When Crystal and Dan Godhardt bought their four-bedroom ranch home in Bolingbrook four years ago, they knew they had a lot to do in a short period of time. The property previously had been rented and the sellers put minimal effort into renovation before putting it on the market.
That didn’t bother the Godhardts. They planned to buy a fixer-upper, turn it around and put the profits into a larger house where they would raise their children.
Now they are almost ready to move on. The kitchen has been remodeled and the full bath is nearing completion. Daughters Ava, 3, and Tess, 1, joined the family.
At this stage “we need some balance,” said Crystal. “We know what we would do personally but need to know what to do to sell. We want to make sure our money is going to the right things.”
Arlene Winder of The Prudential Preferred Properties in Bolingbrook recently stopped by to check on the Godhardts’ progress. She also assisted the couple in prioritizing the last few items on their “To Do” list before they sell next spring.
Redone kitchen
Built in the 1960s, the frame house is white with black shutters and a red front door. The interior features a combination living/dining room, laundry area adjacent to the kitchen, 1 1/2 baths and beige wall-to-wall carpeting. The back yard has a large play area, concrete patio and oversized, two-car detached garage.
The kitchen was the biggest project they tackled. They put in cabinets and reconfigured them to create more storage and working space, installed new countertops and a vinyl floor and replaced the appliances.
“We microwaved and grilled for three months,” said Dan. “We didn’t have a stove.”
“We didn’t have kids,” said Crystal. “We could get away with it.”
Dan has many more ideas in mind. He’d like to enlarge the dining room window, replace the wood moldings throughout the house and perhaps put in a new bathtub. He does plan to replace the interior doors, some of which he removed because he didn’t like them.
Winder was impressed with the updates and pleased to see the decorating is quite neutral. In essence, she told them to wrap up the work they have begun and then stop. “You don’t want to overimprove to the point where you don’t get your money out.”
As one example, she advised simply replacing any missing moldings but not adding more or exchanging existing ones for a fancier design. And light fixtures should be installed where there are bare bulbs, she said, but “I don’t think I’d change the kitchen fixture. I’d take it down and give it a good cleaning.”
The one room where she recommended making a change is in the guest bedroom. Here the walls are sponge painted in mauve and white. Winder prefers to see a solid neutral tone.
An area the Godhardts are concerned about is the asphalt driveway. Part of it has sunk several inches. Dan is prepared to replace it and believes he can do so himself. In Winder’s opinion, it can be repaired rather than replaced. “Fill in the ruts,” she said. “If you drive around the area, you’ll see a lot of gravel and cracked driveways. Your (interior) compensates for that.”
Yet another question was, what to do about the fence? The back yard is bordered on one side by the garage and on the opposite side, by an attractive redwood board-on-board fence. Along the back boundary is a dilapidated wood fence in a different style. The Godhardts have been unable to find out who owns it. They have considered putting in a brand new one to enclose their yard.
“I think I can straighten it out,” Dan told Winder as the two inspected the falling structure.
“Repairing it is fine,” said Winder. “I’d paint it, too. It looks as though at one time it may have had redwood stain. It would take too many coats to make it white.”
At the end of the tour, Crystal and Dan told the broker they were relieved to find out they didn’t have to do as much work as they thought. “You start to panic and think, `There are so many things left to do,’ ” said Crystal.
“We see more things (we want to change) because we know what we want to buy,” said Dan.
