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| Monthly Newsletter from Your Neighborhood Real Estate Professional |
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Articles and Advice |
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| Seven rules for room additions By Paul Bianchina If you're happy with your home and your neighborhood but are craving a little more space, maybe adding on is a better alternative to moving out. Room additions can be a terrific alternative for many homes, adding space for a growing family and adding resale value at the same time. But be forewarned. A good room addition involves a whole lot more than just slapping on some additional square footage. Here are some important rules to keep in mind as your planning gets under way: 1. Know why you're adding on: This is the first rule, and it happens before you lift a hammer. Why do you need to add on? And no fair cheating and saying, "I need more space!" Do you need another bathroom? Bedroom space? A laundry room or mud room? An improved kitchen flow? More space to entertain? Better accessibility due to health issues? More storage? A larger garage or hobby area? The only way the addition will meet your needs is to know what those needs are in the first place. 2. Good additions never look like additions: This is the other top rule of room-addition planning. When you're done, the addition -- no matter what its size or where it's located -- should never look like an addition. The architectural styles of new and existing need to blend. The exterior materials need to blend as well, or at least complement each other. To the extent possible, use the same type of windows, roofing, doors, siding and other materials. If the original home has wood windows, using new vinyl windows in the addition screams "add-on" and lowers the appeal and the value. Don't overlook the need to blend landscaping and hardscaping as well. 3. Out, up, down, or a combination: The how and the where of a room addition is always a fun and exciting challenge for everyone involved. Some homes are situated on larger lots and lend themselves very nicely to adding out. Others seem best suited to adding up by building on a second or even a partial third floor. Some houses are even laid out in such a way that it's possible to excavate under them and add new living space in the form of a daylight basement. Or it could be that a combination of two or even all three of these options makes the most sense for your particular home. Keep your mind open to the possibilities. Work with a good contractor and a good designer and you'll be amazed at what you can come up with. 4. Don't let the interior become an afterthought: I've seen a surprising number of additions that look great from the outside but seem to have no thought put into them on the inside. Flooring doesn't match. Trim doesn't match. Sometimes even the interior floor heights don't match. Remember that how the interior of your addition looks and flows on the inside is just as important as how it looks and flows on the outside. Use the same materials or the same style of materials. Match up ceiling, floor, and wall levels. Here again, no matter how you view the addition, inside or out, it should never look like an addition. 5. Create convenient access: This is another afterthought in a lot of additions. Let's say you have a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house, and you want to add a second bathroom. Typically, that's an addition that's going to have a good payback. But then you build the addition so that the only access to the second bathroom is through the kitchen. You now have a three-bedroom, two-bath house, but since the layout is lousy, you've actually gone backwards in terms of desirability and resale value. Are you going to create a beautiful second-floor master suite that can be accessed only by a tiny spiral staircase from the family room? Is the only way into your great new kitchen via a convoluted hallway that leads through the laundry room? When planning your addition, never lose sight of how you're going to access the new spaces, and make sure that access is both convenient and inviting. 6. Don't overwhelm your lot: Granted, room additions are expensive. So when you're doing one, and all those workers are onsite, there's a temptation to get as much square footage as you can. But don't cram your lot full of house. Remember that open space is important as well, both to you and your family, and, later on, to potential buyers. This is a good time to go back to Rule No. 1 and reconsider the "why" part of your room addition. Don't add space just to add it -- stay focused on your overall goals. 7. Understand the legalities: There are lots of rules and regulations that come into play regarding room additions. These include property line setbacks, zoning restrictions, and restrictions imposed by homeowner associations and architectural review committees. In some historic areas, your addition may have to comply with certain historic guidelines. In other areas, there may even be solar shading restrictions that limit the height or the orientation of your roof line. Be sure you check into all of this before you get too far along with your planning. |
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| Find property problems before you buy By Dian Hymer To avoid a bad experience that could end up in a legal battle with the sellers over property problems, make sure your purchase agreement includes an inspection contingency. Your mission during the inspection contingency period is to find out as much as possible about the property and surrounding area, insurability of the property, permit history, zoning issues and cost to repair defects. Investigate any issues that could affect whether or not the property will suit your long-term needs at a price you can afford. Most states have home seller disclosure requirements. If you are buying in a state that doesn't require sellers to disclosure material facts, ask the sellers to disclose in writing any property defects or neighborhood issues they know about. Also, find out if there are systems that require routine maintenance, such as the furnace, drainage system, skylights and roof. After you clear the inspection hurdle, ask the seller to provide you with contact information for any people who have worked on the property that the sellers would recommend. Find out when major components were replaced and when the house was last painted. Find out how much the sellers pay for utilities. Ask for copies of proposals and paid invoices for any significant work done on the property. Basically, you want to know any problems the seller had with the property, what was done about it, by whom and when. If the roof was recently replaced, find out if it's covered by a warranty and if it's transferable to you. You may feel uncomfortable asking the sellers to provide additional information at the time you make the offer, particularly if there are multiple offers. In this case, ask the sellers for answers to your questions during the inspection contingency time frame. Questions will undoubtedly come up during your inspections. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Even if the sellers have provided presale inspection reports and disclosures, have your own inspectors give the property a thorough exam. Some buyers hire the seller's home inspector to meet them at the property to explain the presale report and ask questions. This may save you money. But, saving money should not be the primary goal when having a property inspected. Buyers of newly built homes should ask the sellers for any construction-related documents like the geotechnical report, engineering calculations, and letters to the planning department confirming that the geotechnical engineer monitored the construction and confirmed that the house was built according to his recommendations. Ask the seller to leave the architectural plans, if they're available. Verifying livable square footage is a big issue in today's cautious mortgage environment. Many lenders won't count additions or renovations that add square footage in the appraised valuation of the property. If the sellers can't provide the supporting documentation, such as copies of approved permits, the property could appraise for less than you agreed to pay. This might jeopardize the transaction if the lender approved a lower mortgage amount than you requested. It's a good idea to check the permit history at the planning department yourself if the sellers can't provide copies of permits for work done. This should let you know if renovations were done with permits and if the permits received final approval. You should have this information before removing the inspection contingency. Many planning departments won't issue a new permit if there is a permit on record that never received final approval. The new owners might incur fees to clear up any outstanding permits before they can move forward with new improvements. THE CLOSING: With probate and REOs (bank-owned properties) you will receive minimal, if any, information about the property condition. Be extra careful with your due diligence investigations. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Presale inspections for smoother sales By Dian Hymer Homes are selling for less. Everyone's trying to cut back. Yet, many real estate agents think it's wise for sellers to provide presale inspections for buyers to review before they write offers. Is the cost, which could run from a few hundred to $1,000 or more, worth the expense? Last year, a home seller in the hills above Oakland, Calif., did a lot of work renovating a home before putting it on the market. Her agent recommended a home inspection, which involves a more comprehensive investigation of the property. A wood pest or termite report covers damage caused by wood-destroying organisms, and conditions that would be likely to lead to future infestation. A complete home inspection usually covers the roof to the foundation and everything in between, although this differs from one inspector to another. The seller in the above example was financially exhausted after taking care of the fix-up work and decided against providing a presale home inspection. The house was priced under market value and showed well. It brought in multiple offers and sold well over the asking price. However, the buyers' home inspection revealed that the foundation needed replacing. The deal stayed together, but only after a much lower price was negotiated. Changing the price in the middle of a transaction can be a red flag to the lender, particularly if it's a significant price reduction. The lender could require the work be done by closing, which could delay the closing by months. If the buyer's loan commitment expires, the transaction could collapse. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: One benefit of providing presale inspections on your home is that you have the opportunity to correct defects before marketing the property. This will make your home more salable and increase the odds of a smoother transaction. Another benefit is that by providing as much information about the property as possible upfront, you decrease the risk of a transaction falling apart when buyers discover information about the property they weren't aware of when they made their offer. One seller failed to provide a foundation report to the buyers before they made an offer. When the buyers were given the bad news, the transaction fell apart. If you have reports on your home, make sure that the buyers receive copies of them before they decide whether or not to buy your home, especially if the reports reveal conditions about the property that could influence the buyers' decision to buy or what they would pay. Sellers often see no good reason to pay for inspection reports upfront because the buyers will want to have their own inspectors investigate the property. Buyers should have the property inspected by their own inspectors. The purpose of getting presale inspections is not to preclude the buyers from having inspections -- it is to educate the sellers and buyers about the property condition before they enter into a contract. Sellers are in control of who inspects their home when they pay for presale inspections. Make sure to use inspectors who are well respected in the area. The buyers' comfort level with your presale reports will be higher if their agent can vouch for the inspectors. Even though the buyers will probably do their own inspections, having presale inspections can cut down on negotiations that can occur after the buyers do their inspections. However, don't be surprised if the buyers ask for something as a concession for removing their inspection contingency. Recently, buyers of a home in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood asked the seller to have the garage roof replaced, even though they were given a roof report and replacement proposal before they made their offer. Their offer was based on taking the property in its present condition. THE CLOSING: The seller said no and the buyers removed their contingency. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Avoid home improvement gimmicks that hammer resale value By Paul Bianchina Q: We are considering listing our vacation home, and I have a question for you on whether it would be worth it to invest the money putting siding on it or selling it as is? The home is located on a golf course and has a magnificent view of the first hole and surrounding lakes and mountains. We had the house exterior coated about six years ago and it was supposed to offer lifetime protection from the elements (at a cost of $6,000). Unfortunately it did not. We had some bad spots patched and repainted but now they look bad again and we are not sure what would be best. We could do a better patch job and have the exterior primed and painted (hopefully the paint will "stick" to the exterior coating), or we could have vinyl siding put up, or we could sell the house "as is." The interior of the house is in good shape; we just had new Pella windows and doors installed within the past year. What do you think? A: In general, in a down real estate market such as we now have, I think the more a seller can do to make their home attractive the better their chances are of finding a buyer. It's also important that the house shows that it has been well maintained, which is another reason to make whatever repairs are necessary before listing. In my personal opinion, selling a house "as is" should always be the last option, unless personal finances make that the only option. That being said, it's difficult to advise you on whether to repair and paint the existing siding or have the house completely re-sided. This is where your own research and the assistance of an experienced real estate agent come into play. You need to take a walk or a drive around your immediate area, and see what comparable houses right on the golf course look like -- especially any that are up for sale. This will give you a good indication of what buyers will expect to see in the neighborhood. Your real estate agent can call up comparable listings and sales for the area, so you can better understand what a realistic sales price will be. If it costs a certain amount to have the house re-sided, and if you can realistically expect to recoup that investment in a higher sales price and a faster sale, then that's the way to go. If you can patch and paint for a lot less money, and that's what all the other homes in the area have done, then that might be the better option. All in all, I would probably lean toward painting, but be sure to verify that the exterior coating can be painted over. You also mention using vinyl siding, which appeals to some people and doesn't appeal to others. So before taking that route be sure that a vinyl-sided house is in keeping with what others in the area have done. Also, make sure that it's allowed by your homeowners association. One final thing, and this is directed at other readers, not at you (since I suspect you've already learned your lesson). Please don't fall for "miracle" products! Stick with reputable, proven products from reputable, proven suppliers and installers. Q: My bathroom is very small but does have one west-facing window that allows in natural light. Any ideas to make this room appear larger? A: There are a few tricks you can utilize to your advantage to make a small room seem larger: • First of all, stick with light colors on the walls and ceilings. That doesn't mean you need to be limited to just white, but stay light and neutral. • Paint the trim a lighter color than the walls. This is a visual trick that makes the walls appear to recede somewhat. • The use of mirrors is always a good idea to make a room look larger. If possible, position the mirror so that it reflects the light coming from the window. If you can't do that because of where the mirror needs to be positioned in relation to the sink, then instead of a mirror you might consider some sort of shallow wall hanging that is bright enough to reflect light. • Avoid window coverings that extend into the room. If you need a window covering for privacy, use a thin, light-colored blind or shade that mounts inside the window surround. • Add a light tube. This is an acrylic dome mounted on the roof, along with a tube that extends down to the ceiling. The dome lets in natural light, and the tube directs it to the room. |
| Add power to purchase offer By Dian Hymer Figuring out how much to offer on a home you'd like to make your own is never easy. A complicating factor is that although it appears that the housing market may be stabilizing, there is no guarantee that prices won't slip further. With this in mind, don't buy for the short term. Don't buy betting on future appreciation. Buy a home that will work for you long term, at the best price you can negotiate, using financing you can afford. To avoid paying too much, hook up with a real estate agent who will educate you about how much you'll have to pay for a home that works for you. The Internet is a great resource to help you learn about neighborhoods, current listings, and past sale prices. However, a diligent, knowledgeable real estate agent who has experience helping people buy and sell homes in the area where you want to live can get you up to speed on what's happening in that niche market now. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Ask your agent to give you a summary of all listings that you might have been interested in that sold during the last three months to six months, including list price, sale price and how long they took to sell. It's also useful to have information about the change in average sale price over the past year. Have prices declined? Are they flat? Or are they rising? Also, ask for a list of properties currently available and pending sale. A pending sale is one where the sellers have accepted an offer, but the sale hasn't yet closed. Significantly more active listings than pending sales in an area suggests a high-inventory market where buyers have an advantage. Few active listings relative to pending sales is characteristic of a low-inventory market. During your house-hunting education, make sure your agent reports back to you about day-to-day changes in the market. If an overpriced listing has a price reduction and is now in your price range, make a point of looking at it as soon as possible. A new price can attract other buyers' interest. When listings you've seen sell, your agent should let you know the sale price. This will help you develop a sense for when a listing is priced too high, or priced at or under market value. How well a listing is priced for the market affects your offer strategy. A well-priced listing in a low-inventory market is likely to sell quickly. There could be more than one buyer making an offer. If so, you may need to make an aggressive offer near, at or over the asking price. However, multiple offers don't always result in a sale price higher than the list price. Becoming savvy about local market pricing enables you to know when to make a strong offer on a new listing, even though the overall market may be lagging. It's a different story in segments of the market where there are plenty of listings that take months to sell. In this case, you have choices, making it possible to offer less than the asking price and negotiate. If this one doesn't work out, you move on to the next. You should be prepared to walk away rather than pay too much. Buyers making offers that are contingent on the sale of another property usually have to pay more than all-cash buyers who can close quickly. If you've already sold your home and are waiting for the sale to close, you'll be in a better position to negotiate on price. THE CLOSING: The best bet is to have your home sold and closed. It removes uncertainty in the sellers' minds and may make them more receptive to a lower price. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
| Appraisal rules tough on additions By Dian Hymer Recently a homeowner in the hills above Oakland, Calif., applied for a refinance. An appraiser visited the property and measured both levels of the house. The appraiser called the homeowner a few days later to find out if the lower level had been added with a permit. The public record indicated the house had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and 1,513-square feet. The actual house in its current configuration has four bedrooms, three baths and a recreation room, giving it considerably more square feet than the public record indicates. The owner didn't know if the lower level had been added legally, claiming the house was in its present configuration when he bought it about 30 years ago. Due to changes in appraisal guidelines for residential properties that took effect in 2009, appraisers usually don't give livable square footage credit for work that was done without building permits. Without the extra square footage, the appraised value will be less than it would have been if the work were done legally. This doesn't mean that the lender won't grant a loan. But, if your house appraises low and you were expecting a loan amount based on a higher figure, you'll be disappointed and perhaps unable to complete the refinance -- or, if you're a buyer, you may be unable to purchase. Let's say you wanted a loan for 70 percent of an $800,000 value, or $560,000. The appraisal comes in at $600,000. On a refinance, the lender probably won't lend more than 70 percent of $600,000, or $420,000, which is $140,000 less than what you requested. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: What can you do in a situation like this to increase the appraised value of your home? The first thing to do is go to the local planning department and request copies of all permits on the house going back to the original building permit. If you can find a permit for the additional work that was done, give a copy to the appraiser. The appraiser will have measured the unpermitted square footage. With confirmation that this space is legal, the appraiser will be able to include the additional square feet and increase the appraised value. Take a copy of the permit that confirms more rooms than is reflected in the public record to the county assessor's office and have them update their records. You may be reassessed based on the fact that your house has a legal addition, so your property taxes could increase. However, your house will appraise and sell for more if you can substantiate that the additional space was added with permits. If you discover that the work was done without permits, you can attempt to have the work legalized after the fact. This can be a complicated and expensive project, depending on when the work was done and how many square feet were added. If the addition is 10-20 percent of the size of the house, the permitting process will be less onerous than if the illegal space equaled 50 percent of the entire house. You will need to meet certain code requirements. For example, if a stairway leads to the unpermitted space, it must be 36 inches wide. Replacing an entire staircase can be prohibitively expensive. Walls may have to be opened to inspect the plumbing and electrical. If something doesn't meet current code requirements, it will probably have to be brought into compliance. You might have to add or change windows. Plus, if the building inspector discovers other items in the house that do not comply with current code requirements, you might have to correct these in order to receive final approval of the project. THE CLOSING: Sometimes contractors take out permits for work, but don't take the time to have the final inspection done. In this case, call the contractor and have him finish his job. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
| Tips on remodeling to sell By Paul Bianchina Q: We are planning to sell our home next year. We tried the easiest route to brighten up the kitchen: Painting the dark wood cabinets a lighter color, as we have a faux wood laminate countertop. We went with a two-toned effect, with the cabinets done in white and the doors and drawers done in a semigloss beige. It does not look all that great and the doors stick: What would you suggest? Also, the drawers are an odd rail system with a wheel on an arm at the back of the drawer that hooks into the rail above the drawer -- they always come off and stick horribly. Any advice would be wonderful and highly appreciated, as we are on a very tight budget. A: When remodeling to sell, always stick with colors and materials that are as universally appealing as possible. In the kitchen, I would go with all white on the cabinets, since the two-tone look is not something that will appeal to most people. It's hard to say why the cabinet doors stick. If they didn't stick before the paint job, my suspicion would be that you got paint on the hinges, or you built up too much paint in the area of the hinges that is binding the door, or you closed and/or reinstalled the doors before the paint was completely dry. If you are going to repaint the doors, I would suggest sanding them down to bare wood before you repaint -- putting another coat on at this point is probably asking for trouble. I would also replace the hinges. The old-style drawer slides you mention have always been a problem. I'm not sure those things worked right even when they were brand new! I would start by removing each drawer, then checking to be sure that the wheel, track and other components are well secured. They were often held in place by a staple or a single screw, so they work loose and drop out of alignment quite easily. Install more screws as needed to keep them in place. Over time, the plastic front wheels wear out as well, which also messes with the alignment and operation. You can order new wheels and also complete replacement slides from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware at www.rockler.com [1]. Finally, make sure you clean everything thoroughly with a degreaser. Q: I am installing an electric oven/microwave combo into my new cherry cabinet. The oven instructions suggest to slide it in and screw in the mount brackets. My question is: The oven weighs 230 pounds and I do not see the "face" of the cabinet supporting the entire oven, (no bottom support). Now, the oven manufacturer also recommends at least four inches from the bottom of the oven to the bottom of cabinet -- thus not being able to put a shelf in for support. What do you recommend? A: Typically, what the oven manufacturer is referring to is clearance between the bottom of the oven door and anything below it, such as the top of a drawer. However, the oven manufacturers understand that the oven needs a lot more support than just the cabinet face frame, and there will be a specific set of instructions packaged with the oven that shows where the supports should go. What I have seen over the years is either a plywood bottom in the cabinet that the oven slides directly onto, or a plywood panel with "two-by" lumber pieces on top that are installed in a particular spot so that they support the oven's feet. In addition, the oven is typically screwed to the face or inside edge of the face frame (or both) to provide additional resistance against tipping when the oven door is opened. With cherry or any hardwood, be sure you predrill the cabinets. |
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