Rehab and Remodel from Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors

Restore, Rehab, Renovate!

Buyers often look for a home they can change to suit their functional and aesthetic needs. Here’s what you need to know to help them reach their goals.

Success with buyers is rooted in understanding their goals. Some want to find a pristine new home with an open modern layout, energy efficient windows, and the latest appliances. Others find charm in the creaking floorboards and weathered shingles of older housing stock, even if it means living with an outdated floor plan.

But many buyers fall somewhere in between; they want a home with a great style and location, but plan to make changes — sometimes major ones — so the property will better suit their functional and aesthetic needs.

Restoring: Turn Back the Clock

Restoration is a common route for home owners who want to peel away layers of changes, particularly bad design decisions made through the years. The extent to which your clients must go to bring back the home’s authentic elements will largely depend on:

-Condition
-Budget
-Location
-Patience

When restoring a home, it’s perfectly acceptable to include modern-day amenities. Many home owners strike a happy balance of authenticity and modern comfort.

Rehabbing: Redefining Function

Rehabbing is adapting a building for its intended use — which is often different from its current use. It’s a more common practice for developers than for home owners. Nevertheless, buyers with imagination and energy have transformed churches, factory buildings, fire stations, and more into homes or condos.

A television series was even created to capture the phenomenon. The show suggests that zoning is often the biggest obstacle when buyers want to switch the use of a property. When helping buyers scout out a property, advise them to investigate sufficiently into local zoning ordinances before they close.

Remodeling or Renovating: See All Possibilities

This approach works best for clients who like a property’s style and location but would like to adapt the home to their preferences. Buyers should calculate what they can spend on remodeling, and factor that into the price of whatever home they buy.

Those with the dollars and patience for remodeling can greatly expand their housing options beyond those in pristine shape. After the work is finished, they’ll have a home that’s customized for their design likes, functional needs, and hobbies.

You can help buyers envision all the possibilities for the home and each room, from changing flooring, to gutting the kitchen, or adding an extra bathroom or family room. Sometimes renovating is much simpler and may only involve replacing cabinetry or replacing a heating system that’s at the end if its lifespan.

Source: Realtor.org