Q: My wife and I have a home in Bethesda built some time ago. We originally wanted to remodel our home but a friend told us that remodeling is a waste of money and we should look into demolishing the home and building a new one. This can't be true, can it?
- Baffled in Bethesda


A: Dear Baffled,
Actually believe it or not, it is true - most of the time remodeling will cost you about the same if not more than tearing down your home and building a new home.  Remodeling adds only little to no value to your old home. When you look at the cold hard numbers of ROI (return on investment) they just aren't there.  When you remodel the price could jump from the proposed price to hundreds of thousands more because of the many unknowns, which are not seen until the work is underway, like your old wiring and pipes may not be able to facilitate your new planned additions. For example, I had a couple come in who said they were thinking of remodeling their home in Bethesda. To get what they wanted they were quoted 650K. After coming to us, they signed a contract for one of our larger Classic Series homes AND many luxury upgraded finishes and when all was said and done their total was below 550K.
-Anne

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