"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION", Thursday, December 15, 2005
DOUBLE HEADLINE -
CLARIFYING SOME INFORMATION ON THE ITEMIZED ESTIMATES
AND...
WHY CHET AND THE BOARD MAY HAVE COST ALL OF YOU THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS IN EQUITY AND RESALE VALUE ON YOUR CONDOMINIUM!!!!!
I have slowly but surely been separating the 121 page
itemized estimate for the flood victims in the rear
courtyard so that each victim will get a copy of their
actual itemized estimate. The estimates are broken down
into each room of your unit. They have three columns... RCV
(Replacement Cost Value), DEP (Depreciation) and ACV (Actual
Cash Value). I am not positive but I believe you will only
get the ACV amount which is the RCV minus the DEP. This is
the amount (the ACV) that I have previously published for
each 1BR, 2BR or 3BR unit.... BUT it is still much more than
Chet and the Board ever told you about.
Besides the ACV amount, you are also entitled to an
additional 20% above your ACV total as the Contractors
Overhead and Profit amount, which is added to the ACV totals
at the end of the 121 page estimate (I erred when I typed
25% in the previous email).
Each unit owner needs to go through their own itemized
estimate looking for errors. Some mistakes that have been
brought to my attention thus far are as follows:
On the last page of your estimate, there is the section
dealing with Debris Removal. The 1BR units have 1 large
container itemized. Some of the 3BR units have 3 large
container's itemized and other 2BR and 3BR units have only 1
large container itemized so I would think that a 1BR unit
should get 1 container, a 2BR unit should get 2 containers
and a 3BR unit should get 3 containers. Each container is
estimated to cost nearly $500.00 so this could amount to an
extra $500.00 to $1,000.00 added to your estimate.
Some of the "Bedrooms" in the 3BR estimates only have "2
ft." listed for Sheetrock Removal and Replacement where it
should be "4 ft.", since the flood insurance covers 4 ft.
down. This could amount to a few hundred dollars too!
Some of the 3BR units had built in tiled shower stalls in
the master bath and the estimate only showed tub and
fiberglass wall removal, cleaning and replacement, which is
a much lower figure than replacing the tiled shower stall.
These shower stalls had to be destroyed in order to remove
the wet, moldy drywall, so it's not just a matter of
removing, cleaning and replacing the items... they were
destroyed.
PLEASE CHECK OVER YOUR ITEMIZED ESTIMATE TO SEE IF THEY LEFT
ANY MAJOR ITEMS OFF OF YOUR ESTIMATE!!!!!
YET ANOTHER REASON WHY CHET AND THE BOARD SHOULD HAVE GIVEN
EACH UNIT OWNER THEIR OWN ITEMIZED ESTIMATE WHEN THEY FIRST
RECEIVED THE ITEMIZED ESTIMATE BACK IN OCTOBER!!!!!
WHY CHET AND THE BOARD MAY HAVE COST YOU THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS IN EQUITY AND RESALE VALUE ON YOUR CONDOMINIUM!!!!!
I wish each of you would have had this itemized estimate
several months ago when the first copy was sent to Chet and
the Board. This estimate is a good tool and guideline to
help you know what was being paid for to be repaired or
replaced in each room of your home. Further, NOT HAVING
this estimate and NOT BEING TOLD the actual amount of your
settlement amount MAY ULTIMATELY LEAD TO A LOWERING OF YOUR
PROPERTY VALUES IN THE COMING YEARS.
WHY DO I SAY THIS? LET ME EXPLAIN...
If you have a 2BR unit and you knew you were going to be
getting around $23,000.00, instead of the measly $15,000.00
that Chet and the Board put out back in October, you could
have planned to spend more money on your unit which would
have made it's resale value go UP.. if and when you ever
sold your unit. For example, if you knew that you had more
money coming, you might have gone with a much nicer kitchen,
nicer cabinets, nicer countertops, a better refrigerator and
a much nicer Oven and Cook-top w/built-in Microwave, etc.
You might have gone with a much nicer, luxurious bathroom.
You might have gone with ceramic tile, 6" baseboards, crown
molding, a decorative paint job, etc. All of these things
would have led to a higher resale value for each Condo that
is ultimately sold.
Since Chet and the Board misled all of you with the low-ball
estimate amounts, many unit owners are only going with
contractor grade cabinets and counters, 3" baseboards, no
crown molding, plain white paint, etc... so when their units
eventually are sold, for a MUCH LOWER AMOUNT, THAT LOWER
PRICE WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR PROPERTY VALUE SINCE
APPRAISALS ARE PARTLY BASED ON THE PRICE THAT OTHER
PROPERTIES IN THE CONDO COMPLEX ARE EVENTUALLY SOLD.
IF MORE PEOPLE HAD "LUXURY" ITEMS AND FINISHES IN THEIR
CONDO'S AND THEY SOLD FOR MORE MONEY, THE VALUE OF
EVERYBODY'S CONDO WOULD GO UP IN VALUE.
THEIR FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE THE TRUE AMOUNT OF THE ESTIMATE
BACK IN OCTOBER COULD COST EACH OWNER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
IN EQUITY AND RESALE VALUE IN THE LONG RUN!!!
EVEN THE NON-VICTIMS WOULD HAVE BENEFITED FROM "LUXURY"
ITEMS IN THE RENOVATED UNITS... SO NOW EVEN THE NON-VICTIMS
ARE POSSIBLY LOSING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN THEIR EQUITY AND
RESALE VALUE TOO!!!!!
EDITORIAL REPLY -
On a funny note that I failed to mention in the past...
every time I send one of these newsletters, my email program
does a spell-check prior to sending the email. Whenever the
scan comes across the word "CHET", it thinks I made a typo
and prompts me to change the word to "CHEAT"... since that
is the closest word in the dictionary to "CHET".... IMAGINE
THAT!!!!! :-D
Until next time... let "The Fountain of Information"
flow!!!!!
Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
Hurricane Damage Cleanup, Gutting & Tear-Outs,
Sheetrock & Flooring Removal, Handyman Repairs,
Homeowner's Contractors Agent (HCA), etc.
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com
504-621-1870 eFax - 413-318-0742
NHSNOLA@Gmail.com LNVTM1@Gmail.com
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