You may have been dreaming of buying a new house, something different or something bigger for your family, but with the fierce competition and the exorbitant prices, you may have come to the same conclusion as others - now is not the time to buy.
I was just reading an article from Mansion Global, that because of tight inventory, it might be more feasible to stay put in your present home and just remodel it. Haven’t you been saving money all these years to do your house the way you wanted it?
But before you jump right in and make this decision, please make sure you’re mentally and physically ready. Remodeling can be stressful. There are a lot of decisions that you need to make. If this is a substantial remodeling you are considering, will you be moving out of the house or do you plan to deal with the mess of the contractors? This is an important decision.
How will you pay for this remodeling? In Miami, a whole house remodeling can cost $100,000, $200,000, or even $300,000 or more depending on the scope of work. There are many options, you can pay cash from your checking or savings account, or you can get a line of credit from your home equity or get a loan from a bank. Right now, most people who have lived in their house for a while will naturally have equity in their home that they can tap to use for a project like this. Nevertheless, you need to think about how much you want to spend, no matter from where the funding will come. And you want to have a realistic budget so that you will not be surprised later!
Decide ahead of talking to an architect, what it is that you want to do. Do you want to remodel the kitchen to make it an open plan or do you want to change the façade to make it more modern? Do you want to take down partitions or concrete block walls? If you have a house built prior to 1959, it may well be that the interior partitions are load-bearing. Trusses were not invented prior to that year. Trusses are what allow us to span from exterior wall to exterior wall. So, take this into consideration. Removing bearing partitions is much more complicated than removing regular non-bearing partitions. It can be done, but it may require restructuring the roof with steel beams.
Lastly, start looking at materials and ideas you want to incorporate into your house. Start visiting kitchen shops, tile suppliers, bathroom fixtures and accessories supply companies, and maybe even visit furniture stores for new furniture you will want to incorporate. Look at magazines that specialize in architecture and interior design. Cut out any ideas you like and put them in a file. So when you meet with an architect, you will have these on hand.
To summarize, preparation is important. The more planning you do ahead of time, the less stress you will have when you actually start the construction. So, I hope this helps in your preparation. If you want to discuss the feasibility of your project, call me, Maria Luisa Castellanos, at 305-439-7898, or email me at MLC@UnitedArchs.com. I am a residential architect with over 30 years of experience in the Miami market.