You may have heard me say “I gotta be in Springfield” lately. What’s in Springfield?

A 1,400 square foot second-story addition and all-new windows throughout the house.
Some of the noteworthy features of this project include:

• complete master bath, with standing whirlpool shower (with body sprays)
• a clean kids’ bath
• a whole house fan
• hardwood floors
• upgraded trim work
• office nook under the staircase in the kitchen

The homeowner/customer is wonderful and has been taking lots of photos. Here’s how the exterior has transformed…

I talk to people every day who have the will and drive to remodel their kitchen, put on an addition or build an outdoor entertainment space. Fortunately, they’re doing business with me. I love working with all of them. I think it was the architect I.M. Pei who said “great artists need great clients,” and we seem to be doing our best work lately.

Incidentally, I was gratified to hear from my friends in Passaic County about a story that appeared in the Clifton Journal. The reporter cited Money Magazine’s contention that now is a very good time to renovate (lower interest rates, lower cost of materials). Good job by Lakeland Bank in trying to drum up some business, too.

Wait a minute, I seem to remember watching TV one morning this winter and the same topic came up. Here it is! It ran on CBS News’ The Early Show on 1/11/11…

The full story…

If you’re looking for a relatively safe place to invest some money these days — how about your home?

Money Magazine writer Amanda Gengler says this is a particularly good time to do some renovations, even though logic might dictate otherwise, since the housing market is still slumping.

Fixing up is still cheaper than trading up, Gengler observes.

Low Interest rates

Today’s historically low interest rates mean most home-equity lines of credit are charging their floor rate. If you already have a home equity line of credit but have not tapped it yet, the rate on the credit line could be in the 3 percent range. If you apply for and take out a line today, you can get rates in the 4 percent to 5 percent range, because lenders recently put floors on many of these lines. Otherwise, rates would have gone to almost nothing, since they track the Federal Reserve’s actions, and it has dropped rates to almost zero. So today, that 4 percent or 5 percent rate is still definitely favorable. Keep in mind that, in 2007, rates hit as high as 8.25 percent, according to HSH.com. So, compared to that, today’s rates are great. And with the typical bank account and money fund paying far less than 1 percent, drawing down your savings barely costs you anything in lost income, so you’re not giving up that much interest.

Contractors Discounting Prices

Although the construction industry rebounded somewhat last year, business is still slow. Remember when getting a contractor to call you back was a challenge? Now, the best pros in town will happily bid on your job — and they’ll probably offer you prices that are 10 percent to 20 percent below what you would have paid when real estate was going gangbusters. You can get even deeper discounts in harder-hit areas like Florida and California.

Materials Prices Declining

Home building material isn’t in high demand like it use to be. Construction building has virtually come to a halt, so the demand hasn’t been there, meaning materials prices and the cost of building supplies have tumbled. Plywood prices peaked in 2004, drywall in 2006. Since that peak in the mid-2000s, plywood is down 23 percent, drywall is off 29 percent, and framing lumber 35 percent. However, not all raw material prices have fallen all that much: Asphalt roofing is down only 7 percent over the past 2 years. Insulation, which has been in high demand because of energy rebates and high fuel prices, is down a mere 2 percent since 2006. Still, on the whole, construction supplies are bargains right now.

Framing lumber is the structural wood, meaning for the home’s frame. That is a different type of wood than, say, the wood for floors, doors, trim, etc.

Fixing Up Is Indeed Less Costly than Trading Up

With the median home price down 22 percent since 2006, you might think this is an opportune time to trade up for the new master bathroom or other modern feature you want. After all, why not buy somebody else’s remodeling headache at a discount? You can’t assume that you’ll easily sell your house in this tough market and then find a new place that has the exact features you want. For starters, commissions and fees to sell a $400,000 home could run $25,000 — you can get a lot of remodeling done for that kind of money. The seller can also pay up to $5-7,000 in closing costs on a new home if he or she moves.

Small Projects Still Add Value

That’s the new rule in real estate today. You never want to be the most elaborate house on the block. In the post-boom era, the rule of thumb for gauging the potential payback from a home improvement is simple: If you’re bringing your house in line with similar homes in the area, you’ll most likely earn back the lion’s share of the cost when you sell. If you’re surpassing the neighborhood, you probably won’t. In this case, upgrades make sense. I think essentially remodeling a 10-year-old kitchen because you don’t like its style, you’re not going to earn back the money. But what does pay is – let’s say you’re replacing/upgrading a kitchen from 1960 — you can still earn a good portion of your investment back there.

If you can picture your dream house, go ahead and get that fixer-upper. Talk to me before you buy it and I’ll give you an idea of how much this dream will cost you.

A bathroom renovation is never simple, and this is no exception. You can be sure we’ll make it as simple as possible for our customer, however.

We’ll also be installing raised wood paneling throughout the foyer and second floor hallway.

We’re really excited about this one and can’t wait to get started. This one should prove to be a gorgeous remodeling when finished.

One in Rumson caused a flood, to which we responded quickly to determine the degree of damage. Once we got all the facts in order, we estimated what it would take to restore the residence to regularity. A comprehensive report was since submitted to the insurance company, on behalf of the owner.

Once we hear back, we’ll be ready for restoration. Stay tuned.

We’ve helped people restore basements to habitability many times. In some cases, semi-finished basements were transformed to “favorite room” status for kids and adults alike. Our project in Interlaken, N.J., started this.

After receiving a call about a flooded basement, we immediately went into action. With the threat of mold forming, there’s no time to lose. Our standard water abatement plan starts with pumping out all the standing water, as well as installing commercial dehumidifiers. Subsequently, we removed the glue-down flooring and cut the wallboard at 24″ from the bottom. After the moisture of the basement was at a acceptable level, we applied a anti-microbial solution to kill and inhibit mold growth.

We have installed a beautiful tile floor and repaired the walls. The next step will be replacing the trim work and painting. At the customer’s request, we contacted the insurance company to smooth the damage claim processing

Although the survey’s methodology isn’t as “real” as one would hope, it nevertheless is a good indicator of what’s happening in the marketplace. The 2006 report, called the housing downturn…

Over the years, the Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report has been a reliable gauge of the general temperature of the residential remodeling and real estate markets. Typically, it is retrospective, but at times it has served to forecast a trend, as it did in 2006. That year the cost-to-value ratio dropped more than 10 points, a downturn that most remodeling professionals didn’t begin to feel until a year or more later. That 2006 Report was even out ahead of existing home prices, which in most markets didn’t start to drop until 2007.

Last year, the deepening housing crisis and fourth-quarter financial market meltdown made it difficult to interpret the Cost vs. Value data, which was collected over the spring and midsummer. The results seemed to indicate that remodeling activity was about to reach bottom and start turning up, but after the declaration of a U.S. recession, all bets were off. For many remodelers during that time, it was as if a switch had been flipped; existing business was cancelled or indefinitely postponed, and the prospect of new business simply vanished.

Fortunately for us, we’ve kept ourselves very busy throughout the last year or so, with both simple and complex projects. Well, then again, there’s so such thing as a simple project — we just make it look that way for our customers.

Here are the Top 5 in terms of cost recouped for the Mid-Atlantic region (NY, NJ, PA):

Midrange projects

97.50% Entry Door Replacement (steel)
81.20% Siding Replacement (vinyl)
76.80% Window Replacement (vinyl)
74.50% Window Replacement (wood)
73.10% Attic Bedroom

Upscale projects
79.40% Siding Replacement (fiber-cement)
78.50% Siding Replacement (foam-backed vinyl)
73.40% Window Replacement (vinyl)
67.20% Window Replacement (wood)
63.80% Grand Entrance (fiberglass)

Thinking about getting one started? I can help; call me.

This exciting project will take a craftsman-style house and add a two-car garage with a expansive master suite. Complete reconstruction of the existing space will make it more efficient.

We’ll be setting a start date very soon.

We’re just getting started on the exterior, including substantial re-grading and professional landscaping. New tress, shrubs and grasses will make it manageable and the changing the grade will keep water away from the structure.

Several sump pumps — with back-up emergency power — will complement perforated pipes surrounding the foundation. Air will be circulated and properly vented in crawl spaces, keeping them dry.

The structural damage caused by the termites will then be addressed, with heavy framing work first, followed by new partitioning for the interior office space.

When complete, this commercial space will likely be filled with good, long-term tennants.

We’ll have lots of photo details to showcase our work here.

New hardfloors and windows, including a dormer addition, will complement the luxurious master bath. The centerpiece of this new bathroom will be a standing whirlpool shower, with two showerheads and multiple body sprays.

We’re just getting started; can’t wait to share photos as we move forward.