“With new homes so cheap, should I buy a new one or remodel the family home?†This question is being asked by thousands of prospective homebuyers every day. And despite today's economic woes there are some homeowners being faced with this decision, one that is far from being unpleasant.
Because of the over-building of the past few years, as well as bank foreclosures, there are thousands of brand new homes sitting empty and waiting for immediate occupancy. In some areas there are acres of incredible deals, modern homes that were built on the speculation that sales would go even higher. It seems, however, that very few developers or financial institutions had ever taken history lessons. Because everything that goes up comes down, only in real estate it comes down in a steeper curve and, in many instances, drops lower than the median or starting point.
1. Location
If the main adage of real estate is, “Location, location, location,†there is a good chance that many present homes are perfectly situated. If this is the case then remodeling contractors can transfer tired-looking structures into dream homes without the commotion and expense of moving. In most cases each of theses homes is close to schools, malls and emergency services. Remodeling contractors can make many of the changes that homeowners desire without the process of upheaval that moving always brings. Because in older neighborhoods the occupants are good friends and have watched their children grow up together and the thought of moving would be like breaking up dozens of close relationships.
2. Modern Innovations
In today's world new building materials are coming on-stream at an amazing rate. Items such as solar air and water heating, energy-efficient windows and hurricane-proof roofing are only a few of the many innovative products that have remodeling contractors excited. By buying a new home the homeowner may be stepping into a design that could be a dozen years old even though it was built barely a year ago. Hone designers can help homeowners pick and choose the exact materials they want for areas such as new bathrooms, items that even new homebuilders may not be able to put in a standard design. This includes landscaping techniques.
3. Workmanship
There is one often-fatal flaw in a building boom, and that is that labor and expertise become stretched to the maximum. This occurs when builders take on more work that their crews can handle, thereby painting themselves into a corner when it comes to finishing every job. Or they make their timeframes so tight that any shift in the schedule of a subcontractor can put the whole building process behind. In both cases the contractor has to make up the time in order to please all the clients so short-cuts are often taken and, as a result, workmanship suffers.
The bigger problem here is that a lot of errors that occur and can be overlooked by over-worked inspectors and contractors checking the subcontractrors' work. Loose-fitting pipes, improperly-installed electrical boxes and other such costly mistakes are made by tradespeople rushing from one job to the next not to mention the small minority of those who have no intention of ever coming back to fix the mistakes.
In most cases hiring remodeling contractors or new home builders during a time of economic slowdown means that the homeowners are getting a hungrier group of professionals with a looser timeline. Not only that most contractors will have kept their core people, good journeymen that have years of experience on the job.
4. Cost
The prime factor in any project is the budget. During an economic boom almost everything goes up in price because demand is high: labor, materials, expertise, land. (There were many cases where a whole framing crew was hired away from one employer to work on another project for an average of $10 an hour more per person.) In addition, a stick of framing lumber that usually goes for $1.50 in normal times can skyrocket to $2.75. When you multiply one framing stud by a thousand pieces this one item can raise the price of the home $1250. Now apply this phenomenon to labor, windows, doors, siding and so on and a $250,000 home in normal times suddenly becomes $375,000.
Conversely, in an economic downturn work is scarce and buyers for materials is way down. This means that a 2x4 stud may be purchased for as low as $1.15 a stick. In addition, the remodeling contractors may be able to get electricians and plumbers for rock bottom prices just so they can keep their crews working.
5. Rebates and Tax Credits
Another good reason for renovating is that almost every state is offering incentives both in tax credits and outright cash back on energy-efficient renovations. Remodeling contractors are aware of this and will help the homeowner choose the HVAC, windows and other building materials to get the most rewards offered by these programs. Check you local and state governments to see what renovations will qualify.
Posted by: TrustedProsSuggested Reading For You
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