Special offer

Cost savings measures that are doomed for failure by developers

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 01238708

Cost savings measures that are doomed for failure by developers!

Tree Roots and Developers: Seriously will this be a cost savings?

I was watching a property in Westchester, CA in the 90045 Zip Code. Clearly it had great potential for an addition and updating. As I suspected, sure enough a Developer bought the property and an army of craftsmen descended on the house. There was a magnificent tree that looked like it was getting a trim. As I went back a few days later realized that now it was being cut down by people who did not know what they were doing….

Then I saw a new driveway being poured again I wondered are these skilled laborers or the ones that you pick up in front of Home Depot and pay them a day wage and they do whatever you tell them to the best of their abilities without much skill or training…..

Amazingly a few weeks later not months later I saw a For Sale Sign on the property from an out of area agent. Ironically the property was and is overpriced, do not take my word for it, my market reports tell you that everything that is priced correctly is virtually gone in a few days to a few weeks in this pocket of Westchester. As a matter of fact in all of Westchester. This one is still here as the neighbors and buyers pass by the property daily and weekly. Literally bypass the property!

Rootstwo

Look at these two pictures, my take is, it would not have cost that much more to pull the rest of the roots of the Tree and then re-do the walkway. Also instead of rolling grass over the main remnants of the trunk of the tree, it would have been more valuable to pull the rest of the tree up instead of leaving the eye sore. I will be interested to see, when spring rolls around what the buyers will say about the brown patch and the hill where no grass grows. They will be wondering how expensive will it be to correct it.

In my opinion when buyers see this kind of “short cut” mentality, they start wondering where else did the developer take short cuts with the inside of the house. So my take is, this will ultimately cost more to the seller. Longer holding costs, price reductions and ultimately might even have to make the corrections to be able to sell the house. So why not do it right from the beginning. Doing it right from the beginning is what I call Cost Savings in the long run. Generally it will sell at a higher price if you do quality work, rather than shoddy workmanship.

 

If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites  at  http://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

Endre Barath, Jr. I hate to see developers cut corners. They really stick out and reflect on the whole project

Dec 28, 2014 01:56 PM
Ron Marshall
Marshall Enterprises - Saint Michael, MN
Birdhouse Builder Extraordinaire

Ouch, Endre....not only did they do the tree and property a disservice, they also made a bad job worse...  And, not one person would want to deal with those roots now.  The worst part is that that tree may start to grow again, and be really ugly now.  The new owners would have to dig it up with the roots, ruin the lawn, and be out a lot of money.  Call Endre Barath for great advice on buying and selling homes in Westchester!!!

Dec 30, 2014 06:30 AM
Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES
Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL
Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living

Endre, I agree, that walkway doesn't look good at all and the bump in the lawn makes you wonder what they were thinking!

Dec 30, 2014 09:51 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Paul Henderson  developers like this give a bad name to all the good ones...Endre

Ron Marshall  you make a great point about the tree begins to grow again, then it becomes another layer of problems....Endre

Dec 30, 2014 11:14 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Silvia Dukes PA, REALTOR  indeed what were they thinking?Endre

Dec 30, 2014 11:14 AM
Robert Bob Gilbert
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties - Katy, TX
Your Katy TX ( West of Houston) Real Estate Expert

Endre, 

It always pays off to  do the job correctly the first time and not try to do it the cheapest way. As you said doing what this group did will cost them big time in so many ways. Happy New Year my friend. 

Jan 01, 2015 12:35 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Robert (Bob) Gilbert  I so agree with you hope you recovered and had a Fantastic New Years Eve, Endre

Jan 01, 2015 04:39 PM