Sandy
Tremain and her husband, Jeff, bought her 1960s
Deerfield home in 2008. Back then the four-bedroom home
with original pink bathrooms, galley kitchen and vintage
appliances worked just fine.
Six
years later, though, the Tremains felt the time was ripe
to move on.
In
that period, their household had grown to include three
children, an au pair and a handful of pets.
"The
thought of major construction was scary to say the
least," said Sandy Tremain, 43, a sales manager.
But
when she and Jeff Tremain, 39, began searching for
houses, the sticker shock hit.
"Ultimately,
after looking at dozens of houses that were
substantially more expensive and easily needed over
$100,000 worth of upgrades, we decided to pull the
trigger and renovate," she said.
After
all, they loved their neighborhood and location, their
property taxes would still be lower with the renovation
than they’d be with a bigger, newer house — and with
a renovation, they could create the home they always
wanted, Tremain said.
The
couple completely gutted and reconfigured the house.
They built an office/bedroom, another bathroom and 1,000
square feet of additional living space, making the
kitchen, family room and master suite more spacious.
They also replaced the exterior with new siding and
incorporated new landscaping, along with other
improvements.
"We
have our dream house now, and the cost proved to be less
than buying something new," she said, declining to
reveal what the couple spent on the renovation.
Choosing
whether to renovate or to move — essentially, in the
words of HGTV, whether to love it or list it — is a
complicated decision. Before forging ahead, you need to
weigh multiple factors. Experts suggest you ask yourself
these questions.
—
How long have you been in your home?
Consider
waiting three to five years before selling, said Joshua
Lybolt, president at Lifstyl Real Estate in northwest
Indiana.
"Typically,
at three years is when you break even, as one should
consider costs like real estate agent commissions and
moving expenses," Lybolt said. Property values also
can change during this time, which could improve your
home’s value, he said.
—
Did you think about the reality of renovations?
"Renovating
is time-consuming: waiting for permits, inspectors,
communicating with your general contractor and picking
out finishes and fixtures," said Evelyn Clifford, a
broker with @properties in Chicago. Along with being
drawn-out, the endeavor can be expensive — Clifford
advised that those considering a remodel should budget
for 20 percent more than the estimated cost to allow
room for unforeseen expenses.
—
Are you going to over improve your home?
The
best investments you can make are upgrades to the
bathroom, kitchen, landscape, carpet, and paint, Lybolt
said. Your home value is in part based on comparable
houses in the neighborhood, he said, so if there’s a
chance you might sell your home down the line, be
careful not to renovate so extensively that your home’s
value far outpaces homes in the area — you’ll be
less likely to recoup the costs of the remodel when you
sell.
—
Do you like your location?
"Location
is and always should be the first consideration,"
said Robert Boudreau, a certified home inspector with
Metro-West Appraisal and Home Inspections who’s based
in Detroit. If you love your current location, then you
may want to renovate to stay there, rather than move to
a better home in a less desirable location.
—
How much can you get for your home?
Talk
with a local realty agent who knows your neighborhood
well, said Jonathan Self, a real estate broker with
Center Coast Realty in Chicago. "They can give you
insight into homes that have recently sold, and what the
demand was like for those homes," he said.
Depending on what the market is for homes like yours,
the agent will tell you whether now is a good time to
sell your home — and whether you’ll be able to find
or afford the home you want, Self said.
—
Would you be happy with a face-lift?
Megan
Clancy, Glencoe, Ill.-based owner of Orderly Manor,
organizes and stages homes to get them ready to be sold.
But often, after she preps a house by painting it,
changing light fixtures and getting rid of the clutter,
clients change their mind about selling. "Then we
get new tiles and spruce it up to cosmetically look even
better," Clancy said. "We basically put some
makeup on it to make it look a little prettier."
Clancy suggested that before you go through the effort
of moving, think about whether you’d rather spend a
little money to organize, declutter, and redo a few
aspects of your home to freshen its appearance.
—
Have you truly outgrown your space?
If
you need extra bedrooms and can’t split one in two,
then you may have outgrown your space. Or if you’re
always feeling cramped in the common areas and have no
more walls to knock down, then perhaps it’s time to
seriously consider a move. But if your issues can be
resolved with renovations, you can expand the backyard
to allow for more outdoor space and you’re fond of
your neighborhood, you are probably better off staying
where you are, Self said. The cost of moving combined
with house-hunting time and effort won’t be worth it,
especially if you haven’t lived in your home for long.
"If you’ve been in your home less than five
years, haven’t outgrown the space, and are dreaming of
living in an upgraded space in your current
neighborhood, chances are you’d be better off going
through some renovations," Self said. But when it
comes down to the nitty-gritty of renovating, he warned:
"Just know that this is not going to be like an
HGTV show."