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For Immediate Release
03/07/2005
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For a review copy of the book or an interview with the author, please contact Dottie DeHart, Rocks-DeHart Public Relations, at (828) 459-9637 or DSDeHart@aol.com |
Move? Or Improve?
Ten Insights to Help You Make the Right Decision
Whether you remodel or move to a new home, it could cost you big bucks. A new book from homeowner advocate Dan Fritschen provides a wealth of unbiased information that will help you make the right decision . . . financially and emotionally.
Sunnyvale, CA (March 2005)—Lately, you've been feeling less than satisfied with your home. Perhaps you've had a baby in the past year or so and you're feeling a bit cramped. Maybe you're longing for more closet space, or more windows, or a luxurious bathroom, or gorgeous wood floors. Or maybe your dissatisfaction is less defined than that. The point is, you want a change, and you're not sure what to do. Remodel? Or move? It's a big decision. According to Dan Fritschen, it's one that most people don't consider carefully enough.
"There is so much emotion tied up in the place we call home, and that emotion can cloud our decisions," says Fritschen, author of Remodel or Move?™ Make the Right Decision (ABCD Publishing LLC, 2005, ISBN: 1-933007-69-9, $15.95). "Home is where you spend most of your time, where you eat, and sleep, and play, and raise your family. So if you aren't happy with your home, you do need to change it. But what is the nature of that change? Do you pull up stakes and move, or do you simply re-do the kitchen? Exploring your desire for change and doing plenty of research and planning can help you avoid making a very expensive mistake."
That's why Fritschen wrote his book. A homeowner advocate who sells neither homes nor remodeling services, he wants to be an unbiased resource for the confused "average Joe" (or Jane). His book reveals common misconceptions about the costs of moving and remodeling and explains how to do both more intelligently and cost-effectively. Follow his advice and you can approach your decision with confidence, a state of mind that will greatly reduce your chances of making a $20,000 mistake.
So what are some of the deciding factors? Though his book offers more insight, here are five good reasons to call the moving company . . . and five good reasons not to:
Reasons to Move:
You want better schools. Unless your children attend private school, where you live generally dictates which school your children attend. The importance of schools can be seen in the difference in the price of similar homes, even within a few blocks of each other. It is not uncommon for homes to vary in price by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars based on the school attendance area that they are in.
Your home has a bad floor plan. It may not be cost effective or possible to remodel the house you live in. If you want a kitchen in front and the family room facing south, but your home has the kitchen in back and a family room facing north, a remodel may be too expensive to be practical. Plus, some homes, because of lot size, building codes, or physical barriers, may not lend themselves to remodeling the way you want.
Your home is already the largest and nicest in the neighborhood. The houses near yours have a large influence on your home's price. Of course, you can spend your money on whatever you choose, but when you decide to sell, you will find that potential buyers will pay less for a home with extravagant improvements than they would if the home were average for the neighborhood. So if you already have the nicest house in the neighborhood, consider moving instead of adding on and improving.
You will likely move in the next few years. Don't go through the expense and inconvenience of remodeling and then put the house up for sale the next month or the next year. After all, moving has its own expenses—up to 15 percent of your home's value—so it makes little financial sense to add that economic burden on top of what you just spent for your new kitchen or sunroom. Plus, if you move right away you don't get to enjoy the results of your remodeling efforts.
You don't like your neighborhood. Perhaps you're a wave-at-the-neighbors-and-invite-kids-to-play-in-your-lawn-sprinkler type living in a neighborhood where people keep to themselves. Or maybe you're the opposite: a person who cherishes your
privacy living in a neighborhood where there's precious little. Either way, if your neighborhood doesn't meet your needs, it may be time to move. Just make sure the one you're moving to really is better.
Reasons to Remodel:
You'll get the home you want. If you move, you will have to envision yourself living in one of five to ten homes that best meet your requirements when you are house hunting. It is unlikely that any one is ideal. Each one will require you to make a variety of compromises, such as the neighborhood, the yard, the floor plan, etc. In the end you may be trading old problems for new ones. If you remodel, you can create the environment that you already know you want, due to years of experience.
Remodeling can be a good investment. If your home is small for your neighborhood and is in need of improvements—and your additions are appropriate in style and quality—then remodeling can add more value to your home than the cost of the remodel itself. Down the road you can then sell your house at a profit. And when you consider that remodeling may be less expensive than moving, it can make good financial sense to revamp the house you love.
You like your neighborhood and the neighbors. If you live in a neighborhood with mature trees, sidewalks, and stately homes with well-kept yards—and if you have neighbors that you actually like—consider staying put. Many times your neighbors and neighborhood are hard to duplicate in a new house. The local park, the trees that spread across the street, the Fourth of July block party—all of these impact your quality of life significantly, and you can keep them if you remodel.
You like your home's floor plan. How the rooms are positioned in a home has a big impact on how you can use the rooms and how you feel about the home. If your current home has a floor plan you like—a large kitchen with morning sun, an out-of-the-way spot you can read without being interrupted, perfect-sized bedrooms, a good place for a Christmas tree—it may be hard to replace these features when you move to a new house.
You enjoy remodeling. This is a big one. While it's true that some people hate the mess and inconvenience of remodeling, others love the feelings of control and self-expression that it brings. You decide whom to hire, when to start, what to do, what color it should be, and when it should be finished. Remodeling lets the artist in you run wild. You can even do some of the work yourself to reduce costs, and in the process you learn new skills that can benefit you down the road.
As you can see, the decision to remodel or sell is a complex one, requiring that you take into account economic and quality of life factors. That's why Remodel or Move? provides valuable worksheets meant to help you identify and analyze both financial and
"gut feel" aspects of your unique situation. (Fritschen also has a website—www.remodelormove.com—that includes online cost comparison tools and worksheets, featured articles and excerpts, and shopping areas where you can purchase Remodel or Move? and other selected books.) And once you've made the decision, the book helps you get a handle on the logistics and legalities of both remodeling and moving. (NOTE: See attached tipsheets.)
"Knowledge is empowering, and once people do their homework they usually find that they gain the confidence to make the right decision," says Fritschen. "So my advice is to think through your options carefully, without rushing. Weigh the pros and cons. Discuss it with your family. And then make your decision and don't look back. I agree with Abraham Lincoln that most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. So whether you move or remodel, make up your mind that you're going to enjoy your new home—and then just do it."
Remodel or Move™
is an independent organization whose mission is to empower consumers to make the best remodel and move decision. To achieve this mission, Remodel or Move provides reference materials, evaluation tools, and no-nonsense advice to all consumers. Remodel or Move promotes no agenda other than the interests of consumers.
The organization's reference materials and educational components include:
- The website: www.remodelormove.com
- The Remodel-or-Move Calculator: an online analysis tool that provides homeowners with a specific recommendation: to remodel or move
- Private consultations
- Group seminars
- The book: Remodel or Move?™ Make the Right Decision, in bookstores nationwide
About the Book:
Remodel or Move?™ Make the Right Decision (ABCD Publishing LLC, 2005, ISBN: 1-933007-69-9, $15.95), distributed by IPG, is available at bookstores nationwide and major online booksellers.
About Dan Fritschen:
Dan Fritschen is the creator of remodelormove.com, a homeowner support organization that helps homeowners become better informed so that they can make the right decision on whether to remodel or move.
He started his company after twenty years of remodeling his own homes and helping others make "remodel or move" decisions for themselves. Because he is neither a realtor nor a remodeler, he is qualified to offer pragmatic, unbiased advice. Fritschen's goal is to make homeowners aware of three important messages:
- Selling your house COSTS money.
- There are MANY right ways to remodel, some expensive and some cheap.
- It is better to move than to over-improve or do an "ugly" remodel.
To help homeowners make these remodel or move decisions, Fritschen employs some of the same methods that he has learned during the past fifteen years while helping some of the world's leading high-technology companies.
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