What to do or Not to do to my home?

Question

This is my first home and I'm moving out in about 6 years.
We already have been in here about a year.

My husband and I are in the military and next year, I am getting out to go to college full time.

I want to spruce up the master bathroom(appliance rearrange) and the tv room(closet from hell) and the garage( theater room) but I don't want to put so much money in this house and kick myself when it's time to sell.

How do you know what to mess with,
when to get a contractor,
how to figure out your budget,
what to do yourself,
how much is too much,
when to hire the realtor to evaluate what to do in the house (like on the home and garden shows),
when i should hire a designer to get the most out of my home without spending too much money or time or whether it's worth doing at all,
when to get a survey of the area....

oh boy....

Answer 1

First of all, thank you for your service in the military. Figure out what your skill level is currently and what you have time not only to do but to learn to do as well. Home Depot and Lowes offer a lot of do-it-yourself courses that you can take to learn to do some of the work yourself, like laying tile, basic plumbing, basic electric. Start with the little projects first, like organization in closets. Practice before you try to do it for real. I won't do anything that involves plumbing or electric, that is best left for the licensed professional in my opinion, but my husband has no problem wiring in a ceiling fan, adding a light where there was none, or doing basic plumbing that doesn't require soldering pipes.
Once you figure out what you cannot do, you realize that you need to hire a professional and you get estimates specifying what you want done, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Also, who is supplying the materials? If you want to buy the materials, you pay labor only. If the contractor is providing the materials you are paying him/her a premium to do so. All remodels work out to what do the supplies cost and what does the labor cost.

How much is too much? I am about as cheap as they come and cannot stand to pay more for something than I have to, so I research everything from every source I can until I get the best price for what I want. That takes patience and time, effort and energy but the rewards are fantastic because it enables more projects with the savings! Also, you always have to guage what projects you tackle with what the return on your investment will be. Kitchens and baths always give terrific returns. That being said, you also have to keep a close eye on your neighborhood and comprable homes in your zip. You will be competing with them when you sell. Around here you simply won't get top dollar for your home unless you have granite countertops and real wood cabinetry. In other neighborhoods, granite might not pay off if everyone else has solid surface.

You also have to walk a fine line in personalizing your space because if you are planning to sell within a certain time frame, you have to design generically enough as to not narrow the field of potential buyers. So know your market. Visit model homes in your area to see what the builders and designers are doing. Watch the DIY and HGTV programs to evaluate what is feasible in your home and in your market. Utilize the free design services available in your area. In my area, Thomasville and Ethan Allen both offer free design services when you purchase a piece of furniture.

Tackle the small stuff first so that you don't overwhelm yourself. Start a notebook collecting photos from magazines and other sources of what you like. Include everything, rooms, furniture, fabric, colors, window treatment and flooring, etc. You will start to see your personal style forming and that will give you direction.

Answer 2

Six years is a long way away to worry about how to sell your house now but if you are redesigning some areas, the two that have the biggest impact on re-sale is the kitchen and the master bath. The rest is re-organizing and disposing of clutter. If you need the help of a designer in order to re-design those two areas, fine....whenever you're ready. Definitely have a licensed contractor do the work and interview several. The plans you have designed will determine the cost and you can decide what to keep and what not to depending on your budget constraints. You don't need a realtor until you are seriously ready to list your property. They will then offer staging services to help you get the most out of your home.

Answer 3

Im in the same boat! We just bought a house to remodel as well, in a military town ( VA Beach ). From what I have learned you should focus on the kitchen and bathrooms. We just had the appraiser come by and he told me that some things you can get your money back on ( kitchens, bathrooms ) some you cant ( additions, hot tubs ). Then go through and see what you think needs to be done. Updating the kitchen is good, gets attention fast. But hold off on appliances if you will be there for 6 years, they wont be new then. We needed new siding ( $5K ) but then learned you can now paint vinyl siding, try sherwin williams for special vinyl siding paint, will cost less then $500 for paint and we can paint it. Curb appeal will help sell the house so focus on getting a clean appealing yard. Floors are great investment, try lumberliquidators.com, I havent found flooring anywhere cheaper? Save money on a designer and get an appraiser when your done, it cost a little but maybe you can sell by owner save 6%. And finally to help sell we were told you should get the home inspected, appraised and surveyed before you list. That makes it extremely attractive to new buyers because they dont have to mess with it and they know their mortgage company will approve the loan based on those items being clean. Also speeds up the process. Might cost ya $600-$850 for all of that.

Answer 4

well u should make a budget for each room just know how much money you have and how much you're willing to spend in a particular room. pick a theme to go with that room. i think u could save dome money and not hire a decorator. u and a friend could go shopping. it would be fun. then u should hire a landscaper to make your yard look presentable and level it out. remodel the floors if they look to bad. like if u have carpet get more or a hard wood floor get someone to repair the floor. shop around to see if you can get it cheaper . if your family member specializes in anything u could ask them to help you. they may not charge u much or u could exchange that favor for another for them. you could get the garage built in. ppl pay extra for extra rooms. my uncle bought this ragity house and now it looks great. he spent i guess 3,000 on the whole thing because he had friends who could do that kind of work. good luck and don't stress too much.