Aug. 5, 2006 - Remodeling: Home Owners' Seven Deadly Sins |
Remodeling isn’t always a good idea, says Holly Slaughter, brand manager and consumer-experience expert for RealEstate.com.
Here are what she calls the seven deadly home-improvement sins to consider before committing to projects that may work against you and lessen your resale value.
- Over expanding. Outdoing all the homes on the block is never a good idea because it makes the house more expensive than the others and therefore harder to sell.
- Making your home into something it’s not. Changing the style or the architecture is usually a big mistake.
- Changing the purpose of a room. Keep kitchens as kitchen and baths as baths. They were built that way for a reason.
- Under budgeting. People routinely under budget 20 or 30 percent fewer dollars and underestimate even more in guessing the time the job will take.
- Doing the job yourself. Unless you have first-rate skills, hire somebody who does.
- If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Don’t waste money on renovations that won’t pay off. Buyers won’t necessarily pay for what makes a seller happy. Siding, windows, kitchens and bathrooms are the home improvement winners, according to Remodeling magazine.
- Neglecting regular upkeep. They may seem boring, but cleaning the gutters, keeping the house painted and trimming the shrubs are the most valuable home improvements.
Source: Marketwatch, Amy Hoak (07/30/2006)
|
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
View more entries tagged with: Home Repair, Remodeling |
Aug. 6, 2006 - re: Remodeling: Home Owners' Seven Deadly Sins |
| Posted by Bonnie Erickson |
| Can I relate to "changing the style or architecture". We are restoring and rehabbing (there is a difference) an old Victorian. The seller of this home was my former client. It's a lovely old "painted lady" in need of everything from roof to new interior walls. http://bonnieerickson.realtownblogs.com/moving/oh-no-not-emotions-again/ My husband and I are very good at the construction piece and do a lot of the work ourselves because we want the quality that we can give the home. But, it's a good thing we got the house before the seller started his work. We have floor plans he had drawn to convert the house to a four-plex with a three tier modern deck (garden level below grade would be excavated with 2 deck levels above the garden level), turning a bedroom into a staircase for the third floor, etc. It was awful. We have kept the original single family plan and the few changes we are making are to create larger closets from wasted space (i.e., two closets back to back, but one is only large enough to hang clothes from a hook. The separating wall was removed allowing a large closet for the "hooks only" room. The room which lost it's closet had an alcove which had sufficient space to create a closet and yet keep the full window and alcove feel.). http://bonnieerickson.realtownblogs.com/personal-anecdotes/completion/ Very few people will be aware of the minor reconfigurations we are doing as the rooms appear to be original including the wood work.
One "rehabber" (investor who buys and fixes up to resell) in our area is doing some interesting and exceptional work on 2 bedroom bungalows. The kitchens are notoriously small and he had opened them up by tearing out the wall separating the kitchen from the formal dining room (This is only done when there is no built in buffet.) and installing a breakfast bar counter with the sink behind it. Because of the quality of his work and the use of granite, etc., it really increases the value and function of the old bungalows without sacrificing their original character. He keeps the claw foot tubs and installs new "old" looking tile. I've been impressed with his modernization while keeping the original old house feel. |
| Permanent Link |
|
08873 is the Postal Code for Franklin Township in Somerset County, NJ and we love living here. Hi, I'm Mike Adams and this is a Real Estate blog For and About current and future residents of Franklin Township, also known as Somerset New Jersey.
I would love to help you with your central NJ real estate needs. Just contact me via phone, my websites or email.
I invite your comments and please visit Somerset 08873 often.
Michael Adams
CENTURY21 Our Town Realty
852 Easton Ave, Somerset, NJ 08873
Business: 732.828.3700 ext.306
Fax: 732.828.3913
mjadams@century21.com
http://www.mjAdamsSellsHomes.com
Links
• Home
• View my profile
• Archives
• Email Me
• Blog Manager
|
RSS Blog Feed