Rehab Hits Home on Couple of Fronts

Although elated that Charles Chang was able to purchase and renovate his first home (“From Junkyard to Gem,” Pardon Our Dust, March 17), I was also infuriated to read that his neighbors had to put up with the “dilapidated, junk-strewn rental property” before the make-over. This illustrates the lack of concern some property owners have toward their rentals and toward the people who live in those neighborhoods.

The majority of homeowners have worked hard to attain their dream of owning a piece of property. Why do they have to live among those, be it the renters or the property owners, who could care less about the condition of a property?

Let’s hope articles like these not only shed light on the possibilities for a better house, but also on the possibilities for better neighborhoods.

PILAR LERMA

East Los Angeles

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After reading Pardon Our Dust, we would like to see a follow-up piece on exactly where every dollar was spent.

We are planning an inexpensive remodel of two bathrooms and a kitchen and we’re at around $20,000. The person in the story chose cost-effective solutions, but we looked at extremely inexpensive cabinets for the kitchen and they’re $4,500. How do you gut and redo a kitchen (and add a hardwood floor) for $3,500? How do you redo a bathroom for the price in the article? We would be very interested to know.

STEVE and SUZANNE WELKE

Sherman Oaks

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The writer, Kathy Price-Robinson, responds:

You and several other readers found the $45,000 price of the remodel hard to believe. But after following up with the banker, the contractor and a carpenter on the job, I’m convinced the prices are accurate (however, the homeowner paid $1,200 for new kitchen appliances, which was not part of the price quoted).

There are several reasons the cost of the remodel was so low.

* The contractor, Michael Hinkson, buys materials and products in advance and on sale, sometimes during close-out sales for 50% off, then offers them to homeowners or apartment owners at a discount. He makes a profit, yet the client saves over retail.

* Subcontractors, such as carpenters and floor refinishers, typically charge contractors 25% to 30% less than they charge homeowners. Contractor Hinkson passed this savings on to the homeowner, Charles Chang.

* The homeowner did hours and hours of research on each trade and product, compiling a thick notebook of facts and figures by the time he hired the contractor.

He is, Hinkson said, “a shrewd negotiator,” and was able to negotiate each element of the remodel to the rock-bottom minimum.

* Most important, Chang was satisfied with low-end materials and products. The kitchen cabinets were painted pressboard, the bathroom floor a basic white tile. Because Chang did not respond to the urge to upgrade, he kept the price very low.