I want to DORMER!

Like...REALLY want to dormer.

We own our home almost 16 years.

We have a lot of equity in this house that could be used to pay/offest for the dormer. I honestly don't even know what this means, but it was what a friend told me. I have zero clue about finances. My DH is an accountant and handles all the finances of our home.

I am looking at about $250,000 worth of renovations...at least.

I just need to convince my husband.

If you dormered, about how much did your monthly payments go up to pay for the renos?

Also if you dormered, how much did your monthly utilities go up? We have CAC and oil heat.

TIA!

Re: I want to DORMER!

*Why* do you want to dormer? I don't think it's wise just throwing a dollar amount to your DH, the accountant. Work on why you want to justify the dormer first.

When we dormered, we realized that the current house couldn't comfortably fit the 4 of us. It was fine for DW and I, but after the 2nd DC, it was cramped. With that as our reason, we could figure out what we needed to add. Once we figured out what we needed to add, we could work on a price.

Depending on how big the project is, your utilities could actually go down.... if you have a 30 year old burner heating 1500 s/f, but get a high-efficiency burner to heat 2000 s/f, you'll probably spend less per month. Same could apply to the AC, especially if your current insulation isn't that great.

You could also add solar panels, and bring your monthly electric bill way down, too.

Re: I want to DORMER!

I want to dormer because we bought this ranch in 1998 with intentions to dormer eventually.

I am almost the last ranch standing in my neighborhood.

We have outgrown the house. We have a big extension off the back of the house, but having the bedrooms right off the kitchen is so annoying.

My boys are getting older (ages 11 and 8) and their bedrooms are so tiny.

Nevermind the closet space in this house...its ridiculous.

We have redone the entire house...and I love it...I just wish there were more of it!

GREAT selling points about the efficiency of our utilities. Our oil burner is OLD and our insulation is crap. Oooo...have to tell the DH that one. That's good...real good. LOL!!

Has your mortgage drastically increased per month to pay off your renos?

I want to DORMER!

I don't have any experience with dormering, but my BIL had wanted to put a second story on their ranch, but once all the numbers were ran, his mortgage would have doubled. So instead they bought a new construction.

Re: I want to DORMER!

No matter how you borrow the money, $250k, over 30 years, at 3.5% interest is about $1200+ per month. Paying off $250k is going to be expensive no matter what.

Since your DH is an accountant, I wouldn't focus on the money portion. He's going to know more about that than you, so it's not worth going toe-to-toe with him on that front. Focus on the family. The boys will be bringing friends over soon, they're going to have lots of sports gear to store, they'll be having sleep-overs.
Saving money over the long-term by upgrading existing utilities is a good selling point, too.

Also, until you talk with a contractor, you won't know exactly what the reno that you are thinking of will cost. May cost $100k, may cost $300k...

Re: I want to DORMER!

We dormered but used an inheritance to do it. We started with an 1100sq ft levitt cape, and added 935 sq ft upstairs. Also downstairs we blew out all the walls, gutted the whole downstairs, including the kitchen. We moved the boiler and the stairs.

Be prepared that you will have to clean out your entire home and put it in storage. We had two pods in front of our house. We even had to empty the garage because we built over it.

You are not going to want to live in the house during the dormer. We stayed with my mother in law for 9 months. I couldnt wait to get home.

Make sure you do your reaserch when hiring a contractor. Make sure you ask for references, and go to houses on the list to talk to the customers. Also drive around your neighborhood and ring doorbells to see who people used and if theg would recommend their contractors.

Make a list of your wants and make sure the smallest detail is written down on the contract.

When our contractor wrote up ours, they left out certain details and when it came to moving the stairs, theyntold us that the stairs themselves were not included. Thank god, my brother in laws, brother in law does custom stairs. He gave us a great price on oak stairs installed. I sanded, stained and polyd them.

If you have questions or want to see pics, get back to me here, on face book or my email [email protected]

Re: I want to DORMER!

How much your payments will go up will depend on so many factors, including what kind of loan you get - a HELOC or a refinance - and also what interest rate you are paying on your current loan.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have to refinance to another 30 year mortgage, you are extending the amount of time you will be paying on your mortgage by what sounds like quite a bit.

You said you're in your house 16 years; assuming you took out a 30 year mortgage, you only have 14 years left on your loan. But if you have to take out a new 30 year mortgage to afford your remodel, you are making an extra 16 years of mortgage payments. You need to consider that along with the actual payment increase. Of course you don't have to take out a 30 year mortgage. Shorter terms are available at - better yet - lower interest rates.

Can you talk to a neighbor who did a remodel similar to what you want so you can get an idea of cost? $250k is a lot of money - it's like buying another house - but it might not be that much.