Is remodeling worth it?

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You choose a perfect location for your home, let's imagine this will be your second home. You have chosen Florida for its beaches and warm weather. You visit properties for sale, but none of them fits your style, even the ones that were renovated not long ago. Let's say that for your second home, you want it to be a condo. This will be a home vacation home, 2 bedroom 2 bath, by the beach in South Florida; places like Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Pompano Beach, Hillsboro Mile, has tons of condos that were built in the 70's. 

You will probably find yourself having to decide between;

- A recently updated condo

- A partially remodeled condo

- A ugly, original, stinky condo 

Lets explore each one of them;

A RECENTLY UPDATED CONDO

This property has probably been fully updated. It could be  either;

Remodeled to the previous owners taste

This condo has been completely remodeled to reflect the owners style and taste. Sometimes is a match! It will fit the buyers style as well and maybe will only need minor repairs and painting. Win x Win case. If it's not totally your style but this is a good deal, there's still a lot that can be done to bring it up to date without ripping all out. I have dealt with those, and it has been worth!

Remodeled for Selling purposes

This condo has been remodeled with the intent of selling only, the owner chose neutral colors, probably transitional style, which seems to be more  preferred now days. In this condo the seller probably hasn't picked top of the line fixtures and materials.

I have seem mostly two cases; 

- THE CHEAP REMODEL, cheap  materials  (as a General Contractor I would not have wanted to handle this project), cosmetics cover up to hide problems, and poor workmanship. The problem here is that you will overpay for all of this and once you are in, you will probably have to redo some things, you might have to pay twice for improvements 

- THE GOOD REMODEL, good materials, (I have had projects like this) - Materials might not be top of the line, but are good, reliable materials with warranty; things like; Moen Plumbing Fixtures, Americana Capital Cabinets, Pompeii countertops. The owner has not splurge, but has not done cheap either. This is usually worth buying, you are getting good stuff without having to deal with remodel.

THE PARTIALLY REMODELED CONDO

This condo has had a few updates, but it was not totally committed;

- I would study this one carefully as well, if kitchen and floors have been remodeled but not the bathrooms, you will have to compromise on some aspects like;  having to add thresholds on bathroom floors (something we have been avoiding these years) maybe opening a kitchen wall, and that will bring other issues like electrical, cabinetry  etc. It will depend whether is a good deal, if the purchase doesn't leave you with enough money to change what you want and need I would walk away. When you are trying to remodel partially it can be hard to contain costs, since one thing might lead to another.

THE OLD,  STINKY, ORIGINAL CONDO

MY FAVORITE!!!!! This is my favorite project, everything has to go, nothing stays. I believe this is the best deal. You will have a blank canvas to work with, you can totally transform it your taste and style. 

But, this will also take a lot of your time and money if not planned and done properly, and the stinky, old original condo deserves a post of it's own!

So to answer the question; Is remodeling worth? I would say a big YES, as long as it's studied, planned and done properly, it's a very rewarding project, both financially and personal. 

Written by Alexsandra 

April 27th, 2020