Create Your Dream Home or Update?
Create Your Dream Home or Update? Your Home
In total, the Hamptons spent $60,000 to remodel their 200-square-foot kitchen. When they met with David Waguespack, director of project development at Case Design/Remodeling Inc., they told him they wanted a lot of counter space, a lot of cabinets, a dishwasher and easy access to storage so they wouldn't have to store items in the basement or in a closet. Hampton family photo Before Also on their wish list: a microwave, a garbage disposal, rollout cabinets and new appliances. A stainless steel sink replaced the cast-iron one, luxury vinyl tile updated the linoleum floor, and quartz counters and Thermofoil (heat-sealed plastic with a metallic sheen) cabinets were installed. “We had the time, and we also had the financial resources,” she says. Design by Case Design/Redmodeling - Photo credit/Stacy Zarin Goldberg. After Karen Hampton had lived without a dishwasher her whole life. “We wanted to treat ourselves,” she says. “We always had a family home, a working home with two parents working. We have become empty nesters. We thought about how much we would spend to make it enjoyable for us.” They wanted a kitchen that was “nicer, easier and simpler” and, three or four months later, that's what they got. If you're planning to stay, a major remodeling project can be worth it because you'll be able to enjoy living in your home and sell it later. “You're never going to get 100 percent of your investment back unless you stay long enough so that it appreciates,” says Vince Butler. What percentage of the value of your home should you spend on remodeling? “There is not a single good answer,” says David Pekel, CEO of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, a nonprofit organization. He compares it to asking how much you should spend on a vehicle. “In different areas, municipalities limit the remodeling cost not to exceed 50 percent of the value of the house,” he says. Otherwise, if you're in for the — less than five years — updating your home and improving its curb appeal is the way to go, experts say. "The way your home looks from the street can impact the value,” says Bill Millholland, executive vice president of Case Design/Remodeling Inc. in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. “It's not one thing but the overall aesthetic,” he says. For example, rather than remodel your kitchen or bathroom, update it, Pekel says. “You don't have to gut your kitchen to have a stunning result." Instead, he says, you can color match your appliances, replace the floor, refinish the cabinets, install new countertops, update the backsplash, improve the lighting or any one or combination of these options. Yet, in the Hanley Wood Media , nine of the top 10 remodeling projects for recouping cost are exterior replacement projects, says Clayton DeKorne, editor of Remodeling magazine. The report evaluates how much a project is likely to increase resale value.
Refresh remodel or relocate
Expert advice for wise home renovation decisions
David Malan/Getty Images Plus Should you remodel your home and stay for the long run or just update it because you're planning to sell within five years? That's the question facing those who are planning to retire soon. To make the decision, think about how long you plan to stay in your home, experts say. If it's less than five years, update your home and spend less. If it's longer, consider creating your dream home so you can enjoy it. "If you are here for the long haul, you should ,” says Vince Butler, president of Butler Brothers Corp. in Clifton, Virginia. “If you sell, they're going to want to renovate again. Don't go so radical that it will take your house off the market.” Unless the market tanks in your area, the home is likely to appreciate over time. That's what Karen and Thomas Hampton decided to do — improve their 1938 home — including the most recent project, remodeling their kitchen for the first time. They had to gut it and “have everything new,” she says. Family Photo Karen and Thomas Hampton Hampton, 58, a college adviser, and her husband, Thomas, 60, an insurance consultant, planned on staying for at least five years, and they looked farther ahead, too. “We considered the resale value of the house,” Karen Hampton says. “We want to downsize to something smaller and maybe the convenience of not having to walk up a lot of steps.In total, the Hamptons spent $60,000 to remodel their 200-square-foot kitchen. When they met with David Waguespack, director of project development at Case Design/Remodeling Inc., they told him they wanted a lot of counter space, a lot of cabinets, a dishwasher and easy access to storage so they wouldn't have to store items in the basement or in a closet. Hampton family photo Before Also on their wish list: a microwave, a garbage disposal, rollout cabinets and new appliances. A stainless steel sink replaced the cast-iron one, luxury vinyl tile updated the linoleum floor, and quartz counters and Thermofoil (heat-sealed plastic with a metallic sheen) cabinets were installed. “We had the time, and we also had the financial resources,” she says. Design by Case Design/Redmodeling - Photo credit/Stacy Zarin Goldberg. After Karen Hampton had lived without a dishwasher her whole life. “We wanted to treat ourselves,” she says. “We always had a family home, a working home with two parents working. We have become empty nesters. We thought about how much we would spend to make it enjoyable for us.” They wanted a kitchen that was “nicer, easier and simpler” and, three or four months later, that's what they got. If you're planning to stay, a major remodeling project can be worth it because you'll be able to enjoy living in your home and sell it later. “You're never going to get 100 percent of your investment back unless you stay long enough so that it appreciates,” says Vince Butler. What percentage of the value of your home should you spend on remodeling? “There is not a single good answer,” says David Pekel, CEO of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, a nonprofit organization. He compares it to asking how much you should spend on a vehicle. “In different areas, municipalities limit the remodeling cost not to exceed 50 percent of the value of the house,” he says. Otherwise, if you're in for the — less than five years — updating your home and improving its curb appeal is the way to go, experts say. "The way your home looks from the street can impact the value,” says Bill Millholland, executive vice president of Case Design/Remodeling Inc. in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. “It's not one thing but the overall aesthetic,” he says. For example, rather than remodel your kitchen or bathroom, update it, Pekel says. “You don't have to gut your kitchen to have a stunning result." Instead, he says, you can color match your appliances, replace the floor, refinish the cabinets, install new countertops, update the backsplash, improve the lighting or any one or combination of these options. Yet, in the Hanley Wood Media , nine of the top 10 remodeling projects for recouping cost are exterior replacement projects, says Clayton DeKorne, editor of Remodeling magazine. The report evaluates how much a project is likely to increase resale value.