YOUR AD HERE »

Real Estate: Remodeling hints for property owners in 2020 (Opinion)

Don Kanare and Sabrina Bellecci
Special to the Tribune
Don Kanare and Sabrina Belleci, ReMax Realty
Provided

Weekly real estate update

Statistics gathered from the Incline Village Multiple Listing Service

Houses Condos PUDs

For Sale 73 42 10

Under $1 million 12 23 4

Median Price For Sale $2,879,000 $788,000 $1,146,200

YTD Sales 2020 18 25 6

YTD Sales 2019 14 22 8

New Listings 9

In Escrow 10

Closed Escrow 7

Range in Escrow $225,000 - $2,212,500

These statistics are based on information from the Incline Village Board of Realtors or its MLS as of Feb. 23.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the uptrend in the real estate market are the local contractors, plumbers, tile installers, painters and handymen.

With real estate sales up sharply during the past 8 years and many folks flush with cash from the rise in the stock market, remodeling projects that were put on the back burner have moved to the top of the priority list for many Incline Village and Crystal Bay property owners.

Spring is often the time when people start to consider making changes or doing some updating at their house or condo. Many contractors and service providers are finding themselves busier than expected and their calendars are starting to fill up with projects large and small.



In 2020 property owners will have to plan ahead if they want to get home improvements accomplished in a timely fashion.

Spending some extra time planning the details of each remodeling project will save you a lot of time, money, grief and aggravation further down the road. Every time that you have to do a change order it adds additional expense not to mention the potential for conflict with the workers who thought they were doing everything you wanted the first time around.



This is where bringing in the expertise of a space planner, interior decorator or experienced contractor validates the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having someone with many years of experience and lots of projects under their belt working with you to design the final product will be of great benefit.

Once you have the general concepts down on paper it’s good to sleep on everything for at least a couple of weeks because you will likely come up with new ideas that will alter the original scheme.

When you are shopping for materials, be aware that all of the natural products made with wood and stone will have variations from what you see on the show room floor. Also, the lighting at your property will probably be very different than what you experience in the stores where you are shopping.

It’s always a good idea to bring home samples of the materials you plan to use and put them in the rooms you will be working on for at least one week to be sure that the colors and textures are what you anticipated.

Make sure that you get estimates in advance of any work being performed and remember that you will always need more materials than the actual square footage when replacing flooring, doing painting, etc. There is bound to be a certain amount of waste, a general rule of thumb is to purchase 10% more of the materials that you will need than the actual square footage you are covering.

It’s also good to keep around some extra materials after the project is completed so that you can replace or touch up anything that becomes damaged in the future.

Remodeling projects can be fun and rewarding but they can also be frustrating and upsetting if you don’t take the time to plan in advance and get the expertise you need to solve problems before they become major headaches.

So, while you might have to allocate a few extra dollars on consulting and planning prior to the start of your interior remodeling project it is money well spent.

Taking the time to work with experts, purchase samples and let the thought process mellow will provide results that you can enjoy well into the future.

Don Kanare is the founder and Sabrina Belleci is the owner and broker of RE/MAX North Lake in Incline Village.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.