This First House (2026) s01e02 Episode Script

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[ Rock
[ Rock music
[ Rock music plays
[ Rock music plays ]
♪♪
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Dog barking ]
-So, it's been a few weeks
of house-hunting
for Jorge and Crystal.
Have you heard any updates?
-They've been getting outbid.
They've been seeing people
with cash offers.
But he said one thing
that was interesting.
There was like
a Realtor eavesdropping
as they were discussing
the offer
they were gonna put in
on the place.
-Oh, boy. I didn't have that
on the bingo card for them.
-But fingers crossed,
Yemily reaches out today
with an offer accepted.
[ Blues music plays ]
[ Baby fusses ]
-Baby woke up.
Just on time.
-[ Chuckles ]
[ Cellphone ringing ]
Hello.
-Hi.
-Hi, Yemily.
-How are you guys?
-A little nervous, but excited.
-[ Chuckling ]
-Nervous? That's okay to be
nervous when buying a home.
So, I have news for you, okay?
-Okay.
Belleville decided
to go with another buyer.
-Okay.
-So I'm sorry about that.
I really am, because I know you
guys really like that property.
-That was definitely
our favorite one.
That was our top choice.
-Yes.
They couldn't figure it out
if the building was FHA approved
or not.
The association
didn't get back to them in time,
and they were making
the decisions yesterday.
And the second thing
was that a lot of people
put really aggressive offers.
They went as high as $20,000
over the number
that we have submitted,
at $349,000.
-Wow.
-We didn't have a chance.
-I wouldn't say that.
I think it's just that homes
that are completely finished
and need absolutely nothing,
people jump on them.
There's not a lot on the market,
so, you know, it's very
competitive to get one of those.
-Yeah. Should we be screening
for FHA approval
before we even go see things?
-So, I'm trying to do that,
but I'm not getting
a fast response,
which makes me believe I'm like,
"Should we, like, you know,
not go see the property,
or should we just go see it
just in case?"
So I'm leaning to
if they don't respond
and it's a property
that makes sense for you,
to just go see it
and get rejected later.
-Yeah. Okay.
-Okay.
-I think you guys
are doing great.
I think you guys are winning
and you're not even aware of it.
-Alright, Yemily.
Thank you so much.
-Alright. We'll be in touch.
Have a great day.
-Thank you. That's it.
[ Chuckles ]
[ Baby fussing ]
-You know the statistics.
-I'm like, "Yes.
Okay, I get it."
But emotionally, I'm like,
"I can't keep doing this.
I can't keep putting
my heart on the line."
-It is definitely deflating,
even though
we're trying to be hopeful
and keeping our eyes
on the big picture.
It just --
It stings a little bit.
-Your offers are not gonna
get accepted right away,
but most likely, you would
have to send anywhere
between 6 to 10 offers
to get your offer accepted.
Usually, right around midway,
they're like,
"Oh, no. This is horrible."
I'm like, "No, it's not.
I'm gonna show you
all my clients
exactly went through
the same thing."
I usually have one client
call the other.
It really puts them at ease,
because they're like, "Okay.
This person went through
the same thing.
It's not just me."
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
-So, we're on our way now
to Nick and Hannah's,
and we're gonna sort of develop
the design a little bit,
hopefully get more clarity
on the scope of work.
-It's gonna be really important
to just physically tape out
the space in the basement
and show them exactly how
thick the walls are gonna be,
walk through where they want
to put this existing bed
that they want to move down
to the basement,
really understand
what they see in their head
is gonna actually be
a day-to-day, functional space.
-We've given them some plans,
but, you know, not everyone
is an expert at reading plans
their first time.
I find things look bigger
on plans, a lot of times.
-Yes, they do.
-And then
you get into the space.
"Oh, man. This is a lot smaller
than I thought it was."
And then we'll talk budget,
and that's always fun.
-Super fun. Love talking money.
But it's good to talk money
before the bills are due.
-Alright. Here we are.
Let's do this.
-Come on in.
-So at the bottom of the stairs,
we have a utility closet.
And then we have the door
to the garage here.
-And this is what we're hoping
will be a bedroom.
A lot of times,
once we have that plan on paper,
things look a lot bigger than
they actually feel in person.
So I think it's really important
to tape it out on the floor,
make sure everything fits
the way you want to,
and that you can move
through the space comfortably.
-Alright. So, I'm gonna use
this laser level
to mark out
where the walls will be.
-Now it's a party.
-A little techno music
down here.
This is gonna be
the inside of the bedroom.
It's a lot cheaper
to build it with tape
than it is with 2x4's.
-In order
to really understand the space,
we need to tape out
the full depth of that wall.
-This is helpful 'cause not only
will we see the space
of the bedroom,
we'll see the space
of the mud hall,
as we're calling it.
-Exactly.
And then we'll do
a 30-inch door.
We can enter into this new room.
-Welcome to the bedroom.
[ Laughs ]
-That's good.
-Alright, so, now that we know
where the wall is,
we have to consider
some building codes.
And building codes
can be annoying,
but they're actually in place
to protect you.
And when
we're thinking about basements
and finishing basements
with bedrooms,
the egress window is what
we really have to think about.
Egress just means how do you get
out of here if there's a fire?
First one is making sure
the window is 20 inches wide.
You're at 30", so we're okay.
The height needs to be 24",
but you only have 20".
So what we need to do
is cut this down.
There's some things
we need to consider
with a gas meter, as well.
Typically, you need two feet
on either side of it,
three feet of access
in the front.
That doesn't mean you can't have
a closet door in front of it.
But we're gonna try and get
the utility company
to move this for you, because
it's in a really bad location.
So, the next thing
we want to really consider
is what's going in this space.
Let's talk about furniture plan.
-The head of the bed here,
and then coming out this way,
being the foot of the bed.
-Okay, great.
So, a queen-size mattress
is usually 60 inches wide
by 80 inches long.
-Let me try it out.
-[ Laughs ]
-We like it firm.
Is this hard enough for you?
-I will be working down here,
so I'll have a desk
that would go here
so that the light
from the window
will face my face
for video calls.
-How do you feel
about this walkway here?
-So, I know it's a little tight.
It will feel tighter, of course,
when the bed
is up off the floor.
But I can fit through,
so I think this works.
What do you think, Nick?
-I think we can make this work,
given that we're gonna have
to make compromises
elsewhere, as well.
-It does feel a little tight
for my preference.
Do you think it's worth
pushing that wall out
into the mudroom a bit?
-I think -- and you can
correct me if I'm wrong --
what we'd prefer
is to leave room
for the kind of mud hall,
mudroom?
-Because this space,
while currently planned
to be a guest bedroom and study,
could change in the future
and, you know,
can change with the furnishings.
So I think we want to probably
make this work for us for now.
-So, to say it back to you,
you think it would be
more likely
that you would regret
making the hallway too small,
rather than maybe
this queen bed not working
and having to shrink
the bed in the future,
or something like that?
-Yeah.
Or just the configuration
of the desk, yeah.
-I think we've landed on
an answer here.
Let's go upstairs
and talk about
what it's gonna cost.
Through the door.
Yeah, I like it.
-[ Laughs ]
-I'll shut the door behind me.
-Thanks, Camille. [ Chuckles ]
-We find
that a lot of homeowners
have false expectations
about what things cost,
and I think some of that
is to do with media.
We worked with
a production company once,
and I told them the whole job
was gonna cost $150,000.
When they cut
the finished product together,
they had me saying
that the whole project
was gonna cost $60,000.
And they really misrepresented
our costs.
-One of the issues, of course,
is the cost of living is very
different all over the country.
We live outside of Manhattan,
and labor costs, material costs,
everything is higher here.
So a job that we do here
is going to cost a lot more
than if you were in Kansas,
if you were in Florida.
All of these prices
are gonna be different.
And it's very hard
for the consumer to know
what numbers they can trust.
-Alright.
-I'm excited to see this.
-We got some cool plans here.
-Yeah. Wow.
Much bigger than what
we were looking at online.
-So the purpose of this exercise
is basically to get you familiar
with what things cost
and sort of
how we build a budget.
We're gonna give you
some rough figures to work on,
but we don't want you to focus
on sort of each individual item,
but more
how things come together,
because guess what --
it's always more expensive
than we thought.
-Yeah, even when you know that.
-Yeah, even when you know that.
I was even surprised
when we renovated our house.
Even with all the information
we had,
when we were getting prices
and we were looking at
what things cost,
we were surprised.
Let's lock down
what's necessary,
then we'll see what's left.
Maybe you'll fall in love with
a faucet you want to splurge on.
Maybe you'll find something
that you say,
"Oh, I don't really care.
Like, a $200 toilet looks
just as good as a $7,000 toilet.
I'm gonna go with
the $200 toilet."
-As long as it doesn't leak
like the last one, we're good.
-Yeah.
As long as it does its job.
-We can map out all of those
red Post-its, all the things
we don't think there's a lot
of wiggle room in price.
And we're gonna have yellow
sticky notes,
and those are gonna represent
areas of the renovation
that are fixed
and that we have to do them,
but the price of those materials
could change,
depending on what they pick.
We can make our way to green
and put all the nice-to-haves.
-First thing is called
general conditions.
So what needs to happen
on this jobsite
to get it ready
for construction?
As a rule,
for a project of this size,
my guess is we'll go through
about 24 yards of trash,
so that's about two
12-yard dumpsters.
They're gonna cost
roughly $650 each.
-So $1,300?
-Demolition -- $600.
Now, framing this whole
basement,
$600 in material
and probably $1,000
in framing labor.
The material for the insulation,
$1,200,
and the labor
to install the insulation, $580.
Portable toilet, permit fees,
miscellaneous protection,
$1,000.
Quote for the plumbing work
you have -- $9,000.
$1,400 to $1,500 on that window.
Electric came to about $4,500.
$500 for an HVAC technician.
$400 in future-proofing
measures.
$3,000 to $4,000
in drywall work.
Door casing -- let's say it's
1,000 bucks in casing and labor,
and we'll leave an allowance
of $400.
Call it $580 for labor,
plus $420 in baseboard.
LVP,
which is luxury vinyl plank.
We've got to buy a toilet,
a tub,
the supplies, the mixing valve,
the shower head,
the vanity, the faucet,
the laundry tub.
The laundry tub faucet --
$3,000.
-[ Whistles ]
-Door knobs --
I would say $150
should cover that.
Noise attenuation --
$600 in material
and maybe another $600 in labor.
You've got a little closet here,
so we probably want a bar
and a shelf.
Let's call that 200 bucks.
Complex ductwork here.
To sort of soffit that in
and do that well,
a $3,000 job at a minimum.
Primer is $50 a gallon.
The wall paint
is $60 to $75 a gallon.
Call 500 bucks.
We want to give some options
to you of nice-to-have things.
1,500 bucks for
a heated floor in the bathroom.
So maybe we put
some of the infrastructure in
for maybe adding
a mini split later,
maybe putting a moisture barrier
on the floor,
like a $500 option.
A product called a FloodStop --
it's about 230 bucks.
10 hours of miscellaneous labor,
like cleaning up
after trade partners,
waiting for inspectors.
So, when you see
these things individually,
do you feel like they're
all higher than expected?
How do you feel individually
about each one of these?
-So,
-So, when
-So, when you
-So, when you see
-So, when you see
these
-So, when you see
these things
-So, when you see
these things individually,
do you feel like they're
all higher than expected?
-Some things are a lot
more expensive than I thought.
But honestly, some things are
quite a bit less than I thought.
Maybe overall,
it's a bit more than I thought.
-And if I tell you the total
thing is about $50,000,
does that feel higher
than you expected
this scope of work would be?
-Definitely higher than what our
research prior had suggested.
But now we can maybe
play around with these notes
to see where we can save,
whether that's by doing things
ourselves
or just simplifying the plan.
-I like to see the green number
being one of the higher numbers.
There's a lot
that can move around there
or be pushed to a later date,
too.
-There's a lot of levers
we can pull.
One of them is figuring out
how to efficiently assemble
the project.
Like, if we work with 10 people,
it will be more expensive
than if we work with five.
So maybe we can
have you do the demo,
or we can have the framing
carpenter do some of the demo.
We can pull scope out.
We can adjust the materials.
We can figure out how to maybe
value-engineer the floor plan.
You have a lot of options,
but hopefully, this exercise
helps you sort of study
individual things,
decide what you want to take on,
and then really sort of firm up
your budget.
Basically, you're gonna have,
like, a little bit
of, like, sensory overload
when you do this type of thing.
So we're gonna let you
sit with it,
and then we'll get back to you,
and we can have
another conversation about
based off this information, what
do we want to do to proceed?
I will tell you this --
what you're feeling right now
is not something
that's specific to you.
It's specific to every single
client we meet with,
because things are expensive,
they're getting more expensive,
and any information you consume
about what something costs
is from yesterday.
And we do this
on every single job.
We've never had a budget
where the client's like,
"Okay, that's it. Boom.
Where do I sign?"
-"I wanted to spend more."
[ Laughs ]
-Yeah. But you need
more information
to be empowered about what
you should make decisions on.
So we'll leave this with you.
-Okay. Thank you.
-And some Post-its.
[ Laughs ]
-Oh, thank you.
-Well, that was fun.
-Phew! Glad that's over.
-I definitely feel like
Nick and Hannah
understood
what we were telling them.
They reacted very well.
They were good sports, and
they had realistic expectations.
So as much as
that was uncomfortable,
it definitely went well.
-Yes. They're very pragmatic
about what things cost.
I think they do have a lot
to think about.
But as always, I'm really glad
that we had
that conversation now
and not
when we're sending an invoice.
-Let's let it sit with them
and see how they feel
about next steps.
-So, a contingency fund is money
that you set aside
of your total budget
that can be used only for things
that are unforeseen.
This could be termite damage.
That's very common.
This could be rot.
You might have electrical issues
you weren't aware of.
There could be asbestos.
Who knows, right?
So make sure
that if you have $10,000
to spend on your renovation
that you are going to put
$1,000 aside
so that if there are any
unforeseen things that come up,
you already paid for them.
-You should really think of
hiring a contractor like dating.
Don't hire the first contractor
who smiles at you.
There are contractors
who aren't really contractors,
but they're salespeople.
And they're gonna be very good
at smiling at you,
and they're also going to be
not particularly competent
at giving you a bespoke service
that meets your needs.
Check out
how they talk to the waiter.
These projects are built
with many people,
and if you have someone
egotistical at the top
who's just firing orders,
it means everyone that works
under them hates their guts
and isn't going to do the best
job for the homeowner -- you.
You want someone
who's respectful,
who builds a good team.
Everyone should be respected,
and that's gonna get you
the best project.
-Everybody, we're rocking
and we're rolling, okay?
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
Oh, are you going to see houses
today?
-Alright. Let's go in.
♪♪
-Is this an abandoned house?
♪♪
-So this has a lot of potential.
-Is this safe?
-Well --
-This wood looks real old, babe.
-Well, just go out.
-Oh, yeah. Just go out, right?
-[ Laughs ]
-Yeah, it needs to be sanded,
paint.
We just need to figure out
what that is.
-Oh.
-This is a real fixer-upper.
-Yeah, a real fixer-upper.
-This is a real fixer-upper.
-But look at this closet.
-I know.
♪♪
You'll all see, it will be
worth it when we find a home.
♪♪
-Oh! Look at that worm, guys.
-So, we purchased this house
about one year ago now,
and we've lived here
for six months.
We spent that first six months
after we closed on the house
working kind of nights
and weekends
to get it to a place
where we could move in.
And now we are ready to tackle
the outside of the house,
which is an even bigger
kind of process.
We wanted to rip out the patio
that was here,
because it wasn't really
so much of a patio,
it was just, like,
broken concrete.
And we're gonna put in
some stepping stones
and kind of make it a little
bit nicer, more functional.
So we got quotes.
They were all very fair
for the landscapers.
But we did decide in the end
we were gonna try
and tackle it ourselves.
So, I think Jorge and Crystal
are definitely going through
the seven stages
of real-estate grief right now.
They're not in denial anymore.
The reality has hit.
-They're feeling pretty somber
about it?
-Yeah.
-Maybe I'll give them a call
and suggest we get together
and just have a beer
and talk about it.
-Even if you don't help him,
the beer won't hurt.
-The beer might help.
-It might help.
-Alright. I'll call him up.
I mean, it's just
it's so bleak out there.
I don't blame them for feeling
a little overwhelmed
by this process.
-Yeah, absolutely.
[
[ Mid-tempo
[ Mid-tempo music
[ Mid-tempo music plays
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
-Jorge.
-Hey, Zack. How you doing?
-Sorry about the paint.
Just coming from work.
-I'm sure. Me too, me too.
But no paint.
-You look a little bit better
than me.
-[ Laughs ] Yeah.
-So, dude, it's been a while.
-Yeah.
-So what did I miss?
-We've had
quite the reality check.
To look for a house
in our location,
with our needs and our budget,
sometimes we feel
a little sorry for ourselves.
And then we're like, "No.
We just got to be tough,
and we got to be realistic.
You know,
this is just what it takes
to do what we're trying to do."
-It always feels like
there's someone
with a little bit more money,
there's someone who's there
a little bit earlier.
-Yeah, it's the worst.
-The numbers are just crazy,
especially where we live.
There's so many people.
-Absolutely.
There's just been
a lot of setbacks
in a short period of time,
you know?
-Right.
And it's important
to, like, really realize
what's essential
in terms of actual value.
And I think you guys are
really doing a tremendous job
of identifying those things.
-We need to downgrade
our must-haves significantly.
-You know, like, "I need a roof.
I need a floor."
-Exactly. I just need --
Exactly.
Not to mention
that life hasn't stopped.
You know, it's just like
everything else
is still happening.
You know, I'm still working.
I'm still in school.
And, then, we have our kids,
and this has just
been added to that.
So it's been --
-Right.
You didn't get
a couple more hours in the day.
-I know, or like a vacation
where you can just focus
on this.
-A lot of the media we consume
about house-hunting
is profiling the affluent.
-So true.
-Right?
There's not a social-media feed
where you're like,
"Got outbid, got outbid."
-I know.
-400 videos of people
being outbid.
That's not very interesting
content.
-That's so true.
I've never seen
what I'm going through.
Which is part of why
it's been such, like,
a little bit of a shock,
this experience.
-Yeah.
-Because this is just
not portrayed in the culture.
You know,
I think this is something
that people go through
privately.
And honestly, I see why,
'cause it's like --
it's very difficult.
But anything worth having,
you know, takes work, you know?
-Yeah, I'd stay faithful.
I think it's gonna happen.
-Yeah.
-Well, cheers, man.
-Cheers. Thanks, Zack.
Appreciate it.
-Thank you.
-Listen. If you're in the middle
of house-hunting
and you submitted
over four or five, six offers
and don't have anything
accepted yet,
this is a pep talk
that I give to all my clients.
Keep going.
You eventually find your home.
It takes time. It really does.
But eventually,
you will find the house.
So I say keep going.
-Well, let me show you
right here.
If you have a wall like this
and you have a hole in it --
-Well, there is no hole in it.
Oh! Look at you.
-There is now, alright?
-Did you miss me?
I missed you, too.
I'm not quite done yet.
Remember, when you're going
on that first date
with a contractor,
you need to understand
what you are.
Maybe you're a 6
and you're trying to get
an 8 of a contractor.
Don't be greedy.
Maybe you're a 10
and you're looking for
an 8 of a contractor,
but your project's only a 6.
Understand and set
your expectations correctly.
Now, I know there's
a difference in contractors.
Do you have a water heater
that just burst
and you want someone to come
over and fix it right away?
That's completely different than
maybe a luxury kitchen design,
where you need
to be wined and dined
and talk about design options
and learn about
all the different types
of cabinets available to you.
It's important to set
your expectations correctly.
And remember,
good long-term relationships
are built on shared values,
so the contractor you work with
has to align perfectly with you.
Think about it.
[ Rock music plays ]
♪♪
-Today,
we're at Nick and Hannah's.
Last time we saw them, we were
talking about the budget, right?
-Yeah.
-We gave them some time
to think about it,
but now we need to talk about
what happens
between a very rough budget and
actually starting construction.
-Yeah. So, this is
the pre-construction process.
We really want to make sure
that we're not gonna start
this project
until they're ready
to finish it.
So they need to make
a lot of decisions,
and we need to lay out
the groundwork for that.
We need to identify
what they can do on their own,
what they need help from us on,
and what we need help
from them on.
-Hey, guys, come on in.
-Thank you.
-Good to see you.
Alright, guys.
So now that you've had some time
to think about the budget,
there's this sort of space
between your initial budget
and start of construction
and that sort of general phase
we refer to as pre-construction.
-Yeah. This is
the pre-construction phase.
-So what we need to start
is we need
all your selections made,
and we need a permit in place.
So, the most annoying process
for Camille and I,
really, when pulling permits
is sort of that back-and-forth
between the building
department's requirements
versus what we're providing.
And typically,
we work around that
by having an architect involved.
-So, we're certainly open
to working with an architect
if we need to.
But do we need to,
or are there other options?
How would you advise us on that?
-In this situation,
as the owner
of a single-family home,
in this state,
you can draw your own plans,
and you can submit them
for the permit.
As a contractor,
we can certainly handle
the permitting process for you,
but we are not an architect
or an engineer,
so we cannot seal those plans.
So they have to either come
from you guys
or they have to come from
an architect.
-So basically, the things
we need to think about
when it comes to permitting is
you don't really need a permit
for everything you do
in your house.
-Right.
-But doing that bathroom
in the basement
may require all new plumbing,
electric,
so that's a permitted item.
You're modifying a window,
they want to know
is that new header strong enough
to support it?
So you want a permit for that.
We find that everyone
we work with
usually has more wants
than the budget allows.
So we try to set this up
in a transparent way
so that you're compensating
for us for our time,
because that's how
we make money,
but, also, you can take on
parts of the project yourself
and save money.
And that's sort of
what we would call
a cost-plus contract, right?
So you're basically going
to compensate us for our time,
compensate us
for the materials we buy,
and those materials
and people we pay,
like an electrician,
for example,
we're gonna mark up.
And that's gonna cover
our overhead --
like, our vehicles
and our insurance and all that.
But the nice thing about that
is you're only paying
for what you use.
So because you're pretty handy
and you guys are hands-on,
that's typically an agreement
that I think makes sense, but --
-Your unique situation.
-Yeah.
-Yeah. Cost-plus contract
keeps the risk
kind of evenly distributed.
Whereas a fixed-cost contract,
the project takes longer
than they initially think,
they can't charge you more
for it, right?
They can only charge what they
said they're going to charge.
So it may be a little bit higher
than if it was
an hourly contract.
-Yeah, I think the cost-plus
is the way to go for us.
We don't have
such a large project
that there's this huge margin
of error that we need to manage.
It's relatively small,
and like you said,
we might want to get our
hands dirty with a few things
to save a few dollars here.
-He at least does.
-Yeah.
-I'm willing to try.
-Sounds great. Well, I think
we have some things to do
to figure out what's needed
for the permits and --
-Yeah.
So why don't you get working
drafting up those plans,
and we'll circle back
in a few weeks.
-Sounds good.
-Awesome.
So, I think that went
really well today.
They seem really, you know,
ready
to hit the ground running
with the cost-plus contract.
They want to take on
scopes of work.
I think it's gonna work out
well.
-Makes sense to me.
I'll figure out what our
trade-partner costs are,
what our material costs are,
how much labor we have
in the project.
It's pretty easy. And if they
went with a fixed cost,
you know,
probably less risk to them,
but they're definitely gonna
spend more money,
because we need to cover
our risks.
-Yes.
-So it kind of makes sense
that a cost-plus
feels right in this instance.
But I'm excited to get started.
-Yeah.
-So, we're choosing
not to pick an architect
because our costs could end up
being quite tight
on this project.
And we're also learning
that hiring an architect
might mean
actually taking extra time
for an architect to do things
and then get back to us,
whereas we might be able to do
enough of a simple drawing
on our own
and then get it
right out the door pretty soon.
-I think
you might actually enjoy that,
since, once upon a time,
you wanted to be an architect.
I think I'd have a lot of fun
drawing some plans.
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
-So, we have been looking around
Essex County,
and we found a place
in Belleville.
We're really excited
about this place.
This condo
was at the top of our budget,
so we wanted to stand out,
so we wrote a letter
to the sellers.
We heard that they're a family,
too, they're expecting,
so we thought
they could relate to us.
-Hello?
-Hi.
-Hey, Yemily.
-How are you?
-A little nervous, but --
-I honestly don't think
our offer will get accepted.
We've put in many offers.
It's really competitive
out there,
and I know Belleville is quite
the hot spot right now.
-So, it's the reason
we wrote the letter,
and we're just hoping
on a prayer
that we will get this place.
-Nervous?
-Yeah. You know, we don't know
good news, bad news,
what we're gonna hear, so
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
-[ Exhales sharply ]
♪♪
They accepted your offer.
-What?!
-Yes.
-They accepted it?
-The one that we put in?
-Yes!
They accepted your offer.
Can you believe this?
-No, I can't.
-No.
-This is like
-Yes. It was so quick.
I am so happy. Congrats.
-Thank you.
But wait.
I feel like you need to explain.
-[ Laughs ] Sure.
-They had over six offers,
but the listing agent --
we had a really good connection.
And, you know, we believe that
the house is best for you guys.
So the sellers were, you know,
so happy to read your letter.
They love the kids.
You know, they told me
they read the letter twice.
So I'm like, "Oh, my God."
Yes! So can you believe
a love letter helped?
-It worked!
Oh, my goodness.
-I know.
You didn't believe in --
-I know.
Crystal really insisted.
-[ Laughs ]
I'm so happy for that letter.
-Oh, my goodness.
Thank you so much, Yemily.
-It's gonna be
the perfect match.
-This is really exciting.
You know, I gave up.
I was like,
"You know, let's put an offer,
but I don't think
we'll actually get it."
-Yes! I'm so excited
for you guys.
-Thank you so much, Yemily.
-So, now what?
-Yeah.
-Thank
-Thank you
-Thank you so
-Thank you so much,
-Thank you so much, Yemily.
So, now what?
-Yeah.
-Okay, so,
here are the next steps.
We will go under
attorney review,
which means that
the seller's attorney
and your attorney
will go over all of the terms
in the contract
and see what works best
for you both.
Once we have a meeting
of the minds,
we'll be able
to go under contract,
and then you can start
your funding process
with your lender.
-Okay.
-Once that's concluded,
we will do an inspection
on the home,
make sure
that everything is okay.
And if there's anything
that needs to be negotiated,
we'll negotiate it then.
And after that,
we'll do appraisal,
and you'll do
your final walk-through,
and we'll have your closing.
You'll get your keys.
-That's extremely exciting.
Thank you, Yemily.
-Thank you
for making all this happen.
-You really worked
some type of miracle.
I still feel like
I don't even understand
how this has happened.
-I am so happy for you guys.
I can't wait to see you guys
living there.
-Oh, my goodness.
We're so grateful.
Oh, my goodness.
-If you have any questions,
you know I'm here
through it all, okay?
-We'll be in touch, alright?
-Yes. Call me
if you have any questions.
-Will do. Bye-bye, Yemily.
-Bye.
-Bye. Have a great day.
-Yay, guys!
-We got an offer accepted ♪
Yay!
[ Laughter ]
-Do those jeans
make my ducts look big?
[ Laughter ]
-No, but the insulation does.
-[ Chuckles ]
-I wasn't finished yet.
First thing
you want to think about
is ask about the contractor's
past relationships.
Did they have good ones?
Can you talk
to their references?
Can you look them up online?
If they've got
a good track record,
that works in your favor.
The next one is how do you feel
when they're around you?
Do they make you feel
comfortable?
Are they people
you want in your house?
If that's the case,
it will probably be pretty easy
to get through this renovation
if you feel comfortable
working with them.
And the final thing
to think about is,
what are you bringing
to the table?
Are you bringing
prompt payments,
clear communication,
decisiveness?
If you're not, maybe it's
not an attractive project,
and maybe you're the reason
the contractor
doesn't want to work with you.
But rest assured that
that perfect person's out there
for you,
because there's plenty of fish
in the sea.
Or as we say, there's plenty
of contractors in the backhoe.
[ Laughter ]
[ Rock music plays ]
♪♪
-So, we got some bad news today.
I heard from Nick.
He got some comments
on the plans he submitted.
So, the original plan was
to replace the basement window
with one large enough
for someone to escape out of
in the event of a fire.
But the building inspector wants
a traditional egress window,
which means we need
to not only replace the window,
but dig out a window well,
which is going to interfere
with the stairs and the walkway.
Yeah. So I'm gonna go
over there now, measure,
talk with Nick about it,
see if he's had any epiphanies
in the time that's elapsed.
And hopefully,
we'll solve this problem.
♪♪
-Hey, Zack. Good to see you.
-What's up, Nick?
Nice to see you.
Should we talk windows?
-Sounds good.
-My fear was really
now that we know
the inspector's not gonna
really accept option "A,"
we've got to do
this window well.
But your stairs
really need a landing.
But that sort of means maybe
do we have to modify the stairs,
get an architect involved,
modify this opening?
Seems like a ton of scope creep.
Have you had any creative
problem-solving on this
since we talked?
-Yeah. So, I was able
to reach out
to a few different companies,
and it seems
like there are companies
that specialize
in precisely this problem,
because it seems like
lots of people
have this kind of scenario.
So I think we could do
something like that
through this kind of company.
-Did they give you any pricing?
-Prices are actually
pretty similar
to the prices
we were discussing before,
so it could be really good
for us.
-And we don't have to pay
an architect to modify this.
-Right.
-But I still think
we're gonna have this problem
of the three-foot clearance
here,
'cause you already have this
sort of break in the pathway,
It probably makes sense
to have the well,
which will be below this,
what you'll sort of
clamber out of
if you have to get out of
the basement in a fire.
It will start here.
The code says
it needs to be 9 square feet.
So roughly 3 feet
by 3 feet.
We may have to sort of
modify this,
but that's easy enough.
-So, I think the window
will ultimately have to come
in this direction.
But the good news is that
this pipe goes to our sump pump.
And we will need to drain
the window well,
ideally into a sump system,
So bringing the window this way
might actually help us
drain the window
and just use up this space
and potentially modify this.
-Right. I mean, at least
the modification's happening
where we're already excavating,
so we're not sort of creating
more damage in the area.
It seems like
the only part of this
that gets a little complicated
is we do have to patch
your foundation.
I don't know if the egress
window company will handle that.
Hopefully they would.
And then we're gonna have to
maybe add some pathway here
because it's gonna get
very narrow, right?
-So, I agree.
I think the sidewalk will become
maybe uncomfortably narrow
at the end of the window well.
And so adding
a strip of concrete
just to widen it
to something more like
what we have
on the side of the house
would be enough, I think.
-Yeah.
I think that's gonna look good.
It's gonna be nice
to have a big well there.
As much as I was hoping
to save you some money,
if you're down there,
working at the desk,
you're gonna get
much more sunlight.
-Yeah. It will feel like
a full-size window.
-Alright. So, my biggest fear
is we're on a bit of a timeline
here, a tight timeline.
We want to get this done.
And I'm not sure
how long it's gonna take
for the town
to move through this,
based off of what
we've experienced so far.
Do you think it makes sense
to maybe take care of
some of the safety issues
at the garage,
maybe focus on
the bathroom renovation?
We can help you with that.
And then we'll phase this,
because
this is sort of something
you're gonna contract
sort of separate from us,
and maybe we break
this project into two scopes.
-Yeah.
So probably two permits, then.
-Yeah.
We'll let them handle that,
and we can take care of
the bathroom
and the rest of that work.
-Makes sense.
-Alright. So I think I'm gonna
have to tweak the budget a bit,
pull some scope out,
but I think
that's a good solution.
It sounds like
when they do eventually start,
it will be pretty quick.
-Okay. Sounds good.
Thanks, Zack.
-Today,
-Today, we're
-Today, we're here
-Today, we're here
to
-Today, we're here
to do
-Today, we're here
to do an
-Today, we're here
to do an inspection.
It's something
that I suggest my clients do.
It uncovers any of the issues
that we can't see
during the showing.
-I'm Bill Root.
I'm with Root's Home Inspection.
So, the windows
are actually newer.
If you look in here,
July 2019.
-New windows --
that's a big plus.
-Yeah.
-We're gonna be looking for
any type of electrical issues
You have 100-amp service
to the unit, which is nice.
-It's exciting, but it's also
a little bit nerve-wracking,
because we don't want
anything to come up
that could jeopardize things.
-This outlet's not grounded.
It's loose to the wall.
You see that here?
plumbing issues
The shower head leaks
a little bit.
The sink trap's
improperly installed here.
any type
of interior issues
You have some flaking paint here
to the ceiling.
Most of these associations
don't let you put a fan in,
because they don't want you
adding any more penetrations
through the wall.
anything that could affect
this sale
or affect my buyers.
-You got to turn
the fireplace on, babe.
I'll turn it on
in just a second.
-[ Chuckles ]
I was talking to
-Oh.
If there is anything
that's major,
they can go back to the sellers
and negotiate
or decide to move on
to another deal.
-The door
doesn't have clearance, huh?
-No. I'm gonna put that
in the report.
-The association, which controls
the condo complex,
owns things behind the walls.
Any type of water pipe
that's in an unheated space,
like a garage,
I do recommend
that you insulate.
Again,
since this is in common area,
it may be an association issue,
not an issue
that you have to deal with.
I'm thinking maybe someone
may have tapped this
with their car at some point,
is what I'm thinking.
You don't see any other issue
here with the foundation wall.
The next piece
that we're gonna look at
is gonna be your electric panel.
I'll pop that open.
We'll see if there's anything
going on inside.
I believe this is actually
for aluminum wire connectors.
-You were expecting it
to be copper wire, right?
-Everything that's connected
to the breakers is copper,
but the branch wiring behind the
walls is gonna be aluminum.
It creates
a potential fire hazard.
You just want to make sure
if they have paperwork
that says, "We did a full
aluminum wire abatement here.
We did all the proper things."
-I mean, that it needs
to get fixed, yes.
-Yeah.
-That's not the question.
It's so it doesn't stop them
from getting the house.
-Well, as long as
you have that paperwork,
there's not gonna be
any issue,
'cause they've done
the appropriate repairs
to remediate the issue.
So I would just go back
and follow the paper trail,
see what there is.
-Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
-Alright. No problem.
-Yes. Thank you so much
for coming.
-No problem.
-Typically, homeowners,
especially first-time
homeowners,
have two reactions
to the home inspection.
They see everything
and they go,
"Eh, it seems like
not a big deal.
We really want this place.
Who cares what comes up?"
Or they look at it, and they go,
"Oh, my gosh!
This place is horrible!
I need people
to fix all these things."
And, you know, it doesn't mean
one is right or one is wrong.
But you have to understand
that all of these houses are old
and there's gonna be
problems,
so don't ever expect
a clean bill of health.
But, also, understand, you know,
termite damage
and sewer problems
cost a lot more money
than replacing a receptacle
that's not grounded.
-So, the next step would be
to talk to the attorney.
Once we receive the report,
we'll go over the major points,
and we'll negotiate
with the sellers
and see what they can do for us.
-Getting to this point
of doing a home inspection,
having an appraisal
definitely feels like
we're marching towards closing
and home ownership.
So, yeah,
it definitely feels real.
-So, appraisal
is happening tomorrow.
You don't have to be here
for appraisal.
The appraiser will come.
He'll check the property,
make sure
that actually everything is good
for FHA,
but, also, just, you know,
that it's worth the value
that you're paying for.
-Probably give them
an extra couple days,
'cause I don't know if they
finished over the weekend.
-A lot of stuff to throw out,
right?
-Yeah. That's for sure.
Oh, Jorge's texting me.
-Jorge.
Good news, I hope?
-No.
-Oh, no.
-He said they put an offer in
on that property at $350,000.
-Yeah.
-And the appraisal just came in,
and it's $320,000.
-Oh, no.
They're not gonna lend higher
than an appraisal.
That's just a bad investment.
-It doesn't sound like
a good situation, honestly.
-It would make me very nervous
to get a property
that is appraised
under what I paid for it,
because you really don't know
what is going to happen
with the market,
and you don't want to be
underwater on something.
-I'm gonna text him and say
"Fingers crossed."
-Give him my best.
-Yeah. So, I don't know
what's next for them.
Okay. Back to work for us.
-Never stopped.
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
-The Javiers --
their appraisal came in lower.
They submitted an offer
for $350,000.
The sellers are expecting
$350,000.
We are talking about it
and seeing, you know,
what are the ways
to get the seller that cash.
If we don't give them
the $350,000 to the sellers,
they'll go with the other offer,
and they'll lose the property.
So, the appraisal came in lower,
and I want to talk about
your options.
-We have gone
from being super excited
about our offer
getting accepted
and just really
visualizing ourselves
moving and living in this place
to all of a sudden,
it's just like
it could all just fall apart
and be basically nothing.
-Our lender does not believe
that we can make it work,
so I'm apprehensive about that.
-Yeah.
-Option number one
is to switch to a new lender,
do another appraisal, okay,
and see what happens.
I don't think that the second
appraisal will come to $350,000,
but at least
it could come a little closer.
If we can get at least $20,000
more on the appraisal,
it's a really good point
to negotiate with the sellers,
opposed to just saying,
you know,
"Let's throw everything away
and go back to the market,"
just giving it a last try.
But here's the issue.
Are they willing to do that
Because instead of us closing
in two weeks,
closing three weeks.
So, they already invested
in the current condo.
The inspection was around $375.
Appraisal was $600.
So they're gonna lose
that money
if we don't move forward
with this property.
Doing another appraisal
will cost them $800,
but our current lender is
willing to waive that for them,
knowing that they don't have
enough money for closing.
The other option is coming
up with a $30,000 difference,
which I think is --
-The $30,000 difference
is a nonstarter.
[ Laughter ]
-Yeah. I don't think
that's an option, yeah.
-In theory, it's an option,
but in practice, it's not.
[ Laughs ] So
Switching lenders is like --
I think
we're on board with that,
because we want to do anything
possible to save the deal.
But it just seems like so much
that has to be
perfectly aligned,
especially the "X" factor,
which is the sellers.
So, that aside,
if it doesn't go our way,
you know,
going back to the market
is a little bit sort of scary,
because
it's way more competitive
as the weather warms up,
and, also,
because FHA-approved condos
are just so hard to come by.
-You call your lender,
I'll call the other lender,
and I'll call the listing agent,
and we'll take it from there.
-Thank you, Yemily.
You know, we couldn't do this
without you, honestly.
[ Chuckles ]
Based on the options
that she gave us,
we think that there is a way
forward to try to save the deal.
But she was also honest
and realistic with us
about if the deal
does fall through,
it's not the end of the world.
It's just sort of like
we take it,
we learn from it,
and we keep looking.
So we're hopeful,
but cautiously.
[
[ Funk
[ Funk music
[ Funk music plays
[ Funk music plays ]
♪♪
-Hey.
-Hey.
-Can we talk?
-Sure.
-I just wanted to kind of review
where we're at.
-So, we got some corrections
from the building department.
-Yeah, and I didn't think
it was much.
Like, I thought
that was going smoothly.
But I guess it was more major
than I thought.
-The window especially.
They seem to want more
of a traditional egress window
with a window well.
-Yeah. So even though your
office is really our priority,
we have to wait on that.
And so we're gonna do
some of our secondary items
in the meantime, just to keep
things moving forward.
My concern is just,
can we still do it all
as quickly as possible?
Because we're hoping
to be moving in the baby soon.
-Yeah. So it's gonna mean
that we might have to do this
project in two phases, right?
So we do the things
that are really mission-critical
for our needs,
like, the safety things
that we have to do.
But that contractor
who does the window well
will do a separate permit
for those kinds of things.
So it will be two permits,
two phases, two projects.
So, how do we need to, like,
do the phasing in such a way
where we're not undoing
or redoing anything
so that it's not slowing down
and it's not costing more
in the long run?
-Good question.
We'll have to choose
certain types of finishes
strategically.
Like, instead of putting down
a floating floor
that we then would have to put
a wall on top of,
we'll use
some other type of floor,
like maybe an epoxy floor,
that you can put a wall
on top of.
-Yeah.
We'll just have to confirm
some of those choices.
But we can still
get it done eventually
and hopefully
still relatively quickly
and low-cost as possible.
It's a little disappointing,
but it sounds like
we can make it work.
-It's definitely a hiccup,
and it's a change
of plans and expectations,
but at least there's maybe a way
to the finish line.
-So, Nick and Hannah
have decided
that phasing this project
is the best approach,
with the egress window-related
issues that have come up.
-It is common that we have
the conversation about phasing.
I typically discourage phasing,
because typically,
two projects separately
cost more
than one large project together.
But there's always an exception,
and that's usually
when there's a deadline.
If there's a deadline
and you're trying to accomplish
the really dirty, dusty,
complex items first,
then it does make sense.
I would say the next step
for Nick and Hannah
is getting that feedback
from us,
us developing
a clear scope of work,
a clear, itemized list
of what they need to purchase,
what we need to purchase,
and what is outside
our scope of work.
We don't want any assumptions
about things
that they think are included,
and, then, all of a sudden
we get to the end of the job
and it cost more
than they expected.
So we need to get very granular
with our contract
to make sure they know exactly
what they're getting
and what's excluded
that they'll have to take
care of on their own.
-Ooh!
Mateo, look at that playground!
-[ Laughs ]
-Whoo!
You see how it's getting to
-Hello?
-[ Baby-talking ]
-Hello. Hi. How are you?
-Hi.
-Crystal.
-Hey!
-I have some sad news.
-Oh, yeah?
-Oh, no.
-Yes. I'm sorry.
The deal fell apart.
-What happened?
-The sellers didn't want to wait
for the appraisal,
so they decided to move
forward with the other offer.
-[ Sighs ]
-Oh, my
-The sellers are expecting,
and I think their timeline
is very restricted.
-You know, I had a feeling
that this was gonna happen,
but it still really sucks
to hear it.
-Yeah.
We spent $1,000 on the
appraisal and the inspection.
-I know, I know.
-And it's like we're not
gonna get that money back.
So, you know, I don't know
if we can afford
a couple more appraisals.
-I know. Right?
[ Both laugh ]
-If our next deal
doesn't go through,
we might have to get out.
-We might. [ Laughing ] Yeah.
-But I did find another property
we should go see.
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
-You got it there, sonny-boy?