Over the years, I’ve talked to thousands of homeowners considering a remodeling project.
They are at a decision point.
The questions are often similar, often complex, and always cover many facets of life. One of the biggest issues is economics.
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The five most common questions on that front are:
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What do we need?
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What do we want?
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What will it cost?
- What will it be worth?
- What should we do?
The Big Shift
The way people answer these questions is changing along with the changes in the housing market and economy. Does this mean people won’t remodel? No. In fact, I think it means more people will remodel (since less will be building new homes!).
Merge the economic factor with the Green Movement and you get some pretty interesting changes in the answers to these five questions.
What do we need?
Old answer: “More space, more storage, more garage bays…MORE!”
New answer: “Better use of the space we have; better storage, creative solutions, well designed nooks-and-crannies, better flow…BETTER!”
Areas like the home office shown above are going to be a big part of the future. Not only do people want to make better use of less space, but the trend toward working from home marches on. Home offices are a great place to get creative with design. Take a look at the built-in upper cabinets; they’re stealing a page out of yacht design handbooks with that.
What do we want?
Old answer: see “MORE” response above. People haven’t always been all that interested in trying to differentiate between wants and needs.
New answer: “We want to create an environment that has great design and feels great to be in! We want to eliminate clutter without giving up amenities. We want to live in a space that speaks to who we are and what we love. We want to vacation in our own home!”
American homeowners are willing to give up some space, but they aren’t at all interested in giving up quality!
Words like environment, design, and feel weren’t a big part of the ideas of ten years ago. At least not for the masses. That’s different now.
The growth of places like Starbucks and Panera show that people want to be surrounded by a thoughtful design.
What will it cost?
Old answer (homeowner): “As long as I can refinance and the cost will be less than $____ per month, let’s do it!”
Old answer (contractor): “It’s not going to be cheap!”
New answer (homeowner): “It can’t cost more than $________ because that’s how much cash I have to put into this.”
New answer (contractor): “It’s not going to be cheap, but it will cost less than it would have last year, and I am willing to work creatively to get you more for your money.”
Times have changed, though surprisingly the cost contractors pay to get work done really hasn’t changed much. Amazingly, all the price increases attributed to the high price of fuel remain exactly as they were. Labor rates haven’t dropped and workers don’t work faster.
But budgets have changed. People have less to spend or at least less they are willing to spend. It will be interesting to see how these forces meet. I think we’ll see an increase in people going the D.I.Y. route.
What people must be careful of in a time like this is to NOT hire unlicensed contractors or worse! Even a complete beginner would wish they had just done the job themselves if they end up in a serious mess as a result of bringing in the wrong help to save a buck.
What will it be worth?
Old answer: “It’s gonna be worth at least __% more than I pay for it!”
New answer: “Unless I buy this extremely well, it’s going to take at least ___ years before I can get my money back.”
This does not mean people won’t remodel. It just means that they will remodel for themselves, for what they want and need, not for some future, “maybe, maybe-not” ROI.
What should we DO?
My answer: Create a retreat; make an environment that makes you feel amazing when you’re home. Be sure it encompasses both indoors and out. Don’t let economic worries or budget concerns stop you from making the most of the place where you spend so much of your life.
Whatever the budget, there is a solution. Especially if you’re willing to do a little research and get your hands dirty!
And now, you have me to help. Just let me know what you’re working on; what you’re remodeling dreams are for 2009. I bet I’ll have an idea!
Looking forward to helping you!
Hi Tim
thanks for swinging by my blog and leaving a comment
I’m with you on the making environment a home, this has really hit home to me over the last few weeks after being away from our cottage for 3 weeks…coming back sealed that this is home and actually it is pretty much a very nice place to be coming back to…
oh and RYC we are far from done here at the BeachCottage, much more to do and always a long list of things and not too much time but it’s getting there
Sarah
Well said! You are right so many things have changed in the last year and as hard as it has been and will be, I think it’s a change for the better! Nice blog and nice to meet you!
Just went back and read this – I am feeling more and more inspired about the victorian home we are looking at! And like I CAN DO something with (almost) no money. Which is what we’ll have for awhile after we buy a house … 🙂
Abbie’s last blog post..Four months old!
Your website is awesome! It inspires me and I hope I can get your advice on remodeling our home. We live in a home built in the early 50’s that has a addition on the back that really confuses the flow of the home. Your advice for remodeling for quality not just size is well timed and inspiring. I am not sure how to rearrage the flow of the home and add incorporate a master room and bath. Are you willing to give adice if I send a floor plan?
PLEASE remind folks to look into the development costs! They can add thousands of dollars to your cost. Excellent example is the lovely home that my BIL/SIL just built in Denver. Husband is a cabinetmaker so he did the cabinetry. It’s ridiculous. AND there is no place to find the information on it. It literally comes up as you go. The additional cost for them was $30K (roughly!)
The city of Denver has a ‘tree inspector’ that comes out constantly to make sure no trees are being harmed or ‘compromised’. Seriously. First thing was that the porta potty was withing roughly 6 feet of the tree (for shade purposes…Denver in the summer in the sun gets hot), so that had to be moved. The day they were taking down the fence around the place, TWO 6′ boards were being leaned against the tree while they rolled up the fence. Tree Inspector came by and pitched a fit. I told BIL they should have told the guy to go to lunch, then come back & it was gone!
The dirt that was dug out for the foundation couldn’t be stored on the lot. It had to be hauled to another lot (which had to be rented!) for storage, then hauled back. Original cost was to be $1500 to dig. Ended up costing them $7500! Inspections are completely subjective. There IS no set of standards apparently. House was inspected after framing and before drywall, paint and carpet and passed. When he came back for final occupancy inspection, he said that 4 of the windows in the bedrooms were not proper height so they would have to do something about that. This is AFTER framing, drywall, paint, carpet, etc was in. This should have been ‘caught’ or changed at the time of the framing inspection! This should be been caught at the time the blueprints were submitted to the city for approval! Insane! The inspector even brought up the tragedy of Eric Clapton’s son falling from the window years ago. If you are going to cite that, get the story right. The window height was not the problem. The toddler climbed up on something and then fell out a screenless window. Horrid tragedy. So my husband took over extra balusters from the staircase & those were installed at the bottom of the window & safety guards were bought for the other two. Which will all be removed by Christmas. Driveway had to be torn up and redone as it was not the ‘proper grade’ for the ADA…that was the concrete contractor’s fault and he paid for it.
But the entire thing was insane. I am considering sitting down with my BIL and writing down ALL the things that the city of Denver requires for development & is not found on any city website, inspection sites, etc….it is literally nowhere to be found…BIL has been in the building business for 25 yrs & couldn’t find anything. First house they have built in Denver. After that, I am considering starting a small consulting business shepherding people thru the permit/development process for the city of Denver. How many other people have been trapped by this? We’re fortunate that they could handle it…they had to cut down on cabinetry, put off finishing the basement, and downgrade some things, but they could still finish the home. Cost was around $600K and resale is probably around $825K, even in this market. But the frustration and setbacks were costly mentally and emotionally. And we won’t discuss the idiot who built the staircase & insisted on making it HIS way..even after being told NO. Which enforced delay as certain changes had to be made in the railing!