Don’t Move, Remodel

It all comes down to benefits and cost - and your wish list. When you look at the rooms in your home and feel that something isn't quite right, it could be that you just need a change. Of course, one route is simply to move. However, if your home is a place of comfort where you've shared years of good memories with family and friends, and you love the location, you don't have to take the moving route.

Remodeling your home is an alternative option. There are many ideas to consider when deciding whether to remodel your house, beginning with what you like or don't like. If you feel the current design is out of date, you can bring new life to the rooms by trying new styles. Instead of walls separating each room, a popular new design is the "great room." Howeowners are combining a formal living room, dinning room and kitchen area to make it a tied-together gathering spot, often with the use of columns instead of separating walls or half-walls.

Also, homeowners are redoing the traditional bedroom area into a master suite, often with a complete bathroom modification to include a whirlpool tub, a walk-in shower and a compartmentalized toilet. Adding brighter and lighter colors to the kitchen is a way to keep that part of the home up-to-date.

Here are several simple steps to take on the road to remodeling your home.

• Make a wish list - Grab a pen and paper and figure out what changes need to be made to make your existing home "perfect." Forget the re-sale value of these modifications for a moment and just consider your happiness.
• Contact an architect - Make sure this person is reputable and then request a consultation to make sure your ideas are even feasible based on your current structure, lot, area restrictions, etc.
• Contact a builder - This person should specialize in remodeling projects of your size and complexity. For experienced builders, it will be a fairly simple process to give you a ballpark budget for the project you want completed, especially if you have rough drawings.

Such preliminary work with the architect and builder will often prevent a homeowner from going the more expensive route of detailed drawings only to discover the project is either not feasible for construction reasons or simply too expensive to justify.

Now, armed with this information, ask yourself two questions. Are you staying and remodeling or, do you think the cost of the remodel is so far above your budget that you'd prefer to simply move?

Assuming you don't want to choose that last option, you may want to go back to what you were told to forget earlier - the resale value of your proposed changes. (If you have equity in the house and the changes will be recouped to a great extent when you move, maybe the sticker-shock will be less intense.)

An experienced real estate agent in the area can tell you the value of your current home "as is" (or with typical, but minor, fix-ups such as the fresh paint, cut grass, etc.) versus the one you will have once the remodeling is done.

Keep in mind that the same improvement in one area of the country or state is not necessarily going to produce the same return to you in your area.

Weigh out the costs and benefits - how much pleasure will the changes bring to your family for the length of time you spend in your home, etc. - and make your decision.

Then contact the other two team members that you have in the loop, the architect and the builder, and let the drawings begin to make your home "perfect."

Bill Rauser is president of Rauser Professional Contracting. He can be reached at 410-833-3883 or mailto:br@rauser.com

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