You may have heard buzz around the term “universal design” in recent years, but do you know what it is or how it affects the Dallas TX real estate and construction markets?

According to Lowes.com, universal design is the creation of products and environments meant to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialization. The intent is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal Design benefits people of all ages and abilities.

Think this is some “far out” theory just now working its way into the “modern” world? Think again: if you’ve ever walked through an automatic door, you’ve experienced a version of Universal Design. Likewise, a ramp or curb cut is just as welcome to someone with a baby stroller as it is to someone in a wheelchair.

Universal Design has become a hot topic in the Dallas TX real estate market as more residents are retiring and making the decision to “age in place,” as opposed to moving into assisted living facilities. As we discussed previously, this aging generation is already driving the design of new products for the home that will affect real estate in the future. Even if you are not part of the “mature” population, however, Universal Design should be important to you. If you are planning to build or renovate, keep in mind the principles of Universal Design and know that it’s more cost effective to add many Universal Design features during the planning stage. There are a number of design features that can be built for little or no cost. Their addition at the beginning saves the need for future retrofits.
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I recently wrote a post about how to use a house value report. In that post I briefly mentioned using one for determining the value of your home improvement projects. Since writing that article, I have received a lot of requests for more information about this. Understanding the true return on your home improvement investment is mostly science with a little art mixed in.

Before you start a project, there are 3 steps to determining the value of your home improvements.

1. Step One - Find a good Dallas area Realtor that really knows your area or hire a professional appraiser. An appraiser is expensive (around $300) but will be more accurate than a Realtor. Plus, many Realtors have never done a TRUE comparative market report, opting only to compare bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage so they do not understand the intricacies that go into this science called an “Appraisal”.
2. Step Two - Have your Realtor or appraiser prepare a comparative market analysis or full appraisal to determine the value of your home compared to other homes in your neighborhood. Once that first appraisal is completeld, have them provide a second house value report comparing your home with future home improvements to homes in your neighborhood with those same improvements.
3. Step Three - (more…)
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Fixing A Fixer Upper
Have you ever tackled a project like remodeling a single room? I can hear it now, my child giggling and saying, “funny daddy, you have paint on your nose!”. A single room can be overwhelming by itself but when you’re a home buyer looking at a fixer-upper home as an investment or for your personal home, it’s easy to become flustered. This is where having a solid plan comes in and then just like any other big project, take it one step at a time. The plan you create will differ greatly depending on whether you are living in your fixer-upper or not.

Not Living in Your Fixer-Upper
Any home remodel is much easier when you’re not living in the house, but there are still some guidelines that will make things a lot easier. If you are planning on tearing the walls down or “gutting” the house, then this should be the first thing you do. This will give you access to insulation, wiring, and windows. If all three are in good condition, you can skip this step (thank heavens), but more often you’ll want to work from scratch and it isn’t as expensive as you may think to redo the sheetrock and texture. You may need to replace or upgrade the wiring so look it over closely or hire an electrician to make sure it is in good condition. The insulation should go in as thick as possible with a good R Value of around R-19 and don’t forget to insulate around the windows. Since the walls are already down, this would be the best time to replace the windows if needed. Once the sheetrock and texture have been completed and have a fresh coating of paint, think about the flooring and whether you want to change or replace the material (waiting until after the paint has dried will save you the hassle of trying to clean the paint out of carpets or worse).

Living in Your Fixer-Upper
When you or someone else is living in the home, a more extensive plan is needed. Most people like to tackle their remodeling efforts room by room. If you are planning on living in the house, it’s a good idea to do the bedroom where you’ll be sleeping first. You’ll appreciate a good night’s rest as you start on the other rooms. Next, focus on the bathroom and kitchen! These areas are usually the most important rooms to get finished and functional-but be careful not to rush things too much, they’re also the rooms that have the biggest impact on the home’s value. Remember to think ahead and be sure to finish a room once you start it.

The Fixer-Upper Story
It’s a pretty common story. You are inspired to buy a fixer-upper. You felt motivated and decided to go for it. Over the next few weeks or even months, you can’t imagine what you were thinking. It’s too late now and you have no choice but to finish the job. Later, it turns out to be one of the best decisions you’ve made. Keep this in mind, fixer-uppers are usually good investments, even if you can’t do all the repairs yourself. Hiring a contractor for some or even all the work can be a very good idea. The home equity that you stand to gain will usually cover the costs of the repairs and if you keep that in mind, will allow you to keep your sanity during the remodeling process.

Whether you are a home buyer, home seller or a homeowner looking to do some repairs, you can visit our “Mr.Fix-It” page and find home repair contractors to assist you in your remodeling project by clicking here. Here in the DFW Metroplex, it’s a great real estate move to make home repairs prior to selling your home.

I recently had a new pool built for my home and I have to say, I am rather pleased with the result! After meeting and getting quotes from numerous local pool builders in Dallas Fort Worth, I came up with these 4 steps to help you make your decision.

Here are 7 steps that will help you to choose the right pool builder.

1. Find out how long the pool builder has been in business under present name and if they have ever filed bankruptcy under any name. Also, visit their showroom as many fly-by-night pool builders work out of the back of their truck making it easy to skip town.

2. Ask for the name and phone number of their insurance company. It’s important to verify that they have a current liability policy directly from the company.

3. Ask the pool builder to furnish lien waivers from vendors and subcontractors to prove they’ve been paid. This is extremely important! The greatest nightmare for any homeowner buying a pool is to pay 75%+ of the money for their new pool and have the pool builder skip town when they’ve only done 25% of the work. These criminals usually leave the subcontractors unpaid, which means they’ll come knocking on your door for payment.

A lien waiver is a receipt showing that funds have been paid to a supplier or subcontractor, and that they have no lien rights against your home. When your pool is complete, you should have lien waivers from all vendors and subcontractors to prove you don’t have to pay them again.

4. Check the pool builder’s references… not just the ones they give, ask a friend or neighbor if they have ever heard of that pool company and what was the quality of the work. Of course a company is only going to give you numbers of happy customers with good references. You want to hear about the problems and how they were handled. That will tell you about the quality of the builder.

5. Check the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints but make sure you delve in to see what that complaint is. You’d be surprised to see what some people complain about.

6. Get real quotes from a couple of pool builders. Make sure they see your property before giving you the quote or you’re just asking for a higher priced ticket before everything is said and done. Plus, make sure the quotes are for the same design and materials or you’re not really comparing apples to apples.

7. Find out about their pool building process, time lines and materials used. Have them explain it to you like you’re a 5 year old and don’t assume anything. It helps to find a pool builder that will hold your hand through the process.

Here’s my story!

After looking at dozens of pool designs and really looking at the flow of my yard, I set about designing the shape of the pool myself. I wanted a salt water pool to avoid the green hair, bleached bathing suits, red chlorine eyes and two days of the chlorine smell on your skin. That’s what I love about salt water pools, the salt in the pool is less than half the amount in a human tear drop. The salt water system creates natural chlorine from the salt just like the ocean does which means you also save a lot of money on replacing the chlorine all the time.

I designed the pool, spa and waterfall plus all of the underwater benches for people to sit. I had a lot of fun until it was time to find the right pool builder for the job. I spoke to all of the top names that everyone knows here in Dallas Fort Worth but in the end, I settled with a smaller pool builder who I felt I could trust to answer my phone calls and really pay attention to what I wanted. Not to mention, since they didn’t have the massive overhead, the pool quote came in close to $7,000 below the larger builders. Yeah for me! …at the same time, I was concerned about the old saying, “you get what you pay for”.

In the end I was very happy with the quality of the pool I got. A few months later, when the seal on the Pentair filter failed, the owner of the pool company I used personally came to my house the next day to check it out and had the Pentair technician out a day later. I was happy about that, especially after hearing some of the horror stories from my neighbors about the warranty service they received from their pool builders.

It’s hard to know the outcome of your new pool. Like a new home, every new pool is unique and will have something go wrong at some point. At that point, it really comes down to knowing the long term relationship the pool builder has with their customers and how well they respond to warranty issues. I didn’t like exactly how my waterfall came out and even though I’m the one that designed it, my pool builder agreed to send a crew out on his dime to make adjustments to it. Now that’s customer service!

Information on the pool builder I used!

I get a lot of clients that are interested in building a new pool when they buy their home or updating and renovating the one that is already there.

The pool builder that I used was Playmore Pools and they are a small pool builder that only builds in the DFW area. I convinced the owner to give my customers a $500 discount on a new pool or renovation. Before you say, “big deal”, then you will be happy to know that he promised it would be a real $500 discount and not the old trick of raising the price $500 to show a discount. He gives a $500 referral to his customers so why not pass that on to you? You’re already spending a lot of money buying a home and moving so every dollar counts. You can download the $500 coupon from my website by clicking here.

No matter who you use, good luck with your new pool or pool renovation and have fun!

Comment posted by mark1519
at 10/23/2007 5:42:05 PM

Joshua:

I read your comment. Is this a legitimate post representing your true independent feelings about Playmore or is this a veiled marketing/promotional post.

I am truly interested in whether this is a legitimate post.

Mark (mark.alfieri@hsblaw.com)

Comment posted by Joshua Harley
at 10/30/2007 10:01:29 PM

Mark,

This is a true legitimate post. I was very happy with the experience. In fact, I added the “Info on the pool builder I used” paragraph later because I received so many requests from people to tell me who the builder was. That’s when I called the owner and asked if he would offer a discount if I posted his information. I wasn’t sure if I should because I didn’t want to play favorites or make it seem like an advertisement. Case in point, your question.

Anyway, I am still happy with my pool and would recommend him. I also think Riverbend Sandler is a great builder but their price is premium and I personally needed the lower price to get the pool I wanted.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of service.

A friend of mine recently sold their beautiful home which resides in a wonderful neighborhood and on an amazing lot in Plano Texas. Unfortunately it was built 20 years ago and looked like it. Meaning the appliances, wallpaper, popcorn ceilings and brass hardware dated the home. The carpets needed to be replaced and the paint needed touching up.

In case you are interested in knowing the outcome of my friend’s home, after 3 months on the market as a fixer-upper and 2 on-the-fence buyers, they made the updates and their home sold in 2 weeks for their asking price. Realtors love to show move-in ready homes and homebuyers love to see them. Good luck in your home selling adventure!