Help with home remodeling

[The Ponzzz]

So, quick summary and until the situation. Bought a house in July of this year that was sort of small but in a great neighborhood. House has no basement or upstairs (slab, crawlspace for attic). House is 1300 sq ft and have a detached garage that can't be attached.

House has been one problem after another, mainly with the furnace, but also some plumbing and electrical as well. issue is, the furnace is brand new, but the guy who installed it (the seller) made some awful choices and it isn't covered in my warranty at all for the damn thing.

With that all said, I'm debating on putting the house back up on the market come Spring and moving the hell out of South Bend (why anyone would choose to live here is beyond me). Issues are, there are 3 houses for sale within walking distance of my house, and over 100 in a 10 mile radius. So I don't think putting it back on the market is going to help much.

I've talked with a home remodeling company and their price quote is far too much for what I'm hoping to do to make this place better. Onto what I want to do...

The house is a 3 Bed 1.5 Bath Ranch. I wanted to demo the wall between the two smaller bedrooms, but I have been told that will kill the valur of the house by making it a 2 bedroom home. The master bedroom has the half bath which is totally stupid because it just defeats the purpose of the convenience of the bathroom there (we don't use it). I wanted to destroy that bathroom entirely and expand the laundry room (which hardly fits my LG washer and dryer) and then make one HUGE bathroom (the full bath is on the other side of the house, but the full bath and half bath share the same wall). But again, the remodeling company said it would ruin the value of the home.

I can't build up or down, and I can't expand the house in the backyard or on the sides due to not having the room. So............. What the hell do I do? Just suck it up for however long I'm stuck here and hope the market bounces back in a few years and I toss it back on the market? Or do I try to remodel the place to make it more functional for us? And if so, suggestions. My budget will call for the majority of the work to be done by me.

[Tsa`ah]

First ... make sure the crawl space is in good shape and sealed.

I'd agree with the contractors about the bedrooms. Cutting down the number of rooms will be detrimental since most existing families with children have more than one (child). And even if it's a single child family ... someone (mom/dad) normally want a spare bedroom or just an extra room for whatever.

I'd also agree with the contractors about cutting down the number of bath rooms. Parents and children don't like sharing bathrooms at all ... nor do room mates. Since the tub is accessible by anyone, moving it will also cut down the value of the home. If anything, maybe you could do something minor such as adding a shower stall to the 1/2 bath ... by moving a portion of the wall.

Also, connecting a laundry room and bathroom ... bad idea.

[Ravenstorm]

The remodeling company seems to know what they're doing. Ask them.

My initial thoughts are to make the 1/2 bath into a full one. Bathrooms are said to be one of the best ways to increase the value of a house.

Second: curb appeal. Landscape the front. The very first impression of your house is given before the buyer even gets out of his car.

And a trick I read for when you do show your house: bake. Or use scented candles with homey scents. Nothing says 'home' like the scent of freshly baked apple pie or something similar.

[AnticorRifling]

You're not going to sell right now, just accept that. People can get a way better deal on a foreclosed property than from someone who's still actually living in the home trying to sell.

My wife had this crazy idea of selling our house and moving, I've since pulled it off the market because I think we had 2 showings in 4 months. I'm in the same boat, there are houses down the block for sale and tons in the area. The joy of vinyl villages popping up all over the place, tons of identical housing for lower cost (IE the retarded mistake I made when we bought this one).

[The Ponzzz]

Oh no, I won't being making a laundry/bathroom. I would just expand the laundry room by a bit when tearing down the wall and replacing it with new sheetrock but making the half bath be no more and using that space to make a nice master bathroom.

Here, let me upload some pictures.

[The Ponzzz]

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/746/halfbathpj3.jpg

This is the half bath. There is no expanding it. The wall to the right is outside. We have 2 inch walls as it is. Behind that wall where the mirror is, is the full bath (and some plumbling inbetween). The door you see is the master bedroom which I made into the office, because there isn't enough wall space for a single dresser (and measured out is the smallest room by volume).

We can't move the bath into that bedroom, because it already is too small.

As for land scaping and all thet jazz, we got that under control.

[Sean]

Are you remodeling to sell or to keep? If you're planning on keeping it you can always tear down the bedroom wall and then rebuild it later if you decide to sell it. I don't know any local Indiana laws but I would just do it without filing since it's almost impossible to get caught. I'd also keep in mind that potentially the more toilets you have the more your taxes will be if you're ever reassessed.

[The Ponzzz]

Yeah, law states I need a permit, but you can get away with it as long as you keep it under the radar.

I plan on selling this house the moment we can without taking a loss. I'm frustrated with the issues I've had with the home and just want to make it overall better for both the market and us while we live here.

[phantasm]

Just from looking at the tiles, I'd say your half-bath is about 25 square feet? What state is the master bath in? If its not very big, tearing out this little hole and expanding your master bath would be a great idea. Having at least one gorgeous bathroom would be more of a bonus than having this little sink.

[The Ponzzz]

Oh there is a shitter in there too. You're right, it's roughly 24 sq feet (but there is some unusable space in there). The other bathroom is....

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4487/bath1bi1.jpg
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/3015/bath2ce2.jpg

...not much bigger, but has the shower and some more space. If I plow through that wall, there are a shit load of pipes behind it, as well as the venting for the dryer and electrical, but it can be rearranged. I would essentially make the master bedroom back into a master bedroom (instead of the office) and have the bathroom connect to both the hallway and the bedroom. I would be able to keep a shower stand with the stone slab tiles and have a jacuzzi tub where the half bath sits (using the toliet piping for the drain and extending the second sink into the facet for the tub). I'd also be able to change the laundry room which is a bit too small for my monster washer/dryer (it will not be in the bathroom, it will remain in it's separate room.