2011 fall home improvement

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by Jessica HarperTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

As the real estate mar-ket has gone in a downward spiral, many homeowners have turned to remodeling as a way to rejuvenate their living spaces. Jennifer Lervick is one such person. Lervick said she loves the Eagan home she and her husband built 11 years ago, but felt the kitchen needed a face-lift. Though the cabinets were untouched, the rest of the kitchen was made anew during a recent remodel.

New light fixtures and back splash brought the room up to date, while granite counter tops gave it a high-end look. “I love how it turned out,” Lervick said. “It looks totally different.” Lervick’s home is among 86 homes to be featured in the Twin Cities Parade of Homes Remodelers’ Show-case next weekend. The showcase by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 and from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday Oct. 1 and

Sunday Oct. 2. “People can meet build-ers and remodelers and can

Remodeling a way to ‘stay at home’Twin Cities Remodeling Showcase set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2

Jennifer Lervick’s Eagan home will be featured in the Twin Cities Remodelers Showcase. With the exception of the cabinets, every aspect of her 11-year-old kitchen received a face-lift. Photo submitted

See Remodel, 4B

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENTSeptember 23, 2011

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2B September 23, 2011 THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Investing in a home is an everlasting adventure

A new outbuilding can add value and convenience to a

home as long as it’s not too quirky or out of place in the

neighborhood. Photo by Andy Rogers There are many updates homeowners

can make attractive to future buyersby Andy RogersTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

A person’s home is many things. It’s an extension of their personality. A place to liter-ally hang one’s hat. And can become a worthwhile invest-ment. Whether one is in the market for a new home, hop-ing to update a current one, or hope to sell one, home improvement projects are often on the agenda. Erik Henjum, a certified residential property ap-praiser, has seen it all while inspecting properties from rural areas to inner-city St. Paul to new housing devel-opments in Rosemount. In the current market,

which favors buyers, people want to make their houses at-tractive to sell and worth ev-ery penny of their price. Homeowners looking to update a home should view it as more than just an invest-ment. “There’s always value in how the owner uses it and whether they enjoy it,” Hen-jum said of improvements. “More power to them if they like woodworking and they want to have a shop, there’s no reason not to do that. You may not get a financial return, but you will get a return on the use and enjoyment.” One of the more popular and successful home updates is in bathrooms and kitchens, but you don’t need a bulldoz-

er to make a room shine. “Sometimes instead of re-doing the whole kitchen you can redo the doors or the face of the cabinets,” Henjum said. “Just replacing the hard-ware or adding a back splash or some back lighting. It’s not too difficult. “Without changing the whole tub or shower you can add new faucets and light fix-tures. A nice master bath in the bedroom will make a lot of people happy.” The skin of a house is the first thing most people look at before getting out of the car. A face-lift on the roof, windows and siding can make the biggest difference. “All those can be signifi-

See Homes, 3B

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT September 23, 2011 3B

cant expenses, but buyers expect to have a house with sufficient siding, roof and win-dows,” Henjum said. “You’re not going to see a big return, but on a stressed property, that’s needed before they can sell.” Curb appeal will help sell a home, but it won’t neces-sarily raise the value. Outdoor amenities like decks, porches, a manicured lawn and well-kept plants do make a difference, according to Henjum. That difference is often between selling and having the home languish on the market for a long time. One key with property value is to blend in with neighboring homes. You never want to be the nicest or the ugliest house on the block, according to Henjum. “Overdoing the improve-ments won’t do as much but you don’t want to be the white elephant either,” Hen-jum said. “You don’t want to be too different than anyone else.”

One update that’s often overlooked by appraisers and buyers is energy efficien-cy. From replacing light bulbs and increasing insulation to installing a new boiler, it can be a significant cost for some but an even more significant savings. The value is often un-derstated. “It’s a trend that’s gaining, but lenders aren’t embracing it as much as the buyers are,” Henjum said. “A lot of people

are tuned into it, but apprais-ers don’t always grasp the value.” Buyers often ask what the monthly energy costs are for a home before making a de-cision. Not all improvements are equal. One feature of a home that is either loved or hated is a swimming pool. Buyers often view pools as an ame-nity in the summer, but also realize the weather is freez-ing cold for much of the Min-nesota year. The wide range of opin-ion on pools is an example of many home components that people react differently to, such as carpet and color choices, outbuildings and window treatments. No one has the same taste, but most agree that clean, updated, safe and ef-ficient homes are the ones that are best for current and future owners.

Andy Rogers is at [email protected].

Homes/from 2B

“All those can be significant expenses, but buyers expect to have a house with sufficient siding, roof and windows.”

– Erik Henjum, certified residential property appraiser

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4B September 23, 2011 THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

compare their work and find out who they would like to work with,” said Joan Knight, spokesperson for the Twin Cities Builders Association. Admission is free, with the exception of dream homes, for which a $5 ticket is needed. Money raised at the event will to go toward the Build-ers Association Foundation, which offers free services to veterans and funding to Habitat for Humanity and Haiti earthquake relief. The show’s two dream homes feature substantial remodeling projects. In one instance, the entire home was remodeled. “I think those will get a lot of traffic,” Knight said. Industry leaders say they believe the remodeling in-dustry has remained strong despite the recession. “People see it as a strate-gy to sell their home, or they want to make modifications as they stay longer,” said Sandra Meyer, spokesperson for the National Association

of the Remodeling Industry of Minnesota. Whether the industry is experiencing an influx of business is hard to say, Mey-er said. It is difficult to sepa-rate professional contractor from do-it-yourselfers when looking at permit and licens-ing numbers. “There’s a mix bag of things going on,” she said. “Some members are strug-gling and others are doing well.” Financing is often the greatest challenge for clients who want large remodeling projects, Meyer said. Generally, the most pop-ular remodeling projects continue to be kitchens and bathrooms, which often pro-vide the greatest return on investment, she said. “We also see a fair amount of additions with more multi-generational liv-ing,” Meyer said. Then there is a niche group that consists of cus-tomized, large scale projects such as wine cellars, media rooms and yoga rooms. “This is the smallest

group but it accounts for a fair amount of consumer spending,” Meyer said. Few people can afford these types of projects, and as families look to pinch pennies in the recession, some are looking to tackle remodeling projects on their own. However, Meyer warns that there are some tasks that require a professional such as making major chang-es to a room’s layout. This does not mean the homeowner has to stand back on the sidelines, she said. Many contractors will al-low the homeowner to as-sist in the project, which will reduce the cost, Meyer said. “I would encourage ho-meowners to ask about that agreement,” she said. For more information on the Twin Cities Remodelers Showcase, visit www.parad-eofhomes.org. E-mail Jessica Harper at: [email protected]

Remodel/from 1B

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2011 fall home improvement

Documents

new home

lervicks home

persons home

successful home updates

home improvement projects

jennifer lervicks eagan

new faucets

new light fixtures