1. real estate

Windermere Services Company
5424 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
Jane Agent & Joe Agent
Real Estate Professionals
REALTORS®
Jane: 206/527-3801
[email protected]
Joe: 206/527-3801
[email protected]
JaneandJoe.myWindermere.com
Name
Address
City, State, Zip
How to Cut Costs on Your Bath or Kitchen Remodel
With the cost of a bathroom remodel averaging $15,715 to $19,204 (in Windermere’s inland and Pacific states,
respectively) and even a minor kitchen remodel costing around $20,000 on average (and about three times that
for a major remodel), it can pay to consider these money-saving suggestions:
n Resist the urge to relocate: Changing the location of walls, electrical panels, and plumbed appliances/
fixtures (dishwasher, refrigerator, toilet, sinks, etc.) is usually expensive. If you can find a way to remodel while keeping those things in their current locations, you’ll save significant money.
n Save the cabinets: New cabinets are often one of the most expensive aspects of a kitchen remodel (and, to a lesser degree, a bathroom remodel). Instead of replacing your current cabinets, consider refinishing
or painting them and upgrading the handles and hinges.
n Consider laminates: Think about using laminates (thin veneers made to look like more expensive materials) for countertops, surrounds, backsplashes, and more. The quality look and feel of these
materials has improved dramatically over the last decade.
n Buy/sell used: Not only can you purchase used counters, doors, cabinets, and more at a discount online (e.g., Craigslist.com) and from local salvage stores, you can also earn money by selling your used goods through those venues.
n Contribute labor: If you hire a contractor, and there’s demolition work to be done, even a homeowner who’s all thumbs can pitch in and save money. If you have a talent for home-improvement, you can save even more money by painting, installing trim, and performing other tasks.
With these ideas and a little extra effort, you should be able to cut the total cost of your remodel by hundreds
if not thousands of dollars. u
655 BKT UPD • Volume 32, Issue 01 This is not meant to solicit your business if you are already working with an agent. 2013© Windermere Services Company. All Rights Reserved.
655 • v33i 01
What to Consider
Before Remodeling
Your Kitchen or Bath
Jane Agent
& Joe Agent
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Real Estate
Professionals
January Home Update
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REALTORS®
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Many homeowners want to remodel
their kitchen or bath but don’t know
where to start, or where to turn
for guidance. This month’s Home
Update addresses both of those
issues, and offers five tips that will
help reduce the costs.
Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom can deliver one of your
best home-improvement investment returns. According to
the latest Remodeling 2011–12 Cost vs. Value Report of the
regions served by Windermere, you can typically recoup
anywhere from 57.6 to 75.1 percent of the money you spend
on a bathroom remodel if you were to sell the house not long
after the work was completed.
The reward is even better for a kitchen remodel, which will return
an average of 64.6 to 75.9 percent for a “major” remodel, and 69.8
to 91.5 percent for a “minor” one. The higher ends of these ranges
apply to states along the Pacific, and the lower ends to Windermere’s
inland regions.
continued on page 2
Providing helpful homeowner tips
like these is just one of the ways I
can be of assistance, whether you
own a home or are looking to buy.
Whatever your real estate-related
questions or needs, please don’t
hesitate to contact me.
tips
What to Consider
Recommended Before Remodeling
Your Kitchen or Bath
Features
When remodeling your kitchen or
bathroom, these features can make
all the difference.
Recirculating water pump
If it takes more than about 15
seconds to get hot water to your
current kitchen or bathroom faucets
(which is common in older homes),
consider installing a recirculating
water pump system during the
remodel. These systems keep the
water circulating between your
plumbing fixtures and the water
heater so it’s always hot when you
turn on the tap.
Exhaust fans
Lots of steam is produced in both the
bathroom and kitchen. To prevent
that moisture from creating mold
and mildew problems, install exhaust
fans in both spaces (not recirculating
fans, which simply filter the air, but
rather a fan that exhausts the steam
outdoors).
Task lighting
Unlike the bedroom or living room,
where the lighting is often focused on
setting the right mood, the kitchen
and bathroom are workspaces that
require direct “task lighting.”
Low–maintenance materials
When choosing tile, flooring, counters,
and even paint for a bathroom or
kitchen, it’s important to research
their maintenance needs: how often
they need any special treatments,
how easy they are to clean, and
their resistance to the effects of
heat and water.
Extra storage space
To account for the natural expansion
of goods that occurs in most
households, be sure to create
enough storage space for items
that you currently possess, such as
pots, pans, towels, toiletries, etc., as
well as future purchases. You’ll be
glad to have it later. u
Regardless of where you live, you
can maximize the investment return
of your remodel with some special
planning and care. Here are seven
suggestions.
Review photos first
Just thinking about all the details
and decisions that go into planning a
kitchen or bathroom remodel can be
overwhelming to many homeowners.
Plus, finding the right words to
describe what you want can also
be problematic.
An easy way to jump-start the
planning process is to begin by
perusing photos of kitchens and
bathrooms in home-improvement
magazines, blogs, and books. Gather
the designs and ideas you like best,
and put them all into a planning
folder or an online site like Pinterest.
This will allow you to focus on the big
picture of what you like and want.
These examples will also make it
much easier for contractors to
understand your goals in order
to more accurately bid on your
project and deliver the finished
results you want.
Focus on usability
Kitchens and bathrooms are the
most heavily trafficked areas of
the house, so their layout must be
efficient and utilitarian above all.
While you obviously want them
to look good, the most important
thing is that they function well.
In the kitchen, that means making
sure that the three main go-to areas
(the refrigerator, the sink, and the
stove/oven) are all easily connected
via what kitchen designers like to
call a “work triangle”—a close-knit
and logical path that allows you to
continued from page 1
walk from one to the other without
encountering obstacles or being
forced to retrace your steps.
In the bathroom, it means ensuring
that there’s plenty of floor space for
drying off with a towel, opening a
shower door, cleaning around fixtures,
and for two people using the space
at the same time. This could mean
going with a standup shower in
place of a soaker tub, and making
other tough decisions.
Consider age-in-place features
If you’re over age 55 and planning
to remain in your house long-term,
you may want to also consider
incorporating some features that
will make it easier to use your
kitchen/bathroom as you grow older.
Examples include a taller toilet and
a walk-in shower rather than a tub in
the bathroom; and, in the kitchen, a
wall-oven or drawer-style dishwasher
so you don’t have to do so much
bending and stooping while washing
dishes and cooking meals.
Plan to be inconvenienced
Most kitchen and bathroom remodels
of any size take weeks to complete.
So you’ll need a plan for moving
your cooking facilities to another
part of the house or, In the case of
a bathroom remodel, using another
bathroom. Fortunately, most
contractors are familiar with this
situation and can help you come
up with alternatives or ensure that
the space will be clean enough to
use again at the end of the workday.
But this is something you’ll want to
have worked out well before any
construction begins.
Budget for the unexpected
Unexpected discoveries are common
once these projects get underway.
Home Pricing Guide: Following are average three-bedroom home sale prices for some of the
neighborhoods served by Windermere. Figures are based on multiple listing data for homes sold
May 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012. For information on other market areas, please call me.
ARIZONA
Chino Valley
$127,000
Flagstaff
$379,000
Prescott$262,000
Prescott Valley
$156,000
Scottsdale
$371,000
CALIFORNIA
Once the walls are open, you may
discover mold. Conflicts with
plumbing pipes or electrical wiring
may arise when it comes time to
install the exhaust fan. You just
never know. Therefore, some
remodeling experts suggest you
add an additional 10 to 20 percent
to your project budget to cover the
cost of these issues. Of course, these
discoveries can lead to unfortunate
project delays, as well.
Check your insurance policy
Read your homeowner’s insurance
policy and double-check with your
agent before beginning this work.
Some policies require you to use
only licensed contractors. Or, your
agent may want to inspect the work
once it’s complete.
Get permits
To deliver a lower bid, some
contractors may offer to do the
work without getting the required
building/construction permits.
That’s not a good idea. Having a
licensed inspector there to approve
each step of the project is a good
double-check of the contractor’s
work. Plus, real estate sales contracts
often require you to divulge if any
work was done to your house
without permits.
Overall, kitchen and bathroom
remodels are more complex projects
than many other home-improvement
efforts. However, armed with these
ideas, you should be able to quickly
overcome the typical challenges,
increase the resale value of your
house, and improve upon two of the
most popular areas in any home. u
Alamo
$796,000
Albany
$710,000
Antioch
$172,000
Baldwin Park
$264,000
Berkeley$740,000
Blackhawk$910,000
Brentwood$272,000
Buena Park
$345,000
Cardiff by the Sea
$718,000
Carlsbad/La Costa
$631,000
Carmel Valley
$732,000
Castro Valley
$439,000
Cathedral City
$170,000
Chino$270,000
Chino Hills
$359,000
Chula Vista
$298,000
Clayton
$518,000
Cloverdale
$357,000
Concord
$293,000
Corona $260,000
Coronado
$1,408,000
Covina
$312,000
Danville$711,000
Del Mar
$1,402,000
Desert Hot Springs $145,000
Diamond Bar
$438,000
Discovery Bay
$414,000
Dublin$529,000
El Cajon
$315,000
El Cerrito
$503,000
El Sobrante
$264,000
Encinitas
$822,000
Escondido
$329,000
Fallbrook$179,000
Garner Valley
$425,000
Granite Bay
$431,000
Hacienda Heights
$354,000
Hayward
$289,000
Healdsburg$720,000
Imperial Beach
$296,000
Indian Wells
$814,000
Indio$175,000
La Jolla
$1,191,000
La Mesa
$371,000
La Quinta
$350,000
La Verne
$397,000
Lafayette
$831,000
Lake Arrowhead
$244,000
Lakeside
$310,000
Livermore
$406,000
Martinez
$331,000
Mira Mesa $351,000
Miramar
$533,000
CALIFORNIA,
continued
Moraga
$838,000
Napa$454,000
National City
$218,000
Oakland
$447,000
Oakley
$208,000
Oceanside
$334,000
Ontario
$217,000
Orinda
$903,000
Palm Desert
$341,000
Palm Springs
$389,000
Piedmont
$1,304,000
Pinole$255,000
Pittsburg$125,000
Pleasant Hill
$447,000
Pleasanton$652,000
Pomona
$223,000
Poway
$478,000
Rancho Bernardo
$543,000
Rancho Mirage
$501,000
Rancho Santa Fe
$1,034,000
Richmond
$217,000
Rowland Heights
$373,000
San Diego
$544,000
San Dimas
$371,000
San Marcos
$402,000
San Ramon
$603,000
Santa Rosa
$315,000
Santee
$301,000
Sebastopol
$596,000
Solana Beach
$1,020,000
Sonoma
$639,000
Spring Valley
$270,000
Tierrasanta
$428,000
Vista
$328,000
Walnut$515,000
Walnut Creek
$617,000
Windsor
$365,000
Yucca Valley $114,000
NEVADA,
NEVADA
Cabo San Lucas
San Jose del Cabo
La Paz
continued
Henderson$177,000
Las Vegas
$132,000
North Las Vegas
$114,000
OREGON
Ashland
$366,000
Astoria
$177,000
Beaverton$224,000
Bend$255,000
Cannon Beach
$513,000
Corvallis$264,000
Eugene
$225,000
Florence$209,000
Hillsboro$220,000
Hood River
$305,000
Lake Oswego
$415,000
Lincoln City
$282,000
Manzanita
$443,000
Medford
$184,000
Newport$256,000
Portland
$285,000
Salem
$159,000
West Linn
$328,000
UTAH
Park City
$475,000
WASHINGTON
Anacortes
$368,000
Bainbridge Island
$620,000
Bellevue$547,000
Bellingham
$312,000
Camano Island
$307,000
Edmonds
$369,000
Everett
$222,000
Gig Harbor
$327,000
Issaquah
$436,000
HAWAII
Kent
$213,000
Hilo
$302,000
Kirkland$466,000
Kahului/Wailuku
$396,000
Lynnwood
$257,000
Kihei
$693,000
Mercer Island
$1,277,000
Kona
$428,000
Mount Vernon
$220,000
Puna$146,000
Olympia
$248,000
Wailea/Makena$1,597,000
Orcas Island
$530,000
Port Angeles
$160,000
IDAHO
Port Townsend
$291,000
Boise$212,000
Redmond
$466,000
Caldwell$105,000
Renton
$266,000
Coeur d’Alene
$109,000
Seattle
$441,000
Lewiston
$173,000
Spokane
$175,000
Sun Valley
Tacoma$175,000
Hailey/Bellevue
$202,000
Vancouver
$186,000
Ketchum
$645,000
Vashon Island
$385,000
Walla Walla
$206,000
MONTANA
Whidbey Island
$299,000
Helena $201,000
Missoula
$218,000
MEXICO
Boulder City
$208,000
$258,000
$450,000
$112,000