Ohio
Real Estate Professionals
|
Are you considering
remodeling your home?
Remodeling a home
is a financial and emotional decision. You don't like your home the
way it is, and you want it to be different.
You must first
decide "why" you are remodeling your home. If the reason
that you are updating is to improve condition (financial decision),
then you will typically get more value out of your improvement cost.
However, if you are making primarily cosmetic changes (emotional decision),
the property value will not likely change. If it makes you happy,
only You can determine the "emotional value" or how happy
it makes you. However, emotional decisions which are not well researched
and may not be financially sound.
For
example, many people dream of having a home with an inground pool.
A pool is a large expense, with initial costs typically ranging from
$15,000-$50,000. Many buyers of homes would not consider purchasing
a home with a pool. These buyers may purchase that same home and fill
in the pool with dirt. So really how much is worth? In some markets,
pools are highly desirable and have contributory values similar to
cost. However, in most markets of Ohio, inground pools can be as much
of a detriment as it could be an asset. Most areas of Ohio can only
use a heated inground pool for 5-6 months a year. There are not many
indoor, inground pools in Ohio. How many are in your area? Before
you decide to have a pool installed...research how many homes with
pools have sold in the past year in your neighborhood and at what
price. You may want to consider purchasing a home with a pool in lieu
of installing a new pool in your yard. You will be letting the prior
owner absorb the functional obsolescence and you will be paying market
value for the amenity. Before you make any major financial decision,
we suggest to hire a professional to assist you.
When an improvement
is made to a home, it usually falls under one of two categories: Value
Related or Market Appeal Related. It is much easier to objectively
quantify value differences in numbers when comparing homes. Overall
size (square feet), number of bathrooms, garage size, fireplaces,
etc. are easy to quantify. Condition is much more of a subjective
issue. One person may feel a home is in good condition, while another
may feel the same home is in average condition and pay different prices
accordingly.
Major renovating
is much different than remodeling. Renovation of a home can greatly
change the overall market appeal and value of a home. Remodeling usually
has less impact on value, but more on market appeal. If you are financing
your renovations/remodeling, you absolutely need to know what is selling
in your neighborhood. Most lenders do not like to loan on properties
which are much higher in value than the surrounding neighborhood values.
If you think about it...the nicest homes in a neighborhood are not
usually the ones that sell. The owners are happy with their upgrades
and do not want to move. It can be difficult for the appraiser
to justify a value higher than the other sales in your neighborhood.
Before you make your decision on renovating or remodeling, get a property
report and get to know your neighborhood. Ultimately, we recommend
you contact a professional appraiser before making any major remodeling
decisions.
We will provide
you with:
- Property
Records, Provided by local county auditor web site records.
- Sales Data,
Detailed information on up to 30 sales of homes within your area.
- Area Map,
Map of your neighborhood and surroundings. Zoning maps available
in some areas.
- Online links
to areas statistics and demographics.
- Our guide
to Understanding and
Analyzing Property Records Cards
What does
this information do for you?
The ultimate goal
in the remodeling process is to improve the value of your home the
most with the lowest cost improvement. Knowledge of recent sales within
your neighborhood can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars
even before you contact a contractor about remodeling your home. Typically,
the appraisal for remodeling a property is ordered well into the process.
You will have the knowledge right in your hands to support your decisions
to remodel or not to remodel. This information is invaluable for your
potential mortgage broker and finally the appraiser who will be estimating
the value of your home, either "as is" or "subject
to completion". Independence Data provides all of this information
to you in a secure PDF document which can easily be shared with your
mortgage broker and appraiser, saving everyone time and money.
How long
does this take?
The finance industry
can be very volatile. You need your information now, but want it done
right. There are many free, instant-online valuation services which
are computer generated and have limited amounts of information on
the neighboring properties. In many cases, the information provided
is much more dated and irrelevant. Independence Data physically searches
all available property records systems to all data research within
24 hours, 7-Days a Week. It is common to have sales as recent as the
same week or month. Most other data services are 1-4 months delayed.
The information and data is emailed to you in a secure PDF document
to your email address. For an additional charge of $5, we will set
up a password protected web page on our web site so you can share
your information with the mortgage broker and real estate appraiser.
|
