Home remodeling requires planning and persistence

One thing the novel coronavirus has not changed is buyers’ attraction to homes that are updated, remodeled with an open floor plan and staged. As opposed to homes that are dated, disorganized, packed full of mismatched antiques, set to a backdrop of 20-year-old wallpaper.

When you do pull the trigger on your home remodel, whether you goal is to improve your success as a home seller or to improve the quality of your stay-at-home, work-at-home, and school-at-home experience, here are some tips for getting the best possible results.

Do your homework: Make sure you know what you want to do.

Look at all the go-to sites and apps for ideas on materials, design and color pallets. Choose an anchor for your project — be it flooring, counters, cabinets, or your favorite color.

Select some base point around which you make all of your other choices. This focal point might be the color of the water in your swimming pool, the tone of your hardwood floors or the distressed bricks around your fireplace.

Ask for referrals: Ask your neighbors who just remodeled their kitchen whom they used and if they’d recommend him.

Ask your agent if she knows anyone who can tackle your project. Go on Yelp and look at reviews for contractors in your area. Then interview as many as you have time to talk to. And realize, they will all have a different set of skills and a different way of approaching your project.

It may serve you well to start a spreadsheet with all of your projects and the parts and pieces necessary to complete them, including what each service provider can do and the providers need from you.

Know who’s on first: You know that classic Abbot and Costello bit.

You have to know who’s playing which position as you proceed through the process. Be prepared on demo day for there to be 3 to 6 people in your house doing things all at the same time.

Be prepared on installation day to make decisions about where the hole in the quartz counter is cut for the sink faucet; where the support legs go for your kitchen island extension so you can comfortably sit in the bar stools you ordered for those new quartz counters; and whether the backsplash in the bathroom should be cut around the electrical outlet or not.

Details matter, and if you’re not there, you can’t weigh in on the decisions.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions: Don’t be afraid to ask your crew, now that you know who does what, the questions you may have and the choices you may be able to make. If you are not taking your house down to the studs, you have to connect the old parts to the bright, shiny, new parts, and that calls for creativity and decisions.

Get in there and stay involved.

Leslie Sargent Eskildsen is an agent with Realty One Group West. She can be reached at 949-678-3373 or leslie@leslieeskildsen.com.