Homebuyer's Guide

POSTED: Sunday, Jul. 13, 2008

Keep resale in mind when remodeling your home

Cathy McLay and her husband, Philip, don't plan on selling their Ferndale vacation home anytime soon. But they wanted to ensure the full remodel of their two-story home on three acres was as appealing to them as a potential buyer down the line.

The Canadian couple, who live full-time in White Rock, B.C., expected to install cherry cabinets in the kitchen. Instead, they opted for maple, the top choice in the United States. And the bathroom tiles are mainly white with a river rock border, as opposed to a more rustic style they'd originally planned.

"We definitely wanted to ensure it was attractive to a local audience," she says. "We asked for a lot of opinions, but at the end of the day, my husband and I had to like it, too."

Remodeling today isn't just about living in the home of your dreams. On average, most homeowners sell their home within seven years of purchase. So many homeowners approach remodeling with resale on their minds.

Whether a remodel is a simple change of flooring and new kitchen countertops or a top-priced kitchen remodel and home addition, making changes in a home to increase value takes careful thought and balancing personal taste with wide appeal.

Still, Lynden-based home contractor and remodeler Charlie Hudson says renovations are meant to be enjoyed by the owner. Large-scale remodels right before a home sale is a big risk, he says. Too many times, the remodel might just require another remodel by the next owner.

"Why try to outthink what the next guy wants?" Hudson says.

Remodeling decisions should be based on how quickly you are going to sell your home. Don't expect expensive remodels to pay off right away. But if you're ready to sell, quick low-cost changes such as paint and flooring upgrades can refresh a tired home quickly, remodeling consultants say.

Here's some things to keep in mind when approaching a remodel as well as some of the changes that can add value to a home ... or suck the profit right out of a sale.

It's all relative

Consider your neighborhood. What's the average size of homes in the neighborhood? How many bathrooms do most of the homes have?

"You can definitely price yourself out of a neighborhood," Hudson says. "If you live in a starter neighborhood with $250,000 to $300,000 homes and you create an addition and end up with a $600,000 home and have to liquidate it, good luck getting that money out of the house."

Still, Hudson says he's built expansive additions and top-of-the-line kitchens in modest neighborhoods for homeowners who expect to live in their house for decades to come. He just warns them first.

Also consider what's expected in the neighborhood. If you live where there are views, putting in larger windows that take advantage of a home's assets can translate to big money at resale.

Hudson recently expanded a home's view of Bellingham Bay by replacing a six-foot wide glass opening with a 16-foot wide series of sliding glass doors and scaling back roof overhangs that impeded the view.

"It just opened everything up," he says.

In addition, consider the home. If you're remodeling a kitchen, don't put an ultra-sleek kitchen into a classic Victorian.

"Try to keep the style in line with the period of the home," says Eric Babbitt, owner of Babbitt Construction and Design.

Seek suggestions on products and contractors

Cathy McLay says nearly everyone she met during her remodel was part of the process. She asked bank tellers for contractor recommendations and asked contractors and home store consultants about the most popular products. Her real estate agent was also a source of information.

"I feel like half the community helped me build the house," she says.

When they bought the house, most of the surfaces and materials were original to the 1974-built home. Philip took most of the home down to the studs to start over.

Cathy says she and Philip had a vision for the home and removed walls to open the living area. Decisions on materials were a mix between the style she wanted and the taste of local residents.

Jan Hayes, residential designer with the Bellingham home design business Domistyle Design, says bringing in professionals even before you buy a home can save you money. Hayes says she has been hired to consult on potential remodeling costs.

"If they're confronting $100,000 in costs and they might not be able to afford that, the house might not make sense for them," she says.

Take your time to save money

Real estate agent Andy Garcia remodeled his bathroom on the cheap in price, but not style.

He took over a year to collect the materials for a new bathroom at discount and overstock stores as well as sales at home stores. He ended up with a bathroom that looks like a $3,000-$5,000 remodel for $500.

"What costs people a lot of money is that they need it all done tomorrow," Garcia says.

Garcia says homeowners can look for carpet remnants or even relatively new products that have been recently torn out of homes. He found a bathtub/shower insert on clearance in the closeout section of a big box home store.

Garcia says if you're looking at doing some upgrades right before a home sale, you don't have to pick top-of-the-line materials. Decisions need to be made on individual homes and neighborhoods, but the $25-per-square-yard carpet won't likely increase the sale price of a mid-priced home any more than $10-per-square-yard carpet, he says. Maintenance vs. remodeling

A new roof, heating system or windows are expensive, but necessary when homes are up for sale. Many remodelers and real estate agents say not having such updates could cost a sale in a buyer's market. Sellers shouldn't expect to be able to tack the price of the work onto the price of the house.

Even so, buyers are starting take notice of homes with energy-saving products, such as water-saving toilets, ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and energy-saving heating systems, says Thea Stephens, a residential designer with Domistyle Design.

"Because gas and fuel costs are way up, people are looking at that more closely when they buy a house," Stephens says.