Room Additions | Yakima Furniture

Home Remodeling ROI in 2012

September 23, 2022 Comments Off

People often refer to home remodeling as one of the best investments you can make. It’s a great way to update your home and keep up with growing trends or a growing family. The best part is, you usually get most of it back when you sell your home. The kitchen and the bathroom were always the shining example of this. But in 2010-2011 the trend for remodeling projects with the highest Return On Investment (ROI) have shifted from larger home remodels, to smaller home improvement projects. These projects include new exterior paint, window and door replacement, or garage replacements.
A high ROI a homeowner can expect on a kitchen remodel used to be 75-85%. However, according to this year’s Cost vs. Value report that assess home remodeling projects from various regions all around the country, the ROI for a typical kitchen remodel has dropped to 57% for 2011. This is as much as a 30% decrease over the last 5 years. The drop does seem to be bottoming out, which is a sign that the housing market may be as well. But with such a significant drop, it can be easy to understand home remodeling contractors may be experiencing a decrease in kitchen remodels.
Conversely, contractors may be experiencing more work in the home improvement spectrum. Replacement projects typically outperform remodeling projects anyways due to their relatively low cost (a replacement project is any remodeling project completed under $18,000). One of the best replacement project a homeowner can do for their home is a window and door replacement. According to the Cost vs. Value report, a window and door replacement can return over 70% of the cost, 13% higher than kitchen remodeling’s ROI. New windows and doors are considered a valuable replacement projects because there have been numerous advancement in window and door technology, specifically advancements in energy efficiency. This is especially appealing to homeowners since more efficient windows and doors can lower utility bills, which is a huge plus in this market. It might seem obvious that the value of saving money has wide appeal, but it wasn’t too long ago that double ovens and hummers were in fashion.
Home remodeling and the housing market have slowed down, but there are optimistic signs that things are getting better. According the “Housing 360” report by Hanley Wood, about 42% of homeowners feel that it’s a good time to remodel their homes. For homeowner’s with a higher income of $100,000 or more, the statistic increases to 56%. The lack of credit still makes it hard for homeowners to buy new homes or renovate their existing homes. But recently, people have been watching their money closely and been able to provide the money for their home remodeling projects with cash. In fact, 80% of homeowners use cash for remodeling their home.

Guidelines to Hire a Contractor

April 26, 2022 Comments Off

Home improvement serves as a task itself, however, the contractor/contractors involved can turn a simple task into a large sum of woeful worries. Hiring a contractor may seem like a minuscule feat, but such a myriad of things can go so wrong, so fast.
Marketing referral websites are companies formed to make money, similar to any advertising magazines received in the mail. The only difference is that they air it on popular devices such as television, for the general public to view, and be unduly influenced. In my opinion and personal experience as a client, I have seen disreputable companies represented as credible by marketing engines. As a general contractor myself, I would personally recommend to use these guidelines when hiring a contractor.
1. Make sure your contractor is licensed and insured.
2. Whether you are getting a permit for the job or not, tell them that you are, in order to see the reaction, and if you are told it will only influence the price, it is a good sign, but if he begins to say things such as “It’s a small job”, “You don’t need one”, or “I’ve done so many jobs without permits”, etc. you should be cautious. (In my opinion, sometimes it is okay to do the job without a permit, in order to prolong the job.
The only way to do this though, is if you trust your contractor, and he is using the right materials, guidelines, and knows what he’s doing.
3. If possible, it is recommended to ask to see other work that the contractor has done. Ask about warranties.
4. Inquire to see works in progress, and use this advantage to see the crew.
5. Try to use contractors that people you know have used. This way, you can see work that they have previously done, and can get honest opinions of the contractor and his work, instead of playing guessing games, and reading online reviews that could be fraudulent and misleading.
6. Once the job has been completed, don’t be afraid to openly share your opinions of the contractor. Prove unreal reviews to be false, and alert anyone you know seeking to improve their home, of the contractor and whether they are credible or not. Also, try to file “Rip-off Reports” which allow other people to know/see the true work/reviews of the business. Many disreputable businesses use marketing tools to heavily advertise, and receive jobs, which is how they make their income. Filing reports against them helps to get the word out about their downfalls, and whether or not they are a company worth hiring.
7. Make sure to make a contract with the contractor you have selected to hire, but remember to make sure that everything you are looking for is included in the contract. Remember that having the contract does not insure that your contractor will respect the contract. Make sure the payments specified in the contract keep you comfortable throughout the whole process.
Good Luck!

Home Improvement and Home Remodeling Can Be Fun!

April 15, 2022 Comments Off

Home improvement and home remodeling can be a fun but daunting task. You may feel bored with the same house that you have had for twenty years or just want to make some changes to a brand new home. While it can be stressful thinking about color coordinating walls and furniture, picking out the right tiles to fit in the bathroom, and putting up new light fixtures, view it as an exciting project and it might not be that bad after all.
Remodeling your house is really an art form and you have to have an artist’s eye to figure out what you are going to do. Maybe you want to remodel your kitchen, which is a huge task, or maybe you just want to do some touch up work to one of your bathrooms. If it is remodeling your kitchen that you are interested in, you may want to think about how you want to remodel it. You can pick out new counter surface material, such as marble. You can’t go wrong with marble even though it may be a little pricy. You should budget out how much you are willing to spend on remodeling your house. You can also coordinate appliances in the kitchen. Maybe you will want everything to be black or silver. Do you want to have a stainless steel sink? And what about the cupboards? All of these questions need to be taken into consideration.
If you are interested in redoing your living room you should consider the following. What sort of new furniture do you want? Do you want to keep it simple or more busy? What sort of colors do you want to work with? Do you want art on the walls or sculptures placed anywhere? You need to think about the placement of the furniture and how it makes you feel. It might be fun to pick out a color for the walls. You may also want to put up some new light fixtures and curtains for the windows.
Now to the bathroom. Bathrooms can be fun to design. They can be small but exciting to work with. You may want to consider if you want just a bathtub, bathtub and shower, or just a stand alone shower. You can get one or two sinks. It is fun to pick out towels and shower curtains to match the color of your bathroom. You may also want to pick out a theme or color, for instance an aquatic theme or just go for a certain color and work with that.
Redoing your bedroom can also be fun. You may want to get a new bed and linens, maybe paint your walls certain color, get a new desk and chair for your homework or officework. Depending on how big your bedroom is, you can add more furniture, like artwork or bookshelves, or even a small sofa.
There is so much involved with home improvement and home remodeling. It is possible to just remodel one room, but if you have the money and are getting tired of the same old thing, making improvements on your house can make you happy in the long run.

5 Key Tips For Hiring The Right Contractor For Your Home Remodeling Project

January 31, 2022 Comments Off

Hiring the right home renovation contractor really is an “inside job” that requires thoughtful research on the part of the homeowner. Folks who are considering renovating their homes this year should plan first on getting educated about hiring the right contractor for their project and understanding their rights.
The fact is that home improvement has consistently ranked at the top for consumer dissatisfaction and fraud according to various consumer agencies. With little accountability on the part of the home improvement industry, it becomes the homeowners’ responsibility to get educated and informed so they don’t become a victim of an unscrupulous contractor.
This much needed education focuses on the “pre-renovation” process, which centers on doing research that reveals background information on the contractor such as his/her business ethics, legal history, reputation and competence in handling your project. Skip this step and you risk getting involved with the wrong contractor and worse, a home remodeling nightmare.
The following 5 tips are critical steps any homeowner should do first regardless of the size and scope of their project. Hiring a roofing company to install a new roof or an electrician to upgrade and rewire the home can prove to be disastrous if you choose poorly.
The following tips will provide the consumer with key information about the contractors’ ethics and willingness to be transparent:
* Conduct background checks that include uncovering relevant lawsuits, any small claims court filings, mechanics lien history, credit standing with suppliers and licensing history if required by your state.
* Conduct a thorough interview, asking key questions around customer care, problem solving, safety issues, working with city inspectors, knowledge of code compliance, who will supervise your project and how much time they’ll spend, and how they handle unexpected surprises.
* State in writing that you require Lien Releases at the time of each payment (in writing as part of the contract) from all subs/suppliers for work performed and material supplied to date.
* Create a thoroughly written specifications sheet and contract with every single detail spelled out, including key clauses to protect yourself and reviewed by a construction law or contract attorney.
* Get in writing – as part of your contract – start and stop dates and hours of working time on your project: specify days- Monday through Friday, hours such as 7am – 3:30pm. This ensures that the contractor is committed to completing your project on time, has the crew to perform and is serious about his business. Signing on the dotted line to this commits him to adhering to the contract and that’s a good sign.
Implementing these steps will help to protect you from hiring an unethical contractor. A contractor who is willing to be transparent in his/her business practices and competency is whom you want to hire.
With thoughtful insight and due diligence, hiring a contractor you respect and whose work you appreciate makes it all worth it and in the end you’re rewarded with a positive experience and a great working relationship with your contractor.

Important Home Remodeling Tips

December 9, 2020 Comments Off

Many people who have the luxury of owning a home usually tend to take part in an event known as home remodeling. All of us who have a house and want it to look better tend to do so that their houses look nice and better than before. The trends and style tend to change on a continuous basis and in order to keep in line with what is the latest fashion and style, home remodeling has become important for many of our lives. There are certain things that you need to keep in mind apart from ensuring that your house looks nice and a better place to live in.
Looking at the design of the house is very important and something that you need to consider. This way you know the design that best suits the structure and model of your house while making sure that when home remodeling, your personality is represented by the new design. It is always better that you hire an architect or an interior designer who can best create the ideas. Home remodeling is never an easy task and especially when we think that we can remodel a house. We do not have the knowledge or the expertise to do this, which is why always hire a professional who knows what to do and how to go about making sure that the ideas are present in the house design. It is always a good idea to have a certain understanding and level of communication with the contractor about the budget. Assign a budget and try your level best to stick with it at all costs.
Choosing a design that suits your house is always the easy task as you have an idea of what you want and what exactly you are looking for, but planning and implementing the design is always a challenge that can turn out to be a handful if not carried out to perfection. Always keep in touch with your contractor about the plan and the budget so that you have these things under control. It is always better that when it comes to choosing materials, choose those materials that you need right away that will be used immediately. If possible, try and come with a schedule whereby you have divided the tasks accordingly and with this you can plan ahead as to how to go about remodeling your home.
When remodeling your home, it is always good to consult and meet with every single person who is involved in this project. This includes the home owner, the contractor, the supervisor and the architect. All these parties have a huge say when it comes to remodeling and it is important to consult with them at all times and make sure that thing are under control. If you feel that there are certain changes that need to be made, take down some notes and make sure everyone knows the changes that you are considering to the original plan so that everyone is on the same page and level.
When home remodeling, it is better to take care and move as many personal belongings as possible so that nothing happens to them. Make sure that you have a temporary kitchen and have trash bins all over the place to make sure that the house remains clean no matter what. Always be prepared for any changes or alterations that may happen and be ready for any uncertainties.