Homeowners now want smaller, cheaper, greener — and for the long haul
By Lily Leung
Photo by John Gibbins - Union-Tribune staff
Vladimir Turouskiy strips the kitchen of Santee resident Donna Covington, who is remodeling her home little by little as she gets ready to retire.
What to ask before remodeling
• It’s a geographical question. Are you buying in the area you want to stay for a while or will you be leaving after three to five years?
• If you’re in it for the short term and are in a position to sell, consider cosmetic improvements, such as a coat of paint.
• If you’re in it for the long term, consider structural changes if they make sense for your lifestyle and needs. For example, a room addition may make sense if you are planning a large family.
Tips on finding a contractor
• Research how long the company has been in business.
• Check the company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org
• Find out if the remodeler has enough workers’ compensation and general liability insurance.
• Don’t be shy about asking for references of previous customers and photos of previous work.
• Be sure you are comfortable talking to the remodeler. You will be working with this person for a long time.
• Commit only to a contract that’s complete and written clearly.
• Be wary of estimates that are lower than the industry standard.
Source: National Home Builders Association.
For the past five years, Donna Covington has worked an extra 20 hours a week as a private nurse to pay off the mortgage on her Santee home. She had enough left over to finance her No. 2 priority: remodeling a kitchen and bath made drab by “cheap, apartment-looking cabinets” and outdated appliances.
“I still have the rest of the house,” said Covington, 62. “I want to get everything done before retirement.”
More homeowners in San Diego County and throughout the U.S. are following Covington’s lead. They want small makeovers instead of the mega-upgrades of the boom times in 2005-06, are paying with cash instead of tapping into once-lush home equity lines and plan to stay put for a while in the face of fallen home values.
The purpose of remodeling also has changed. In the past, people mainly made alterations and additions to increase home values. Now they’re done more out of necessity: from upgrading to “green” appliances to save on energy costs to adding shower grab bars to make the bath more accessible as homeowners age.
Home remodeling overall increased throughout the U.S. and in the West last quarter but is still lower than during boom-time peaks, as property owners remain leery about the benefits of home remodeling.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the West’s index for the current market for home additions and alterations was 46.1 in the first quarter, up from 39.7 the previous quarter and down from the peak of 58.7 in late 2004. An index reading below 50 means that a majority of remodelers surveyed by the group reported declines in the market.
“If your mortgage is underwater, you can’t borrow,” said Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects. “That’s a psychological barrier. … Even if you do have the cash for it, you’ve really scaled back on the work.”
For those who are remodeling, three themes have emerged. Homeowners are exploring smaller and cheaper improvements, adding “green” upgrades and changing interiors to “age” in place.
- Photos courtesy of Marrokal Design & Remodeling
Examples of clean and simple from jobs done by the home designers and remodelers from Marrokal Design & Remodeling in San Diego.
Smaller and cheaper
What’s out: Ornate and Old World Tuscan.
What’s in: Clean, simple and contemporary.
“People are looking toward simplifying things given their economic situation,” said John Mills Davies, design director at Marrokal Design & Remodeling in San Diego.
“They’re pulling back from the ostentatious, mansion look,” he added.
Covington, the homeowner from Santee, is an example of someone who wants to redo her whole home, but since she’s on a $50,000 budget, she’s focused for now solely on the kitchen and an adjacent bathroom.
During the peak of the home market, homeowners often added a room while redoing the kitchen, a package that would cost about $120,000 to $150,000 back then, said Gregg Cantor, president of Murray Lampert Construction in San Diego.
If you do just a kitchen and bathroom, that’s about half as much, he said.
“People just don’t have the budgets to do major remodels,” Cantor said.
Green features
What’s out: Being green because you’re supposed to.
What’s in: Being green to save on energy and water costs.
The interest in renovating a home with eco-friendly features has been higher than ever, but once consumers hear the initial costs of the equipment, their interest tends to wane, said Baker, the economist with the national architects’ group.
Their interest tends to be renewed once they hear about the long-term water and energy savings.
Consumers in California could save about $345 over five years by replacing a fridge built between 1993 to 2000 with a newer one awarded the government’s Energy Star approval, according to a savings calculator on the energystar.gov.
Still, homeowners likely will shy away upon hearing the average cost of “green” products is about 15 percent more than the usual alternative, said Cantor, of Murray Lampert.
Photo by Peggy Peattie - Union-Tribune staff
Enid Comstock spent $30,000 of her own money to re-do her bathroom with tiles, new fixtures, wider areas, a new closet, drawers and mirrors. She hopes to stay in her Rancho Bernardo home for a long time. Work was completed by Murray Lampert Construction in San Diego.
- Photo courtesy of Enid Comstock
What Comstock's bathroom looked like before the remodel.
Aging in place
What’s out: Renovating to boost style and home values.
What’s in: Renovating for purpose.
As home prices remain far below the market peak, baby boomers, 78 million in all, are contemplating staying in their homes for longer than they expected, many through retirement.
Many want to add features, such as grab bars and ramps, to modify their homes to help them “age in place.”
“It could be as simple as widening a doorway that makes the space more accessible and user-friendly,” said Lindsay Hester, owner of Hester Interiors in San Diego.
Enid Comstock, 81, redid her cramped bathroom and other parts of her Rancho Bernardo home to make it easier for her to get around and to get to pantry items, after taking a bad fall last year that left her less mobile.
After a $30,000 renovation — paid for with hard-earned savings — Comstock can now has a walk-in shower equipped with a bar she can grab while showering.
She also added pullout shelves for easier storage and two oval mirrors that tilt down low enough for wheelchair users.
“I am very pleased with the work they did,” Comstock said. “Before (the bathroom) was a danger for a woman my age.
via: http://www.signonsandiego.com
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