THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702130240
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ROBERT K. TURNBULL, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: 143 lines
If you're looking to boost the quality of your home life, remodeling is ideal. But, if you want to increase the value of your house, you need to carefully select your improvements. ``In a lot of newer developments,'' explains Ashley West, a Realtor with Rose & Krueth Realty Corp. ``the price range doesn't vary that much, so you can't do a lot of remodeling and expect to get much in return.''
Joe and Dare Query recently bought a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home, measuring approximately 1,100 square feet, in the Roosevelt Gardens neighborhood of Norfolk. The house, which sits on Little Creek (known as Pretty Creek to locals), was bought for just over $100,000.
Last month, the Querys began adding a second story. When the remodeling is finished, the home will measure 1,800 square feet with four bedrooms, two baths along with the additional second floor. The cost for all this: a little more than $50,000.
``We have a boat and a couple of SeaDoos (jet-skis) we put on our dock,'' Joe Query says. ``My wife and I are water people. We love the water and where else are we going to get this kind of view for the money we're paying for the home.''
Homes in the Query's neighborhood range from $65,000 to $115,000 with the average home selling for $80,000.
Should you sell my home, take the money, and try to buy another with everything your family and you want, or should you remodel the house you have? If you do decide to sell, what can you do to my home to get the most money out of the sale?
These are questions many homeowners like the Querys eventually face, and here are a few common sense answers from the professionals.
``First, you find out what the needs of the family are,'' says Andrew Broyles, the owner of Broyles Construction, a company that specializes in additions and remodeling.
``They may have four kids and only three bedrooms. Then you want to look around the neighborhood to see if it's really appropriate. The house may already be the largest house in the neighborhood.''
West suggests that, ``If a house is already one of the largest houses in the neighborhood, it's naturally going to be one of the higher priced houses, so you're already on the top of the market in that particular neighborhood.
``If you add onto that house, you're not going to get your money back if you sell. But, if you have one of the less expensive houses in that neighborhood with less square footage, you can add square footage and bring up the value.''
If and when you're faced with the question of buying a new home or remodeling your existing one, get all your facts and figures. Begin with your mortgage lender and find out exactly how much you qualify for to remodel.
Then, consult with your Realtor to determine the value of your home and the potential to add value to your home in relation to your neighborhood. Also, have your Realtor look in other neighborhoods to find a home that might better suit your needs.
Next, talk to a contractor and have him look your home over and get a remodeling estimate. Once you have all the information in hand, you're prepared to make an educated decision regarding your next step.
If a home owner wants to remodel and add a room to the house, how does he know he will get the money he put into it when he tries to resell the home?
``I can usually tell them based on the neighborhood,'' says Broyles. ``If it's a two-bedroom house, it's probably going to be 100 percent recoupable, because three-bedroom houses sell better than two-bedroom houses.
``A lot of people want to remodel bathrooms, too, because they don't like the color. But unfortunately the bathroom's going to cost between $6,000 and $8,000 and you'll never get most of that back.''
West agrees with that assessment.
``I run into quite a few people who have put a lot of money into the interior of the house,'' he says.
``They put $15,000 to $20,000 into a $120,000 house, where they would have been a lot better off just remodeling a little bit or adding on to bring the value up with the additional square footage.
``A lot of people think just because they remodeled their home and put a lot of money into that it will be worth that much more. But it just doesn't work that way. It depends on what you remodel, how you remodel it and how your home fits in with the rest of the neighborhood.''
Broyles notes another of improvement of dubious value.
``I think one of the worst jobs people do is enclose garages,'' he says. ``You can spend up to $10,000 and it adds very little if nothing to the value of the home. Just keep the garage the way it is and add on to the back of the house.''
Broyles estimates that adding a second story can cost $80,000 to $90,000. This cost may well be worth the investment, however, in an area with fluctuating price ranges.
For example, some of the beachfront properties in Virginia Beach range from $150,000 to $1 million. If the home is on the lower end of the price scale, the owner could get almost 100 percent of the money invested.
But, if the average price for a home in a particular neighborhood is $90,000, you definitely will not get back your money. ``At best, you would get back maybe 30 percent of the cost in a situation like that,'' says Broyles.
After remodeling, the Querys had invested a total of $160,000. But, because the present market value of their neighborhood tops out at $115,000, ``they most likely would only get back around $118,000, maybe as much as $125,000,'' says West.
Query, however, says the improvements were worth it.
`I don't think we could have bought a home on the water,'' he says, ``and got everything we wanted for what we paid for the house plus the remodeling costs.
``We might have been able to find a home that fits most of what we wanted, but with the remodeling we could pick and choose what we wanted and get exactly what we needed.''
There are some additional variables the Query's considered when deciding whether to remodel. For starters, they recently began a family and are planning to stay in their home for at least five to 10 years, allowing them to build equity.
What's more, their neighbors on both sides have either remodeled their homes or are in the process. As homeowners in the neighborhood begin to improve their properties, the overall value of Roosevelt Gardens will gradually increase and the Querys will begin to see a return on their investment.
Here are some tips from the experts when you're considering remodeling, selling or just fixing up your home.
The following improvements can add value to your home:
Addition of square footage (providing your home isn't already the biggest in the neighborhood).
Adding a third bedroom, minor kitchen remodeling and adding a bathroom.
Here are some tips if you're selling your home and need to add last-minute values:
A thorough cleaning, which includes carpets or new carpeting altogether.
Pressure cleaning the outside.
Painting the inside and outside.
Minor kitchen remodeling, especially if homes in your neighborhood have newer, updated kitchens
And don't bother with these if your looking to add value:
Bathroom remodeling.
Adding a fourth or fifth bedroom.
Adding a home office.
Replacing siding or windows (unless they are absolutely horrendous). ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Dare and Joe Query and 9-month-old daughter Allison remodeled their
old home because it's on the water and has every feature they like.