Hi, this is Aurora Betancourt, broker associate marker real estate San Francisco. So today I'm gonna talk a little bit about home remodeling and vendor research, which I think is extremely important right now. We, as we are seeing a change in the market, I sometimes come up with clients that are.
You know, asking me, Hey, do I need to remodel the entire house? My kitchen, my bathrooms, my floors redo, you know, if a garage has been converted, redo that and make it into a garage again. And one thing that I tell people is, yes, you do wanna do some remodeling before going on the market. To make sure that, you know, the house is presentable and updated, but you don't wanna invest so much money that you might not recapture it.
So I always tell people to make sure that they really decide what makes sense to them, especially if they're going to eventually sell their house. I'll be like, Hey, you know, do you have time on a Saturday for us to go out? Let's check out some houses in your price point in your neighborhood so that you can see that the upgrades that they have in their bathrooms and the types of kitchens, and that will give them a better idea of what to invest as well as what to purchase.
Um, I also asked them one of the biggest things is, is this house that you're going to remodel? Is it gonna be a rental or do you plan to sell? Those are like the two biggest things. You obviously want to have a really nice rental for the renters. And, um, you wanna also have a really nice house when you go on the market, but again, if you're gonna invest in a $50,000 kitchen, does it make sense to invest in a $50,000 kitchen when you're going to rent this property and who knows if it will be taken care of?
So those are two things really to consider when it comes to remodeling and home remodeling, is this gonna be a rental or are you going to sell it? One of the other. Is I always tell people, are you gonna pull your own permits to remodel or are you gonna have your contractor do it? Um, in some of the cities in the bay area, they will allow you to pull an owner's permit, which means you can go down to the city, pull your permit for that remodel of a kitchen or a bathroom.
If you're gonna do some of the work or have your contractors do it. I always tell people you're not constantly doing. A remodel for a bathroom every day. So why not let your contractor do it? Because they know exactly what they're asking for. They understand the codes, they know the work that's gonna be done.
So my recommendation is always, definitely have the contractor do it. But if you are, if you do work in the field of construction or you are a flipper. Then go ahead and pull your own permits and yes, you do need to pull permits, especially for that kitchen, um, that you plan to remodel. Cuz when you do go on the market, there are people that constantly ask, you know, Hey, was this remodel done with permits?
They wanna make sure that everything's up to code, especially in kitchens that they're electricals very strong as well. That they're plumbing that they're not gonna have any leaks in the kitchen and ruin their nice floor. Another thing is what is your budget going back to how much to spend and what does it make sense to spend a certain amount?
Um, like I said, some people who they need determine if it's gonna be a rental or a purchase and they're going to, I mean, if they're gonna sell it, but determine how much you wanna spend. And I think that when coming up with a budget. Remember, always to overestimate because there could be things that can come up.
Um, sometimes I've had people remodeling their kitchens and their bathrooms, and they realize that they have a lot of dry rot or they're. You know, the foundation and that area is not stable. So then they have to work on that and they didn't necessarily budget for that. They just budget for a tub and a shower and, and a toilet.
So it's important that you make sure that your budget is strong and that you have that, um, you know, that amount that can be cushioned just in case you need anything else. Another thing is make sure that your budget, um, and re remodeling plan is realistic for your neighborhood and it's conforming to your neighborhood.
You don't wanna be the biggest, greatest, nicest house in a neighborhood that's developing why you're not gonna recapture your value. So you may invest $150,000 in remodels. Doesn't mean you're gonna get it. If the neighborhood doesn't support. So that's another thing. Talk to an experienced realtor broker, like myself, to be able to run comps, to determine how much your house could be sold for and how much you're gonna invest in before you do remodeling.
So it's really important that you reach out to a professional like us so that we can give you an idea, Hey, this is what you owe. This is what your house can sell. This is probably what you should invest, but again, um, definitely try to remodel conforming to your neighborhood. Um, I always, one of the biggest things is we always get referrals from people we like, which is great.
Um, and vendors, vendors, finding a vendor to do remodeling and give you, um, at least two estimates is very important. I understand that you, you know, you may have gotten a referral from a friend or family member and you wanna continue and you wanna use their vendor, but I always recommend to get two. And why do I ask that?
Because it can vary in price. I mean, I've seen. Contractors, give one client, a $23,000 kitchen and another $50,000 kitchen. And it's basically the same kitchen . So it's really important that you do get two estimates to determine, um, what's within your budget. What actually it's gonna cost and how expensive it's gonna be, because there will be times when.
You know, you realize that, oh my God, I could have saved money going with this person, um, versus this other person. And you don't wanna have any regrets. I think the biggest thing with remodeling is don't have any regrets. So make sure you do your research, um, interview at least two contractors to determine, Hey, does this make sense?
Does this cost make sense? Um, I had a client who basically did go from a referral, a referral that, um, if another family member gave them for a contractor and. They were remodeling two other bathrooms and everything seemed to go, well, you know, the estimate close to what they were doing. And then again, they ran into that issue where there was extensive, dry, raw underneath, um, the bathrooms.
Um, so they had to. Do additional work, then they had to get like someone who did this foundation to put a post underneath there. Um, they had to call in a plumber to make sure that, um, that the plumbing was right and that the copper pipe wasn't going to not have to be replaced sooner than later cuz you know, copper piping, most of it does have to be replaced and the contractor had to sub some of these things.
It wasn't the, the estimate that was 30,000 to not end up 30,000. And at the end, I think that this could have been avoided by having a more experienced contractor, as well as getting to estimates, because this is very, very, very, very stressful for somebody who, um, basically has their two bathrooms torn apart.
And someone's telling you that you have to do X, Y, and Z, and it's completely off from your budget. So again, when it's time to remodel, Definitely, um, talked to at least two contractors and do your research. Um, also reach out to a professional, like myself, to determine how much you should be able to, um, invest given your, the current sales in your house.
If you decide that you wanna go onto the market to make sure that you're not spending way more money than you're gonna recuperate at the time of the cell. And here as a resource and feel free to give me a call when you do have those remodeling projects or have any questions regarding, um, the resell of a house or, um, remodeling for you to go on the market.
So remodeling can be fun. It can be creative, but it can also be expensive. So it's really important to reach out to those professionals that can assist you. Get various quotes to move forward and just be ready and excited for your new house that you're going to get remodeled.For More Information Contact
Aurora Betancourt, MBA, CIPS
Realtor CA DRE #01467453
[email protected]
510-734-0999
