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Planning, designing and building a family room addition

Summary:
Posted on: 5/14/2009
Author: Michelle Katz 
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Not only can a family room addition provide you with more living space, but they can be a terrific home improvement investment with great returns. Before undertaking this project, you may want to research some key items: the home market values of your area, the availability of financing, building and material costs, the size and scale of your project, realistic timetables for completion, and the sweat equity commitment level of your household. Once you feel well prepared, select a qualified remodeling professional through your remodeling social network.
 
Before any groundbreaking, a plan developed through collaboration between you and your contractor must be in place. Discuss the desired amount of square feet and number of rooms to add. Once you have decided on the improvements, compare your proposed newly improved house to the local market value of homes with similar features. With this information, the homeowner can calculate the difference between their current home value and their new and improved value. Many homeowners use this formula to set their maximum budget for their investment in the addition remodeling project.
 
Funding is an important part of building. Unless you can fund the project via cash or savings, you will require funding. Depending on the fiscal climate of the time you may consider a home equity loan or refinancing your mortgage to include the cost of the addition.
 
Extending the size of your current home through addition rather than purchasing a new home, makes fiscal sense. Additions also allow your family to maintain it community connection and your children to stay within their school system. Frequently, additions often pay off handsomely as home improvement investments.
 
Some key design ideas to keep in mind when creating the plans are the aesthetics and architecture of the new addition. The family room addition should meld relatively seamlessly into the design of the existing home with relative size. Neither the home nor the addition should seem dwarfed or cobbled together. Work with your remodeling professional to preserve the exterior aesthetics of your addition.

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