We are thinking of putting an offer in on a local house that is older and would need some updating. We would want to knock out a wall between the kitchen and family room, update an old brick fireplace and possibly finish part of the attic that already has stairs going up to it. Before we put in an offer we would want an idea of the costs involved in these updates. We would need someone very knowledgeable in structural engineering to be sure that the wall we want knocked out is not a load bearing wall and what to do with it if it is. Any recommendations on anyone in the Triangle area that might go with us to give us an estimate on what it would cost and would be good to use for the repairs if we went through with buying the house?
Quick word of advice, just make sure that the cost of the changes/upgrades will not price you out of the neighborhood when you make your offer. Let me know if I can help in any way (assuming you are not already working with someone) I believe DMJ's husband does home remodels/additions. Good Luck!
Yep, he sure does! Thanks, MamaApe! Brenda, if you want his number, PM me. He does this sort of work all the time...
I'm not clear on what you mean about pricing ourselves out of the neighborhood. I probably haven't had enough coffee yet. :lol: Do you mean making the house worth more than the others? We were planning on making a lower offer based on what the improvements would cost us. Also, if the improvements are not feasable, we would not even make an offer. We do have a realtor, I'm just one of those people that likes to check things out on my own as well and I like to find lots of opinions and options!
That's great! I'll do that. I thought of you, but I thought your husband was a builder, as in new construction only, so I didn't know he would do this kind of thing.
Brea, that is what I meant. I just wanted to make sure you included the cost of the remodel in your offer so that once you put that money into the remodel, you were not pricing yourself out of the neighborhood. Good luck on your purchase and remodel. I definitely recommend DMJ's hubby!
Thanks so much! Yes, we definitely want to offer a lower amount than they are asking. We feel they are a bit high for what it is now, but if we made the changes the price they are asking now would be reasonable for the finished product. So we would lower our offer by the cost of the updates. Even after my coffee I'm not sure I'm making sense!! :lol: Now if we could just get our house sold!!
