves and a mask when removing tainted materials.

So the ideal house for your situation would have all hard surface flooring (no carpet), radiant heat, and an unfinished basement. In the Twin Cities, this should be fairly easy to find. Good luck with your search!

By Morph Expert: Samantha J. Strong, EcoBroker® & General Contractor.

Do you have a question for a "Morph Expert"? Submit it here.

Introducing Morph Experts: A weekly blog feature where a "Morph Expert" answers some tough questions about their field. Everything home related - real estate, leasing, construction, and design!

A Foreclosure Guide for Renters - Part 1: what happens when your landlord doesn't pay his mortgage?
by Morph Expert: Sarah Logterman
Early one morning last year, my roommate and I were woken up by a loud knock on the door and were surprised to see a strange man standing there with a thick packet of papers in his hand. He handed it over, asked if the other unit in the duplex was occupied, and left. We had just been served.

Confused and uncertain, we read through the entire packet of legal documents we had just received and learned that our landlord had stopped paying his mortgage and that the foreclosure process for the house that we had lived in for two years had officially begun. There was to be a sheriff’s sale in a few months, followed by a six-month redemption period. There was no further information.

Would we have to leave? If so - when? And did we have to keep paying our rent? We didn’t have any of these answers.

Over the course of the next year, we slowly learned about our rights and our obligations as renters during the foreclosure process – and just how sticky the situation can get. I hope this information can help you navigate through the process if you find yourself in a similar situation.

What’s a Sheriff’s Sale?
As soon as a property owner misses a mortgage payment, their bank can initiate the foreclosure process – this begins with a sheriff’s sale. The sheriff’s sale is an auction where the property is put up for sale at the amount that’s owned on it, and it’s sold to the highest bidder – which usually ends up being the bank that holds the mortgage. However, the bank doesn’t technically own it yet…after the sheriff’s sale, the house is now in the “redemption period”.

What’s a Redemption Period?
The redemption period usually lasts for six months, and is the property owner’s last chance to reclaim his property. But he can’t get it back just by paying the amount of all his missed payments, he needs to buy it back for the full amount remaining on the loan. So clearly, this almost never happens. But the important thing to know about the six-month redemption period is that the original property owner still technically owns the property, and not the bank. This means that he can still rent it out, but more importantly for you, he still needs to maintain the property. All current leases are still in effect – both month-to-month and fixed term leases – along with all their stipulations.

The Landlord’s not paying his bills – why should I keep paying him rent?
Again, the property owner still technically owns the property, and your lease is still in full effect. So, even though you know full well that he’s not paying his mortgage payment, you still have to pay your rent in full and on time according to your lease. It might seem unfair, but that’s the way it is. He has to hold up his end of the bargain, and so do you.

However, an unfortunate side effect of foreclosures is a decrease in the service that tenants get from landlords that have either written off the property in their minds or don’t have the funds left to properly maintain the building. If there are serious repair issues, or if your utilities have been shut off because your landlord’s not paying those bills either, you can withhold your rent and file a suit against him until the problems are fixed. Smaller issues might just get ignored, though – so if something’s important to you, speak up. For example, during the redemption period on our duplex, our lawn went from being professionally mowed every week to being mowed by the landlord himself maybe once a month. We ended up not minding the longer grass, so we let it go. But later on in the redemption period, our bathroom sink faucet started dripping. My eco-conscience couldn’t let that one go, so I requested that it be repaired even though it wasn’t an emergency. They came out and put in a new faucet right away.

What about my security deposit?
You are of course still entitled to your security deposit, even if the bank takes ownership of the property before your lease runs out. Make sure to arrange with your landlord right away what’s going to happen with the deposits so that everyone’s on the same page. Landlords don’t usually transfer deposits over to the bank, so don’t count on getting anything from them. So get your deposit back from your landlord before he loses the property. Or, you can legally skip your last month’s rent in exchange for the deposit (assuming they’re of the same value), but you can only do this in a foreclosure situation. (This is because sometimes the property owner dips into the deposits to help pay the bills.)

As for the condition of the property, your landlord won’t care what’s going on since he’s about to lose it anyway, so this can work out to your advantage. It doesn’t mean you can trash the place though – that’s just bad karma. But you should still make sure to tidy up after you leave and make sure all your stuff is gone, just like you would in any other move. The way our landlord put it, we didn’t have to patch the nail holes in the walls or do any really deep cleaning – but if, for example, we hadn’t cleaned the tub in a month, we probably should. So just be mindful of how you leave the property – it is still a home, and someone will eventually live in it again.

By Morph Expert: Sarah Logterman, Office Manager & Property Management Specialist

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