subject: Throwing Remodeling Money Awaysome Big Mistakes You Can Avoid [print this page] You see it all the timeYou see it all the time. People will spend lots of money on remodeling that does not make their home more marketable or even more livable.
Its just better to NOT do some of the things that property owners consider doing.
But there are some things people can do that will make them and their families more comfortable and make their property more marketable, too. Here are just a few.
1.Choose plain paint. Fancy paint treatments are a problem when people are trying to resale. Relocation companies buy lots of ivory paint and slap it on walls to cover up designer paint. If you dont have a relocation company to save you from yourself you could be in trouble. Skip wallpaper. Buyers dont like it. Get rid of any you have. It dates houses in a very bad way.
2.Dont mess up floor plans. Even professional home staggers have trouble fixing this problem. Avoid this and make your life easier. Ask someone who knows something about houses to help you work out the right spaces. A real estate appraiser is a good adviser.
3.Buyers are looking for open spaces that include kitchens and family rooms together. Many older homes are not laid out this way. Pay attention to this problem if you are remodeling.
4.Many older homes lack master baths and dont do well at resale because of it. A master bath can only be accessed from the master bedroom and does not share with any other bedrooms or public areas.
5.Any room that is designated a bedroom must have a closet and egress. Egress is a window or door to the outside. It must be a certain size according to your local municipalitys building code. Some people will remove closets from rooms, making them have to be defined as something besides bedrooms on appraisals. Bedrooms have value at resale. There is a big difference in value between 2 bedroom houses and 3 bedroom houses. 4 or 5 bedrooms, not so much.
6.You also cannot access a bedroom through another bedroom.
7.1 or 1&1/2 baths are tough to resale. If you are going to spend any money this is the right place to do it. Many young families skip this step, thinking they will buy a larger house later. If you have that second bath you might do fine where you are. The fixtures are cheap and you could do the job yourself.
8.Any remodeling you do needs to be done well and for as little dollars as possible. Yes, orange granite might be just what you want in your master bath. But granite, even orange granite is expensive. Many potential buyers might hate it enough to run screaming from your house.
9.The more you spend the more you put yourself at risk of losing money. The decorating shows talk about getting a 90% return for a remodel. It really means you had a 10% loss! DIY jobs are much more likely to pay off better. I once refaced a kitchen for $1,200 cash. I had estimates for as much as $30,000. I would have had to borrow money and pay interest!
10.Shop for bargains to use in your remodel. Things that any retailer has been holding in inventory for a while may go on sale any time. Another possibility is reusing old architectural details or other second hand items in some creative and money saving way. I usually fit these things in myself because my husband and I can do it better than unimaginative pros. One thing we do that most builders and finish carpenters never do is finish off the ends of stock cabinets and the backs of islands. It makes them look custom and it isnt expensive or difficult.
11.Recycle, reuse and re-purpose. Throwing things into landfills is never good for the planet or your bank account. Can your old cabinets work? They could be refaced, painted and repaired and save you thousands of dollars. There are lots of possibilities. Buy furniture when it goes on sale. Never special order or pay full price. Some of my furniture is second hand, too. My garage sale limit is $30 for chairs and $75 for case goods (cabinets and chests of drawers) and I have bought lots of good furniture for even less.
You can still remodel and make you home nice. But the days of borrowing on equity in your home are over. Its the biggest risky way to land your self in hot water. In many places home values never went up enough to borrow to pay for upgrades. Paying interest bites! Its the least rewarding way to spend your hard earned $dollars. Pay cash for everything and enjoy a nice home for less.
