Walk Through With New Home Owners – using that lowes coupon for all it’s worth!

Last Updated on Thursday, 15 July 2010 03:06 Written by admin Thursday, 15 July 2010 03:06

I have been thinking a lot lately about all the money I spend at Lowes and how I rarely use a Lowes Coupon unless I am legitimately helping someone that has recently moved. Because it is my business to remodel, do additions, etc I run into a lot of different situations. I was thinking about first the money I spend with the people just moving and really they come into two categories.
The first is the person moving into a relatively turn key home. This person can do everything on a single lowes coupon if we plan right because they rarely are spending more than $5,000. While it is not uncommon for us to pick up a new refrigerator the rest of the purchases are usually personal touches when dealing with this turn key home buyer and really all of these personal touches are fun to buy with the homeowner. First we go through their new home and take an inventory. We talk about what it would be like to use each room. The living room, where to put couches, lighting, ceiling fans and throw rugs. The bedroom where to put a new tv jack, mirror on closet doors, ceiling fans, window locks. The kitchen we talk about towel holders, cabinet storage solutions, pot and pan racks, new built in appliances etc. It is really a fun part of my job because when we do it right and inexpensively using ever trick in the book including yes a lowes coupon we can do a lot to a home for not too much money. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We also go into the bathroom and yes I have them sit on the toilet, lid closed of course, to get an idea of if they like the toilet paper holder, if they fit (yes it is an issue in some smaller bathrooms), lighting, exhaust fans etc. I know you are thinking all of this takes a lot of effort but really in this slower economy it allows me for a minimal amount of money to put a couple workers to work for a few days and it produces a little in income.
After we do the interior we then go outside and discuss things like gardening, lighting, security, and entertaining. There is a lot you do in a new home and if you are only working from a single lowes coupon you need to put it all on one tab. It is amazing to me how many turn key home buyers do not even own a lawn mower and yet they tell me all the time that a. they were not planning to hire a gardener and b. they never thought about it. We then have to discuss storage of the equipment and if they need a shed or not.
What’s fun about lowes home improvement is they carry everything. Yes I know the other guys do too but really, they may have every specific screw, but lowes has a larger variety of of nicer looking décor items. Anyhow I digress. We were discussing the aspects of the exterior walk through with the new homeowner. What many people do not think about is concrete aka known as a patio. It is relatively inexpensive to add space to a patio are to improve the entertaining experience. It is also time to discuss an enclosed porch area or maybe parts that are set apart from the landscaping. Like maybe a path to an area that holds a gazebo or something of the like. I think you are getting the idea. In later posts I will get into much more detail how, beyond a simple lowes coupon, which I know is the obsession at this site, but into greater detail on how to do all these improvements for a very low cost. But for now we are finished with the turn key home buyer walk through. As you can see a turn key homeowner is really oftentimes focused on many of the finer touches that personalize the home and bring everything into a much more “home” feel rather than just moving into someone else’s “house”.
For the non turn key home we have a lot more on our minds than just the “finer touches” we have the big stuff in mind. Now as you all know we are a licensed contractor but do not be afraid – everything I discuss, well almost everything, can be tackled by the astute DIY homeowner. Just thing about what I am pointing out and then take on one thing at a time. The Lowes customer service is great and they will help you, show you, assist you – as I have posted in other posts – they are really great. Go to their training DIY seminars and you will see what I mean first hand. Now I cannot emphasize enough – unless you are really good at things – tackle one thing at a time. There is no benefit to starting 10 improvements and not finishing any of them. Start 1 thing and take it through until it is done then move to the next. If you home is in serious need of a lot of work – take it from me. If you can afford it live in a hotel or keep you old rental home until the repairs are done. If you cannot afford it, and I know this sounds bad and I am sorry, but let your wife and family stay with in-laws during the major work. Living in a home being remodeled especially if everything is in poor shape puts a lot of stress on the family. Get the basics done first the move the family in.
OK the walk through. For the most part when dealing with a home that needs some serious work and is not “turn-key” I focus on making it fresh and clean. What I mean by this… well you will see. Paint is the number 1 improvement. If the home is an entry level home and has old plaster walls consider texturing them then painting. I know many people enjoy plaster walls and smooth wall but an entry level home can look modern, fresh, and clean simply by texturing all the walls, using a good killz based primer, then a good quality paint for the final coat. Painting is somewhat cheap. Using cheap paint is not smart and not cheap. If you are doing it yourself, trust me, spend the extra few bucks for good paint – use your lowes coupon – but spend the extra. Good paint is much easier to work with than cheap paint. Texturing takes a professional. Trust me. If you know someone that does texturing then buy him a pizza and rent the machine from lowes that does the texturing. A whole home takes more than just the sprayer with hopper on top – rent the stand alone machine with the hoses – its less than $100 and you can texture a whole smaller home in 1 day. There is no single improvement that makes a home look better than the texture and the paint.
The next is flooring. If you can afford tile – Great! Even DIY tile jobs are not difficult if you take your time – but do not rush either. Putting down linoleum in the bathrooms and kitchen is fine for starters. Remember you can always do tile later -t he goal up front is to get the home livable. Do not think “its better to do nothing then tile later – why do it twice” do not fall into this mentality – it almost ruined my marriage because we never had enough money. Just get that floor covered with a good looking lino – its livable and really it looks great!. For the rest of the home just carpet it. If you can afford wood laminate and love it then fine – but really I do not understand the obsession with tile and laminates – a great carpet is just that – great. Livable, soft etc. I know that many moms think its hard to clean – but just control your children and wash your pets. Carpet is a great starter and it’s fairly cheap. If you do not think so just remember you are doing a smaller entry level home. Go to a remnant store.
Well that’s it for this post. Sorry I did not finish the non turn key home – maybe next time. If you email me I will get to it sooner than if you wait for me. But either way I should get it done in the next day or so.