Remodeling | It's Great To Be Home

The Flip: The Laundry Room, Then & Now

January 13, 2011 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 14 Comments

So far on our tour of the flip we’ve checked out the dining room, the great room and the jack ‘n jill bathroom. Next up . . . the laundry room!

It’s hard to get too excited about a laundry room, but this one actually underwent some changes that dramatically improved the flow of the house.

If you check out the floor plan below, which is how the house used to look before the renovation, you can see that the only access to the fourth bedroom used to be through the laundry room.

Isn’t that weird? I know I would feel strange sticking a kid or a guest in that room, all by their lonesome. So we decided that needed to change.

After tons of deliberation (and lots of consultation with wise folks like my mom), we figured out a way to make that crazy laundry room / 4th bedroom dilemma work out. Basically, we moved the doorway (leading from the kitchen to the laundry room) about 3 feet to the left and pushed the south wall of the 4th bedroom out about 2 feet – this gave us enough room to create kind of a vestibule or tiny hallway between the kitchen, laundry room and 4th bedroom, and eliminating all of that weirdness. Now the 4th bedroom has a proper entrance from the hallway!

We also had a closet removed from the laundry room that was accessible only from the garage – it was eating up valuable floor space that we needed after we pushed out the wall of the 4th bedroom. But we left part of one of the closet walls still standing so that you aren’t greeted by the side of the dryer as soon as you walk into the laundry room.

Anyhoo, enough explanations – here’s how the laundry room used to look as you entered from the kitchen:

And here’s how it looks now.

The garage is to the left on the other side of the partition wall, and the vestibule area is through that open door at the end of the laundry room – you can see it to the left of the cabinetry in the photo below.

And that’s how we made the 4th bedroom much more friendly, while still leaving lots of space in the laundry room!

We wanted to make sure the laundry room looked nice and was super functional, since we figured the future buyers would pretty much always use the laundry room to come in and out of their home. At least, that’s what we do. What about you?

Renovation Tip of the Week: Financing Your Project

December 21, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 2 Comments

You guys have been with me through the thick and thin of 3 top-to-bottom home renovations. Through this series I hope to share with you some of the tips and tricks that have helped me save everything from money to my sanity (for the most part).

Talking about financing is kind of a buzz kill, but the reality is that renovating takes money. Have you thought about how you’re going to pay for the improvements you’re making?

This list is by no means exclusive, but here are some options that might be available to you:

If it’s for your own home:

Cash. Maybe you have a huge chunk of change lying around, who knows?
Credit card. I am not suggesting that you should charge up your credit card and carry a balance!!! If you can afford to pay it off monthly, however, think about paying for some improvements (like fixtures, etc.) with a credit card that offers rewards – airline miles, hotel points, or even straight cash can be a nice little perk at the end of your renovation.
Construction loan. A construction loan is rolled into your mortgage to create a new “first” mortgage. These loans, which are used to finance renovations or new-home builds, have become scarce after the 2008 housing crisis.
Home equity loan. These loans create a second mortgage on your home and are not allowed in all states (and restrictions vary in those states that do allow home equity loans).
Some combination of the above.

If you’re a flipper:

Cash. If you don’t have enough cash on your own to finance the purchase and renovation of a home, you could think about allowing investors to have a piece of the action.
Line of credit. This option can be hard to come by, but it allows you to have access to a large sum of cash while only paying interest on the amount you are actually using.
Credit card. Same perks as above.
Construction loan. Same as above.
Some combination of the above.

There’s no “one size fits all” solution for financing, so do your research before committing to a particular option.

Renovation Tip of the Week: It’s an Investment

November 30, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 4 Comments

I thought I’d start this series at the very beginning of the renovation process. Before you buy the house, dream of the renovation, or pick up a hammer you have to plan. Yes, it’s a four letter word and all that entails, but it’s an absolute must.

To me the most crucial part of planning a big ol’ remodel is constantly keeping in mind that above all it’s an investment. Whether you’re flipping a house or buying your forever home, your renovation is doomed from the start if you sink money into the house that you can never get back out.

So here’s my tip of the week – make a good investment up front, when you buy the house.

How do you do that? Here are a few pointers:

1. Don’t overpay for the house.

It’s easy to fall in love with a house and get swept away with that “I have to have it” feeling. Before you begin negotiations with a seller, set a limit on the amount of money you’re willing to spend on the house. To come up with that “top number,” either do research on your own or talk to a realtor about what comparable homes in that neighborhood are selling for. And if you’re a flipper, it’s especially important to avoid spending too much because you won’t have the benefit of time to naturally increase the value of the home. When we buy flips, we know the absolute maximum amount per square foot that we can afford to pay and we use that as our benchmark – anything below that is a good deal.

2. Be educated about what your renovations will cost.

I will talk more about this in later posts, but if you know from the outset that you will be renovating all or part of the home it is in your best interest to speak with a contractor about costs associated with the construction or, if you’re planning on doing the work yourself, then you should do some intensive research on what you can expect to pay for materials, fixtures, permits and any labor that you might need to hire out. Do all of this research before you put in an offer.

3. Have a solid idea of what the home can ultimately sell for.

What are renovated homes in the area selling for? If you don’t know the answer to this question then put on the brakes and do some research. It’s imperative that you know the value of the product you will eventually be selling.

4. Keep in mind hidden expenses.

When you’re calculating the net profit you will make once you sell the house, keep in mind the hidden expenses such as realtor fees, carrying costs (mortgage, interest, PMI), closing costs, homeowners insurance, taxes and utilities. It’s especially important if you’re flipping a house to keep track of these costs since they eat into profit very quickly.

Next week’s tip of the week . . . How to Pick the Right House.