property value - Vinyl vs aluminum windows
When I bought this house I had no idea how eichlers was such a big thing, and now I am going to replace all windows and doors and was wondering how it would affect the value of the property if I install vinyl vs aluminum.
Does anyone have information about it?
Thank you
Ronaldo
something's only as valuable as what someone else is willing to pay for it. so, perhaps there are 2 ways to look at "value"... (1) the amount of money your house will fetch come selling time and (2) your overall ability to sell when you need to... in this market, the later might be as important as the former.
speaking only from personal experience... when we were shopping for homes (specifically eichlers in concord), we saw 2 that were contenders. one that had vinyl windows and doors (but was in "better" shape) and the other had original windows and doors (which was in more "original" shape).
we chose the one with the original windows and doors (even though we needed to replace the windows) mainly because of the vinyl windows/sliding-doors in the previous house would be hard to replace on top of the many other non-eichler-esque changes which we didn't care for and would take a lot of time to restore to original. the owners considered the changes "upgrades": painted redwood ceilings, painted wooden doors/frames/paneling, carpet, non-original tile and early-american oak cabinets, non original closet doors, etc...
the house we did not buy eventually sold about 4 months later (after being on the market for a few already) at a reduced rate with a few financing incentives. we bought the house we now live in before it even hit the market. so, from a sellers perspective: 0 days-on-market vs 120+ days-on-market...
how long are you planning to live in the home? if it's the last house you're going to buy, then it won't matter. if you're planning to flip the house then you should take notes on what your market (eichler fans) wants in a renovation. here's a link to a list of things folks seem not to like.
I second that, last summer I was in the market for a Streng home...Sacramento area. I went to check out several Strengs' some had "upgrades" as they were called.
Let me tell you it was very sad, to see what had made a Streng unique destroyed. I also went for the one that needed some TLC but all intact. Please, reconsider what you are doing not just for resale value but the history and integrity of the home.
